February 15, 2018

The Huntington News Vol. XI No. 8

The independent student newspaper of the Northeastern community

Winger Adam Gaudette scored a hat trick in the Beanpot final against Boston University and was named tournament MVP. Photo by Alex Melagrano

February 15, 2018

30-YEAR WAIT ENDS NORTHEASTERN WINS BEANPOT

By Charlie Wolfson | Deputy City Editor

B

efore doubting the significance of the Beanpot in the Boston area, talk to Adam Gaudette. The third-year led his Northeastern team to its first Beanpot championship since 1988 Monday night.

“The Beanpot is more special to me than being on an Olympic team,” Gaudette said post-game Monday.

The winger was in the running to make USA Hockey’s Pyeongchang squad, not that he’d care to be anywhere but downtown Boston this week.

“I’d rather win the Beanpot, to be honest,” he said. “I’ve dreamed of winning the Beanpot since I was a kid.”

Just after 10 p.m. Monday, Northeastern’s bench drained onto the ice into a mound of black hockey jerseys. Gloves flew into the air and the “DogHouse” student section — the special, seven-section version — filled TD Garden with raw joy. Scratched players in suits ran onto the ice to join. Moments later, a banner lowered from the ceiling and a Northeastern logo was affixed to the bottom.

Gaudette is hardly the only Husky to relish in the victory.

From head coach Jim Madigan and his years of battle with the program to first-year, 18-year-old goalie Cayden Primeau, the team celebrated a generational accomplishment.

HOCKEY, on Page 6

Bostonians voice cannabis concerns

By Christian Triunfo

current draft of regulations News Correspondent poses.

Before finalizing its reguMore than 100 citizens lations for adult marijuana signed up to address the use in Massachusetts, the commision at the Bolling Cannabis Control ComMunicipal Building in mission is making its way Roxbury. Chairman Steven around the state to hear Hoffman said he welcomed from the public. Tuesday any and all feedback in night marked the commisorder to aid the creation of sion’s final stop and the first detailed provisions for the public hearing since the final regulations. At the end release of a third condemof the night, there seemed nation from Gov. Charlie to be a consensus in the Baker’s office that warned of public’s feedback: The the public health risks the REGULATION, on Page 8

Students allege leased properties not maintained

By Alyssa Lukpat News Staff

At almost 3 a.m. every night, Jake Lopez, a second-year communication studies major, hears something scurrying in the floorboards above his bed.

He reaches his hand up to hit the ceiling and hears a pause before small feet scatter away.

“There’s mice in the apartment everywhere.

And in the beginning when we moved in, there were

flies everywhere,” he said.

“Someone knocked on our door one day and asked if we left food out because of all the flies. We said no.”

The water in Lopez’s sink at 49 Symphony Road has a strange odor. His shower drain clogs with hair that doesn’t belong to him or his roommates. He runs into strangers who let themselves into the lobby, with no proctor to stop them.

Lopez lives in one of 25 APARTMENTS, on Page 2

Photo by Emma Rapp Second-year health science major Mimi Massie lives in one of Northeastern’s 25 leased properties.

CAMPUS

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February 15, 2018

Problems emerge with off-campus housing

Second-year biochemistry major William Bonaventura received his leased housing assignment one week before classes started.

APARTMENTS, from front

properties around Northeastern’s campus that the university leases.

These properties are owned by Alpha Management Corp., a real estate management company.

The company is so notorious for renting dilapidated apartments to thousands of Boston tenants that the Boston Globe Spotlight team investigated them in 2014. Northeastern pays

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week before the start of school.

“They didn’t give us any info during the summer and kept saying, ‘Wait, wait,’” Bonaventura said.

“They dropped a bomb last second of where we’d live.

For my roommate, it was difficult because he wanted to know where he was living and how much he’d have to pay and whether he’d live in an apartment or need a meal plan.”

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They didn’t give us any info during the summer and kept saying, ‘Wait, wait,’” William Bonaventura said. “They dropped a bomb last second of where we’d live.

Alpha millions of dollars every year to lease apartments to students because of the university’s housing shortage. The leased properties often house both Northeastern students and Boston residents.

Leased properties were the last place William Bonaventura, a biochemistry major, wanted to live in his second year of college.

However, his high lottery number left him without housing options. Northeastern Housing and Residential Life did not assign him an apartment until one

Jennifer Silva, a third-year chemical engineering major, lives at 132 Hemenway St., a leased property. She is frustrated with the work request system because Northeastern forwards her requests to Alpha, and the company takes a while to send a repairperson.

Oftentimes, Northeastern neglects to care for leased properties at all, she said.

“The heat was out for two days in a row once,” Silva said. “Instead of offering electric heaters, the residence director sent an email telling us to find

alternative housing on our own or to stay with friends.”

The residence director of leased properties, Christine Feil, left Northeastern before the end of the fall semester. Residence director Daniel Minchoff took over Feil’s duties in addition to managing housing on Huntington Avenue, St. Stephen Street and Commonwealth Avenue.

Minchoff did not respond to requests for comment, and Northeastern Housing and Residential Life declined to comment.

Tianrun Gao, a first-year computer systems engineering master’s student, had to step around piles of white powder as he climbed the stairs to his apartment at 49 Symphony Road. He covered his head with his hands to protect himself from water dripping from the ceiling.

“We get cockroaches at least three times a week.

We have to keep buying spray to kill them because we don’t want to pay for an exterminator,” Gao said.

“I’m definitely moving to another apartment next semester.”

Bonaventura was surprised to learn about the additional expenses that

come with living in leased properties. Northeastern laundry dollars don’t work on the machines in the building, and he has to pay most of his own Wi-Fi and cable bills.

“We’re far enough off campus that we don’t get NUwave, so we pay for our own Wi-Fi,” he said. “They give $100 to help at the end of each semester, but it only covers a third of it. So it’s not the biggest help there.”

Lopez is unhappy with mail services in leased properties. He once ordered a package and could not find it. When he finally discovered the package stuffed into his small mailbox, he also found other residents’ private mail.

“Not only was my mail in there, but everyone’s mail was in there, too,” Lopez said. “There were bills and jury duty notifications. I don’t know why they chose my box to put everyone’s

“

Photo by Emma Rapp

mail in. They probably just shove it in and walk away.”

However, not everyone who lives in leased properties is unhappy with their living situation. Shivam Sharma, a second-year electrical engineering major, is glad to be living at 97 St. Stephen St., a leased property, because it is a bigger space than his room in Stetson West last year.

“This is obviously way better than living in a tiny dorm because it’s an apartment and you’re not living in one tiny room with another person,” he said.

But Bonaventura feels like he missed out on a normal on-campus experience by having to live in a leased property this year.

“We’re required to live on campus for the first two years,” he said. “They just made leased housing as part of being on campus, but it really wasn’t. We kind of felt robbed.”

Not only was my mail in there, but everyone’s mail was in there too,” Jake Lopez said. “There were bills and jury duty notifications. I don’t know why they chose my box to put everyone’s mail in.

They probably just shove it in and walk away.

,,

CAMPUS

February 15, 2018

Professor criticized for Trump comments

By Morgan Lloyd

NUPD CRIME LOG

Compiled by Jill Sojourner, news staff

Campus Editor

A Northeastern professor’s comments that he wouldn’t mind seeing President Donald J. Trump dead made national headlines, drawing an adverse response from the university and students.

Barry Bluestone, the founding director of the Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy and founding dean of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs, made the remarks in a Jan. 31 lecture about the rule of law as part of the 2018 Myra Kraft Open Classroom series.

The university has since taken down the video of the speech from YouTube.

“Sometimes I want to just see him impeached.

Other times, quite honestly — I hope there are no FBI agents here — I wouldn’t mind seeing him dead,” Bluestone said while responding to questions.

Since the event, Bluestone said his words have been misrepresented.

“I think my original comment was taken out of context,” Bluestone said in a phone interview Friday. “It was an important word that slipped out of my mouth. I realized the word I wanted to say was I wish he just disappeared.”

After Campus Reform, a website with the goal to expose liberal bias on college campuses, wrote published an article on Feb. 7 about Bluestone’s comments, Northeastern distanced itself from the remarks, saying professors are free to voice their opinions but that the remarks should not be taken as university statements.

“Professor Bluestone’s comments do not reflect the views of Northeastern University,” read a Feb. 10 university statement emailed to The News. “The university and its leaders steadfastly oppose violence in all its forms. While faculty members are free to express controversial opinions, the university cannot provide a public platform for comments that could be construed to condone vi-

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6:01 p.m.

An NU student reported her phone was stolen while she was attending an event in Dodge Hall. A report was filed.

11:55 a.m.

An individual reported that while walking to her vehicle, an NU staff member she believed was a man may have been following her. A report was filed.

5:43 p.m.

An NU student reported her umbrella was stolen from Snell Library. A report was filed.

File photo by Scotty Schenck Barry Bluestone, a well-known Northeastern professor of political economy, faced backlash for saying he wouldn’t mind Trump’s death.

olence. As a result, we have decided to take down the video of this event.”

Aubrey Kenderdine, a fourth-year combined biology and political science major and president of the Young Americans for Liberty club, said taking down the video was the right thing for the university to do.

“I’m a big proponent of free speech and I usually don’t advocate for taking videos down, but I think by Northeastern keeping that video up they’re associated with his statements,” Kenderdine said. “I think that they definitely made the right choice in doing that.”

The Northeastern University College Democrats, or NUCD, also agreed with the university’s actions regarding the comments.

“We denounce violence of any kind, directed against anyone, public official or not,” NUCD said in a Feb. 14 statement sent to The News. “Please refer to the statement issued by Northeastern University regarding the matter.”

Bluestone, however, said the university should have made more of an effort to reach out to him in its response, describing taking the video down as a “terrible mistake.”

“I would like the university to come to me and say, ‘This is damaging to the university. We would like you to come help rectify the situation,’” Bluestone

said. “I would be happy to work with the university to say I mean no harm to the president and say I believe in free speech for conservatives and liberals.”

Bluestone said he wanted to see Trump removed, but through peaceful rather than through violent means.

“This is a very dangerous man who needs to be replaced in office, along with some of his Republican friends, by democratic means,” Bluestone said.

Kenderdine said the school should not only condemn his actions but fire him.

“I think that Northeastern definitely doesn’t deserve the negative press,” Kenderdine said. “That should be placed on the professor himself. I love Northeastern, I love this school and I’m proud to go here. I think that professor is just making a bad name for Northeastern.”

Bluestone, however, said he thinks retribution from the university appears unlikely. The university did not comment on its plans for dealing with the situation.

“I’m a tenured professor with an endowed chair. I’ve made my apologies. I’ve made it clear that I do not condone violence against the president,” Bluestone said. “I do not know if the university is planning sanctions against me, but if they do I will respond to those.”

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1:23 p.m.

NUPD reported responding to fire alarm trouble in a room in West Village E. NUPD reported knocking on the door with negative results. NUPD further reported entering the room and confiscating marijuana and drug paraphernalia. A report was filed.

2:02 p.m.

An NUPD officer reported stopping an intoxicated NU student leaning against a light pole vomiting in front of Davenport A. NUPD requested Emergency Medical Services, or EMS, who responded and cleared the student. The student was sent on his way. A report was filed.

4:32 p.m.

An NU student reported his lost wallet was found on Mission Hill earlier in the day and that his Canada Goose jacket valued at approximately $1,000 should have been with the wallet but was not. A report was filed.

6:11 p.m.

An NU student reported one of the tires from his bicycle was stolen. A report was filed.

9:11 p.m.

A security officer in Ryder Hall reported entering the men’s restroom and noticing a startled man with a hypodermic needle. NUPD responded and reported banning the man, who was unaffiliated with NU, from all NU property and sent him on his way. A report was filed.

3:59 p.m.

A confidential domestic violence case occurred at the Snell Engineering Center. A report was filed.

6:28 p.m.

An NU student reported that his unattended headphones were stolen from Snell Library. A report was filed.

9:58 p.m.

An NU student reported her unattended boots were stolen from a common room in East Village. A report was filed.

CAMPUS

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February 15, 2018

Black Lives Matter activist delivers speech on campus Alyssa Lukpat News Staff

Writer and Black Lives Matter activist Shaun King spoke to Northeastern students about his four-part plan for effective local activism in front of a sold-out crowd in Blackman Auditorium Friday.

“Put local people in local positions like the city council or district attorney’s office who actually represent what we care about,” he said.

King hopes his plan will combat federal government policies by creating social change on a local level. The first part, he said, is organizing people and taking advantage of their unique traits.

“It’s not enough to be marching in streets, with your butts in seats, RSVPing for events,” he said. “We have to have an assessment of what skills and experiences are in the room.”

Then, a movement should energize and excite its members to keep them around for a long time, King said. After energizing activists, King’s third step involves crafting a strategic

plan for how organizers around a cause can achieve their goals. Finally, King believes a cause must acquire funding in order to sustain itself.

“You have to have a lot of money. If you happen to have the money but no plan, you will fall right on your face,” he said. “Get all four of those things moving in concert or we won’t see change happen.”

King said the National Rifle Association, or NRA, is an example of an organization that succeeds in each part of his plan.

“I loathe the NRA, but I’m willing to ask myself what’s so good and so effective that a man can walk into a school in Sandy Hook and kill 20 babies and the country says ‘okay,’” King said.

King wants more local lawmakers to advocate for reforms such as gun control because these issues are important to their constituents.

“It’s not just police brutality and corruption, but rampant bigotry and xenophobia that affects so many of us,” he said.

Summer Williams, a theatre instructor at Boston

Conservatory, was particularly interested in King’s plan for electing district attorneys, or DAs, from local areas.

“I was excited to learn about his work with thinking about DAs and local change,” she said.

Federal lawmakers today cannot relate to the issues facing everyday Americans because they did not face these issues themselves, King said.

“We elected leaders who don’t have any connection to everyday people,” he said.

“We get politicians who have to talk about jobs their grandfathers had. Is your only connection to our work what your grandfather did? Did you not do that yourself?”

King said that without a clear plan, people who oppose the government’s policies are powerless.

“We allow those who do us harm to basically dictate the terms of the work we do,” he said. “We primarily, as protestors, are reacting and it doesn’t allow us to organize a cohesive local plan for change.”

Community coordinator at the Huntington Theatre Company Candelaria

Silva-Collins attended the speech and was inspired by King’s plan for championing a cause.

“He gave some really good strategy about how movements have to be organized,” she said. “Looking at enemies or organizations that are politically opposite to us to figure out how they’re effective is a helpful strategy.”

King thinks local governments are finally becoming more strategic by acting on the progressive beliefs they always claimed to have.

“Cities like Boston, my hometown of New York, Seattle, Austin and San

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gentrification, King said, pointing to Northeastern’s expansion into Roxbury that he emphasized is displacing residents who have lived there for generations.

“Gentrification is a scandal,” he said. “Northeastern and others have every right to figure out how to expand, but there has to be a responsible expansion.

Sadly, there are very few examples of universities and corporations that are doing that well.”

Although gentrification and other matters have been contentious for a while, President Donald J. Trump has changed how

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It’s not just police brutality and corruption,” Shaun King said, “but rampant bigotry and xenophobia that affects so many of us.

Francisco have amazing liberal reputations. But those of us on the ground say the reputation of the place doesn’t match reality,” he said. “What I’m seeing now, particularly in the Trump era, is cities are starting to say, ‘We need to be the change agents we can be and should’ve been.’”

Cities across the country are struggling to handle

King approaches these issues.

“I’m not at all thankful Trump is president, but what it has done is put our back against the wall to organize in a way that is intersectional,” he said. “We’re putting aside our differences and figuring out how we can build a movement that actually makes change happen.”

Photo by Alyssa Lukpat In an event hosted at Northeastern Crossing, Shaun King, an activist associated with the Black Lives Matter movement, discussed ways to energize liberals at the local level.

February 15, 2018

Column: Bring football back

Thomas Herron

W

hen Northeastern’s administration cut the university’s football program in 2009, it was the right thing to do. Athletic Director Peter Roby, who was instrumental in cutting the program, has done an outstanding job in bettering our athletic programs and keeping the focus on the student half of the student-athlete equation.

Despite the controversy surrounding the decision to cut football, it was one of the best moves the athletic administration has made.

The cut allowed the school to reallocate this money into bettering other athletic programs through the the redistribution of scholarship money, refinancing the general financial aid pool and benefitting academic programs.

The results speak for themselves. Northeastern’s ranking has soared from the 96th national university at the time football was cut in 2009, to number 40 in 2018, an astonishing 56-place jump. The academic status of the school has surpassed all expectations from the time the program was axed. The co-op program is regarded as one of the best in the country today, and of course there’s always the added attraction of being centrally located in Boston.

The university currently has great appeal as a result of the jaw-dropping transformation it has gone through. The question now is, what else can be done?

The best thing Northeastern can do to build on the progress it has made already is by making the student experience on campus more attractive.

And to do that, Northeastern should re-establish its football team.

Too often have I heard friends and acquaintances say something along the lines of, “I didn’t apply to Northeastern because

I want to go to a college with a football team.” This should be a problem in the eyes of the administration. Anything that deters possible applicants from applying — or worse, accepted students from choosing Northeastern — is a major issue. From a ranking-based standpoint, bringing football back would benefit the university in terms of increasing applications and enhancing student experiences.

The school has the money to spend, and that money should be spent on the betterment of our university. I also doubt that there is a shortage of alumni who would donate money to go toward building a new stadium and facilities.

The reinstatement of football would also increase the number of student-athletes on campus, something the student body could only benefit from. Northeastern is a Division I program that excels in what we do, but the feeling among campus is simply that we aren’t a huge sports school. Bringing football back would change this, by increasing the number of student-athletes and the number of major sports that we offer.

Yes, in 2009 it was harder for Northeastern to draw top recruits, but the pitch to recruits would be completely different now than it was nine years ago. Attracting talented athletes is no problem for the athletic department currently, considering its status as a Division I program and the academic ranking.

There would undoubtedly be a period of time during rebuilding when the program would probably not be the most competitive, but the way Northeastern Athletics is operated now, I have faith it would not take long to figure itself out.

In 2009, cutting football was the best possible decision for the University.

The results are unquestionable in terms of university expansion. That decision (among others) spurred the growth we’ve seen in the last nine years. In 2018, there would be no better decision than to reinstate Northeastern football.

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Photo by Brian Bae Peter Roby addresses the crowd at the Beanpot championship celebration Tuesday at Matthews Arena.

AD Roby retires, leaves lasting legacy

By Christian Triunfo News Correspondent

Northeastern University’s recently retired athletic director Peter Roby left his office at Cabot Center a few weeks ago and moved to the second floor of the administrative wing in International Village.

His new office is bare; he’s had no time to decorate.

Apart from his laptop and a few notebooks, there is only a whiteboard by his desk. On it, he has written in bright red marker and all-caps, “2018 BEANPOT CHAMPS!!”

When asked about the highlight of his 10 years spent at Northeastern, he chuckled and pointed to the whiteboard with both hands excitedly. Northeastern men’s hockey had defeated Boston University 5-2 at TD Garden the night before, winning the Beanpot tournament for the first time since 1988.

“I’m walking on air. It’s been a long time coming,” he said with a smile. “But the reality is that winning isn’t the only thing that highlights my time as athletic director.”

Roby, now 60, worked as Northeastern’s athletic director for more than a decade beginning June 2007.

Prior to his appointment, he served as the head coach of Harvard’s men’s basketball team, followed by a ten-year stint as marketing vice president at Reebok.

Roby arrived to Northeastern’s campus in 2002, when he became the director of the school’s Center for Sport in Society, a program that uses athletics as a tool to engage leadership, com-

munity development and education.

Roby’s tenure brought with it new competitive heights for the athletic department. In the past 10 years, Northeastern has won seven regular season conference championships, 17 postseason conference championships, two women’s Beanpots, eight New England Championships in track and field and now, the men’s Beanpot. Fifteen teams have managed to make it to their respective NCAA tournaments under his leadership, and student-athletes have gone on to the Olympics and professional leagues.

Despite the successes of the athletics teams, Roby views the achievements of his students through a balanced lens. At the heart of all this victory lies a deep-seeded philosophy kept at the forefront of his mission as director: the need for a balance between academics and sports.

“The Beanpot is such a nice thing to have now,” Roby said. “But the feeling of pride I have as I leave this position comes from something much deeper. It comes from using athletics as a mechanism to understand new cultures and to help expand one’s academic career.”

Under Roby, Northeastern student-athletes have maintained a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or above for 20 straight semesters and 93 percent graduation rate in 2016.

Roby said this is what his greatest achievement is built on and cites it as the source of his joy when he sees the teams that he’s

helped develop win.

“I would not be this happy if we were doing things the wrong way,” Roby said.

“If students were not given a fair balance of athletics and academics, if their education were compromised for the sake of competition, then I would not be celebrating any victory.”

Bill Coen, head coach of men’s basketball, highlighted Roby’s values as he reacted to the athletic director’s retirement.

“I will forever remember him for his lofty principles, his sense of fairness, his unwavering advocacy for student-athlete welfare and his compassion for his coaches,” Coen said. “He consistently tried to improve this university and, more importantly, make the world a better place.”

For Roby, retirement does not mean the end of his time at Northeastern. He plans to continue to have a presence in the classroom, teaching master’s programs in the summer and co-teaching an undergraduate communication studies course on sports and the media during fall and spring semesters.

“I love this school. It has done so much for me and my family,” Roby said.

“There is nothing better than being with students in the classroom.”

Roby looks forward to seeing his successor Jeff Konya continue the accomplishments of his career and bring even more to the table.

As he closed the door to his office, he smiled enthusiastically and glanced at the whiteboard as he said, “Go Huskies!”

SPORTS

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February 15, 2018

Coach, players savor victory HOCKEY, from front

Graphics by Michelle Lee & Glenn Billman

Photo by Alex Melagrano Fourth-year winger Dylan Sikura is second in NCAA scoring with 41 points, despite missing time to play internationally. He notched two assists in the Beanpot final.

Nolan Stevens, the fourth-year captain who scored a highlight-reel goal to tie the game in the first, said he felt bonded to this group permanently after succeeding in his career’s final Beanpot try.

“Playing on a stage like this, when you win a championship you walk forever together,” Stevens said.

He said he grew emotional thinking of the classes that passed through the program before him, talented themselves, that didn’t get to skate the Beanpot trophy.

“We’ve watched other teams win it for so many years,” Stevens said. “I’ve seen a lot of classes come through this school and not get the opportunity to do that. Those guys built the

foundation for us to have this opportunity here today.

Maybe that’s where the emotion is coming from, just thinking of those guys and how they were a big part of today.”

Madigan has been withthe program since 1981, first as a player, then as an assistant coach and ultimately as head coach.

He won the Beanpot in the ‘80s and saw the program through its drought to today’s glory.

He likened this season to 1980, when the Huskies won their first Beanpot after 28 tries. After that, they sustained success for a number of years. They won three more Beanpots in ‘84, ‘85 and ‘88.

“The curse is broken,” he said. “Hopefully we can keep this momentum.”

He also compared Primeau to Bruce Racine, the netminder who led the Huskies to Beanpot titles in 1985 and 1988.

“They’re big-time goalies,

they answer the bell, they have a quiet confidence,” Madigan said.

Madigan will head back to Huntington Avenue tonight — he closed his remarks by warning all to keep their distance from the stretch between the MFA and Symphony Hall — with a trophy in hand.

“I’ve been fortunate to have this love affair with this institution going back to 1981,” he said. “I’ve had to answer that question at times, ‘When are we gonna win?’ Finally, we’ve silenced the critics. We won.”

Madigan has been in this spot before, but this victory is no less meaningful than his first: “For me, it means so much to the young men who had that experience.

Fortunately I’ve had three Beanpot experiences and this is one that these student-athletes are going to have, and that’s what I wanted.”

magic 30

Primeau stopped 75 of 77 shots faced in the Beanpot

The third highest Beanpot save percentage ever

∙ 30-year Beanpot drought ended ∙ BU remains at 30 all-time titles ∙ NU’s empty-net goal was scored with 30 seconds left.

Beanpot MVP Gaudette had

6 points

the most of any player in the tournament Photo by Alex Melagrano

SPORTS

February 15, 2018

1980

Northeastern 5, Boston College 4 (OT)

MVP: D Dave Archambault Northeastern was 3-11-0 coming into this Beanpot

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2018

1985

Northeastern 4, BU 2

Northeastern 5, BU 2

MVP: G Bruce Racine

MVP: F Adam Gaudette

Rod Isbister scored 54 points in 1984-1985, most with a broken thumb

In the final, Gaudette scored his school-record 31st career power-play goal Photo by Alex Melagrano

Photo by Albert Tamura

1984

1988

MVP: G Tim Marshall

MVP: G Bruce Racine

Northeastern 5, BU 2 Ken Manchurek scored 27 goals in 1983-1984

Northeastern 6, BU 3 Dave Buda led the team with 46 points in ‘88

Huskies win 5-2 over BU in Beanpot final

By Calli Remillard & Charlie Wolfson News Staff

A 30-year drought faced off against 30 Beanpot titles Monday night. A present-day power met its historical tormenter. For the first time since 1988, Northeastern fans watched their team claim the Beanpot championship just after 10 p.m. Monday.

TD Garden was electric all night, with chants from both fan sections raining down from the rafters even before the 7:40 p.m. puck drop. The first period was as tight as expected, but Northeastern pulled away from Boston University in the second and didn’t look back.

“Wow,” NU head coach Jim Madigan said. “I’m ecstatic, thrilled, elated for so many parts of Northeastern University … Most of all, these student-athletes who worked their tails off and were so focused on this tournament.”

The first few minutes of the game were eventful but scoreless. A BU goal was washed out for goaltender interference and NU’s top line was shut down several times by BU goalie Jake Oettinger.

Things tilted in the Terriers’ favor with 7:25 left in the opening period with Logan Cockerill’s second goal of the tournament.

This would be the only time the BU fans in attendance, starkly outnumbered, would have a lead to cheer.

That 1-0 lead didn’t last long: Northeastern went to the power-play less than a minute later. After a couple fruitless rushes, captain Nolan Stevens made a crafty move to dangle a BU defender to get to the net and faked out Oettinger to tie up the game.

Another penalty, this time on BU’s Chase Phelps, put the Huskies on the power-play once again, where center Adam Gaudette took a backdoor pass from winger Dylan Sikura in the left faceoff dot and rammed it home top-shelf before Oettinger could come across, giving Northeastern a 2-1 lead.

Gaudette’s tally was assisted by Sikura and Stevens, continuing the line’s dominance. Less than a period into the game, the trio had four points.

Goalie Cayden Primeau is 18 years old and new to the program. He stopped 75 of 77 shots in the Beanpot, the third highest save percentage in tournament history.

“It’s hard to put it to the back of your head here,” Primeau said. “I’m super happy we got the win and I’m thankful I got to do it with this group.”

Madigan complimented his netminder, particularly after BU opened the scoring.

“He gave up a bad first goal,” Madigan said. “He put that in his own net.

He’s a resilient young man.

He put it behind him and played immensely.”

Fourth-year Trevor Owens gave Northeastern some breathing room with his second goal this season, going bar-down over Oettinger with a wrist shot from the left circle for his first career Beanpot goal. It was the first time since Jan. 27 that a player who was not on the first line scored for NU. Gaudette potted his second goal of the game with just 3.5 seconds left in the middle frame on

tournament and was named its MVP. “It means so much, I can’t even put it into words,” Gaudette said. “I’ve been coming to these games since I was younger, and when I realized I had an opportunity to play college hockey, I wanted to play at a Beanpot school.”

The Huskies’ momentum was unstoppable. Time kept ticking for BU, who trailed by three. With just over 17 minutes on the clock, the

it was a lost cause. Shot after shot bounced off his pads, and anything else that came his way was snagged.

In a late effort to make a comeback, Oettinger was pulled from the net at 15:11. BU’s efforts to score with an extra man finally paid off and BU defenseman Chad Krys slipped the puck into the net with 2:30 to go in regulation to make it 4-2. With 30 seconds left, Gaudette twisted his third goal into the empty net

Photo by Albert Tamura Fourth-year captain Nolan Stevens scores the first goal of the Beanpot final Monday night at TD Garden.

another powerplay. Sikura found Gaudette backdoor, and the puck was off his stick and in the back of the net before Oettinger could turn around. The goal gave Gaudette 31 powerplay tallies in his career, good for the school record.

Gaudette, a Braintree, Massachusetts native, was the leading scorer of the

DogHouse broke into the unofficial Husky fight song: “Stacy’s Mom.” Nearing the halfway point in the final period, the Terriers were outshooting the Huskies 25-23 and leading in the faceoff circle 30-27, but with little to show for it.

The Terriers put pressure on in the offensive end, but with Primeau in the crease

from near the corner.

Northeastern ended its 30-year drought. BU’s Beanpot tally remains at 30. And fittingly, Gaudette’s empty-net goal to ice it came with 30 seconds left in the game. The third-year furthered his Hobey Baker-caliber season by clearing three decades’ worth of ghosts out of the Garden.

CITY

Page 8

February 15, 2018

Public speaks on marijuana in Mass.

Photo by Christian Triunfo Tito Jackson spoke in favor of making marijuana more widely available.

al from the audience and many speakers cited his commission needs to focus statement in their testimony afterward. Unlike on access and inclusion.

Jackson, Baker wants the Tito Jackson, former district 7 city councilor and commission to delay its release of regulations and 2017 mayoral candidate, only focus on its statutory spoke first. He voiced his obligation to set up a retail concern that the draft of cannabis market. regulations does not conEthan Vogt, a resident of tain equity provisions that Roxbury and the organizer will help protect commuof Home Grown Boston, a nities that were at a disadsmall business that aims to vantage before the end of advance cannabis culture cannabis prohibition. in the area, used his testiAfter testifying, Jackson mony to ask for the exact said he places a lot of hope in these hearings to expand opposite. At the top of his list of concerns was the the benefits of legalization licensing of non-brick-andto a broad base.

“Of the 18 licenses in con- mortar delivery services. sideration, none are owned These services allow those by people of color and none who currently distribute marijuana to bring their of these will serve those of lesser means,” Jackson said. knowledge of the business to the legal market. But, the Jackson’s words received countless nods of approvcommission’s current draft REGULATION, from front

of regulations makes it hard for those with criminal records to enter the market.

“Instead of dismantling and creating an entirely new system, let’s remove bad actors and establish a more transparent structure,” Vogt said.

Jeff Campbell, a thirdyear law student at Harvard University, furthered Vogt’s plea by asking that the commission understand the circumstances of limiting those with criminal records from participation.

“Many of the crimes the commission will use to lock potential entrepreneurs out of the market are directly tied to the flawed war on drugs that brought us here in the first place,” he said.

The governor’s most recent letter to the commission expressed concern that widespread marijuana availability will lead to more driving under the influence, wider accessibility to persons under 21 and the emergence of a new black market of marijuana transactions.

Massachusetts is facing an affordable property crisis, so the establishment of an actual location for retail is becoming increasingly difficult. Many retailers who are being considered for a

license are at risk of having to sacrifice this opportunity because of challenges finding a location for business.

Many of the testimonies came from those who may lose their chance at a license and from those who believe the requirement of a physical retail location will put some at a disadvantage.

Daniel Delaney, a policy adviser from Cambridge, wanted the commission to explicitly define disproportionately affected communities in the regulations.

“Establishing a business isn’t easy to do everywhere.

This is going to leave many people without access, and I hope my testimony will push the commission toward explicit language on their lack of inclusion,” he said.

After Delaney’s testimony came Steven Schlang, who pushed including nonbrick-and-mortar licenses for personal purposes.

“Big money cannot take hold of this industry,” Schlang said. “We need to promote cooperative production of cannabis and small licensing for local peer-to-peer exchanges.”

Medical dispensary operators received some pushback from the public as well. Dispensaries are

concerned, along with legislators like the governor, that an open market will invite a crackdown from the federal government. They also question the commission’s capacity in oversight of such an open market. But there was no voice representing dispensaries at the public hearing, only opposition.

Ben Nardone, a researcher from East Hampton, stressed that accessibility will promote research opportunities for further medical advantage.

“The commission and dispensaries alike need to understand that accessibility will not be harmful,” he said. “It will encourage the development of newer medicine and models of care that will be incorporated into the medical field.

This is an opportunity that federal prohibitions have kept us from pursuing, and it is important that the commission know this.”

On one side, both the government and dispensaries want to limit the cannabis market’s development.

On the other is some of the public, who have voiced their concerns of misrepresentation and inaccessibility at the commission’s series of hearings.

Chinatown gets long-awaited library

By Cole Albert News Correspondent

The Boston Public Library’s Chinatown branch is only one week old, but it has already become a center for the community. Opening day was a long time coming for residents, who have not had a library since the original building on Tyler Street was torn down more than 60 years ago.

Allen Knight, head librarian for the branch, is ecstatic about the reaction.

“Everyone’s extremely happy to have a library in Chinatown,” Knight said.

“They look at this place as a hub of the community, where they can bring and leave information.”

Mid-morning Wednesday, there were eight people reading in the library and three employees on

duty. Community member Natasha Bailey said the new library is an important addition to the neighborhood.

“It’s going to help the community a lot,” Bailey said. “The day of the opening we had a lot of people, and they were so excited.”

Much of the credit for making a new library possible, Knight said, has come from local groups that have pushed the issue for years.

“We have a great organization in the Friends of the Chinatown Library,” Knight said. “They advocate for the library and help us get the word out.”

The organization, which formed in 2001, has been speaking out on behalf of Chinatown residents. In 2013, the initiative sent more than 1,000 letters expressing a need for a library to Boston Public Library

president Amy Rand. In that same year, Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh signed a pledge to help their goal come to fruition.

The library’s location at 2 Boylston St. is only temporary, and in three to five years BPL plans to open a larger, permanent location. Librarians there are building up their collection, however, with around 80 percent Chinese language and 20 percent English language material. Nancy Huang, a Chinese resident of Chinatown, said it will make a big difference to have a local branch.

“It makes it a lot more convenient to have books come to Chinatown,” she said. “Before, we would have to go to other libraries to pick up our books.”

Supervising new librarians is Pete Coco, BPL’s

Photo by Emma Rapp Chinatown’s new library is already popular among residents.

assistant manager of neighborhood services. Coco oversees several branches in the city, and his duties include working with patrons to find books, organizing events and circulating new reading material.

“Our ribbon cutting on Feb. 3 was a packed audience, including some people who have lived in the neighborhood for so long that they used the original

Chinatown library,” Coco said.

Coco is a believer in the positive effect literary services have on a community and he is hopeful for the program’s future.

“Our motto is ‘free to all,’” Coco said. “We mean it. People come in and use our spaces and resources to make their own lives better, and that’s a really powerful thing.”

CITY

February 15, 2018

Page 9

Hack Beanpot inspires innovation

By Bradley Fargo

News Correspondent

Tal Usvyatsky and DaJin Chu are both first-year computer science majors at Northeastern. They also both like dogs.

Last weekend, they worked together to make an app called Dog Detective.

Anyone can see dogs in their area, and anyone can add dogs to the map. It’s Waze, but for dogs.

“Obviously dogs are very important. It’s important to know where they are at all times,” Chu said. “Basically, it just helps you pet all the dogs.”

People can even “superlike” a dog if they’re really feeling it.

The pair created the app Friday through Sunday at Hack Beanpot, a free hackathon held annually in Boston during Beanpot weekend. At a hackathon, teams of like-minded people work to create things, usually coding or computer engineering projects that could be described as “tech.”

occasionally for sleep and a shower was highly encouraged, but not mandatory.

For some, a hack meant making an app about finding dogs. For others, that meant revamping a robot vacuum cleaner to wander around and construct a WiFi signal-strength map. Or making a cardboard robot on wheels with sensors allowing it to follow its owner around. Or designing an app to wake people up before their stop on public transit. Or using machine learning to identify bands a person might like based on personality expressed in their tweets. Or a better-designed, anonymous way to rate co-ops. Or something else.

“Hack Beanpot is really just an opportunity for creative people to build projects outside of their classes,” said Isabel Tripp, a second-year computer science major. “You definitely have to have some initiative to attend [a hackathon] and build something out of the ordinary.”

Photo by Bradley Fargo Suzanne Becker, a third-year, is the co-president of Hack Beanpot.

“It’s not a weekend to break into banks and steal their data. Many people have that impression,” said Suzanne Becker, co-president of Hack Beanpot and a third-year computer science major. “The ‘hack’ is in reference to the building of projects in a perhaps haphazard manner that also works in the end.”

Usvyatsky and Chu plan to publish Dog Detective on the Android store in a couple of weeks. It won the “Least Likely To Make Money” award at the event.

Throughout the course of Hack Beanpot’s 40 hours, around 150 students showed up, formed groups and worked on something.

In all, 10 prizes were given out, half of them sponsored. Leaving the venue

Northeastern students have hosted Hack Beanpot annually since 2012, though it hasn’t always been at its current location in the South End. The space usually serves as offices for Genuine and Jack Morton, a marketing and technology company, but was donated for use at the hackathon.

In one corner of the office, virtual reality equipment was available for use and a kitchen area was stocked with a steady supply of meals and snacks.

This year’s event began Friday night, when attendees gathered on the fifth floor of the building for activities including a first-time hacker orientation and presentations by tech professionals.

Last year, when Tripp attended Hack Beanpot as a

Photo by Riley Robinson Some of the finished products were presented to the group on Sunday, after a weekend of hard work.

freshman, she said she went in with the mindset that she “wanted to learn something new.”

She worked on a coding homework project and got a basic introduction to web development — but she didn’t finish anything to submit for judging.

That’s how it goes for many participants — it’s not always about the sleek projects that do everything bug-free and win prizes.

It’s about learning, making mistakes and trying to create. It’s about collaborating and building cool, lowstakes projects, Tripp said.

“We are a fun hackathon.

We’re different from the other ones because we specifically target first-time hackers,” said Emily Daniel, the volunteer coordinator and a fifth-year computer engineering major. “We try to be age-diverse, gender-diverse. We reach out to other organizations that aren’t just hacking organizations.”

After last year’s Hack Beanpot, Tripp was recruited by organizers and worked on sponsorship for this year’s event. The organizers call themselves the Core Team and although they are all Northeastern students, the group isn’t affiliated with Northeastern.

Hack Beanpot is a nonprofit organization run by volunteers who are mostly computer science majors.

They pride themselves on their sense of humor — the group’s email is illuminati@ hackbeanpot.com — and have been meeting at least weekly for almost a year to prepare.

“The actual event itself is less about our planning and more about what the

hackers are bringing,” Tripp said. “As the organizers, we bring tools and we can’t ultimately control what they’re building.”

Daniel said a lot of Northeastern students come because they hear about it from the College of Computer and Information Science peer fellows or just by word-of-mouth.

She wants to include other majors at Northeastern and students from other schools can be involved, too.

“We try to build a sense of community, feel connected to Boston. We love our Boston roots,” Becker said.

“Our audience is creative people, people who use their classroom knowledge and apply it to their interests outside of the classroom.”

To the sponsoring companies, this event is a way to get their name out to young people and possibly recruit new talent. They share knowledge by sending mentors and speakers, and award prizes to groups that do especially well.

“Some hackathons people are really focused on winning prizes,” Tripp said.

“

years.

This year, his hack works.

He partnered with Amina Ly, a fifth-year environmental science major, to develop Partify. It’s a program that reorders playlists on a Spotify profile to be more “danceable.” This is mostly based on tempo and uses Spotify’s application programming interface, more commonly known as API, which is a way for programmers to interact directly with Spotify’s servers.

“This hackathon is really lighthearted. I think that kind of atmosphere encourages people to do what they can and not feel pressured to do something amazing,” said Ly, who is also minoring in computer science and uses coding in her work. “I really like it because it feels like it’s really open and not just restricted to people from computer science.”

In all, 31 projects were submitted for judging by 10 a.m. Sunday and prizes were awarded later in the day. Awards were decided by a panel of industry professionals. Eleven of the fleshed-out hacks had the opportunity to present their

Our audience is creative people,” Becker said. “People who use their classroom knowledge and apply it to their interests outside of the classroom.

“While that is a component of why people want to come here, we also want to demystify the process for people who are intimidated by experienced well-seasoned hackers.”

Durward Benham, a fifthyear in computer science, has been to Hack Beanpot every year for the last five

”

work during the closing keynote.

“We don’t focus on winners or losers, we focus on making something cool and recognizing the variety of ways in which people make cool things,” Becker said. “We worked so hard to make this a good event for them.”

OPINION

Page 10

Editorial: SMILF deserves to stay

I

n a Feb. 6 statement, City Councilor Ed Flynn denounced the Showtime television series “SMILF” as a “degrading, crude and inaccurate” picture of a single mother’s life in South Boston. He called for the removal of the show’s promotional posters from city bus stops.

Flynn does not have the right to take down the posters or to dictate to Frankie Shaw, the creator of “SMILF,” that her experience is an invalid representation of South Boston.

Attempts to do so alienate those who do identify with the portrayal of South Boston in the show.

If the city is going to take down a paid advertisement, there needs to be a good reason for it. For example, banning certain Bernie and Phyls ads from T trains in May 2017 made sense because they were so explicit:

The posters for the furniture company directly referred to sex, using graphic terminology and raunchy references.

The “SMILF” posters do not explicitly use inappropriate language, they simply imply it by incorporating the acronym MILF. Even removed from the free speech debate, Flynn’s demand is concerning. He denounces the show as yet another example of Hollywood “making a profit off of these abysmal shows that in no way capture the real lives, character and contributions of the people of South Boston.”

How could Flynn say such a thing when Shaw, the woman who wrote, directed and starred in “SMILF,” was raised by a single mother in South Boston? She of all people has a perspective on what it is like to live there. Flynn’s

February 15, 2018

News illustration by Oriana Timsit

inappropriate. Yet Flynn is not requesting that all references to these projects be removed from the city.

These movies are notably created by men, and while it may not be intentional on Flynn’s part to attack a female portrayal of South Boston, his actions imply that a woman’s perspective on the city should either fit a certain narrow definition or be silenced.

South Boston is one of

the defining neighborhoods of this city. Yes, it has its problems, but more are created when we imply the people of South Boston all adhere to one specific definition. They all deserve to see media representations of themselves, to feel important. If Shaw can use SMILF to do that, even just for a small group, Flynn and the city of Boston are not the ones to tell her she can’t.

were submitted by Northeastern University College Republicans, or NUCR. Many questions, submitted by NUCR and other groups, challenge previous university initiatives.

Deputy Campus Editor Patrick Burgard This challenges a comDeputy City Editor Charlie Wolfson mon slogan among huDeputy Lifestyle Editor Samuel Kim manities professors that Deputy Sports Editor John Hagerty Northeastern is a “liberal Deputy Photo Editor Alex Melagrano Jasmine Heyward Assistant Photo Editor Albert Tamura bubble” where dissenters hould Northeastern do not speak up. What this Business Manager Shaina Richards publicly request that the means for the student body Social Media Manager Olivia Arnold Massachusetts state govern- is unclear thus far. RealisMultimedia Manager Glenn Billman ment change their laws to tically, not all 22 questions Outreach Coordinator Julia Preszler allow open carry of firewill make the ballot. SGA’s arms on college campuses?” Senate votes to approve or This is one of 22 referdismiss questions based on Opinions expressed in The Huntington News by letters to the enda questions submitted “fairness of wording” and editor, cartoonists and columnists are not necessarily those of to Northeastern’s Student “adherence to university The News staff or of the Northeastern administration. NorthGovernment Association, policy.” The open carry eastern University undergraduate students conduct all operaor SGA. Approved quesquestion was dismissed tions involved in the production of this publication. tions will appear on the Monday on these grounds. ballot for student body elecThe most debated quesStaff Writers tions later this spring. tion was from NortheastAlyssa Lukpat, Ava Sasani, Caroline Ingram, Chris Butler, Typically, referenda ern Students for Justice in Claire Wallace, Irvin Zhang, Janette Ebbers, questions have come from Palestine: “Should NorthJill Sojourner, Julia Crooijmans & Sam Cronin progressive student groups eastern stop purchasing who believe in working HP products until HP Staff Photographers through discourse with affiliated companies end Brian Bae & Lauren Scornavacca SGA and the administratheir involvement in all of tion. This year, the potential the following: deportations, Copy Editors questions don’t carry the population registries and Alyssa Lukpat, Anson Huang, Hazel Solender, same diplomatic tone. Half settlements in military-ocJenna Ciccotelli, Kaitlyn Budion, Lily Rupert, Lindsay of the questions, including cupied areas?” It was rejectLowery & Maria Lovato the open carry question, ed by the Senate with seven

yes votes, 47 no votes and 14 abstentions.

Huskies for Israel, a self-described pro-Israel student group, launched a campaign against the question, including paid social media advertisements. The group believes that the question promotes anti-Semitism on campus because the initiative to boycott HP is part of an extremist Palestinian group’s platform. On Facebook, “he said, she said” arguments broke out under dramatic political ads that were a throwback to the 2016 presidential election.

It’s hard to say where this discussion will go as election season continues, but this is not the discourse that happens in echo chambers.

The student body will vote on creating designated smoking areas on campus, replacing most of the Center for Intercultural Engagement with a leisure space and bringing Chick-fil-A to campus. It must also acknowledge that the political power of groups that don’t fit into the “Northeastern bubble” is growing.

The Huntington News Editorial Board Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Campus Editor Opinion Editor City Editor Lifestyle Editor Sports Editor Photo Editor Design Editor

Paxtyn Merten Hannah Bernstein

insults are not only hurled at Shaw, but at anyone who feels “SMILF” is an accurate portrayal of their Southie experience.

There are many other media representations that are not universal to Southie.

For example, “Gone Baby Gone,” directed by Ben Affleck, is a famous movie about crime in South Boston. Seth MacFarlane’s “Ted” was also based in South Boston and is wildly

Column: Questions to SGA burst NU bubble

Morgan Lloyd Ysabelle Kempe Katie McCreedy Kiana Jones Calli Remillard Riley Robinson Michelle Lee

S

LIFESTYLE

February 15, 2018

Page 11

Review: “Fifty Shades Freed” disappoints

By Glenn Billman & Morgan Lloyd News Staff

If Stetson West Eatery’s recent porn viewing wasn’t enough for you, “Fifty Shades Freed” is playing in theatres nationwide.

For a good laugh with pals or for the chance to watch sex in public, we highly recommend it. If you care about anything else, like respectful relationships or movies having a plot, you might want to watch something else.

Perhaps unsurprising for a series that gave the world Beyoncé’s breathy “Drunk in Love” rendition, the best-executed part of the movie was the score. Popheavy, well-paced and exceptionally curated, it was the one aspect of this movie that didn’t leave us complaining. But overall, “Fifty Shades Freed” felt creepy, overdone and completely inexplicable.

The innuendo drew some genuine laughs but occasionally dipped from hilarity to please-Godmy-eyeballs. Leading lady Anastasia Steele (played by Dakota Johnson) volunteering her personal handcuffs to apprehend her abductor was amusing, but the ice cream scene was just too much. You’ll know it when you see it, but it’s probably best you just don’t see it.

In a weird turn of events, “Fifty Shades Freed” was closer to a Z-grade action movie than a romantic drama. Stealing plot points and scenes from every thriller released in the last decade, the movie gave us a highspeed car chase through downtown Seattle, a subplot related to arson and an ongoing police investigation popping up when the love-making died down.

Instead of developing the main characters to make their story interesting enough for a feature-length film, director James Foley threw in subplot after subplot that went nowhere and only added running time.

None of them felt flushed out or compelling; they were just… there, like all the close-up butt shots. The result was a confusing mess that reeled drunkenly from one scene to the next.

At its core, the movie

should be about the romantic relationship between Christian Grey (played by Jamie Dornan) and Anastasia. However, considering their relationship is abusive and misogynistic, it seemed the writers were forced to do anything to keep the audience from walking out of the theatre after 30 minutes. Anastasia and Christian constantly talk about their love for each other without showing any of it.

It’s telling that the writers put in an insane and illogical kidnapping scene to make Christian look good by comparison, putting in the least possible effort.

As confusing as the plot and “romance” was, Christian’s undying dedication to his sex jeans was more perplexing. Also, is low-rise in again? Only for sex jeans?

Okay, cool.

But Christian wasn’t just a freak in the sheets, he’s a creep on the streets. His possessiveness and need to have total control over Anastasia — from buying the publishing company she works at, telling her how much skin to show and generally treating her like property — was off-putting and alarming. The movie tried to reconcile when Anastasia reminded Christian several times she wasn’t his property, but his behavior was never meaningfully confronted or changed.

The acting was just as lazy as the writing, with everyone speaking in the same monotonous whisper throughout most of the film. The only actor who didn’t seem to realize what kind of movie he was in was Eric Johnson, the film’s antagonist, who completely overdid his performance, going off the rails as the movie went on. Otherwise, the cast delivered a phoned-in performance across the board.

“Fifty Shades Freed” was confusing, upsetting and hilarious in an unintentional, ultimately painful way.

It was poorly executed and badly performed. Instead of romance, it gave us an abusive and cruel relationship that no uplifting ending could disguise.

We didn’t “miss the climax” — but the movie did.

File photo by Riley Robinson.

The “Fifty Shades Freed” press screening was shown at the AMC Loews Boston Common 19.

EVENT CALENDAR Calendar compiled by Samuel Kim, deputy lifestyle editor

Thursday, Feb. 15

File photo by Brian Bae.

Life is like a box of chocolates – you never know what you’re gonna get. NU & Improv’d, a Northeastern improv troupe, is hosting a night of improv comedy with the theme: “A Box of Chocolate, but like, a gross one.” Even though Valentine’s Day has passed, NU & Improv’d welcomes all couples for a fun-filled date night. If Valentine’s Day didn’t go well, they also invite you to “come cry with some other V-day rejects.” 8 p.m. - 9 p.m.; Northeastern AfterHours; Free.

Friday, Feb. 16

“Fifty Shades of Grey” not quite your cup of tea? How about fifty shades of burgundy? One of Northeastern’s a cappella groups, Distilled Harmony, is hosting a concert with Northeastern’s Pitch, Please! all-female a cappella group, Boston University’s In Accord and Lesley University’s Harmogeddon. The theme honors Valentine’s Day weekend, and Distilled Harmony will be debuting their set for the ICCA quarterfinals Sunday. 8 p.m - 10 p.m.; Fenway Center; Free.

File photo by Albert Tamura.

Saturday, Feb. 17

“A Clockwork Orange.” “Doctor Strangelove.” “The Shining.” You can see these films at the Museum of Fine Arts’ Remis Auditorium this weekend in part of their Stanley Kubrick festival. Tickets for each film cost $9 for MFA members and $11 for nonmembers and students. Members can also see all three for $21 and nonmembers for $24. “A Clockwork Orange” will show from 1 – 3:20 p.m., “Doctor Strangelove” from 4 – 5:50 p.m. and “The Shining” from 7 – 9:30 p.m. 1 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.; Museum of Fine Arts; Prices vary.

Photo courtesy Creative Commons.

Sunday, Feb. 18

Northeastern’s chapter of Spoon University, a global food lifestyle blog, is partnering with the juice bar Jugos Supremos to host a pop-up with the limited-time “El Husky Bowl.” It is a delicious, colorful and instagram-worthy dish consisting of strawberries, blueberries, bananas, dates, cacao, cinnamon and topped with two mystery items that are appropriately Northeastern colors, red and black. The best part? You can get 20 percent off the dish if you bring your Husky ID card. 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Boston; $8.52.

Photo courtesy Jugos Supremos.

Monday, Feb. 19

Can’t get enough books or Harvard merch? Harvard Book Store is having a President’s Day Sale! You can either visit their store or their website for 20 percent off all purchases on books, as well as non-book items like clothing and mugs. All in-store shoppers will automatically receive the discount, except for items that are already discounted. Online shoppers can use the code PREZDAY2018 to apply the discounts; the same rules apply as in-store. 9 a.m. - 11 p.m.; Cambridge; Prices vary.

Photo courtesy Creative Commons.

Tuesday, Feb. 20

If you watch BuzzFeed videos, you know that Steven Lim and Jen Ruggirello are two of BuzzFeed’s biggest stars. The two will come to Northeastern to discuss Asian-American identity on the internet and in pop culture. Lim and Ruggirello will also discuss how they overcame cultural stigmas to get where they are today. 6:30 p.m.

- 8:30 p.m.; Curry Student Center Ballroom; Free.

Photo courtesy Creative Commons.

Wednesday, Feb. 21

Head to the Boston Public Market for some food-related trivia!

Boston Public Market and Slow Food Boston, an organization committed to sustainable, clean and available food, is hosting a night of food trivia. The reward? A chance to win a Boston Public Market gift card. You can bring friends to form a team, or team up with some Slow Food Boston members to compete for the grand prize. 6 p.m. - 7:45 p.m.; Boston; Free.

Photo courtesy Creative Commons.

LIFESTYLE

Page 12

February 15, 2018

“Your Name” launches Japanese film festival

Photo by Kiana Jones.

Attendees view the “Kawaii - Vacanies” painting in Takashi Murakami’s “Lineage of Eccentrics” exhibit.

By Kiana Jones & Samuel Kim News Staff

The inaugural Boston Festival of Films from Japan, or BFFJ, opened Feb. 1 with a sold-out screening of the highest-grossing anime film to date, “Your Name,” written by Japanese director Makoto Shinkai.

The event, held at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, was co-presented with Anime Boston, the largest fan-run anime convention in the Northeast. Before and after the film, attendees were

able to view Japanese contemporary artist Takashi Murakami’s “Lineage of Eccentrics” exhibit in the Ann and Graham Gund Gallery.

The festival will run until Feb. 28 and will feature several other Japanese films including “Jellyfish Eyes,” directed by Murakami.

Hundreds of attendees waited in the Linde Family Wing for Contemporary Art to enter the adjacent Remis Auditorium. A DJ blared funky Japanese pop on his mixer as attendees

snacked on sweets like mochi, a sticky rice cake.

“I’ve been a fan of Japanese pop for 24 years,” said Ian Condry, a Japanese cultural studies professor at MIT. “It’s so special because it sounds like other global forms of music, but has its own unique style.”

Erin O’Connell, a volunteer with Anime Boston, said that films like “Your Name” are popular because the audience can connect to the characters, even though they are just animations.

“All sorts of storylines are possible in anime,” O’Connell said. “That is why anime has such a great and loyal following, because different fans can relate to different storylines.”

After mingling for more than an hour, attendees trickled into Remis. In less than ten minutes, nearly all 375 of the seats were filled.

Another large group made their way to the 150-seat Alfond Auditorium.

“Your Name” encompasses the magic behind love and destiny. This thought-provoking and humorous film follows the journey of Mitsuha and Taki, who exchange bodies after witnessing a comet.

The next morning, the two high schoolers wake in each other’s lives, believing it is the most realistic dream they’ve ever had.

However, upon returning to their bodies, they realize the reactions from others means something unexplainable is occurring. This bond leads them to help each other through hard-

ships. They become true soulmates when Taki strives to save Mitsuha’s world from a meteor shower.

People had mixed reactions to the film. Many could be heard saying “That was really good,” but some did not enjoy the dubbed version as much.

“The film lost its meaning because it wasn’t in Japanese, especially the songs,” said Boston University student Spencer Tai. “Some of the original Japanese songs from the film were changed to American songs.”

Afterwards, dozens including BU student Adam Martinez headed toward the Murakami exhibit.

“It was a really good movie and [Shinkai] is one of the best directors in anime,” Martinez said. “The color of the exhibit was also incredible. It was beautiful – I loved the art.”

The MFA credited UNIQLO US for making this festival possible through their newly established 10-year partnership and thanked them for their support.

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