On trend for Halloweekend: Not-your-customary costumes take the campus by storm see WEEKENDER / PAGE 5
TUFTS FOOTBALL
Jumbos look to bring the hurt to Amherst
Oh the horror! ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ performed in Barnum in third annual Halloween Extravaganza see WEEKENDER / PAGE 4
SEE SPORTS / BACK PAGE
THE
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T HE T UFTS DAILY
VOLUME LXXII, NUMBER 35
tuftsdaily.com
Friday, October 28, 2016
MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.
Tufts janitors vote to authorize strike if no agreement is reached
Question 2 forum reveals divisions by Kyle Anderson Contributing Writer
MAX LALANNE / THE TUFTS DAILY
Janitors vote in Tilton Hall to authorize a strike if necessary when the current contract for Tufts workers expires on Oct. 31. by Kathleen Schmidt Executive News Editor
Tufts janitors voted to authorize a strike if necessary as negotiations with Cushman & Wakefield (C&W) Services near the contract expiration date of Oct. 31. Voting began on Wednesday and continued through Thursday afternoon’s final voting round in Tilton Hall, in order to include each janitorial shift.
The affirmative vote from the “vast majority” of Tufts janitors will give the bargaining committee of the janitor’s union, 32BJ Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the power to put a strike on the table as the contract expiration date draws nearer, SEIU Vice President Roxana Rivera said. “We need to take whatever action is necessary to win a good contract, so it just again re-emphasizes that folks understand what’s
at stake … and that certain decisions are going to need to be made and that [workers] are really giving that support [to] the bargaining committee to make those decisions,” she said. The bargaining committee, comprised of Rivera and several Tufts janitors, will be in negotiations with C&W Services on see STRIKE, page 2
Medford early voting kicks off with Mayor Burke, polling place shuttles by Minna Trinh
Contributing Writer
Early voting in Massachusetts began on Oct. 24, and a kick off event at Medford City Hall on Oct. 26 allowed student voters to cast their ballots for the 2016 Presidential Election in advance. Early voting is new in Massachusetts and will continue until Nov. 4. This year, for the first time, the Jonathan M. Tisch College for Civic Life sponsored early voting shuttles for service on Primary Day, early voting days
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and Election Day, according to Tisch College Director of Policy, Planning and Strategy Jennifer McAndrew. Shuttles left from Mayer Campus Center and ran to Medford City Hall all day Wednesday and to Somerville city hall on Thursday, McAndrew said. The shuttle program, part of Tisch College’s JumboVote 2016 initiative, makes it easier for students to access voting precincts by decreasing transportation barriers and encouraging more young students to cast their ballot, she said.
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Four leading supporters and opponents of Question 2 on the Massachusetts Ballot regarding charter schools met in a public forum in the Cabot Intercultural Center on Oct. 27 to debate and discuss increasing the cap on the annual addition of new charter schools to 12. Approximately 50 people attended the forum, which was moderated by Senior Lecturer of Education Steve Cohen and hosted by the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, JumboVote, the Department of Political Science and the Department of Education. Panelists included State Sen. Pat Jehlen, Somerville Teachers Association President Jackie Lawrence, Massachusetts State Director for Democrats for Education Reform Liam Kerr and Massachusetts State Director for Families for Excellent Schools Keri Lorenzo. The forum began with a brief speech by each panelist. Jehlen introduced the ballot question as a matter of choices and values. “Legislation is about choices; budgets are about choices. They are about values,” Jehlen said. “If you ask people in my district what would make schools better … they would say pre-school education and full funding on the foundation formula.” Jehlen noted, however, that the ballot does not give that choice. “It gives us one choice,” she said. “It says we will expand charter schools for up to one per year. It does not provide any reforms for accountability, for transparency or for funding.” In response, Lorenzo spoke about her own child, a student with special-needs, who moved from the public school system to a charter school. “As a parent, it is devastating to watch your kid start to fall through the cracks,” Lorenzo said. “I didn’t know anything
“The JumboVote initiative has registered 1,366 students [across all Tufts’ campuses] this semester alone,” McAndrew said, citing research done by Tisch College. “We do think that [providing shuttles] will help increase the number of students to vote.” Those voting early can only do so at Medford City Hall or Somerville City Hall, according to the cities’ websites. Not so on Nov. 8th: JumboVote 2016 Coordinator Diane Alexander (LA ’16) said that it can be see VOTE, page 3
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see CHARTER, page 2
SEOHYUN SHIM / THE TUFTS DAILY
Senior Lecturer Steve Cohen speaks while moderating the Question 2 Forum on Oct. 27.
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