THE
INDEPENDENT
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T HE T UFTS DAILY
VOLUME LXXXI, ISSUE 17
MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.
tuftsdaily.com
Thursday, March 4, 2021
Public Art workstream recommends commissioning new artwork to represent university diversity
Students on Boston and Grafton campuses receive vaccinations, continue to face restrictions
by Ria Agarwal
Assistant News Editor
ELAYNE CHEN / THE TUFTS DAILY
Artwork displayed in Campus Center. by Bo Johnson
Contributing Writer
University President Anthony Monaco announced the results of the Public Art workstream, launched in July alongside four other workstreams as part of the university’s initiative to become an anti-racist institution. The Public Art workstream was
chaired by Dina Deitsch, director and chief curator of Tufts University Art Galleries and Marty Ray, chief of staff of the Office of the President. According to Marty Ray, the catalyst for the creation of the Public Art workstream was the portraits in the Coolidge Room in Ballou Hall, which were all of white, male past presidents of the university.
“There were numerous concerns that have been raised over the years that the portraits of individuals on campus were skewed toward memorializing white men, a fact that was proven by our campus art audit, even long after individuals of color had made significant contributions to Tufts’ history,” Ray wrote in an email to the Daily. see WORKSTREAM, page 2
Shari Redstone talks law school, business ventures in lectures hosted by Women Entrepreneurs at Tufts by Ella Kamm
Contributing Writer
Shari Redstone (J’75), ViacomCBS chairwoman and president of National Amusements, was hosted by Women Entrepreneurs at Tufts to talk about her career as a woman in business and share advice on being successful and giving back. Redstone was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2020. Redstone was introduced by Jordan Sclar of Women Entrepreneurs at Tufts. “[She] graduated from Tufts in 1975, she went on to earn law degrees at Boston University, and after practicing both corporate and criminal law, Ms. Redstone joined National Amusements, becoming president of the company in 1999,” Sclar, a junior, said. “In 2011, she co-founded Advancit Capital … [and] in 2018, Ms. Redstone facilitated the merger of Viacom and CBS.” Redstone opened by discussing her education and the way it has impacted her career.
“Even if you go [into] business, law school is the best education,” she said. “It does change the way you think, it changes the way you read, it changes the way you watch TV, it changes the way you relate to people.” She said that although she did not ultimately continue in her law career, the perspective she gained from law school has helped her in every career pursuit. “It’s not about having all the answers, it’s about having the right questions,” she said. After law school, she worked toward a master’s degree in social work, although she did not complete it due to personal circumstances. It was afterward that she set her sights on business. She credits her evolving career path in part to her undergraduate education, which set a tone of change and flexibility. “I think Tufts really allowed you to pivot,” Redstone said. “They really allowed you to change your mind, and they gave you the
resources and the support you needed to not have a straight path but to have a curvy path.” When Redstone began working at National Amusements, she had to quickly adjust to a new industry in which she had no prior experience. “I was with a group of men who had been doing business a certain way for x number of years, and it was really hard to go up against that,” she said. “So, when I first went into National I often say that the first year I just listened. The second year, I would say my opinion, but always give in. And then the third year, I actually started to try to have an impact in some of the things that I wanted to do.” A major theme of Redstone’s talk was flexibility and the importance of being entrepreneurial in any business. When she founded Advancit Capital, she saw an opportunity to combine a traditional business venture with a more see REDSTONE, page 3
Students at the Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston and the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine in Grafton are still being tested regularly and dealing with pandemic guidelines, despite the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines on the two campuses. According to the Tufts COVID19 dashboard, the seven-day totals through March 1 reported 2,073 and 778 unique individuals tested on the Boston and Grafton campuses, respectively, including students, faculty, staff and affiliates. On both campuses, every student is offered testing, even those who have already received the vaccine. The third-year and fourth-year students at the Tufts University School of Medicine have been offered vaccines, and according to third-year Tara Ahmadi, most accepted. She said the school also has plans to vaccinate firstand second-year students soon. Although the continued testing policies may seem unnecessary after students have received their COVID-19 vaccines, Michael Jordan, university infection control health director, maintains the importance of following public health guidelines and continuing to test. “Vaccinated individuals are treated no differently than non-vaccinated individuals in any of our protocols,” Jordan wrote in an email to the Daily. “Individuals who have been vaccinated are still expected to abide by all health and safety policies.” Jordan added that beyond testing, vaccinated individuals
must also stick to normal pandemic safety policies. “The need to mask, maintain proper social distance, and practice good hand hygiene continue to be necessary,” Jordan said. The availability of testing and COVID-19 vaccines has had varying effects on classes and academics on the Boston and Grafton campuses. Dean of the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine Alastair Cribb explained how the increased availability of testing and surveillance has allowed students to engage in hands-on research. “Having rapid, efficient testing available on-site, including drive-through testing following exposures, has been critical to keeping faculty, staff, and students safe while continuing our work,” Cribb wrote in an email to the Daily. “We have also been able to safely offer critical hands-on teaching and maintain our research programs, which includes working directly with SARS-CoV-2, because of testing availability.” Similarly, the Tufts University School of Medicine has been able to continue with some hands-on teaching, though students have experienced changes in classes and continue to face academic difficulties as a result of the pandemic. “For first- and second-year students, most classes are virtual (lectures, small groups are all on [Zoom]),” Ahmadi wrote in an email to the Daily. Ahmadi explained that even the programs that remain in-person have been altered from past semesters. see VACCINES, page 3
NICHOLAS PFOSI / THE TUFTS DAILY
The entrance of the Wildlife Clinic on Tufts’ Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, on Aug. 22, 2014.
EDITORIAL / page 7
FEATURES / page 4
WEEKENDER / page 5
Tufts must prioritize equity once vaccines become available
TUSC strives for creative, accessible programming during pandemic
Sapphire looks to build community, create safe social space for women
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