#OscarsSoWhite for a second year in a row as Academy favors white actors and actresses in nominations see ARTS AND LIVING / PAGE 6
Women’s Basketball returns with eight game win streak
Green Line Extension project faces unclear future, political debate over funding see FEATURES / PAGE 4
SEE SPORTS / BACK PAGE
THE
INDEPENDENT
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T HE T UFTS DAILY
VOLUME LXXI, NUMBER 1
Thursday, January 21, 2016
MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.
University completes six-month restoration of Memorial Steps by Daniel Nelson
Contributing Writer
After months of being closed off to the Tufts community, the Memorial Steps reopened in December, bringing to an end to the university’s six-month construction effort to preserve the campus landmark. The steps, also known as the Memorial Stairs, were built in the 1920s and designed as a tribute to Tufts alumni who died serving in the Armed Forces of the United States, according to an April 2015 article in Tufts Now. Raymond Santangelo, the senior manager of project administration, said the steps have begun showing signs of age in recent years. According to an an April 16 article in the Tufts Daily, prior to the recently completed renovations, the steps had not received extensive maintenance in over 15 years. “The harsh winter last year really put [the stairs] over the edge,” Santangelo told the Daily in an email. He explained that the snow melt pellets used to combat the blizzards of the 2014-2015 school year were a leading factor in the stairs’ degradation. According to Santangelo, the melting snow drifts on the stairs last spring caused extensive damage to the exposed concrete steps. The structure’s safety was in question, prompting the university to pursue a more permanent solution to sustaining the stairs, he said. “Granite has replaced concrete on all of the landings,” Timothy D. Smith, the project’s architect, told the Daily in an email. According to Santangelo, the new granite surface is more resistant than concrete to erosion from snow melt pellets, and should make the restored stairs better equipped to withstand Boston’s winters. He explained that snow melt pellets may no longer be necessary throughout the winter season. “The new stairs and landings have a snow melt system under them that is fed by hot water from a manifold [chamber] in Miner Hall,” he said. “This will minimize, if not eliminate, the need for snow melt pellets.” see MEMORIAL STEPS, page 2
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Tufts to acquire School of the Museum of Fine Arts by Sophie Lehrenbaum News Editor
Following several months of discussions, Tufts announced that the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (SMFA) is due to become a part of Tufts University by June 30, 2016 pending final approval, in a Dec. 22 statement. According to the statement, written by University President Anthony Monaco and Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences James Glaser, the two institutions have signed a memorandum of understanding, which projects a plan for the SMFA’s transition under the Tufts umbrella. While the plan has received initial approval from both bodies’ Boards of Trustees, the agreement still requires final approval after further study and review, according to an article about the acquisition in Tufts Now. If this final approval is granted, the transition will begin over the summer. Tufts and the SMFA have maintained a close partnership since 1944 when plans to create a dual-de-
gree program between the two schools began, according to the Tufts Now article. This program has allowed students to receive degrees from both institutions in a five-year program. The partnership between the two schools has also allowed students from both institutions to attend classes at both schools, Monaco and Glaser explained in the statement. From a logistical standpoint, both Glaser and Sarah McKinnon, the senior vice president for academic affairs and dean of the SMFA, said that the finer points of the acquisition remain to be ironed out in the coming months. Both added that the process will be complex. “There are a huge number of details to be worked out and they lay in all kinds of areas–admissions and financial aid, faculty affairs, human resources, information technology, student affairs, student services, space planning, operations curriculum, etc.,” Glaser said. McKinnon explained that negotiating teams representing both schools
will be entering into a series of discussions to address some of the loose ends. These talks will likely culminate in a March 1 signing of a second, revised document on the acquisition, she said. The merger will bring about several changes for SMFA students, according to McKinnon. New Bachelor of Fine Arts, Masters of Fine Arts and dual-degree students are slated to enroll in classes at the SMFA as members of the Tufts School of Arts and Sciences beginning Fall 2017. “There will still be studio classes at The Fenway and academic classes at Tufts—both will be expanding,” McKinnon said. “There will be more elective options for Tufts students … [and] more non-curricular opportunities for SMFA students too. Eventually we will be planning some new degree programs.” McKinnon explained that part of the motivation for the merger was the allure of combining a one-of-a-kind see SMFA , page 2
COURTESY THE SCHOOL OF THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, BOSTON
The SMFA is a fine arts school that offers a dual-degree program with Tufts. During winter break, Tufts and the SMFA announced initial approval for a merger of the two institutions.
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