WOMEN’S LACROSSE
Nation mourns loss of artist, activist Nipsey Hussle see ARTS&LIVING / PAGE 3
Jumbos keep unbeaten streak alive with 2 more victories
Men’s lacrosse beats Ephs, Camels, remains undefeated see SPORTS / BACK PAGE
SEE SPORTS / PAGE 7
THE
INDEPENDENT
STUDENT
N E W S PA P E R
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TUFTS
UNIVERSITY
E S T. 1 9 8 0
T HE T UFTS DAILY
VOLUME LXXVII, ISSUE 46
Friday, April 5, 2019
MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.
tuftsdaily.com
Tufts Housing League meets with local mayors by Matthew McGovern Contributing Writer
Members of the Tufts Housing League (THL) recently met with the mayors of Medford and Somerville to discuss the impact of Tufts’ housing policies on their respective cities. Both meetings took place in the last week of February, and the university was uninvolved in the meetings, according to THL member and senior Nate Krinsky. THL hopes to meet with University President Anthony Monaco as well, but a planned meeting between the two parties has yet to occur. THL members Krinsky and Mauri Trimmer say the group met with the mayors to discuss the university’s ongoing payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) negotiations with the two cities, amid the expiration of previous PILOT agreements last June, as well as the school’s housing stock. “We wanted to talk to the mayors because they are the ones who negotiate, and we are their constituents too,” Krinsky said. Medford Mayor Stephanie Burke says her meeting with THL was informational in nature and did not yield any conclusive decisions. She hopes to discuss the university’s on-campus housing stock, which has not kept pace with undergraduate enrollment growth, sending more students to live in surrounding neighborhoods. “The conversation about additional housing is not a new topic,” Burke said. “As Tufts grows, I would like to see its on-campus housing grow, as well. Tufts understands the needs of the metro region when it comes to the housing crisis.” Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone noted the complexity of the housing problem
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Mauri Trimmer leads a chant during a protest against the administration’s tiered housing plan as part of a ‘Day of Action’ organized by Tufts Student Action and Tufts Housing League, among others, on Nov. 29, 2018. and emphasized his city’s commitment to meeting their residents’ housing needs. “We need everyone — cities, residents, nonprofits, universities, housing developers — at the table to talk about solutions,” Curtatone said in a statement. “It’s great to see such broad involvement, including from students on this issue.” Trimmer, a junior, told the Daily that the group’s meetings with the mayors were aimed at transparency. “We got verbal commitments from both mayors that housing was a priority,” Trimmer said. “The verbal assurance felt positive and reassuring.”
Meanwhile, local residents and students have urged Tufts to increase its PILOT payments. In the last PILOT agreement, the school gave each city $275,000 annually, a fraction of the revenue Tufts’ land would have generated if it were not owned by a nonprofit. Tufts Director of Community Relations Rocco DiRico said in an email to the Daily that the school is willing to pay more to both cities in its next agreement. “In the spirit of strengthening our partnerships, Tufts is willing to significantly increase our voluntary payments to both cities and we look forward to
continue to provide a number of benefits for Medford and Somerville residents,” DiRico said. Some of these benefits include access to fields for local sports teams, academic programs for middle and high school students, and admissions support for local students. DiRico says Tufts has used different strategies to increase the number of on-campus beds, including using current dorm spaces more efficiently and renovating existing buildings.
see HOUSING, page 2
Tufts to increase accessibility of Swipe It Forward for coming year by Noah Richter
Assistant News Editor
Tufts will implement changes to the Swipe It Forward program for the upcoming academic year in an effort to increase the program’s accessibility for students, according to Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate President Jacqueline Chen, who recently announced the program’s upcoming development. Swipe It Forward, a food bank program that collects donated meal swipes
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as a resource for students in need, was introduced in 2017 as part of an initiative to combat food insecurity at Tufts and increase efforts to help its students. The program, run by TCU Senate, Tufts Dining Services and the Office for Student Success and Advising (OSSA) allows students on the premium meal plan to donate one meal swipe and one guest swipe each semester and those on other meal plans to donate up to four meal swipes per semester. For breaking news, our content archive and exclusive content, visit tuftsdaily.com @tuftsdaily
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Students seeking to utilize Swipe It Forward can request up to six meal swipes each semester, according to Chen, a senior. Swipe It Forward, however, has been limited by its lack of resources. Chen highlighted that the current opt-in system results in a limited pool of meal swipes for students. “The way that it works now is that people have to opt in to donate [meal swipes],” Chen said. “It presents a barrier for students on the premium meal plan to actually go online and donate.”
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The coming change, according to Chen, will be to automatically deposit one meal swipe for every student on the premium meal plan, providing Swipe It Forward with over one thousand meal swipes to begin the year. By implementing this change, the Tufts administration says it is working to alleviate some of the issues that limit its effectiveness. Associate Director of Student
NEWS............................................1 ARTS & LIVING.......................3
see SWIPE IT FORWARD, page 2
FUN & GAMES.........................5 SPORTS............................ BACK