Experimental nightclub ManRay opens after near 20-year closure
BU students shoot short film ‘Pieces’ in under 24 hours
Challenge yourself with a film themed crossword puzzle
Learn some ways to improve your internship search experience
Regal Fenway, which opened to the public in 2000 and is located at 201 Brookline Ave., is scheduled to close according to a new court filing from parent company Cineworld.
Cineworld, the world’s secondlargest theater chain after AMC Theaters, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States and plans to reject the leases for 39 theaters nationwide on Feb. 15.
Mooky Greidinger, the company’s chief executive officer, said in the filing that there have been “enforced closure of cinemas and huge disruption to film schedules” during the pandemic.
“This latest process is part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen our financial position and is in pursuit of a de-leveraging that will create a more resilient capital structure and effective business,” Greidinger said in the press release.
Edward Moreno, a resident who moved to the Brookline area in 2014, said having a mainstream movie theater in the area was “very convenient.”
“I think losing the movie theater is going to be a big blow for movie enthusiasts in the area,” Moreno said. “Going to the movies is a quick release from work and then all the constant
pressures of adult life.”
Jiya Lakhani, a Northeastern University sophomore, said she also liked the proximity of the theater from her dorm and even had a Regal Unlimited subscription pass.
“I come here a lot now that I have the Unlimited, but even before it was my go-to,” Lakhani said.
The AMC Theaters in Assembly Row and Boston Common are popular alternatives for Boston residents to watch wide-release movies.
Qian Hu, a master’s graduate student from Northeastern University, has had more spare time to go to the theaters since she graduated. Hu went to Regal Fenway often.
“If it is closed, I will need to go to the Boston Common [AMC], and that will be a little bit far for me to watch,” said Hu.
Price is a concern for people like Lakhani, but for Moreno, the distance coupled with the weather poses an issue.
“It will affect people and what they can do in their spare time, especially when it’s winter,” Moreno said.
Oscar Brookins, an economics professor from Northeastern University, said what streaming services like Amazon Prime or Netflix offer could derail the market for in-place cinema viewing in the long-term.
“I think it’s fairly clear the
nature of the economy and business and people’s willingness, interest in shopping and so forth, has definitely changed,” Brookins said.
The price for movie tickets has risen since 2001 and, along with concessions, Brookins said he believes that the cost “doesn’t help” the movie industry in competing with streaming services.
“Spending $12 to go out and be one of the few people who are sitting in the theater is not very attractive as an option,” said Brookins.
Along with the planned closure of Regal Fenway, Marshalls on 126 Brookline Ave. permanently closed on Jan. 14.
“The market is only big enough
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Red, Orange, Green and Haverhill Commuter Rail lines will experience service changes and shutdowns throughout February due to construction and maintenance at the Government Center Garage as well as track and maintenance work. The upcoming shutdown will occur this weekend on the Orange and Green Line.
to support some portion, so there are going to be closures,” said Brookins.
Brookins said with the change of attitudes and values, along with social welfare, there will be fewer people who would want to work, so the employment base has diminished.
After close to 22 years of operation, movie-goers in the Fenway area will miss the convenience and quality of Regal Fenway.
“Not sure what’s going to be done with the space,” said Moreno, “but it will be a shame if it doesn’t become a space where you either can see movies or catch some other leisurely activity.”
“The MBTA has been working closely with the City of Boston and the developer in order to accommodate the private Government Center Garage work affecting both the Orange and Green Lines,” according to a Jan. 2 MBTA press release.
The Green Line will be suspended between Government Center and North Station this weekend, and the Orange Line will shut down between Ruggles Station and North Station, according to a Jan. 26 MBTA press release.
Free and accessible shuttle buses will be available for riders affected by the change, with services continuing to be available Feb. 11, 18 and 19, from start of service until 8 p.m.
During the weekend of Feb. 25 and 26, Red Line services will change in order for the
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Boston University College of Communication lecturer Adam Boyajy and associate professor of the practice Tina McDuffie completed their first semester as the new faculty advisors for BUTV10, following Christopher Cavalieri’s departure due to verbal abuse and sexual misconduct allegations last year.
Prior to joining the COM faculty, Boyajy said he was the producer and technical director for Boston
Neighborhood Networking News which is a partnership between the city of Boston and BU. He became the lecturer and the faculty advisor for BUTV10 in Aug. 2022.
“I spent the bulk of my career, actually, in Studio West on the third floor of COM,” Boyajy said. “So far, I’ve been thrilled with how its gone and really impressed with the amount of work that the students put in and how sharp they are in terms of listening and adapting and taking our critique and our notes.”
Boyajy said his focus as the new faculty advisor is to provide valuable
work experience and help students get prepared for their first job.
“Short term, as they’re taping a show I’m in the control room kind of watching what they do, or maybe in the studio advising the anchors on writing, editing, on-air delivery, that kind of thing,” he said. “Longer term, I [try to develop] their skills in a way that will help them get their first job so that they have some leverage and that they have an edge over their colleagues.”
Lex Garguilo, a junior in COM and director for two BUTV10 shows, said Boyajy is always making good suggestions and, “everything from him has been wonderful.”
“He makes sure to come to every show, sit in and see how we run it — then give suggestions,” Garguilo said. “He’s always looking to be better, to try to make us better, which we really appreciate.”
Garguilo’s experience with BUTV10’s former faculty advisor, Cavalieri, was different. They said he helped them get into good positions, but said they were “very anxious” after reading a post about Cavalieri’s conduct on the Campus Survivors Instagram page.
“I just want to know if [Cavalieri] is still working at BU,” Garguilo said. “I want to know if we are in danger of anything.”
Burt Glass, director of marketing and communications for COM, wrote
in an email, “[Cavalieri] continues to be a Boston University employee.”
Rachel Neil, a sophomore in COM who has been working for BUTV10 since Fall 2021, recalled a time when Cavalieri was upset about how she got onto a ladder, saying she was endangering herself and other people.
“[He] sort of verbally gave me a very hard time for 10 minutes in front of everyone else who was on the crew,” she said. “I really felt put under the spot, and I felt it wasn’t fair to me to talk to me like that.”
Neil also shared her “amazing” experience with Boyajy last semester, adding Boyajy always gives support and reassurance to the staff.
“Knowing that he had our back and he wasn’t just trying to make it about him or make everything a teaching moment, was really refreshing,” she said. “I hope he never leaves.”
McDuffie, the other faculty advisor, who specializes in journalism, said she looks forward to seeing students using BUTV10 as an opportunity to expand knowledge and information.
“The way that I look at BUTV10 is — it’s an extension of what we’re teaching in the classroom. So we’re just fortifying what we’re teaching,” she said. “If you’re in my television reporting class, being involved with BUTV10 will allow you to get even more reps than you do in my class.”
McDuffie added that it’s important for students to understand the value of
work ethic and personal skills which are vital in building a career.
“There are many journalists I’ve worked with who are fantastic, [but] horrible people to work with and you can’t keep a job that way, you have to have some balance,” McDuffie said. “You can’t just be out there trying to step on everybody, you got to have some character built up and hopefully, Adam and I will help to instill that.”
Andrew Severance, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences and a producer for BUTV10’s “The Wire,” said he hopes that new faculty advisors work to institute more “accountability” in the organization after the revelations from last year.
“I want to see some accountability and I want to see that the faculty really cares about what we do as an organization,” Severance said. “I want to see them helping recruitment … telling students here’s what you can get involved in [and] here’s why it might be beneficial to you.”
Boyajy said he wants an environment where honest communication takes place and wants to make sure that, “there’s always a certain amount of kindness, encouragement and warmth.”
“When we’re in a control room shooting a show, everyone knows that they’re valued,” he said. “Everyone knows that their job is important and key to what we have to execute and they can make mistakes and it’s okay.”
Boston University Campus Planning and Operations recently started new construction projects at Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and Wheelock College of Education and Human Development after months of planning and design work.
BU spokesperson Colin Riley wrote in an email that Sargent’s program space is currently being reconfigured and a first floor classroom at Sargent is undergoing renovations.
Riley said construction at Sargent is projected to be completed by the start of Fall 2023 semester and will make the space, “more efficient and user friendly.”
Construction at Wheelock is for the professional preparation office, which is being relocated from the Fenway campus according to Riley. The office in Wheelock is scheduled to be completed by the end of February.
Katie Brunner, enrollment marketing and communications specialist at Sargent, said although Sargent has great facilities, she thinks the building needs an update.
“One thing that bothers me about Sargent is that we have really, really impressive facilities, but a lot of the times the building doesn’t reflect that,” Brunner said. “It is nice to know that we’re gonna have a little bit of an update.”
Brunner said that she hopes Sargent’s renovations will help retain potential students.
MBTA FROM 1 MBTA to perform power, lighting and drainage work near Alewife as well as rail replacement near Harvard.
The Haverhill Commuter Rail services will also be affected from Feb. 4 to 12 between Haverhill and Reading to perform Automated Train Control work.
Demolition at the Government Center Garage is in progress this weekend. HYM Investment Group, the real estate firm responsible for the demolition of the Government Center Garage, is also constructing residential buildings and office towers in the Government Center area as part of the Bulfinch Crossing project.
Emerson College freshman Erin Locke said that although her route is not affected by the changes, others may have to adjust.
“I can see it being a huge inconvenience for the people that [use that section of the Green Line],” Locke said. “If you have to go to work or something, you have to plan for that, and it’s definitely going to mess things up.”
Reshma Subramonian, a Boston University junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, rides the T every week, and was unaware of the service change.
“This is interesting information I have to add into my upcoming life,” Subramonian said. “I think it’s going to
“One thing that [prospective students] consider obviously is facilities and things and even though people don’t like to admit it, everybody judges a book by its cover at least a teeny bit,” she said. “I hope it’ll help us retain our prospective students that are really great.”
Malia Sparrock, senior staff coordinator of Sargent academic services, said construction has not been too bad so far, but has made it difficult to hear inside the building.
“The worst was the first few days where they were doing a lot of work downstairs,” Sparrock
negatively affect a lot of people.”
The MBTA is working on replacing many of its cars, tracks and conducting other necessary maintenance work, according to a virtual MBTA Board of Directors meeting on Jan. 26.
The CRRC MA project is a partnership with China Railroad Rolling Stock to help design and manufacture subway cars for the MBTA. The project has been in the works since 2014, with 78 Orange Line and 12 Red Line cars being delivered so far out of 284 total cars promised.
“Above and beyond …is our safety and our safety culture, and that is again my responsibility to continue to drive that, and drive the lasting change for the T’s safety and our safety culture,” MBTA Interim General Manager Jeff Gonneville said in the meeting on Thursday.
Completion of Orange Line car delivery is expected for Dec. 2023 and Red Line cars for Sept. 2026, according to the meeting.
“We need to find a way to balance our maintenance work and the maintenance needs that we have within our system,” said Gonneville. “When you begin balancing all those needs, and also operation staffing levels, then it becomes a puzzle that is complicated and needs to get put together in order to think about a diversion calendar.”
said. “It was hard to hear people’s phone calls when they came in, so I had to transfer a lot of that to emails.”
Sparrock said she hopes Sargent’s renovations will create more space for students.
“If the layout is what it’s gonna be in real life and if it does what it’s supposed to do, like make sure there’s enough space for all the students … it’ll be worth it.”
Danuta Charland, assistant to the director of Sargent, said the noise from construction bothered her while working.
“The noise was really problematic sometimes,”
Charland said. “I know [construction] really affected other people, especially the [principal investigators] in the labs who are doing very sensitive work.”
Riley wrote that the University attempts to schedule most of the construction work when it will be least disruptive to classes and programs on campus, but some noises and interruptions are inevitable.
Charland said she thinks the construction will bring up the value of Sargent for current and future students.
“Visitors don’t mind so much
seeing the under construction sign, knowing that in the future, that this is going to improve their quality of education,” Charland said.
Carson Paradis, a sophomore in Sargent and the vice president of the Sargent class of 2025, said many Sargent students are excited to have a new space.
“It does feel like it’s something new for me,” Paradis said. “I’m gonna go in and have a space to work and a space to actually call my college.”
Wendy Lim, a junior in Wheelock, said despite the fact that students weren’t notified by the University before construction started, she and other students did not notice any inconveniences caused by the construction.
“I don’t think any of the Wheelock students were aware that the renovation was going on and we didn’t even know that it was the professional office,” she said. “There is a sign saying that the construction is going on and professors have been mentioning … their excitements for the renovation.”
Lim said she looks forward to seeing more construction to improve Wheelock.
“I’ve heard so many bad things about how the office rooms [have] a lot of mold and the heater wasn’t working and it’s not spacious enough to be an office,” Lim said. “Personally, I wish there will be more renovations to other areas of the building.”
Opinion Editor Caroline McCord contributed to the reporting of this article.
BY MATTHEW EADIE Senior WriterExtreme cold weather expected over the weekend has caused Mayor Wu to declare a cold emergency for the city — beginning Friday, Feb. 3 through Sunday, Feb. 5. Temperatures are expected to dip to zero degrees late Friday night with a wind chill expected to reach close to 35 degrees below zero early Saturday morning, according to the National Weather Service.
Following the cold emergency declaration by the city, Boston University sent an emergency alert Thursday morning, warning students, faculty and staff to “take precautions against the cold.”
BU spokesperson Colin Riley said the University will remain open Friday but said “we always encourage people to make the best decisions for themselves and dress properly for the weather.”
Mayor Wu announced on Thursday afternoon that Boston Public Schools will be closed Friday due to the expected cold weather.
A number of buildings will be open throughout the city for Boston residents to take shelter throughout the weekend.
Governor Maura Healey, on the “Ask the Governor” segment from GBH News, announced that South Station will be open overnight for those who need shelter.
“It’s a matter of basic humanity, in my view,” Healey said.
Boston Centers for Youth & Families will open their community centers as “warming centers,” while Boston Public Library branches will operate at their normal hours.
The Southampton Street Shelter for men over 18 years of age will be open 24 hours daily, along with Woods Mullen Shelter for women over 18 years of age.
The Engagement Center on Atkinson Street will also be open with extended hours from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
“I urge all Boston residents to take precautions, stay warm and safe, and check on your neighbors during this cold emergency,” Mayor Wu said in the city’s press release.
Boston declares cold weather emergency — despite Boston public school closures, BU classes remain scheduledSAM BETSKO/DFP STAFF Mayor Michelle Wu’s Cold Weather Emergency announcement on Instagram.
ManRay, a beloved 19+ nightclub located in Cambridge’s Central Square, is open to the public after an 18-year shutdown. Its new location at 40 Prospect Street is open every Wednesday through Saturday.
The official reopening on Jan. 18 took a lot of time and hard work, said DJ Chris Ewen, who started working at ManRay in 1986. Ewen said the process was prolonged because of the pandemic, supply-related issues, and gutting and redesigning the new space from scratch.
“It’s been a long process,” said Ewen. “But it’s something we never really wanted to give up on at all. We just thought it was too important.”
During its run from 1983 to 2005, ManRay became a place for experimental music, the LGBTQ+ community, as well as goth, fetish and punk subcultures, according to an article from Boston.com.
Inspired by American artist Man Ray, the club seeks to be a mystery, according to its website.
“[ManRay] is a legendary spot where the surreal becomes real, and the experimental is embraced,” says its website. “[It is] a hub of the alternative where creativity and community thrive.”
ManRay used to be located on Brookline Street, where it was close to Harvard, MIT and BU, attracting college students
across Boston who found a community for an array of identities and interests, said Shawn Driscoll, author of “We are But Your Children,” a book about the history of ManRay.
It was 1992, and at the age of 19, Driscoll became a regular at ManRay.
“It was one of those things that changed my life forever,” he said.
“I had felt like I had found my place, I felt like I had found where I could be myself, and try new iterations of myself, and that’s a great feeling,” Driscoll said.
Stefanie Miller, another longtime attendee, said ManRay “felt like a home” after she started regularly attending in 1999.
“You didn’t have to worry about a lot when you were there,” Miller said. “It was a lot more of a community than a nightclub.”
Driscoll said the new ManRay is “very much in the aesthetic” of what it was like before it closed.
“[Nightclubs] can be sort of dark and foreboding,” Driscoll said. “ManRay was a place that you felt safe. I know that’s a weird word to use with a nightclub, but ManRay was a safe spot for many people.”
Since its reopening, ManRay still attracts people of all ages and backgrounds, just like it did before it closed.
“It was really exciting to have something like that come back, and hopefully be very similar to what it was before, in the community aspect,” said Miller.
“The feeling that it is some place you want to be and are meant to be.”
Ewen said he hopes this feeling perseveres in its new iteration. However, he also has the hope that it can continue to evolve.
“I don’t want ManRay to be a nostalgia trip, although that will certainly be a part of what we are,” said Ewen. “But that doesn’t mean we have to exist as something trapped in amber.”
Ewen said hiring new DJs and setting up a revolving set
for certain nights of the week will attract a younger audience.
The current schedule, which can be found on ManRay’s website, features four nights with specific themes and genres. Wednesdays are for goth music and culture, Thursdays are dedicated to the LBTQ+ community, Fridays are intense and industrial and Saturdays feature Chris Ewen’s set “Heroes,” dedicated to new wave and post-punk.
But regardless of what night you attend, you can get a little
bit of everything each night.
“Those nights play a certain type of music, but there’s a certain aesthetic to ManRay that you can find in all of those nights,” Driscoll said.
On the Wednesday it officially opened, Driscoll returned to his roots.
“It was just such a wonderful night,” Driscoll said. “I had to catch my breath several times just realizing I’m back at ManRay. It’s not the old ManRay, but it’s still ManRay in a new spot.”
Massachusetts legalized retail sports betting, effective Jan. 31 at each of the state’s three fullservice casinos.
“I appreciate the fact that so many people did come out [to the launch] and they’re excited to wager legally,” said Tom Mills, communications director for the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. “The fact that we’re able to regulate this industry means that we can make sure that there are consumer protections and responsible gaming measures in place.”
More than a dozen bills attempting to legalize sports betting had been presented to the Massachusetts legislature from 2019 through 2021 but none passed.
Bill H. 5164 was finally voted into law on Aug. 1, 2022, introducing regulated sports betting. The law set a 15% tax rate on in-person sports betting and a 20% tax rate on mobile sports betting.
Bill H. 5164 contains several provisions to try and mitigate any negative effects the legalization of sports betting may have on collegiate sports and athletes. It will remain illegal to wager on the outcomes of matches involving institutions of higher education located within Massachusetts, except under the condition that a Massachusettsbased college or university is participating in a tournament involving four or more teams.
Additionally, the bill provides for the creation of the sports wagering research agenda, which will inquire into the economic and social effects of legalized
sports betting — including “an assessment of the impacts of sports wagering on college athletics and professional sports.”
Mills said the Gaming Commission has had public meetings every single day since December to prepare.
“Six months is a pretty quick turnaround to stand up a whole new industry,” Mills said. The legalization of sports wagering includes different levels of licenses. The license approved on Jan. 31 is a category one license, Mills said. A category three license, which is online or mobile, is targeted to go into effect in March.
“It’s more than just flipping a switch,” Mills said. “There’s over 250 regulatory issues that the commission needed to address.”
Up until five years ago, sports betting was legal only in Nevada, but Massachusetts is among 32 other states and the District of Columbia which have legalized the activity since 2018 — when the Supreme Court overruled the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA).
Rep. Ron Mariano, speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives and one of the main politicians who helped finalize the legislation, tweeted back in August 2022 that sports
betting in Massachusetts will be an “incredible economic opportunity.”
Gambling has long been a lucrative enterprise in Massachusetts, with Bay Staters purchasing more lottery tickets per capita than residents of any other state.
It begs the question: how will introducing sports betting to an already popular arena impact the prevalence of gambling and exacerbate its many problems?
“Sports betting participation among Massachusetts adults is already at or above the level in other states that legalized sports betting in 2018 — so the impact of legalization in Massachusetts
is not likely to be dramatic,” wrote Rachel Volberg, a research professor of epidemiology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and specialist in gambling research, in an email. She said, however, that certain groups will be disproportionately impacted due to having too much, or a lack of, gambling experience.
“Adolescents, young adults, college athletes, women, immigrants and individuals who have experienced gambling problems in the past,” were the groups cited by Volberg as being at the highest risk.
Phil Sherwood, chief communications officer at the Massachusetts Council on Gaming and Health, said he believes Massachusetts does not have enough resources to treat those with gambling addictions.
“As progressive as the Commonwealth is in treating gambling as a public health risk factor, funding does not meet the demand, not even close,” said Sherwood.
Mills said that voluntary selfexclusion was implemented before the launch, allowing individuals to bar themselves from being on a casino floor for a set amount of time or indefinitely.
Sherwood, however, said he would like to see voluntary-self exclusion also be applied to those who use scratch or lottery tickets, adding that it would be “ a little more challenging” to regulate across the many vendors in Massachusetts, but “possible.”
“A lot of folks use gambling as an escape,” Sherwood said. “It’s a dopamine rush, like winning a big video game … that really puts you at risk for gambling way more than you want to.”
BY KARA MIHM Contributing Writer
Before she became an award-winning journalist at the Boston Globe, Meghan Irons’ teenage dream was to become a teacher or writer. In joining Boston University’s journalism department this spring, Irons’ teenage self can finally tick off that second box.
Early in her education, Irons said she was always “interested in other people’s stories.”
“I was a shy student,” Irons said. “I liked to read, I used to write in my journal, write poems and things like that. So I knew it was one of those two things. So it’s funny that I had a career in journalism, and now I’m teaching.”
Joining a plethora of notable journalism professors at BU, Irons has taken on the position of associate professor of the practice of impact journalism. Through her class Reporting in Depth, she said she hopes to teach her students that journalists can “write about solutions.”
Through impact journalism, Irons said journalists stray from solely “breaking bad news,” and instead acknowledge solutions to social issues, and “ways people are coming together to fix something.”
“[Impact journalism] is a way … to convene the great
minds in journalism and beyond,” Irons said. “To talk about ways and look for ways where journalists aren’t simply just exposing some bad action, but [where] journalists are bringing people together and are highlighting something that can be actionable.”
In her 20 years of writing for the Globe, one of the pieces Irons said she is most proud of
focused on why the Dorchester community was “consistently in the news when it [came] to gun violence.” Through this awardwinning project “68 Blocks,” Irons and her colleagues dove into the “layers of reasons” behind the nuanced question.
Professor Brooke Williams, associate professor of the practice of computational journalism, said other students
with all of her prior knowledge is evident in their conversations outside of class.
“She has this desire, this fire, to take everything we’ve learned,” Williams said. “Every time I talk to her, I can hear it.”
Through her experience in the field, Irons said she tries to make sure her sources know their voices “really matter.”
“You can’t imagine how many times people have said to me, ‘Why do you need to talk to me? I don’t have anything to say,’” she said. “I would always be like ‘No, you definitely have something to say, and I want to hear it. I’d also like to write about it if you’d let me.’”
Drawing from her experience in “amplifying voices and writing about disparate and marginalized communities,” Irons said journalists should be publishing stories that are representative of the communities and issues that they have covered.
“Every journalist should be looking at their stories … and saying ‘Am I really doing what I really need to be doing to get the full story out?’” Irons said.
Williams said she’s happy to see Irons getting students out into their communities to gain important practical experience.
David Yeung, a junior in the College of Communication studying journalism, said
his out-of-the-classroom experience in Irons’ class will assist him in growing as a young reporter.
“It’s a good fundamental backbone, putting myself out there and engaging with the local Boston community to understand more about Boston, about how the city works and how people here feel about various circumstances,” he said.
Irons has also enlisted a pool of media partners to connect her students with local news pioneers and publications in the community.
“[She wants to] help students become reporters who are going to hold the powerful accountable, who are going to be precise and make a difference,” Williams said. “In her very short time here so far, she has built and created courses where students are doing that.”
Irons said she hopes her students learn that in any story, “the stars” are the people being covered.
“The news industry today needs people who are passionate about their work, and are curious about their work, and are curious about other people and are curious enough to stay [in] this business,” Irons said. “It’s not a business where you even get a lot of fame, but it is a business where you get to really amplify the voices of people.”
Disproving the age-old adage that real change does not happen overnight, Shayna Smith, a junior in the College of Communication, brought her “passion project” to life over the course of a sunset-to-sunrise film shoot. With a 13-member crew and a two-actor cast, Smith shot her short film “Pieces” in under 24 hours.
“I just thought it would be a cool idea,” Smith said. “So I made it happen.”
The shoot took place at a church in Dedham, Massachusetts from Friday Jan. 20 to Jan. 21, the first weekend of the BU Spring 2023 semester. Smith said the project was a “labor of love.”
“It was really fun, but also very quickly, very tiring,” said Andrew Kim, the director of photography for “Pieces.”
“I think it was just around like 10 p.m. or so when all of us on set were saying ‘it already feels like 2 a.m. Already the hairs are coming out and everything.’ But honestly, the crew was amazing. We all did a great job.”
“Pieces,” chronicles a
heartfelt story of love, loss and connection.
According to a press release, the film follows Elaina, who was left at the altar by her fiance. The bride-to-be spends what was supposed to be her wedding night drinking communion wine with Wendy — a stranger who’s also had the worst day of her life.
Smith wrote “Pieces,” for an assignment in her COM course “Storytelling for Film and Television.” Despite the short film having no affiliation to BU’s film department, Smith said she found people to help her out through Delta Kappa Alpha,
BU’s professional film fraternity.
“One thing about DKA that I knew going into it is that the people there are often very helpful with other members,” Smith said.
Smith said the process of creating the film was “up and down.” The start date was originally set for December, before the end of the fall semester, but after the original location fell through, shooting had to be postponed.
Although the week leading up to shooting was “chaotic” according to Smith, she said it was a “shockingly smooth”
process once she and her team got on set.
“The number one priority for everyone on set is to make a good movie,” Kim said. “Everyone ultimately was just coming together to make this great film, so feeling that camaraderie was amazing.”
For Kim, working on “Pieces” gave him an experience that couldn’t be taught in a classroom, which is why he likes to work on set.
“I feel like 80% of filmmaking is just practical experience,” Kim said.
While they navigated obstacles, the search for filming equipment — the crew didn’t have access to BU’s gear — and scheduling issues, Kim said “everyone ultimately came together.”
“Pieces” is now in its postproduction phase, and while the crew rallies for funds to pay for transportation and equipment costs, along with entering into film festivals — Smith is working alongside an editing team to assemble the final product. The team’s goal is a finished product by March or April and to organize a premiere at BU.
“We’re just hoping the community can come together to support this production,” said Madi Koesler, a sophomore in the College of Communication and co-producer and media relations manager of “Pieces.”
Ultimately, Smith said “Pieces” was possible because of the community that gathered around it.
“The best thing you can do is open your mind to collaboration and to other people’s opinions,” Smith said. “[Film] is such a collaborative medium that if you try to do everything yourself, it’s not going to get off the ground.”
Inspiration sparks when you least expect it. For two students at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business, the lightbulb moments that led to their sustainable startups emerged from coconut cake and leaving home.
Right before the pandemic, Diran Shahrik, a senior in Questrom, saw that his aunt was baking a coconut cake. Noticing she had only used a quarter of the container of coconut flakes, Shahrik asked her what she was going to do with the rest. When his aunt responded that she’d probably throw it away, Shahrik paused.
“Well, that could be something that we can solve,” Shahrik said.
Noah Sorin, a junior in Questrom with an independent concentration in sustainable impact and entrepreneurship, grew up on a farm in Montgomery, Vermont. Sorin said his childhood was embedded with nature.
“From the age of five years old, I was taking our food scraps from dinner out to the compost,” Sorin said. “It wasn’t hard for me to realize that that was something special and sacred, especially when I moved to Boston.”
Both students started their undergraduate careers at BU by bringing their environmentally friendly startup ideas to the Innovation Pathway at the BUild Lab, a space that provides BU students and recent alumni resources and guidance in starting their entrepreneurial ventures, according to its website.
Just a few years later, they were featured in Poets & Quants “2022 Most Disruptive Business School Startups.”
Shahrik said he began his journey launching Savor immediately after his arrival on
campus through BU’s Innovation Pathway and BU Spark! Savor is a mobile web application that collects a user’s diet, preferences, weekly budget and family size.
The app, he said, formulates both a meal plan and a grocery list that minimizes spending and wasted ingredients.
Shahrik said a notable turning point in his journey to launch Savor was when he first tackled the issue of coding for the app. When hiring a software engineer proved too costly, Shahrik reached out to BU Spark!
Langdon White, a clinical assistant professor in the Faculty of Computing and Data Sciences and a technical director for BU Spark!, explained the process of finding students to code.
“What Spark! tries to do is … give what was referred to as experiential learning opportunities to what we now jokingly refer to as tech adjacent students,” White said.
White joined the BU community in August of 2021, but has been involved with Spark! since 2018. Having a strong background in software consulting as well as having assisted in the creation of many start-ups, White said he often independently offers advice to students, including Shahrik, on their projects.
Sorin said he participated in the First Year Innovation Fellowship through the BUild lab, where he got the idea for his startup, called Idori.
The First Year Innovation Fellowship gives students $500 to put into either a profit or a nonprofit venture. From there, students begin by interviewing 20 different people for feedback on their startup idea.
Combining his passions for both sustainability and education, Sorin said he interviewed teachers and children, asking questions surrounding environmentalism
and the extent of their knowledge on climate change.
“I learned that kids don’t really learn about [climate change] until later in life,” Sorin said. “The average student in the United States doesn’t learn what climate change is until sophomore year of high school when you develop habits.”
With that came his idea for Idori — a means to create educational content and resources for teachers and parents to make sustainability easier.
“Four or five year olds are fully capable of understanding these concepts,” Sorin said. “It’s just a matter of how we introduce it to them in a way that’s empowering and not terrifying.”
From there, Sorin moved on to conducting customer discovery interviews, creating a five year roadmap, developing distribution channels and attending a 10week intensive entrepreneurship program designed to provide real-world entrepreneurship
experience.
Idori seeks to help children develop sustainable behaviors from a very young age. Sorin has written three children’s books thus far and created toys that make climate change a digestible topic for children. He has now partnered with Boston Outdoor Preschool Network to create curriculums that go along with the resources he provides.
Sorin’s books are each focused on one topic, including deforestation, ocean conservation and air pollution. Along with the books, he has produced stuffed animals that match each character and bring the stories to life.
“The main reason that parents don’t talk about these issues is because they don’t want to give their kids extra anxiety,” Sorin said. “Climate change and sustainability are often scary concepts … but there’s lots of ways to talk about these concepts in an empowering way, telling kids, ‘Hey, you can
make a difference in your own behaviors.’”
With support from both the BUild Lab and BU Spark!, Shahrik and Sorin have made strides in their startup ventures since they were freshmen. From “Benjy the Treemonger” teaching children ways to alter their daily behaviors to prevent deforestation to creating meal plans on a budget that limit food waste, both students have developed creations the world has never seen.
Identifying a problem and a solution is just the beginning for the two innovators.
“A lot of my friends will ask me the same kind of questions like, ‘How did you start this?’ ‘Why did you start this?’ ‘Why are you doing all these things?’ and … my question always is, ‘why not?’” Shahrik said. “At the end of the day, if it fails, it’s still a great learning experience, and you take that to your next venture.”
At Boston University’s Guerrilla Marketing Society, the sky’s the limit. The group has worked on marketing campaigns for big name clients — from Expedia to Spotify — as well as campus favorites like Caffè Nero and Rhythm ‘N Wraps.
Vice President of GMS Kelly Shao, a junior in Questrom School of Business, said the group does “pro bono marketing consulting work” for clients through guerrilla marketing strategies, using a project-based structure that uses “unconventional and lowcost tactics.”
“What it really is [about] is generating this super unique experience or very unique impression between people who are exposed to the tactic,” Shao said. “That will get them to remember or engage with the brand or the product in a really unique way.”
Head of Inbound Stella Yang, a sophomore in Questrom, said guerrilla marketing involves a strategy that “sticks into your mind,” such as tying red
balloons to sewers to advertise for the movie “It.”
Yang said the group’s clients often seek low-cost promotional
tactics because of financial constraints.
“Having those constraints allow us to be more creative in
our marketing tactics,” Yang said. “It gets people thinking outside of the box and trying to work within these constraints.”
GMS emphasizes the role of creative thinking in the marketing process more than traditional marketing does, Shao said.
“With guerrilla marketing, it’s really like, ‘how can you make a play on the brand, make a play on the product?’” Shao said. “It allows for a lot of creativity, and then that creativity is what snags your audience or people who are exposed to that tactic, and that’s what makes it so special.”
GMS Co-Head of Communications Miri Chan, a sophomore in Questrom, said she joined the group because of its focus on real world experience with high-profile clients.
“I was 17 years old, doing agency work for a company, which was really cool,” Chan said about her early days in GMS. “If you want the experience, and you want to figure out if marketing is for you, this is the best way to get involved.”
Chan said students are welcome to join even if they
are not necessarily interested in pursuing marketing. Shao said despite being a “major organization” in Questrom and having a predominantly Questrom student makeup, the Guerrilla Marketing Society hopes to continue to expand its membership.
“It’d be even nicer to introduce even more diversity from different schools to be a part of the club as well,” Shao said. “Especially since this sort of opportunity is really unique.”
Shao said the group also hopes to collaborate with even larger, more famous companies.
“Working with brands of that caliber just makes it so much more exciting,” Shao said.
Yang, who runs the social media for the club, said she was tagging the club’s clients on Instagram and noticed each client’s number of followers and popularity.
“I was like, ‘Wow, I’m so shocked at what our club can do, and the clients that our club is reaching,’” Yang said. “I just feel really happy with where we’re going as a club and I hope we just keep progressing in the future where we keep getting to work with very cool clients.”
Celebrating the Year of the Rabbit, the Lunar New Year parade started at Phillips Square, where lion dancers performed throughout Chinatown Jan. 29.
the new year.
The
prepare for their next performance, hoping to bring in good luck for the Year of the Rabbit.
exciting plotlines. The suspense, questions and clues are all part of the experience of what makes these films so enriching.
The genre is designed to immerse us in the story. By embodying the role of the detective, we get to follow and work alongside the characters. In films like “Knives Out” and “Glass Onion,” the viewer is represented through the role of detective Benoit Blanc. In both films, Blanc is an outsider – just like us – whose task is to understand the dynamics of a complicated inner circle to identify the killer.
The murder mystery genre is a usual favorite among audiences, with movies like “Knives Out” and “Glass Onion” receiving widespread critical acclaim and high ratings. Writer and director Rian Johnson seems to have mastered the formula, seeing the success of both of his films.
But what is it about mystery thrillers that make them so popular? What keeps us at the edge of our seats waiting for the final reveal?
The mystery genre has been popular for a long time, with classics like “Sherlock Holmes” and “Murder on the Orient Express.” The films are composed of similar factors: a detective, interesting characters and crime — usually a murder.
Mystery thrillers are captivating. They transport us with confounding puzzles, enigmatic theories and
What better way to ring in this year’s Oscars than with #OscarsSoWhite trending on social media — again?
This time, it’s largely due to the crowded and messy Best Actress race which gave Ana de Armas and Andrea Riseborough their flowers while shunning Black actresses Danielle Deadwyler and, perhaps even more shockingly, usual Oscars darling Viola Davis.
Ana de Armas’ performance in “Blonde” — the torturous, leering Marilyn Monroe biopic — wasn’t bad, nor was Andrea Riseborough’s irrelevant turn as a Texan alcoholic in “To Leslie.”
But critics and audiences alike were enthralled and enamored with Deadwyler’s performance as Mamie Till-Bradley, the grief-stricken mother of young Emmett Till, as well as Viola Davis’ role as a fierce yet vulnerable Agojie warrior in “Woman King.”
Their performances weren’t controversial or unpopular with the public as de Armas’ and Riseborough’s were. Instead, Deadwyler and Davis were considered strong, almost predictable contenders for the Oscars nod, especially as they both racked up nominations at nearly all of the previous awards shows.
And yet both Deadwyler and Davis were ignored by the Academy this past week — as were Black-made films and female directors, leaving many of the major Oscars categories entirely white or entirely male, despite the powerful field of contenders that are neither.
The Academy also reverted back to its usual ways this year when it completely snubbed all horror films, the visual effects of “Nope” and Mia Goth’s performance in “Pearl,”
Personally, I find it exhilarating to try to solve the murder by myself, weighing in on the theories and considering the clues.
There is something enticing about being kept in the dark. While some genres, like the rom-com, provide comfort with an expected ending and consistent plot structure, in the murder mystery, you don’t know what you will get. It’s an emotional rollercoaster.
Another aspect of the film is the characters. Since the genre encourages us to identify the killer, a thorough introduction to all possible suspects is needed. The shy nurse, the exuberant landlord, the popular jock – their differences make the mystery much more challenging to solve.
In “Glass Onion,” for example, we are introduced to a sexist streamer, a troubled politician, an anxious
especially.
This year’s Oscar nominations seem to confirm that for every step the Academy takes towards progress and nonconformity, it takes two steps back.
To be fair, the Oscars are not entirely white and male this year — in fact, “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” a film focusing on Asian-American characters and directed by an AsianAmerican man, has a leading 11 nominations.
But as the years go by, viewership of the televised ceremony goes down, and Hollywood continuously tries to prove its progressivism to little avail. The Oscars seem to be slipping further and further into irrelevance.
Oscar-nominated films consistently make little money at the box office.
They almost always fall into the same few, overstuffed categories: historical tearjerkers, milquetoast and surface-level films about variousisms or self-obsessed movies about Hollywood itself.
As more and more actually beloved films are made — whether they appeal to arthouse film-bros or the comicbook crowd — they are increasingly disregarded by the Academy. There’s just little reason for anyone except the nominees to care about the Oscars anymore.
Audiences are also becoming more aware of the tangled, intricate, internal politics behind the nominations, which became more obvious than ever with Andrea Riseborough’s nomination.
Ignored throughout the entire awards season, Riseborough’s name only came into Oscars play after stars such as Jennifer Aniston and Charlize Theron hosted campaign events for her, gushing over her performance on
chemist and a brazen movie star, among other characters – all of whom have motive and reason to have committed the murder. It is trying to understand the complexity of each character that makes the process much more entertaining. Murder mysteries also provide closure. While the path has twists and turns, the goal is to reach an ending eventually. You’ll get the answers even if you fail to uncover the crime by yourself. The plot is
contained within a mystery that begins and ends in the same movie, even though the conclusion is not always as expected.
The murder mystery category has always been popular, and understandably so. While the storyline and characters are critical, it is the connection with the audience that keeps its popularity strong. At the end of the day, it’s less about just watching the film and more so the experience that runs alongside it.
social media.
If the Academy wants to remain the cultural staple it has been for so long, changes must be made.
The nomination process should be more transparent, and certainly less cronyist. In order to become a voting member of the Academy, one must be both an industry professional and be nominated by two other members: perfect ingredients for bias and favoritism.
Currently, the ceremony itself seems far too similar to the Met Gala: just another flashy, glitzy party for drunk celebrities — devoid of anything memorable or interesting but for the occasional trip on the stairs or slap to the face.
Broadcasting on traditional television
channels seems nonsensical, as more and more Americans are canceling their cable subscriptions every year.
Of course, the Academy’s fall from grace will be expedited as long as they continue to turn a blind eye to nonwhite, non-male industry members — as well as almost all horror and international films — both of which are becoming increasingly popular and prestigious.
Despite repeated pledges made on behalf of the Academy to diversify their nominees and move into modernity, recent failures continue to prove that the Oscars is unwilling to grow — possibly dooming themselves to obscurity in the process.
This article was written by CoOpinion Editor Caroline McCord.
One of the most intimidating things in college is applying for an internship. As a current senior, I still fully believe that.
Job postings seem scary, but the accompanying resume and cover letter requirements make the internship process seem tedious and sometimes out of reach. If you’re like me, there’s always a slight hint of imposter syndrome, thinking it’s not worth applying because so many other people are.
The internship timeline varies depending on what field you’re looking at and when applications open and close. Numerous resources available are far more qualified and official than I am — professors, parents, career advisors, etc. — at giving advice.
As someone who has had an internship in a cancer genomics company and is currently interning with NBC, I’ve found some tricks in the process that were useful to me, and I hope they can help out someone else as well.
Take time to construct a strong resume and cover letter format.
This is perhaps my most generic and technical tip, but it’s true. Set aside some time to research how you
want your resume to be formatted. Go online and search for examples of resumes. Do the same for cover letters.
I’ve used the same format for a while now. Only go in to change minor details when needed. Once you have a general format of these two important documents that you like, you’re already more than halfway there.
Be creative with your searches. When finding an internship, go past the obvious ones with the big companies. Having big names under your belt is nice, but you may find that a less visible opportunity will benefit you just as much, if not more. Additionally, visit various job posting websites. LinkedIn and Indeed are two big ones but dedicate time to really dig.
Stay open-minded
I never thought I would intern with a cancer genomics company for two summers, but I did. I seemed qualified enough for the position, and I just submitted an application. Even though my sights stray away from the biomedical field, that experience taught me things I wouldn’t have gotten at a traditional journalism internship.
Keep your options open. You may find opportunities and avenues you weren’t originally thinking about
before that will ultimately make you a more well-rounded person. Try not to get discouraged. Remind yourself that you’re good enough.
I know how it feels seeing seemingly everyone around you get internship positions. It makes you feel like you’re scrambling or not good enough. LinkedIn can be toxic to your self-esteem. Out of all the internships I’ve applied to, more than half of them either never reached out to me or rejected me. That’s okay. As defeated as you may feel, keep going. I promise that opportunities will come and organizations will see and want you.
Network authentically and naturally
I hate the word network. I still do. But networking isn’t as scary as people make it out to be. Networking can be as simple as hearing about an opportunity from your friend and asking them for more details. Networking can be speaking with your professors outside of class about your interests and them forwarding you the email of their former colleagues.
If you’re listening and looking out for it, you may find connections that are right in front of you to grab. Take them. Reach out to someone who graduated a couple of years before
you and is now working your dream job. They’ve been exactly where you are. Don’t be afraid to reach out. People generally want to help each other out.
Take the chance and apply
I saved this for last because I think it’s the most important. Even if you feel you aren’t qualified, apply anyway. Even if you think there’s no way they would want you or there are better applicants out there, apply anyway. Looking back, I missed some opportunities because I didn’t bother trying.
The worst that can happen is that
they choose someone else. But at least you can assure yourself that you tried. Apply — even if you think there’s no way you could get it. I applied for my current internship on a whim, and here I am.
The internship landscape can be intimidating. I’ve only been able to come up with these tips from time, and even then, they’re not perfect. They’re also not the technical ones that career services often provide. Nevertheless, I hope this helps in some way. You are more capable than you realize.
I’ve had to “eat the rich” so much in cinema this past year that I’m starting to feel full. Between movies like “The Menu” and “Triangle of Sadness” –recently nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture — and shows like “The White Lotus,” there’s been an overabundance of movies centered around the upper class.
I enjoy a rich-skewing satire as much as the next person, and while they are entertaining, their executions are underwhelming. They take a surface-level approach to their storytelling, offering only the safest critiques of class — reducing its affluent targets to caricatures. How are these films supposed to take a bite out of the one percent if they lack the teeth to do so?
“Infinity Pool” is the antithesis
— or the antidote — to this current trend in art. Sharp in its exploration of how wealth corrupts all it touches, this sci-fi thriller plunges its audience into a terrifying landscape of debauchery and sadism. If the recent season of “The White Lotus” was discomforting, then “Infinity Pool” feels like a transmission straight from a nightmare.
In Brandon Cronenberg’s third feature, author James Foster — played by a brilliant Alexander Skarsgård — visits a luxury resort with his wife to find inspiration for his next novel. A tourist in an unfamiliar setting, James wears his inherent privilege like a safety blanket, but the narrative doesn’t take long to yank this security away from him.
When a day of reckless behavior culminates in death, James is forced to make an unusual choice: be executed or pay for a clone to be created and killed instead. James’ decision is
obvious, yet its ramifications awaken something sinister within him. What else can he get away with if there are no real consequences for his actions?
Guided by a fellow tourist named Gabi — played by Mia Goth, who is just as frightening here as in last year’s “Pearl” — James is quickly seduced into a depraved world of sex and violence. The film repeatedly pushes the limits of its R-rating to extremes, but the shocking content depicted never comes off as unwarranted.
The satirical humor utilized throughout “Infinity Pool” is excellent because it accentuates the story’s viciousness. Through this blend of horror and humor, Cronenberg takes direct aim at the protection that comes from being rich. It is easy for those with financial power to be comfortable with cruelty.
This sense of practicality extends to the film’s final moments — a conclusion that some might consider
unsatisfying. In films about the wealthy, there seems to be a need for catharsis in the final act, and at times these resolutions come across as nothing more than fulfillment for the audience.
The pessimistic ending in “Infinity Pool” is apt because it doesn’t provide a false comeuppance that would feel out of place with the rest of the movie. Like the characters, the viewer is left in a feedback loop of desolation.
Taking both commercial and critical success into account, it might be awhile before the trend of art about the wealthy passes. I’m not the first person to write about this phenomenon, and I won’t be the last. I hope that films as provocative as “Infinity Pool” — films that aren’t afraid to take massive swings, even if they don’t always land — get the recognition they deserve.
the end of October (sorry, mom and dad).
I look back on how the coffee shop business has evolved and find one shocking result: business is booming more effectively than ever. Lines on Grubhub form at Saxby’s in the new, state-of-the-art Center for Computing and Data Sciences, and the Starbucks at the George Sherman Union. But why? Gen-Z — we are to blame, and there are three simple reasons.
Social media
There’s no better pastime than scrolling through your perfectly curated explore page on Instagram or TikTok while you read the widespread trends cemented within your age group.
its pillows, close-knit atmosphere and pastries that resemble mom’s homemade baking. I would agree.
Television and film
January 2023 might as well be the month of the “Gilmore Girls” comeback. After being featured on Netflix, everyone seems to be coming back to this seven-season drama set in a Connecticut town about family and friendship. The relationship between mother Lorelai and daughter Rory is heartwarming — notably for their daily trips to Luke’s Diner and their order: a cup of coffee. “Gilmore Girls” symbolizes the coffee shop as a place for affection and friendship.
on a chilly winter evening. You look around and see a quaint coffee shop around the corner. You step inside, chat and realize it’s been three hours. Sound familiar?
BY ANDREW DIBASIO Staff WriterWhen you don’t want to haul to the library on a Sunday afternoon or rise and shine on a Wednesday when half of the week is behind you, but you still have half left, what is more empowering than the potential reward of a coffee?
At confirmations and graduation parties, I heard the same caffeine speech from relatives and friends when it came to moving to the city:
“Be careful! Caffeine is dangerous. One coffee every other day for two weeks is enough to get you hooked for a year.”
I didn’t take note of my family’s warnings. I was too overconfident when it came to my tolerance for caffeine. I figured that if I could go 18 years with one drop of a bitter attack on my tastebuds, I could make it through a semester without falling victim to the magical lure. Right? Wrong.
Not only did I get hooked, but it ran my dining points up the wall by
I haven’t been able to hop off TikTok recently. One particular trend of romanticizing your life heavily features vlogs from college students — including day-in-the-life videos, morning routines, and my favorite, come study with me.
The thought of studying is strenuous, but college content creators have found the remedy to turn a tedious task into something more comfortable. With their calming audios, content creators argue that the coffee shop is the closest thing to a home away from home — with
Ralph’s Coffee, the coffee shop depicted in the American teen drama “Gossip Girl,” welcomes fans and offers an authentic experience reminiscent of the show. It’s only a matter of time before Boston coffee shops catch on to this marketing tactic and begin making features in television and film.
Convenience and evolutions
Convenience is the low-hanging fruit of this list. Picture this: You invite a friend from a far-away college to spend the day with you in Boston. You both match the indecisive, lowkey type of person, so you’re looking for a relaxing outing
That’s the magic of coffee shops! They’re so convenient. The city of Boston prides itself on being the tenth-most beautiful city in the nation, according to Forbes. What better addition to the cobblestone paths than a coffee shop on the street corner? Years ago, menus were restrictive, sticking to the classic espresso, cappuccino, latte or affogato. Now, we are presented with an endless array of concoctions — from white chocolate mochas to iced caramel macchiatos to sugar cookie almond milk lattes. My personal favorite is the hazelnut latte. With such a giant menu, a personal favorite is guaranteed.
Coffee joints like Thinking Cup, Tatte, Caffe Nero, Starbucks, Caffe Bene, Bluebottle and many others are waiting to welcome you with open arms. We truly have it all in Boston when it comes to needing a caffeine escapade. Grab some friends and get lost in the atmosphere coffee shops present to you. I’m talking to the most stressed category of humans out there: busy college students.
BY BRETT ABRAMS Co-Sports Editor
The Super Bowl LVII matchup is set. The Philadelphia Eagles will take on the Kansas City Chiefs at State Farm Stadium in Arizona on Feb. 12.
This Super Bowl could go down in history as one of the greatest games ever played. Not only have the Chiefs and Eagles been the two best teams throughout the season, but there are also multiple storylines to catch the interest of the average viewer.
Superstar brothers compete for the Lombardi
Although Jim and John Harbaugh coached against each other in Super Bowl XLVII, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and Eagles center Jason Kelce will be the first pair of brothers to be active players on opposing teams facing off in the National Football League’s most important game.
The two players aren’t just brothers, though — they are also superstars with big personalities.
Travis Kelce has been an elite tight end for years. His chemistry with quarterback Patrick Mahomes is special and has led them to the big game in the past.
Jason Kelce is one of the best centers to ever play the game.
He’s been selected to six Pro Bowls and is the anchor of what has been a dominant Philadelphia offensive line this season.
The Kelce brothers also co-host a podcast titled “New Heights” that has gained a massive following since its release in September 2022. The pair discuss everything football related with a splash of comedy and chemistry that only siblings can provide. It’s clear that their relationship is an incredibly strong one.
Whatever the result of the championship is, the episode following the game is sure to be interesting.
A battle of MVP-caliber quarterbacks Mahomes and Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts have also been two of the most dominant quarterbacks in the league this season. They have both competed at an MVP-worthy level and have only lost a total of four games between the two of them.
Although Mahomes is struggling with a high-ankle sprain, it didn’t seem to slow him down against the Cincinnati Bengals. Mahomes threw for 326 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday in the American Football Conference Championship. While there were times when he seemed to have a slight limp, the Chiefs’ offense showcased the elite passing game they’ve had all
season.
Whether the victory was due to Mahomes’ sheer will to win or the strength of his painkillers, the Chiefs will be a tough opponent against a Philadelphia team that hasn’t struggled much over the season.
Hurts had a rather lackluster performance on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, but he managed the win nonetheless. Although 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy suffered an injury after only four pass attempts, his presence likely wouldn’t have made much of a difference.
The Eagles’ running game dominated San Francisco’s No. 1 ranked defense. Behind Kelce and a stacked offensive line, Philadelphia managed to rack up four rushing touchdowns. While the Eagles have one of the best defenses in the league, Mahomes and Kansas City head coach Andy Reid seem to find a new way to exploit NFL defenses each week.
Mahomes and Hurts make history
Super Bowl LVII will also mark the first time both teams are led by Black quarterbacks. This feat is long overdue and much more of a cause for celebration than it should have to be.
The history of Black quarterbacks in the NFL is one the league would like to forget
but is impossible to ignore. Even in the modern era where Black quarterbacks have regularly achieved success at the highest level of football, there are still some who lack confidence in their ability as passers.
The most recent and significant example dates back to 2018, when Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson entered the league.
In his three-year stint at the University of Louisville, Jackson threw for over 9000 yards and 69 touchdowns and won the Heisman Trophy as the most outstanding college football player in 2016.
Despite his success, coaches and scouts asked Jackson to showcase his skills in receiver and running back drills at the NFL Combine prior to the draft. Jackson refused and fell to the last pick of the first round in the 2018 Draft, with four other quarterbacks getting drafted before him.
In 2019, Jackson won the Most Valuable Player award and posted one of the best regular season performances in NFL history. Mahomes and Hurts are two of the best passers in the league. When they take the field in two weeks, history will be made.
“Who is your favorite fearless hero?”
It’s a question the film “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” asks the audience in DreamWorks Animation’s latest theatrical release. The long-awaited sequel pits the titular character against his greatest enemy yet: himself. The catchy opening track proves ironic as Puss battles his anxieties about death and fragility.
The film has the grandiose animation style of a graphic novel. Each slash of the sword or tap of the heel is accompanied by movement and speed lines, a unique animation style similar to 2018’s “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.” The opening scene of Puss battling the governor and a giant in the town of Del Mar is visually stunning.
When soaking up the praise of Del Mar’s citizens, Puss is fatally hit by a falling bell. When he wakes up, he discerns that he has burnt through eight of his nine lives. While the doctor recommends hanging up his boots, feathered hat and sword, Puss remains undaunted. That is until he comes face-to-face with a hooded wolf. Puss prepares to defeat his enemy with ease, but the wolf’s dual-wield scythes prove too much.
It is revealed that the wolf is death personified. The wolf is accompanied by his signature whistle, a nod to Fritz Lang’s 1931 film “M,” in which the murderer whistles “In the Hall of the Mountain King” before committing crimes. He adorns coins over his eyes, referencing the ancient Greek myth of paying for the ferry ride to the underworld. The wolf haunts Puss and causes his anxiety and panic attacks.
With his heart pounding and vision tunneling, Puss escapes and retires to Mama Luna, a
stereotypical cat lady. He buries his uniform and resigns to the life of a house cat. Puss finds out he doesn’t fit in, but slowly conforms to the lifestyle as his beard grows longer and longer.
An opportunity arises when Goldilocks and the Three Bears break into Mama Luna’s. Puss catches wind of a map leading to the magical Wishing Star that can grant one wish and give him more lives. With this possibility, Puss unsheaths his famous outfit from the ground alongside an abandoned dog. The dog is determined to partner up with Puss despite his reluctance.
The dog, named Perrito, brandishes his innocence and positivity despite a lifetime of abandonment and trauma.
Puss, Perrito and Softpaws (Puss’ love interest) make it away from the house of Jack Horner, a pie chef who abuses magic. They take the map and head to the Dark Forest. On their journey, the theme of mistrust affects each character. Puss’ vanity requires he work alone, Softpaws remains scarred since Puss left her at the altar and Perrito wants to belong.
Softpaws and Puss’ power struggle continues as Perrito tells them to “stop and smell the roses.” He names the trio “Team Friendship,” putting the film’s message a bit too on the nose.
Goldilocks and the bears struggle on their mission to the star too. Following a string of “just right” references, Goldilocks reveals to her bear family she plans to wish for a “proper family,” breaking the heart of Mama Bear. The family tackles the idea of “just right” — defining it as whatever makes you happy — and continues their mission to give Goldilocks her wish.
Horner racks up health violations and wastes away like garbage. A magic cricket serving as Horner’s conscience betrays
him, putting the final nail in his coffin.
The film climaxes at the location of the star, where everyone gives up their wish. Goldilocks gives up her chance at the wish to save Baby Bear, and Softpaws gives up her wish after finding trust in Puss and Perrito. The diegetic whistle from the wolf is heard, and a final battle with Puss begins. “Death” eventually surrenders, realizing Puss is a changed cat.
The film has gained popularity through word-of-mouth advertising. Platforms like Twitter and Tik Tok have raved
about its approach to mental health. For an animated film targeted towards children, it is difficult to find any Gen-Z or Millenial who hasn’t heard of it. In just over a month, the film has pulled in over $336 million in box office revenue and has received multiple nominations for Best Animated Feature Film.
“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” isn’t perfect. The pacing is disorienting at times, the Goldilocks storyline felt rushed and the key message was hammered home too much at times. Regardless, the film’s wild popularity among an older
audience is due to its approach to adult topics. People in their late teens and twenties haven’t seen animated films in years. Why? Simply because none appeal to them.
This film takes adult themes, like mental health awareness and trust, and delivers a palatable film without being in-your-face. With a mesmerizing animation style and childhood nostalgia, “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” should be a call to revolutionize animated films — bringing back young and old demographics alike.
The countdown has officially begun. There are only a few days left until the Boston University Terriers take the ice at TD Garden for the start of the 70th Men’s Beanpot Tournament. The fact that we are all expected to calmly go about our everyday lives until Feb. 6 at 8 p.m. is ridiculous. So here’s something to tide you over.
Monday, Jan. 30 was Beanpot media day at the Garden and it was exciting for many reasons, including the free lunch. The Boston hockey community was in full force as coaches and players from all four teams were in attendance, as well as hometown heroes like Jack Parker and 2023 Beanpot Hall of Fame inductee Matt Grzelcyk.
An infectious energy buzzed through the room in anticipation of –– in my biased opinion –– the best tournament in college sports. The Beanpot trophy sat up front and watched as representatives from the four teams smiled, shook hands and made small talk, knowing very well a week from that day they’d be enemies on the ice.
BU was represented by head coach Jay Pandolfo, senior defenseman and captain Domenick Fensore, senior defenseman Case McCarthy and senior forwards Jay O’Brien, Matt Brown and Wilmer Skoog. Coming off a weekend sweep of Boston College and ranked No. 3 in this week’s polls, the Terriers entered the room, no longer as the underdog, but as the team to beat.
“We are all pretty excited,” Fensore said. “Every senior, I know, is really amped for this one. We’re taking it day-by-day. Obviously we have a game Friday against Maine so once that’s over, we can focus on the Beanpot. But yeah, we’re just really excited.”
BU’s leader has been sidelined with an upper-body injury since Jan.
21, but said he should be available for Monday’s matchup against Northeastern University. Pandolfo echoed Fensore’s sentiment and said if Fensore and the doctors say he’s ready, the defenseman will be in the lineup.
While Pandolfo has won two Beanpots of his own and was behind the bench for last year’s championship, the 2023 tournament is his first as head coach of the scarlet and white squad. He, expectedly, did not make a big deal of the prospect. But for an event of this caliber, this program is filled with immeasurable pride in having him at the helm.
I think every Terrier fan can appreciate the impact he’s had on the guys in that locker room, especially the upperclassmen.
“A lot of these guys came back for a reason –– they thought they had some unfinished business,” Pandolfo said of the senior class. “They want more so I’ve been really impressed with these guys and how they’ve brought the group together and held each other accountable.”
A core part of that veteran leadership group has been O’Brien. With six new freshmen on the team, O’Brien said it’s hard to fully prepare the young guys for what the Beanpot will be like –– they’ve got to just live it.
“The buzz is starting to come, the excitement is starting to come around campus. Everybody knows it’s coming up so it’s in the back of everybody’s mind,” O’Brien said. “I think our job as leaders is just to keep everybody level-headed.”
The Terriers have not had much trouble meeting the moment this season, and their first-years have often been the difference makers on big stages. They held their own in a series against BC where the threat of overconfidence or overexcitement loomed, proving they know how to go in and take care of business no matter the environment.
“I think the strength of our schedule has really prepared us for an atmosphere like this. We’ve had a lot of big games, the series [at the university of] Michigan, a lot of inconference rivalries,” Brown said. “Playing pretty much playoff hockey all year has really helped us come to this moment.”
BU has shown their depth against tough competition and been able to confidently roll four lines. The Brown, Skoog and freshman forward Devin Kaplan combo has been buzzing this semester. Junior forward Dylan Peterson has slotted in perfectly on the second line with OB and junior forward Luke Tuch.
The kid line of freshman forwards Jeremy Wilmer, Ryan Greene and Quinn Hutson is showing unreal chemistry. Even more, the gutsy fourth line with senior forwards
Jamie Armstrong and Sam Stevens, and junior forward Nick Zabaneh, is consistent and reliable.
I could go through the entire roster, pointing out freshman defenseman Lane Hutson’s heroics or senior defenseman Cade Webber’s blocked shots, sophomore defenseman Ty Gallagher’s growth and Fensore’s offensive IQ. But I won’t. The point is this team has what it takes. It’s up to them to make it a reality.
Monday’s rivalry matchup will be junior goaltender Drew Commesso’s first Beanpot appearance after junior goaltender Vinny Duplessis held it down in 2022 while Commesso was in the Olympics. The junior put up 64 saves this weekend against the Eagles in arguably his best performances in a BU jersey. He’s a guy you want on your side, to state the obvious.
“[We have] all the confidence in
the world,” Brown said regarding Commesso’s play. “In my opinion, he’s got to be top three if not the best goalie in college hockey. I think that that BC weekend was just a small flash of what he’s capable of and I think he’s got bigger things coming his way.”
While we all have Beanpot brain right now, the Terriers have to focus on their next task at hand, which is heading up to Maine to take on the Black Bears on Friday night. After that, though, the battle for Boston’s bragging rights will be in full swing –– it’s the most wonderful time of the year.
The Boston Hockey Blog will have full, on-the-ground coverage of the tournament next week so be sure to follow along on Twitter @ BOShockeyblog and Instagram @ boston.hockey.blog.
BY ANNIKA MORRIS Staff Writer
The Boston University men’s basketball team fell to the College of the Holy Cross on Wednesday night 82-70 at Case Gym.
The Terriers (10-14, 3-8 Patriot League) were simply “outplayed” by the Crusaders (8-16, 5-6 PL), said BU head coach Joe Jones, as they dropped their third-straight game and seventh of their last eight.
“I have to take responsibility, as well as our players, for the fact that we’re not playing good basketball,” said Jones.
Holy Cross freshman guard Will Batchelder sank a threepointer 30 seconds into the game, and BU never gained the lead.
Batchelder had a strong outing, especially beyond the arc. He shot 5-5 from deep en route to a 21-point performance, only missing two shots from the field throughout the game. BU had very few answers for his offensive
attack.
“We talked about [Batchelder] a lot, but we didn’t do a great job of closing out hard enough to him,” said Jones. “He’s a terrific young player.”
BU was down 47-29 at halftime, as the defense struggled to slow down the Holy Cross shooters. The Crusaders knocked down nine threes on 16 attempts. Over half of their attempted shots came from beyond the arc in the first half.
“We looked like we were in slow motion in the first half,” said Jones. “We looked tired.”
The Terriers began to claw their way back in the second half and cut the Crusaders’ lead down to six points with just under five minutes left to play. However, that was the closest BU got to gaining the lead in the second half.
“We get down, we don’t give up and then we [fight] back,” said Jones. “When you’re down, whatever we were at halftime, it’s just hard to overcome that
deficit.”
Senior forward Nevin Zink was one of the few bright spots for the Terriers, practically carrying the offense. He scored a career-high 25 points in only 24 minutes on the court. It was a bounce-back performance for a player who struggled with his health last season.
Crusaders junior guard Joe Octave countered Zink’s performance, scoring 27 points — including seven three-pointers — in 34 minutes of play. He led both teams with a +14 plus-minus differential as well.
Three-pointers were a big issue for BU on both offense and defense. While the Crusaders shot an impressive 59.1% of threes made, the Terriers were only able to hit 17.6% of their long-range attempts.
Graduate guard Jonas Harper seemed to be the only Terrier with any sort of answer to the Crusaders’ blazing-hot offense. Harper finished the game with five steals in addition to 14 points.
He was the only Terrier to have a positive plus-minus differential.
The Terriers will travel to Baltimore, Maryland as they look to break their league losing streak against the Loyola University
Maryland Greyhounds on Saturday at 5 p.m. “I refuse to believe this is the best we are,” said Jones. “We’re all better than this. We have to figure it out.”
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
MEN’S HOCKEY (BEANPOT SEMIS)
Feb. 6 vs Northeastern
WOMEN’S HOCKEY (BEANPOT SEMIS)
Feb. 7 at Northeastern
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Feb. 8 at American
