The Powder House Circle, a busy intersection in Somerville, was upgraded this summer with lane improvements, bike lanes, updated crosswalks and physical barriers, intending to improve safety and navigability for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians alike.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administrationgranted market authorization to an electronic cigarette company for the first time on Tuesday, approving certain products for sale in the United States. The FDAapproved three products from R.J. Reynolds Vapor Company’s brand, Vuse, in an effort to diminish the impacts of traditional cigarettes, whose carcinogenic properties contribute to an estimated 400,000 U.S. deaths each year. The FDA concluded that the reduced morbidity and mortality among smokers outweigh the risks that approving Vuse products poses to youth. Notably, 10% of high school students who use e-cigarettes said Vuse is their usual brand.
An unknown individual was arrested by the Tufts University Police Department at 1:11 a.m. on Sept. 7 after the department received a report of the person sleeping on a couch on the fourth floor of Harleston Hall.
After community discussion on how Medford and Somerville public school students should return to classes this fall, both districts implemented the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's policy mandating return to in-person, full-time instruction.
Bert Huang, assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science, hosted the first event in a series of seminars titled, "Making Real-World Data Science Responsible Data Science" for computer science students on Oct. 7. The series is run by the National Science Foundation-funded T-TRIPODS Institute, a multi-department, interdisciplinary effort across Tufts University that focuses on data science.
The Office of Sustainability commenced its “Path to Carbon Neutrality” webinar series on Oct. 7, hosting a webinar entitled "Decarbonization at Tufts."The webinar featured an overview of the university's current decarbonization initiatives and sustainability commitments.
Luis Gilberto Murillo-Urrutia, former Colombian minister of environment and sustainable development, spoke on Oct. 6 via Zoom with Dayna Cunningham, dean of the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, about his work including marginalized ethnic and social groups in environmental policymaking.
The Tufts Community Union Senate heard supplementary funding requests and held internal elections for parliamentarian and Allocations Board members in a meeting on Monday night.
Tufts was recently selected by the Schuler Education Foundation to participate in a multiyear, $25 million challenge grant as part of the foundation'sSchuler Access Initiative, which aims to increase the number of undocumented and Pell Grant-eligible students admitted to top universities.
A recent statistical report by the Tufts Office of Equal Opportunity indicated that the number of cases reported has been steadily increasing over the past five fiscal years. It states that the total caseload of reported allegations has risen from 668 reports in the 2019 fiscal year to 718 reports in the 2020 fiscal year. This data is consistent with the continual increase in reports over the last five years, a trend that Jill Zellmer, executive director of OEO, attributes to the cultural climate nationwide.
The City of Medford announced on Sept. 30 its commitment to the international Race to Zero campaign and pledged to cut its greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030.
Imagine two metronomes: one ticking with each beat equally spaced apart and the other clicking with a messy, inconsistent rhythm. Most people would find that the second metronome sounds out of place. But would an animal be able to tell the same?
Despite most classes returning to an in-person modality this semester, some courses have opted to remain fully remote this fall. Other faculty have adopted a hybrid format, with some class components being held in person while other parts remain online.
As of Sept. 27, the first-year students living at the Hyatt Place in Medford can use meal swipes at the Commons Marketplace. This is one of several changes enacted by Camille Lizarríbar, dean of student affairs, inspired in part by anop-ed written by Santiago Castillo Juarez, a Hyatt resident. This change is expected to alleviate some of the difficulties these students experience regarding getting meals in transit to and from the Medford/Somerville campus.
A referendum on whether to allow Boston voters to elect school committee members will appear on the city’s ballot this November after the Boston City Council unanimously approved the ballot question on Sept. 15.
Tisch Library introduced a series of changes at the beginning of the fall semester in response to the COVID-19 situation on campus. With vaccination rates high, the library no longer requires individual seat reservations and social distancing. Additionally, the library is open to vaccinated community members and has extended its operating hours.
The Tufts Hong Kong Student Association (HKSA) has traditionally been a student organization with a rigorous application process, but some suggest that culture clubs should be open to anyone in the Tufts community.
Despite threats from city councilors, the lodging license renewal for 31 Tufts University properties in Somerville passed Somerville City Council’s Licenses and Permits Committee unanimously.
Diane Hessan (J’76), entrepreneur, researcher and author of “Our Common Ground”spoke over Zoom on Sept. 28 to the Tufts community about her work researching the true face of the American electorate. Sol Gittleman, the Alice and Nathan Gantcher university professor emeritus and Brighter World Campaign co-chair, led the discussion.
As the delta variant of the COVID-19 virus continues to spread through Tufts University’s campuses in the form of breakthrough infections, the university has clarified its quarantine, isolation and contact-tracing protocols. Notably, close contacts of COVID-19-positive individuals no longer need to quarantine and the university has reduced capacityto house students in isolation.
