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THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY

YEAR LI. VOLUME C. ISSUE XIII

ILLUSTRATION BY YVONNE TANG

THEATER SHOWINGS, 4

FREEP VERSUS FOOD, 5

EDITORIAL, 7

BU’s School of Theater is hosting eight shows to end the Fall season.

The Editorial Board seeks the best bagels are on campus.

The egg donation business seems suspicious. It’s okay to be skeptical.

JUST FOR FUN, 10 Comics and crosswords — what can be more exciting than that?

MICHELLE WU INAUGURATED AS BOSTON MAYOR BU students share strong expectations for Michelle Wu Talia Lissauer Contributing Writer Boston’s mayor-elect Michelle Wu, who made history as the first woman and person of color to be elected to the position, will officially take office Tuesday, and students at Boston University expressed their high expectations for her progressive platform.

Issues of particular interest to students include police funding, climate change and homelessness, the last of which has become increasingly relevant given the recent tent evictions and arrests at Boston’s Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard intersection earlier this month.

Arsheya Maghsoud, a sophomore in College of Arts and Sciences and president of BU College Republicans, said he is excited to see how Wu approaches tackling racial divides and injustices in Boston, and appreciates how detailed her

Michelle Wu sworn in as Mayor of Boston Talia Lissauer Contributing Writer Standing with her husband and two sons at the City Council chambers, Michelle Wu was sworn into Boston’s mayoral office Tuesday, as the first woman and person of color elected to the post.

Wu won the mayoral seat against City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George Nov. 2. The swearing-in marks Wu’s formal induction into the position, although a full inauguration is scheduled for January.

In his opening speech, City Council President Matt O’Malley welcomed those in attendance and acknowledged the elected officials present, which included Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Ed Markey and Rep. Ayanna Pressley.

“This is a great day in our city’s nearly 400-year history,” O’Malley said.

Fenway High School junior Eliana Rivas then led the attendees in the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by an invocation by Deliverance Temple Worship Center pastor Arlene Hall.

Former Acting Mayor Janey, who endorsed Wu during the election, gave remarks before Judge Myong Joun administered the Oath of Office.

Janey said in her speech she is proud to call Wu “Madam Mayor” and knows “Boston is in good hands.”

“As I leave office now as mayor, I feel good knowing that you [Wu] share my love and my passion for Boston,” she said. “I’m confident you will lead our city with integrity and that you will center equity in all that you do.”

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goals are for the city.

“She has a very clear plan laid out, which, as a Republican, even though I don’t necessarily agree with all the policies and the policies of the politicians that have endorsed her, I think it’s going to be very beneficial for Boston,” Maghsoud said.

Taimah Garratt, a freshman in the College of Communication, said she is hoping Wu enacts more progressive policies.

“It’d be cool to see how she addresses homelessness … that’s personally something that I really am passionate about,” Garratt said. “I would really love to see the homeless population reached out to and maybe something with public transport.”

Wu campaigned on a number of leftist policies, including antiracist school curricula, closing the racial wealth gap, affordable housing and the creation of a Green New Deal agenda for the City of Boston to address climate change.

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MOHAN GE | DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Boston Mayor-elect Michelle Wu smiles to supporters at City Hall Tuesday after swearing into the mayoral office. Since the mayoral election, Boston University students have expressed high expectations of Wu.

Full-time lecturers bargain with BU to improve work conditions Emilia Wisniewski Contributing Writer Union representatives of the Service Employees International Union Local 509 have reported that negotiations to reach a new union contract for full-time Boston University faculty have reached a “standstill” with administration.

Maddie Conway, deputy communications director at SEIU

Local 509, wrote in an emailed statement that a collective of approximately 255 full-time, nontenure track faculty members at BU have demanded improved job security, fairer pay, a lighter workload and easier access to technology.

“BU has not offered any solutions to the key issues lecturers have raised about job security, technology, and wages,” she wrote. “Overworked and underpaid lecturers cannot provide the learning environment students deserve.”

BU spokesperson Colin Riley said the University is working to come to a “fair agreement” in contract negotiations.

SEIU Local 509, a part of the larger, fast-growing Service Employees International Union, represents 20,000 service workers and educators in Massachusetts — 900 of which are BU full-time non-tenure track faculty and adjuncts, Conway wrote — with the goal to improve their working conditions across the state.

BU employs 3,946 members of

instructional staff, around 62% of which are full-time, non-tenured faculty, according to Fall 2020 data acquired by the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System.

Marisa Milanese, a master lecturer of the College of Arts and Sciences Writing Program, said for the past few years she has been a union steward and has been at the bargaining table since negotiations began.

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MBTA opens two new Green Line stations on BU campus Zoe Tseng Contributing Writer Two new Green Line stations opened Monday on Commonwealth Avenue after nine months of construction consolidating the BU West, St. Paul Street, Pleasant Street and Babcock Street stops.

The original stations were decommissioned at varying points during the construction and consolidated into two new stations: the Babcock Street station — between the original Babcock Street and Pleasant Street stations — and the Amory Street station, located between the original St. Paul Street and BU West stations.

Steve Poftak, general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority, MBTA Chief of Capital Transformation Angel Peña and Boston University Senior Vice President of Operations Derek Howe celebrated the completion of the $29 million project at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Nov. 16.

The consolidation project hopes to decrease trip times by at least one minute in each direction, Peña said in

MBTA officials cut a ceremonial ribbon Tuesday at the newly constructed Amory Street Green Line stop. Two new Green Line stops opened on Commonwealth Avenue Monday after nine months of construction.

ZOE TSENG | DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

a Nov. 12 video announcement The new stations now have platforms that are 225 feet long with 150 foot long canopies to provide shelter from the rain and snow, new benches, accessible entrances, safety barriers from the road and digital

countdown clocks that tell when the next train is arriving, according to the MBTA. The initiative to consolidate the stops is part of the city-wide Green Line Transformation project, which aims to modernize the Green Line by

making it safer and more accessible.

During the ceremony, Howe said the completion of the project “marks the start of a new, exciting chapter” for B line riders, many of whom are in the BU community.

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2 NEWS

BU students discuss hopes, expectations for new City mayor Wu from 1 When it comes to the pandemic, Garratt said they hope Wu will continue to enforce current health restrictions and ensure Boston doesn’t reopen “too early.”

As activists continue to call on city officials across the country to defund police departments, Maghsoud said he is mainly concerned about how Wu will strike a balance between revising the police department and

reallocating their budget.

“She sort of ensures that she’ll deliver structural changes that seek to elevate the transparency and accountability of the Boston Police Department,” he said, “but there’s that ever-present, that ever-looming risk of critically undervaluing and hence underfunding our police department.”

Sergio Aguirre, a freshman in CAS, said they are hopeful that Wu’s climate

change policies and her Green New Deal promises are “intersectional and tackle multiple issues.”

“I don’t think it’s just enough to solve one issue,” Aguirre said. “It has to be a culmination of issues that all interconnect.”

Tiya Kothary, a senior in the Questrom School of Business, said Wu’s election to mayor has a personal significance to herself and her identity.

“As a woman of color, I am thrilled,” Kothary said. “I do hope that she represents our community well.”

Aguirre said they see Boston as a racially and ethnically diverse city and believe elected officials should represent that, even though officials have not in the past.

“It’s finally nice to see that the elected official finally represents and reflects the social identities of the people they’re supposed to represent,”

Aguirre said.

Jacob Miner, a senior in Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, said he, too, feels it is time Boston is minority-led. And given the city’s early history, he said Wu’s win is almost like a “homecoming.”

“Boston was founded as a city of immigrants,” Miner said. “I think that is a really great and important first step as to getting to the next stage of Boston politics.”

Lecturers share feelings of mistreatment by BU administration Work conditions from 1 She noted that CAS faculty receive new laptops every six to 10 years an example of access to technology issues the union has tried to address to no avail. “[These demands] are not being well-received,” Milanese said. “We hear a lot from the lead negotiator on the administration side that ‘They hear us,’ but I don’t think they’re really hearing us.”

The University raised $1.85 billion in a seven-year fundraising campaign called Campaign for BU. BU Today reported in a 2019 article that the effort was “launched to support financial aid, faculty and research, and facility improvements.”

“I think it’s pretty self-evident that their goal is to extract as much labor as they can from their teaching faculty,” Milanese said in regards to the standstill.

Michelle Walsh, a full-time lecturer at the School of Social Work, said she has been active in the Local 509 full-time faculty bargaining unit since 2015. She said she views the ongoing

negotiations as a “moral struggle for equity, inclusion and basic respect.”

“We teach twice the number of classes for half the pay, tenured and non-tenured track,” she noted. “We’ve been on the frontlines of helping students make it through in these past two years when everything was so rough.”

Along with the full-time, non-tenured lecturers bargaining unit, there is a second unit dedicated to parttime faculty or adjuncts, consisting of approximately 645 BU members, Conway wrote.

She noted they successfully ratified a four-year contract with the University in 2019 allowing for an annual salary raise of at least 2% each year, an increase in the minimum rate for teaching a four-credit course from $6,200 to $7,000 by 2022 as well as added job security protections.

“They’re dependent on whether they’re going to get courses this semester,” Conway said in an interview.

“Folks who are trying to make a career out of teaching and when they have these long-term relationships with students, a lack of job security is really, really challenging.”

Walsh said she has to teach at least

eight classes to be recognized as fulltime faculty in the School of Social Work, adding it’s a “very heavy teaching load.”

“When I was an adjunct, I taught 13 classes in one year without benefits … it really was through the efforts of the adjunct organizing that BU came to realize that they were relying heavily on adjuncts without paying them salaries, without giving them benefits.”

Alex Brumfield, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, said he has been actively campaigning through BU’s Young Democratic Socialists of America chapter as well as the Student Government to support the union’s demands.

“I think it’s incredibly disappointing and honestly disgusting,” he said.

“Our lecturers have been subjected to appalling conditions and disinterest, and the apathy from the administration [to] any of their complaints that all have quite a bit of merit … is disappointing.”

Several lecturers are hosting a virtual teach-in on Thursday, Nov. 17 from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. to inform students of the ongoing negotiations.

The goal is to be transparent with stu-

dents about the staffs’ struggles and how the University is failing both parties.

Brumfield said he encourages students to educate themselves on the issue and to show support for the union.

“Behind the face of a professor of a class, behind the face of a lecturer, there is somebody who’s actually legitimately struggling and someone who actually has to fight to be treated like a member of our community,” he said.

COURTESY OF SEIU LOCAL 509

The flyer created by Boston University lecturers in the Service Employees International Union Local 509 for their virtual teach-in Thursday. Union representatives have reported that negotiations with the University have reached a standstill concerning job security, fair pay, lighter workloads and easier access to technology.

BU announces new executive position for student wellbeing Phoebe Chen Staff Writer Boston University’s Office of the Provost announced the promotion of Carrie Landa — previous director of Behavioral Medicine and associate director of Student Health Services since 2014 — to Executive Director of Student Wellbeing in an email sent to all students Nov. 1.

The email noted the vast array of mental, emotional and physical stressors students across the nation have experienced in the last 20 months on top of adjusting to remote learning as a reason for the promotion.

Landa wrote in an email that she is planning to use her new position to work on providing better mental health services for BU students.

“Students have reported that they don’t feel supported by BU, and this is a key driver for this new initiative,” Landa wrote. “It’s important to remember that support may mean something different to each member of our diverse student body.”

She added that her goals for the role will build on her leadership at the Wellbeing Project — a campus-wide administrative initiative launched in September 2019 at the recommendation of BU’s mental health task force, which Landa was the chair of, to promote student mental wellness.

“The other important part of this new initiative is to engage students in learning skills that contribute to their success, not just academically or professionally, but socially and as healthy individuals that are part of our vibrant community,” Landa wrote.

The Wellbeing Project has launched a variety of initiatives to support students on campus since its start, including giving students access to the mindfulness app Headspace and collaborating to create the

Terriers Thrive Together project to promote on-campus mental health resources every October.

Landa added that BU’s student body is composed of driven graduate and undergraduate students who need to strike a balance between academics and mental health.

“My goal is to remind students that it is equally important to feel well and have experiences and opportunities that support success in all aspects of life, while at BU and beyond,” said Landa.

Rachel Lapal Cavallario, BU’s associate vice president of public relations, wrote in an email that Landa will further grow BU’s commitment to students’ mental and emotional well-being.

“She will be leading new resources, programming, and efforts across the University to create integrated and shared approaches and resources to support students’ wellbeing,” Lapal Cavallario wrote. “Supporting and advancing student wellness and mental health is critically important.”

Shannon McKean, a sophomore in College of General Studies and member of BU Student Government’s Mental Health Committee, said she is familiar with problems SHS’s Behavioral Medicine is facing and thinks BU could benefit from more tangible resources but expects Landa to use her background to fulfill the new role to the best of her ability.

“I do think that Dr. Landa has some good experience with working with college students and in the community, so I hope that she can leverage her position to implement some of those resources for students,” McKean said.

She added the Mental Health Committee is working on an initiative to implement trigger warnings on syllabuses and course descriptions to warn students about sensitive topics in class, and advocating for more full-time therapy options and coun-

selors in BU’s Behavioral Health.

“Those are some of the things that I would really like to see Dr. Landa support and work with,” McKean said.

David Cotter, assistant provost for Graduate Enrollment Management and Graduate Education and a member of the Wellbeing Project steering committee, said he looks forward to working with Landa. “[Landa] is a fierce advocate for BU students and for engaging the whole community in campus-wide conversations about students’ overall health and well-being,” Cotter said.

“It’s awesome for BU stuILLUSTRATION BY CONOR KELLEY | DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF dents, in my opinion.”

Boston University Executive Director of Student Wellbeing Carrie Landa’s LinkedIn profile He added Landa’s po- image. Recently promoted, Landa said she wishes to use her new position to provide better sition will allow the Uni- mental health services to BU students — to which some students and parents have expressed versity to look at mental skepticism. health on campus “holismental health on campus. Alessandra Kellermann added that BU needs tically.”

Kellermann, founder of BU Parents to hire more counselors, provide “[Her office] is not going to be United — a Facebook group for par- workshops and support groups for tied to Student Health Services or ents of BU students to voice concerns stress management and revamp their the Dean of Students,” Cotter said. “I — said the University’s commitment mental health hotline. think it’s going to be beneficial that it’s to mental health on campus was lack“Many students are then enda University-wide piece.” ing even after the institution of the ing up not getting any help at all,” Cotter said Landa plans to work Wellbeing Project. she noted. “They don’t have enough closely with Crystal Williams, Vice “It seems that [Landa] will be in [counselors] and they’re referring out President and Associate Provost charge of a campus-wide Wellbeing to Boston and saying ‘good luck.’” of Community and Inclusion and campaign, trying to do what they Joey Chen, a junior in the College himself, as well as Dean of Students should have been doing all along,” of Arts and Sciences, said he hopes Kenneth Elmore, to create a more in- Kellerman said. “I don’t see it as a more attention is directed to stuclusive community in addition to just promotion. The Wellbeing Project dent-accessible resources on campus. adding programming. was always there.”

“I feel like the staff on the ground “Students need to have a commuKellermann said that universi- just get more work, as they are actunity that they feel comfortable in,” he ties in general too should realize the ally trying to help students directly said. “They need to … be equipped to benefit of investing in mental health and have been since day one of the have tools to improve their own over- resources since it greatly affects the pandemic,” Chen said. “I’ll be happy all well-being and I think that’s what student body’s academics. to see BU invest in more clinicians [Landa] is going to do.” “[BU needs] to see it as a win-win like better access to after-hour crisis Other members of the BU com- when they invest in the well-being of intervention, and more clinical help munity have lingering concerns about their students,” she said. in the dorms.”

NEWS 3

Wu’s inauguration speech emphasizes hope Inauguration from 1 Wu’s historic win was ushered in by the work of other trailblazing elected officials before her, Janey said.

“A new day was dawning when Michelle Wu became the first Asian American woman elected to the council, and the first woman of color to lead the council and now the first woman elected to lead our great city,” she said.

Sworn in just 14 days after the election, Wu said at the ceremony she

is especially “grateful” for Janey who helped make the transition smooth and fast.

City Hall made her feel “invisible” when she first joined

the office, Wu said, adding the “intimidat[ing]” building reminded her of the City’s inaccessibility, especially to people like her own immigrant family.

“But today, I see what’s possible in this building,” she said. “When we make City Hall accessible, we are all raised up.”

At a press conference after the ceremony, Wu outlined her initial plans and goals as mayor so that she can begin her first 100 days “hitting the ground running.”

Continuing to form her cabinet is an immediate item on Wu’s agenda, she said.

“We are going to ensure that every bit of this administration, every leader in positions across

the city thinks about how our interactions with residents in the day to day and in the big picture, really line up with continuing to bring people into the work of government,” Wu said.

Wu campaigned on policies such as closing the racial wealth gap, affordable housing and the creation of a Green New Deal agenda for the City of Boston to address climate change.

“We are the level closest to the people, so we must do the big and the small,” Wu said at the ceremony. “Every street light, every pothole, every park and classroom lays the foundation for greater change.”

Emphasizing the need to “meet people where they are” and listen

to each other, Wu said in her speech all Bostonians are now charged with fighting urgently for the future of the city.

“We need everyone for Boston right now,” Wu said.

“We have so much work to do and it will take all of us to get it done.

So let’s get to work.”

MOHAN GE | DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Boston Mayor-elect Michelle Wu swears into the mayoral office Tuesday, becoming the first female mayor and first mayor of color in the city’s history.

MBTA construction finishes early with new subway stops on Green Line Green Line from 1 The project was originally supposed to take a year, but after working from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. on weekdays and throughout the weekends, the team was able to finish three months short of the projected finish date, according to the MBTA release.

During construction, MBTA provided shuttle buses that followed the 57 Bus Route stops.

The MBTA project team worked with BU Operations and BU Government and Community Affairs during the construction, since Commonwealth Avenue is home to

many BU students and faculty, Howe said in an interview. “[The MBTA] would obviously alter what they needed to do in regards to commencement, movein or if we had an event at Agganis Arena, so we more or less had a say in somewhat of the construction schedule, so it didn’t impact the big things that we were having here at the University,” he said.

Edward Sturm, a sophomore in the College of Fine Arts at BU, said the consolidation should make his commute more convenient.

“I think that there were a ridiculous amount of stops on Comm. Ave. on the Green Line beforehand,” Sturm said. “So I think that in terms of just making it faster, and at least where I’m located, [it’s] even more so

convenient.”

Marina Chuery, a junior at Wentworth Institute of Technology, said the project was bothersome during construction, but the station is better — even though it didn’t change much of her route.

“I don’t mind anymore, but over the weekend, it was really annoying getting the bus and the shuttles,” Chuery said. “It’s a little weird now that they combined a bunch of stations. I feel like there’s going to be a lot more walking, but the station is a lot better than before.”

Laura Devine, account supervisor of marketing and communications at BU, said she feels the new stations have made Commonwealth Avenue safer.

“I think it’s okay. I wouldn’t’ve

put the platform in the middle of [the street]. I think it’s a little annoying to have to walk to either end of the street, but I assume it’s a safety measure,” Devine said. “I think it’ll help traffic on Comm. Ave. for people to not be crossing the street everywhere.”

Erik Gross, who lives in downtown Boston and works at Tesla, said he was happy to see the MBTA investing in the more heavily traveled routes of the Green Line.

“I absolutely love it, actually this is the first time I’ve been here since they renovated [the Amory Street station],” he said. “It looks much more modern, much nicer.”

The Green Line Transformation Team worked to improve safety in the BU area by controlling the pedestrian flow along Commonwealth Avenue,

they wrote in an email.

“With all of the BU ridership in that section of the B-Branch, we wanted to improve safety for these stops in the middle of the road,” the Green Line Transformation team wrote. “Customers are prevented from crossing the roadways willynilly to move between the platforms and the stations.”

During the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Poftak ended his remarks thanking MBTA riders.

“The last group we should be thanking is our riders,” Poftak said.

“They have been patient with us through this process but are now seeing the fruits of our labors.”

Edward Strum previously contributed to the podcast section of The Daily Free Press.

Museum of Fine Arts union strikes for labor rights, pay increases Bella Ramirez Contributing Writer Museum of Fine Arts workers held a one-day strike outside the MFA Wednesday after more than 96% of MFA Union members voted in favor of striking.

The strike comes a year after joining the Local 2110 UAW union and months of negotiations with the MFA. Haley Rayburn, MFA Union negotiator and database marketing associate, described the process as “wild.”

The MFA pointed toward their press statement when asked to comment.

The statement explains that the MFA “supported our employees’ right to organize,” and “have met in good faith at the bargaining table” for the past seven months.

The MFA also claimed that the union had not responded to their wage proposal for the past seven weeks.

“The offer that they came to the table with will just not work for us,” Rayburn said.

The MFA proposed no guaranteed salary increase until 2024, and then only a 1.75% raise. Citing 5.4% inflation in the past year alone and operating under a pay freeze, the MFA Union is asking for more from the museum.

“We’re functionally being asked to work for less every year until 2024,” Rayburn said.

Rayburn added one of her coworkers has to live 50 miles from Boston because their MFA wages are too low to afford the cost of living in the city, and that many of her colleagues share concerns regarding childcare and student debt.

Following the unionization in November 2020, the MFA union held elections Feb. 4, Rayburn said. After creating their

negotiating committee, the union bargained with the MFA. Although many strikers greeted the day as a positive action step, Eve Mayberger, MFA Union negotiator and assistant objects conservator, said she felt frustrated.

“This is my first time doing anything like this, so I have nothing to compare it against, but it has been very slow going,” Mayberger said. “[It] was really surprising since we won in such an overwhelming majority, that they’re making us negotiate over every small, little detail.”

After months of negotiation, tensions increased, Rayburn said.

“We’d kind of reached a point where we felt like we needed to

make a statement,” Mayberger said.

Statements at the picket line ranged from chanting, “Ancient art, not ancient wages” and “MFA, you’re no good, sign a contract like you should” to signs that referenced artists like Frida Kahlo reading “What would Frida say?”

One striking worker, Eben Haines of the MFA graphic design team, cited that although workers experienced a pay freeze the past two years, MFA Director Matthew Teitelbaum saw a $150,000 raise.

“Clearly, the money is there,” Haines said.

MFA library assistant Jordan Barnes, who led chanting in the

picket line with a megaphone at the start of the strike, described paying workers fairly as an investment for the museum.

“Just like acquiring a new object for the collection, investing in the staff makes the museum reach its goals and have its mission,” Barnes said. “It’s just as important.”

The strike saw support from the Guerilla Girls, Northeastern University Young Democratic Socialists of America and a range of other community members.

“This museum is so important to me and my life,” MFA volunteer Ruth Sherman said.

“It has become my second home since I retired.”

Sherman said she was moved

to support the MFA union strike after working with staff members for the past 13 years. She describes the staffers as “some of the nicest people I’ve ever worked with.”

“I’m glad I came because too many times in my 77 years I have said I support somebody or support some issue and didn’t make a physical statement,” Sherman said.

Looking forward, the MFA union hopes that the strike will embarrass the museum and force the MFA to take them more seriously.

“This could be the first of other actions, depending on how the next few months unravel,” Mayberger said.

Museum of Fine Arts workers on strike outside the MFA Wednesday morning. Over 96% of MFA Union members voted to strike after months of negotiations concerning wages and workplace rights.

ANH NGUYEN | DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

4 FEATURES

ARTS BU Wind Ensemble returns to the concert hall this Fall Viktoria Popovska Staff Writer A return to an almost normal Fall semester has ushered in the restoration of Boston University’s live music program. BU’s Wind Ensemble is one of the programs that has returned to the stage in front of a live audience.

Wind Ensemble is one of BU’s music major ensembles for students enrolled in the College of Fine Arts School of Music and includes wind, brass and percussion players. The director of the wind ensemble and a master lecturer of music, David Martins, conducts and prepares the ensemble members for performances throughout the semester.

Wind ensemble’s final concert of the semester took place this Tuesday at 8 p.m..

“That’s what we do, you know, performance is in our blood, and so to be able to do that again, it brought back a sense of normalcy that we’ve all been missing,” Martins said before the performance.

To continue playing in person last year, the wind ensemble tackled many different obstacles. Last Fall, students had to be 10 feet apart, masked when not playing and Martins had to stand at the back of the hall, he said.

“It made it difficult,” Martins said about the adjustments, “but it still provided students to have in-person instruction.”

Billy Sheahan, a senior tenor trombonist in the music performance program at the College of Fine Arts, said that for the last two semesters, there was a limited amount of in-person rehearsals. When they

practiced in person, they were at least 12 feet apart.

“Sometimes that meant the ensemble actually going out into the concert hall like into the seats and really just trying to put as much distance between everyone as possible,” Sheahan said. “Just from a sonic standpoint, that is very difficult.”

After cases spiked in January, the wind ensemble had to cease in-person rehearsals. The Wind Ensemble switched to remote rehearsals which included recording excerpts and

making “lemonade out of lemons,” Martins said.

“Last Spring I had to develop a whole different curriculum to try to provide instruction,” Martins said.

“We were all in it together and we were trying to make good educational decisions.”

Now that BU has returned to a relatively normal campus and academic experience, wind ensemble has been able to scrap most of their LfA adjustments, but masks are still required for non-wind players or when wind instrumentalists are

not playing. On Oct. 5, the wind ensemble had their first in-person concert since March 2020, which also allowed audience members to attend.

“There’s just a lot of habits that we all needed to get back into that are intrinsic to playing an instrument until you do it completely alone for a year and a half,” Sheahan said.

“But once we got past that feeling of ‘Oh my god, there are other people making noise at the same time,’ it was really pretty amazing.”

Despite being glad that they have returned to in-person rehearsals and

CLARE ONG | DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

The Boston University Wind Ensemble performing at Tsai Performance Center Tuesday night. The music group has eagerly returned to performing for live audiences this semester after enduring a year of pandemic-induced challenges.

performances, Sheahan said they feel that their time at BU and in the Wind Ensemble has been cut short.

“I feel like I’m almost making up for lost time because music is something that is very difficult, of course, to try to do over the internet and no matter how close you get, there’s still something to be desired when you compare it to sitting in a room performing with people,” Sheahan said.

First-year student Andrew Battaglia said the remaining restrictions like mask-wearing are still not ideal.

“We still have to wear masks, which I get, but it’s still annoying because we have to pull them down, up and down before we play,” Battaglia said. “We have to account for extra time to remove masks before we enter to play, and then we also have air filters around and sometimes they’re pretty loud.”

Despite some continued restrictions, Battaglia said this year is more manageable than what he heard about the wind ensemble’s protocols last year and the restrictions he had in high school.

“I think everyone’s done what they can and it’s a better experience than what people have had last year and what I’ve had in high school,” he said.

Sheahan said rehearsals tend to “feel like a drag” in an average year toward the end of the semester when the workload for classes gets more challenging, but that hasn’t been the case this semester.

“But this past September, I’m just like running to all my rehearsals,” they said. “It’s very refreshing, I think, is probably the best word.”

PREVIEW: Eight SoT shows wrap up Fall performances Emily Pauls Senior Writer There are eight shows left this year for Boston University’s School of Theatre taking place all across campus. Keep reading for details on each show.

‘Laure’ - Nov. 19-21 The play “Laure” will be showing at the Juliane Ethel Leilani Miller Studio Theatre — or Jewels 1 — in the College of Fine Arts. Admission is free, but the theatre has limited seating.

Written by CFA senior Mya Ison and directed by CFA senior Gigi Juras, the play adapted themes in Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray” and was a response to an Édouard Manet painting titled “Olympia.”

“The characters in this play were inspired by both the painter and the two models who are the subjects of that painting,” Juras said. “​​ Maya [Ison] has imagined a story around those two models and specifically the Black model, Laure, who was a real person.”

Only the Black woman’s first name — Laure — and address are known, Ison said. Ison said she wanted to revisit “what history would be like if she had never been erased from the archives.”

‘Where Do Peaches Grow’ - Nov. 20 “Where Do Peaches Grow” is showing in CFA’s first floor student lounge for free. The play was written

by Becca Carter Freeman, a senior in CFA, and is directed by graduate student Ludmila Cardoso De Brito.

“It started from journals and poems that I was writing and then it just turned into a play,” Freeman said.

“It’s about my experience moving back to America from growing up in Seoul, South Korea.”

This show addresses the experience of “third-culture-kids,” Freeman said — children who were raised in multiple cultures and may have difficulty identifying with only one. The performance will be a staged reading, meaning not a full production.

‘Patterns of Wind’ - Dec. 2-5 “Patterns of Wind” is coming to the Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre for $20 per ticket. This play was conceived

by School of Theatre guest artists Ty Defoe and Katherine Freer, and features “stories of lineage, legacy, and land,” according to the CFA Theatre’s 2021-2022 Season page.

The production is being put on as part of the Indigenous Voices in the Americas series, partly funded by the BU Arts Initiative.

‘Machinal’ - Dec. 3 “Machinal” is showing at Jewels 2 in CFA for free. The play is written

by Sophie Treadwell, an American playwright from the early 1900s.

“It’s 1928 expressionistic drama, that it’s based on the story of Ruth Snyder, who was the first woman in America to be executed for murder,” director Shamus McCarty said.

The audience will watch a “nonrealist” show with actors portraying machines and people, Shamus said.

“Our take on the production is very specific, involves a lot of physical theater work, a lot of interesting breath work and groupmade sounds,” he said.

‘Incels and Other Myths’ - Dec. 2-12 “Incels and Other Myths” will be shown at Boston Playwrights’ Theatre. It was written by Ally Sass and is directed by Erica TerpeningRomeo, both recent graduates of the MFA Playwright program at BU. This play has been in the works for two years, but due to COVID-19, it has been pushed back until now, Terpening-Romeo said. She and Sass

ERIN BILLINGS | DFP FILE

A College of Fine Arts sign. In the six weeks left in 2021, the Boston University School of Theatre will be putting on eight more shows.

were able to “workshop” it during that time.

“Gradually, the play morphed into one about a mother and son, a mythology teacher and her 15-year-old son who is like, may or may not be on the verge of being radicalized by an incel community that he’s encountering through an online role-playing game,” Terpening-Romeo said.

‘Aurora Borealis 20: A Festival of Light and Dance’ - Dec. 6 “Aurora Borealis 20: A Festival of Light and Dance” is showing at the BU Dance Theatre inside the Fitness and Recreation Center. The artistic co-directors are CFA assistant professor Yo-EL Cassell and director of dance Micki Taylor-Pinney, with lighting design by graduate student Qian Chengyuan.

The show is a “vibrant exploration of the relationship between light and

form with a focus on collaboration and experimentation,” according to the CFA Theatre’s 2021-2022 Season page.

“Aurora Borealis” is a collaboration between CFA and the Department of Physical Education for its 20th annual show, and will include faculty and students. There is free admission, but tickets are required.

‘Passage’ - Dec. 9-12 “Passage,” written by Christopher Chen and directed by Malika Oyetimein, is showing at Studio One. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased through BU OvationTix. Influenced by “A Passage to India”

by E.M. Forster, this play takes place in fictional Country X where two characters’ friendship is challenged.

‘Hamlet’ - Dec. 10-12 Rani O’Brien, a second-year graduate student in CFA, will be

directing her adaptation of “Hamlet” for free admission at the David Copeland Black Box Theatre in CFA. “Hamlet is an age-old story that grapples with a lot of what we’re dealing with as society right now,” they said. “As I dove deeper into the play, I started seeing how the institution of femininity versus masculinity presented itself throughout the play.”

O’Brien said her adaptation focuses on the character Ophelia and how she “becomes the foil for Hamlet.” The audience should be ready for every emotion during the play, O’Brien said.

“They should expect to be taken on a ride that takes you from the terrors of grief to the heights of laughter with sword fights and ghosts all along the way,” she said, “but don’t expect to feel comfortable.”

FEATURES 5

COMMUNITY Wheelock seminar explores generational teaching differences Carly Breland Contributing Writer A good teacher can make all the difference in a child’s development, and the relationship between teachers and students, particularly in primary school, is influential in student growth. Today’s children have an increasingly diverse spectrum of teachers, though the process to become one is more extensive and consuming.

The Boston University Wheelock College of Education and Human Development hosted an event

Tuesday called “Ok Boomer: Generational Differences in Teacher Quality,’’ featuring Javaeria Qureshi, an associate professor of economics at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The seminar explored teacher quality concerning teachers in three generational cohorts — Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials.

Qureshi said that teacher shortages — especially over the pandemic and as the older generation retires — have led to concerns over the impacts on education quality.

“There’s also this widespread perception that as this particular

cohort of teachers is retiring, we might be losing some of our best teachers,” Qureshi said during the seminar.

Qureshi said one way in which teaching quality can be measured is through students’ test scores.

However, she added that this method of measuring has raised some concerns that some “might just be better at teaching to the test.”

“That’s certainly possible,” Qureshi said in an interview. “Other studies have shown… when you follow their students later, a couple of years down even into adulthood, you see that the students have better long-

VISHVA VENKATESAN | DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

University of Illinois at Chicago associate professor of economics Javaeria Qureshi presented on teacher quality in relation to Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials in an event put on by Wheelock College of Education and Human Development Tuesday.

run outcomes like better educational attainment, higher earnings and so on.”

Diane Levin, a clinical professor at Wheelock, said this method of measurement is not always accurate as standardized tests are based on memorization versus the application of learned skills.

“Teachers started being evaluated based on how kids did on the test, but it was a test… that [had] rote answers, right or wrong answers, not thinking answers,” Levin said in an interview, adding that teaching to the test can change a teacher’s interaction with children and how they teach.

Qureshi said that changes in teacher quality among the different generational ages may be less about whether younger teachers can adapt more quickly to the new curriculum, but rather how they mirror the representation of student races.

“The reason we still see overall that the more recent generations of teachers are millennial teachers and Gen X teachers are more effective at teaching Black students than the boomer teachers is because most of the teachers are white,” Qureshi said, “and among the Boomer generation, more than 80% of the teachers are white.”

According to a 2020 analysis published by the Wheelock Educational Policy Center, Massachusetts continues to see an increase in racial diversity amongst newly hired teachers.

Qureshi’s research also highlights that Black students tend to perform better with younger teachers.

“The results are much stronger when it comes to teaching Black students versus white students,” Qureshi said in an interview. “That, to me, suggests perhaps it’s not just

the changes in the curriculum, and the more recent teachers are… more adept at [teaching students of color].”

Natalie Godovnikova, a freshman in Wheelock, said that she feels teaching styles can vary depending on whether teachers can relate to her age group better.

“I feel like I experienced some generational differences with my teachers in the way that they spoke and the way that they interacted with us,” said Godovnikova. “It was easier to interact with them because they were closer to our age group… they still had a pretty fresh sense of what it was like to be [our age], so it just felt like they got it more than the older generations.”

Katey Cooney, a freshman in the College of Communication, said that she has experienced different teaching styles among teachers and professors of different ages.

“Older teachers have more of a philosophy of like, ‘We’re here genuinely to learn stuff,’ which is true, but I think younger teachers understand also that we do need to do really well on the test to do well in school,” Cooney said. “Older teachers are more prone to tangents in my experience.”

Qureshi said there will always be concerns over changing curricula and teaching quality as different generations of teachers will be differentially effective, but “we haven’t been able to identify or isolate how much that’s playing a role.”

“Going forward, a few years later, there’s going to be new changes, and then the next generation is going to be better at adapting to those new teaching techniques, or curriculum,” Qureshi said. “This is just a normal cycle that continues.”

FreeP vs Food: Editors boast their BU bagel order Editorial Board Daily Free Press Staff Molly Farrar, features editor, Warren Towers Starbucks Order: Everything bagel toasted with cream cheese I walk into the Warren Starbucks on Tuesday morning — “Excuse me, excuse me,” I say as I bypass the line winding through the store. There is my hot latte on the mobile ordering rack — with my legal name Margaret printed on an oversized sticker — along with my everything bagel, side of cream cheese, no knife.

First things first: I remove the sticker. After some coffee to regain the energy lost during my cold walk, I begin to eat the bagel. No, I did not spread the cream cheese first. Many of my colleagues had the pleasure of reviewing a fancy place like Pavement Coffeehouse, where they put the cream cheese on for you.

Nope, I got a small tub of cream cheese with my bagel. But, having perfected the dipping method, I’m not complaining.

The everything bagel was, in a word, perfection. I was not expecting to write a positive review of this Starbucks, not that anyone would care. But the toasted-ness was just right, and the chewy, flavor of the iconic everything bagel made my Tuesday morning.

Yvonne Tang, layout & graphics editor, Einstein Bros. Bagel College of Arts and Sciences Basement Order: Asiago bagel with jalapeño salsa schmear Crispy Asiago cheese on a chewy bagel. Tangy salsa cream cheese slathered on top. What more could a girl ask for? It’s a shameful thing to say — but sometimes I’m home in New Jersey and I catch myself craving

the Einstein’s underneath CAS. Every bagel place has chives, cinnamon and raisin or even lox cream cheese. But no one makes a satisfyingly spicy filling the same way that Einstein’s does. With the slightly toasted Asiago on top, there is no comparison. Einstein’s has a bagel combo like no other.

Today’s order took a while to arrive, and it too quickly disappeared.

My only complaint is that the bagel should be larger, so I wouldn’t be mourning its loss the second I finish it.

Madhri Yehiya, campus news editor, The Fresh Food Co. at Warren Towers Order: Sesame seed bagel with butter The editors would make me review the bagels served by BU — I am campus editor, after all. It would be too perfect. But actually, it is too perfect — I unironically look forward to my Warren bagel almost daily.

I was only made to write this after admitting the fact.

Although I am known to enjoy the spicy, my usual “order” — only selfservice here — is the sesame seed bagel. With a smooth crust covered in delicious if slightly crumbly seeds and an interior slathered in butter — yes, butter! I am lactose more-intolerant of cream cheese — I truly believe there may be no better combo to be had at the dining hall, and I have spent the last two months trying the sesame seed bagel’s lackluster cousins.

If FreeP readers feel an urge to make fun of me for this, I have heard it all already. Perhaps the bagels in New York City or Pavement or Einstein’s are superior, but I feel better knowing I have spent my $14 meal swipe on a worthwhile breakfast, lunch and dinner option that never fails to get me through the day.

Lily Kepner, editor-in-chief, Pavement Coffeehouse at Boston University

Order: Plain bagel with veggie cream cheese I would like to formally title my bagel blurb “justice for the plain bagel” — a hot take I will stand by forever. A bagel stripped to the basics is, in my opinion, the most definitive way to tell if a bagel-place passes the test. There’s no fancy topping to distract from the bagel-y essence.

Finding the right bagel — and bagel place vibe — is important. My friends and I have a dear concept of an “emotional support bagel” that can be cashed in both as a reward for a good day and a crutch for a bad one.

There’s no one I trust more with this responsibility than Pavement.

This order, wow. It is not an exaggeration to say it was so good I cried. The veggie spread was the perfect complement to the crunchy bagel and not-too-cakey interior — a tricky texture to perfect — and there was just enough schmear to feel satisfied without feeling like a mess.

A jealous pack of geese surrounded me as I was eating this bagel on the Esplanade, and I refused to stop eating it as they gained on me.

For your emotional support bagel needs — we all have them — you can trust Pavement on Commonwealth Avenue with the task. It’s worth the slightly pricey tag, and even splurging for a complementing latte too.

Sonja Chen, sports editor, Kupel’s Bakery - Brookline Order: Jalapeño bagel with jalapeño cream cheese I’m not a bagel connoisseur. I’m from the West Coast, where we like bagels but aren’t overly particular about them. I’m also a first-time customer at Kupel’s Bakery — which is a little far from campus, so I ordered my bagel on GrubHub. I love bagels with bold flavor. The jalapeño bagel itself is great, slightly crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. To me, the cream cheese is the

real star — it’s spicy, but not so much so that I’m reaching for my coffee every five seconds. There are visible chunks of jalapeño in both the bagel and the cream cheese, which provides a nice crunch. The cream cheese mellows out the jalapeño just enough, and that combined with the bagel provides the perfect amount of heat.

And the portion size is perfect.

It’s a good amount of food to refuel after morning synchronized skating practice, and as the day whittles away, the bagel will keep me energized until lunch. It was a great first experience at Kupel’s, and I’m sure I’ll be a repeat customer.

Emma Sánchez, managing editor, Bruegger’s Bagels Coolidge Corner Order: Blueberry bagel with strawberry cream cheese Maybe it was my bad for ordering

my bagel instead of picking it up when it was fresh, but this bagel shop is a bit of a trek from BU’s campus.

Regardless, the bakery has a large selection of bagel and cream cheese flavors, both sweet and savory. I went with my go-to order, which can be a bit on the sweet side for some. My main criteria for bagels is that it’s toasted to crunchy, crispy perfection, and warm and slathered with the proper ratio of cream cheese.

I’ve ordered this same flavor combo from Kupel’s Bakery before, and I’ll have to say that Kupel’s takes the cake. While Bruegger’s Bagels has more selections, this bagel came a bit chewy and wasn’t toasted to a perfect golden brown. The strawberry cream cheese was delicious, it was just too small of an amount. What can I say? I like a lot of cream cheese.

LILY KEPNER | DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

A plain bagel with veggie cream cheese from Pavement Coffeehouse. The Daily Free Press section editors review their favorite bagel orders from spots in and around the Boston University campus.

6 PHOTOS

GALLERY

Men’s Basketball Home Opener 11/12 Mohan Ge Staff Photographer

Boston University men’s basketball took on Gordon College in their home opener Nov. 12, securing an 85-61 victory over the Fighting Scots at Case Gym.

Sophomore guard Daman Tate runs with the ball.

Senior guard Jonas Harper is welcomed to the court by his teammates.

The Terriers and the Fighting Scots shake hands following an 85-61 victory for the Terriers.

Senior guard Garrett Pascoe dunks on the basket.

A fan dances in the stands.

Senior guard Fletcher Tynen takes a foul shot.

EDITORIAL 7

EDITORIAL

The egg donation system is dangerously unregulated

ILLUSTRATION BY YVONNE TANG

As a college student with a uterus, it may seem like a good idea to donate your eggs. You may get paid an exorbitant amount of money and help out a family in the process.

You may have even seen an ad advertising the egg donation process. A YouTube ad for the Boston Fairfax Egg Donor program features a colorful background, with images of young women smiling while the narrator gleefully states that egg donors may earn up to $48,000.

But does this ad portray the realities of egg donation?

Firstly, many disturbing aspects of the egg donation industry are heavily informed by racism, eugenics and classism.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology student newspaper, the Tech, published an editorial last February on the trend of targeted egg donation ads running in college newspapers.

From the late 1990s to the 2000s, many Ivy League and other highly competitive college newspapers ran ads seeking egg donors with a specific race, physical attribute, SAT score or athletic ability.

The Tech ran two of these ads in 2012 and 2017 and received backlash from their readership due to the disturbing and racist nature of the advertisements. The ads — which were run by the Tech as well as directly sent by the company to female MIT students with the last name Wu, Huang or Chen — sought an Asian egg donor with high academic achievements.

Egg donation ads nowadays may be more

restrained in terms of the supposed physical and intellectual specifications they may be seeking, but these attribute preferences nonetheless continue to exist within the industry.

There are no federal guidelines regulating in-vitro fertility clinics in the United States.

Sperm banks and egg donation banks only have to adhere to FDA regulations on the screening and testing of donor tissue.

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine has produced guidelines with suggestions as to how these egg donation agencies should proceed with properly recruiting, compensating and communicating the risks of the procedure to potential donors.

As there is no legal way to enforce them, these guidelines are not generally followed.

For instance, the ASRM recommends a donor not go through more than six donations.

One 2021 study found that some donors have participated in up to 19 egg donation cycles.

A 2016 review found that most egg donation centers do not abide by the ASRM’s guidelines for egg donation, with 58.8% of egg donation centers explicitly stating they would pay donors more for certain physical or intellectual traits.

Many egg donation centers specifically target college students with high SAT scores. These kinds of hierarchical compensation schemes perpetuate dangerous eugenics myths that intellect is inheritable, as well as measurable by highly-flawed standardized tests.

The Boston Fairfax egg donation center

screens out potential donors with a history of mental illness and potential donors who do not have a high school diploma.

Along with the significant time investment, egg donation itself may have significant health risks, which egg donation ads often do not disclose.

Also, as the Tech editorial noted, egg donation requires invasive hormonal intervention. Egg collection requires that one’s ovulation cycle be temporarily suppressed. Through selfinjections, donor ovaries are hyperstimulated with human chorionic gonadotropin, or hCG, among other hormones.

Too much hCG in one’s system has been linked with ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), in which fluid from the donor’s blood vessels may leak into their abdomen and other viscera in more severe cases. The risk for OHSS — which could be fatal if not addressed with effective treatment — has been shown to increase with the number of eggs the donor produces.

Moreover, reproductive hormones have been linked with affecting one’s susceptibility to developing various kinds of cancer. Although no firm causation relationship has been determined so far, breast cancer and colon cancer have been reported in egg donors.

Nowhere in the Fairfax Boston donor initial application page, or the ad, does it state the medical risks of the procedure.

One 2021 study found that although the

majority of egg donors felt they were wellprepared for the immediate risks of egg donation, 55.2% did not feel they were sufficiently informed or prepared for the potential longterm consequences of the procedure.

According to a Salon piece published in 2021, in the United States, college debt is one of the primary motivating factors for egg donation, while none of the 100 egg donors interviewed living outside of the United States cited the cost of education as a reason for their donation.

It is terrifying to frame egg donation as a business when it is a medical procedure. With the recent news of the start-up Expecting, which is digitizing the egg donation process, the very real health cost of the procedure seems to be overshadowed by the business model of these services.

The problems with the egg donation industry are not the sole fault of these boutique egg donation companies. The lack of financial support and safety nets in this country, as well as the astronomical costs of college, may leave some people with no choice but to make potentially unhealthy medical decisions for themselves.

But these egg donation industries are taking advantage of an already vulnerable population while advancing eugenics principles. We should stay vigilant of these targeted advertisements and advance more stringent regulations for the egg donation industry.

EDITORIAL BOARD Lily Kepner, Editor-in-Chief Madhri Yehiya, Campus Editor

Emma Sánchez, Managing Editor Isabella Abraham City Editor

Sonja Chen, Sports Editor

Yvonne Tang, Layout & Graphics Editor

Conor Kelley, Photo Editor

Katrina Liu, Lifestyle Editor

Bini Ollivier-Yamin, Opinion Editor Veronica Thompson, Podcast Editor Molly Farrar, Features Editor GRAPHIC BY ALEXIA NIZHNY KK Feuerman, Multimedia Editor

8 COLUMNS

Seen on TV:

OPINION

I think it’s time we forgave Brian Williams

Brian Foisy Columnist Longtime NBC news anchor Brian Williams announced earlier this week that he’d be leaving NBC News at the end of 2021. Williams has been the host of an MSNBC show, “The 11th Hour,” since September of 2015 after he was removed from his position as anchor of the “NBC Nightly News.”

You probably remember the scandal that caused Williams to be removed from Nightly News. On several platforms and for several years, he told a story that he had been in a helicopter that was hit with an RPG missile and was forced to land, which wasn’t true.

When Williams first reported the story in March of 2003 on Nightly News as a war correspondent, he correctly identified that he was not in the helicopter. He clearly states “we learned the Chinook ahead of us was almost blown out of the sky.”

But Williams’ recounting of the tale morphed over time.

In an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman in 2013, Williams said “two of our four helicopters were hit by ground fire, including the one I was in. RPG and AK-47.” And in January 2015, Williams offered a new interpretation on the Nightly News “the helicopter we were flying in was forced down after being hit by an RPG.” After these appearances, the truth began to seep out from other veterans that Brian Williams’ helicopter was not hit by an RPG. In February 2015, Williams appeared on-air to retract the story.

“I made a mistake in recalling the events of 12 years ago,” Williams said. He continues, “I want to apologize. I said I was in an aircraft that was hit by RPG fire, I was instead in a following aircraft.”

The reaction from pundits at the time was strong and came from all sides, everyone from Brian Stelter to Rosie O’Donnell weighed in on the issue, with O’Donnell saying on The View, “I think you would know if you were in a helicopter that was actually hit by a missile. So I don’t think he didn’t remember that, I think he fabricated that.”

What Brian Williams did was clearly wrong.

The cardinal sin for any journalist at any level is to be caught making up a story, it’s something hammered into your head from the first day of journalism school.

The question of intention, though, is a difficult one to answer.

Many — at the time and probably still — believed that Williams was making up the story to make himself seem like a bigger character in the story. I, at the time, agreed with this interpretation of the story. Even to a 13-year-old kid, it seemed like the classic story of a celebrity flying too close to the sun.

But this all changed when I listened to an

episode of Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast “Revisionist History” titled “Free Brian Williams.” The episode explores the scandal in-depth but also offers an interesting explanation for William’s on-air inaccuracies.

The podcast introduces the idea of “flashbulb memories,” a psychological concept which the American Psychological Association (APA) defines as, “a vivid, enduring memory associated with a personally significant and emotional event.” These flashbulb moments occur on wide scales or a personal level.

Examples that Gladwell cites are national tragedies like 9/11. Due to the visceral or emotional nature of these events, memories can become corrupted or unreliable, especially when someone recounts the memory repeatedly.

Gladwell suggests that what Williams was experiencing between when the event occurred in 2003 and when he was removed from the Nightly News in 2015, was the effects of a flashbulb memory.

According to Gladwell, Williams’ memory of the incident faltered, he didn’t embellish the story to make himself seem cooler. Which makes good sense. If he intended to make himself seem more heroic, why did he start doing so 10 years after he initially reported the story?

Following his removal from the Nightly News, William’s “punishment” was to move to MSNBC and host a cable news show. But his legacy and his name were undoubtedly tarnished by the in-

ILLUSTRATION BY YVONNE TANG

cident.

And now, six years later Williams is leaving NBC News. If the blowback from this incident was not as severe, he might’ve still been on the Nightly News.

It’s hard to understand why when moments like this happen in the media — or society in general — we can’t chalk it up to being a simple mistake. It must be a widespread and public flogging for the crime of not being perfect, something that no person is able to ask of themselves but something they must demand from everyone else.

Brian Williams made a mistake. He should have double-checked the footage from 2003 before retelling the story on Letterman and on his show. It doesn’t mean he was a bad person for doing so, it just means he was a normal one.

I think it’s time we forgave Brian Williams.

Wear Me This:

The comeback of indie sleaze and its complications

Sujena Soumyanath Columnist

Victims of anti-wire-headphones hate rise up: In the coming months, your lack of AirPods could make you incredibly fashionable and undeniably camp. Why is that? The ever-accelerating trend cycle has spoken, and outdated accessories — I think AirPod memes have haunted us long enough for me to call wire-headphones outdated — will play an important role in the next new fashion movement.

What I’m referring to is the comeback of indie sleaze. Indie sleaze is a specific aesthetic from the 2000s and early 2010s that revolves around flash photography of people who look vaguely like they’re in need of a shower, excessive displays of clubbing and tastefully smudged mascara.

In essence, the indie sleaze aesthetic is an artfully hedonistic mashup of clothes, music and accessories from the 2000s aimed at producing

a vision of “carefree maximalism.” Don’t let the three-plus syllable words fool you into thinking this is some kind of classy Coco Chanel fashion moment, however. Whether through its obsession with partying or use of provocative advertising, the indie sleaze aesthetic glorifies trashiness in a way TLC couldn’t hope to compete with.

For those of us who watched the British TV show Skins in middle school, in addition to developing a wildly inaccurate perception of high school— I really thought it was normal for high schoolers to smoke joints in the school bathroom— we also fell in love with indie sleaze’s poster child, main character Effy Stonem. Everything from her ripped tights and cigarette smoking to her wild partying adventures exemplifies the apathetic, artistically sleazy tenets of the subculture.

No discussion of the era is complete without a mention of American Apparel, either. Perhaps most demonstrative of indie sleaze’s thirst for the trashy is American Apparel’s popularity during the era, and the provocative advertisements company founder Dov Charney put out in the late 2000s.

The advertisements, though aggressively suggestive, portray a kind of easy sex appeal and appreciation for the tacky that exemplifies indie sleaze. And though today looking at the advertisements makes me want to douse my eyes in holy water rather than buy any of the products, the hold American Apparel had on 2010 “hipsters” is undeniable.

So what’s responsible for the return of indie sleaze in all its garish debauchery?

In a TikTok trend

forecaster Mandy Lee — whose username is @ oldloserinbrooklyn on TikTok — explains that we are seeing its reemergence through phone cases that mimic flip phones, mirroring the 2010’s obsession with similar “archaic” objects such as polaroids and typewriters and music mashups that harken back to mixes from the 2010s.

Megan Fox has also embraced indie sleaze through a seemingly distressing lack of self-awareness. Her recent Instagram caption, a long absurd poem about her and Machine Gun Kelly’s “solar flare of a romance” reads straight out of a 2010 Tumblr post.

If that wasn’t enough, in the United Kingdom, the government has plans to print “smoking kills” on individual cigarettes. The fake-deep irony of it all is exactly what indie sleaze era Tumblr was all about.

In many ways, the return of indie sleaze makes a lot of sense. After the pandemic’s endless months of sweatpants, whipped coffee and crushing existential angst, who wouldn’t want to go clubbing excessively and celebrate the night’s chaos with amateur flash pictures? The aesthetic’s acceptance of the garish and its encouragement of excess feels refreshing — like a welcome, if a bit tacky, distraction from the world’s problems.

Moreover, indie sleaze may appeal to a wider variety of people due to its financial accessibility. indie sleaze occurred afILLUSTRATION BY ALEXIA NIZHNY

ter the 2008 financial recession. Some have attributed the return of the signature indie sleaze grown-out roots look due to the fact that many people simply can’t afford to maintain their blond hair anymore.

It’s also important to remember, however, that this hyper-sexualized live-in-the-moment fashion era had problematic aspects to it.

First off, this was the era that saw glitter-crusted lips, galaxy leggings and mustaches on literally everything. I shudder to think that these fashion atrocities could re-enter our world today.

On a more serious note, the hyper-sexualization of indie sleaze also came along with many cases of sexual misconduct. For example, in 2014, the aforementioned Don Charvey— that’s right, the one that came up with those weird ads — faced multiple sexual assault allegations and stepped down as CEO of American Apparel.

The aesthetic also romanticized drug use and excessive partying. In the case of the show Skins, which exemplified indie sleaze, many of the underage characters abused drugs and struggled with serious mental health issues and eating disorders. The show has since received criticism for its normalization and even romanticization of these heavy themes, which had a dangerous potential to lead many teens to attempt to emulate the characters’ behavior.

Finally, the complete disregard for propriety which makes indie sleaze so appealing also has negative consequences such as unabashed cultural appropriation. The era saw people un-ironically wearing “Aztec” prints and “Arab” scarves.

In my opinion, indie sleaze provides fashion with much-needed spontaneity and maximalism, even if that means subjecting ourselves to shutter shades. I just hope that in our 2021 take on the aesthetic, we can leave behind its dangerous aspects and not take its charming shortsightedness too seriously.

LIFESTYLE 9

LIFESTYLE A love letter to art Eden Mor Staff Writer I remember going to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City with my parents when I was younger. I remember the sleek and reflective white flooring, with entire walls dedicated to individual pieces of art, enclosed in embellished gold frames. I remember visitors circling the paintings in awe, silently examining them with looks of laser-sharp focus and nuance I never quite understood.

I would mimic their stances — folding my arms, furrowing my brow in a sort of inquisitive way and perusing the museum pamphlet from front to back. My little sister and I would always get lost in seemingly identical rooms, walking in what felt like endless circles. We would even make a game out of trying to figure out where we were without the use of the museum map. Later, on the drive home, my mother would lecture us on the names of the various artists we had seen, as well as their notable works.

“Degas painted those ballet dancers. Monet was the one with the water lilies. ‘The Thinking Man’? That was Rodin.”

But I always felt like I was missing something. Where other people saw something mindblowing, I saw pretty colors and a pretty picture — nothing more. I didn’t get how people could stand

and stare at a single painting for childhood and the descriptions Although my mom couldn’t experience reminded me that art half an hour. Were they seeing of paintings she relays to me. join us, it truly felt like we were isn’t meant to be interpreted a something I wasn’t?

She’s helped me understand those coming full circle, reviving a certain way, no matter what your My mother was born in nuanced looks I used to mimic treasured childhood tradition. middle school art teacher tried Eastern Europe to parents of and the emotions behind them.

The museum was absolutely to tell you. It plays an inherently humble origins but educated This past weekend, I visited beautiful, but many visitors will different role in everyone’s lives. backgrounds. From them, she the Isabella Stewart Gardner tell you that.

To me, art is a symbol of family, garnered an appreciation for art Museum with my younger sister.

I bring this up because the entire for which I am forever grateful. that she attempted to pass down to me like one does a foreign language or particular skill.

She often mentioned the cheap but frequent trips she would take with her parents as an only child, staying at scrappy hotels to afford traveling twice a year, if not more. They never failed to stop by art museums, from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam to The Louvre in Paris.

As I grew older, my art appreciation flourished, though not for the reasons one might think. I haven’t magically gained the ability to deeply analyze paintings and what they symbolize, nor do I find myself spending more than five generous minutes on a painting when strolling through dimmed museum hallways.

For me, art serves as a tether to my mother, the same way it connected her to her parents. My grandparents saw art as a necessity to a child’s education, and so did my mom.

The experience of traveling to museums with my family contributes to the indescribably strong bond I share with my BAILEY SHEN | DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF mom. I was, and still am, Inside the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Eden writes about how her experience of going to art museums as a child is enthralled with stories of her strongly linked to the bond she has with her mother.

A guide to surviving the holidays smell. However, the memories of warmth and familiarity come at a cost.

Mom and Dad, you may want to skip this article.

The holidays can be a precious time, an epoch for rekindling relationships with distant relatives or catching up with cousins that seemed to have grown up overnight. However, the holidays can also be a nightmare for an introvert.

With a hurricane of questions that hits you as soon as your foot dares to step inside, it can

be overwhelming. Suddenly, the multiple exams you took the week before seem like child’s play compared to the interrogation you are receiving. Questions seem to race at an alarming pace — such as “Have you found a special partner?” “What’s your current GPA?” or “What are you doing after college?” — and give me a different perspective on how much I miss the peace of the dorm rooms compared to that firework show.

If you’re like me, and need a little help, here are some tips to

avoid the inevitable investigations over the holidays.

The first tip is to stay busy. Do the kids want to play with you?

Perfect. Kids don’t shower you Payton Renegar with adult questions that you’re Staff Writer not ready to answer. Kids couldn’t care less whether or not you have an internship for the summer or why you chose a school so far from home. They only care that Walking into my childhood they can be the hero in the game home, I am hit with a familiar of make-believe. smell. Memories of laughter and The second tip I would suggest love flood through my mind as is to keep your mouth full. Rolls I bask in the memorable house are your best friend. You can’t answer questions if you’re chewing.

You can also divert the conversation to the food that is being served, mention how good it is or how long it must have taken to make.

The final tip that I have is to ask questions back.

If you can’t find the kids and the eating is making you too full, this is a great one.

People love to talk about themselves.

If they ask you difficult questions or say statements like, “Why are you going to a private school if your dream job doesn’t make much money?,” feel free to fire questions back COURTESY OF STEFAN VLADIMIROV VIA UNSPLASH as, “Why A family meal. The flurry of catch-up questions family members like to ask their children upon returning home for the holidays can be over- such whelming – Payton shares a few tips to avoid being vigorously cross-examined by your relatives are you getting

married for a third time if your first two marriages didn’t work out?”

Although my examples may be slightly satirical, the principles remain the same.

Stay busy enjoying your family’s company. Life is so short, and there are only a few holiday seasons in the grand scheme of life that allow for the communion of loved ones.

Enjoy the family meals that coincide with the holidays.

Recipes can bond families.

Whether through the labor and sacrifice poured into the meals or through the nostalgia of the dishes, the food served during the holidays brings loved ones closer together.

Finally, definitely ask questions back, but in a less hostile way — you don’t want to be blacklisted from holiday dinners next year. People love talking about themselves, so feel free to ask genuine questions about their lives. Not only does this act bring you closer to your family, but it takes the heat off of you.

The holiday season can be stressful for many people.

Whether that’s because of the inability to see loved ones or seeing too many at once, it can bring up a storm of exhausting emotions.

The key to getting through this stressful time is to know that you are loved. Whether family seems like a million miles away or right next to you, the people in your life care about you. With this perspective, it’s easy to recognize the probing questions for what they truly are — a chance to connect with you and glimpse into your life.

10 JUST FOR FUN

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SPORTS 11

SPORTS BU’s gameday soundtrack is back with the Pep Band’s return Brendan Nordstrom Contributing Writer The blare of the trumpet has overlooked five men’s hockey national championships on Agganis Arena’s ice. A rumble of the drums has cheered on the men’s basketball program’s seven visits to March Madness. The vibrating strings of the guitar accompanied five football conference titles and the subsequent departure of the gridiron from the Charles River campus.

The scarlet-and-white uniforms of the Boston University Pep Band have lined the courts, fields and rinks of the Terriers for over 100 years, invigorating fans and athletes alike.

Win, lose or draw, the colorful symphony of the BU Bands will be there — standing at the top of section 118 in Agganis or striped up and down the right side of the Case Gym bleachers, blasting the BU fight song, their rendition of the Dropkick Murphys’ “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” or their mix of both classic and contemporary pop songs.

“You could be down six. You could be up six. It doesn’t matter,” said Brady Gardner, a senior in the College of Communication and saxophone player in the Pep Band. “They’re always having a good time, getting people excited and just making college hockey what it is.”

The BU Band was formed by the infantry unit of the ROTC in 1919 with fewer than 30 members. Immediately, they were known for their appearances at sporting events. 1942 brought on World War II and with it, a brief cease of the BU Band, as its members were called into service. By the end of the war, the BU Band was performing once again and

tanced in the bitter New England winter. Within the stadiums, recordings of the band’s cheers and songs permeated the deserted stadium seats.

Patrick Donnelly, a senior in COM and co-director of WTBU Sports, said he was able to make it into games during the pandemic due to his standing as media personnel.

“You had gone so long without having it, and so now you go back and you remember, ‘Oh, this is what it sounds like.’”

Inclusivity is central to the philosophy of the band, as the front page of its website highlights how it is open “to all students of Boston University, regardless of major.” The community tab adds that the band is akin to a “new family,” as Gardner further The Boston University Pep Band performing during the men’s basketball game at Case Gym emphasized.

Nov. 12. No matter how well or how poorly Terrier sports games play out, the band’s roaring music “Just the camainvigorates players and fans alike. of it,” he MOHAN GE | DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF raderie said. “There are so many people who could be from every different school at BU and every year, every different interest, but for three hours on Friday nights, they’re all best friends.”

A major aspect of the BU Pep Band is its impact on the Boston University student cheering section, also known as the Dog Pound.

“It’s something that really sets apart the college atmosphere from a procontinued performing at athletic “A recording can’t do it justice fessional atmosphere,” Donnelly events until 2020, with the onset for the band,” Donnelly said. “You said. of COVID-19 and the ensuing need them there.”

The band is famous for its tradipandemic.

As this semester marks the re- tions, including their iconic playThroughout the pandemic, the turn of both spectators and the out music for the goalie when anband may have been physically band to sporting events, there nouncing starting hockey lineups, separated, but it did not mean was an immediate shift in the performing “Hey Baby” after a they were disbanded. Rehearsals gameday feel. win, and face paint, among many still occurred and the band would “It almost feels like being a others. The band is also known to even play outside, socially dis- freshman again,” Gardner said. electrify the student section after

a goal or important basket.

“That makes a crazy atmosphere,” Donnelly added, “when it’s deafening crowd noise and you just hear the band piercing through that.”

While the band charges up the student section, it is also important to note its impact on the athletes as well. Guard Javante McCoy, who is a grad student in the School of Hospitality Administration, commented on the return of the Pep Band and fans after men’s basketball’s Nov. 12 home opener against Gordon College.

“It meant a lot. Going through the whole last year, [we] finally gained some fans in the gym, and it just brought memories back, brought a lot of energy,” McCoy said in a postgame press conference following the team’s 85-61 win. “So, it felt good.”

The Pep Band and athletic teams have maintained a very close relationship, Gardner said.

For instance, the band and the men’s hockey team shared a dinner earlier this semester, and the women’s hockey team recently sat in on a rehearsal.

The band is at the intersection between the fans and the athletes.

A favorite memory of Donnelly’s is hearing “Hey Baby” after women’s hockey’s 3-2 overtime Beanpot victory in 2019, the team’s first since 1981.

“Being able to experience all that, and then at the end to have it capped off with all the fans that traveled out to Harvard, even the players on the ice, singing along with the band,” Donnelly said, “that was really cool.”

12 SPORTS

ILLUSTRATION BY SMARAN RAMIDI

SPORTS BU men’s basketball blows out Gordon College to win home opener Maxwell Bevington Senior Writer The Boston University men’s basketball team took on Gordon College in their home opener at Case Gym Nov. 12, looking to rebound after starting the season with a loss on the road at the University of Rhode Island. The Terriers (1-1) did so in dominant fashion, with an 85-61 win over the Fighting Scots (0-1).

This game marked the first home matchup with fans and the Pep Band present since March 8, 2020, when the Terriers faced Bucknell University in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals.

BU head coach Joe Jones said the atmosphere impacted his squad, and while it was enjoyable to return home with fans, his players ultimately became too distracted by the environment.

“It was good to be home. It was good to feel like we were in our gym,” Jones said in a postgame press conference. “But we were caught up in that. There’s no doubt about that.”

In the first 10 minutes of the game, BU and Gordon went toe to toe with each other, as both teams were giving up early turnovers and struggling to get going from the floor.

Near the midway point of the first half, both squads began to

heat up and the Fighting Scots again coughed up the ball, which turned into a dunk from senior guard Walter Whyte with 9:25 left in the half.

BU continued to have success shooting, as Whyte drained a 3-point shot on the Terriers’ very next possession.

Whyte ended the night tied for second in team scoring with grad student forward Sukhmail Mathon, with both scoring 13 points. Whyte also tallied five rebounds and two assists, while

Mathon recorded a team-high 14 rebounds.

As the opening half came to a close, both teams continued to shoot well. But Gordon continued to struggle with turnovers, which allowed the Terriers to take control of the game. Whyte continued to propel the squad in scoring during the first half, as he jammed home another dunk with 26 seconds left, allowing BU to take a 45-32 lead into halftime.

At the end of the first half, the Fighting Scots went 12-for-28

from the floor, good for a field goal percentage of 42.9%, but they could not keep up with the Terriers, who had a 58.6% field goal percentage after shooting 17-for-29.

Jones said his defense was not as locked in as he would have liked them to be and also praised the Fighting Scots for their shooting ability, as they were led in scoring by sophomore forward Michael Makiej and junior guard Garrett Sattazahn, who scored 14 and 11 points, respectively. “[Gordon] was taking us off the dribble.

We had a hard time guarding them off the bounce, as well as guarding the 3-point line,” Jones said. “We were bad tonight d e f e n s i v e l y.

We were not talking at all.”

Although BU came out in the second half with a doubledigit lead, the Fighting Scots kept pushing and cut the deficit to six points at the 14:03 mark, as the Terriers MOHAN GE | DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF struggled to Senior guard Fletcher Tynen running with the ball in a basketball game against Gordon College Friday. convert free The Terriers secured an 85-61 victory over the Fighting Scots in their home opener at Case Gym.

throws, aiding Gordon’s run.

The Terriers struggled with foul shots in their season opener against Rhode Island as well, going 15-for-23 from the charity stripe against the Rams, good for a conversion rate of 65.2%. BU fared worse against the Fighting Scots, as they made only 54.5% of their free throws by going 12for-22 from the line.

Jones said he recognizes his team’s foul shot struggles but is confident the issue will work itself out as the season progresses.

“It’s something that we’ve got to continue to work on,” Jones said. “I think we’ll be fine eventually, but we’ve got to get past this, and sometimes it becomes a little more mental than it needs to be.”

Despite a strong effort from their opponents, BU managed to retake control of the game due to the play of grad student guard Javante McCoy, who led the team in scoring with 19 points and also tallied four assists.

McCoy scored eight points within the last 10 minutes of the contest and said sticking to what the team has practiced and its principles allowed him to shoot well. But he agreed with Jones that the Terriers were not completely focused at the start of the game.

“We practice this every day. We put up a lot of reps,” McCoy said in a postgame press conference.

“We were kind of in our heads at the beginning, not really playing together, and it showed.”

Women’s basketball routs Lowell in season opener Chloe Patel Staff Writer The Boston University women’s basketball team defeated the University of Massachusetts Lowell Riverhawks 76-47 in the Nov. 9 season opener, earning new head coach Melissa Graves her first win as a Terrier basketball coach.

“Getting that first win is always the goal. You really want to make a statement,” junior guard Sydney Johnson said in a postgame press conference.

“We kind of put our league on notice that, even though we have a new head coach, we’re still gonna come out, play hard, play as a team. We’re still going to carry over the success we had from last year.”

Twelve players on the Terriers’ roster accumulated minutes, and 11 of those players scored. Leading the pack was Johnson, who finished the night with 13 points and a team-leading five steals. Directly following Johnson in points, redshirt senior guard Emily Esposito scored 11 of them, including nine from 3-pointers and two from free throws.

“We have a different style of play, but I think we’ve really taken that in stride,” Esposito said in a postgame press conference. “We enjoy sharing the ball, and everyone’s contributing.

I think that’s a testament to Coach [Graves] and the offense she’s put in, so very proud and honored to be a part of that [first win].”

The Riverhawks generated some offense but were not able to get the ball in the net often, only scoring 10 points to the Terriers’ 25 in the third

JEFF TEDI | DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Senior guard Emily Esposito in a match against the University of Massachusetts Lowell Tuesday night. The Terriers defeated the Riverhawks 76-47 in their season opener.

quarter. They found themselves down 57-40 at the end of the third.

The Terriers maintained pressure on the Riverhawks, utilizing a newly implemented press, and rebounded 41 times — 11 of which were offen-

sive and 30 that were defensive — throughout the game to earn the win.

“We have an unselfish culture, and when we share the basketball, we look really, really good,” Graves said in a postgame press conference. “It

was a total team effort.”

As the Terriers secured a double-digit-point cushion with three minutes left in the third quarter, the Case Gym crowd roared a little more than before after every point, every

takeaway and every secured rebound.

“Playing in front of fans again obviously was really exciting,” Graves said, recalling the fanless gyms that surrounded the court during last year’s COVID-affected season.