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THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF TUFTS UNIVERSITY EST. 1980

THE TUFTS DAILY

VOLUME LXXXIV, ISSUE 7

Thursday, OcTOber 20, 2022

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.

LOCAL

‘The T is failing’: Warren, Markey hold senate hearing in boston on MbTa

by Aaron Gruen

Deputy News Editor

Originally published Oct. 18

Senator Elizabeth Warren chaired a senate subcommittee hearing in Boston on Friday, focusing on management failures within the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority. Senator Ed Markey joined Warren for the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs’ Subcommittee on Economic Policy hearing.

Over the past two years, the T has experienced delays, derailments, collisions, fires and even a death earlier this year when a man was trapped in the door of a red line train. Warren addressed these problems in her opening statement. “The people of Massachusetts need a safe system, but they also need a transit system that works — a system that is reliable, accessible, frequent,

AARON GRUEN / THE TUFTS DAILY Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey are pictured in Boston at a Senate hearing on management failures within the MBTA.

see HEARING, page 2

UNIVERSITY

breaKING: Tufts administration reports offensive graffiti on campuses

by Ariana Phillips

Deputy News Editor

Dean of Student Affairs Camille Lizarríbar disclosed the presence of offensive graffiti around Tufts campuses in an email sent to the Tufts community on Wednesday.

The email cited a series of incidents involving the defacement of public spaces, including “[d]erogatory and crude” graffiti on the School of Museum of Fine Arts campus found in the last few weeks. Members of the community have also found a hate symbol on the Medford/Somerville campus and vulgar imagery in the Joyce Cummings Center and the School of Engineering.

Lizarríbar emphasized that this behavior contradicts the “values and expectations” of the Tufts community. The presence of offensive graffiti “creates an unwelcoming environment and disrespects every member of our community.”

Lizarríbar urged students to work together to establish a respectful and inclusive campus culture that encourages

see GRAFFITI, page 3

UNIVERSITY

department of Public safety announces updated mission and values, creation of new positions

by Madeline Wilson

Deputy News Editor

Executive Director of Public Safety Yolanda Smith shared updates on the Department of Public Safety’s efforts to support the University’s anti-racism initiatives in an email to the Tufts community on Wednesday.

The email stated that the changes are the result of the 2021 Campus Safety and Police Workstream final report, which established the Working Group on TUPD Arming as well as detailed other recommended structural changes and efforts for community engagement.

Smith noted in the email that over the summer that DPS updated its core values and its mission and vision statements, to “clearly reflect our commitment to ensuring the physical, psychological, and emotional safety of all members of the Tufts community.”

The updated vision statement includes direct mention of the department’s anti-racism initiatives, stating that DPS will be a “model of progressive excellence in campus safety and policing by employing a hybrid model with differential response training; mentoring employees to act with compassion, professionalism, and integrity.”

The email also stated that DPS will be expanding the training process for all TUPD officers to include a focus on “implicit bias, harassment discrimination, active bystandership, and mental health awareness.” Over the summer, officers also received additional training from a non-law enforcement agency on healing and empathy, which DPS plans to continue.

The Department also announced that two new roles have been created to “strengthen the department’s relationship with the campus community.” According to the email, a new communications manager at DPS will be responsible for updating the department’s website and social media channels.

The second new position is the campus security officer manager who will manage non-emergency situations on campus, like lockouts and missing items, which do not require uniformed officers. According to the email, the SMFA and Boston Health Sciences campuses already employ CSOs.

Other upcoming changes that the email noted include welcoming a comfort dog to help during mental health and non-emergency incidents, a “new and less imposing” cruiser design, uniform patches that express the department’s “commitment to the community” and a survey, which is planned for next fall, to assess the community’s response to the aforementioned changes.

Smith closed the email by restating DPS and Tufts’ continued commitment to keeping the community safe and working toward an anti-racist institution.

“While we have made progress over the last several months in transforming the Department of Public Safety to support the university’s anti-racist goals, there is more ahead,” Smith wrote.

TUPD patrol cars are pictured in the Dowling Hall Garage on May 8.

MINA TERZIOGLU / THE TUFTS DAILY

Chloe Courtney Bohl Editor in Chief

– EDITORIAL –

Delaney Clarke Julia Shannon-Grillo

Managing Editors Ty Blitstein Abigail Vixama

Associate Editors

Emily Thompson

Aaron Gruen Ariana Phillips Madeline Wilson Aditya Acharya Madeleine Aitken Coco Arcand Peri Barest Olivia Field Skyler Goldberg Ella Kamm Maddy Mueller Michael Weiskopf Ava Autry Charlotte Chen Daniel Vos Executive News Editor Deputy News Editors

News Editors

Assistant News Editors

Mark Choi

Sam Dieringer Kaitlyn Wells Owen Bonk Jillian Collins Katie Furey Kendall Roberts Sam Russo Kate Seklir Tobias Fu Isabelle Kaminsky Maya Katz Layla Kennington Elizabeth Zacks Executive Features Editor Deputy Features Editors

Features Editors

Assistant Features Editors

Jack Clohisy

RaiAnn Bu Henry Chandonnet Ellie Lester Siavash Raissi Carl Svahn Emmy Wenstrup Blake Anderson Alexis Enderle Odessa Gaines Ryan Fairfield Nate Hall

Reya Kumar

Daniel Chung Idil Kolabas Gian Luca Di Lenardo Henry Murray Kristin Shiuey

Alexander Janoff

Brendan Hartnett Makenna Law Julian Perry Faye Thijssen Marianna Schantz

Keila McCabe

Arielle Weinstein Oliver Fox Ethan Grubelich Arnav Sacheti Bharat Singh Sam Dieringer Henry Gorelik Timothy Valk Michael Wallace-Bruce Executive Arts Editor Arts Editors

Assistant Arts Editors

Executive Opinion Editor Deputy Opinion Editor Opinion Editors

Editorial Editor Editorialists

Executive Sports Editor Deputy Sports Editor Sports Editors

Assistant Sports Editors

Ethan Steinberg Investigative Editor

Flora Meng

Peri Barest Avery Hanna Yanqing Huang Ian Lau Emilia Nathan Sarah Sandlow Chris Tomo Cindy Zhang Executive Science Editor Science Editors

Aaron Klein Executive Audio Producer

Natalie Brownsell Ian Lau

Executive Photo Editors

Julia Carpi Executive Video Editor

Odessa Gaines

Avery Hanna

Intentionality & Inclusivity Committee Chairs

Skyler Goldberg Education Committee Chair

Madeleine Aitken Mariel Priven

Social Committee Chairs

– PRODUCTION –

Charlene Tsai

Production Director

Maddy Noah Mike Kourkoulakos

Paavani Agrawal Max Antonini Brooke Chomko Alexa Hopwood Olivia Leviss Meghna Singha Olivia White Executive Layout Editors

Layout Editors

Avril Lynch Camilla Samuel Rachel Liu Christopher Vergos

Aedan Brown Emma Rao Caroline Vandis Sophie Dorf-Kamienny Sarah Goldstein Jack Maniaci Marlee Stout Michael Weiskopf

Liz Buehl Caroline Vandis

Executive Graphics Editors

Executive Copy Editors

Copy Editors

Assistant Copy Editors

Executive Social Media Editors

Evelyn Altschuler Executive Newsletter Editor

– BUSINESS –

Sam Berman

Business Director

Michelle Alizada Izzy Francis Erika Kim Ryan Sorbi

Kendall Roberts Kate Seklir

Ad Managers

Receivables Manager

Alumni Liaisons

UNIVERSITY

annual clery study reports crime, fire statistics

by Amelia Colafati

Staff Writer

The Tufts University Department of Public Safety published its Annual Fire Safety and Security Report for the 2021 calendar year, pursuant to the Clery Act of 1990. The report was distributed to the Tufts community via email on Sept. 30. Crimes included in the report cover everything from sex offenses and aggravated assault to liquor and drug arrests to hate crimes.

The Medford/Somerville campus reported seven burglaries, five rape offenses, five stalking offenses, three motor vehicle thefts and two instances of dating violence. The SMFA campus reported one rape, the Grafton campus reported one hate crimes-intimidation offense and the Health Sciences campus had four burglaries.

“The Clery Report … is a Federal mandate by the Department of Education that requires colleges and universities that receive federal funding to disclose certain crime statistics and fire statistics each year by October 1st,” Yolanda Smith, executive director of public safety, wrote in an email to the Daily.

The reported information is compiled from Tufts police reports and from other organizations on campus that keep track of crimes and fires, including the Office of Equal Opportunity and the Tufts Campus Security Authorities.

Tufts Emergency Medical Services does not report these crimes, according to Rebecca Moriarty. Moriarty, a TEMS EMT, stated that TEMS only works in treating patients.

“As far as TEMS involvement in the Clery Report, I don’t [believe] we have a specific or direct role in reporting as our training for TEMS is focused on providing patient care to patients in emergency situations – not reporting crime,” Moriarty, a sophomore, wrote in an email to the Daily.

The report includes data on crimes reported on campus property and on public property that is adjacent to campus. As long as the crime is reportable under the Clery Act, it must be declared in the Tufts report.

“The crime statistics include any Clery reportable crime regardless of who the perpetrator is,” Smith wrote. “Tufts must report to a national database overseen by the U.S. Dept. of Education. The DOE’s Campus Safety and Security website allows users to get data for one school, compare data for multiple schools, and download custom data.”

The Working Group on Campus Safety and Policing issued a report with recommendations to establish “a new vision for campus safety and policing at the university” in 2021, according to Smith.

“This vision called for a renewed and broader understanding of campus safety that encompassed the physical, psychological and emotional well-being of our entire community,” Smith wrote.

This working group came up with several recommendations, including increasing the visibility of the Department of Public Safety. They also recommended increasing training and orientations for new employees, including active shooter training, and increasing the use of digital technology to respond to and solve crime.

The pandemic influenced the numbers in the Fire Safety and Security Report too.

“Some factors that influenced a change in numbers were the COVID protocols placed within the communities,” Smith wrote. “As a result, people were more apt to call to report COVID violations such as large gatherings. These types of calls might have increased the statistics for alcohol referrals.”

Mike Howard, executive vice president of Tufts and chair of the Working Group on TUPD Arming, views the Fire Safety and Security Report as a useful resource for Tufts as it strives to keep the community safe.

“This annual report is a useful tool that provides our community with information about safety on and around our campuses as well as information about related university programs, policies and resources that are available to community members,” Howard wrote in an email to the Daily. “Public safety is a responsibility we all share, so the report helps to equip our community members with relevant information.”

NATALIE BROWNSELL / THE TUFTS DAILY A TUPD patrol car is pictured near the Medford/Somerville campus on Oct. 16.

Michelle Wu, MBTA manager testify at Senate hearing in Boston

HEARING

continued from page 1 dependable, clean and that gets you where you need to go without crazy delays,” Warren said.

Markey, who grew up in Malden, noted that greater Boston’s identity is “inseparable” from the T, calling the public transit system “the lifeblood of the region.”

“As any rider of the T can tell you, the MBTA has a long way to go,” Markey said in his opening statement. “Let this hearing today be an honest and unsparing account of the T’s neglect, as well as a first step towards making the T a vibrant, prosperous transit system.”

The subcommittee first called Nuria Fernandez, administrator of the Federal Transit Administration, to testify. The FTA conducted a safety management inspection of the MBTA’s rail system between April and June of this year, finding that the MBTA is understaffed and that the Mass. Department of Public Utilities failed in its duty to actively oversee the MBTA’s management.

“[The] MBTA was not adequately staffed, across the agency, to meet the demands of both an aggressive capital expansion program and the basic day-today safe operation of the system,” Fernandez said. “I feel that the system is safe and that people should continue to ride it. Yet, tough decisions will have to be made now to create a better, safer future.”

Following Fernandez’s testimony, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, Executive Director of TransitMatters Jarred Johnson, Chair of the DPU Matthew Nelson and MBTA General Manager Steve Poftak delivered statements and fielded questions from Warren and Markey.

Warren scrutinized Nelson and Poftak’s records, telling the former, “It is your job to make sure that the MBTA is doing its job, and you are failing,” and criticized the latter for not making safety risk decisions based on safety data.

“[T]here are a lot of reasons why safety risks on the T have grown over time,” Warren said. “But the only way out of this is with accountability. … If we don’t have that, then we are not going to have a T that gets better.”

Citing shutdowns and slow service, Markey asked Poftak to give a specific date when repairs to the orange line will be complete. Poftak declined to answer, saying, “If I put a date in place, it doesn’t prioritize safety, it puts pressure on field staff to make a decision that is not based on what is the safest condition in the field.”

Warren then asked Wu to elaborate on the effects of T delays and failures on riders. “The most obvious and devastating impact is the injury and loss of life,” Wu said. “This has been … driven by a lack of clear safety culture and decades of deferred maintenance.”

Wu added that T shutdowns have an indirect effect on the city’s economy and quality of life.

“When ridership goes down, that means more traffic for everyone,” Wu said. “That means the entire region is paralyzed, and so any question of safety hurts our residents and it hurts our economy.”

Johnson, whose organization TransitMatters advocates for improved public transit in greater Boston, noted that T shutdowns have a disproportionate effect on poorer communities.

“Residents in under-resourced communities are more likely to be hourly workers or be in precarious employment,” Johnson said. “So the unreliability of the service cuts … literally took money out of the pockets of these folks and left some of them vulnerable to termination.”

“Failures to competently manage and invest in the T have left many families without safe and reliable transit,” Warren said. “If this incompetence continues, the T is going to see more shutdowns, more delays, more crowding, more derailments and potentially more accidents.”

Asked about solutions to mitigate congestion, Wu said that “fare equity on the commuter rail system could be done tomorrow and would likely boost ridership on the commuter rail to then ease the congestion and the load and burden on other forms of transit and on traffic as well.”

Markey noted that a silver lining of the orange line shutdown was the expanded usage of the city’s BlueBikes, after Boston offered free 30-day passes to riders in August.

“We were expecting, with 30-day free BlueBike passes, that maybe eight or nine thousand people might take us up on that,” Wu said. “It ended up that 60,000 people claimed those free passes. … Before the shutdown, the BlueBike system’s daily ridership record was just over 18,000 rides in one day, and during the shutdown it was 47,000 rides.”

Warren closed the hearing by calling for systemic change within the MBTA.

“The people of the Commonwealth deserve a reliable transit system that works for them and works for their families,” Warren said. “And to achieve that vision, we need new leadership from top to bottom.

The front of Dowling Hall is pictured on Oct. 5, 2021.

MICHELLE LI / THE TUFTS DAILY

GRAFFITI

continued from page 1 students to take accountability for their shared spaces.

The email noted that these incidents will require the university to utilize resources to repair the physical damage.

According to the email, the Tufts University Police Department is now involved and is conducting an investigation into these instances. Once those responsible are found, they will be referred to the Office of Equal Opportunity and subsequently the Office of Community Standards, where they will discuss the violations committed through these acts.

The email encouraged anyone who has information about inappropriate behavior that does not align with community values and standards to reach out to her, OEO, the Division of Diversity and Inclusion, TUPD or the University Chaplaincy. The email stated that any information given will be handled confidentially and will be addressed in partnership with its sharer.

The email also listed a variety of support groups and services for those affected to reach out to. These include DOSA, OEO, DSDI, Counseling and Mental Health Service, the CARE office and Ears for Peers.

Despite the information included in the email, students are unsure about the extent of these incidents and how the university will address them on a larger level. Issues such as these do not come as shock to many who have followed the news of recent racist and antisemitic incidents by Tufts students.

In a Sidechat forum about the email, one student wrote, “I feel like these emails are just like ‘hey we need to send out an email because we feel like we are doing absolutely nothing tangible.’”

Another student wrote, “Let me justify a useless administration position so your tuition keeps funding admin bloat.”

Executive Director of Media Relations Patrick Collins declined to offer an administrative response to these comments.

In Photos: Beelzebubs perform in Tufts Daily Newsroom Concert Series