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Investigative

Mental Health Coverage at Tufts: Access, Limits, and the Question of Continuity

Before reading: If you are currently struggling, you are not alone, and support is available. This article is not meant to discourage you from seeking support from CMHS. Reaching out is always worth it. Tufts CMHS (after hours): (617) 627-3360 National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: Call or Text 988 The Samaritans Statewide Hotline (Massachusetts): Call or Text (877) 870-4673 Every year, 25% of Tufts students seek mental health support through Counseling and Mental Health Services (CMHS). These students seek to navigate academic pressure, personal loss, anxiety, or the slower, harder-to-name weight of trying to hold everything together. One senior in Arts and Sciences described going through exactly that process after finding herself overwhelmed last fall. “I was struggling with some issues in my personal life that made the level of overwhelm feel impossible to handle on my own,” she said. After browsing available clinicians on the CMHS website, she found one whose profile seemed like a good fit. Then, she waited. A month passed before she was able to see a clinician. What greets students seeking treatment is a system shaped by a fundamental constraint. Roughly two dozen licensed clinicians serve the entire Tufts population. When students begin therapy at

Connor DeBoda & Silas Summers April 14, 2026

The Full Package: Tufts Athletics and Access

Tessa Moore January 26, 2026

If you’re a “NARP,” or a non-athletic regular person, you may not be in the know. For those who are paying attention, though, it is clear that Tufts sports teams are dominating. “We have six teams in the NCAA tournament. We’re hosting NCAA tournaments in soccer…field hockey, volleyball…” Director of Athletics Ryan Pisarri said. “It’s almost unprecedented.” Indeed, Tufts athletics are succeeding across the board. The women’s field hockey team recently won the national championship, the men’s and women’s soccer teams both competed in the NCAA Division III (DIII) Final Four, the men’s lacrosse team won their second straight NCAA DIII title, the women’s squash team recently became a top-10 program in the country, men’s tennis was a contender in the 2025 NCAA DIII semifinals, and the sailing team finished seventh in the nation for coed fleet racing. Sanjana Rao, a senior on the women’s rowing team, credited much of

Beyond Good and Bad: How SMFA Evaluates its Artists

Brynn Martin & Eleanor Schackne-Martello January 26, 2026

In a culture that is becoming oversaturated with emphasis on GPA and career outcomes, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA) at Tufts University follows a markedly different path. Classes are listed on students’ transcripts as either for credit or not for credit, rather than being accompanied by an evaluative letter grade. Professors believe grading would be difficult due to the inherent subjectivity of judging art and could therefore be detrimental to students’ work. As stated by SMFA Professor of the Practice Sean Glover, “Grades can be somewhat arbitrary when it comes to art and creative disciplines. When focused on a grade, students tend to get hung up on the parameters around the assignment and will not really get into the spirit of it.” Professor of the Practice Charles Goss corroborated this idea, telling The Tufts Tribune that “Grading artwork is totally out of the question for me.

Rewriting the Rules: Tufts After Affirmative Action

Silas Summers & Avery Ohliger January 26, 2026

Last semester, The Tufts Tribune was informed that the Africana Center was not given its “class list” for the incoming 2029 undergraduate class, despite reports that other Division of Student Diversity and Inclusion (DSDI) centers received theirs, raising concerns of unfair treatment by the university. Tufts’s Executive Director of Media Relations Patrick Collins later clarified the situation, making public for the first time that, “In light of the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling on affirmative action in admissions, ensuing federal guidance, and ongoing adherence to best practices for the inclusion of all students, the schools this summer decided to end the practice of sharing lists with centers, departments, and other groups.” Collins also shed some light on the indicated discrepancies between centers, noting that “It’s possible that some entities received preliminary lists before the decision was finalized, but that will no longer occur with our new practice.” Tufts University’s eight DSDI

Harmonizing at Home: Tufts A Cappella Echoes Across Campus

Caroline Choi & Brynn Martin December 4, 2025

One of the first things you’ll hear when stepping foot on campus is that the movie Pitch Perfect (2012) was based on Tufts University a capella. The groups’ reputations seemingly precede enrollment, as tour guides regale prospective students of the legends. For most people, the Pitch Perfect college experience exists only on the screen, but at Tufts, a cappella is among the most prominent subcultures. For first year students entering Tufts, a cappella is immediately introduced as one of the biggest parts of campus life. “From the moment I came on campus, a cappella was pretty much shoved in my face,” recalled Noah Horn, the president of Enchanted, Tufts’s a cappella group that specializes in Disney songs. Every year, Tufts’s a cappella groups head back to campus early to perform throughout freshman orientation (O-Week). Leah Laudenbach, a first-year student and new member of the Jackson Jills, Tufts’s first all-femme a