Tufts launches FIRST Resource Center, BEAST to enhance first-gen resources see FEATURES / PAGE 7
TUFTS ATHLETICS
Inside look as Tufts teams begin season
Urban festivals, art museums highlight Boston cultural scene see ARTS&LIVING / PAGE 12
SEE SPORTS / BACK PAGE
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VOLUME LXXVI, ISSUE 1
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T HE T UFTS DAILY tuftsdaily.com
Wednesday, August 29, 2018
MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.
News roundup: Last year in headlines by Charlie Driver News Editor
Last year, Tufts saw a continuation of established debates and drama, as well as the emergence of new issues that stand to affect the campus in the coming months. Here is a review of the key issues as they emerged. September Led by campus group United for Immigrant Justice, more than 60 students protested outside the Mayer Campus Center to demonstrate their opposition to President Trump’s planned cancellation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The Student Life Review Committee released its final report, the culmination of a period of reflection on Tufts social life that started with investigations and protests over Greek Life organizations during the 2016-17 academic year. The report found that the elimination of Greek Life was impossible at that moment but pledged that the university would work to promote alternative social spaces for students in the coming years. October Lengthy negotiations on a new con-
tract between Tufts and its part-time faculty concluded as the two sides reached an agreement hours before a planned walkout. The new five-year contract, which includes increased wages and job security, was later approved. November The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy student Carter Banker started a petition to remove formerWhite House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci (LA ’86) from the school’s Board of Advisors, on grounds that Scaramucci’s actions had been out of line with Fletcher values. Scaramucci would later resign from the Board. In a cease-and-desist letter, Scaramucci threatened to sue the Daily for defamation unless two op-eds, from the Nov. 6 and Nov. 13 issues, were retracted and an apology was given. The issue received coverage from the national press and the American Civil Liberties Union offered to give legal aid to the paper and the author of the op-eds, Fletcher student Camilo Caballero (F ’18). Nothing came of the threatened suit. The last round of findings and sanctions from the university’s investigation into
RAY BERNOFF / THE TUFTS DAILY ARCHIVES
Yoji Watanabe, ‘20, leads students in chants to support dining workers unionization on April 3. Greek Life organizations were released. In the resolution, Theta Delta Chi, also known as “123,” had its charter revoked. Zeta Psi and Delta Upsilon were suspended until September 2018, when, if in good standing, they will go into disciplinary probation. The Chi Omega sorority was placed on disciplinary probation until Dec. 6, 2018.
December The national organization of sorority Alpha Omicron Pi (AOII) withdrew the charter of Tufts’ Delta chapter in response to the chapter’s falling membership numbers. In 2016, the chapter lost half its members in see YEAR IN REVIEW, page 3
Tufts administration to implement tiered housing system in 2019–20 by Liza Harris News Editor
The university administration is facing rising controversy over a tiered housing system that will increase the price of the more attractive on-campus housing units available to students. The announcement is drawing protests from students who fear that the new system will lead to economic segregation on campus. The administration has stated that it will adjust financial aid awards in order to ensure that on-campus housing is accessible to all students. However, apprehension among the student body remains, as the student-run coalition Tufts Housing League ( THL) demonstrated by a petition with over 1,500 signatures, according to the petition, protesting the implementation of the tiered system. “We think [the tiered system] will result in economic segregation, which completely changes the culture on campus and is also fundamentally unfair and unjust,” Nathan Krinsky, an organizer for THL, said. “Your quality of living and housing shouldn’t depend on how much money you make.” Dean of Student Affairs Mary Pat McMahon explained that Dean of Arts
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and Sciences James Glaser and Dean of Engineering Jianmin Qu made the decision, noting that she and other “senior leaders” had also provided input. According to Glaser, the change in housing pricing will allow the university to better preserve its on-campus housing and other facilities.
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“The tiered housing system will enable the university to expand, invest, and better maintain our residential facilities, which is a priority for us,” Glaser told the Daily in an email. Other reasons for the change include similar practices at peer institutions. McMahon cited Boston University,
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Boston College, Wesleyan University and Cornell University as examples. “I think it’s important to ground us in what other schools are doing just so we can give ourselves context for the discussion,” Chris Rossi, associate dean of student affairs, said.
NEWS............................................1 FEATURES................................. 7 ARTS & LIVING.....................12
see TIERED HOUSING, page 5
COMICS.....................................19 OPINION.................................. 22 SPORTS............................ BACK