Massachusetts Democrats plan to use the 2023 legislative session to further gun control legislation in the state. The Democrats hold a majority in both the state House and the state Senate. Along with recently elected Democratic Gov. Maura Healey, state legislators and activists have high hopes for a major gun safety package.
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection recently added textiles and mattresses to the list of materials banned from waste disposal and further lowered the threshold on banned commercial food waste to include facilities generating more than half a ton per week. Tufts will need to expand its preexisting textile and food waste collection programs in order to adhere to the bans as well as revise its mattress disposal procedures.
Editor’s note: Emily Thompson is the Executive News Editor of The Tufts Daily. Thompson was not involved in the writing or editing of this article.
The Tufts University Department of Public Safety published its Annual Fire Safety and Security Report for the 2021 calendar year, pursuant to the Clery Act of 1990. The report was distributed to the Tufts community via email on Sept. 30. Crimes included in the report cover everything from sex offenses and aggravated assault to liquor and drug arrests to hate crimes.
Carol Joyner, director of the Labor Project for Working Families at Family Values at Work Action, spoke with Tufts students on Sept. 22 as part of the Civic Life Lunch Speaker Series hosted by Tisch College. Joyner discussed her more than two decades of work on issues surrounding workers’ rights, including advocating for paid leave and for more comprehensive child care for workers.
In anticipation of welcoming students back to campus, Tufts announced its fall 2022 COVID-19 protocols in an email on Aug. 10. According to the email, the updated measures include the end of surveillance testing as well as the removal of a mask mandate. Infected students will also be directed to isolate in their rooms as opposed to the temporary housing on-campus students were asked to isolate in last academic year.
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.
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.
A committee of faculty, staff and students recently revised the application for Tufts Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences to make it more equitable and accessible for the 2022 admissions cycle. The committee's work was a project of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences’ Anti-Racist Working Group.
Three university alumni are working to convert a 4,000-square-foot home in Roxbury into a tech training hub for young minority women and nonbinary people. The 122-year-old house on Hutchings Street, set to open this year following a multimillion-dollar renovation, will house 18–25-year-olds looking to gain experience in and build careers in STEM-related fields.
