3-18-2021

2021 COMMENCEMENT, 2

OVARIAN HEALTH, 4

PAYWALLS, 5

ASSAULTS IN ESPORTS

January 2021 grads will attend May ceremony.

BU alums are designing cancer diagnostic test.

To pay or not to pay.

Esports are not free from toxicity.

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THURSDAY, MAR. 18, 2021

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THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY

YEAR LI. VOLUME C. ISSUE VIII

Wheelock to launch BU Institute for Early Childhood Well-Being Juncheng Quan Daily Free Press Staff The Boston University Institute for Early Childhood Well-Being, which will research and develop new approaches to sustain young children’s health, well-being and education, is set to officially launch at a two-hour Zoom event for staff and faculty Thursday.

The Early Childhood Faculty Alliance of the Wheelock College of Education and Human Development developed the new Institute to research and transform the nurturing ecosystems of early childhood development locally and globally through collaboration with childhood researchers, scholars and providers in various disciplines.

The Institute is looking to partner with early childhood education providers, health care providers, pediatricians, food and nutrition programs, as well as other groups involved in the ecology of children’s development — which is everything involved in the healthy growth of children.

Ruth Paris, an associate professor and chair of the Clinical Practices Department in the School of Social Work, noted the importance of focusing on the growth of children —

especially those at a young age — in research.

“Early childhood is a really important time of life,” Paris said. “A lot hinges on what happens in the first five years of life, probably even a lot in the first three years of life.”

Paris said education research in very young children is critical because the challenges, including mental health, housing and food security, adolescents and adults face can often be addressed earlier in development.

“You can make a huge difference in someone’s life,” she said, “if you attend to the challenges that people experience in early childhood.”

Paris said the Institute evolved from academic collaboration in 2019 that strived to create interdisciplinary work at a local and global level.

“We realized that we needed an entity on the BU campus that would bridge all of those different schools and colleges,” Paris said, “and that would pretty much foster collaboration among all of the early childhood scholars.”

Stephanie Curenton-Jolly, associate professor at Wheelock and one of the organizers for the launch, said the goal of the virtual event was forming connections between various groups by having “very brief lightning talks” before separating into smaller discussions.

“People are going to be able to share their ideas and some of their research,” Curenton-Jolly said.

“Then we will break people into small breakout rooms and allow them to talk, to introduce themselves more and to think about ways that they can collaborate.”

College of Fine Arts freshman Delaney Finn, who is minoring in applied human development, said she

supported the new Institute as well as research for early childhood learning.

“I think it’s a field that a lot of people underestimate and one that a lot of the academic world needs to put more research into,” Finn said.

“Bringing a diverse background of researchers and educators will allow for a holistic understanding of early childhood development.”

College of Arts and Sciences

sophomore Zoe Plzak said she believes the creation of the Institute was a positive decision on BU’s part.

“I think it really upholds the values of Boston University as a research institution, not only promoting the learning of our students but also learning in general,” Plzak said. “I think it’s important to be aware of how we get here in the first place.”

AOCHI FU | DFP FILE

The Wheelock College of Education and Human Development. Wheelock launched its Institute for Early Childhood Well-Being Thursday, bringing together researchers who will study youth development.

Outdoor dining to resume in time for Dine Out Boston Jesús Marrero Suárez Daily Free Press Staff

SOPHIA FLISSLER | DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Patrons dine outside at GreCo on Newbury Street. Boston restaurants can reopen outdoor dining Monday instead of April 1 due to anticipated warm weather.

Outdoor dining will resume in Boston Monday, ten days earlier than originally planned, allowing local restaurants to offer increased seating before the end of Dine Out Boston — a biannual event featuring fixed-price lunch and dinner menus at more than 100 of the city’s restaurants.

Restaurants were originally slated to reopen their outdoor spaces April

1, but Mayor Marty Walsh announced Friday the date would be moved up due to a forecast for warmer weather.

Previously, restaurants needed state and city authorization to have an open outdoor dining area, said Steve Clark, vice president of government affairs at the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, but the state government has since waived their role in approval.

More than 430 restaurants have applied to the City’s 2021 Outdoor Dining Pilot Program — which offers a streamlined permitting process and the option to expand patio seating — since applications went live Dec. 10.

So far, more than 200 restaurants have been approved.

Boston’s outdoor dining restrictions came as COVID-19 cases rose and temperatures fell in December.

The change “led business to drop like a stone” at the end of 2020, Clark said.

While dining outdoors is safer than indoors, the warmer weather could present its own challenges because guests are more likely to spend longer periods unmasked and in close contact during meals, said Eleanor Murray, associate professor of epidemiology at Boston University.

“The more times you spend in a setting with potential exposures, the more likely you are to get infected,” she said. “For diners, the fact that people may feel like lingering in warm weather could actually be more risky for them.”

Alternatively, she said, it could be more safe for employees who would interact with a fewer number of customers if their meals take longer.

“From an employee perspective, actually having people kind of linger over their meals is a little bit of a safer situation,” she said.

Around 20% of the state’s restaurant industry has not reopened since the pandemic began, Clark said.

But, Murray said Dine Out Boston takes place around the same time

period when experts worry a rise in national COVID-19 cases may be brought on by new variants of the virus.

“If the variants do start taking off here in the U.S., it will be around the end of March, early April, which is exactly when Dine Out Boston would be happening,” she said. “It is a cause for concern.”

Clark said with vaccinations on the rise and restrictions getting lifted, many are feeling optimistic, but it’s important to remember lifted restrictions “only bring us back to where we were in October.”

Murray said the state “is not really doing a stellar job” with vaccine distribution, and the tourist attraction of the outdoor-dining event may increase risk of disease spread across state lines.

“We’re certainly not at the level where we should feel comfortable relying on vaccination to protect us from having large events like Dine Out Boston,” she said.

For restaurants still dealing with limited seating, such as 730 Tavern, Kitchen & Patio in Cambridge, the shift outdoors could make a significant difference for business.

“I can’t wait to get the good word and get the people outside to open the windows, so the restaurant can accommodate more guests,” said Davidson Bettero, general manager and one of the owners.

The restaurant, which opened in 2017, is currently participating in Dine Out. Bettero said 730 Tavern, Kitchen & Patio has had positive

experiences participating in the program.

“It’s always been great to us here,” he said. “We’ve been doing this for a couple years now, three plus years, and it’s always good, always helps.”

Lynsey Robbie is the general manager of A Tavola in Winchester, which is also participating in the program.

She said Dine Out Boston has helped the restaurant in the past, though she’s unsure whether the same will be true this season due to the pandemic.

“Things are lining up, and we have been getting more people coming to the restaurant the past few weeks,” she said, “so we’re hoping it’ll be a nice little spike in business for us as it usually is.”

Jérôme Bergère, chef and owner of La Voile Brookline, said he’s optimistic the warmer weather will bring people into his restaurant.

“I think people are very tired of staying home, and they’re taking the opportunity to come and try the restaurant with a new deal,” he said.

Bergère said La Voile is utilizing five parking spots in the street to offer additional seating for customers.

Clark said more “creative” outdoor dining areas in restaurants — which came as a necessity to include more seating options — will be one of the positives left from the pandemic.

“You see a lot of operators getting creative with the city, whether it’s alleyways or driveways or even streets that are being diverted to have more outdoor dining opportunities,” he said. “It seems that the dining public wants to come back as well.”

2 NEWS

Boston celebrates second COVID-19-era St. Patrick’s Day Taylor Brokesh Daily Free Press Staff Boston will host its second COVID-19-adapted St. Patrick’s Day Wednesday, with many of the city’s traditions shifted online or canceled entirely.

South Boston’s traditional St. Patrick’s Day Parade has been canceled for the second year in a row, while outdoor dining spaces remain closed at restaurants and bars that typically host celebrations.

Chris White, bartender and server at the historic Green Dragon Tavern, said with restrictions on live music in restaurants still in place, the bar won’t have its usual St. Patrick’s Day festivities.

“We’re going to run it just like a regular day, like a regular Wednesday,” he said.

Typically, the Green Dragon Tavern hosts a band and the bar is usually “full in the first hour,” White said.

He added that the Green Dragon’s capacity dropped from 146 customers plus standing room to just 60 seated.

However, Wednesday still has a host of events and ways for Bostonians to celebrate the luck of the Irish.

The Celtic punk band Dropkick

Murphys will be performing a virtual concert at 7 p.m. Last year, they performed a virtual concert on the holiday — keeping up a tradition of performing on St. Patrick’s Day weekend since 1996.

“For the 2nd year in a row, we’ll be playing a March 17 show in Boston... beamed to your living room,” the band tweeted Feb. 15.

This year’s performance is titled “Still Locked Down,” while last year’s was called “Streaming Up From Boston,” a play on their song “I’m Shipping Up To Boston.”

The Irish Heritage Trail is also open to the public.

On the trail, participants can see famous and historic sites that were important to the Irish immigrants of Boston — including the Rose Kennedy Garden, Boston City Hall, the site of the Boston Massacre and the Boston Public Library. The trail ends at Fenway Park.

Other local restaurants, such as Ned Devine’s, Summer Shack Cambridge, Harpoon Brewery and City Tap House, are offering special St. Patrick’s Day menus available for takeout or dine-in.

Additionally, Boston’s Irish Film Festival is running for five days starting Wednesday. Programming will run virtually on a new streaming service made in partnership with Cul-

COURTESY OF MASSACHUSETTS OFFICE OF TRAVEL & TOURISM VIA FLICKR

St. Patrick’s Day Celebration in South Boston. Most of the city’s St. Patrick’s Day festivities have been canceled or moved online this year.

ture Ireland.

“This new service is a welcome addition to the IFI’s long-running IFI International initiative,” according to the festival’s website, “a program which works closely with cultural festivals to bring the best of new and classic Irish cinema to venues around the world.”

This year’s selection includes feature films “A Bump Along The Way” and “The Last Right” as well as documentaries “When Women Won” and “The Hunger: The Story of the Irish

Famine,” among others.

The St. Patrick’s Day Road Race, a 5K run that typically occurs in-person each year, went virtual for 2021 — running from March 13 to 21.

Participants can run, walk, bike, row, treadmill or Peloton 3.1 miles for chances to win prizes and raise funds for the Edgerley Family South Boston Boys & Girls Club.

Last year, the Boston-staple St. Patrick’s Day Parade was canceled March 10, 2020.

“This decision is being made out of an abundance of caution to ensure

that we are doing what is needed to keep the residents of Boston safe and healthy,” Mayor Marty Walsh wrote.

This year, following a second parade cancellation, Walsh reiterated the importance of COVID-19 safety protocols in a Wednesday afternoon Twitter thread.

“The safest way to celebrate is at home with the people who live with you or to gather virtually with friends and family,” Walsh tweeted. “I love St. Patrick’s Day as much as anyone else but we must stay vigilant in order to stop the spread of #COVID19.”

January 2021 graduates to attend in-person May commencement following student, parent objections Tanisha Bhat Daily Free Press Staff Boston University President Robert Brown announced in an email to Class of 2021 January graduates Monday that they are now invited to attend the in-person commencement ceremony in May, following numerous complaints from parents and students.

Previously, January graduates were set to attend the in-person ceremony for the Class of 2020 in October.

“We hope that you will be able to join us on this special occasion,” Brown wrote. “Although the format of commencement will be different this year, we aim to provide an event that celebrates and acknowledges your hard work and accomplishments.”

The commencement is scheduled for Sunday, May 16 and is limited to graduating students. The University is planning to provide family and friends with virtual access to the ceremony.

Each BU school or college will host its convocation virtually, and students will receive their diplomas in the mail.

Brown also asked students to complete a survey to inform the University if they plan to attend the in-person ceremony.

BU spokesperson Colin Riley said the University changed its decision for January graduates after receiving convincing arguments from the BU community.

“I think just the persuasiveness

ALEXANDRA WIMLEY | DFP FILE

Students celebrate at Boston University’s 2016 commencement. BU President Robert Brown announced Monday January 2021 graduates will be allowed to participate in the University’s in-person commencement in May.

of the logic,” he said, “and the fact that we’ll be able to find a way to accommodate those students, those graduates.”

The University has yet to create a testing or quarantine protocol for those attending the in-person ceremony, but Brown wrote in his email that information regarding COVID-19 procedures and how to register will be provided at a later date.

Riley added while he is unsure of the exact logistics of how testing will occur, graduates will likely receive further communication with steps for testing before the ceremony.

“We’re doing our part to ensure that everyone who is participating in that ceremony has been tested and is

negative,” Riley said.

Sarika Ram, a January 2021 College of Arts and Sciences graduate, said she was happy to hear she could attend the May ceremony — she hasn’t been on campus since last March.

“I am pretty excited, because I just got the diploma in the mail and thought that was really going to be it,” Ram said. “But the fact that now I’ll be able to say goodbye to my friends and kind of have closure for this weird chapter is for me personally, exciting.”

Although she is looking forward to the event, she said she worries about the ceremony’s potential to be a super-spreader event.

“I think there’s some valid critiques of having students who haven’t been

on campus coming in, potentially hundreds of us, maybe even totaling 1,000 or more,” Ram said. “That could definitely be problematic in terms of bringing COVID onto campus and, again, to the greater Boston area.”

Miriam Kamens, a 2020 CAS graduate, said she thought it was “strange” for people who graduated after her class to attend their ceremony before she could attend hers.

“At the same time I understand, because if you can get those people that have a graduation that’s as close as possible to when they’re graduating, it’s definitely more ideal for them,” Kamens said. “I can understand why those parents complained.”

If BU begins catering to the

demands of parents and students for this particular case, however, she said they might have to start listening to parents of students from the previous year.

“It’s definitely a strange choice because I think that just opens it up for the parents of last year’s graduating class to also complain,” Kamens said, “and I think it’d be difficult to figure out where to draw the line.”

She added that having more people at the May ceremony might make it difficult to socially distance and some people might be deterred from attending a large event in the current state of the pandemic.

“It’ll make it more difficult for people who aren’t vaccinated yet, who might not be comfortable in going,” Kamens said. “Maybe they would have felt more comfortable going to the October one, but they just can’t travel or can’t get to the one in the Spring.”

While providing graduates with the opportunity to have an in-person ceremony was important, Riley noted that safety remains the number one priority.

“The last thing we want to do after everyone’s gone through so much this past year,” he said, “is to create a situation where there is the spread of the virus.”

Disclaimer: Sarika Ram was a City Editor at The Daily Free Press for the Spring 2018 semester. She was not involved in the reporting or editing of this story.

FEATURES 3

COMMUNITY

Student organization promotes the beauty of natural hair Rachel Do Daily Free Press Staff A woman named Chastity Jones was offered a position as a customer service representative in 2010. She was asked to cut off her dreadlocks because the hiring manager reportedly said “they tend to get messy.” Her job application was rescinded after she refused to do so.

Although this happened more than a decade ago, Jones’ case is not unique — children have been barred from going to school with certain hair styles, and many people in the Black community have faced discrimination for their hair in the workplace.

But change is coming: States and cities have passed legislation outlawing hair discrimination, and human rights organizations have been advocating for the cause. And students at Boston University are also working to support natural hair.

BU Naturally — an on-campus organization — celebrates, inspires and uplifts natural hair and the community at large through selflove, service and education, said Ronunique Clark, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences and the co-president of the organization.

“Personally, as we advance as a society, we see more now that natural hair is starting to become a norm,” she said. “We just want to just keep

promoting it and making sure it keeps moving forward, and helping women be able to embrace that look.”

The club was officially founded in April 2019, Clark said. Prior to that, BU Naturally was a part of a larger organization called Campus Curlz, but branched into its own organization to better meet the community’s needs, she said.

“We did not feel like that umbrella organization was meeting the needs of BU students or what we wanted to do for the BU students here on campus,” Clark said. “We … branched off from Campus Curlz and wanted to just do our own thing that can really cater to our community personally.”

The club — whose slogan is “natural and prospering shine” — has been working since its founding to foster community and host events empowering people with curly hair and any style in between to embrace their natural beauty.

Naomi Boye, a junior in the Questrom School of Business and BU Naturally treasurer, said education is also a significant component of the club’s duty.

“I think it’s important for people to learn how to do their hair,” she said.

“People are so used to wearing their hair straight now that if they want to wear it natural, they don’t really know what to do, they don’t know how to take care of it. So, I think we aid in that process as well.”

In the past, the organization has

held in-person interactive events, including larger events under Campus Curlz called “Curlz Night Out,” which she described as a “big expo” involving live demonstrations of different hair styles from a stylist and a talk on the history of hair in the United States.

Pivoting throughout the pandemic, the group now hosts virtual “Curl Chats” when club members can gather and converse about a new hairrelated topic to maintain community despite the physical distance.

In addition to casual conversations and activities around curly hair, BU Naturally also holds discussions regarding microaggressions that are often centered around Black students’ hair.

The organization recently partnered with Black Business Student Association to host a panel discussion where students were given the opportunity to share their personal experiences with wearing natural hair in the workplace.

“Talk about people’s personal stories as well … what can we do as a society to make people more comfortable while wearing their natural hair,” Clark said. “We definitely have these conversations.”

Clark said BU Naturally is working to create acceptance beyond the organization as well.

“We definitely have these conversations when we have meetings or things like that amongst each

HANNAH YOSHINAGA | PHOTO EDITOR

BU Naturally, an on-campus club, hosts events and promotes hair education to celebrate natural hair.

other,” she said, “but I definitely think we are working more towards putting it more out there.”

BU Naturally recently hosted a giveaway for Valentine’s Day of sample-sized hair products, Boye said. Clark said there will be another installment of “Curl Chats,” as well as an information session called “Natural Hair and Me” discussing what natural hair really means.

“We’ve known all our life to take care of our hair, and now hairstylists are saying no, that’s not the proper way to do it,” Clark said, “so how are we going to transition from this way we’ve been learning all our lives to this newfound way of what natural hair should be?”

Boye said in the future she hopes the club can host more “hands-on events” related to hair care and style.

She said as far as the natural hair movement as a whole, she wants there

to be more acceptance.

“There is kind of a focus on having super-defined curls and … having your hair look perfect all the time,” she said. “I think we could work on being more acceptable of just having a messy hair day.”

The organization is hosting an information session at their next “Curl Chat” Tuesday, and is currently recruiting for multiple positions, including vice president, secretary, program directors, as well as committee members on the outreach and blogging team.

“We just want to just keep promoting it and making sure it keeps moving forward, and helping women be able to embrace that look,” Clark said, “whether that’s straight hair, whether that’s curly hair, whatever it needs to be, but just embracing one’s natural hair in beauty.”

BUSINESS

TERRIERS IN BIZ: BU alumna leverages nonprofit to achieve gender parity in hackathon Yiran Yu Daily Free Press Staff Hacker. Almost always, this term evokes the image of a man typing furiously on his computer.

In fact, despite having higher levels of education, women represented only 24 percent of the cyber security workforce in 2019, according to a study by the International Information System Security Certification Consortium.

Nevertheless, Boston University alumna Fiona Whittington is determined to change the industry by incorporating better representation not just of women, but for all marginalized genders.

Whittington, a 2019 graduate of the College of Communication, is the executive director and co-founder of HANNAH YOSHINAGA | PHOTO EDITOR

TechTogether — a nonprofit started in 2018 to address the lack of gender diversity in hacking by hosting “gender-focused hackathons” across the country, according to its website.

Whittington said the overall mission is to foster an inclusive, safe space for gender-marginalized youth to enter the industry, learn and hack through national gender-focused hackathons. She said the organization also conducts research and other inclusive programming.

“We’re really proud of all the work that we’ve done to increase the representation,” Whittington said.

“I’m looking forward to continuing to work towards achieving gender parity within the hackathon space specifically.”

The organization is now the largest hackathon in the country working to address gender inequities in the industry, according to the website

Boston University alum Fiona Whittington’s nonprofit TechTogether aims to increase gender diversity in hackathons.

— gender diversity increased in hackathons 18% from 2019 to 2020, in part due to the TechTogether’s work.

Whittington said existing gender norms in technology motivated her to start her company.

“Traditionally, we see that societal barriers, like stereotypes, really prevent underrepresented groups,” she said, “specifically people of marginalized genders, from participating in the hackathon community.”

She said her personal reckoning with imposter syndrome at her first hackathon event was also a motivation to start TechTogether. As a non-computer science major and a woman at the event, Whittington said she felt out of place, which was exacerbated when a man asked her if she ever coded.

“Even though I still had an incredible experience, that specific encounter really showed me why creating these safe and inclusive spaces was so important,” Whittington said, “I wasn’t alone in these experiences, which again was what fueled my passion for making these spaces more accessible.”

The organization actually began as an all-female hackathon called SheHacks in 2017, and has since expanded to be more genderinclusive.

As TechTogether, dropping the pronoun in its name, it was the

first gender-focused hackathon to promote gender-inclusive language, according to the website. The organization hopes to advocate for other organizations to make similar changes, Whittington said.

“We wanted to expand upon the work in gender diversity because there wasn’t a reason for us to remain exclusive to serving women specifically,” she said. “There are marginalized voices even within underrepresented communities, and I think to ignore those is doing TechTogether a disservice.”

She said the first hackathon hosted about 700 to 800 hackers and garnered national attention from news outlets, such as The Associated Press and The New York Times. She said the widespread impact confirmed the viability of her venture.

“The impact was so incredible, [we thought] we can’t just leave it here,” she said, “so that’s really where the idea of TechTogether came from.”

Whittington said she decided to continue her project by building a chapter model to expand into cities and rural areas. The organization is now in Boston, New York, Seattle and Atlanta, and plans to expand to Chicago and Miami this year, she said.

Lisa Vu, another co-founder of TechTogether and a 2019 alumna of the College of Arts and Science, first became involved with SheHacks before becoming an organizer at

TechTogether — the founding of which was serendipitous, she said.

“My journey with TechTogether was more on the line of being the right person at the right time, meeting the right people at the right time,” she said.

As an undergraduate, Vu said she participated in BostonHacks — an annual 36-hour student hackathon that takes place in November — and said her experience gave her valuable industry knowledge and networking opportunities.

Jennifer Kim, a senior computer science major in CAS and the current director of BostonHacks, said the hacking organization is making effortful steps to maintain a “50-50 gender ratio” and to accept organizers from diverse racial backgrounds.

Kim said she hopes such initiatives foster a more inclusive hacking community.

“Moving forward, I hope more girls get exposure to tech at a younger age,” Kim said, “and it just becomes more of a norm than an anomaly.”

Regarding her college life, Whittington said trying different courses has helped with her entrepreneurship.

“I was a very chaotic BU student in that I took classes in every college,” she said. “But by having that diversity of experience and being able to build such a robust skillset, it really helped me be able to prepare myself to be an entrepreneur.”

4 FEATURES

SCIENCE

BU alumnas spearhead innovations in ovarian health Divya Sood Daily Free Press Staff One out of every 75 individuals with ovaries will receive an ovarian cancer diagnosis in their life, according to Planned Parenthood. Each year, 21,000 individuals are diagnosed and 14,000 die in the United States.

However, if 50% more ovarian cancer cases are detected at stage I or II, disease deaths would decrease by half, according to the organization AOA, which is developing products with the potential to improve early cancer diagnosis.

Together, 2012 alumna of the College of Arts and Sciences Oriana Papin-Zoghbi and 2009 Questrom School of Business alumna Anna Jeter, along with organization COO Alex Fisher, co-founded AOA — a Boston-based startup developing an early stage diagnostic test for ovarian cancer they boast as “the first accurate” tool for such detection, according to the website.

The test will be a liquid biopsy called Akrivis GD that will look for tumor glycolipids — markers for an ovarian cancer diagnosis.

Papin-Zoghbi, who is also the CEO, said she has been working in women’s health for a decade. She said she and the other co-founders noticed a discrepancy in the attention paid to the field compared to men’s.

Inspired to address the inequities, she said the trio investigated what aspect of their field needed attention in late 2018 and early 2019. Over a year, they evaluated different technologies, looking into health problems that needed more research and could impact the lives of persons with ovaries.

In 2019, they were introduced to McGill University professor Uri Saragovi, who invented a diagnostic test for ovarian cancer in his work with cancer vaccines and therapeutics.

“The more we learned about ovar- tients can often miss them entirely or build a strong network with other you studied.” ian cancer and the more we realized mistake them for symptoms of meno- women leaders, she said, which has Papin-Zoghbi said she encourages how there was a need to try to find pause, making diagnostic tools like helped her fundraise. students, especially aspiring entrea way to diagnose it early,” she said, the AOA test helpful in explaining At BU, Jeter studied finance, and preneurs, to explore different careers “we knew that this is just something these symptoms before they become Papin-Zoghbi initially started on the and network, and to follow a career that we wanted to work on together.” too damaging. pre-med track and later studied in- they feel inspired by.

While Saragovi and his team are Saragovi said the team is in the ternational relations and economics “When you’re starting off your cadeveloping the test itself, AOA is re- process of securing funding and — academic paths vaguely relat- reer, [find] people rather than compasponsible for licensing it. developing a proof of concept to ed to their careers today. They both nies and that’s because you’re going The liquid biopsy test detects demonstrate the product’s efficacy. stressed the importance of exploring to learn so much from good managovarian cancer in the bloodstream, The test is expected to enter the mar- new opportunities to find your pas- ers and good mentors and good teamSaragovi said. Though it will need ket once FDA testing is completed, sion. mates that could eventually guide to go through FDA-regulated clinical which could take several years.

“Don’t let potentially what you you into a career,” Papin-Zoghbi trials, he said it has been successful.

Papin-Zoghbi said she has faced study dictate or narrow your field at said. “[AOA is] a testament to when Unlike the current “gold standard” challenges in raising funds as a fe- all,” Jeter said. “It’s all about finding you find good people, you stick with test CA 125, which tests for cancer male in the field. A lack of female the right people and what you care them, and eventually you build comantigens, Saragovi said their test is investors has pushed her to seek and about, rather than necessarily what panies with them.” specifically designed to detect ovarian cancer directly, with the ability to do so in early stages and prevent false diagnoses.

“We think that this test can move the needle in terms of early diagnosis and allow for better survival,” Saragovi said.

Another advantage, Saragovi said, is that the blood test is not as invasive as a surgical biopsy would be and can be performed “longitudinally” to better track how the patient is fairing. Additionally, Saragovi said he anticipates the test should be accessible and “significantly less expensive” than comparable tests.

Jeter, the CBO of AOA, said the five-year survival rate of latestage ovarian cancer is less than 28%, but when caught in the early stages, the survival rate climbs to 90%. Because the symptoms are not as COURTESY OF FERNANDO ZHIMINAICELA VIA PIXABAY severe, she said health Boston University alumni Oriana Papin-Zoghbi and Anna Jeter are co-founders and members of AOA, a Boston startup working to decare providers and pa- velop the first non-invasive test for ovarian cancer.

ILLUSTRATION BY ALEXIA NIZHNY

Song Spotlight:

‘Wicked Games’ by The Weeknd Ask Sophia:

How to have a Hot Girl Summer for the future Sophia Yakumithis Daily Free Press Staff My body has taken a serious hit since the lockdown started last March. This makes me mad because I was living my best hot girl life before then.

For those of you who don’t know me, I’m one of those bitches who wakes up at 6:00 a.m. to workout and am constantly bouncing from the moment I step off the elliptical. I am not, however, the type to tell people they’re worthless if they don’t enjoy exercising.

I want to make that last point very clear — if I give anyone health or fitness tips, it’s explicitly because they asked me, not because I want clout. And more importantly, I don’t want people to get the vibe that I have sex with a T-shirt on because I feel like those people usually belong to the same community.

Needless to say, not going to the

gym since its initial closure has been a tough adjustment, which started taking a toll on me in the recent winter months. I do at-home pilates now, but I had the means to also do gym cardio during winter break before the pandemic.

I think I’ve maintained a solid routine despite lockdown restrictions and cold weather. But from a cosmetic standpoint, I miss how shredded the cardio machines made my core in the dead of winter. Sports Illustrated has not contacted me, but that doesn’t mean they never will. Plus, if I ever run into Leonardo Dicaprio, I do, in fact, want him to be blown away by my sculpted naked body.

My best friend shares this lamentation, and we’ve formed a wellness support group as we quarantine together. This week, she hit me with a pressing question that I think deserves its own space in the platform that is this column: First off, girl, I feel you. I, too, am “bloated and disgusting.” Normally I would not endorse detoxing, but I understand where she’s coming from in this case, and I say go for it.

If you feel like absolute crap and don’t have the energy or means to

work out at home, taking a week to adopt a low-to-no-fat diet packed with lean protein, green juice and veggies is probably a smart idea. Not only will it kill your sugar cravings, but it’ll allow your kidneys and liver to focus on processing antioxidants and vitamins. Plus, if your skin is nasty and you’ve been feeling sluggish (which she claims is the case), slamming your bloodstream with essential nutrients will make you a glowing goddess and at least boost your confidence.

As far as bloating goes, I’m the queen of it. Drinking tons of green tea, water and apple cider vinegar throughout the day is not only a good way to stay hydrated, but also wakes up your metabolism and reminds it to do its thang. That’s crucial for maximizing any physical activity you do during the day and will also ensure you get a good night’s sleep.

All of that said, I still feel like a blob. But revitalizing oneself for a week is a good way to at least feel less blob-ish. With warmer weather making it easier to go running again, I think we are en route to a hot girl summer once again. And does anything else even matter?

Katrina Liu Daily Free Press Staff

A themed playlist that seems to be common among many of my friends, specifically my girl friends, is one that makes you feel like a badass. It’s healthy for the soul to feel unstoppable for a moment, and many songs can accompany you — “Wicked Games” is one of them.

On the off chance you don’t know the singer behind “Blinding Lights,” The Weeknd is known for other hits such as “Starboy,” “I Feel It Coming” and “Can’t Feel My Face.” Each of those songs has been streamed more than 1 billion times on Spotify. That’s how insane The Weeknd’s songs are.

The Weeknd, born Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, is a Canadian R&B pop singer. He has won three Grammy Awards, nine Billboard Music Awards and numerous other accolades. It seems like one of his songs is always on the radio — he’s everywhere.

But, I want to point to one of his earlier songs. “Wicked Games” was initially released on “House of Balloons,” a 2011 mixtape. I recently discovered 2012’s “Trilogy,” where the track also appears, and immediately fell in love with its vibe.

I’m not going to analyze the lyrics too much because it’s mainly about sex and if I were to break it down, I wouldn’t be able to write this article.

However, the yearning sentiment of loving someone, even if it’s only temporary and fleeting, gives this song a subtle hint of heartbreak and longing.

The song has a spectacular bass that hits you just right if you play the song at the perfect volume. It’s also a song I love to listen to late at night with the fairy lights in my room as the only source of electricity. It’s almost haunting, which I find beautiful.

The slower tempo of this song also makes it more impactful to me.

It allows Tesfaye’s vocals to shine through effortless runs and adlibs that weave in between the musical phrases. It allows the listener to feel his pain, desperation and anguish in a less obvious manner. It’s genius.

While you can play this song to get into the mood before a night out, you can also play it when you’re sitting down at your desk and preparing to go to sleep. It’s telling when a song is versatile enough to be able to be played in numerous scenarios seamlessly.

“Wicked Games” is a newfound favorite of mine, which proves that quarantine has caused me to learn about older songs I wished I had known about earlier.

FEATURES 5

EDITORIAL

Paywalls act as deterrents to the public, but are necessary for financial prosperity in the journalism industry

ILLUSTRATION BY EMMA MONEUSE

Have you ever seen an interesting headline floating around — possibly from The New York Times, The Boston Globe, National Geographic or The Washington Post — only to click on it and get blocked by a pop-up demanding payment?

These annoying facets of digital news are called paywalls, and they’ve been in use for 20 years, gaining popularity after the NYT started using them around 2011-2012. More than 76% of U.S. online news outlets had some form of a paywall in 2019, and subscription prices range from $1 to upward of $30 per month.

Though the public must support journalists and reporters, who are already underpaid, it’s frustrating to see news organizations prioritize business at the expense of its responsibility to inform. Beyond paywalls, many publications have become more dependent on shock value and headline virality for profit.

Another model of free journalism — as exemplified by CNN — includes postering advertisements across its site. Unfortunately, some of these ads are undoubtedly for tabloids or “fake news,” ironically proliferating the spread of misinformation.

The prevalence of news walls, especially the expensive ones, could already turn the average citizen toward cheaper or free options, making social media or fake news more accessible and appealing. In lower socioeconomic circles and older generations who may not be willing to pay or able to parse facts from lies, this phenomenon may be further compounded.

Featuring sponsored posts for unreliable information on a news website that is supposed to be credible feels disingenuous, especially as the line between fake and real is increasingly blurred by social media and technology.

It isn’t just newspapers that need to change their business model, though. We should

also put effort into teaching and improving our media literacy so fake news won’t have a platform.

Beyond fake news, paywalls still risk creating what’s known as an “echo chamber.” If most publications put a price on their content, people may be more inclined to subscribe to only one outlet that aligns with their beliefs, thereby exposing themselves to one viewpoint while shutting out all others.

And the process is cyclical — the publication responds by catering increasingly partisan articles because that’s seemingly what paying readers care about.

Paywalls aren’t entirely effective either: You could use incognito mode, browser extensions, separate devices or simply jump between metered publications where they’ll give you a handful of articles before paywalling you.

Unless the news outlet has a hard paywall — where you can’t access any content at all before paying — if you’re persistent enough, you could probably find a way.

News outlets without a loyal readership will find they have only alienated potential subscribers.

Paywalls do news outlets and the public a disservice by acting as a deterrent to the vast majority, but don’t do their job well enough to keep out the dedicated few.

However, it is important to note that before online journalism, most everyone who wanted to read the news would buy or subscribe to print newspapers delivered to their house. In our new

age of convenience and accessibility, we may feel entitled to more free content — without taking into consideration the craft and sheer amount of work journalists put into each article.

Small publications also rely heavily on advertisements and other sponsored content.

Without these, paywalls and additional forms of income, a lot of local newspapers could be headed toward extinction.

It also comes down to a question of priority.

Our generation in particular has built social media and even other subscriptions services such as Spotify and Netflix into our culture and daily routine.

The time and brain power required to process and read the news may already feel unnatural when we’re so used to fast information and multitasking. In these cases, the paywall serves as another barrier even though it shouldn’t be — we are more than capable of paying upward of $10 every month on entertainment services, so why not on information?

Still, many large, national and international outlets that dominate the news cycle have an established legacy, credibility and audience, and they could afford to lower their rates or do away with them entirely. The Guardian has shown it’s possible — it has no paywall at all, making their news available to everyone.

This is the best-case scenario. If well-known, credible news is made accessible to everyone, fake news will lose one of its legs. Furthermore, our financial support could be redirected to

We’re so used to fast information and multitasking.

local, small and independent news organizations that have more specialized and diverse stories to tell.

Readers would be able to have multiple streams of information, and we could potentially even out readership between national and local news, helping add a diversity of voices to our media consumption.

Other solutions could involve switching to crowdfunded or nonprofit models, following in the footsteps of NPR and a couple local publications. News outlets with exorbitant prices could also simply lower their subscription rates.

As readers, we can circumvent the paywall by supporting individual journalists on social media and following them for live-reporting on Twitter. Established news publications also have newsletters that are free to the public.

For Boston University students, we are fortunate enough to have a school that provides us with free subscriptions, but not everyone has that luxury.

The paywall problem requires a delicate, balanced solution. Readers are responsible for financially supporting publications if they are able and publications are responsible for prioritizing public, reliable news over profit — if possible.

EDITORIAL BOARD Colbi Edmonds, Editor-in-Chief Nick Kolev, Campus Editor Charles Moore, Sports Editor Hannah Yoshinaga, Photo Editor

Cameron Morsberger, Managing Editor Daniel Kool, City Editor

Jackson Machesky, Podcast Editor

Alexia Nizhny, Layout & Graphics Editor Emma Sanchez, Lifestyle Editor

Abbigale Shi, Opinion Editor

Lily Kepner, Features Editor

GRAPHIC BY ALEXIA NIZHNY Andrew Harwood, Multimedia Editor

OPINION 6

COLUMNS Off the Post:

Five talented teams in the East, only four playoff spots

Chad Jones Columnist

During this unprecedented NHL season, in the midst of the pandemic, the four realigned divisions have created many interesting and surprising storylines.

The Florida Panthers are, shockingly, tied for the league lead in points. The Toronto Maple Leafs appear to be ready to finally break out of the first round of the playoffs. And few would have predicted the Minnesota Wild would be in second place, sandwiched between the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche, on St. Patrick’s Day. However, the deepest division, as many thought would be the case before the season started, is the Eastern Division. The Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins

game, few are better at lighting that fire than Mathew Barzal.

Currently in third place are the Pittsburgh Penguins. After a bizarre beginning to their season — that included general manager Jim Rutherford resigning out of seemingly nowhere — it appeared that Pittsburgh could be heading for a down year. But Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin continue to remind the hockey world that the Penguins will be competitive as long as 87 and 71 are in black and gold.

ILLUSTRATION BY ALEXIA NIZHNY Speaking of black and gold, have been swapping division standings as if they the significant overhaul to the Bruins’ roster has were baseball cards.

Currently, the Capitals are claiming the No. 1 led to a season riddled with high peaks and low spot in the East. While they have the same num- valleys. While they again lack secondary scorber of points as the Islanders, they have played ing, they sit at fourth in the division. The top-tier talent on the roster is as good as any in the one less game and have lost one less contest.

A couple of Washington’s skilled players, league. Charlie McAvoy, Tuukka Rask between Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alex Ovechkin, are cur- the pipes and of course the best line in Boston: rently on heaters. Kuznetsov has corralled six Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David points in the last five games and Ovechkin has Pastrnak have kept Boston in the mix. But the lit the lamp in five of his last six contests, includ- young defensive unit and other three lines will ing the last four straight matchups when he has need to step up their game for the Bruins to found the back of the net. With their hard-hit- make a significant run.

Lastly, and currently outside the playoff picting offensive skill set, they are a tough matchup ture in fifth place, are the Philadelphia Flyers. for any team in the league.

In his third year in net, Carter Hart has taken a The often-overlooked Islanders are right in step back.

His goals against average has swelled the thick of things, again. Under Barry Trotz’s from 2.42 in 2020 to 3.62 this season. And his defensive-minded coaching, New York is a save percentage has dipped from .914 to .884. tough team to go against any given night — they wear opponents down over 60 minutes. And if It did not help that Sean Couturier, last season’s they are looking for an offensive spark late in the Selke Trophy winner as the best defensive for-

ward in the league, was out for 10 games. The Flyers have talent up and down their roster, but they need to find consistency soon if they want to compete for The Stanley Cup. Unfortunately for one of these five teams, its players will be watching the playoffs from their homes. Each division will have four teams reach the postseason. So, either New York, Washington, Pittsburgh, Boston or Philadelphia will get the spring off. Whichever team misses out on the dance will struggle swallowing one massive pill.

Because of game postponements due to the NHL COVID-19 protocols, many teams have a skewed number of contests under their belt.

Moreover, points percentage can be a good way of seeing who has had a good season — rather than just looking at total points — which simply means the percentage of points a team has accumulated compared to how many were available.

Currently, there are more than 10 teams in the NHL that have accumulated a points percentage above .590, and five of them are in the East. The Flyers are looking in at the playoff bubble but have a better points percentage than four playoff teams: Chicago, Edmonton, Montreal and St. Louis.

While this playoff race will inevitably leave one team out, the hockey down the stretch in the East will be phenomenal. Not only will every game have postseason intensity, especially if the race gets even tighter, but the teams doing battle all have fantastic players.

So, while each division will have important and entertaining games the rest of the way, the five teams slugging it out in the East will lead to some incredibly spirited bouts.

Gaming the System:

Behind closed doors, esports perpetuate sexual assault

Nick Speranza Columnist

A few short weeks ago, Jay “Sinatraa” Won was at the top of the esports world. He was a generational Overwatch talent and a fierce trash-talker who backed his ego up with incredible skill. He was famous for his leaked salary: $150,000 per year at the young age of 17.

Although his first season in the Overwatch League was disappointing, he ascended to the pantheon of Overwatch legends the following year. The San Francisco Shock won 2019’s Overwatch League Grand Finals on the back of Sintraa’s superstar performance, earning him the season MVP title along the way.

His April 2020 decision to leave Overwatch and go professional in Riot Games’ new title Valorant seemed all the more surprising with this context, but he proved the doubters wrong on that front too. Rather than being a fish out of water, he collected even more praise for his skill.

He was an idol for thousands of gamers, myself included. He was the undisputed “Greatest Of All Time.” The mindset of improvement he articulated in one interview — “drop the ego, focus on the grind” — became a mantra for us.

Until last week, no one knew he was a sexual abuser. His ex-girlfriend posted a nine-page Google Doc March 9 detailing her experience

with him, which included rape and emotional manipulation. Her descriptions were supplemented with screenshots of their texts and even a harrowing audio recording of a sexual encounter.

As a fan of competitive Super Smash Bros. as well, this whole situation feels eerily familiar.

More than 50 of the best Smash players and community figures were accused of sexual assault last July. In many cases, the accused admitted to the accusations afterward.

One such player involved in sexual assault was Gonzalo “ZeRo” Barrios, an undisputed legend in one title in the franchise. ZeRo holds a winning streak long enough to be recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records.

The Smash scene’s uniquely “grassroots” character has caused its deep-seated crisis of sexual abuse, and this relationship illuminates the problem in competitive gaming in general.

Smash has little in the way of an official circuit, and its tournaments are run almost entirely by fans because the developers at Nintendo are uninvolved in competitive gaming.

“Starry-eyed fans mingle with videogame juggernauts … pro players with social media empires, sponsorships, and esports-team clout roam free among their fanbases—a power dynamic born of internet microcelebrity,” wrote Wired staff writer Cecilia d’Anastasio.

This, combined with the alcohol that flows at afterparties, was a recipe for disaster.

Overwatch esports are heavily financed and organized by developers — a sharp contrast to Smash — and can recreate this dangerous atmosphere too. Sinatraa’s ex-girl-

friend hit the same notes in her account of the abuse, saying her fandom and excitement made her look past potential red flags.

Sexual assault is a crime of power, not of love or sex. While it happens on a personal level within romantic relationships — or other types of relationships — it is also reinforced more broadly by the systemic inequities that permeate our society. As mentioned previously, vestiges of big business and finance capital in sponsorships help create the power dynamics that enable sexual assault in video game communities.

These rewards lavished upon the best players combine with our admiration of skill. While players may be impressive in the server, this practice of hero worship is extended into their moral standing. Not only does this give us the erroneous impression that players can do no wrong, but it also turns some of their most dedicated fans into fervent defenders of their ac-

tions, attacking victims who speak up.

Structures outside of the gaming community are also to blame. Corruption of our policing system gives women a weak legal framework for reporting incidents. In police departments across the country, police discourage women from coming forward and even reclassify reports to manipulate statistics.

The gender roles imposed by capitalism — the virile, powerful man and the docile woman — only exacerbate the problem further, rationalizing the abuse of women and telling male victims they secretly enjoyed their abuse.

All of this is to say that esports and video games are a great thing, and their communities have the potential to reflect that even more.

However, they demonstrate with particular clarity the systemic factors that facilitate an epidemic of sexual assault. They are the same factors that plague our world outside of gaming, including our own lives as Boston University students.

It is incumbent upon us to build solidarity with all people who have been abused and to fight the systems of oppression that perpetuate this victimization.

ILLUSTRATION BY ALEXIA NIZHNY