The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tufts released a studytitled “Protests, Politics, and Power: Exploring the Connections Between Youth Voting and Youth Movements” on Oct. 4. The study detailed a nuanced relationship between youth activist movements and youth voting patterns.
Fletcher School Ph.D. student Hengrui Liu presented his research on China’s emission trading system on Wednesday, Nov. 3 at an in-person seminar in the Fletcher School's Crowe Room.Liu concluded that China’s implementation of an emission trading system was unsuccessful, prompting audience questions about whether a successful implementation is possible.
Student Life sent out a campus wide email informing the Tufts community about the rise of seasonal illnesses as well as cases of norovirus, influenza, mono, and strep throat on November 5th.
Medford Director of Veterans Services Michael Durham has been reinstated afterbeing placed on administrative leave on Sept. 17. According to a notice emailed to Durham on Oct. 15, Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn authorized his reinstatement after Dr. Joseph Begany found him psychologically fit for duty.
Tufts Mock Trial hosted its 14th annual Mumbo Jumbo Invitational tournament in the Science and Engineering Complex on the weekend of Oct. 30. The tournament attracted a number of schools from all over the country, including Harvard, Yale, Brown, MIT, Cornell, Northwestern and UCLA.
Doug Foy, an environmental advocate and businessman, sat down with Tina Woolston, director of the Office of Sustainability at Tufts, to discuss climate change at the final Tisch College Civic Life Lunch of the semester, titled “Extreme Weather, Climate Change & the Fight for Environmental Change,” on Nov. 10.
COVID-19 vaccination rates in Tufts University’s surrounding Medford and Somerville communities have plateaued recently, despite remaining high compared to others in the state. As of Nov. 11, 79% of Medford residents have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, compared with 77% as of Oct. 28. In Somerville, 85% of residents have received at least one dose, compared with 82% in October. Only Somerville remains above the state’s single-dose vaccination rate of 83%.
Faculty from the Departments of Economics and Computer Science this month are moving into the university’s newest academic facility at the intersection of Boston and College Avenues. Construction of the $90 million building is set to wrap up in the coming weeks after weathering anon-site worker injury and apandemic-induced delay since crews first broke ground more than two years ago.
A recent study analyzed drawings done by five orangutans in a Japanese zoo and found that the drawings — especially those of one orangutan, Molly —correlate with environmental factors like seasons, daily life events and even changes in keeper identity. In total, 790 orangutan drawings were studied, 656 of which were chosen randomly from those done by Molly.Researchers found differences in color preferences that related to the current season; the orangutans tended to use purple in the spring and green in the summer and winter. In addition, Molly used more red in her drawings when another orangutan in a separate location was giving birth. The content and patterns of the drawings also changed in relation to more mundane, daily events in Molly’s life. These included new art supplies on one day, when an elementary school class visited on another and the change of her keeper once over the course of the experiment.
The Tufts Division of Student Diversity and Inclusion recently announced its plans to form a new on-campus identity center for students who identify as Indigenous and Native American. The creation of the center was among the recommendations of the Compositional Diversity Workstream that took place this past February. The creation process will be led by Ellise LaMotte, who started her tenure as associate dean in the division of student diversity, inclusion, and success on Nov. 1.
Tufts Dining reimplemented its reusable takeout container program on Nov. 1 that had first beenlaunched in 2019 in the Carmichael and Dewick-MacPhie dining centers , and stopped Dining2GO due to low participation. Both programs serve as ways for students to eat outside of the dining halls while also reducing food waste, Patti Klos, director of Dining and Business Services, said.
The Tufts Community Union Senate heard supplementary funding requests and discussed an upcoming resolution in a meeting on Sunday, Nov. 14. After a brief roll call and committee updates, TCU Treasurer and Class of 2022 Senator Elizabeth Hom introduced six supplementary funding requests.
Tufts University President Anthony Monaco and Vice President for Human Resources Kim Ryanannounced the winners of the Tufts Distinction Awards and the David J. Kahle Leadership Award in an email to Tufts faculty and staff on Oct. 20. Dewick-MacPhie Dining Center is one of the teams that won the award, and its current staff members arelisted on the webpage as recipients and received letters of recognition. However, several workers who worked at Dewick — the only dining location operational after Tufts evacuated its campus in late March 2020 — last spring and summer, have expressed discontent with how the recipients were selected since moving to other locations.
The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine has the potential to reduce cases of cervical cancer by 87% and prevent certain cervical abnormalities by 97%, according to a British study recently published in The Lancet. Researchers examined women a decade after their HPV vaccinations and found that there was a reduction in pre-cancerous growths as well as cervical cancer. In 2006, the FDA approved the HPV vaccine, Gardasil, and since then, two other HPV vaccines have been developed and over 100 countries have incorporated the HPV vaccine into their regular inoculation schedules.
The physics department celebrated Black in Physics Week for the first time with a mix of in-person and virtual events during the week of Oct. 24–30. Black in Physics Week began inOctober 2020 with the intent of recognizing and commemorating the contributions of Black physicists to the scientific community.
The Somerville City Council voted on Nov. 9 to adopt a new ward and precinct map for the city at the recommendation of aninternalcity council working group. The map, developed by the working group in collaboration with the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, shifts the boundaries of the city's seven wards only minimally, while increasing the number of precincts within each ward from three to four in order to accommodate the city's growth. Somerville's population grew from 75,754 to 81,045 in the past decade, a 7% increase.
Tufts overhauled its shuttle system this semester to accommodate the increasing size of the student body and offer more frequent and efficient service for riders. The updated shuttle system has multiple routes for students to choose from depending on their destination: SMFA, Davis Direct, Davis All Stops, Hyatt Direct and Beacon Street Direct.
Senior Juliette Wu posted flyers around campus to protest the vandalization of the artist statement accompanying her art piece, which depicted the issue of language assimilation in China. Wu opted to post these flyers instead of going to Tufts administration to launch an investigation into the incident.
The ACT recentlyreleased a report which found that scores have dropped for the fifth consecutive year. While some in higher education argue that this indicates a worrying trend about students' preparation for college-level coursework, many Tufts educators see its primary cause — universities adopting test-optional programs — as a progressive development.
The TCU Senate discussed its bylaws, heard a statement from the Tufts Labor Coalition and heard supplementary funding requests in a meeting on Sunday.
