Travel journalist reports on Venezuelan displacement
LIFESTYLE PAGE 10
Eras of fashion through the lens of BU buildings
BY LAUREN ALBANO Campus Co-Editor
In the wake of increasing executive action and influence by Trump-coined “special government employee” Elon Musk, the billionaire’s charity foundation’s investments in higher education institutions have come to Boston University.
Donations made by the Musk Foundation to a BU rocketry team uncovered by The Daily Free Press are igniting debates over private donorship and revealing intra-University tensions over the
funding it receives. The Internal Revenue Service 990 forms for the Musk Foundation in 2022 and 2023 included two grants made to “Boston University” for $10,000 and $15,000 each respective year. The donations were addressed to 595 Commonwealth Avenue, and each grant’s listed purpose was to “support university operations and programs.”
BU Spokesperson Colin Riley clarified in an email to The Daily Free Press that the Office of Development and Alumni
FUNDED BY MUSK
Relations’s location is 595 Comm. Ave.
“Those donations were in support of and the result of a student group reaching out to the Foundation,” Riley wrote.
The donations were made to the BU Rocket Propulsion Group, an undergraduate amateur rocketry team with an extensive alumni network — many who work at the Musk-owned SpaceX.
The Musk Foundation is a
1,726 students vote on referendum
BY TRUMAN DICKERSON City Co-Editor
Boston University students voted overwhelmingly in support of BU divesting from companies “actively complicit in human rights violations in the Middle East,” in a referendum survey administered by BU Student Government this week.
The survey opened Feb. 19 and closed Feb. 26 at 5 p.m., with a total of 1,726 student votes.
The referendum featured three questions about whether or not
the University should disclose, divest and reinvest funds from its endowment. More than 90% of respondents voted in support of each question.
“The student body is steadfast in their knowledge of the material reality that is, BU invests in genocide and apartheid,” said Mary Haddad, a junior and BU Students for Justice in Palestine member.
A previous referendum survey
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private, charitable foundation that makes grants to support research and education in human space exploration, engineering and other disciplines, according to its website.
Members of the BURPG executive board did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
A spokesperson for an organization focused on donor influence, who wished to remain anonymous out of fear
of retribution, said donations to universities from foundations like Musk’s are designed to “sidestep” academic freedom.
“[These donations] allow donors to control the output of their donations, as opposed to allowing faculty to maintain the integrity of their departments,” the spokesperson said. “They violate academic freedom and
Dog Pound pranks BC at Beanpot
BY MITCH FINK Boston Hockey Blog Co-Director
Standing in the heart of the Boston College student section at TD Garden, Ethan Gassé swallowed his pride and let it fly.
“F–K BU!” he yelled, getting the fans around him to join in on the chant. “F–K BU!”
A senior at Boston University, Gassé is on the leadership team of the Dog Pound, BU’s student section. He’s been a diehard fan for four years.
But there were only a few
minutes until go-time. It was time to get into character.
Gassé was going undercover in the student section of BU’s archrival at the Beanpot final with one mission: trick BC students into unfurling a large banner that read: “BC SUCKS.”
The first step for Gassé — and fellow Dog Pound members Diego Bichara and Alex Opiela — was to convince this section full of BC students that they also
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LAUREN ALBANO | CAMPUS CO-EDITER
EMMA CLEMENT | GRAPHICS EDITOR
JOSEPHINE KALBFLEISCH | DFP PHOTOGRAPHER
CAMPUS
SJP-proposed referendum results show student support for University endowment divestment efforts
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
was nullified earlier this month due to “security and technological issues.” The day after it was nullified, BU’s Board of Trustees voted to reject any further requests for divestment relating to the Israel-Hamas war.
“The Executive Board of the Advisory Committee for Socially Responsible Investing hastily rejected divestment proposals without student input,” StuGov President Akwasi Antwi said in an Instagram post. “We believe
that this decision was taken with full knowledge of our planned referendum, attempting to make our mission obsolete.”
The referendum survey was directly administered by StuGov, and ran on BU’s Qualtrics survey system, which allows for “a secure, legit, credible statistic,” according to Haddad.
The previous referendum was administered by BU SJP.
BU Spokesperson Colin Riley wrote in an email to The Daily Free Press that the referendum is “a moot point,” an unrelated
point that can no longer be questioned or debated.
BU divested its endowment funds on at least three other instances — in 1979 when the Trustees voted to cease investments in companies doing business in apartheid South Africa, in 2006 when BU ceased investments in Sudan and more recently in 2021 when the Trustees voted to halt investments in fossil fuel companies — with several spearheaded by student advocacy.
“I think SJP is just continuing
that tradition of student activism,” Haddad said. “This record of divestment would not have happened if it was not for student pressure.”
Grace Price, vice president of BU College Republicans, said past divestments were less politically polarizing, compared to the current proposed divestment of companies involved in the Israel-Hamas war.
“If BU were to take a stance on this, then they would be taking a stance on the issue of Israel versus Palestine,” Price said. “Which I don’t think is something that BU would do.”
According to Haddad, BU’s decision to deny divestment before a student survey without security and technology issues could be administered, is indicative of their position on the issue.
“It’s indicative of their complicity with genocide, with Israeli apartheid,” Haddad said. “They’re getting their money from their investments, their endowment, along with our tuition and they do not care.”
The referendum, which was initially approved in a StuGov meeting Feb. 3, has polarized BU’s community and unsettled many Jewish students.
Several Jewish organizations on campus announced students should “ignore the vote,” due to it being a “sham” already voted against by the Board of Trustees, according to senior Yonatan Manor.
“All the vote does is try to divide campus and make Jewish students feel uncomfortable,” Manor wrote to The Daily Free Press.
In an open letter to students, BU Hillel said the bill ignored the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism by considering the bill.
Manor said he and other Jewish students were “cut off” by the StuGov senate chair when they attempted to oppose the bill during debate, but it ultimately passed with a 36-28 majority.
The recent referendum featured modified language from the first referendum, including the absence of the word “Israel,” a point of contention mentioned by critics of the bill during the StuGov meeting.
“Pushing anything antiIsrael, people automatically associate that with Jewish people,” said freshman Zac Segal. “Unfortunately, Jewish people are the ones who face the backlash of that.”
SJP members maintain the referendum isn’t antisemitic, due to it being a democratic vote approved by the student government, in which respondents freely voted.
“It is not antisemitic,” said an SJP steering committee member, who asked to remain anonymous for safety reasons. “It is simply a vote to see where the student body lies on the question of divestment.”
Multiple administrative officials declined to comment.
“Our next steps are putting pressure on BU to disclose and divest,” Haddad said. “To use this statistic as supportive evidence towards a popularity of disclosure, divestment and reinvestment.”
BU lecturer files $5 million class-action lawsuit, alleges University violated Massachusetts wage laws
BY MADYLINE SWEARING Campus Co-Editor
A Boston University Metropolitan College lecturer filed a $5 million class-action lawsuit against the Trustees of Boston University Feb. 21 alleging the University failed to pay her on time, reportedly violating the Massachusetts Wage Act.
Part-time faculty and BU alum Lydia Curtin-Wilding filed the suit individually and on behalf of other “similarly situated” exempt employees, claiming BU failed to provide timely wages on a weekly or bi-weekly basis between Feb. 18, 2022, and Aug. 1, 2023, according to the lawsuit.
According to BU’s Human Resources Regulatory Compliance page, under the Fair Labor Standards Act, employees are hired at BU in exempt or non-exempt positions, with exempt employees being paid on a semi-monthly basis.
The lawsuit alleges BU instead paid employees on the last business day of each month during the aforementioned period — though these employees did not choose to be paid monthly — violating the
Massachusetts Wage Act, which states wages must be paid within six or seven days of the weekly or bi-weekly pay period they were earned.
The late payments reportedly resulted in the withholding of “millions of dollars in wages,” according to the lawsuit.
BU Spokesperson Colin Riley
said the University does not comment on legal issues.
This suit follows increased discussions about fair wages and labor practices on BU’s campus, with recent contract ratifications involving the BU Graduate Workers Union and the Residence Life Union.
Similar late-payment lawsuits
were also filed against Amherst College and Harvard University by Springfield law firm Hayber, McKenna & Dinsmore LLC earlier this year, alleging the respective universities violated the Massachusetts Wage Act.
HammondLaw PC, a law firm based in Tacoma, Washington, will represent the CurtinWilding suit.
Curtin-Wilding requested authorization from the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office Feb. 19 to pursue the claim for herself and on behalf of the Class of exempt employees, whose potential members “are so numerous and so diversely located throughout Massachusetts (as well as outside the state) that joinder of all members of the Class is impracticable,” the lawsuit said. For most wage and hour law violations, workers must first file a complaint with the AGO within three years of the violation, before filing a lawsuit in court.
Since Curtin-Wilding resides outside of Massachusetts and seeks compensation greater than $5 million, the suit was filed through the U.S. District Court, as opposed to the Massachusetts Superior courts the Amherst and Harvard suits were filed through. The suit demanded a trial by jury.
If Curtin-Wilding and the represented Class win the case, BU will be liable for three times the amount of the late-paid wages, plus interest, litigation costs and reasonable attorney fees.
SIENA GLEASON | PHOTO ASSOCIATE EDITOR
A flyer promoting a “yes” vote on the Divestment Referendum posted by Boston University Students for Justice in Palestine in the common room in Warren Towers. A total of 1,726 students voted in the referendum that closed Wednesday, and on each question, over 90% of respondents voted in support.
CITY
Harvard antisemitism lawsuit sparks debate, student organizers pick up the slack with Our CampUs United
BY ISABELLE ZHANG Contributing Writer
Harvard’s settlement of an antisemitism lawsuit has sparked debate over campus free speech, prompting students to take action by launching Our CampUs United to combat antisemitism on college campuses.
Shabbos Kestenbaum, a recent Harvard graduate, sued his alma mater for failing to protect Jewish students from antisemitism.
The case was settled Jan. 21, partially on the condition that Harvard adopts the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism — which includes “claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor” — when investigating complaints.
Many viewed this as a victory for Jewish students — not only at Harvard but nationwide.
Yonatan Manor, the former president of Boston University Students for Israel, said having a “concrete definition” can help universities take action against antisemitism but was disappointed with how Harvard came to that result.
“Harvard did adopt it, but they only adopted it because of pressure from this lawsuit,” Manor said. “It’s unfortunate that the university has to only adopt it once their hands are put on the stove.”
Manor said it is only a “matter of time” before BU finds itself
for speaking out against Israel, and under this new definition, I’m now subject to disciplinary action,” Barron said. “It doesn’t make Jewish students safer. All it does is prohibit necessary criticism of Israel.”
She said the IHRA definition of antisemitism has been criticized in the past by organizations, such as the United Nations, for including certain criticisms of Israel.
“It’s fair to push for a definition and want one, but … there are many others that are far less political but would still provide a framework for Harvard to be able to address claims of bigotry and harassment,” Barron said.
Following widespread acts of antisemitism at college campuses, students have taken action.
desperately all need that doesn’t exist,” Ohebsion said. “It’s not something that a lot of these larger Jewish legacy organizations offer.”
The website features templates for petitions, email campaigns and press releases.
“I personally know that when I was facing these incidents, I wished that the email to my professor was already written,” Ohebsion said. “I wish that I didn’t need to research my rights in all these different situations.”
Surveys conducted over the past two years revealed a sharp increase in antisemitic sentiment, especially within college campuses.
in a similar position, unless it changes its policies.
BU Spokesperson Colin Riley said while “there have been conversations” about adopting the IHRA definition of antisemitism, he “can’t speak to where it is right now.”
Violet Barron, a junior at Harvard who founded the student organization Jews for Palestine, said she thinks the newly-adopted definition is “prosecuting proPalestinian speech” while appearing to attempt combating antisemitism.
“Anytime an administration or institution is looking to curtail the content of speech rather than its time, place or manner like violations, that’s when you are entering the territory of killing
speech,” Barron said.
While Barron said she agrees there has been an uptick in antisemitism since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas War on Oct. 7, 2023, she said she doesn’t think “the rise has been nearly as large” or “widespread” as media outlets and Congress portray it to be.
“There’s been a rise in antisemitism,” Barron said. “There’s also been a rise in criticism of Israel. These two things are very different.”
Barron said one of her major issues with the IHRA definition is that “it doesn’t just conflate antisemitism and anti-Zionism, but Judaism and Zionism.”
“I can see a world in which I, a Jewish student, is prosecuted
Recent Tulane graduate Yasmeen Ohebsion, Kestenbaum and other college students across the U.S., including Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, launched Our CampUs United on Monday.
Our CampUs United is “a hub of step-by-step resource guides,” equipping students with tools to “respond to different incidents of antisemitism on campus,” said Ohebsion.
Ohebsion, who was on the board of Chabad at Tulane, said she created the website after becoming a “destination for questions and concerns” for students dealing with antisemitism following Oct. 7.
“This is something that we
The American Jewish Committee’s 2024 report found that 32% of Jewish college students reported feeling unsafe on campus due to their identity — an increase from 18% in 2022.
Talia Khan, an MIT graduate student and one of the founding members of Our CampUs United, said university administrators enforce rules inconsistently between Zionist and anti-Zionist organizations, leaving Jewish students to handle instances of antisemitism on their own.
“You have administrators funding these really, really extremist talks and speakers on campus without providing even other perspectives from the other side,” Khan said. “It’s radicalizing students into thinking that that’s normal.”
Boston, Chelsea, Somerville sue Trump administration over sanctuary city funding threats, amid increased ICE activity
BY EMMA CLEMENT Graphics Editor & Layout Co-Editor
Amid tension between the City of Boston and White House Border Czar Tom Homan, Massachusetts cities Chelsea and Somerville filed lawsuits Monday against the Trump administration for attempting to defund police departments over sanctuary city policies.
The lawsuits were issued shortly after Homan threatened he was “bringing hell” to the city in response to Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox’s refusal to support ICE operations in Boston.
Boston’s designation as a “sanctuary city” means its police department does not work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to locate and arrest illegal immigrants, said Boston University Law Professor Karen Pita Loor.
“It is an effort by cities, towns [and] states to protect the noncitizens within their jurisdiction, particularly out of a public safety concern,” Loor said.
Kristen Cain, a second-year graduate student at BU School of Law, said while sanctuary policies can slow ICE’s ability to conduct raids, a sanctuary status cannot stop them.
“They can’t stop the federal government from coming in and detaining people and from ICE operating within the city,” Cain said. “All the sanctuary status
means is that they’re not allowing law enforcement to help with that effort.”
According to Loor, the Trump administration’s reversal of Biden’s policy barring ICE arrests near sensitive locations, like schools and churches, has created a new purpose for sanctuary policies.
“Essentially sanctuary policies, cities, towns [and] states are trying to ensure non-citizens that they’re going to be safe seeking medical treatment [and] that they’re going to be safe sending their children to school,” she said.
The immigration detainers are “requests” from ICE — “not a judicial order.” Therefore, the police department would be violating individuals’ Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable seizures, Loor said.
The Trump administration and House Republicans threatened to withdraw federal funding from Boston, Chelsea and Somerville’s police departments due to their sanctuary city status.
Loor said Trump cannot legally withdraw funding without Congress’ authorization. During his first term, it was declared unlawful, according to the ruling in City and County of San Francisco v. Trump in 2018.
Chelsea and Somerville leveraged a variety of defenses in their lawsuit, including the Tenth Amendment anti-commandeering defense, which states the federal
government cannot force state and city governments to “do their bidding,” Loor said.
Daniel Santiago is the cofounder of the Mabel Center for Immigrant Justice, which provides pro bono legal services to asylum-seeking families. He said he anticipated the Trump administration would target major cities to maximize immigration enforcement.
Boston is a particular focus due to how outwardly supportive the area has been toward immigrants, Santiago said.
“As far as targeting Boston, Mayor Wu’s policies and the governor also, they’ve been really supportive of the immigrant community,” Santiago said. “Even just being supportive is just objectionable to them.”
For Cain, the rhetoric the Trump Administration uses to describe immigrants is of particular concern.
“They use that language over and over again, because they’re trying to make them seem less than human,” Cain said. “They’re trying to get people to see them as someone that’s not deserving of dignity, but when you talk to somebody who’s actually lived through this, you realize they are people just like we are.”
Cain said she is specifically concerned with how political leaders describe immigrants as “criminals.”
“It bothers me when politicians equate illegal immigrants and
criminals,” Cain said. “It’s not breaking a criminal law to come into the country. It’s a civil violation.”
A 2023 National Bureau of Economic Research study found immigrants today are 60% less likely to be incarcerated than in 1960 and 30% less likely than U.S.-born whites. The study said immigrant incarceration rates last exceeded those of U.S.-born individuals more than 150 years ago.
Despite this, Santiago said ICE will likely still continue ramping up raids. He and his colleagues will be advising their clients to do all they can to be prepared.
“That’s been my job, reassuring
the clients,” Santiago said. “We survived the first term, so I am just going to survive the second term.”
Since the beginning of Trump’s second term last month, Santiago said he has already begun to see the fear set in for his clients and is spending most of his time talking with them.
Cain said a positive aspect of the prevalence of immigration law in the news is that it has prompted action.
“It’s good that it’s in the news. I think people are paying attention to it again,” she said. “There has been a lot more organizing around it, and I’m glad to see people are responding.”
COURTESY OF JOSHUA QUALLS VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Mayor Michelle Wu speaking at Roxbury Community College on Jan. 10. Amid tension between the City of Boston and White House Border Czar Tom Homan, Chelsea and Somerville filed lawsuits Monday against the Trump administration for attempting to defund police departments over sanctuary city policies.
ZACH SCHWARTZ | DFP PHOTOGRAPHER
A person speaks at the Boston University Students for Israel and BU Hillel memorial Oct. 7. Harvard’s settlement of an antisemitism lawsuit has sparked debate over campus free speech, prompting students to take action by launching Our CampUs United to combat antisemitism on college campuses.
ARTS
CFA graduate Aidan Close enchants as Scorpius Malfoy
BY ELAINA FUZI Contributing Writer
As opening night ended and the cast finished their bows, a photographer climbed one of the Hogwarts staircases while it slid on stage. The cast of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” all get into poses and hundreds of audience members turn on their phone flashlights.
“It’s like you’re swimming in stars,” Aidan Close said about the scene.
Close — an actor currently playing Scorpius Malfoy in the first North American Broadway tour of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” and recent Boston University alum — has been described as a light to those around him, onstage and off. He got the phone call that he said changed his life last January and has been performing as Scorpius since the tour started in September.
“A great honor of my life is that my say and my weird choices and my essences are in that character that thousands of people are seeing every day,” Close said.
He said he is the first person to do a new dance sequence at the beginning of act two and explained how the cast gave input on new structural decisions in the show.
“I would like to say that I advocated for a sensitivity and earnestness and a groundedness for the character,” Close said. “This character is so fundamentally excitable and bombastic and
dynamic, and I hope I’ve inspired a bit of the reverse.”
During his freshman year of college, Close said the realization that acting and theater were his passions “struck [him] like lightning.” Close graduated BU with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting in 2023.
“Then I cared about it a little too much, and I burned out,” Close said. “But I then evened myself out, and it’s been a love ever since, it’s been undeniable.”
Julianna Austin, who plays
Polly Chapman and other ensemble characters, said Close was a “fascinating, high energy actor,” and they “fell in love with him immediately.”
Austin said early on in the rehearsal process, Close kept catching their eye.
“The human eye is drawn to movement,” Austin said. “And no matter what I was working on or what I was doing or looking at, Aiden was always jumping up and down whenever he got a new discovery or something really cool happened.”
But Close’s enthusiasm was not restricted to his own character development. Austin said he was “equally as enthusiastic about everyone else’s wins and everyone’s discoveries and success as he is about his own.”
Fellow cast member Zach Norton, who plays Karl Jenkins and Viktor Krum in the show, said there is a constant, “absolutely electric” energy to Close.
“That kid can jump like no one else I’ve ever seen,” Norton said.
COMMUNITY
“If you see him with two feet on the ground, that’s an odd sighting.”
Norton said what is special about Close is he does not keep all his energy and passion to himself, and it “bleed[s] into everyone else’s performances and everyone else’s day.”
Whether they share a smile, a joke, a hand on the shoulder or a hug, Norton said he and Close always check in with each other to see how the other is doing, and he always feels better afterwards.
Close’s passion for art and storytelling seeps into another aspect of his life: a weekly game of Dungeons and Dragons, a group role-playing game without a script, where Close is the game master.
“You can see his values and his expressions and his mastery of creating and living in a world through the fantasy veil,” Austin said. “Funny enough, I’ve gotten to know him and all of our people playing at the table so well through our creation of a world and creation of a story.”
Austin said people love Close for being “excitedly compassionate,” and how he loves people back with “such joy and abandon that makes everybody else feel really good.”
“There’s an energy that exists between people that if someone laughs, it’s easier for the other person to laugh,” Close said. “And being in community you’re allowed to feel things that you don’t normally feel, and so I believe in a little bit of magic.”
From Boston to Borderlands: travel journalist Shandra Back’s time in Venezuela reporting on displacement
BY ISABELLE ZHANG Contributing Writer
At the Venezuelan border, Shandra Back centered her reporting around one question: are you coming, or are you going?
The answers she received varied, but she said she quickly realized what had to come next.
“I started to understand that the next question I needed to be asking was whether this was the first, second, third, fourth, fifth time that people were leaving or coming back,” Back said.
While some took summer vacations, Back traveled to Venezuela to report on the displacement crisis from the migrant route along the VenezuelaColombia border. After receiving a travel grant from Boston University’s Center for Forced Displacement, Back spent five weeks documenting the waves of fleeing and returning refugees during the Venezuelan elections when?
Back, a senior majoring in journalism and minoring in political science, initially approached the CFD with the idea of covering the Venezuelan displacement crisis through a photojournalistic piece and said she wanted to capture the lives of migrants through the objects they were carrying.
“This is the first time that I’m working with really vulnerable populations, and I didn’t want to make them feel uncomfortable,” Back said. “So that’s essentially,
originally, where the idea [of] objects came up, because I [could] tell these stories of people’s journeys without actually needing to ask for their identity [or] needing to take their own picture.”
But Back quickly learned she’d made a false assumption— most refugees wanted their photos taken.
“The people that I was meeting, at least along the route, wanted to have their picture taken. They wanted this time to be documented, and they wanted their experience to be documented,” Back said. “So it shifted the story, because I wasn’t just taking pictures of the objects, now I was taking pictures of the people with their objects.”
Back’s photographs and interviews produced the article, “What We Carry: The Packing List of Venezuelan Displacement,” which was the subject of her presentation at the Pardee School of Global Affairs Feb. 18.
Although the article still focuses on what refugees chose to bring with them, it added a human element of pairing faces to the objects — something attendees appreciated.
“I’m really intrigued by humanto-human storytelling and hearing about actual, real people’s stories, and so the photo journalistic aspect and the humanization of this entire crisis really piqued my interest,” said Sophia Blair, a recent BU graduate who attended the presentation.
Blair said Black’s deep understanding of the people she
discussed made the presentation more personal.
“She was just talking to us, she lived it and she felt it, and the way that she conveyed the two people she spoke about was so real,” Blair said. “It was clear she really took the time to understand them and also explain the context of the crisis and the situation, and then the case studies.”
Elizabeth Amrien, the Assistant Director of the Center for Latin American Studies at Pardee, also commended Back’s presentation and article, admires her work.
“She’s not only a talented journalist in terms of just being very able to connect at a human level, as well as knowing the subject about which she writes, she’s really able to connect at a human level,” Amrien said.
Amrien explained the Center for Latin American Studies approached Back after reading her work and invited her to present her article at Pardee. While they have not had many student presenters, Amrien said they would “love to do more of [these events].”
Although this was the first project
Back worked on as a bilingual journalist, it’s far from her first venture to Latin America. From an immersion program in Costa Rica to study abroad in Chile, Back is familiar with spending time away. Back recalls wanting to be a travel journalist as early as high school. After finding her reporting niche in migration through a forensic anthropology class her freshman year, Back said it “became much more of a real, tangible dream.”
However, in the fall of her sophomore year, Back was hired as the podcast director for CFD. Although her position enabled her to engage with her interest in migration, Back said it “moved [her] away from journalism in a very big way.” Reporting on the Venezuelan migrant crisis last summer put her “back in the game” in ways she never expected.
“It really made me realize why I love storytelling, why I love journalism,” Back said.
Post-graduation, Back said she intends to apply for fellowships to kickstart her freelance journalism career. Although she said she doesn’t have any concrete plans for the future, she knows she will return to Latin America, where she will continue to focus on narrative-driven stories concerning migration.
“When we’re able to bring faces, even just a couple faces reflective of such a large event … [we’re] able to humanize the story,” Back said. “I think that is such an essential piece of journalism.”
COURTESY OF MATTHEW MURPHY
Shandra Back, a senior at Boston University majoring in journalism and minoring in political science. Back received a travel grant from BU’s Center for Forced Displacement which allowed her to travel to Venezuela to report on the displacement crisis from the migrant route along the Venezuela-Colombia border.
COURTESY OF SHANDRA BACK
Aidan Close as Scorpius Malfoy in “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” at Emerson Colonial Theatre. Close is a Boston University alum who has been acting in this role since the North American Broadway tour of the show started in September.
PREVIEW PHOTO COURTESY OF SHANDRA BACK
Boston Halal brings Indian-Mediterranean fusion to West Campus BUSINESS
BY SANA MUNEER Managing Co-Editor
Boston Halal is bringing a bold new flavor to Commonwealth Avenue, with a unique IndianMediterranean fusion restaurant that will open its doors by the end of the month.
For co-founder Babu Koganti, the blend of Indian and Mediterranean flavors is a natural pairing, not just a creative experiment.
“We always think Indian food and Mediterranean food go well with each other. It’s almost the same,” Koganti said. “Then we thought, ‘why don’t we give an elevated version of both, mixing them together?’”
Boston Halal will be taking
location on 961 Commonwealth Ave., which closed over a year ago — but the restaurant isn’t completely scrapping the legacy of the space it’s moving into.
Koganti said the restaurant will put its own spin on the concept, offering “unique” halal pizzas.
Halal food adheres to Islamic dietary laws, which include humane animal slaughter and restrictions on ingredients like pork or alcohol, according to the American Halal Foundation.
Koganti added their most popular dishes are its gyro sandwiches, wings and its chicken and rice bowl.
Boston Halal first launched in Faneuil Hall Marketplace in 2023, then expanded to Northeastern University’s campus
on Huntington Avenue and Davis Square near Tufts University.
Koganti said Boston Halal’s proximity to college campuses is intentional due to its late night hours and affordability. The restaurant plans to offer dining points as an option of payment for BU students.
While its fully halal, New York style-street food premise might draw students, Boston Halal’s mission lies in how they hope to change the perception of halal food itself.
“Usually people think halal food is very cheap and a street food,” Koganti said. “Or people don’t have a great impression, so we are here to elevate the halal food.”
Boston University sophomore Ayah Abouyoussef follows a halal diet for religious reasons and said there is “definitely a struggle” in finding halal food on campus.
“In our religion, we need to eat food that’s slaughtered in this specific way,” Abouyoussef said. “So I feel like with a big
Muslim population [at BU], it’s important for us to have access through the dining halls and the food places on campus.”
For Abouyoussef, the lack of reliable halal options has led to frequent trips to Halal Shack in the George Sherman Union for her and many other Muslim students, because there’s “not as many” other halal options.
“Even when it is [halal], it just doesn’t sound reliable,” she said.
Boston Halal enters an already crowded food scene in West Campus, where students have plenty of choices.
Aidan Pike, a BU senior, said Boston Halal will have “hard competition” because of the multitude of “good food places” outside West Campus.
“I’m really hoping it has a bit of authenticity,” he said. Pike grew up in Cumberland, R.I.,
where the Indian population there contributed to his love of the cuisine.
Pike said he enjoys how Allston has “experimental” and “hybrid” food options, and is excited to try Boston Halal.
“I think a lot of the restaurants nearby can sometimes be a bit too mild for me,” Pike said. “So I’m hoping [Boston Halal is] brave enough to turn the spice up a bit.” Boston Halal aims to open its doors this spring.
BU faculty voices ‘profound’ concern about White House AP ban
BY JOHN TATUM Contributing Writer
From the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963 to the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, the Associated Press has been at the forefront of breaking news as a part of the White House press pool — until this month.
White House officials declared Feb. 14 that AP journalists would be banned from “limited spaces, like the Oval Office and Air Force One” indefinitely.
The White House’s ban on AP reporters is due to a style dispute, which is raising questions about whether the Trump administration is violating the publication’s First Amendment rights.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 20 that renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, and renamed Denali in Alaska to
Mount McKinley.
The AP released style guidance on its website that it would use the name change for Mount McKinley, but would continue to refer to the Gulf of Mexico due to the name’s 400-year history and global recognition.
40 news organizations have signed a letter coordinated by the White House Correspondents’ Association urging the Trump administration to lift its ban since.
Signees include CNN, NBC, The New York Times and right-wing news outlets Fox News and Newsmax.
The White House announced later Feb. 25 it would be determining which journalists and photographers would be allowed to join the pool.
Brian McGrory, chair of the journalism department at Boston University, said the ban was “somewhere between deeply
disturbing and outright illegal.”
“[The AP is] a very neutral journalism entity that plays it straight [and] has played it straight forever,” McGrory said.
He said “to exclude them over something this trivial is, bluntly, insane,” and called Trump’s stance a “profound misunderstanding.”
McGrory was formerly the White House correspondent for The Boston Globe during the 1990s.
“I don’t recall anything like this that we’ve dealt with at the local level,” McGrory said. “I can’t imagine it would happen anywhere else.”
Joan Donovan, an assistant professor of journalism and emerging media studies, said the journalism industry is in an “information war” with the Trump Administration.
Donovan said partisan news sourcing doesn’t reflect reality,
especially when opening doors for only right-wing news organizations.
Donovan argued one of the real issues at hand is the concept of the truth.
“The struggle over truth and knowledge and expertise goes hand-in-hand with state-making, and Trump wants an easy win,” she said. “As long as you have a group of important institutions like [the] AP refusing to acquiesce to something that is an illegitimate call to change, then the AP is in the right.”
The AP filed a lawsuit against the White House Chief of Staff, Deputy Chief of Staff and Press Secretary Feb. 21.
The AP’s legal complaint argues the White House violated the right to free press, and therefore the Fifth Amendment right to due process.
Kai Taylor, a freshman in the
College of General Studies and prospective journalism major, said the Trump administration’s “animosity” towards the press is not entirely discouraging.
“It’s never good that an administration is discouraging and preventing working with news agencies,” Taylor said. “At the same time, that’s what’s expected of the field. It’s keeping high institutions accountable.”
Carol Rose, executive director at the ACLU of Massachusetts, wrote in a statement to the Daily Free Press they “commend” the journalists who have stood in defense of the AP.
“If the President can target a news outlet over a dispute about their style guide, imagine what he will do in the face of real adversarial reporting,” Rose wrote. “We must protect the free press, and we must never stop speaking truth to power.”
New BU lab studies political impact on public health decisions
BY SOPHIA BARTLETT Contributing Writer
The intersections between politics and health have become blurred between fact and political opinion. A new research lab at Boston University’s School of Public Health is exploring the relationship between the two.
The Politics and Health Lab, led by co-directors Timothy Callaghan and Matt Motta, officially went live Jan. 27, but planning began spring 2023.
The interdisciplinary research lab studies political influence on public health and seeks to depolarize public policy decisions related to health.
Motta, an assistant professor in the Department of Health Law, Policy and Management at SPH, said the lab focuses its research on why health is politicized and is searching for ways to combat it.
“We don’t want Democrats and Republicans to have different life expectancies,” Motta said. “We
want to be able to bring people together.”
Callaghan, an assistant professor at HLPM at SPH, said the lab is currently working on several key initiatives using public opinion surveillance to understand health attitudes and behaviors in the United States.
“We want to work against misinformation, bring people together, cross ideological divides and find ways to make the public a healthier public,” Callaghan said.
The lab is also working to understand vaccine legislation at the state and federal levels, Motta said.
He said anti-vaccine legislation is being “overwhelmingly” introduced by Republicans in state houses across the country.
“We are, to my knowledge, the only apparatus that is making an effort to systematically track all of this legislative activity and share that information with the community,” he said.
This project, known as the
State Vaccine Policy Project, is one of many active projects within the lab. Once completed, the data will contain a record of every vaccine-related legislature introduced in US statehouses from 1985 to 2023.
Elizabeth McCuskey, an affiliate faculty member at the lab, said the lab is uniquely positioned within the crossdisciplinary research conducted at BU.
“[The lab] has incredible power to be a place that policymakers can turn to to find informed research on the things that they might want to do for their constituents and to be able to advise and develop the kinds of research that responds to what community needs are,” she said.
Callaghan said the lab’s research is not a reaction to President Donald Trump’s reelection.
“Regardless of whether there is a Republican or a Democrat in the White House, this is important work for us to do,” he said.
Motta said the lab plans to continue its research throughout the Trump administration, and the mission of the lab will remain the same. However, he is unsure if interruptions to their work will present themselves in the future.
“Not only are we studying issues that are politically contentious, we’re studying politics itself,” he said. “We’re studying how politics influences our health, and these are words that have become taboo in the Trump administration.”
Callaghan said he and Motta are looking for ways to continue expanding the lab.
“We’ve had a lot of interest from students and faculty and alumni in the lab since it got announced a few weeks ago, and over the next several months, we’re planning to find ways to grow the lab,” said Callaghan.
Michael McClean, the associate dean for Research and Faculty Advancement at SPH, said the work of their research is rooted in determining what we
can do to keep people healthy.
“The issues around public health are so complex. We need to bring in these different perspectives to make sure that we’re capturing all of the important elements,” he said. “Politics do play such an important role in health. It’s great to have that perspective represented right in the school.”
EMMA HART | GRAPHIC ARTIST
SARAH CRUZ | PHOTO CO-EDITOR
Boston Halal Indian Mediterranean location in West campus. The restaurant will open its doors this spring, taking over the former Blaze Pizza space.
EMMA CLEMENT | GRAPHICS EDITOR
Boston attendees burst with
energy at City Hall
Plaza for the Red Bull Heavy Metal 2025 snowboarding competition
BY SARAH CRUZ AND CHLOE CRAMUTOLA
Photo Co-Editor and Investigative Editor
More than 20,000 people packed Boston City Hall Plaza for the Red Bull Heavy Metal snowboarding competition Saturday. The competition featured the world’s best street snowboarders including Jess Perlmutter, Jayva Jordan, Benny Milam and Zeb Powell.
CHLOE CRAMUTOLA | INVESTIGATIVE EDITOR Snowboarder LJ Henriquez sits on a ledge between runs.
SARAH CRUZ | PHOTO CO-EDITOR Snowboarder Benny Milam in Zone 2.
SARAH CRUZ | PHOTO CO-EDITOR Snowboarder Veda Hallen does a flip at the Red Bull Heavy Metal competition.
CHLOE CRAMUTOLA | INVESTIGATIVE EDITOR Sam Klein autographs a fan’s shirt.
CHLOE CRAMUTOLA | INVESTIGATIVE EDITOR Attendees crowd Zone 3 of the competition.
SARAH CRUZ | PHOTO CO-EDITOR A competitor grabs his board while doing a trick in Zone 2.
CHLOE CRAMUTOLA | INVESTIGATIVE EDITOR
Snowboarder Zeb Powell flys through the air in Zone 1 of the Red Bull Heavy Metal
snowboarding competition.
CHLOE CRAMUTOLA | INVESTIGATIVE EDITOR Zeb Powell takes a selfie with fans.
CHLOE CRAMUTOLA | INVESTIGATIVE EDITOR A snowboarder tosses Red Bull cans to attendees.
SARAH CRUZ | PHOTO CO-EDITOR
Snowboarder Jayva Jordan rides a rail in Zone 1.
SARAH CRUZ | PHOTO CO-EDITOR
Snowboarder Pete Croasdale does a trick in Zone 2.
SARAH CRUZ | PHOTO CO-EDITOR
Snowboarder Sam Klein does a flip in Zone 2.
SARAH CRUZ | PHOTO CO-EDITOR Red Bull Heavy Metal attendees sit in a tree to see the competition.
Last week, I attended a Nessa Barrett concert at Roadrunner. As I walked to the end of the line, I saw a gallery of young girls in high heeled boots, baby tees and a notable lack of winter coats. The group laughed to themselves and passed flasks back and forth, asking each other if anyone knew how to sneak them into the venue. Once the concert began,
someone in the crowd fainted.
Barrett stopped her set, asked the audience member if she was okay and got her a water bottle.
A song and a half later, another person fainted. Barrett repeated what she had done the first time, telling us all to look after ourselves and those around us.
Two songs later, someone else fainted.
By the conclusion of the concert, several people had fainted. Barrett had stopped the
The number of people who fainted at the concert was shocking, even for a smaller venue like Roadrunner. With the amount of people in the pit, the urgency to be at the front and the intoxicated state of many concert
goers, it became no surprise that these events occurred.
Fainting incidents aren’t all that uncommon anymore. But were concerts always such hightension events?
In recent years, concert etiquette has declined. There has been a noticeable increase in the amount of attendees fainting and falling ill during concerts following the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2023, singer Maggie Rogers posted a TikTok video urging fans to “take breaks and just do everything you can to keep everyone safe and healthy around you.”
The post-pandemic ecstasy of returning to live music seems to have yet to rub off.
Concerts have become a night of partying and theatrics, rather than a meaningful and intimate experience. This new mindset towards concerts has not only gotten fans sick, but has also gotten artists and spectators hurt.
In 2021, rapper Travis Scott headlined his music festival, Astroworld. During his set at the sold-out NRG Park in Houston, a crowd surge towards the stage killed eight attendees and injured dozens of others. There were many factors as to why the surge occurred, including an overflowing venue and excited fans who were oblivious to the
stampede.
Harry Styles was injured by an object thrown on stage by a fan at one of his concerts in Vienna in 2022.
An audience member threw their mother’s ashes at Pink while she was performing in London.
Cardi B threw a microphone at a spectator who tossed their drink on her during a Las Vegas performance.
These incidents are not normal, and are disrespectful to the artists who are providing us with entertainment.
Many of them can be explained by social media, which often fuels brash behavior.
“Main character syndrome” — when someone views themselves as the protagonist of the movie of their lives — is rampant at concerts. This is clearly a selfish mindset to have while entering a venue where thousands of other people are trying to enjoy themselves.
pit, illness and fainting is bound to happen.
I’m absolutely not blaming a bad concert experience on people getting sick and fainting — many of these cases are due to overheating in the crowd.
However, if you go to a concert without eating beforehand, drinking at the venue and are pushing to get to the front of the
EDITORIAL
In the simplest terms, it’s crucial to stay hydrated and selfaware at concerts. Concerts are fun and exciting — it’s not every day you get to be in the same room with your favorite artist singing all your favorite songs.
But during these moments of bliss — even when it feels like we are the only ones in the concert venue — we need to remember that we are not the main character.
Journalism will always be about people — AI can’t change that
In less than three years, widespread artificial intelligence has transitioned from a far-off, futuristic fantasy to a tangible, everyday reality.
Since the introduction of ChatGPT by research company OpenAI in November 2022, generative AI models — which are trained to use previously existing information to produce new text and images — have become ubiquitous.
As such, almost every sector of society, from Hollywood to higher education, has been forced to grapple with the unknown implications of the rapidly advancing technology.
The journalism industry has yet to develop consistent policies regarding the use of AI. Proponents believe embracing the technology is the only step forward, while skeptics emphasize the need for strict regulation.
In a field where truth is paramount and plagiarism is prohibited, it’s essential to create clear ethical and professional boundaries to determine how AI is used in the newsroom.
Many news outlets, including The New York Times, have already begun to use AI to generate headline drafts and translate articles. Advocates argue this usage provides reporters with time to focus their energy and attention on important investigative pieces rather than menial tasks.
However, the quality of AIgenerated writing has proven to be inconsistent at best. At times, it’s been actively damaging to both the subjects of the stories and the reputations of the outlets
that have published them.
In September 2023, MSN published an obituary of former NBA player Brandon Hunter with a bafflingly disrespectful headline: “Brandon Hunter useless at 42.” Although Microsoft never confirmed or denied the use of AI in its construction, the now-deleted obituary’s prose was littered with confusing word choice, signaling a distinct lack of human oversight.
Generative AI often passes off false information as true — a phenomena that has become commonly known as “hallucinations.” Even more harmful, these AI chatbots can blend fact and fiction within the same sentence, making it difficult to determine the accuracy of their claims.
Journalists who turn to chatbots for help with background research to cite in their published work should be aware of possible misattribution. A 2024 Nature study found models like ChatGPT made errors 30% to 90% of the time when making scientific references.
A variety of non-generative AI tools have also been integrated into newsrooms. Programs such as Otter.ai and Descript can save time by transcribing recordings of long interviews. Others provide quick summaries of public meetings, scrape and clean data or track website updates. These tools exemplify what artificial intelligence does best — assisting with repetitive and monotonous tasks without aiding reporting and writing.
But, even seemingly innocuous uses of generative AI
tools — like generating interview questions, paraphrasing quotes or organizing lengthy notes into a more digestible format — are not as harmless as they seem.
Large language models like ChatGPT use the transformer model, which builds connections by tracing patterns between different concepts and makes predictions based on context. Pre-existing stereotypes, discrimination and biases have been proven to be deeply embedded in AI algorithms, stemming the data used to train these models.
A research paper published by Nature in 2024 found although overt racial bias in generative AI has subsided, covert racism remained prevalent in large language models. The researchers found that the models are more likely to suggest that speakers of African American English “be assigned less-prestigious jobs, be convicted of crimes and be sentenced to death.”
The Associated Press Stylebook, a stylistic guide for thousands of newspapers around the globe, has consistently updated its guidelines to account for societal changes in conversations about race, gender and disability, among other topics. Relying on biased models as a resource seems counterproductive in a field that strives to achieve objectivity, inclusivity and fairness.
In an age of growing climate change concerns, the detrimental
environmental impacts of AI use should also ring alarm bells.
The amount of computational power needed for generative AI to function creates a significant amount of both carbon dioxide emissions and water waste, which is used to cool the hardware that trains generative models.
A significant amount of human oversight is still required when integrating AI and journalism — whether to make copy edits, fact-check false information or recognize problematic biases.
A post on X from writer Joanna Maciejewska said it best: “You know what the biggest problem with pushing all-things-AI is? Wrong direction. I want AI to do my laundry and dishes so that I can do art and writing, not for AI to do my art and writing so that I can do my laundry and dishes.”
Ultimately, generative AI will never be able to replace the uniquely human skills that
characterize good reporting.
ChatGPT can’t interpret the nuance of a fleeting facial expression or a subtle vocal inflection. It can’t wait outside the mayor’s office for an earlymorning interview or embed itself into the life of a profile subject. It can’t interview disaster survivors with empathy and understanding or hold world leaders accountable with skepticism and perseverance. Focusing on maximizing efficiency and cutting costs by employing artificial intelligence over real reporters will only harm the news industry in the long run. We must take action to protect both journalists as individuals and journalism as societal necessity. AI isn’t going away — but that doesn’t mean we should blindly accept its encroachment into areas that are best left for human hands.
This Editorial was written by Opinion Co-Editor Ruby Voge.
GIANNA HORCHER| SENIOR GRAPHIC ARTIST
Editorial Board
Kayla
Gabriella
CROSSWORD
“One if by land…”
ACROSS
1. With 45-Down, this is one of the few places in the world a 58-Across can sail under a 38-Across running under a 37-Across driving under an 28-Across
24. ___-American (Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, for example)
26. Things to mop or knit?
28. See 1-Across
30. Pile
31. ___Metal (genre of Mötley Crüe, or Twisted Sister)
33. Eye part (Alternative spelling)
34. Ink, slangily
35. 808 or Stone ___
37. See 1-Across
38. See 1-Across
40. Part of a chromosome (Ask a Pre-Med student!)
41. Lairs
42. Pookie and sweetums, as examples
44. Hurt
46. Support beam
47. Site of the Taj Mahal
48. Exam
Constructor’s Note: Several clues in this puzzle correspond from where they are in real life to where they appear in the grid, in relation to an on-campus landmark.
49. ___ Performance Center
50. Extinct emu ancestor
53. What the A of 62-Across stands for
55. Starting again, as a relationship
58. See 1-Across
59. Strike while it’s hot!
60. Role for Robin Williams or Will Smith in “Aladdin”
61. Rests
62. Largest sch. on campus
63. Works on a paper
DOWN
1. Alternative to Cyan or Cerulean 2. Own 3. Displayed numbers at a T-stop
Big ___
Defreeze
Turkish currency
Ref. work for a humanities major
Quake
On the market
Disparities
Hawaiian flower garland
The ends of begin and origin?
Role
17. Japanese female entertainer
22. Plentifully 23. Good song, slangily 24. Wail on Comm. Ave, say 25. Loco
Ring ___ 27. Rapping onomatopoeia 28. Roger ___, former Fox CEO 29. Ones who follow a slogan or auction?
30. URL init.
Horatio ___, American author
Pesky insects
Carter’s successor
39. Overruns
41. ___ Lipa, British-Albanian pop star
43. Imperial:US, ___:UK
45. See 1-Across
47. That is
49. Boxer stats
50. Unlike this crossword
51. “I can do it!”
52. 18-22 are typical ones for Terriers
53. Muscles you might work on at FitRec
54. French king
56. Our school is in its Gilliam ___ 57. Commanded
LIFESTYLE
How using beauty filters distorted my relationship with my skin — and why I’m over it | Maia’s Inner Monologue
BY MAIA PENZER Senior Writer
I know I should post an unfiltered selfie. It would be empowering. A stand against the control beauty filters have
I know beauty filters are messing with my head. I know they distort my idea of what skin is “supposed” to look like. Still, every time I open my front-facing camera, the first thing I do — before positioning
love the routine and the selfcare.
I’m careful about what I use — mainly CeraVe, Cetaphil and all the gentle, derm-approved products — but my skin hasn’t been cooperating. Lately, it’s been breakouts, redness and texture that won’t go away — the kind that makeup can’t hide, no matter how many layers I pile on.
It’s gotten to the point where I went to my dermatologist over winter break, hoping for answers, and left with an oral antibiotic and a cream that was strong enough to bleach my pillowcase. That was a low point.
It was mildly terrifying that my skin was so “bad” it needed something that could burn through fabric.
That’s where the problem starts. The worse my skin gets, the more I rely on filters. The more I use filters, the worse I feel about my skin. It’s a cycle I can’t seem to break.
I scroll past someone’s “just woke up like this” selfie — filtered, obviously — and then I’m looking in the mirror, leaning in too close, picking apart every pore and bump
and wondering why my skin doesn’t look like what I see online.
I know how messed up it is. I use filters because I don’t like how my skin looks, and then I dislike my skin more because I’m constantly comparing it to the filtered version. It’s a version of me that doesn’t exist but somehow feels more real than my reflection.
Social media has trained my brain to believe that skin isn’t supposed to have texture, that pores are optional and that redness means I’m doing something wrong. When my actual, living, breathing skin doesn’t match what I see online every day, I feel like I’ve failed.
I know I’m not the only one doing it. We pretend filters are just adding a little glow or a bit of brightness when, really, we’re erasing half our faces — erasing the parts that make us human.
I keep telling myself I’ll stop. I’ll be honest about what my skin looks like — because no one cares.
No one except me.
But then I end up using the one filter that barely looks like a filter — a soft skin blur, a bit
of brightness. It’s the filter that lets me pretend, even just for a second, that I have the skin I want.
It’s subtle enough that I can lie to myself.
I want to get to a point where I like my real skin, and I don’t zoom in on every bump or pore. I don’t want to feel the need to fix myself before I can exist on camera.
I want to stop relying on filters. But I’m not there yet, and that’s okay.
Because this whole thing — beauty, self-image and acceptance — is not a linear journey. It’s complicated, messy and full of contradictions.
If you’re reading this and thinking the same, just know you’re not the only one.
Maybe one day I’ll post that unfiltered selfie. Maybe I’ll feel brave enough to show my true skin, even when it’s breaking out, red and uneven. Or, maybe I’ll keep faking it till I make it.
Yeah, probably that.
But here’s the thing — I’m done beating myself up about it. Because at the end of the day, it’s my face, my skin and my choice.
One of us is going to have to change: Matching my outfits with BU building styles | It’s All Been Done Before
BY ERICA SCHWARTZ Associate Lifestyle Editor
Boston University recently announced plans to construct a new building for the Pardee School of Global Studies.
After the announcement, users on the BU subreddit were quick to point out the variations in building styles on the Charles River Campus. One user referred to BU’s mismatched buildings as resembling an “ugly circus tent” due to the different architectural styles.
I couldn’t help but nod my head in agreement. It’s undeniable how different BU’s buildings look.
However, it’s not a complaint in my book.
I love to feel as if I’ve traveled back in time as I walk through different buildings on campus. In fact, I decided to challenge myself to dress to match the styles and eras of BU’s diverse dwellings and truly feel like a time traveler.
I doubt anyone wants to do the research required for this — thank you, Wayback Machine — but in case there’s someone else who wants to take on the style challenge of matching BU’s collage of architectural styles, here’s my definitive guide to embodying some of BU’s most iconic buildings.
Marsh Chapel and the College of Arts and Sciences
With their arching doorways and ornate spires reaching up toward the sky, the main buildings that comprise Central Campus are peak examples of the Collegiate Gothic architecture style. Although the design reigned supreme for institutions
of higher learning throughout the first half of the 20th century, CAS was specifically built in 1947.
In February that same year, Christian Dior introduced his first collection, the “New Look,” and I think there is no better inspiration than that.
The “New Look” was defined by curved shoulders and a pinched-in waist that flared into a wide skirt. So, turn to your fluffiest skirts and utilize your cutest belts to recreate the silhouette of the “New Look.”
If you aren’t a skirt wearer, you can try out pants that cinch at the waist and flare to a wider hip to capture the essence of Dior’s infamous silhouette.
If you want to lean into the Gothic aspect of Collegiate Gothic, lace motifs are a great way to recreate some of the complex designs found in the stained glass art of the original Gothic period.
Law Tower, Mugar Memorial Library and George Sherman Union
BU’s Law Tower is a highly celebrated example of Brutalist architecture in Boston, but it’s not the only one on BU’s campus. Both the George Sherman Union and Mugar Memorial Library are peak examples of Brutalism, built by the same architect — Brutalist-style adherent Josep Lluís Sert — as the venerated Law Tower.
Brutalism was all the rage in the 1950s after World War II, owing to the style’s focus on functionality and moderation in an unsettled world. The simple forms of Brutalist buildings make them an easy pick for building affordable housing after the war.
To dress like these Central Campus landmarks, think about how you can embody those concepts of utilitarianism in your outfit. Lean into textured fabrics, like tweed, that simultaneously invoke a sense of business and the rough concrete that Brutalism derived its name from.
Designer Claire McCardell’s looks and theories perfectly embody this vision. McCardell’s interest in staple pieces that can be mixed and matched made her a pioneer of practicality in fashion — a virtue Brutalists could totally get behind.
While Dior’s aforementioned New Look reigned supreme throughout the 1950s, the glamor of the style represents a different outlook than designers like McCardell and architects like Sert were trying to capture.
Dahod Family Alumni Center at the Castle
The Castle is one of the most well-known buildings on the BU campus — and for good reason.
The Tudor Revival-style building is equally warm and inviting as it is ornate and grand. With Medieval-inspired fireplaces and intricately carved wood embellishments, the Castle is a time capsule unlike any other.
However, while the Tudor Revival style makes for a gorgeous building, it’s a bit challenging to glean fashion inspiration from. Even as a vintage fanatic, I don’t see myself wearing an ornate busk or farthingale to class.
Luckily, the Castle’s history gives us another time period to pull inspiration from — the building itself was finished in 1915.
The style of 1915 was a mixture of leftover trends from the previous century — before social media, trends lasted a lot longer — and new designs like tunics worn over skirts. Midi skirts are a perfect pick as a reference to the war crinoline, a calf-length skirt that didn’t require as much excess fabric as longer skirts — perfect for wartime rationing.
Although others may find it grim, I think leaning into nautical elements like linens and shades of blue would be a lovely tribute to Leslie Lindsey, daughter of the original owner who passed in the sinking of the Lusitania shortly after the house was completed.
Duan Family Center for Computing & Data Sciences
The infamous Jenga building doesn’t fall under one architectural style — at least, that’s what my research suggests. Still, this ultramodern building represents so many of the same values that maximalist fashion promotes.
With its focus on sustainability and unique structure has been likened to a stack of books, the CDS is practically the embodiment of maximalism.
As I’ve previously written about, maximalists utilize a broad range of fabrics, patterns and silhouettes to create zany, eye-catching looks. Oftentimes, maximalists will utilize their eye for fashion to restyle the same pieces instead of purchasing more.
Just like the architects of CDS practiced sustainability in their creation of a building unlike any other, think about how you can repurpose pieces in your closet to craft one-of-a-kind looks.
If you’re someone who won’t be caught dead wearing the same outfit as someone else, this probably isn’t the style challenge for you. But, if you don’t mind a “twinning” moment, give it a try. Just because BU’s buildings might not match each other doesn’t mean that you can’t match with one of them.
Musk Foundation grants to BU rocketry club launch debate INVESTIGATIVE
faculty governance.”
Caleb Farny, master lecturer in the College of Engineering and BURPG faculty advisor, said 2022 and 2023 are the only years BURPG received grants from the Musk Foundation. He said the group’s relationship was “incredibly informal,” and BURPG has “not heard further” from the foundation.
The group also receives funding through internal and external sponsors, Farny said.
Farny said BURPG alums who work at companies Musk is involved in advocated to support the team, because they are aware of engineering costs and understand BURPG is the “pipeline” for future employees.
According to Farny, the Musk Foundation donations are “relatively small” compared to other sources of BURPG funding.
BURPG members traveled to the Mojave Desert in California Wednesday morning to prepare for the launch of the team’s “Icarus” rocket.
Zain Ahmed, senior and lead ENG senator in BU Student Government, helped BURPG receive $1,386 in additional funding from StuGov.
“If the rocket [launch is] successful, it’d be the largest liquid-powered rocket made by college students in the country,” Ahmed said. “For the sake of all the ENG students, I wanted them to be able to go there and succeed.”
As the leader of the new U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, which aims to slash federal funding to promote government efficiency, Musk has sparked controversy for his involvement in sweeping cuts and mass layoffs.
“Elon Musk is a genius,” said sophomore Philip Wohltorf, a member of BU College Republicans. “However, I also believe that the gap between being a genius and being somewhat crazy is very slim.”
Wohltorf said Musk’s appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference, where he wielded a “chainsaw of bureaucracy” to represent DOGE funding cuts, was an inappropriate rhetoric display.
BU senior Sean Waddington, treasurer of BU College Democrats, said Musk’s federal involvement is a ploy to receive “further tax breaks” to enrich campaign coffers and “attack” the working class.
Nathan Phillips, a professor in the College of Arts and Sciences Department of Earth and Environment, helps lead the Boston string of weekly “Tesla Takedown,” or “Tesla Takeover,” protests against Musk. He said the U.S. is “undergoing a radical dismantling” of government.
Phillips said he knows speaking out against Musk puts a target on his back, but he would consider it “a badge of courage” if he were fired for it.
“I don’t think his Nazi salutes are going to be well received if he steps on to Boston University’s campus,” Phillips said. “If you want to have free speech, come on to campus … We’ll talk about his Nazi salutes. We’ll talk about his other despicable actions.”
Ahmed said there is a “gray area” regarding the donations to BURPG because Musk is the richest person in the world.
“There’s going to be some positive things that [Musk] does, such as promoting STEM education through the Musk Foundation,” Ahmed said. “There’s also going to be some negative and destructive things, like his misinformed approach to optimizing government through DOGE.”
Waddington said he understands BURPG needs money, but the donation ethics matter when Musk “dictates” research, because Musk “gets to decide what research gets funded, and because he likes rockets, we get to research rockets.”
Emily Ghosh, a doctoral student in ENG, worked as a propulsion materials engineer at SpaceX from June 2019 to September 2022. She said it’s “very encouraging” when foundations like Musk’s support student groups working to break into a field.
The donations are “good” as long as they are made solely for lab research, Ghosh added.
Ghosh said she is uncomfortable speaking about
Musk’s recent political activity.
Phillips said he doesn’t see a problem with BURPG accepting donations from Musk in 2022 and 2023 when “Musk wasn’t out of the closet as a Nazi,” but the group would “know what they’re doing” if it accepted funding today.
American Studies Professor Mary Battenfeld is the copresident of the BU chapter of the American Association of University Professors. AAUP is one of the organizations that sued the Trump administration Feb. 3 to block its executive orders on diversity, equity and inclusion.
Battenfeld said Musk and other technology “bro-oligarchs” are different from the wealthy individuals of the 19th century — including Carnegie Mellon and John D. Rockefeller — who “did a lot of bad things but were actually very genuine in their charity.”
Musk’s donations to BURPG are a “drop in the bucket compared to what the entirety of BU’s research enterprise is suffering” following recent cuts by the National Institute of Health and National Science Foundation to research funding, Phillips said.
Phillips saw a Bluesky post Thursday urging users to check their retirement accounts and divest from any stock in Tesla or other Musk-owned companies.
After digging, he found a “big chunk” of his BU retirement portfolio was invested in Tesla.
“I don’t want to be invested
in the thing that I’m fighting against,” Phillips said.
Phillips’ retirement portfolio, sent to The Daily Free Press Thursday, showed his Tesla stock had a -27.94% rate of return since the first day of the calendar year. He said beyond political statements, it is a “bad money choice” to stay invested in Tesla.
BU puts funds into Fidelity, a company that manages retirement accounts and gives the employee control, Riley said.
“[The faculty member] can choose the mix that makes up their investments that make up their retirement account,” Riley said.
In protest of Musk, Phillips put lettered signage in his fourth-floor office window in CAS Wednesday. It reads, “Normalize love,” referencing a DOGE employee who resigned Feb. 6 after his X post reading “Normalize Indian hate” resurfaced.
This is a precedent for Phillips, who put signage reading “Divest” in his office window in 2021 to advocate for divestment from fossil fuels. He said the act of hanging banners in his window referenced a 1996 court case where four BU students successfully sued the University for the right to hang banners from their windows in protest of South African apartheid.
“Active resistance is throwing sand in the gears and inflicting direct economic damage on the forces that are dismantling our government,” Phillips said.
How BU’s Dog Pound went undercover in enemy territory to pull off a Beanpot prank for the ages
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
attended BC. All three showed up to the game in scarlet and white BU gear, but they shed their jerseys and hoodies for black and white undershirts. That, they hoped, would be enough to blend in with the thousand-plus BC students in attendance.
Starting anti-BU chants was another tactic. And Gassé was ready to improvise if pressed on the legitimacy of his BC fandom. If someone asked why he, Bichara and Opiela weren’t wearing BC gear?
“Our girlfriends are bringing our jerseys — they’re on the way.”
If someone wanted to know where on campus they lived?
“The Mods,” Gassé was ready to reply, referencing the small village of modular housing units in the middle of BC’s campus.
His major? Religion — of course.
“I make fun of BC so often, and I was thinking about this for so long,” Gassé said. “Most of it was
me telling Diego and Alex, ‘Be prepared for when they ask you this, and this is going to be our story,’”
About an hour before puck drop, with the arena mostly empty, Gassé, Bichara and Opiela rolled up the banner and walked from the Dog Pound’s corner of the upper balcony to Section 325, one of the many sections BC fans were set to occupy.
The trio found a spot near the top of the section. Things stayed quiet at first, but the section filled in with students as puck drop drew closer.
“When nobody was there, it seemed like, ‘Okay, this is going to be so easy, not worried about this at all.’ But BC fans started showing up. They’re yelling, they’re rowdy, saying, ‘I want to beat somebody from BU up!’” Gassé said. “I looked at Alex and Diego and I was like, ‘Okay, shut up. From here on out, we don’t talk to each other.’”
As puck drop drew closer, Gassé, Bichara and Opiela began to explain the plan to hold up the banner to those around them. When a group of BC students behind him asked
what the banner said, Gassé didn’t skip a beat.
“It says ‘BC OWNS BU,’” Gassé told them.
“Yeah! That’s awesome!” the students replied.
Gassé, Bichara and Opiela planned to wait until both teams skated onto the ice ahead of the national anthem. When the public address announcer said: “Your Boston University Terriers… and your Boston College Eagles!” the group would begin to unroll the banner and pass it onto the rows below.
“The cover was perfect,” Gassé said. “The time came, and I was about to piss my pants, right? They say ‘Boston College Eagles’ and I look at Alex and Diego. It was just like immediately, we all knew what to do.”
at the 2004 Harvard-Yale football game, where Yale students tricked Harvard fans into holding placards that spelled out: “WE SUCK.”
As a senior, Gassé wanted to make a final mark on the Dog Pound before graduating. He reached out to Dog Pound president Paco Moguel and discussions began from there.
The Dog Pound spray-painted
according to Moguel and Gassé. BC has enjoyed enormous student turnout since the team re-emerged as a national contender last season.
But unlike the Dog Pound at BU, there is no leadership organizing the student section. That made it easy for Gassé, Bichara and Opiela to convince students to hold up the banner.
“ There was still that fear that somebody knew what we did. But they were clueless. “
As soon as they heard their cue, Gassé, Bichara and Opiela handed their ends off to the next row. Within a few seconds, the banner stretched across the entire section.
Gassé, Bichara and Opiela had a full row to themselves — since they were “saving seats for their girlfriends.” That made for a swift exit to the concourse before anyone could realize the stunt they’d pulled off.
On the other side of the balcony, the Dog Pound erupted into celebration as they saw what was unfolding. Yes, the BC student section was waving a giant banner that said “BC SUCKS.”
The stunt was months in the making.
Gassé was inspired by a prank
ETHAN GASSÉ
the “BC SUCKS” banner in 2023 for that year’s BU-BC game at Agganis Arena. Since then, it had been lying around in someone’s apartment.
As he went about his preparations for the Dog Pound during the Harvard-Northeastern consolation game, Moguel had the idea for the prank. The banner was already in the building to be used in the BU section, so there was a perfect opportunity to pull off the stunt.
As Gassé heard about the scheme, he asked to be involved.
“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is it. This is what I’ve been wanting to do,’” Gassé said. “Immediately, I was like, ‘Yeah, I want to do this.’”
The disorganization of BC’s student section was key to success,
“You couldn’t do this prank on us, because we know everybody who does things,” Gassé said. “We know who the section organizers are and we know that if some guy brings in a flag and is like, ‘Okay, we’re gonna do this,’ everybody would be like ‘Who are you?’”
Sure enough, nobody in Section 325 questioned the banner, which stayed up for about 30 seconds — even after Gassé, Bichara and Opiela headed back to the concourse.
“There was still that fear that somebody knew what we did,” Gassé said. “But they were clueless.”
The prank set the stage for what was to come. The Terriers went on to score four unanswered goals and win the title, and the Dog Pound convinced former BU stars Lane Hutson and Macklin Celebrini to wave the BU flag during the game. By the time the Terriers scored to make it 4-1 with 1:42 to go, BC’s student contingent — was heading to the exits.
“Maybe this will light a fire under the butts of some diehard BC fans, that maybe they do need to get organized. Maybe they’re gonna want to get us back or something,” Gassé said. “But right now? Man, we just won. We totally won.”
For Alex Giannaros, having her name in the record books isn’t enough — she still wants a championship
BY RYAN ABAZARI Contributing Writer
Case Gymnasium has been good to the Boston University men’s basketball team this season.
Senior guard Alex Giannaros has cemented her place among the pantheon of Boston University women’s basketball greats, becoming a top-10 career pointsscorer in the program.
She has consistently been recognized as great, earning a spot on the Patriot League All-Rookie team her freshman year before claiming First Team All-Patriot League honors last season.
“After her first few games freshman year, she broke into the starting lineup. It was very clear that she could score,” associate head coach Brianna Finch said.
“There was never a doubt that she was going to be a prolific scorer, and she is not afraid of the moment either. She hit big shots time and time again, even going back to her first year.”
Giannaros entered the 2025 season totaling 963 points, and, amidst another stellar season among the Patriot League scoring leaders, reached the 1000-point milestone with a handful of games to go, and now is sitting within striking distance of the top five with at least three games left to play in
her BU career.
Despite another record in her illustrious career, though, she doesn’t really care about all that.
“Honestly, I had no clue that it was even possible,” Giannaros said. “Those numbers weren’t even a thought in my head.”
For Giannaros, all she cares about is her team’s success and path through the postseason.
“What I’ve been most focused on is getting that championship. Obviously it’s nice to have all these accolades, but I think that’s like the biggest one you chase,” she said. “I want to win our conference. I want to do what I like came here to do with this team, and the rest takes care of itself.”
But Giannaros’ impact on the game cannot be understated — and if she won’t speak her own praises, her stats can.
As of Feb. 27, she sits with the eighth-most points all-time at 1334, having notched 51 points since reaching the top 10, and continues to climb the ranks.
Despite this, she isn’t even in the top 10 for field goals attempted — while her scoring is incredible, her efficiency with the ball is something of acclaim, shooting over 40% through her career thus far.
A big reason for this is her stellar 3-point shooting, having made the third-most threes in program
history. She will likely graduate with the highest career shooting percentage from beyond the arc.
Her confidence from deep has her regularly shooting above 40% in this category too, even breaking the 50% mark her sophomore year, with her emerging as the top player in the stat in all of Division I women’s basketball that season.
While her stats speak for themselves, one of the most impressive things about her immense success is her ability to do all of this while still being one the shortest players on the team — standing at just 5-foot-5.
In a sport where bigger and taller players appear everyday, the undersized Giannaros always knew that the path for her wasn’t as easy.
“My entire life, everyone’s been like, ‘Oh, you’re so short…It’s gonna be hard for you to do what you’re doing at the next level, especially in Division I,’” she explained. “Obviously that stuff doesn’t really matter. It just means that you have to work a little bit harder than other people do, and honestly I was fine with doing that.”
And work hard she did — so much so that her coaches could not stop applauding the senior’s dedication.
“I am most impressed by her work ethic,” Graves said. “If you
looked at her shot chart [freshman year], it was threes and all right, nothing to the left side, so she’s worked not only to be able to get downhill, but she’s worked to use her right and her left hand. She’s worked to have a pull up jumper, where she’s a three-level scorer.”
Coach Finch echoed this. “She works tirelessly, all summer…she constantly challenges herself to be better in different spaces,” she said.
But the most important part of Giannaros is who she is off the court, as she has become a role model to young kids. Graves mentioned the childrens’ basketball
clinics Giannaros put on, and how much she has uplifted the community around her.
Giannaros has not only become a stellar representative for her hometown of Brockton, Massachusetts, but also for the community of Boston as a whole.
“It’s not just BU, her legacy and her impact has really spread farther out than that,” said Graves.
While her work on and off the court speaks volumes and her legacy is being solidified, there is still one thing she is chasing.
“It’s a Patriots League Championship,” said Giannaros.
Senior guard Alex Giannaros (10) shoots the ball during an away game against University of Connecticut on Nov. 7. Giannaros has cemented her place among the pantheon of Boston University women’s basketball greats, entering into the top 10 career points-scorers in the program.
“BC Sucks” sign in the Boston College student section at TD Garden during the Men’s Beanpot. Ethan Gassé, a senior at Boston University on the leadership team of the Dog Pound, and fellow Dog Pound members Diego Bichara and Alex Opiela went undercover in the student section to unveil the banner.
