THE
VOLUME LXXX, ISSUE 3
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
MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, MASS.
tuftsdaily.com
Monday, September 14, 2020
Admissions programming moves online Bloomberg donates for fall semester, virtual campus tours $3 million toward construction of new Medford public library by Sam Klugherz
Assistant News Editor
ANN MARIE BURKE / THE TUFTS DAILY
The Academic Quad is pictured on Aug. 28. by Alexander Janoff News Editor
The Office of Undergraduate Admissions has adopted several virtual alternatives for prospective students, following an announcement in August that in-person campus tours would not be allowed for the fall semester due to the
ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and Massachusetts’ travel restrictions. In place of in-person visits, the admissions office has offered virtual information sessions, campus tours, student panels and “Java with a Jumbo,” a program that allows prospective students to speak with current undergraduates. “Admissions is contributing to the university’s efforts to promote
a safe and healthy environment for our enrolled students,” Joseph “JT” Duck, dean of admissions, wrote in an email to the Daily. He underlined that all in-person programming hosted by the office has transitioned to a virtual format, in compliance with the university’s policies. see ADMISSIONS, page 2
Tisch College reaffirms stance against racism, creates new first-year course, webinar series by Sarah Sandlow News Editor
Dean Alan Solomont (A’70) released a statement on July 16 outlining the steps the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life is taking to combat racism, including a new first-year course, webinar series and the sponsor of research in different focus areas. The statement follows a letter sent to the Tisch College community on June 1 condemning the recent acts of racial injustice. “Though raising our collective voices for justice is essential, it is not enough,” Solomont wrote in the June 1 letter. “We must take action. Our civic responsibility demands this of us, especially in times of trauma and struggle.” Some of Tisch College’s initiatives include doubling the Tisch Fund for Civic Engagement to allot half of the grant money to students who are specifically doing anti-racist work, according to Solomont. “We especially encourage students to apply for funding that will support projects related to racial justice,” Tisch College’s website states.
Tisch College also conducted an eight-week virtual webinar during the summer, titled “Navigating the Pandemic,” which had sessions devoted to issues of inequity, race and racial injustice, according to Solomont. Solomont enthusiastically praised students who have participated in Tisch College’s initiatives, saying they reflect the institution’s goals. “I think that [Tisch College] has been a place that students have come to who believe in social justice, who believe in fighting institutional racism and have used some of the work they do at Tisch to act upon those beliefs,” Solomont said. Tisch College has also worked alongside Tufts’ School of Medicine to expand the graduate school’s Common Book program. This year, they chose Ijeoma Oluo’s “So You Want to Talk About Race” (2018). The book is intended to be read by all medical school faculty, staff and incoming students, according to Jessica Byrnes, the program administrator at Tisch College. In prior years, the selected book was only chosen for first-year medical students to read, according to Byrnes.
There will also be a virtual event with the author later this fall that will be hosted through Tisch College’s Distinguished Speaker Series. Byrnes noted that the unique circumstances this fall have increased the number of events and speakers. “I think we have never had this many speakers or events in one semester before, so I’m excited for … just how many different experts we have who are going to speak on different topics,” Byrnes said. She added that Tisch College will evaluate its own administrative system. “… Within our own institution, [we are] looking at our own hiring processes, job descriptions … [and] seeing what we can be doing more to be a more anti-racist institution,” Byrnes said. In an email to the Daily, Peter Levine, associate dean of academic affairs, wrote that a new course called Civic Pathways has been created this fall for first-year students. Multiple departments are collaborating with Tisch College on see WEBINAR, page 2
Medford native Michael Bloomberg, former mayor of New York City and a Democratic candidate for president in the 2020 campaign, donated $3 million toward the construction of Medford’s new stateof-the-art public library last month. The new library, which is expected to open in the fall of 2021, will be named the Charlotte and William Bloomberg Medford Public Library after Bloomberg’s parents, who lived in Medford for more than 60 years. Bloomberg expressed his contentment that the new library will be named after his parents, who visited the library often when they lived in Medford. “It means a lot to Marjorie and me to have our parents’ names attached to an institution that was such an important part of our childhood, and that provides such important resources to people of all ages in our hometown,” Bloomberg said in a press release announcing the $3 million gift. Medford Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn emphasized that Bloomberg’s donation will make a significant impact in the Medford community. “We are so grateful to Mr. Bloomberg and the [Bloomberg] Philanthropies for this amazing donation,” Lungo-Koehn wrote in an email to the Daily. “The new library will be a space for residents of all ages to use for reading, learning, gathering, and creating, and it will have such a positive impact on our entire community for generations to come.” Holly Sargent, executive director of the Medford Public Library Foundation (MPLF), the nonprofit organization established to raise
private sector funds in support of the new library’s construction, expanded on the amenities that the new library will offer to the Medford community. “The library, of course, will be fulfilling its traditional purpose of ‘pathways to discovery’ with books, e-books, films, etc.,” Sargent said. “But it also will provide a lot of other things for the community that the community doesn’t have.” In addition to reading areas for adults, children and young adults, Sargent said that the new library, located on High Street, will feature a tech lab, a maker space, a multipurpose performance space, a local history room, a cafe and an outdoor terrace, among other amenities. The new library was designed by Schwartz/Silver Architects and is being constructed by G&R Construction, a company based in Quincy, Mass. The MPLF hosted a socially distant ice cream social in late August to celebrate Bloomberg’s donation and the campaign for the new library. C.B. Scoops and Colleen’s Ice Cream & Sandwich Shop, which are both located in Medford, served nearly 600 free cones in support of the new library. “People learned about the new library and celebrated a little bit about the Bloomberg gift, but also learned about how they could be part of the effort going forward,” Sargent said. The old library, which opened in 1960, did not meet accessibility standards, had a leaky roof and lacked sufficient electrical outlets, according to Sargent. In an effort to resolve the issues, community members gathered to help develop a plan for the new see BLOOMBERG, page 2
NICOLE GARAY / THE TUFTS DAILY
The building of the Medford Public Library is pictured on Sept. 13.
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