The Tufts Daily - Thursday, October 9, 2025 (Local Communities)

The Tuf T s Daily

Medford voters confused at polls due to census mishaps at preliminary election

Evan Vezmar News Editor

During the Sept. 16 preliminary elections for Medford City Council, multiple Medford residents were told that they were no longer active voters on the voter roll. Massachusetts law requires cities to send a census every January, requiring all registered voters to confirm that their place of residence is accurate, with voters only being marked as active voters after the Medford Elections Commission

In thIs edItIon, we focus on aspects of lIfe In Medford, soMerv Ille and Boston, the cItIes surroundIng tufts’ caMpuses we hope these storIes InspIre students to actI vely partIcIpate In theIr local coMMunItIes and encourage coMMunIty MeMBers to engage wIth tufts vIsIt tuftsdaIly coM to read More of the daIly’s local coverage

— the tufts daIly ManagIng Board, fall 2025

receives the census. However, when some voters went to the polls in September, they were told they were inactive, despite having mailed the census.

Medford resident Josh Terrill went to vote in the preliminary elections when a poll worker told him that he had been marked as an inactive voter, even though he filled out and returned the census by mail.

“[A poll worker] said, ‘Look, the census is how we keep

see VOTING, page 3

New ‘Eat Out in East’ initiative aims to support local businesses in East Somerville amid increased ICE activity

Angela Palma and Josué Pérez Contributing Writer and Executive News Editor

Editor’s Note: Some quotes were originally in Spanish and have been translated into English.

Eat Out in East, a new initiative led by Somerville Ward 1 City Councilor Matthew McLaughlin, intends to get residents to support local businesses — many of which are immigrant-owned — in East Somerville. The program comes amid increased activity from Immigration and Customs

Enforcement in Massachusetts, particularly in Somerville.

Weekly meet-ups are hosted on Wednesdays from 4-8 p.m., highlighting immigrant-run restaurants in the neighborhood.

The initiative comes in response to a new immigration crackdown in Massachusetts launched by ICE in September.

Since then, Somerville residents have reported a rise in arrests and ICE activity, notably the arrest of Magdaleno Pineda Avelar.

“I know there’s been a big community response,”

McLaughlin said. “If it weren’t for the fact that residents were there watching this, we wouldn’t know this guy’s name. They ended up finding out the person’s name because his friends saw it on Facebook and reached out to the city.”

According to McLaughlin, 70% of East Somerville businesses are immigrant-owned. Three businesses have closed in East Somerville since President Donald Trump took office.

Medford School Committee reviews policy for generative AI use in classrooms

The Medford School Committee approved the first reading of a new policy, “Use of Generative AI in Medford Public Schools,” on Sept. 22. Though the policy still must pass a second reading before it is formally adopted, the committee voted to include it in school handbooks, offering guidance on how teachers and students can choose to responsibly use artificial intelligence while the committee takes time to adopt the policy.

Erika Reinfeld, the school committee member who proposed the resolution, said her goal was to establish consistent guidelines for AI use across the district.

“The goal of the guidelines was to create a framework and a context in which groups of teachers could make their own determination of what technology supported their educational goals in that grade level and subject area, across the board,” Reinfeld explained.

Reinfeld said the process began with a survey sent to Medford residents to assess opinions on AI in education. According to Reinfeld, the survey received about 120 responses.

“There was certainly a contingent of ‘This should be nowhere near education,’”

Reinfeld said. “But overwhelmingly, the response was, ‘This is here, and we have to teach people how to work with it [and] understand it.’”

Following the survey, Reinfeld formed an AI task force with several educators and staff to create resources that help teachers make informed decisions about AI use. The task force referenced the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s guidance, focusing on areas such as data privacy, ethical use and bias reduction.

, page 3 see AI, page 2

Carly Cohen Staff Writer

KUNAL BOTLA / THE TUFTS DAILY

Medford High School is pictured on Oct. 20, 2024.

Somerville to decide on mayoral term extension and major charter overhaul in November

Deputy News Editor and Contributing Writer

Originally published Oct. 7.

Two questions will appear on Somerville’s Nov. 4 general election ballot: one proposing to extend the mayoral term from two years to four, and the other proposing updates to the city charter, which has remained largely unchanged since 1899.

If approved, the mayoral term extension would take effect beginning in 2028. The charter would be approved upon passage by city residents.

The mayoral term extension ballot question, while initially included in the proposed city charter and later removed, will be voted on separately from the charter. Although Mayor Katjana Ballantyne was in favor of including the extension in the proposed charter, the City Council ultimately voted to exclude it.

“This change would bring Somerville in line with other regional communities that have four- year mayoral terms … to create a foundation for better advancing multi-year efforts with consistent leadership,” Grace Munns, deputy director of communications for Ballantyne’s office, said.

The new charter features modern language, the elimination of outdated policies, increased oversight powers for the City Council, a reformed budgeting process and a requirement for regular charter review every 10 years, among other changes. It also mandates the creation of two committees: one to explore the potential implementation of ranked-choice voting and another to explore publicly financed campaigns.

“We did a wholesale rewrite of the charter,” Ona Ferguson, a member of the Charter Review Committee, said. “It’s organized completely differently, and it

uses modern language, whereas our existing charter is over 100 years old.”

The simplification of the charter’s language is intended to enhance government transparency in Somerville, a shared priority of both the mayor and the City Council.

“I think if you went and tried to read the charter … you’d probably have a hard time understanding what it even means,” Ward 1 Councilor Matt McLaughlin said. “We’re trying to use plain language now to make it accessible to everyone.”

The current charter also reflects outdated practices, such as failing to recognize women as voters and defining the census as counting only voting-age men.

“That alone is a good reason to think about redoing this,” McLaughlin said.

Councilors also sought to increase their authority in the new charter. The current charter provides the council with limited checks on the mayor, leaving their oversight powers largely ineffective.

The proposed charter mandates annual independent audits by certified public accountants, conducted on a set schedule and presented to the City Council. In the existing charter, the mayor had discretion over whether to conduct an audit and who performed it.

“Let’s say we have a mayor who is corrupt … one way the mayor is going to hide that if they’re stealing city funds is by having their own audit, having their own person do it,” Beverly Schwartz, a resident chosen by the City Council to serve on the Charter Review Committee, explained. “The independent audit is incredibly important for an accountable government.”

If the proposed charter is adopted, it will also grant the City Council greater power in confirming mayoral appointments. Under the old charter, the council’s

confirmation rights were largely ineffective, as the mayor could extend temporary appointments indefinitely and leave vacancies open.

“The charter has very explicit deadlines, and the City Council can choose to extend a temporary appointment if that’s needed,” Schwartz said. “But if it’s just the mayor trying to get around confirmation, the City Council can say, ‘No, time to put somebody real in there.’”

“In the past, we’ve rejected an appointment and the mayor got to keep them indefinitely,” McLaughlin said.

He added that even with expanded oversight powers, Somerville will still operate under “a ‘strong mayor’ form of government, with some [provisions] to make sure that the City Council is not completely ignored.”

If approved, the charter will also create a committee to develop a ranked-choice voting system for future Somerville elections, a reform widely supported by residents. In 2020, 72.6% of Somerville residents voted in favor of ranked-choice voting in a statewide Massachusetts

ballot question, which ultimately did not pass.

The Charter Review Committee considered directly adopting ranked-choice voting in the revision but instead chose to mandate the formation of a committee to discuss implementation.

“We didn’t think we had enough information about how [rankedchoice voting] would play out,” Ferguson said.

The new charter would also create a study committee to prepare recommendations for the public financing of elections in Somerville, with the goal of “making running for office in the city more accessible to potential candidates,” Schwartz said.

The proposed charter will also reform the city’s budgeting process. It will require two public hearings, one at the start of the process and one at the end, giving residents an opportunity to provide input both before the budget is drafted and when it is presented.

The ballot is expected to provide voters with a summary of the charter changes, and the city will also conduct outreach, according to McLaughlin.

New AI policy for Medford schools passes first reading

AI continued from the front

To ensure compliance with privacy laws, the policy states that only vetted AI tools will be approved for classroom use.

“The district is a member of the Massachusetts Data Privacy Alliance,” Molly Laden, the director of library, media and technology for Medford Public Schools, said. “[The data privacy agreement] essentially states that they meet these student data privacy agreements, which is that they don’t collect data, they don’t market [data].”

Despite these safeguards, Medford School Committee member John Intoppa raised concerns about the ethical implications of AI in education.

“It’s just plagiarism in my opinion,” he said. “When you cite generative AI, you cite the

machine learning model, and you don’t cite the sources that it pulled from, so it seems like a shortcut.”

In reaction to these concerns, Laden emphasized that the proposed policy allows teachers to decide whether to include AI in their curriculum, using district-provided guidelines and an approved list of platforms.

“Teachers are responsible for making sure expectations are clear, what’s allowed and what’s not,” Laden said. “That’s true for anything that they have students do — they should be specific in direction: ‘Yes, you can use [AI] for this, but you cannot use it for this.’”

Intoppa also voiced concern about AI in creative subjects like art.

“There’s no ethical way to use it in art design unless [students] are creating their own machine learning model and putting in their own data,” Intoppa said.

Reinfeld agreed that AI’s usefulness will vary depending on the subject.

“To [committee] member Intoppa’s point, I cannot see a scenario in which an art teacher is going to say, ‘Yes, AI tools are great.’ He’s right — that is theft,” Reinfeld said.

She added that teachers will have full discretion over whether or not to use AI.

“I think it comes down to trusting teachers,” Reinfeld said. “[This policy is] making sure all the pieces are in place so that they can make those decisions in a responsible way.”

The proposed policy also emphasizes responsible and ethical use of AI tools by both students and teachers. Laden said that addressing bias and misinformation remains a challenge.

“The issues of bias and critical thinking are huge, and we’re saying we need to make sure that information that’s gener-

ated through AI is checked for accuracy and bias and misinformation and potentially negative content. How that should be checked? I don’t know,” Laden said. “We know AI checkers are not that reliable. … We want to promote critical thinking.”

While debate continues about the role of AI in schools, Reinfeld said she hopes the policy will help students and teachers use the technology productively.

“I think AI is often compared to the microwave,” Reinfeld said. “Everyone said the microwave was going to ruin cooking. And it did ruin some things. But we still have chefs. We would really like students to be empowered to make the meals that they need, and the teachers to help them do that.”

The school committee and AI task force plan to continue meeting with students and parents in focus groups before presenting a final version of the policy in the coming months.

Anika Parr and Theo Weller

CARYS YANG / THE TUFTS DAILY

Somerville City Hall is pictured.

In response to ICE, Councilor Matt McLaughlin looks to support East Somerville businesses

In response, McLaughlin worked with local nonprofit East Somerville Main Streets and Connexion United Methodist Church to get the initiative started.

“East Somerville Main Streets, which is a nonprofit in the community with the Connexion church, came to me with the idea of doing Eat Out in East, which is not only encouraging people to come down and eat, but also coming by the church and volunteering and finding out what they can do to get involved,” McLaughlin said.

Every Wednesday, residents are encouraged to visit the Connexion church before any business of their choosing on the dining guide. The church also runs an almost weekly event called “Come to the Table Community Meal,” where it caters food from some local businesses and distributes the food to residents who come.

While community dinners had previously only been once a month, Connexion started providing dinner during the pandemic every two weeks due to growing need. Connexion and Project Soup, a program within East Somerville Main Streets, additionally increased volunteer roles, involved local restaurants in catering and began hosting events weekly except at the beginning of the month.

“We have a rotation of about four East Somerville restaurants in our catering for the meal, but we want everybody to get business,” the Rev. Christy Wright, a

provisional deacon and a food justice advocate with Connexion, said. “This is our vision for Eat Out in East: [to] make it a street festival, make it a big celebration of who we are as a community and really enjoy local food, local culture, get to know folks.”

McLaughlin expressed optimism about the collaboration between businesses, Connexion Church and East Somerville Main Streets.

“It’s great to have community groups assisting in making sure

the businesses are being taken care of, and we’re looking out for people in the community,” McLaughlin said.

Wright’s work with the weekly meals at Connexion has become intertwined with the Eat Out initiative. She said that it has become a way to combat ICE presence and demonstrate support for immigrant-owned businesses.

“I know that local businesses have been impacted by ICE

presence, and so this is another way for us to combat that … to encourage people to be out in East Somerville,” Wright said. “We’re not really seeing ICE in West [Somerville], as far as I’m aware. So bringing folks to East [Somerville], I think is really important.”

One employee at a small business said that rumors of ICE being present in Somerville have caused people to eat out less and cook at home instead for their

own safety and out of fear of being arrested.

“Most people choose to consume and cook at home as much as they can because oftentimes there are rumors that ICE is present in certain streets,” she said. “I say this, myself included, people are afraid and decide to stay home instead.”

As immigration enforcement fears ripple through local communities, small businesses are feeling the effects as they have reported seeing less activity and patronage.

“[Our client base is] 50% American and 50% Hispanic. Recently, we’ve only been working with our American customers because there are already few Hispanics who want to come,” the employee said. “There are times when … of the 50% with whom we worked, perhaps 25% [of customers] are coming, which is half of what we had.”

The employee added that businesses and residents have an added degree of caution as they go about their work and daily lives.

“We all have to be careful and cautious, but we have to continue with our lives despite the fear we have,” she said. “Life goes on.”

McLaughlin said that he wants residents to show up on Wednesdays to support immigrant-owned businesses and the neighborhood as a whole.

“I would just encourage people to come down 4–8 p.m. in East Somerville, stop by the Connexion church, because it’s not just about eating out,” McLaughlin said. “It’s about getting involved in the community.”

Some Medford residents experienced issues at polling stations during September preliminary election

husband, William Graves, was told he was an inactive voter.

people on the active voter roll, but no problem. If you’re comfortable showing us your ID and marking down your address, you’re good to go,’” Terrill said.

Medford resident Emily Sterling-Graves experienced a similar situation when her

The census requires only one household member to send the census on behalf of the entire family, so Sterling-Graves was surprised that she was an active voter, but her husband was marked as inactive.

“When we went there, my husband was told that he was

inactive as a voter,” SterlingGraves said. “He was asked for identification, which has never, ever happened before, and he hadn’t brought any identification.”

While Graves was eventually allowed to vote, Sterling-Graves expressed concern that other residents who did not have identification or proof of residence may have left polling stations without voting.

“I can’t say who ended up getting discouraged and left after being told that they needed to show ID,” Sterling-Graves said. “If it was just one thing that happened to my husband, I would have said it was a blip. But I understand from numerous sources that it was happening a lot. … It just really seemed very disorganized at best and something that would have the potential to prevent people from voting.”

James Blatchford, elections manager for the city of Medford, offered some reasons why residents may be marked as inactive prior to an election.

“No. 1 reason for being inactive is you did not fill out the census, or we did not get it back

in this office, [which] is probably more accurate,” Blatchford said. “So if you did mail it, but it never got back to us, I can’t activate you because I need a physical signature.”

Blatchford also said that while an incomplete census form, incorrect address or unreturned mail could inactivate a voter, going to the polls to vote is the best way to ensure activation, as you would have to show proof of address. Once a person’s census is confirmed by the city, they are active for the remainder of the calendar year.

For residents who do not send the census back, the Medford Elections Commission sends a confirmation card notifying voters that they are no longer on the active voter roll. This provides residents with two chances to confirm their address prior to voting, and either one of these forms can be mailed to the elections commission or dropped off at Medford City Hall.

Terrill highlighted the importance of individuals taking the time to activate their status and to check their voting status on the website of the

secretary of the commonwealth of Massachusetts.

“It goes back to personal responsibility,” Terrill said. “I think the resources are there to find out if you’re an active voter.”

Blatchford emphasized that anyone who is registered to vote remains eligible to vote, and he reiterated the thorough work that the elections commission does prior to elections to verify voter registration.

“[Voters] don’t know the preparation time that it takes for my office to get ready, the packaging and preparation, getting things to go to the polls, the deep level of detail and checking that we do when a vote-bymail ballot comes in,” he said.

Blatchford underlined the importance of trusting elections officials and the elections process to provide accurate information for residents and Medford officials.

“The more people feel comfortable with what happens in the elections office, the more ease they can have at the end of the day that we are reporting accurate results,” Blatchford said.

SOPHIA KHAN / THE TUFTS DAILY

Taqueria Montecristo in East Somerville is pictured on Monday.

KAITLYN WELLS / THE TUFTS DAILY

A polling site at Medford City Hall is pictured on Oct. 19, 2024.

ARTS & POP CULTURE

High Fidelity: The 10 best album openers of all time

“Girls & Boys ” by Blur (Parklife; 1994)

“High Fidelity” by Nick Hornby is a book about the music-obsessed — about the kinds of guys who spend their free time making desert-island mix tapes. The main character, Rob, spends hours reorganizing his record collection based on different themes and aesthetics. I’ve decided to start the column that Rob wishes he could have had. I’ll review new albums, write about some of my favorite albums with upcoming anniversaries and, most importantly, I’ll make lists.

I thought there would be no better way to begin the column than by rolling out an abridged list of the best opening songs on albums ever made.

Honorable mentions:

“Like A Rolling Stone” by Bob Dylan (Highway 61 Revisited; 1965)

“Mama Tried” by Merle Haggard (Mama Tried; 1968)

“I Want You” by Marvin Gaye (I Want You; 1976)

“I Ain’t No Joke” by Eric B. & Rakim (Paid in Full; 1987)

“96 of My Life” by JME (Grime MC; 2020)

No. 10: “Purple Haze” by The Jimi Hendrix Experience (Are You Experienced; 1967)

Nothing sounded like this in 1967, and for good reason: No one could play like Hendrix. A perfect start to a classic album.

No. 9: “Let’s Stay Together” by Al Green (Let’s Stay Together; 1972)

I challenge you to find one person who doesn’t like this song. Or a single setting where this song doesn’t work.

No. 8: “Blitzkrieg Bop” by Ramones (Ramones; 1976)

Everyone knows this song. They don’t remember the first time they heard it; they just know it. It’s fun as hell, and then it’s over before you know it.

No. 7: “Straight Outta Compton” by N.W.A (Straight Outta Compton; 1988)

“You are now about to witness the strength of street knowledge.” And with that, a new genre of hip-hop was born.

Ice Cube and Eazy-E sound like they’re shouting directly at you, and Dr. Dre’s production is relentless.

No. 6: “American Pie” by Don McLean (American Pie; 1971)

Don McLean would never make a finer song. Spawning decades of lyrical interpretation, “American Pie” is a seminal American classic.

No. 5: “London Calling” by The Clash (London Calling; 1979)

The perfect encapsulation of The Clash’s lyrical ethos and Joe Strummer’s sneer is in full force. An anthem.

No. 4: “Can’t Stand Me Now” by The Libertines (The Libertines; 2004)

An argument between the lead singers set to jangly guitars and slurred vocals. It’s endearing and mindless fun at the same time.

No. 3: “Sunday Morning” by The Velvet Underground and Nico (The Velvet Underground and Nico; 1967)

It’s hard to imagine a world where this song didn’t exist. At the same time, this could be released now, and no one would bat an eye.

No. 2: “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” by Gil Scott-Heron (Pieces Of a Man; 1971)

A soul song, a jazz song and an early rap song. It’s relentless, filled with cultural allusions. An unraveling depiction of what it meant to be marginalized in America. An anthem for the idealistic and for the hopeful patriot.

Somerville’s Bow Market finds beauty in the small

Annika Pillai Executive Arts Editor

Tucked into Somerville’s Union Square, Bow Market is proof that good things really do come in small spaces.

Part open-air mall, part food court, part art experiment, it’s built inside a converted storage building. What started in 2018 as a vision to turn an underused lot into something better has since grown into a thriving center for over 30 small, local businesses — many of them artist-, chef- or independently-owned. Their motto is simple: “Small is beautiful, with the belief that the small businesses run by

individuals in a community are beautiful.”

The layout further reflects its creative spirit: Small storefronts curve around a central courtyard, making the space feel intimate but alive. The vibe is casual — less like a traditional mall and more like a walk through your most interesting friend’s favorite places. There are plenty of shops worth exploring, but a few stood out during my visit.

Sidequest Books & Games is a fantasy-lover’s dream — it is a queer- and women-owned bookstore with a focus on sci-fi, fantasy and tabletop role-playing games. It’s cozy and welcoming, full of books

that feel more carefully chosen than your typical Barnes & Noble. It strikes a rare balance between a retail space and a gathering spot for readers, gamers and creatives alike.

Just a few doors down is The Bright Spot, a pastel-toned boutique that’s home to Goldie Ceramics. It’s the kind of place that makes you want to replace every mug in your kitchen. Think smiley face cups, striped vases and handmade objects that manage to be playful without being tacky. They also host ceramics workshops, giving you a chance to get more directly involved and connect with the art behind the products.

For jewelry, Finding YoYo was a highlight. The shop offers a well-curated mix of bohemian and minimalist styles — from funky, colorful pieces to solid gold classics. What really stood out was the owner’s warmth; she encouraged people to try things on, offered honest opinions and treated the process more like a conversation than a traditional sales pitch. I walked out with the sense that the shop was built not just to sell but to connect with people through jewelry.

Then there’s KEEPER, a chainstitch and embroidery shop and studio run by embroidery artists Amelia Fitch and Sam Lee. This shop was unlike anything I had ever come across before — it combines vintage fashion with custom embroidery, offering on-the-spot chainstitching that can transform denim jackets, workwear and canvas into one-of-a-kind pieces. The shop combines floral embroidery, hand-lettered details and vintage fabrics for a look that’s both unique and thoughtfully crafted.

Green Tiger & Co. adds a leafy, grounding element to the mix. It’s part plant store, part zero-waste refillery and part home goods shop, filled with candles, planters, journals and sustainable essentials. The shop promotes mindful living — they ask you to slow down and create a home that feels intentional. The refill station for soaps and household products is a nice touch, and the aesthetic is calm and earthy without feeling overly curated.

Of course, it wouldn’t be Bow Market without good food.

No. 1: “Thunder Road” by Bruce Springsteen (Born to Run; 1975)

This is the song that made “The Boss” a symbol of the everyday American. No album ever starts more tactically than Born to Run, transporting you to the heart of America, full of average people trying to become a little bit better. “You ain’t a beauty, but hey, you’re alright/ Oh, and that’s alright with me.” It’s alright with me too, Bruce.

I stopped by Nagomi Bento, a small kitchen offering authentic Japanese bento boxes. Founded by Nagisa Ikemura, the place feels personal and focused. I tried the spicy tuna onigiri — warm rice with a savory tuna filling and just the right amount of kick. It was simple, comforting and flavorful, everything a small bite should be.

For something sweet, Maca serves fresh, small-batch macarons from a tiny, 320-squarefoot, almost entirely pink storefront. They keep the door shut to maintain ideal baking conditions, which somehow makes the experience feel even more special — like you’re being let in on a secret. I tried the pistachio macaron: crisp on the outside, chewy in the middle and perfectly nutty. The flavors rotate weekly, and they offer drinks, too, making it a great final stop.

Bow Market’s central courtyard ties it all together. Bright yellow seating and patio tables invite strangers to share tables, and what starts as a quick sandwich from Mike & Patty’s can easily turn into a whole afternoon of wandering. (That’s exactly how I ended up there — and left with a beaded necklace I hadn’t planned on buying.)

At night, the space softens. Twinkle lights glow overhead, floral garlands spill from the upper floor and quiet conversation drifts through the air. It’s not polished, but it feels alive — and that’s the charm. Bow Market is not just a cluster of stalls. It is a reminder that community can be found in the strangest of spaces — including an abandoned storage building.

VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

A record player is pictured.

BHAVANA ETIKELA / THE TUFTS DAILY

“Maca” in Bow Market is pictured.

Kasra Salehi Contributing Writer

Cleanups, collaboration and controversy: Tufts Health Sciences in Chinatown

Boston’s Chinatown district will provide you with fresh groceries, soapy facials, rows of restaurants designated by their bright signs and sidewalks lit up by red lanterns. As the last major Asian enclave in the New England region, Chinatown also provides a home for many Asian Americans who desire an intimate community.

Beneath the exterior of bright lights and friendly faces, however, you’ll find a much more nuanced picture. Many residents are struggling to make ends meet amid rising prices and the influx of commercial real estate.

“We’re afraid that 10 years down the line, we don’t know what’s gonna become of Chinatown,” Debbie Ho, director of nonprofit Chinatown Mainstreet and lifelong resident of the district, said. Ho, who interacts with business owners and residents throughout the neighborhood, echoes the common sentiments of fear and discomfort surrounding the ongoing changes to the area’s historic identity.

While the neighborhood has historically offered affordable housing for a variety of cultural demographics — including Jewish, Italian and Syrian workers — it is becoming increasingly harder for residents to make a living here. Chinatown faces additional challenges, including overcrowding, gentrification and housing shortages.

The Tufts Health Sciences campus — located in the heart of Chinatown — has been making an effort to help preserve the area and provide relief for its residents. While their initiatives have been met with support from many in the neighborhood, others cite Tufts as one of the root causes of some of the district’s issues.

Tufts’ expansion into Chinatown began in 1949, when the university purchased and renovated former garment factories at 120 and 136 Harrison Ave. in downtown Boston for its new graduate school location. Today, the center of Chinatown houses four graduate programs: the School of Medicine, the

Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, the School of Dental Medicine and the Graduate school of Biomedical Sciences.

In the late 20th century, the New England Medical Center, a forerunner to Tufts Medical Center, planned to buy and construct a parking garage on a small plot of land in Chinatown called Parcel C. In response to this plan, Chinatown residents took to the streets, organizing a campaign protesting against the urbanization of their neighborhood. As a result of community protests, the proposed parking garage was rejected by the Boston Redevelopment Authority, resulting in a decisive victory for Chinatown residents in their fight against institutional expansionism.

Decades later, controversy still remains, with some professors and students criticizing the university in the Daily for their role in advancing gentrification through

civic life programs at the Health Sciences campus, explained that Tufts initiatives are divided into two main categories: those driven by students and those driven by faculty. The main facility-led program, Addressing Disparities in Asian Populations through Translational Research, hopes to use community-based research to improve the physical and mental health disparities of Asian American populations.

In addition to research, faculty in the program encourage students to get involved in the neighborhood. ADAPT has inspired a first-year course at the Tufts University School of Medicine, where students are able to learn about community partners and collaborate on health topics identified by the community itself.

Students studying gentrification at the Tufts program created a list of restaurants that led the school to reconsider its annual Cherish Chinatown Restaurant Challenge. This program encouraged local dining by offering

volunteering opportunities in Chinatown. Through the Music and Medicine Collaborative, students perform for local communities. In Jumbo’s Kitchen, medical students teach key nutritional concepts to children. Other popular programs include tutoring at the Josiah Quincy Upper School and volunteering at the Asian

building dorms and expanding medical facilities in the region.

Nonetheless, Tufts has seemingly been responsive to feedback from the community, and they maintain a wide variety of programs to advance needs in Chinatown.

Program Manager of Tisch’s Jennifer Greer-Morrissey, program manager of Tisch College’s

raffle tickets for each purchase at a restaurant in the area.

“They created a guide to locally owned restaurants, because what they were finding was that some of these bigger chains are buying up space,” Greer-Morrissey said. “[These chains are] still bringing money to the community and so on, but it’s really driving up rent costs for these smaller, locally owned businesses.”

The students’ research highlighted the complications of the issue, inspiring Tufts to consider reexamining the program and potentially make their own guide in the future.

In regards to gentrification, Ho believes that it is a complex issue.

“It’s gonna happen no matter what neighborhood you’re in … [and it’s] how we become diverse,” she said. “We’re hoping that [these] folks will come in and buy and eat locally.”

Tufts’ other main program is the Chinatown Wellness Initiative. Students are able to get involved with a variety of

Task Force Against Domestic Violence’s family shelter.

In regards to student involvement, Greer-Morrissey credits Tufts for attracting students with an interest in civic engagement.

“Students have said, ‘This is why I was excited to come to Tufts – because I won’t just be learning [biochemistry] and how the lungs work, but I’m really going to be engaged in a community,’” GreerMorrissey said.

Student co-chairs of community service at the School of Dental Medicine, Rana Sultan and Jamyla Elquiero Palomar, corroborated this point.

“People [are] just very eager to help,” Sultan said.

Tufts often partners with organizations that also have a more hands-on role in the community. For one of their largest initiatives, Chinatown Clean Up, Tufts partners with Chinatown Mainstreet for a yearly day of cleaning.

According to Palomar, at such events residents tend to be grateful for the help.

“People from the community walk up to us and thank us [for] things that we think are just pretty small, like picking up some trash or … planting some plants at a school,” Palomar said.

Ultimately, Greer-Morrisey believes that Tufts has a responsibility to help with preserving the area.

“I think there is an awareness that we take up a lot of space in the very small historical neighborhood, and that we want to be good neighbors,” she said.

Ho says she is thankful for Tufts initiatives, while admitting they are constricted by cultural differences, making their efforts to assist — though well-meaning — not always appropriate.

“They try their best to assist and to help create programs but … it’s hard to work with a community [given] language barriers,” Ho said. “It’s just hard to educate people with different ideas.”

One of the issues that the community faces, which remains unaddressed, is the housing crisis — Ho describing it as the one of the main issues faced by residents.

“Although there has been expansions throughout the years, I still see that we are still densely populated. It’s like we’re pushed into one box,” Ho said.

The construction of high-end housing — as well as changing government qualifications for work— makes an expensive bid for many residents, who struggle to properly support and take care of their families after rent and taxes.

“I’d like to see more expansion for Chinatown to include the part of that South End corridor that they’re wanting to develop,” Ho said. “We need more retail, Chinese stores, restaurants … [and] there isn’t a really good senior center here.”

While there is lots of work to be done to understand the interactions with Chinatown, Tufts students can engage in community efforts. The sixth annual Chinatown Community Cleanup Day will take place in two weeks, on Oct. 25 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

“We hope that everybody will join in and help with the community cleanup,” Ho said.

Gretta Goorno Managing Editor

VIA FLICKR

Paifang Archway is pictured.

GRETTA GOORNO / THE TUFTS DAILY

Auntie Kay & Uncle Frank Chin Park is pictured in Chinatown on Sept. 23.

VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Tufts University School of Dental Medicine is pictured at night.

IN PHOTOS: COMMUNITY DAY

PHOTOS BY: SAMANTHA POKORNY, STELLA JEONG, AMELIA VANDER MAY

Munching with Max

Porter Square

Max Druckman

Steph and Klay. Batman and Robin. Mario and Luigi. Every dynamic duo features a main character and a trusty sidekick. While these sidekicks often don’t get the attention they deserve, their contributions are equally imporant.

In local community terms, this dynamic plays out between Davis Square, a hub of Tufts off-campus life, and Porter Square. This ‘other square,’ located just half a mile south of Davis within the Cambridge city limits, is often overshadowed by its Somerville-based counterpart. Nonetheless, in recognition of this Daily special edition, I thought I’d show some love to the second Splash Brother.

In order to bask in the summer weather that has thus far pervaded October, my friends and I decided to make the just-under-30-minute walk over to Porter Square. Our first stop was Black Ruby, a restaurant that offers a cuisine I’d never previously encountered, Thaistyle burgers. As soon as I saw the menu, one thing caught my eye — the Summer Special “Thai PB & J Burger.” (Yes, these are the types of things that catch my eye.)

Featuring Thai peanut sauce, blackberry jam, arugula and crispy onions, the burger hit the spot. The patty was juicy and perfectly cooked, and the blackberry jam was both sweet and savory. Though I did not really taste the crispy onions and the arugula was a little overbearing, the key element of the dish was the peanut sauce. Normal peanut butter, for once in its glorious history, would not have sufficed. The peanut sauce offered a unifying force, tying the whole burger together. It was tangy and hearty, serving as the bridge between the sweet jam and the tender burger. A novel concoction and a killer burger.

The only thing I will dock Black Ruby points for is that their burgers don’t come with fries. That’s right, burger with no fries. Luckily, former Deputy Sports Editor Zachary Gerson offered me one of his, which was quite good.

The only way to follow up a good burger, naturally, is ice cream. So, we made the five-minute trek to Honeycomb Creamery. Honeycomb offers a unique atmosphere, and its flavor selections rotate often. The limited menu and overabundance of fall flavors (insert eyeroll) left me unsure of what to choose. Eventually, I settled on Peanut Butter Fudge Crunch and Honey Lavender.

I’m not sure what possessed me to try Honey Lavender, but it was certainly not my best decision. I did not feel the

Rivalries in the community

Mark Knopfler’s song, “Going

Home: Theme of the Local Hero,” provides Newcastle United fans with a sense of local pride. While not as mainstream as Premier League football, Tufts host communities of the Medford/Somerville area — and beyond — provide plenty of intense rivalries from the professional stage down to the local community. All of which, in the eyes of some fans, define the true meaning of a ‘local hero.’ In the same spirit, I’ve compiled a guide of the greatest local sports games happening within the local area fit for Tufts students, as well as Medford, Somerville and Arlington residents alike, to attend.

Turkey Bowl

High school Thanksgiving football and Massachusetts have been synonymous for over a century. Although the rivalry between Medford and Somerville was discontinued in 2010 after a reorganization of the Greater Boston league, both rivals have since regained their respective Thanksgiving day opponents, with Somerville High set to face off against Cambridge

lavender haze “creepin’ up on me” as Taylor Swift sings. The taste was so flat that you could’ve told me it was any random fruit-flavored ice cream, and I would’ve believed you.

Luckily, just as it did at Black Ruby, peanut butter saved the day. Each lick of the Peanut Butter Fudge Crunch was like biting into a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. It was that good. Whatever variety of peanut butter you prefer — creamy, crunchy or chunky — they were all represented in this flavor.

SPORTS

Rindge and Latin. Since the reorganization, Medford High has historically played Malden High on Thanksgiving day, with kickoff for both games set for 10 a.m. on the holiday.

The oldest standing high school football matchup in the entire country is also conveniently located within suburban Boston. Needham High and Wellesley High began their Thanksgiving rivalry back in 1882. Wellesley leads the three-century spanning series 66–61–9.

The Beanpot

Our Division I university Boston counterparts compete in The Beanpot, an annual college hockey tournament at TD Garden. The Beanpot is a single-elimination hockey tournament that includes Boston University, Boston College, Harvard University and Northeastern University. In the tournament’s history dating back to 1952, Boston University has been the most successful of the programs within the tournament, winning the cup a staggering 32 times since its inception.

High school basketball

Like Thanksgiving football, the Tufts Classic is another high school rivalry between both boys’ and girls’ basketball teams of the Medford and Somerville high schools. Both sets of teams get to simulate the atmosphere of the Tufts varsity teams by playing in Cousens Gymnasium.

While the game hasn’t been scheduled yet, expect the 2026 game to be the first weekend back for the spring semester.

As always, my gut reactions: Black Ruby PB & J Burger: a surprising combination that works wonders.

Honeycomb Honey Lavender: at least the scoops were generous?

Honeycomb Peanut Butter Fudge Crunch: Scoop there it is!

So, I hope I’ve taught you two things tonight: Never doubt peanut butter. It is inevitable. Don’t be afraid to visit a new location.

Tufts is lucky to be in a culinary haven, surrounded on all sides by

top-notch dining options. So, in appreciation for our host communities, get out there! Have a Thai hamburger! Suffer through Honey Lavender ice cream! You’ve only got four years to eat your way around Medford, Somerville and Cambridge, so you might as well start now.

Max Druckman is a junior studying international relations and entrepreneurship. Max can be reached at max.druckman@ tufts.edu.

The rivalry

The rivalry to end all rivalries. We wouldn’t have done our due diligence if we had not mentioned this one. New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox is a storied rivalry in professional sports ever since the ‘Curse of the Bambino,’ where Babe Ruth was sold to the Yankees, leading to an 86-year Red Sox championship drought. While there was no ‘Red October’ for that period of time, the rivalry has only grown and remains the most

historic in U.S. professional sports history.

While the sun might have set on the 2025 Red Sox season after a Wild Card exit against the Bronx Bombers, look out for plenty of rivalry series scheduled next year, both at Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park.

From century-old Thanksgiving football matchups to the icy battles of The Beanpot and the timeless clash between the Red Sox and Yankees, local rivalries are

embedded in New England sports culture from the professional down to the local level. Local high schoolers carry decades of pride before them in their unassumingly storied sports history and these games embody what it means to be a true local hero — rooted in community, competition and unwavering passion.

Brian Becker is a junior studying computer engineering. Brian can be reached at brian.becker@tufts.edu.

GRAPHIC BY RACHEL WONG

Brian Becker

Love to Hate

GRAPHIC BY ISRAEL HERNANDEZ

Sends junk email to

Not good

Lil ___; artist behind second half of 64A 13 Weapons, in Latin 14 ___ Sophia: Turkish mosque

Marine mammal 17 Explore the woods with H.W.'s son? 19 Poet Pound

Google alternative 21 Some Mercedes -Benzes 22 Rapper Central 25 Type of neural network used by ChatGPT: Abbr. 27 Hatchback for Watergate successor? 34 Hoops org. 35 French sea 36 Fortune-telling prefix with "sayer"

Informal approvals

Teenage Mutant ___ Turtles

Litigant

Hit the hay 45 Activist ___ B. Wells

Test for college srs. 48 Marshall Plan man's meta movie?

Mature

Hip-hop album for a peanut farmer?

"Dancing Queen" group

Words mouthed to a TV camera

They hold your horses

Automobile; hint to second part of 27A

Wise one

Top job in DC; hint to first part of 17A, 27A, 48A, 64A

Spanish for "love"

Shaken instrument

Melville's "___-Dick"

Water, in Spanish

Place for mascara

___ Wednesday

Affirmative votes

Salt, to a chemist

Antlered

___-jongg 53 "Sweet but Psycho" singer ___ Max 56 Elder Obama daughter 60 Scored 100 on

‘In the Neighbourhood’ by Ezra Holzapfel

The Editorial Board

The last day of Starbucks’ operation in the Joyce Cummings Center was marked by confusion and disappointment, as the closure was announced with only two days’ notice. The grab-and-go, pickup only cafe not only provided fast drinks and bites to students and faculty going in and out of one of Tufts’s busiest buildings, but it was also a place for socialization, studying, networking and conversations over coffee and sweet treats. Starbucks was also a convenient place for the numerous guests coming in and out of the JCC while touring Tufts and a hot spot for families that visited. The grief from much of the student body is justified: Tufts lost a popular multipurpose cafe that served a wide range of audiences.

Despite this, coffee and pastry enthusiasts need not

OPINION

Editorial: The Daily’s guide to spectacular sips

fret: Now is the perfect time to explore the greater Medford and Somerville area, support local cafes and connect more with the community around Tufts. The Editorial Board has put together a few recommendations to help you get started.

First, we have the Hillside cafes: Tasty Cafe & Kitchen, Tamper Cafe and Danish Pastry House. Their proximity to the JCC makes them great replacements for meetings that took place there, and they are just close enough for students and faculty to grab quick drinks and bites in between classes. While the livelier, more social atmospheres of Tasty and Tamper make them great for chatting and catching up with friends, Danish Pastry House offers a cozier, quieter setting that is perfect for studying, having a coffee chat with someone you admire or meeting with a professor.

Somerville’s many ‘squares’ have some great java spots as

well! Ball Square is about a 15-minute walk from the JCC (also accessible via Green Line!) and is home to True Grounds, Sound Bites Cafe and Pound House Coffee. Pair your latte with a sandwich or pastry from True Grounds, a classic American breakfast at Sound Bites Cafe or some Vietnamese cuisine at Pound House Coffee. But run, don’t walk to these spots — these cafes close at 2 or 3 p.m. each day.

The illustrious Davis Square, which also lost its Starbucks the same day we did, has plenty of other coffee options. Nine Bar Espresso is sure to give you a much-needed pick-me-up. Diesel Cafe and Revival Cafe+Kitchen also have delicious options in a groovy atmosphere. Mr. Crêpe offers a late-night option for hangouts and cram sessions.

Finally, there is the often-forgotten Teele Square, located near the lower west

side of campus. It is home to a small, yet beloved local chain, Magnificent Muffin & Bagel (with another location in West Medford), known for its delicious breakfast sandwiches, as well as Yego Coffee, with a remarkable rating of 4.9 stars on Google. The Buzzin’ Bean, with a diverse menu inspired by African, South American and Asian cuisines, also provides a vegetarian option!

The closing of Starbucks has left many Tufts students wondering what will come next: Will another global or national chain move in? Will a local cafe take its place? Could The Sink expand into the JCC? Or will yet another Tufts building lose its cafe entirely — just as Curtis Hall lost the Brown and Brew Coffee House in 2017 and Miller Hall lost the REZquad in 2011?

We, the Daily’s Editorial Board, hope the space can be used to support local businesses. Local businesses are

great at preserving humanism and culture, which is just what we need. Trust and kindness can be rare nowadays, especially at large chain cafes.

The relationship between the college, the college town and local businesses in the college town is one that is often overlooked, yet important to all three. Tufts, a school with so much of its identity defined by its location in the Medford and Somerville area, must think about its role in supporting these local businesses. The closing of a global chain seems like the perfect moment to do so. While we don’t expect a new local cafe to appear overnight, perhaps these recent closures will encourage more students and faculty to visit nearby local spots instead, potentially helping those businesses grow in the meantime and fostering a strong connection between Tufts and the local community.

Reap the entrepreneurial benefits that Boston has to offer

tremendous value in fostering a stronger entrepreneurial culture at Tufts.

Originally published Oct. 7.

On Sept. 19, I attended the Cross University Student Innovators Mixer at Tufts, hosted by the Derby Entrepreneurship Center, right after 2025 Startup Boston Week. While Elaine Chen, director of the Derby Entrepreneurship Center, kindly told me that I, too, am an ‘innovator’ despite never having started a business myself, I knew I was part of the majority of Tufts students who have never seriously considered launching a startup at this stage in life. To put it bluntly: There are far fewer startups coming out of Tufts compared to many other universities, and I’m one of the reasons why there isn’t one more.

As a liberal arts university in the Northeast, Tufts isn’t particularly known for teaching students how to achieve hyper-pragmatic or business-oriented ends as much as it is known for cultivating a student body with strong character and civic awareness. We can’t really compare ourselves to schools in the San Francisco Bay Area, where the phrase ‘AI startup’ is probably immersed in everyday life. Nonetheless, despite this geographic and cultural distance from major startup hubs, I still believe there’s

This past summer, I met many founders who pushed me to reflect on the merits of entrepreneurship. They were at different stages of the business cycle, running B2B, B2C and B2G ventures across industries like artificial intelligence, consulting, automation and film production. However, they all shared remarkably similar attributes: charisma, goal orientation, acute market awareness and the impressive ability to concretize and execute highly abstract ideas. While these qualities aren’t exclusive to entrepreneurs, the nature of their work uniquely cultivates them. I find it inspiring to be around people with such qualities, and I think Tufts students would benefit greatly from being part of a community that embraces and learns from such a mindset.

As I’ve discussed in a previous article, Tufts lacks a strong business education department, which limits opportunities for students to develop and pursue startup ideas. To better promote entrepreneurship and help more ideas materialize, there are a few first steps the university can take. First, the curriculum could be reformed to better foster entrepreneurial thinking. Many economics courses currently lack coding components, making it harder for students interested in

business to develop the technical and analytical skills needed for innovation. There are also very limited financial modeling classes, and one of the only ones available — financial accounting — doesn’t count toward either the economics major or the finance minor, leaving students with little incentive to take it. The structure of the entrepreneurship minor could also be improved. Currently, it is composed almost entirely of three-hour-long classes, which can deter students who are interested but hesitant to commit to such large time blocks, like myself.

Still, despite limited resources that are currently available at Tufts, students should be encouraged to take greater advantage of the entrepreneurial opportunities in the Greater Boston area. As one of the world’s leading hubs for biotechnology, research and innovation, the city presents endless opportunities that Tufts students — situated in the middle of it all — can capitalize on. With universities like Boston University, Harvard University, MIT, Northeastern University and Boston College all hosting business and management schools, and Babson College — a school wholly dedicated to entrepreneurship education — located in Massachusetts,

Tufts students have access to an incredible network of both successful entrepreneurs and student founders. The Greater Boston area is also filled with startup labs and founder/hacker houses quasi-affiliated with these universities that students can engage with. There’s no shortage of resources. What’s needed is greater visibility, and Tufts should ensure students are aware of and encouraged to make use of these external opportunities and partnerships.

I think all dreams materialize through a mix of drive, courage, wishful thinking and at least some reassurance that practical professional resources exist to help make them happen. At Tufts, we don’t lack creativity or

ambition. What falls short are the avenues for us to effectively use the resources available, and the transparency about what those resources actually are. As a result, many dreams never have a chance to grow. Tufts and the Derby Entrepreneurship Center’s priority should thus be to promote startup events and entrepreneurial culture more actively, teaching students how to make effective use of the incredible opportunities that Boston offers for innovation. In doing so, we can inspire more student founders and cultivate a more balanced campus community composed not only of critical, civically-engaged thinkers but also of pragmatic, action-oriented builders.

The Tufts Daily is a nonprofit, independent newspaper, published Monday through Friday during the academic year and distributed free of charge to the Tufts community. The content of letters, advertisements, signed columns, cartoons and graphics does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Tufts Daily editorial board.

EDITORIALS: Editorials represent the position of The Tufts Daily Editorial Board. Individual editorialists are not necessarily responsible for, or in agreement with, the policies and editorials of The Editorial Board. Editorials are submitted for review to The Tufts Daily Executive Board before publication.

VIEWPOINTS AND COLUMNS: Viewpoints and columns represent the opinions of individual Opinion editors, staff writers, contributing writers and columnists for the Daily’s Opinion section. Positions published in Viewpoints and columns are the opinions of the writers who penned them alone, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Daily itself. All material is subject to editorial discretion.

OP-EDS: Op-Eds provide an open forum for campus editorial commentary and are published Monday through Friday. The Daily welcomes submissions from all members of the Tufts community; the opinions expressed in the Op-Ed section do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Daily itself. Opinion articles on campus, national and international issues should be 600 to 1,200 words in length and submitted to opinion@tuftsdaily.com. The editors reserve the right to

appear in the Daily. Authors must submit their telephone numbers and day-of

ADVERTISEMENTS: All advertising copy is subject to the approval of the editor

Linda Huang Chair of the Editorial Board

KUNAL BOTLA / THE TUFTS DAILY

The Derby Entrepreneurship Center at Tufts University, housed in the Joyce Cummings Center, is pictured on Oct. 23, 2024.

Cat-didates or candidates? What a cat election tells us about the state of politics

On Sept. 16, a new, special mayor was announced in Somerville: one who emerged from a tight, grueling race over the summer, in a campaign that had residents sitting on the edge of their seats. Oh, and the preliminary elections for Somerville mayor happened too.

During the summer, a special election in Somerville captured the attention of online netizens across various media platforms. No, it wasn’t the recent preliminary election; it was a campaign for the fictional title of ‘Bike Path Mayor’ on the Somerville Community Bike Path, where Minerva, a long-haired black cat who campaigned on a single-word slogan — “CRIME” — claimed victory against other furry, feline cat-didates.

It’s no coincidence to see this rise in popularity of grassroots animal politicians, from our resident bike path mayor

to the viral Mayor Max III in California, alongside the general downward sliding of approval rates for human politicians in the past couple of decades. Through the microcosm of our host community Somerville, we can see this phenomenon clearly demonstrated.

Breaking national headlines in early July, this fluffy campaign put Somerville, Mass., on the map, garnering coverage from People, The Guardian and The Boston Globe. Most of its attention, however, came from social media platforms, with posts reaching half a million likes on Instagram and 2 million views on TikTok. Ironically, the actual preliminary election, which narrowed the pool of Somerville mayoral candidates before the municipal election in November, was held on the same day the bike path mayor results were released. Yet the preliminary election only had a turnout rate of 23.37%, a decline from the municipal election four years ago.

This mock mayoral election has certainly been entertaining to watch and fun to see it serving as a creative outlet to unite animal owners in the community. Furthermore, because the race’s center is the bike path, which has been littered with dozens of campaign lawn signs, it is drawing a great deal of attention to itself. As a Tufts student, it’s also heartwarming to see so much attention being drawn towards a community so close to campus.

I’m sure it’s easy to attribute the explosive popularity of the mayoral race to one of the many viral animal content pieces that circulate on social media in our digital age. However, I would argue that there is a larger implication with this rise. If you look at the comment sections of other viral animal politicians, you would often find comments like, “The only politician I can trust,” under a TikTok of Mayor Max or, “The only member of parliament that the

whole country can get behind,” from The Sun’s video coverage of Larry the Downing Street Cat. Both of these comments received thousands of likes, showing how widespread this outlook is amongst individuals.

Given the results of the presidential election last year, I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling voter fatigue and frustration with the current political landscape. It’s difficult to stay optimistic if every time I turn on the news or doomscroll social media, I watch America’s political landscape descend further into what seems like incomprehensible chaos, especially as a part of the new generation of young voters. With the tidal wave of Generation Z participation in the 2024 presidential election and our overwhelming presence on social media platforms, it’s impossible not to notice a fatigue this year in local elections.

Another reason for poor voter turnout, according to University of Pennsylvania political scien-

tist Daniel Hopkins, is that the media itself — specifically its coverage — has caused people to shift their attention away from local politics. He observed how, as Americans transition from printed and local news to the internet and cable television, we are also leaving behind sources that usually provide state and local information. This is highly ironic. Living in the digital age, where we all have a wealth of information at our fingertips, how is it that our generation has become increasingly detached from the communities we have the most access to?

Perhaps it’s easier for us to stay invested in a casual cat campaign; after all, they are silly and absolutely adorable. But this shouldn’t distract us from engaging in human politics. Although the recent news can dissuade us from believing that our vote has any real impact on policy, that shouldn’t stop us from getting our voices heard anyway.

Jachin Lam Staff Writer

VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS A cat standing on the press podium at the White House is pictured.

Climate change in our cities

Kylie Liggett Contributing Writer

As the effects of climate change become increasingly visible, cities face unique challenges but are also positioned to be leaders in sustainability and adaptation. Some of the most prominent effects of climate change in cities include rising sea levels and increased temperatures — as well as higher rates of heat waves — which are exacerbated by the urban heat island effect, where urban areas experience warmer weather than rural areas. Urban areas also experience greater food and water scarcity than their surrounding areas.

Flooding is an issue that threatens Boston specifically, but this risk is not shared equally. The communities that are the most susceptible to flooding are Boston’s low-income neighborhoods in public housing projects that were built on landfills. It’s also possible that the Amelia Earhart dam, which separates the Boston Harbor from the Mystic River, could be overwhelmed by 2050. According to the 2025 Medford Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment, these hazards are most likely to impact “adults over 65 years old, children under 5, people with limited English proficiency, people of color,

Dissertation Diaries

Chantal Aaron

William Nguyen

Welcome back to the fifth installment of “Dissertation Diaries.” This week, we will be highlighting Chantal Aaron, a fifthyear Ph.D. student in The Elizabeth Byrne Lab at the Tufts Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.

Originally from Jamaica, Aaron moved to the United States to attend Ferrum College in Virginia, where she obtained her bachelor’s degree. There she met a biology professor who introduced her to basic neuroscience research and encouraged her to pursue further education in this field.

After her undergraduate studies, Aaron moved to Massachusetts and spent a year working in a drug lab, analyzing samples and testing drugs. Eventually, she did a post-baccalaureate program at Boston University to gain more experience in neuroscience. During her time there, she worked with the rhesus monkey brain, studying memory and the effects of aging.

Currently, Aaron is in the Byrne Lab, which revolves around opioids and transgenerational epigenetic effects. More specifically, her work revolves around the long-term behavioral effects of prenatal opioid exposure on offspring.

The opioid epidemic emerged in the ’90s when Purdue Pharma began

people of low and moderately-low income, people living with disabilities, and people with less than a high school education.”

Sea level rise is not the only impact of climate change that Boston must face. In Somerville and Medford, models are projecting an increased number of days over 90 degrees Fahrenheit in the summers and increased precipitation intensity, which means that although the total precipitation may not drastically increase, we’ll have more rain in shorter periods of time, making flooding more likely.

In New England as a whole, we’re also seeing increased cases of vector-borne diseases, such as Lyme disease, and declining snowmelt, which impacts crucial water sources. On top of this, there are also changes in the timing of the seasons and foliage, which means fall is coming later and more erratically. This could directly impact the revenue from tourism that New England relies heavily upon. Additionally, New England’s oyster and lobster industries are also in trouble, as these species are incredibly temperature sensitive and have already begun to migrate north to Canada.

While cities produce 70% of the world’s carbon footprint because

marketing the drug OxyContin. Investigations and legal battles have since revealed that, despite their knowledge of the drug’s addiction potential, they invested a huge amount of money and resources into the drug’s promotion. This marketing campaign contributed to the current opioid epidemic as the drug was overprescribed and millions of people have since developed opioid-use disorders.

In the lab, Aaron uses a rat model to study the prenatal effects in female rats. They are exposed to oxycodone, an opioid, using a method called intravenous self-administration.

“There is [an] active and inactive lever, and they actually learn to voluntarily intake [oxycodone],” Aaron said. Animals cannot be classified as having an ‘addiction, but this method is one way of monitoring addiction-like phenotypes.

The animals learned to press the active lever three weeks prior to pregnancy and, as the pregnancy progressed, they pressed the lever significantly more, nearly doubling their oxycodone intake throughout the course of the pregnancy.

One of the consequences of oxycodone intake during pregnancy that has risen is litter size. While a healthy litter size in rats is typically 10 to 14 pups, Aaron mentioned, “With the [oxycodone] moms, their litters will sometimes be 5 pups. … We will see lower body weights in the offspring.”

As the offspring age, they go through a similar process as their mothers, but with intravenous administration of sucrose pellets instead of oxycodone. “The male offspring — they have a higher

of their high levels of population density, this also provides the opportunity to be pioneers in resource efficiency. At their best, cities can serve as hubs for innovative sustainability by investing in climate-friendly infrastructure.

Take, for example, the city of Lima, Peru, which has recently implemented fog-catching technology and automated irrigation to try to address the issue of water scarcity. While fog capture has not fully solved the issue of a lack of clean drinking water, local organizations successfully centered local communities and proved that fog is a viable water source that can help address the lack of adequate water infrastructure. This technology is even more valuable given that Lima is one of the world’s only megacities located in a desert.

Another prime example of sustainability in cities is Stockholm’s public transportation system. Stockholm’s public transportation has run completely on renewable electricity since 2017, making it a pioneer in clean energy and one of the first cities to switch fully to carbon-neutral public transportation. This drastically improves the city’s air quality by reducing the amount of carbon dioxide and volatile organic compounds that are emitted. The process

motivation. So they learn to press quicker or significantly different than the control male groups,” Aaron said of the observed results.

The rodent offspring are tested during adolescence and adulthood due to great development and reorganization in the brain. Similarly, during this time period, humans have a developing prefrontal cortex and experience synaptic growth; this time period is also when risky behaviors are typically observed.

Aaron performs many western blots, which are brain punches of certain regions, to study protein expression and certain receptors linked to enhanced reward motivation. To look at gene expression, she also utilizes polymerase chain reaction, a technique that amplifies numerous copies of a specific segment of DNA to allow them to be studied in greater detail.

These experiments can be used to better understand the molecular impacts of substance abuse in humans.

Neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome consists of the shortterm impacts infants experience due to being exposed to drugs via the placenta during embryonic development. When born, they are actively going through withdrawal from drugs, leading to seizures and irritable crying.

Studies have also shown that oxycodone reduces white matter in the brain, impacting cognitive abilities and motor skills. The brain has different lobes, and myelin allows for insulation as well as easy transmission of information to different regions.

began in the ’80s when many still struggled to believe that climate change was a problem that needed to be addressed through urban planning. Now, they are aiming towards fossil fuel-free maritime traffic by 2030, demonstrating an impressive commitment to clean energy in all areas.

In Boston, Medford and Somerville, there has also been a push to implement more sustainable technology. For example, the MBTA claims to have a plan to switch to fully electric buses by

2040. Furthermore, Boston is not only focused on mitigating emissions but also on adapting via the Climate Ready Initiative, with detailed plans in place for each of their five coastal neighborhoods. This has been done through raising street levels, building berms and requiring that condominium developments on the harbor install ‘aqua fences,’ which are similar to sea walls — all necessary steps considering that the pace of sea level rise in Boston is expected to triple.

White matter is the myelination that occurs.

After years as a doctoral candidate, Aaron shares that behavioral research, especially when working with animals, can be very intense because it can involve being at the lab seven days a week during parts of the experiment. She also mentioned how the overall process is repetitive, as troubleshooting an experiment can take months.

Aaron also mentioned the emotional burden of behavioral research. “When you work with animals, you want to make sure that their well-being is taken care of, so that can be challenging emotionally,” she said.

Inspired by mentors who “significantly chartered or directed the

flow of [her] life,” Aaron hopes to work in academia, such as in a small liberal arts college like the one she went to.

Finally, she shared a piece of advice for undergraduate students interested in research or working toward a Ph.D.: “If you really want to study a certain thing or work on a certain thing, try to network and never give up.” Finding a mentor can be a pivotal point in the process, as their guidance can help you figure out the process, just as Aaron’s mentors influenced her journey to where she is now.

VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

A skyline of Boston is pictured.

COURTESY OF CHANTEL AARON Chantal Aaron is picture.

William

A rule of three: Jumbos channel collective fire in fall finish

time, playing better and better with every match,” he recalled.

After back-to-back weekends of marathon tennis, the Tufts men’s tennis team closed out its fall slate at the 2025 Intercollegiate Tennis Association New England Regionals, hosted at the Vouté Courts in Medford. The event capped a season marked by growth, experimentation and the steady emergence of a new generation of Jumbos who understand that victory means much more than standings or seedings.

Across the three-day competition, Tufts placed multiple players deep into both the main and “B” draws. Senior co-captains Sacha Maes and Alex Ganchev advanced to the semifinals of the main doubles draw, and sophomore Nico Tremblay and first-year Jackson Rich each reached the “B” singles final in an all-Tufts contest that resulted in Rich’s first collegiate title.

The Jumbos may not have reached the national ITA stage like last year, but this fall season delivered something more lasting: the development of core habits, mutual trust and team unity that will carry them through the spring

The standard bearer

After another deep postseason run with Ganchev, Maes reflected on the team-first mentality that guided the weekend. “It’s definitely nice after these two weekends to look back,” Maes said. “It’s nice we’ve gotten a lot of matches and competition under our belt. You never really know where you’re at [until then]. Sure, we can play practice matches amongst each other, but it’s always a lot more fun and more productive if we’re able to play other schools.”

The duo’s semifinal run, ending in an 8–5 loss to Williams, mirrored the grit they had shown all season. “We were growing into the tournament the whole

“Unfortunately, it didn’t go our way in the semifinal, even though I felt like we did everything we could to prepare. Sometimes it just doesn’t go your way, but we’ll be back even stronger.”

For Maes, team success was measured in attitude, not outcomes. “Everyone showed just really good fighting spirit,” he said.

“We had a lot of guys go deep in the [third set] against tough opponents. It’s never easy to always come on the court with the same discipline, but I thought everyone showed that this weekend.”

Even so, Maes believes growth depends on accountability. “If we’re looking at controllables, maybe it just could have been a bit more team cohesion,” he added.

“We were kind of looking back and seeing other teams always keeping their guys accountable.

It’s definitely tough, but we want to make sure that everyone knows their role on that day and is able to show up at every minute.”

This emphasis on communication has already taken form.

“We’ve kind of started that by each coming up with a list of things that we have to work on,” Maes explained. “We’ve split it up into categories — mental, tactical and technical — and we’ve had each guy focus every week on one or two of those things because it helps you have clarity.” Sharing goals with teammates, he said, builds trust. “It’s very good to be also vulnerable with each other. Having that ability to feel comfortable and show your kind of vulnerabilities, weaknesses, share those with other guys, so that you can work on them together.”

And for a senior closing out his final fall run, reflection came naturally. “Yeah, that was my last ITA regional. You don’t always realize those things before or even

during. It almost kind of hits you after,” Maes admitted. “But if this was going to be my last fall event, there’s no team I’d rather do it with. I think we’ve really started to build something special.”

The greatest show

In his first collegiate fall, Rich provided Tufts fans with a glimpse of the future. The firstyear stormed through the “B” draw, defeating Tremblay in the title match 7–6, 7–2, 6–1, with a steadiness far beyond his years.

Rich reflected on the weekend: “I would say I’m feeling pretty positive right now. It’s great to get a lot of matches in. It’s always great to compete and be at a tournament with the team,” he said. “It definitely helps build the team culture, especially for the [firstyears], just really getting to know each other and building team chemistry has been great.”

The personal takeaways were significant for the first-year. “I’m still kind of developing my game a lot,” Rich noted. “It’s good to play a lot of singles, play a lot of doubles and just learn what it’s like to kind of play at the college level.”

Reflecting on the ITA final, he described the dual role of teammate and rival. “As a team, we do a good job of being able to compete fiercely while also recognizing that we’re teammates and kind of keeping all of that animosity on the court and not off the court,” Rich said. “[Tremblay] and I are obviously super close. We both did what we could to kind of fight through that struggle. It was a pretty high-level match.”

Rich was open about the struggles he faced during the tournament. “I was definitely battling nerves. It can always be tough to get through those first rounds because you have a lot going on in your head, kind of battling negative thoughts. Then, later in the tournament, I was

facing fatigue. Telling yourself you have energy even when you don’t is important.”

That resilience aligned with the mindset the upperclassmen hoped to model. “By the time the spring rolls around, we want to have confidence that we can trust in our own game for sure,”

Rich said.

Jumbo sharpens Jumbo

For sophomore Tremblay, Tufts’ philosophy of process over perfection felt personal. The Australian-born player reached the “B” finals with one dominant performance after another. Beneath the steady results was a story of introspection and adaptation.

“The last two weekends were a great opportunity for the team to gauge how we were going against other teams in the region,” Tremblay reflected. The growth he saw was not just technical.

“I think as a team there’s a clear goal, and honestly, personally, I think we’re closer as a team.”

As for his own play, Tremblay saw the ITA regionals as part of a longer arc. “I’ve always sort of been a player that wants to play my game style, and I’m pretty stubborn about that,” he said. “A lot of the time, players are able to sort of take that away from me, and I’m in this grey area of not really knowing what I’m doing on the court. But especially in this match and for the tournament as a whole … it was about adaptability.”

His match against Williams sophomore Jack Ling epitomized that shift. “[Ling] was a very sort of consistent opponent and was probably one of the players for me that took my game style away. So really just staying ready, taking what he gave me and then going from there instead of trying to create something that wasn’t there was something I was really

proud of in that match, staying disciplined to what I thought I needed to do,” Trembaly said. Tremblay emphasized effort over ego within team identity. “Even though we didn’t get the result that we wanted, it was nice to see everyone was committing to each aspect of being part of this team. Maybe we didn’t do it as well as some other teams, but I think it was a good start and something to work on.”

Ultimately, his philosophy echoes a theme heard from veterans like Maes: introspection and adaptation as the core of progress. “It’s something that we really strive for,” Tremblay said. “Having guys that can’t play or can only play a little, being able to perform as much as they could because of injuries is something going forward that we should look into more to see if we can prevent that.” Foundations for the future

As sweeping as the Jumbos’ results were, their truest victory lay in transformation. Within the program, players discussed culture, consistency, accountability and shared standards of excellence. “We’ve already set a good foundation,” Maes said confidently. If last year’s Tufts team defined success by what it won, this year’s group seems determined to define success by how it grows, day by day, point by point, teammate by teammate.

“Everybody left everything they had on the court,” Rich said. “That’s mandatory, maximum effort every single time. That’s something that’s just non-negotiable.”

While scoreboards are reset after every match, the foundation built by this team will certainly be remembered.

Thomas Leung Staff Writer

COURTESY TUFTS ATHLETICS

Tufts men’s tennis is pictured at the ITA Regionals.