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NEWS
page 4 First-years adjust to a post-pandemic education page 6 Adele leaves audiences astounded with Vegas residency page 9 Letter from the Editor in Chief: Thank you, Daily readers NEWS
1 FEATURES 4 ARTS & POP CULTURE 6 FUN & GAMES 8 OPINION 9 SPORTS BACK
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THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF TUFTS UNIVERSITY EST. 1980
THE TUFTS DAILY
VOLUME LXXXV, ISSUE 1
Wednesday, January 18, 2023
MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.
department of Public safety announces new threat communication and assessment plan
by Katie Spiropoulos
Assistant News Editor
Executive Director of Public Safety Yolanda Smith wrote in an all-campus email Tuesday that only “credible” threats would trigger public safety alerts going forward, following a string of bomb threats that rocked campus in December and seemingly began anew earlier this week.
The announcement comes just a day after students shuffling back into their dorm rooms were greeted not only by their peers and a fresh layer of snow but also by a slightly less cheery familiar sight: an urgent public safety message.
“The university has received another threat that may be related to recent events,” the alert read. It was the Department of Public Safety’s eighth such message since mid-December — and its first of the new year.
While the details of Monday’s threat remain unclear, the alert that it prompted may be the last one for some time. Smith said Tuesday that authorities would only sound the alarm for threats that warrant a “need for action by community members.”
“As has been the case with many of the threats, Tufts was not singled out but rather included in a list of local organizations,” Smith wrote of Monday’s threat.
Smith urged students and other community members not to be concerned if media outlets report additional threats that the university chose not to publicize.
“Because the perpetrators sometimes copy the news media on these threats, it is possible that you might hear about a threat from traditional or social media outlets unrelated to Tufts,” Smith wrote. “If this occurs, please know that we are aware of the threats and have determined that a community alert is not warranted.”
Smith also explained that the security measures outlined in December will remain in place with increased security patrols as well as collaboration with municipal and state agencies.
“The multi-agency investigation into these threats is continuing, and we remain focused on finding the responsible party or parties,” Smith wrote.
JULIA SHANNON-GRILLO / THE TUFTS DAILY Dowling Hall, the home of Tufts’ public safety department, is pictured on Dec. 15, 2022.
LOCAL UNIVERSITY
Inside the GLX opening: senators, mayors, students gather for landmark event
by Aaron Gruen
Executive News Editor
The Medford/Tufts branch of the Green Line Extension opened on Dec. 12 at roughly 4:30 a.m. following years of construction and several delays. The extension now connects the Medford/ Somerville campus to East Somerville and Boston.
Dozens of Tufts students flocked to the new Medford/ Tufts station before sunrise, waiting in sub-freezing weather in hopes of catching a ride on the first passenger trolley to leave the station. Then-MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak greeted the crowd before the gate to the station opened, and prospective riders rushed through to the platform.
Among the riders on the first Green Line trip were Katjana Ballantyne and Joseph Curtatone, the current and former mayor of Somerville, respectively, along with Poftak.
Later in the morning, government leaders gathered with University President Anthony Monaco at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the station. Attendees included Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, then-Massachussets Governor Charlie Baker and U.S. Congresswoman Kathryn Clark, the new House Minority Whip for Democrats.
Following the ribbon-cutting, Markey spoke with the Daily about the significance of the GLX and its role in creating a Green New Deal.
“Today is historic … this is a day when … public transportation is taking a front row seat,” Markey told the Daily. “We have to move away from highways and move more towards transit.”
Local and national government leaders then gathered with Monaco and delivered remarks in the lobby of the Joyce
AARON GRUEN / THE TUFTS DAILY Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and University President Anthony Monaco prepare to cut the ceremonial ribbon on Dec. 12, 2022. see GLX, page 3
Tufts ends bivalent COVId-19 booster and flu vaccination requirements
by Katie Spiropoulos
Assistant News Editor
The bivalent COVID-19 booster vaccine is no longer required for all university personnel and students, Michael Jordan, university infection control director, announced in a Jan. 5 email to the Tufts community. In addition to dropping the omicron booster mandate, Jordan noted that the influenza vaccine would become optional for all students on the Medford/Somerville and SMFA campuses.
While the omicron booster is no longer mandated, there are still vaccination requirements in place for every member of the Tufts community.
“All eligible students, faculty, staff, vendors, and affiliates must have received a COVID-19 vaccine primary series (two doses of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine) and at least one booster dose,” Jordan wrote.
Patrick Collins, executive director of media relations, explained that the university’s goal of having as many people as possible vaccinated remains unchanged.
“It became increasingly clear over the fall semester that, after nearly three years of the pandemic, we needed to try a new strategy to achieve this goal,” Collins wrote in an email to the Daily. “Simply put, continuing to mandate the bivalent booster was not having the effect we had hoped it would and, as a result, it increasingly became apparent that fully enforcing a mandate would be impractical.”
However, Collins noted that this does not mean people should be dissuaded from receiving the additional booster or continuing to take precautions against COVID-19.
“While no longer specifically required, the bivalent (Omicron)
see BOOSTER, page 3
Julia Shannon-Grillo Editor in Chief
– EDITORIAL –
Alexander Janoff
Senior Editor Aaron Klein Rachel Liu Maddy Mueller
Associate Editors
Aaron Gruen
Ella Kamm Daniel Vos Maddie Aitken Peri Barest Charlotte Chen Olivia Field Skyler Goldberg Zoe Kava Ari Phillips Megan Reimer Ethan Steinberg Estelle Anderson Amelia Colafati Ishaan Rajiv Rajabali Matthew Sage Katie Spiropoulos
Kaitlyn Wells
Sam Dieringer Isabelle Kaminsky Elizabeth Zacks Owen Bonk Mark Choi Katie Furey Maya Katz Layla Kennington Kendall Roberts Kate Seklir Sam Berman Guillem Colom Halia Frishman Tobias Fu Vedant Modi Grace Nelson David Van Riper Ella Sanders Carmen Smoak
Henry Chandonnet
Blake Anderson RaiAnn Bu Jack Clohisy Alexis Enderle Ryan Fairfield Odessa Gaines Nate Hall Siavash Raissi Carl Svahn Ava Dettling Megan Reimer Saba S. Matthew Winkler Erin Zhu
Idil Kolabas Henry Murray
Daniel Chung Julieta Grané Gian Luca Di Lenardo Dzheveira Karimova Justin Solis
Brendan Hartnett
Makenna Law Elena Lowinger Faye Thijssen Executive News Editor Deputy News Editors
News Editors
Assistant News Editors
Executive Features Editor Deputy Features Editors
Features Editors
Assistant Features Editors
Executive Arts Editor Arts Editors
Assistant Arts Editors
Executive Opinion Editors
Deputy Opinion Editor Opinion Editors
Editorial Editor Editorialists
Arielle Weinstein
Bharat Singh Matthew Chen Oliver Fox Ethan Grubelich Executive Sports Editor Deputy Sports Editor Sports Editors
Sam Russo Investigative Editor
Ian Lau
Peri Barest Avery Hanna Yanqing Huang Emilia Nathan Sarah Sandlow Chris Tomo Cindy Zhang Executive Science Editor Science Editors
Maddie Aitken Executive Audio Producer
David Kim Quan Tran
Executive Photo Editors
Julia Carpi Executive Video Editor
Odessa Gaines Ryan Sorbi
Intentionality & Inclusivity Committee Chairs
Skyler Goldberg Education Committee Chair
Delaney Clarke Charlene Tsai
Social Committee Chairs
– PRODUCTION –
Mike Kourkoulakos
Production Director
Meghna Singha Olivia White
Max Antonini Alexa Hopwood Olivia Leviss Executive Layout Editors
Layout Editors
Avril Lynch Becky Povill Merry Jiao Marlee Stout
Megan Amero Aedan Brown Sophie Dorf-Kamienny Lindsay Garfinkel Lucy Belknap Julieta Grané George McGurkin Isabel Overby Eden Sekwat Executive Graphics Editors
Executive Copy Editors
Deputy Copy Editor Copy Editors
Assistant Copy Editors
Liz Buehl Ella Dovey
Executive Social Media Managers Evelyn Altschuler Executive Newsletter Editor – BUSINESS –
Sam Berman
Business Director
Michelle Alizada Ryan Sorbi Isabel Francis Urvija Mafatlal Alison Guo Erika Kim
Elizabeth Foster Kate Seklir
Assistant Business Directors
Ad Managers
Receivables Managers
Alumni Liaisons
LOCAL
Medford Community Fund announces $230k in grants
by Ella Kamm
Deputy News Editor
Medford’s Community Fund announced on Jan. 6 that it awarded over $230,000 in grants to 25 local nonprofits.
“The work being done by these nonprofits is critical to supporting our residents and by providing this funding the awardees will be able to make adjustments and improvements to their operations that will lead to more meaningful and engaging experiences for the community,” Medford Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn said in a statement.
Grant recipients include the Federation for Children with Special Needs, the Medford Farmers Market, TreesMedford and Saint Raphael’s Food Pantry. The application process, which concluded in October, required each organization to demonstrate to the fund’s committee how the grants would allow them to expand their work in Medford. The Medford Community Fund Committee was originally created as part of the Surrounding Community Agreement between the City of Medford and Encore, a Boston resort and casino. Gaming establishments such as casinos are required by law to submit an agreement between the establishment and surrounding communities that lays out the conditions for a gaming establishment to be located in proximity to other communities. The Medford Community Fund Committee determines the allocation of the annual Community Fund Payments that Medford receives as a term of this agreement.
Arts Collaborative Medford, Inc., a grant recipient, is a new space opening on Mystic Avenue this spring. Their grant funding will be used to cover initial startup costs associated with outfitting the space.
“ACM’s mission is to provide a welcoming, accessible, and inclusive space to create, enjoy, and engage with a diversity of arts and culture experiences,” Laurel Siegel, president of Arts Collaborative Medford, wrote in an email to the Daily. “We seek to become a long-term anchor and catalyst for the arts in Medford and surrounding communities, and we will welcome a range of creators and audiences to participate in our activities.”
Kesem at Tufts, the university’s chapter of Camp Kesem, a camp for children affected by a parent’s cancer, also received funding, along with the Medford Historical Society & Museum.
MHSM, an independent non-profit that has been in the community since 1896, pres-
see GRANT, page 3
LOCAL
somerville hosts ‘Midterm Ceremonies’ event
by Wevhu Tokwe
Staff Writer
The city of Somerville hosted its “Midterm Ceremonies” event on Jan. 3 featuring Mayor Katjana Ballantyne, City Council President Ben Ewen-Campen and School Committee Chair Andre Green. The three officials discussed the progress they made in the past year and their goals for 2023.
Mayor Ballantyne reflected on the time she took office when people were scrambling for healthcare access and small businesses were struggling to survive. Despite this, she saw the predicament as a call to work, she said. She launched weekly vaccination clinics, distributed high-quality masks and testing kits and supported small businesses with more than two million dollars.
Social distancing guidelines during the pandemic have forced emergency shelters to reduce their dependents numbers, leading to more homelessness. As a result, Ballantyne said, she and the city will be opening a new support facility this winter in partnership with Somerville Homeless Coalition.
Ballantyne said she will also push for a Universal Basic Income program this year and spoke about supporting women, especially those of low-income backgrounds.
“Low-income households bear a disproportionate burden and … are overwhelmingly led by women of color,” Ballantyne said. “This isn’t a new crisis; it’s just been disregarded for decades and now it’s even more urgent than ever. It’s time for governments to step up to the plate. When we invest in girls and women, we correct an injustice, and we improve our communities for everyone.”
The city’s Department of Racial and Social Justice is making efforts to combat racial and other social injustices, according to Ballantyne. Amongst other initiatives, it has sought community feedback through community group focus sessions, gathered people’s stories and intends to host more opportunities to learn and hear from experts.
“We won’t fix centuries of oppression overnight,” Ballantyne said. “It takes time to build inroads, to build trust and to make a difference, but Somerville is staying the course. We are making sustainable progress.”
Ballantyne expressed her concern about rising hate and repressive legislation targeting women and gender minorities. The city council passed her ordinances to protect individuals seeking gender affirming and reproductive healthcare, and she proudly signed them, she said.
Ballantyne praised the Green Line Extension as “a long hardfought dream,” reminding the audience that the development came after three decades of advocacy and hard work.
“As a community we planned for this moment for decades,” Ballantyne said. “We fought for the Green Line Extension because public transit is a public good. It also sets us up to accelerate our community goals through transit-oriented development.”
However, there are still pressing public needs which need to be addressed, according to Ballantyne. To enhance street safety, she said, the community must cooperate.
“I call on the full community to work with us; street by street, driver by driver, and person by person,” Mayor Ballantyne said. “I’m speaking to each of you. Let’s get together to achieve ‘Vision Zero’ by slowing down, staying alert, following the rules and putting life first.”
Ballantyne also acknowledged the ongoing housing crisis, expressing her commitment to fight displacement and gentrification, emphasizing the urgency of retaining the city’s families, small businesses, nonprofits and artistic creativity.
In an effort to fight climate change, Ballantyne said, her team will be launching Clean Green, a program to make energy efficient upgrades for low and moderate income households. Her vision is to have Somerville become “carbon negative” by 2050.
Ewen-Campen later took the stage and stressed more on the problem of displacement and gentrification.
“It is continuing to push out so many of the people who have made Somerville the amazing place that it is,” Ewen-Campen said. “The crisis [is] not new; it is certainly not unique to Somerville, but it is now intensifying to a degree that we have never seen before.”
Realizing skyrocketing rental charges and continuous unfair treatment of tenants by landlords, Ewen-Campen noted that they expanded the Housing Notification Act, an unprecedented law that safeguards tenants rights. He promised to work with the mayor’s office to bring more affordable housing, citing Clarendon Hill as an example of their budding efforts, and also to create a rental registry to protect tenants from “predatory” landlords.
Ewen-Campen also considered the statistics of people killed by vehicles in the streets as a reflection of the high stakes for public safety. His office hopes to finalize plans to improve pedestrian safety this year.
In concluding, EwenCampen acknowledged the ongoing rat problems and said they are devising means to get rid of them, including use of predators, rat-proof cans, electrocution boxes and other baiting programs.
Green opened his speech by noting the multiple challenges that children and educators are facing, including pandemic upheavals and an oftentimes uncooperative government.
“Educators across the country have taken it on the chin this year, becoming a political football and a scapegoat for this country’s repeated refusal to adequately invest in its children, particularly its most vulnerable ones,” Green said.
He said they have implemented robust anti-racism training programs and continue to invest in curbing mental health crises in schools.
Despite all they are dealing with, Green expressed a firm resolve to continue supporting children.
“We will continue to develop equity-minded instruction and curriculum, so that every Somerville student has the opportunity to access a worldclass education that equips them not just to thrive in a 21st century economy, but to do so as engaged participants in a pluralist, multicultural democracy,” Green said. “Our agenda is ambitious, because our schools deserve no less.”
NATALIE BROWNSELL / THE TUFTS DAILY A campaign sign is pictured in Somerville on Sept. 11, 2022.
Photo Credit: Aaron Gruen / The Tufts Daily
Warren, Markey celebrate the long-awaited opening
continued from page 1 Cummings Center to celebrate the long-awaited opening.
“Today’s celebration is the result of decades of hard work and collaboration by local officials, community members and the university,” Monaco said in his speech. “In addition to linking our Medford, Somerville, Boston Health Sciences and SMFA campuses to each other, it also connects Tufts to other key institutions in the greater Boston area. … This Green Line Extension is about education, innovation and collaboration.”
Poftak and Baker then delivered remarks, thanking various government officials for their work in bringing the GLX to fruition. Afterwards, Warren took to the podium to express her elation at the long-awaited opening.
“I’ve just got one word: finally,” Warren said.
Warren used her speech to celebrate the work of community activists but also called for more investment in transportation.
“Extending the Green Line is great, but we need a lot more extensions — and we can’t wait two decades for every single one of them to come online,” Warren said.
In his speech to attendees, Markey spoke about the project’s role in fighting climate change.
“We share common goals: to make public transit a public good, to reduce congestion on our roads and clean the air we breathe, to allow anyone — regardless of income or geography — to travel safely, reliably, affordably and sustainably,” he said.
The Mass. Department of Transportation anticipates that the GLX’s daily ridership will reach 45,000 per day by 2030, carrying riders to jobs and key stops like Somerville High School and the CambridgeSide mall near Lechmere.
From the Medford/Tufts station, the GLX passes through Ball Square, Magoun Square, Gilman Square and East Somerville before ending at Lechmere — where riders may choose to continue riding into Boston.
The GLX has also sparked controversy, however, as increasing rents stir fears of gentrification in East Somerville. As government officials walked from the Medford/Tufts station to the Joyce Cummings Center for the opening celebration, protestors chanted to draw awareness to the displacement of lower-income residents.
Ballantyne addressed these concerns in her speech at the Joyce Cummings Center.
“There’s still more visioning and work to be done for better access to local jobs, for housing as a human right … and we must double down on ongoing efforts to address displacement and gentrification,” Ballantyne said.
Chloe Courtney Bohl contributed reporting to this article.
BOOSTER
continued from page 1 booster is still strongly recommended, and we will continue to remind people to get it if they are eligible,” Collins wrote. “The best way we can protect our students, faculty, staff, and host communities is with a high rate of vaccination.”
Even though the bivalent booster is no longer required, Tufts will continue to track university vaccination.
“We are continuing to ask people to get the bivalent booster if they are eligible and to upload their documentation to help the university track the level of community vaccination,” Collins wrote.
Community members are encouraged to upload their documentation as soon as possible or email SAHA-Imm-Admin@ tufts.edu if they have already received the bivalent booster or influenza vaccination.
Collins added that as the state of the pandemic continues to evolve, the university reserves the right to amend all vaccination policies whenever necessary.
The change to the vaccine policy was not the only COVID19-related news Tufts received recently. FEMA announced in December that it reimbursed Tufts nearly $21 million for its COVID-19 testing program.
Collins outlined what this would mean for the cost of testing and the testing program in general at Tufts.
“FEMA has obligated $20.6 million for the first and largest of several applications Tufts expects to submit for reimbursement of testing costs. This application covered testing costs from the start of the program through February 2022. Tufts has not yet received this payment,” Collins wrote. “Tufts expects to receive reimbursement for most of the costs of the testing program, with some exclusions, through June 30, 2022. There may be additional reimbursement for costs beyond that date, though not at 100%.”
The reimbursement from FEMA was not the only support Tufts received to compensate for the testing program and other COVID-19-related expenses.
“While receiving reimbursement for testing is a significant financial benefit to the University, reimbursement from FEMA along with another $20 million we received in federal Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds and HHS Provider Relief Funds, as well as $1 million in insurance reimbursement, covered about 1/3 of the over $130 million in increased costs and lost revenues Tufts experienced due to COVID,” Collins wrote.
VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS A vial of the COVID-19 vaccine is pictured at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Dec. 14, 2020.
Grants announced for 25 Medford organizations
GRANT
continued from page 2 ents a variety of programming and exhibits. This spring, they will use the grant funding to host Erin Kelly, a Tufts philosophy professor, to speak about her biography of artist Winfred Rembert. Rembert passed away in 2021, but his wife, Patsy Rembert, will join Kelly for the event. Kelly’s book, titled “Chasing Me to My Grave: An Artist’s Memoir of the Jim Crow South,” was co-authored by the late artist, and both authors won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 2022.
“Rembert’s memoir tells a significant and recent part of American history,” Margaret Bowen, chair of the MHSM Program Committee, wrote in an email to the Daily. “The funds will be used to support Prof. Kelly and Mrs. Rembert’s participation.”
Another grant recipient, the Center for Citizenship and Social Responsibility, is an after-school program that will use the awarded funds to run their new summer programing. They aim to teach leadership skills and instill values of social entrepreneurship in students.
With funding from other sources such as the Bloomberg Foundation and the Cummings Foundation, the Center pays teachers in the Medford School District to be advisers for students as they complete yearlong team projects, a method known as project-based learning. They currently have around 500 students in the program.
“[The students are] doing something they want to do,” Richard Trotta, director of the Center for Citizenship and Social Responsibility, said. “And they have to use certain leadership skills. … You have to have communication skills, cooperation skills, planning [and] implementation.”
Now, with the help of the Community Fund, they are planning to expand their offerings into the summer.
“Our program primarily runs through the school year,” Trotta said. “We don’t have that much going on in the summer, so I proposed a summer leadership academy for high school students.”
Carrying over elements from the academic year program, in the summer, students will learn leadership skills and complete a project over two two-week sessions.
Trotta said that while the projects are designed to address social needs in the community, the program is equally as transformative for the students involved.
“The students themselves who are doing these projects now have a chance to gain more self confidence,” Trotta said. “Research has shown that when people do good things for other people, there’s a natural high. Endorphins are actually released in the brain. … Students doing this all the way through school, [it can become] part of their being that they like doing things to help other people.”
