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TUFTS PROGRESSIVE ALUMNI NETWORK
PRESS RELEASE
New Alumni Network Honors Progressive Seniors and Community
The Tufts Progressive Alumni Network (TPAN) will be awarding Ariana Flores and
Cecilia Chen the first annual Progressive Senior Award. The ceremony will be
held in Oxfam Café on Friday, April 23rd. Flores and Chen will be honored for
their commitment to social justice, their leadership abilities, and their
potential as change agents. Both awardees will receive a monetary gift as a
token of their excellence in the aforementioned categories. Additionally, an
open forum will be held to recognize activists and progressives in the Tufts
community.
TPAN was founded on January 3, 2004 with the explicit intentions of supporting
activism at Tufts, of acting directly to influence Tufts’ policies when
necessary, of providing a supportive community for progressive alumni, and of
providing career assistance to Tufts graduates and TPAN members-to-be. “The
Alumni Association does not represent my interests. This became apparent when
they revoked Liz Monnin’s Senior Award last year,” said TPAN steering committee
member Rachel Jones. “TPAN strives to be a positive alternative to the Alumni
Association that will support progressive active citizens at Tufts and develop a
community of progressive alumni for lasting community and support.”
Cecilia Chen is being awarded one of this year's senior awards for her broad
range of activity in Asian American issues. She has integrated her understanding
of Asian American issues into her academic career through studying public health
policy and art, as well as promoting change around Tufts' Asian American studies
through the Asian American Curriculum Transformation Project. Cecilia's
leadership has shined on this project and as President of the Asian Community at
Tufts. "Cecilia embodies a new form of activism we hope to see in many others,"
Cindy Chang, TPAN Senior Award committee member, said. "She shows the ability to
work within and outside of institutional borders to create real social change."
Ariana Flores was chosen to be one of this year's recipients for her
understanding, passion, and action on various and interlinking social justice
causes. She is a leader in the fight for LGBT, worker, and women's rights both
at Tufts and beyond the campus. She has played a prominent role in institutional
structures such as the TCU Senate, as well as working with groups such as TCOWI
and both the Latino and Asian American Curriculum Transformation Projects. She
holds excellence in both her academic and extracurricular programs, and is
esteemed by faculty, as well as by her peers.
Additionally, the ceremony on Friday will include an open forum to recognize
activists and progressive organizations and people in the Tufts community. TPAN
recognizes that positive change does not happen in a vacuum. TPAN would like to
honor the progressive community at Tufts, while also honoring the awardees.
For more information about TPAN and the Award Ceremony, please contact
Louis.Esparza@alumni.tufts.edu or rachelsarahjones@yahoo.com
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