The Tufts Daily - Thursday, March 14, 2019

Page 1

‘Cogent Message’ examines higher education through art see WEEKENDER / PAGE 6

WOMEN’S LACROSSE

Jumbos beat MIT, Wellesley ahead of 1st home game

Women’s ski team shreds at nationals see SPORTS / BACK PAGE

SEE SPORTS / PAGE 11

THE

INDEPENDENT

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T HE T UFTS DAILY

VOLUME LXXVII, ISSUE 36

Thursday, March 14, 2019

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.

tuftsdaily.com

Cummings School student Tiffany Filler expelled for alleged grade hacking, maintains innocence by Austin Clementi News Editor

Tiffany Filler, a former doctoral student in her final year at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts, was expelled on Jan. 16 after a monthslong investigation by the university into her alleged grade hacking in the 2018 spring and summer sessions, according to a TechCrunch article written by journalist Zack Whittaker. Both Filler and Whittaker dispute Tufts’ charges of grade hacking. Since Filler’s expulsion, the Harvard Graduate Students’ Union-United Auto Workers (HGSU-UAW ) have been circulating a petition demanding due process for her. The petition cites potential discrimination based on Filler’s immigration status as well as Whittaker’s article in Filler’s defense. The petition has 347 signatures, close to 200 of which are from Tufts undergraduates and alumni. Filler has moved back to her home in Toronto since her expulsion and is currently looking for work or to return to another veterinary school, but she told the Daily that this will be difficult considering her expulsion. “I’ve been looking at different vet schools [to see] if I could transfer credits if at all possible … [but if ] universities see that expulsion notice, they’re

VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

The Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine is pictured. going to freak out,” Filler said. “Also, most of them require a dean’s recommendation and that’s not exactly something I can look forward to.” Filler was first notified of an investigation on Aug. 22, 2018, after Barbara

Berman, the associate dean of student affairs for the Cummings School, called her to the Grafton campus in an email. There, Filler met with Berman and Nicholas Frank, the associate dean for academic affairs.

“Dr. Frank and I need to meet with you at that time regarding an important and time­ - sensitive issue,” the email read. see FILLER, page 3

Somerville groups push for more payments from Tufts by Joe Walsh News Editor

As Tufts and Somerville negotiate a new partnership agreement, activists are pressuring the university to offer more robust financial contributions to its host communities. Two dozen community, labor and student groups signed a letter urging University President Anthony Monaco to “bargain in good faith” with Somerville. Tufts’ partnership agreements with both Medford and Somerville — which include payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT ) and community benefits — expired in June. Officials from Tufts and Somerville say negotiations for a new agreement are still in progress. “Negotiations are actively ongoing,” Somerville Director of Communications

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and Community Engagement Denise Taylor told the Daily in an email. “The City’s participation is being guided by the priorities outlined by the community.” As part of a new agreement, the school is prepared to “significantly increase” its payments to Medford and Somerville, Tufts’ Director of Community Relations Rocco DiRico said in an email to the Daily. Tufts gave each city $275 thousand in annual voluntary PILOT payments under the school’s previous five-year agreements. The school is exempted from property taxes on most of its landholdings due to its nonprofit status, but Tufts’ property would have netted Somerville an extra $6.6 million per year in 2014 if it were taxable, according to a city assessment. Somerville resident Joyce Shortt, a member of Somerville Mayor Joseph For breaking news, our content archive and exclusive content, visit tuftsdaily.com @tuftsdaily

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Curtatone’s PILOT Negotiating Team, said this PILOT figure is too low. “There was no question that $275,000 was a very modest amount, considering how much Tufts benefits from Somerville,” Shortt said. PILOT payments help pay for basic city services that Tufts uses, including Somerville’s fire and police departments, City Council President Katjana Ballantyne explained. Residents also noted that the school benefits from being in a desirable and conveniently located city like Somerville. Residents have expressed frustration that Tufts’ PILOT payments to Boston — which hosts the school’s medical campus — are significantly larger than its Medford and Somerville contributions. Tufts gave Boston about $584,000 in cash contributions last fiscal year,

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more than double its contributions to Somerville or Medford, even though the school’s property in Somerville is valued about twice as high as its Boston property, according to documents from both cities. The letter from local advocates suggested that Somerville use Boston’s model, which asks nonprofits to pay 25 percent of their tax bill if they were taxable, half in cash and half in community benefits. DiRico explained that the three cities use different property assessments and tax rates, so comparisons are challenging, though the school plans to keep its payments to Medford and Somerville equal. Alongside PILOT payments, Tufts offers in-kind benefits like athletic field

NEWS............................................1 FEATURES.................................4 WEEKENDER..........................6

see PILOT, page 2

FUN & GAMES.........................8 OPINION.....................................9 SPORTS............................ BACK


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