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Ballantyne, Lungo-Koehn and Wu convene for Solomont Speaker Series discussion

By Amelia Colafati | March 29

Mayors Katjana Ballantyne of Somerville, Breanna Lungo-Koehn of Medford and Michelle Wu of Boston came together for a virtual discussion on March 22 in the latest installment of the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Lifes Solomont Speaker Series. They discussed the challenges they face as women in politics as well as their plans to transform their communities.

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University

This Week in COVID-19: Cases decline during spring break, Tufts plans to lift mask mandate

By Flora Meng | March 29

COVID-19 cases declined drastically at Tufts as students left the Medford/Somerville campus for spring break. The university reported 7 new cases on Friday and 21 in the week before.

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Tufts community mourns the passing of sophomore Cher Xiong

By Chloe Courtney Bohl and Alexander Janoff | March 17

Cher Xiong, a sophomore in the School of Arts and Sciences, passed away unexpectedly on Sunday evening, according to an email from university administrators. The email highlighted Xiong’s kind, outgoing nature and the impact their passing will have on the community.

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Tufts condemns SJP's new BDS campaign

By Aaron Gruen | March 17

Editor’s note: Aaron Klein is the Executive Audio Producer at The Tufts Daily and also one of the two co-chairs of J Street U Tufts. Klein was not involved in the reporting, writing or editing of this article. Skyler Goldberg is the chair of The Tufts Daily’s Education Committee and also the president of Tufts Friends of Israel. Goldberg was not involved in the reporting, writing or editing of this article.

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BREAKING: Fletcher School severs relationship with two Russian universities in response to war against Ukraine

By Chloe Courtney Bohl | March 17

The Fletcher School at Tufts University announced it will break off its academic relationship with the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO),an elite research university under the umbrella of the Russian Federation Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the wake of Russia’s war against Ukraine. Fletcher also cut ties with the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE), another Russian institution, earlier this month.

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BREAKING: Tufts announces plans to roll back long-standing COVID-19 restrictions

By Alexander Janoff | March 16

In an email sent to the Tufts community on Wednesday, administration officials announced Tufts’ plans to “gradually lift” the COVID-19 restrictions that have been imposed since the pandemic’s onset forced the university’s campuses to remote learning in March 2020.

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Shirley Mark named Tisch College assistant dean of diversity and inclusion

By Maggie Monahan | March 16

After nearly 20 years of serving the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life as director of community partnerships, Shirley Mark has assumed the newly-created role of assistant dean for diversity and inclusion. Mark will oversee Tisch College’s work in the areas of diversity, equity, inclusion and justice in addition to continuing her responsibilities as director of community partnerships.

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University

Political Science Professor Eitan Hersh selected as Emerson Collective Fellow

By Simran Patel | March 15

The Emerson Collective announced the selection of Tufts Professor of Political Science Eitan Hersh as its newest fellow on Jan. 25 . The Emerson Collective is a for-profit organization that seeks to create social change through philanthropy, advocacy and investment.  They partner with entrepreneurs, experts, policymakers, advocates and creatives to promote equality and justice.

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University

Tufts community reacts to Ketanji Brown Jackson’s SCOTUS nomination

By Aaron Gruen | March 15

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Joe Biden on Feb. 25. If confirmed by the Senate, Jackson will fill the seat currently held by Associate Justice Stephen Breyeronce he retires at the end of the current judicial term.

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University

TCU Senate votes on community senator stipend proposal, hears election timeline

By Madeline Wilson | March 15

The Tufts Community Union Senate heard a presentation from the Election Commission and voted on a proposal calling for the compensation of community senators in a meeting on Sunday night in the Sophia Gordon Multipurpose Room.

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University

Working Group on TUPD Arming to announce recommendations by end of semester

By Rebecca Barker | March 14

Tufts’ Working Group on TUPD Arming anticipates releasing new recommendations regarding TUPD’s arming status this semester, Executive Vice President Mike Howard confirmed in an email to the Daily. 

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University

Tufts Climate Action calls on Tufts administration to completely divest

By Olivia Field | March 14

Tufts Climate Action staged a protest outside of Ballou Hall on Friday, calling for the university’s complete divestment from fossil fuel holdings. The protest complements the work TCA has been doing since its founding in 2012.

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University

This Week in COVID-19: Tufts maintains mask mandate as Medford, Somerville, Mass. lift restrictions

By Flora Meng and Alex Viveros | March 14

While Massachusetts recently lifted its mask mandate for K-12 schools and both Medford and Somerville have removed their indoor masking requirements, Tufts continues to enforce a mask mandate.

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University

Faculty Senate hears presentation on faculty compensation, discusses need to improve faculty retention

By Skyler Goldberg | March 11

Tufts administration and faculty are reviewing policies for faculty compensation and promotion, with a focus on hiring and retaining talented faculty members. Mike Howard, the executive vice president of Tufts, and Kim Ryan, vice president for human resources, delivered a presentation on the topic to theUniversity Faculty Senate at its February meeting.

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Local

Tufts to maintain its mask mandate as Medford, Somerville, Mass. ease theirs

By Fernando Cervantes Jr. | March 11

Tufts will continue its mask mandate despite the state of Massachusetts dropping its mandate for K-12 schools and Medford and Somerville eschewing their mandates entirely.

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University

Global Tufts Month kicks off, highlights effects of climate change

By Michael Weiskopf | March 10

Tufts is hosting its third annual Global Tufts Month, a month-long series of activities and events across the university’s schools and centers this March. This year’s theme is “A Call to Action: Global Perspectives on Climate Change.”

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Tisch College hosts speaker series event titled 'Revolutionary Nonviolence: Organizing for Freedom'

By Elizabeth Zacks | March 10

The Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life hosted another installment of its Solomont Speaker Series, titled “Revolutionary Nonviolence: Organizing for Freedom,” on March 7. The event featured Rev. James Lawson and Kent Wong, who spoke to the Tufts community about the philosophy of nonviolence and discussed their new novel, “Revolutionary Nonviolence: Organizing for Freedom.”

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Samuel Gebru joins Center for State Policy Analysis at Tisch College

By Spenser Walsh | March 10

Samuel Gebru, managing director of Black Lion Strategies, was recently named a nonresident senior fellow at the Center for State Policy Analysis within the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life. As cSPA’s first nonresident senior fellow, Gebru will help state lawmakers who do not have the tools to conduct state-level policy analysis on their own.

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University

Engineers Week celebrates students, hosts speaker Leland Melvin

By Amelia Colafati | March 9

Tufts Engineers Week, a series of events held Feb. 17-25, featured networking opportunities, a design challenge and a lecture from Leland Melvin, an astronaut, NFL player, engineer and educator. A celebration of engineering, the events were organized in concordance with National Engineers Week. 

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Senior Biden climate advisor talks global energy policy and environmental justice

By Daniel Vos | March 9

Dan Kammen, senior advisor to the Biden administration on energy, climate and innovation, spoke about the evolution of international climate policy at an event sponsored by the International Relations Program on Wednesday.

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