The Tufts Daily - Monday, May 3, 2021

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T HE T UFTS DAILY

VOLUME LXXXI, ISSUE 51

tuftsdaily.com

Monday, May 3, 2021

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.

Jane Goodall talks conservation science in last Distinguished Speaker Series event of semester

SOPHIE DOLAN / THE TUFTS DAILY

Jane Goodall speaks to the Tufts community on April 28 in the final Distinguished Speaker Series event of the semester. by Zoe Kava

Assistant News Editor

Jane Goodall, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and a United Nations messenger of peace, spoke to the Tufts community about her research on chimpanzee behavior and her experience in conservation science at a live virtual event on Wednesday. The event was hosted by the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life and was the last event in this semester’s Tisch College Distinguished Speaker Series, which has been renamed

the Alan and Susan Solomont Distinguished Speaker Series, a change that was announced at the Goodall event. The event was co-sponsored by the Environmental Studies Program, the Fletcher School’s Center for International Environment and Resource Policy, the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, the Tufts Institute of the Environment and The Fletcher School. University President Anthony Monaco delivered opening remarks and outlined Goodall’s experience studying chimpanzee behavior in the

1960s as well as her research at Gombe Stream National Park that paved the way for future primatological research. “Dr. Goodall is a renowned conservationist, whose work has redefined the relationship between humans and animals,” Monaco said. Monaco then introduced Felicia Nutter, director of international veterinary medicine at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, and Chris Whittier, director of the Master’s’ in Conservation Medicine Program at the Cummings School, who led the discussion.

Outdoor mask mandates lifted in Medford and Somerville, guidelines remain on Tufts campus by Liza Harris News Editor

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announced that as of April 30, masks would no longer be required in outdoor public spaces where social distancing is possible. Face coverings are still required in indoor and outdoor spaces where people cannot be less than six feet apart. Tufts is not changing any

university policies in response to the announcement. The Tufts administration announced in an email to students on Friday morning that mask-wearing requirements indoors and outdoors will remain the same until more of the student population is fully vaccinated. “Vaccines prevent serious illness and death but do not prevent infection,” the email said.

ANN MARIE BURKE / THE TUFTS DAILY

The President’s Lawn is pictured on Sept. 6, 2020.

“Currently, too few of our students have been fully vaccinated, and we cannot adopt an inequitable policy that would allow some students to forego masks while requiring others to wear them.” University Infection Control Health Director Michael Jordan said that the university will examine and potentially change its policies over the summer. “We will review all of our current public health safety protocols over the summer to make sure they are aligned with updated local, state and federal guidance, and in keeping with our approach throughout the pandemic, any revisions we make to our protocols will be data-based,” Jordan wrote in an email to the Daily. “As I have said before, the light at the end of the tunnel is brighter than ever before, but compliance with the university’s public health see MANDATE, page 2

Before passing the event to them, however, Solomont (A’70) briefly spoke about his retirement and the future of the Speaker Series. “As I approach my retirement from the dean’s job, and I thought about what I might leave behind, what made the most sense was to help ensure that the Speaker Series would continue to enhance the civic life of the entire university,” Solomont said. The event then turned to Goodall. Nutter asked her about Roots and Shoots, a Jane Goodall Institute program that

empowers youth to take action to enact change in their communities. “We’ve messed up the world, and the reason that Roots and Shoots began is because so many students told me they’d lost hope,” Goodall said. “We have compromised the future, but it’s not too late to start healing some of the harm, the terrible harm that we’ve inflicted on this planet, and at least try to slow down climate change and loss of biodiversity.” see GOODALL, page 2

Tufts secures $250 million in bonds, will use to build new housing, dining infrastructure

by Madeleine Aitken Executive News Editor

Tufts announced on April 29 that it had issued $250 million in bonds that will be used to fund on-campus development projects, including the construction of a high-density, on-campus residence hall for undergraduates on the Medford/Somerville campus and the expansion of dining capacity and infrastructure, among other capital projects. The new residence hall is part of a push to increase the percentage of students living on campus. Though the details have not been finalized, the university will be conducting a study to help it determine the optimal location and number of residents. The university has chosen this moment to invest because

ARTS / page 4

FEATURES / page 3

EDITORIAL / back

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of interest rates that are near historic lows; the 30-year taxable bonds were issued at a fixed rate of 3.099%. Patrick Collins, executive director of media relations at Tufts, shared what this means for the university. “We are very pleased with the outcome of the bond issue,” Collins wrote in an email to the Daily. “We are looking forward to the critical investments planned for our academic and research facilities and are excited about additions being planned for student housing and dining, which will help bring more of our students onto campus, a strategic priority for the university.” The announcement explained that universities see BONDS, page 2 NEWS

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