TUFTS HOCKEY
Tufts employees give to local charities as part of Neighborhood Service Fund grant program see FEATURES / PAGE 4
SEE SPORTS / BACK PAGE
Life and contradiction for Iranian women the subject of a recent photo exhibit at MIT see ARTS AND LIVING / PAGE 6
Tufts clinches playoff berth with tie against Bowdoin
THE
INDEPENDENT
STUDENT
N E W S PA P E R
OF
TUFTS
UNIVERSITY
E S T. 1 9 8 0
T HE T UFTS DAILY
VOLUME LXXI, NUMBER 21
tuftsdaily.com
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.
No More Noro: Norovirus outbreak is on the decline TCU Senate Education Committee looks to initiate new language minors
by Jesse Najarro
Contributing Writer
Approximately 72 students were infected with Norovirus last week, according to Margaret Higham, director of Tufts Health Service. She noted that the number of cases is decreasing and that she did not expect to hear of new cases emerging. Higham explained that this approximation may be an underestimation because some students are treated through Tufts Athletics, and others do not seek assistance from Health Service at all throughout their illness. Health Service sent out an email announcement on Feb. 11 notifying the student body of a Norovirus outbreak. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Norovirus can be transmitted through contaminated food, water or surfaces and through person-to-person or fecal matter. Symptoms of the virus include vomiting and diarrhea. A common source for the initial cases of the recent outbreak remains unknown, Higham said. “There is no indication that it comes from one specific location,” she said. “And it’s interesting it’s happening at the same time that there’s a sharp increase in Norovirus cases in Boston area.” She said that students who were diagnosed with the virus were told to stay in bed and given sick bags. She also said that there is medication that Health Service can give to some, but not all, affected individuals to ease the nausea. A large supply of sick bags had been distributed to students after the department had already ordered more bags and Tufts Emergency Medical Service (TEMS) received a number of bags as well, she said. Health Service and TEMS are two of many departments that have been working to address the Norovirus outbreak, Higham said, explaining that an interdepartmental approach was coordinated to address the outbreak with an emergency plan created by the university earlier in the academic year. The university-wide Norovirus response plan involves departments such as Dining Service, the Tufts University Police Department, the Office of Residential Life and Learning (ResLife) and Athletics, among others, she said. Prevalence of the virus continues to decline as a result of these interdepartmental efforts across campus to limit student exposure to fecal matter and vomit. According to Facilities Services’ Director Gary Hill, Facilities has been
Please recycle this newspaper
Rain 46 / 45
/thetuftsdaily
by Hannah Uebele
Assistant News Editor
PETRINA CHAN / THE TUFTS DAILY
working with ResLife to ensure proper sanitation in common areas, dining areas and living spaces on campus in order to prevent further spread of the virus. He said that Facilities Services has been working on frequent bathroom sanitation since the outbreak, noting that janitors have been cleaning bathrooms twice a day, rather than once a day per usual. “The chemicals that we use [regularly] are ones that kill Norovirus,” Hills said. Additionally, she noted that ResLife has designated restrooms, stalls and sinks specifically for the use of only infected students in order to contain the virus. Janitors then sanitize common surfaces, such as doorknobs, handles and other bathroom fixtures, and
For breaking news, our content archive and exclusive content, visit tuftsdaily.com @tuftsdaily
tuftsdaily
tuftsdaily
clean stalls twice a day. The janitors are given extra time to disinfect bathrooms and are paid for that extra time, he said. Higham added that Health Service’s current efforts involve prevention of the virus and education techniques surrounding it. She added that in response to last week’s outbreak, the department has been working on preventing the spread by educating students about the virus. Education about the virus’ behavior, mode of transmission, symptoms and hygienic practices have helped lessen the number of new cases, she said. “What we do for [infected individuals] here at Health Service is number one educate them,” Higham said. “[We tell them,] ‘this is what you have, and this is what you can expect.'”
Contact Us P.O. Box 53018, Medford, MA 02155 617 627 3090 FAX 617 627 3910 daily@tuftsdaily.com
After conducting a survey earlier this month to gauge student interest in major and minor programs, the Tufts Community Union ( TCU) Senate Education Committee is working to use survey results to advocate for the creation of new major and minor programs for undergraduate students. According to Rati Srinivasan, chair of the Education Committee, areas emphasized in the 268 survey responses were language minor programs, the Cognitive and Brain Studies and Linguistics minor programs and the creation of a new urban studies major. TCU Senator Chris Leaverton has been leading the push for the creation of minors in both Spanish and French, which he said survey respondents emphasized as an academic priority. The Department of Romance Languages does not currently offer minors in either Spanish or French for students in the School of Arts and Sciences. Special minor programs are available, however, for students in the School of Engineering, according to the department website. “I understand there would have to be some kinks worked out, but how I see it is that if you offer this, it would be a more viable option for some students who can’t maybe major in Spanish or can’t study abroad to get all those classes but still be able to get a Spanish or French component,” Leaverton, a firstyear, said. Srinivasan, a sophomore, noted that the committee has encountered more resistance than expected throughout the process of recommending these changes. “It would seem that something that increases a student’s educational opportunities, while not seeming to be that much of a burden to particular departments, should be something that is much more easily accepted, but as
NEWS............................................1 FEATURES.................................4 ARTS & LIVING.......................6
see MINORS, page 2
OPINION.....................................8 COMICS.....................................10 SPORTS............................ BACK