October 16, 2020

The Huntington News October 16, 2020

The independent student newspaper of the Northeastern community

@HuntNewsNU

Graphic by Devin Raynor

FACULTY MEMBERS DESCRIBE CONFUSION, PRESSURE TO RETURN TO CAMPUS

By Matt Yan News Staff After the first month of Hybrid NUflex, students and faculty have entered the routine of classes. However, during the summer and as the university outlined its hybrid plan, faculty felt pressure to return as well as confusion regarding reopening.

About two-thirds of faculty are now teaching on campus, according to Northeastern’s media relations team.

“Later, when I saw the school touting, ‘Oh, look at how many professors chose to come back,’ it was a bit of a slap in the face because I know a lot of [professors] didn’t feel like they had a choice,” said an anonymous teaching faculty member in the College of Science, who requested anonymity in fear of professional retaliation.

Brandon Sichling, an assistant teaching professor and game design coordinator, never noted explicit pressure from the university, but felt the act of reopening and asking students and faculty to return serves as pressure in itself.

“I think that assuming that us being there was the default — I think that’s pressure,” Sichling said.

Other professors echoed this pressure from the university at a faculty senate meeting Oct. 7.

The anonymous instructor provided The News with emails, policies and correspondences from the university. On June 30, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs David Madigan and Chancellor and Senior Vice President for Learning Kenneth Henderson sent an email to all faculty and staff,

updating them on policies for their return to campus.

“For some departments, meeting business goals and maintaining a standard of excellence may require 100 percent of their employees to be on site,” Madigan and Henderson wrote. “For other departments, a percentage of employees continuing to work remotely may be acceptable.”

Each request for remote work fell under two options. The first option was for faculty with “a medical or mental health-related concern, diagnosis or illness, or if [they] are in a high-risk category,” and they had to provide medical documentation. The second option was anything that fell outside of personal medical issues, and each request for remote work was handled individually.

“We understand that some faculty

and staff have childcare challenges or medical conditions that may prevent or curtail their return to campus,” wrote Michael Armini, senior vice president of external affairs, in an email to The News. “There is an established process for considering requests for remote work, and they are handled on a case-by-case basis.”

Abbie Levesque, a doctoral candidate in English with a focus in writing and rhetoric and an instructor of first-year writing, opted to teach remotely. However, for a while, she said that it was unclear whether instructors would be approved for remote work, and while the English department was supportive, communication from the university was often confusing.

“At the university level, for a long time, it was mixed messaging,”

Levesque said. “The students were being told that it was their choice whether they had online or in-person classes. A lot of them interpreted that to mean that they could choose whether they had an in-person, professorial experience.”

Sichling also said at first, the options in regards to reopening and remote teaching were confusing.

They wanted to teach remotely because their partner is immunocompromised and initially thought they fell into the first option.

“When I clicked on option one, it was saying, basically, that I needed a doctor’s note,” Sichling said.

“That was something that was very frustrating: the idea that I needed to justify my not wanting to be on public transit during a pandemic.”

FACULTY, on Page 3

Fridge initiative battles food insecurity

By Maggie Scales News Correspondent Flavia DeSousa, Zachary Shea and Veronica Bettio have made strides in developing community fridges — refrigerators on the street filled with donated food for locals in need — across Jamaica Plain and Somerville.

Communities all across the U.S. have taken massive economic hits due to the COVID-19 pandemic, rendering many families unable to sufficiently put food on the table. In fact, one in eight people in eastern Massachusetts are projected to suffer from insecurity this year.

“People are starving,” Shea said.

In 2012, community fridges arose as a worldwide trend, beginning in countries including Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, India, New Zealand and Israel, to combat food waste and reduce the world’s accumulated trash. This past February, New York-based activist group In Our Hearts NYC brought the trend

to the United States with “Friendly Fridges.”

In starting the Boston fridge initiative, Bettio — the main organizer of the Jamaica Plain fridge — is pursuing both the original intention of the fridges, combating food waste, and helping the abundance of hungry locals who are not receiving the help

they need from the government.

“Number one, there’s a lot of food waste, and number two, there’s a lot of food [needed],” Bettio said. “We wanted to help shift some resources and just look out for our communities. Community efforts and mutual aid are also very important during FRIDGES, on Page 6

CAMPUS

Page 2

October 16, 2020

Remote learners face financial burdens

By Ali Dusinberre News Staff When second-year computer science major Kelly Ma decided to move back home with her parents in New York this semester and take classes remotely, she did so with the intention of saving money. But an email from her financial aid advisor at the end of August shifted her expectations.

“It wasn’t until my financial aid advisor asked me if I was living remotely that they decreased [my financial aid],” Ma said. “I told him that … I’d be living at home, and after that, my financial aid went down.”

With Northeastern’s new NUflex hybrid learning model for the fall, students can decide whether they want to attend classes in person or online. The virtual classroom offering provides students the flexibility to continue their coursework while living outside of Boston, but an accompanying financial aid reduction is complicating the situation for some students who stayed home.

“The reason that I decided to stay home was to save money, and to see that one of my grants was cut in half was pretty shocking to me,” Ma said.

Ma isn’t alone in this experience.

Students who live at home are classified as commuter students, so their financial aid packages don’t cover the cost of room and board, thus reducing overall aid for students like Ma. Students said that they only found out through their financial aid readjustments or direct inquiries with Student Financial Services that they had been reclassified as commuter students.

“Financial aid calculations take the cost of housing into consideration,” a university spokesperson said in an email. “A small number of students who have decided to live at home during the fall semester may have seen changes to their financial aid packages as they no longer have

the additional costs associated with housing. As a result, these students have been classified as commuter students for this semester.”

For Ma, this means that she’s now paying Northeastern the leftover cost of her bill not covered by financial aid — whereas before, her aid package was large enough that she was receiving a refund from the school each semester.

“The university never told anyone that their financial aid would decrease if they stayed home,” said Gisselle Rodriguez Benitez, a fourthyear economics major and secretary general of Northeastern’s Students of Color Caucus. “Most students found out once they decided to stay home and then got their financial aid packages.”

Juan Aguilar-Arciga, a second-year computer science and math major, is in a similar situation.

Aguilar-Arciga previously lived on campus, but is now living at home in Indiana. He reached out to Student Financial Services after hearing about others’ experiences and was informed by voicemail that he should expect a reduction in his aid package. The voicemail also included how much that reduction would be, which Aguilar-Arciga said is more than he anticipated.

“During school, with the dining plan, my grants would cover the dining plan, and I thought it would have been useful to get some money back from the school to help with covering the expense of food and stuff like that for the semester,” Aguilar-Arciga said. “I really didn’t want to have to worry about having to take out a loan this semester, so it’s kind of disappointing that I did have to do that.”

The rationale seems straightforward: If students are no longer paying the school for room and board, they shouldn’t need as much aid to cover their cost of attendance. But the reality isn’t as simple, Rodriguez

Benitez said.

“For a lot of students, this has more profound implications because they’re low-income [students] and are so dependent on the financial aid that they get,” Rodriguez Benitez said. “This is a really weird time to lower financial aid for students because of all the economic impacts of COVID-19.”

The association between living at home and affordability is a privilege, not a guarantee, she said. Economic hardship resulting from the pandemic has most significantly impacted low-income and minority families, who are more likely to experience financial hardships during the pandemic, including an inability to pay for housing or other essentials and a reduction in spending on food.

Hardships like these can make it financially infeasible for parents to comfortably house their college-age children, Rodriguez Benitez said.

Rodriguez Benitez said that she and a group of peers reached out to the university to request that additional grants be provided to remote learners to help mitigate these financial burdens, but have yet to receive a definitive answer. Their request is similar to what some other schools like Harvard and the University of Southern California have done, with Harvard providing students living at home $5,000 per semester and USC providing such students $4,000.

Ma said allowing remote learners to waive their required enrollment in the Northeastern University Student Health Plan, or NUSHP, if they receive Medicaid in their home states would make the semester more affordable.

In compliance with Massachusetts law, Northeastern requires that every student participates in either NUSHP or an alternative plan that is deemed comparable. Because out-of-state Medicaid is not considered comparable, students like Ma who receive Medicaid in their home state must

Photo by Kelly Thomas “For a lot of us first-gen, low-income students, we kind of have to handle this ourselves without our parents because they don’t have the experience,” said second-year computer science major Kelly Ma. participate in NUSHP. Now that Ma is living at home in New York and able to utilize her New York Medicaid coverage, she asked the university if she can waive her NUSHP enrollment and therefore avoid the $2,099 semesterly health plan fee, but she never received a response. She said that other students she knew also reached out to the university to waive the NUSHP enrollment due to the Medicaid coverage, but were denied.

“A lot of us who are [of] low income depend on Medicaid from our state, which isn’t considered a comparable plan to NUSHP,” Ma said.

“We have to pay the extra $2,000 to get Northeastern’s health insurance, even though we’re not going to be in Boston and we already have insurance where we are staying.”

Aguilar-Arciga also attempted to waive his NUSHP participation given that he receives his state’s Medicaid, but his request was denied. He said he had to take out a loan to cover the fee of NUSHP for the semester.

The broader conversation about remote learning at Northeastern extends beyond the issue of affordability, Rodriguez Benitez said. Some students might opt to stay away from campus in an effort to protect the surrounding communities from

exposure to COVID-19, and remote learning grants would serve an additional purpose of incentivizing that.

“Another thing that we wanted to push [was] having a grant to incentivize students not to come back to campus, and I think that sort of clashes with all of the investments that Northeastern has made in getting campus to be a safer place to come live during COVID,” Rodriguez Benitez said. “I think that we also need to think about the fact that our representatives have asked us not to come back … It’s not just about us being here — it’s about the effects that we have on the greater community.”

Ma said that she thinks pushing the university to move forward with additional assistance for remote learners will require pressure from the student population. She hopes that people will consider the experiences of students most impacted by financial aid reductions.

“For a lot of us first-gen, low-income students, we kind of have to handle this ourselves without our parents because they don’t have the experience,” Ma said. “For something like this to happen, and some of us being blindsided by the [reduced aid], it’s just a really hard burden on us financially.”

Dean Robert Jose aims to build understanding

Photo courtesy Northeastern “Students come into my office all the time. I listen to what they have to say. … That’s it,” said Jose.

By Jenna Chin News Correspondent Following the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and the increasing momentum of the Black Lives Matter movement, President Joseph E. Aoun announced his action plan to increase diversity at Northeastern. Another major component of the plan included promoting Associate Dean Robert Jose to the position of dean for cultural and spiritual life, a role Jose has taken on with confidence and 37 years of experience behind him.

Jose doesn’t believe that he chose his career, but that the education field chose him. So when his first

job in business after graduation didn’t work out, he applied for and got a job as a resident director at Bentley University. There, Jose was told that he had a talent for working with college students. He moved up to the position of assistant director of residential life, then entered NU as the director of residential life in 2004.

About two and a half years ago and after several promotions at NU, he “made the suggestion that [he] be allowed to give direction to what we call cultural and spiritual life.”

“I saw a need to build or to add to the voice of those who are working to build understanding between people,” Jose said.

Jose explained that his new role as dean is similar to his role as associate dean. As associate dean, he oversaw the direction of the on-campus cultural and spiritual centers, such as the John D. O’Bryant African American Institute, as well as related student organizations.

The difference, he said, is that he can “strategically address issues that are of interest to students.” The promotion also includes the title of senior advisor to the president for diversity and inclusion. Being

a member of Aoun’s cabinet gives Jose a closer link not only to Aoun himself, but also to other departments and their resources.

“I am in a position to inform leadership of programs and policies that advance University goals,” Jose wrote in an email to The News. “… I can advocate for the implementation of initiatives that are of critical importance to all members of the University community.”

A central part of Jose’s work is connecting students and administration. Recently, this has meant figuring out how NU can address student demands in relation to racial equity. In June, Jose attended focus group conversations with Aoun and Black student leaders.

After these conversations, Aoun sent a letter to students detailing his action plan. “[Aoun’s letter] is a reflection of what he felt about it … and at some point in the near future, there’ll be a further articulation of that letter,” Jose said.

Jose works with the Center for Cultural and Spiritual Life to adapt existing programs to a world with COVID-19 while also creating new resources for students. Current

programs cover global leadership, mentoring, consulting, mindfulness and communication through dialogue. One program includes a leadership conference called Empower. “[Empower] is designed to give our students of color the skills that they need, not only to navigate Northeastern, but beyond here,” Jose said.

Programs in the works include NUPlace, which is a collaboration with Career Design and the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion and will be “the intersection between career development and identity.”

Students in NUPlace will have opportunities to professionally connect with people of color in leadership positions around Boston.

Global citizenship opportunities will “take students to places like Montgomery, Alabama or Selma so that they can understand or get a sense of the history that brought us to this where we are today,” Jose said.

Student activism forums, as well as anti-racism training for students, faculty and staff can also be expected.

However, Jose acknowledges that these programs will not be easy fixes.

“A workshop is never going to end

racism or any other isms,” Jose said.

“But if we can build understanding between people, then we have a chance.”

Over the years, Jose has noticed that a better understanding of other people can lead to respect, shared values, and ultimately better inclusivity — his main goal as dean.

Jose’s own experiences remind him of the importance of his job.

“It is very important that when you come to a college campus as a new student, you see people that look like you,” he said.

At one past workplace that was predominantly white, Jose added, “I could go all day and not see anybody else who looks like me. It was harder to make friends. I wasn’t embraced.”

By valuing and increasing diversity in the student body, faculty and staff, Jose aims to foster community and connection among students of color who understand each other’s experiences.

When asked what he brings to his role as dean, Jose had one quality to name.

“I simply listen,” he said.

“Students come into my office all the time. I listen to what they have to say. … That’s it.”

CAMPUS

October 16, 2020

Page 3

ResMail delays frustrate NU students

Students line up in Matthews Arena, the newly transformed home of ResMail, to pick up their packages that have been arriving non-stop since September.

By Marta Hill News Staff For the first month of living on campus, fourth-year bioengineering major Henry Weith was unable to perform part of his job because he had not received his renewed driver’s license — or any other mail.

“Part of the job requires me to use a ZipCar every so often, and I haven’t been able to do that lately because I don’t have a driver’s license that I can use,” Weith said. “I have not received any mail. Not even just that, I check probably every day and every day there is not a single piece of mail in a single mailbox for anyone in my building.”

Weith said he and fellow residents on 319 Huntington Ave. have filed numerous complaints to upper management, but to no avail.

“I just feel like Northeastern has been not that vocal about it, and not

really letting students know or assuring them when they’re gonna get their mail or even acknowledging that there is a problem,” Weith said.

University spokesperson Shannon Nargi said in an email that the delays early in the semester stemmed partly from inadequate staffing of the mail handling vendor and increased precautions due to the pandemic.

“The enhanced safety protocols around fall move-in due to COVID-19 resulted in an increased volume of items mailed to campus,” Nargi wrote. “Students were not able to pick up their mail until they received three negative COVID-19 test results.”

Coming from out of state, firstyear mechanical engineering major Anthony Aiyedun could not fit everything he wanted to bring for move-in in his luggage, so he mailed extra items to campus. He said some packages were processed by ResMail

a week after he was notified of their delivery by a third party.

“In my case, they weren’t vital things. They were just like decorations and books and notes, but I understand for some people it could be worse, it could be things they need for class,” Aiyedun said. “I didn’t get my backpack until the second day of school, so I had to carry my stuff — it was inconvenient and not good.”

Aiyedun said he expected the ResMail experience to run much smoother this semester.

“Compared to all the other different aspects of Northeastern, especially with how they have all adapted to [COVID-19], it’s sad that it is not as electronic as it could be, like they are writing stuff down and they spend so much time looking for it,” Aiyedun said.

While Weith has never experienced delays of this magnitude with ResMail in the past, he believes

elevated levels of mail this year exposed issues with the system.

“Honestly I don’t blame any ResMail workers, I think it’s all mismanagement,” Weith said. “I think people aren’t properly trained. They aren’t given all the information they need.”

In a statement, the university recognized that its mail services have not been functioning as expected and is aiming to resolve the ongoing delays. Northeastern attributed the problems to an increased volume of mail, inadequate staffing and limits on when students can pick up mail.

“We regret that the combination of these three factors resulted in significant delays, inconveniencing many students who were not able to receive their packages and mail in a timely fashion,” Nargi wrote. “Over the past few weeks, the university has been working to resolve these issues quickly and deliver a faster, more efficient ResMail experience

Photo by Ines Sereno for the rest of the semester.”

To Aiyedun, it makes sense that Northeastern had higher priorities this fall, but he wished the university would do a better job communicating issues about ResMail with students.

“If Northeastern had to pick [between] increased testing and classrooms and mail, I understand how they would prioritize that,” Aiyedun said. “On the student side, it’s kind of annoying how I have to wait.”

Even if nothing can be done to speed up the ResMail system, Weith said he wants to see acknowledgement of the issue from the university.

“I would like an email to students, particularly to buildings that haven’t been getting mail,” Weith said. “I’d like them to just say where the mail is, when they expect we should get it and what the issue is, because I don’t know where it is right now and I don’t know if I need to reorder things.”

Faculty members raise concerns over NUflex FACULTY, from front However, once they read the optout information again, it was “all clear enough,” they said.

In the summer, the anonymous College of Science instructor noted that language from the university was akin to guilt-tripping for returning to campus.

“There was a lot of language, especially later in the summer,

about how we made a promise to the students, and [how] we need your help in fulfilling this promise because they want to meet with you on the ground, and they believe that they are meeting with you on the ground,” the source said.

In the policy and procedures document, the university said they worked hard “to make campus a safe place to work and study and are

Photo by Angelica Jorio Professors must use Zoom and other technologies in the classroom every day, even if they teach in person.

looking forward to welcoming everyone back to campus this fall.”

“We understand that some individuals may be apprehensive about returning to campus,” the document said. “However, it is important to consider the extraordinary efforts underway to promote a safe environment for students, faculty and staff, including following guidance from public health authorities.”

In his email to The News, Armini echoed the sentiments established within the document.

“More than 90 percent of students are back on campus and they are eager to be taught in person by their faculty,” he wrote. “Beyond the classroom, there is value in faculty being on campus to interact with students, see their colleagues and conduct research. So far, our contact tracing has not uncovered a single instance of virus transmission on campus.”

The anonymous instructor also explained that if faculty opted out of in-person instruction, they were not allowed on campus and would not be able access their offices or research labs, with “the spirit of this policy [being] that if you request to work remotely, the expectation is that you will conduct all of your university work remotely.”

Armini explained that faculty

and staff must be participating in the university’s testing program to be on campus.

“This is not negotiable,” he wrote.

“We cannot have faculty or staff flying under the radar on testing because they will put the community at risk. No one wants that.”

Now a month into the semester, faculty have mixed feelings regarding the implementation of NUflex.

For Levesque, teaching in the NUflex model feels like teaching two classes and is simply “a lot of work” due to little things like setting up breakout rooms and facilitating small group work.

“As a graduate student instructor, I spend a lot of time thinking about pedagogy [and] learning about pedagogy,” she said. “There’s no way to win with NUflex, at least when I’m teaching online.”

Sichling said that NUflex is not much of a concern to them and is teaching remotely.

“Since I don’t really have to deal with NUflex at all and a lot of my students are not even going into the classroom, it’s not that big of a concern,” they said. “I think we’ve had it relatively easy ... It seems to me like in CAMD, and art and design in particular, this went pretty well.”

The anonymous instructor, who

teaches on-campus lab courses, said they had to make safety policies and plans for distancing within the labs themselves, with no guidance from the university.

“We repeatedly asked the school for guidance, and they repeatedly said for lab courses, ‘It’s up to you,’” the source said.

However, Armini said that protocols for lab safety were implemented in August.

“Extensive protocols for reengaging research in the labs, and in the field, were provided to every associate dean for research, department chair and department safety officer,” Armini wrote. “If an individual faculty member is unaware of these guidelines, there may have been a communication breakdown within their college.”

Throughout the summer, Levesque’s largest concern was the students, who were promised some semblance of normal if they were to return, she said.

“I know that the chances of students dying are low, but is that what it’s going to take?” Levesque said. “How many students have to suffer long term health effects in the prime of their lives to be able to have a social experience?”

LIFESTYLE

Page 4

October 16, 2020

Boston theatres work together to combat racism

By Rachel Erwin News Staff The response to George Floyd’s murder has reached far beyond police reform. Every aspect of our nation has been scrutinized, including the theatre community. Here in Boston, theatres are actively taking steps to combat racism.

In the theatre community, a revolution began with the release of “Dear White American Theatre” on June 8. In this statement, the #WeSeeYou movement, composed of BIPOC theatremakers, called attention to the systemic racism in the industry. Within 24 hours, their website received 80,000 visitors and their petition to demand change has now been signed by more than 100,000 people, prompting the theatre community to take action.

At New Repertory Theatre, or New Rep, located in Watertown, the staff members have started to eliminate racism within their walls. Michael Bobbitt, New Rep’s first Black artistic director, is at the forefront of this mission. Prior to his arrival in 2019, New Rep had a diversity and inclusion segment built into their business plan, but it was not mobilized until Bobbitt led the way. Now, it has

become the main priority.

“I just was really upset about how the world is, and, in many ways, I had had enough,” Bobbitt said. “Since I have a theatre and a platform to make some things happen, I just felt this strong desire to just make it happen.”

His approach to anti-racism is to revamp New Rep’s governance and operations system, including marketing and financials. The New Rep staff are looking at their subscription packages and donor benefits to ensure that everyone is treated fairly. Bobbitt and his team have also implemented racism incident reports, which will allow New Rep to analyze the harm it causes. There is also a push toward 50 percent equal representation in all areas, especially the theatre’s board.

“Some people will call what we’ve been trying to do innovative, but I think it’s just necessary,” Bobbitt said.

In Bobbitt’s eyes, there are two approaches to anti-racism. The first involves changing people’s hearts and minds, which will be a longterm effort. The second requires an examination of policy and culture, which is something that can be accomplished right now.

“These are acts of love. These are

showing people that have never been loved by this country before, love,” Bobbitt said. “That is what’s motivating us. We want everyone to feel loved when they come to our theatre, and sometimes we have unintentional policies that make people not feel loved.”

Central Square Theater, home to Underground Railway Theater and The Nora, is promoting collaboration as a means of addressing racism.

Debra Wise, the artistic director at Underground Railway, said that the company’s anti-racism plan started with a series of three staff meetings.

At these meetings, they read about the characteristics of white supremacist organizations and discussed how the company was lacking in their anti-racist stance. This sparked a community effort across theatre companies in Boston to hold each other accountable.

Theatres are looking at each other’s anti-racism strategic plans and using them to inspire their own ideas. This week, Central Square Theater will examine New Rep’s plan for ideas and see what is possible within the bounds of their own resources.

At Central Square Theater, they have established an anti-racism coordinating committee, which evaluates

the statements the company puts out.

Wise acknowledged the collaboration required from all sides to make these changes happen.

“We’re trying to be very inclusive and democratic about this process,” Wise said. “It’s a really interesting process that encourages us to look at every aspect of our work even though what we’re really talking about is anti-racism.”

Within Northeastern’s own theatre community, student groups have taken similar actions.

Silver Masque, a student-run theatre group that aims to highlight students’ original work, is taking a serious look at what it has done wrong in the past, said Lina Lahlou, a fourth-year communications and media and screen studies combined major and the diversity and inclusion director of Silver Masque.

After Silver Masque shared a social media post about donating to Black Lives Matter and other anti-racist organizations this summer, they received some backlash. Students came forward about diversity issues within the club, which led to the release of their own anti-racism action plan.

“It was very much a wake-up call.

It was like, ‘Oh God, we’re doing things very wrong. We need to fix

this.’ And that would not have happened if we hadn’t gotten criticism,” Lahlou said. “It’s very much thanks to our community, and I never want to take credit for something that they made.”

For Lahlou, it took her years to get into theatre because she did not see anyone like her onstage — and she is not the only one with this experience. This is why theatres must help mold a new normal of representation and inclusion, she said.

Silver Masque is also implementing ways to leave anonymous feedback and opening up their executive board meetings to the public to promote transparency.

Theatre companies are learning to examine their innerworkings and change for the better.

“As artists, we need to keep looking at how to be our most authentic selves and bring those selves to the process of evaluating our profession, as well as creating artwork,” Wise said. “And it’s not easy, because it calls into question so many things, but one thing that’s clear to me is that theatre is not going to solve all of our ills, because theatre is part of a much larger picture.”

‘Dune’ adaptations have chance for redemption

By Natalie Duerr News Correspondent “Dune” has a long history of film adaptations, ranging from never finished to catastrophic box-office failure. “Dune” (2021) marks the seventh known attempt to bring “Dune” to theatres and only the second to cross the finish line and be released.

Directors Ridley Scott, David Lynch and Alejandro Jodorowsky have all taken their shot at translating “Dune” for the big screen in the 55 years since the novel’s release. These film adaptations are seemingly cursed, with a producer dying after buying the rights, family members passing away during the writing process and it ultimately being named one of the worst films of 1984.

Now, the internet is taken by storm by mentions of worms, sand and spice. “Dune” is finally coming back to the big screen again, this time directed by Denis Villeneuve.

The star-studded cast of Timothée Chalamet, Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa and Zendaya will be bringing the dense lore of “Dune” to life. Will an A-list cast and Villeneuve’s track record be able to break “Dune” free of its tragic past?

Written in 1965 by Frank Herbert, “Dune” follows young Paul Atreides as his house relocates from Caladan, a lush ocean planet, to Arrakis, a desert planet with no natural precipitation. While Arrakis may be hard to inhabit, it is the only planet in the galaxy that produces “melange,” also known as spice. Spice powers intergalactic

travel and extends human life, making it a highly sought after resource.

As with any rare and useful resource, there is a game of secret plots with multiple groups looking to control its trade. On top of plots to dominate the spice trade, Paul’s world changes as he begins to fulfill a prophecy he had no idea he was a part of.

Talks of adapting “Dune” for the screen haven’t stopped since the novel’s 1965 release. Arthur P. Jacobs was the first to acquire the rights for a film adaptation in 1971. He died a few years after, and the rights were acquired by Jodorowsky. He looked to collaborate with Pink Floyd and Salvador Dalí, but this ambition spited him, stalling the production for financial reasons. In 1976, the rights were acquired again, this time

by Dino De Laurentiis, and Ridley Scott was tapped to direct in 1979.

Scott ended up leaving the project after his brother died unexpectedly, later moving onto “Blade Runner” (1982). In 1981, a director that stuck was finally found. David Lynch, hot off the success of his second film “Elephant Man” (1980), began principal photography for “Dune” in 1983, and it was released in 1984.

Starring Kyle Maclachlan, Patrick Stewart and Sting, “Dune” had potential as audiences craved another sci-fi adventure after the success of Star Wars (1977). However, the film was critically panned and considered a box office failure.

The 1984 adaptation ripped all the meat out of Herbert’s story, leaving a grotesque carcass in its wake that was

indistinguishable from its origins.

To those unfamiliar with the source material, the film is mystifying at best and incomprehensible at worst.

The ecological, political and religious critique was so convoluted in a vapid and surface-level “coming of age” take on “Dune” that the audience lost out on what made the novel remarkable. In all fairness to Lynch, it seems his dreams were torn to tatters: He lacked total creative control and has been a vocal critic of his film.

The film relied on narration to introduce the story and fill in gaps for the viewer. In the first few minutes, the script makes it clear that this will be no easy watch, with terms like Ix, Atreides, Harkonnen and Bene Gesserit. This vast amount of new vocabulary makes the language impenetrable. “Dune” is not just a story of a boy on a sandy planet, but one of deep political and societal critique.

Much of the new vocabulary is never given a solid definition. The script continues to throw around words the audience doesn’t know, giving them no opportunity to come to a meaningful conclusion.

With confusing language and one-dimensional characters, viewers unfamiliar with their novel counterparts cannot even begin to understand what is at stake and why the characters are making their decisions.

The most valuable resource in the galaxy is up for grabs, with each ruler plotting to control the trade. Full of teamwork and betrayal, it is nearly impossible to keep up with each character’s alliance and motivation.

The good news here though is that Villeneuve and Warner Bros. broke the story into two parts. Unlike

the 1984 version, the 772 pages of “Dune” will be told over about five hours, instead of rushed through in two hours and 17 minutes. By splitting the film, Villeneuve and the screenwriters have more time for character development and a chance to bring the larger concepts of societal critique to the surface. They have the opportunity to show the depth of each character and give the viewers time to understand the inner workings of the worlds and society. With this approach and a likely cliff-hanger ending, the film could leave the audience begging for more, just like the novel’s readers.

With modern technology at its fingertips, the 2021 version of “Dune” has the ability to go all-in on visual effects. Back in 1984, technology and practical effects were limited and expensive. Specifically, the formidable worms of Arrakis felt slow and tame in the 1984 adaptation compared to those described in the novel. Viewers never got to feel the terror of the character’s first encounter with a worm or even the magnitude of one’s presence. Just from the 2021 version’s trailer, the worms did not disappoint.

It ripples through the sand as it moves, causing waves that topple the characters over. Most importantly, the audience sees its massive scale and the baleen teeth that make these creatures so terrifying. Of course technology is helpful here, but the worms play an extremely important part in the story of “Dune,” and it’s a relief to see that the 2021 adaptation may have gotten their design right.

The one thing that could be missing from Villeneuve’s “Dune” is strong imagination and the

sense of psychedelic strangeness.

“Dune” is no ordinary story, with some characters perceiving time as mutable, society being ruled by non-existent technological advancements and plenty of indescribable alien creatures coming and going.

With the studio investing a rumored $200 million into its production, how much creative risk will they let Villeneuve take?

Though Lynch’s version had its failings, there are hints of grandiose and arthouse aesthetics in the editing choices and art direction that could have truly been delightful if the director was able to assume full creative power. For example, the set design is somehow futuristic, yet classic, posing the idea that even though this world is 10,000 years in the future, it may not be that different than ours. If the studio held Villeneuve back from jumping feet first into the weird end, then the end result may be bland.

Will “Dune” (2021) fall into the same traps as its precursor? Is the general public ready to jump into deep lore, or will the film be left out to dry? Amid a pandemic and the box office seemingly as dry as Arrakis itself, the curse on “Dune” adaptations continues as “Dune” (2020) has been pushed back and become “Dune” (2021). Regardless, fans of “Dune” have been waiting since the novel’s release for a chance to see the world brought to life, and Villeneuve’s “Dune” might be our best shot.

LIFESTYLE

October 16, 2020

Page 5

LonelyGrl creates community for skaters

By Clara McCourt News Staff It’s no secret that skateboarding is exclusive. The skill itself is tricky to learn, and the sport has historically lacked diverse representation. For those who are not white, male or cisgender, it can be difficult to walk into a skate park. But a Northeastern-based group is trying to change this.

LonelyGrl Skate Co. is a Boston -based collective for marginalized skaters founded by Northeastern fifth-years Claire Lee, Rayven Tate and Becca Brichacek, who all have a passion for skating and bringing people together.

While the collective only began in July, it has quickly cultivated a supportive community.

The founders sought to break down the skateboarding scene’s established barriers with their inclusive collective. According to the Public Skatepark Development Organization, only 23.9 percent of skaters are female. But LonelyGrl’s founders didn’t just want to tackle the issue of gender — they felt a need to address race, sexuality and location too.

“There are so many gaps in women’s skate collectives,” Lee said. “We want-

ed to take it a step further.”

The collective stresses the inclusion of BIPOC, or Black, Indigenous and people of color, as well as anyone who falls outside of the gender binary. “[In skating], I didn’t see a lot of people who looked like me,” Tate said. “These other collectives were only white women in California. I was worried that I wouldn’t find a sense of community.”

Lee was the first to broach the idea of LonelyGrl after she had difficulties reaching skating collectives. Frustrated with the lack of communication, she decided to take matters into her own hands.

“I started being very open on my Instagram about skating,” Lee said.

“Rayven was one of the first girls to reach out and ask me [to teach her].”

Becca Brichacek soon reached out after seeing Lee’s Instagram. She cemented herself as the group’s photographer, and LonelyGrl was born.

The founders have found power in their talents and support from one another.

“The actual act of learning to skate is so empowering,” Brichacek said. “When I fall, it’s so nice to have

LonelyGrls there to pick me up.”

Lee, Tate and Brichacek cultivated a social media following by posting about themselves, drawing special attention to their message of community and inclusivity. Today, the LonelyGrl Instagram account has more than 2,000 followers.

Social media has provided them with not only an audience, but a growing sense of community.

Followers of the collective began to connect on Instagram and the online messaging platform Discord, planning one-on-one “skate dates” and events.

At their first Boston meetup in August, more than 60 showed up.

Among them was Joy Lustig, a fourth-year chemical engineering major who has found solace in skating. While some, like Lustig, were experienced skaters, others were brand new.

“There were people at the first meetup that had never been on a board before,” Lustig said. “I’ve been able to use some of my knowledge from skating to teach others.”

Though LonelyGrl is primarily made up of skateboarders, those who roller skate and rollerblade are welcome, too. Whether at an in-person meetup, a “skate date” or online, the message of LonelyGrl still stands.

“The [skating] industry is spoon-fed to cis men,” Lee said. “Breaking that barrier is very empowering.”

Calendar compiled by Ingrid Angulo | Graphics by Alaine Bennett and Marta Hill

Friday, Oct. 16 Aquarium After Dark Spend an evening with the penguins, fish and sea lions at the New England Aquarium. This event focuses on sustainable seafood, with recipe cards around the building for you to collect. Reserve tickets online.

4 p.m., $32, New England Aquarium

Friday, Oct. 16 Film Discussion: The Condor and the Eagle The Dismantling White Supremacy film series re-launches with “The Condor and the Eagle,” a documentary focusing on climate change and Indigenous responses.

7 p.m. - 9 p.m., suggested donation, link on Facebook Event page

Friday, Oct. 16 Sunset Cruise Catch a beautiful Boston sunset on a 90-minute cruise around the harbor.

Snacks and beverages are available for purchase on board.

5 p.m., $13 - 14, 60 Rowes Wharf

Saturday, Oct. 17 No Jokes Improv Show Northeastern’s No Jokes improv troupe is here to fill the unscripted comedy shaped hole in your heart on Centennial Quad. Masks are required.

4 p.m.- 5 p.m., Centennial Quad

Sunday, Oct. 18 Hocus Pocus Themed Brunch Reserve a table ahead of time at the Lansdowne Pub for brunch and a celebration of a classic Halloween movie.

12 p.m. - 4 p.m., free reservation, Lansdowne Pub

Photo by Becca Brichacek LonelyGrl Skate Co. offers an inclusive community for female-identifying skaters on campus.

Column: The exclusivity of buying sustainably

By Jessica Brite News Staff In recent years, consumers and professionals in the fashion industry have become a lot more eco-conscious, which is reflected by the growing number of sustainable fashion infographics being shared around social media.

Although there is no doubt that sustainable fashion is more environmentally friendly, shopping entirely sustainably is difficult for many because of how costly and size-exclusive it can be.

Aside from being one of the most polluting industries in the world, “the fashion industry is the second-biggest consumer of water and is responsible for 8-10 percent of global carbon emissions,” according to the

United Nations Environment Programme. This is largely due to the rise of fast fashion, which has caused an increase in harvesting materials and clothing production over time.

Sustainable brands tend to be more transparent about their supply chains. They buy better fibers and the materials that they use are more ethically sourced, leading to higher final prices. The size ranges for eco-friendly brands are also often limited to a standard S-L size range.

“Not everyone can afford it… but those of us who can have to get going,” said Frances McSherry, professor of theatre and fashion at Northeastern University. McSherry believes that once sustainable fashion brands have more consumers, prices will drop naturally and more people will be able to make the switch.

Although it is very important for consumers to be aware of the industries they are buying into, a shame culture has developed as a result.

“People who shop sustainably, and have the money to do so, shame those who buy fast fashion,” said Ava Rognlien, second-year environmental studies and design major. “Some people just don’t have the ability nor money to shop sustainably.”

Luckily, shopping from sustainable fashion brands is not the only way to turn away from fast fashion.

Instead, an inexpensive alternative is thrift shopping. Local thrift store The Garment District has clothes ranging from $5-$25, and in a preCOVID-19 era, they had a “shop by the pound” section.

Thrift shops have been around for a very long time, previously serving

Photo by Jayden Khatib Thrift shopping is one way to buy clothes sustainably, although it has its downsides. as places where low-income families could buy clothes within their price range. Now thrift shopping has become trendy, and most of the teenagers shopping at thrift shops are not donating back into the system.

Educating consumers to think more sustainably can create change over time. In addition to buying sustainably, this includes rethinking shopping habits such as not buying

things just because they are cheap and learning the proper way to take care of your clothes. Even if someone cannot afford to shop from a sustainable clothing line, it does not mean that they cannot still be a sustainable shopper.

“It is important to start making change now. We cannot wait,” McSherry said. “A positive steady message is the way to go.”

CITY

Page 6

October 16, 2020

Environmental groups’ efforts halt c

By Julia Carlin News Correspondent After a virtual conversation led by the Mayor’s Office of Equity and Inclusion, the Department of Transportation halted construction of the Melnea Cass Project, which involves the removal of more than 100 trees from the greenway in Roxbury, due to concerns regarding environmental racism and a lack of community involvement in planning.

For nine years, community activists have been pleading with the city to reconsider the federally-funded plans to widen the highway, alter traffic infrastructure and add bike lanes and pedestrian sidewalks. City reports alleged the tree removal is essential to build a “pedestrian friendly corridor,” but for many residents, the move to redesign Melnea Cass Boulevard is reminiscent of a painful gentrification project that wiped out entire blocks of Roxbury in the 1960s.

Forty years ago, the state seized

several densely populated streets filled with homes and businesses with the intent to extend I-95 into Boston.

After community protests, the city agreed to pave the impounded land with a tree-lined boulevard instead.

“The trees were planted in the 1980s to recognize that this is a community space, so to cut them down is reopening that scar,” said David Meshoulam, founder and executive director of Speak for the Trees, or SFTT, a nonprofit forestry initiative focused on urban tree equity.

Tree equity refers to the urban distribution of trees based on factors like race and socioeconomic status.

Boston’s green space per resident is ranked among the lowest in the nation, and Meshoulam said that research done by SFTT has revealed that people of color have less access to green space.

Of the 515 trees currently providing shade for the community, the Melnea Cass Project plans to remove 105 trees, about half of which are considered mature trees. While the

project also intends to plant 204 new trees, many residents and experts believe this to be insufficient.

“Environmental benefits are not linear,” Meshoulam said. “The benefits of a 40-year-old tree are orders of magnitudes more than those of newly planted trees. Tree mortality rates for new trees are also incredibly high.”

A mature tree canopy is essential for mitigating extreme heat and storm water and plays a key role in air detoxification and pollution control.

Roxbury, a state-designated environmental justice community, experiences some of the most extreme hot spots in the city and has been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 due to high rates of pollution-related illnesses, such as asthma.

ComMunity Fridges

provide mutual aid opportunity FRIDGES, from front this pandemic and more generally since the government isn’t looking out for most people in this country.”

Having recognized the global phenomenon of community fridges, the three decided to get involved in helping local underprivileged families. Following a tweet DeSousa posted expressing her interest in getting involved, J.T. Scott, city councilman of Somerville, replied by offering to host the community fridge in Somerville, adding to the already existing fridges in Dorchester and Jamaica Plain.

Since DeSousa and Shea began working with Scott, they have been successful in getting the fridge up and running, receiving an abundance of food donations from members of the community, which is the effort’s sole source of funding.

Locals are able to drop off food, and others can retrieve as much as they want, with no questions asked or background checks required.

“Eighty people have signed up to

help as of last week, and we’ve got $3,200 donated,” DeSousa said.

Likewise, Bettio also found community members more than willing to help out with the fridge, donating a wealth of food for those in need.

“We get massive food donations that disappear in one to two days.

It’s amazing,” Bettio said. “All groceries are saved from grocery stores or other businesses or purchased by volunteers … We fill it up regularly, and it gets emptied regularly. It’s working just like it should.”

Shea said the work they do is not charity work, but rather a mutual aid effort. Their drive is simply to help their community for the sake of doing so, with no monetary gain involved. DeSousa and Shea have only had to contribute $200 out of pocket for the fridge, still leaving them with $3,000 in donations. The D’Friends Barber Shop, which hosts the Jamaica Plains site, even covers the electricity bills of the donated fridge.

“We’re not looking for money for us,” Shea said. “We’re just look-

ing for food for people.”

Shea and DeSousa emphasized the simplicity of the community fridges. Many people who may not qualify for government benefits do not feel comfortable dealing with the extensive paperwork required to apply for assistance, yet they have these fridges to fall back on. “[For] people who may not feel comfortable going to organizations,” DeSousa said, “it’s just a fridge; they can just go.”

Together, DeSousa, Shea and Bettio believe it is not just about feeding the community, but also bringing it together.

“Food insecurity is an important aspect, but half of it is showing community love. It’s about telling your community that there are people around that are there for support. I’ve met so many new people working on this and it’s been amazing,” Bettio said. “People are really eager to make connections and offer kindness in a time that has been truly isolating and scary.”

Photo courtesy Veronica Bettio The community fridge in Jamaica Plain sits outside D’Friends Barber Shop.

CITY

October 16, 2020

Page 7

construction of Melnea Cass Project Meshoulam fears removing the trees would only exacerbate these and other challenges, especially as climate change continues to bring more extreme weather. Sara Carr, assistant professor and director of the Masters in Design in Sustainable Urban Environments at Northeastern University, shares how nature can improve health.

“The ability to see green around you actually puts your mind at ease,” Carr said. “Stress is the bedrock of a lot of other mental and physical health issues experienced by those in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.”

Improving mental health through access to green space is a key principle of the Urban Outdoor Association, a Dorchester-based nonprofit.

Co-founder Michelle Cook is a Roxbury native who remembers the community’s alarm when the highway project was proposed in the ’60s, just blocks away from her childhood home. As a passionate cyclist she rides her bike down Melnea

Cass frequently, and while there is a need for improved safety, she said, it should not come at the expense of the community or the plant life.

Cook said the city has pitted two essential causes against each other: a safer road and bike route or a healthier, more green community. The problem is not just environmental, she said. It’s about the people and the process.

“I think there’s a lack of empathy for Black and Brown communities,” she said. “Or maybe they think Black and Brown folks don’t care about this, and that’s so far from the truth.”

Friends of Melnea Cass, the leading organization in advocating for the preservation of the trees for the past nine years, has a robust network of support from community members and local organizations who are passionate and knowledgeable about green space and sustainability. Their online petition has more than 12,500 signatures and more than 50 Boston organizations, including the Boston Outdoor Association and SFTT, have joined their coalition.

Additionally, three city councilors have sponsored public hearings, said Kay Mathew, board member of Friends of Melnea Cass.

“We were heard. We just weren’t listened to,” Mathew said. “The city has known for nine years that nobody in our community wants these trees to come down.”

Cook expressed a similar sentiment regarding the city’s lack of regard for Black and Brown voices.

“We don’t have a voice,” Cook said.

“And when we do get a voice, it’s someone who’s agreeing with the city.

They may be a person of color, but they’re still not listening to what the community members need.”

Town hall meetings are frequently held at noon, when most residents are working. Additionally, Cook said, the community is usually not made aware of such projects, and if they are, it’s typically after decisions have already been made.

“In Black and Brown communities, we always feel like we’re being pushed out,” Cook said. “I want to see more of the actual residence there at the table to talk about why this doesn’t work for us.”

City officials declined requests to speak with The News, although their website says the project has temporarily been put on hold “until further community conversations and analysis of the impacts can be determined.”

“It’s great that we have a small victory, but a lot of things can be put on pause and then revamped,” Cook said. “Now we have to really put the work in. We’re not in the clear. Not by any stretch of imagination.”

MELNEA CASS

BLVD

Graphic by Alaine Bennett

Immigrants Lead Boston to foster new civic leaders

By Julie Sung News Correspondent With a growing immigrant population that stands at around 28 percent, Boston aims to recognize the contributions of immigrants. Immigrants Lead Boston, a program established by the Mayor’s Office for Immigrant Advancement, or MOIA, seeks to further encourage civic engagement and leadership from the city’s immigrant communities.

MOIA’s programs manager, Carol León, was inspired to create Immigrants Lead Boston after speaking with the director of the Mayor’s Office of New Americans in Nashville, Tennessee about their program MyCity Academy, which has taught new Americans from more than 50 countries how to navigate and participate in Nashville’s government.

Similarly, Immigrants Lead Boston is designed to form relationships between immigrants residing in Boston and Boston officials. The goal is to empower participants to advocate for and address issues affecting their communities.

“We want to increase the representation of immigrant communities in the civic life of the city of Boston,” said León, who has been working with MOIA for five years now. “We want to increase the knowledge participants [of Immigrants Lead Boston] have of the resources, programs and initiatives Boston has.”

Immigrants Lead Boston will take place for 12 weeks from Oct. 21 to Jan.

27 where participants will engage in courses led by León and the program coordinator, Flo Glynn, among others. León added that sections of the program and application were built in collaboration with one of Boston University’s associate professors of political science, Katherine Levine Einstein.

During the 12 weeks, 10 classes will be taught on topics deliberately chosen to address issues facing Boston’s immigrant communities, based on a survey sent to the leaders of those communities, León said.

The topics set to be covered include the following: housing access, economic development, health care, transportation, public education, criminal justice and racism and racial equity.

Moreover, three sessions will be specifically dedicated to focusing on civic engagement. The program will culminate in a Civic Capstone project, in which participants will each apply the knowledge and connections formed during the program to propose solutions to an issue facing their community.

With only 18 spots and a little more than 100 applicants, León and her collaborators will be considering several factors when choosing participants, aside from the overall requirements of being Boston residents who are immigrants, at least 18 years old and proficient in English.

“We want a group that represents diversity, not only in terms of ethnicity and country of origin, linguistic ability, but also age and neighborhood of residency,” León said. “We also want

to make sure that we are choosing applicants that are very committed to fulfilling the mission of the program, which is not only coming in to learn, but also bringing this information to their communities.”

On Oct. 6, MOIA notified participants of their application status and announced that the applicant pool had consisted of applicants 18 years old to those in their 60s, “representing 42 countries, 38 languages and 15 Boston neighborhoods.”

MOIA, founded in 1998, has launched a variety of programs in the past to grow the relationship between Boston’s government and its immigrant communities. One former event called New Bostonians Community Day served as a resource fair for immigrants to tour the city and learn about different city departments. León added that much of the work done in the past four years has been to provide information and resources to immigrant communities.

“We have been very proactive about making sure that people have access to legal services and … partnering with nonprofit organizations to provide ‘Know Our Rights’ presentations to the community, so they know what to do in case they ever have an interaction with an immigration officer,” León said.

“We also have our annual Citizenship Day, where we assist people with the citizenship application.”

The mission of MOIA, León said, aligns well with the purpose of creating Immigrants Lead Boston.

“[Our] department is specifically dedicated to ensuring that [our] immigrant communities are fully participating in [Boston’s] economic, civic, social and cultural life,” she said. “We are also ensuring that other departments we work with are thinking about our immigrant communities when they are creating initiatives and programs.”

While Immigrants Lead Boston will be held virtually this year, León is actively preparing for in-person programs in future years. The goal, she said, is to hold Immigrants Lead Boston annually and foster a group of emerging immigrant leaders who can advocate for their communities.

Photo by Dana Murtada Immigrants Lead Boston, an initiative from the mayor’s office, seeks to further encourage civic engagement and leadership from immigrant communities within Boston.

SPORTS

Page 8

October 16, 2020

Meet the sophomores of women’s basketball

By Niyati Parikh | News Staff

Anna Boruta Coming from more than 4,000 miles across the world, Anna Boruta decided to further her education and basketball career at Northeastern.

Boruta is a native of Vienna, Austria, and growing up, was always one of the most athletic individuals in her grade. In sixth grade, her two best friends played basketball and encouraged her to join.

“I was a runner. I always loved the feeling of running because it felt like I could fly,” Boruta said. “And basketball was a good combination of athleticism and that flying-while-running feeling.”

Initially, Boruta’s mother didn’t want her to join any club sports, as she herself was a track and field athlete and thought it would get in the way of her studies.

Ultimately, Boruta convinced her mom to let her join a club team

because it holds more weight during the recruitment process.

“I had to make a deal with her that I wouldn’t get any grade worse than a C to keep playing club basketball,” Boruta said.

While she is from Austria, she said that she has two home countries, with the other being Poland, where her grandparents live. The two homes could not be more different — one is a hustling, bustling city much like Boston and the other doesn’t see any cars on the street for hours. When she misses her other homes in Poland or Austria, she travels the short distance to Dorchester where she frequents a Polish church and restaurant.

“Vienna is a beautiful city and is the perfect mix between old and new.

I basically grew up on the street of my kindergarten and elementary schools,” Boruta said. “In Poland, there weren’t many cars at the time I was growing

up, and we were able to play in the streets and just have a happy childhood growing up with a lot of great food.”

Boruta lives by a motto: “follow your dreams,” one that has served her well so far.

Boruta went all the way to represent Austria at the national level. She was a five-year member of the youth national team, playing in the U-18 FIBA Women’s European Championship and becoming a three-time Austrian champion for the U-16 and U-19 teams.

Prior to coming to Northeastern, Boruta took a gap year during which she took classes at the University of Vienna.

For her, Northeastern was the perfect balance between academics and basketball. Now, as a sophomore, she is in pursuit of a business administration and psychology combined major, and in the future, she hopes to play professionally in France, Spain or Russia.

Though many athletes seek a route to early playing time, Boruta, who played just under 10 minutes per game her freshman season, didn’t shy away from joining an already well-built roster.

“The coaches were also very transparent with me, and they were very

honest in telling me what to expect as a freshman,” Boruta said.“They didn’t sugarcoat anything to recruit me, and I appreciated that very much. I had to work for my spot and that was what really intrigued me about coming to Northeastern.”

Boruta has always been one to follow and fight for her dreams and encourages others to do so as well.

“I didn’t think I’d even get to do university in the States. It’s a tough process but if you work hard for it and believe in yourself, anything is possible,” she said.

“Nothing is given, but when you work for it, the satisfaction is worth it.”

Photo courtesy Jim Pierce, Northeastern Athletics Sophomore guard Anna Boruta drives to the basket in a game against Dayton last season.

Mossi Staples Within a month of her first season as a Husky, Maryland native Mossi Staples nabbed the first CAA Rookie of the Week for the rookie Husky class, starting her collegiate career on a high note.

Getting special accolades was nothing new to Staples. She was named the No. 1 defender in Maryland high school basketball during her junior season, while also being named a two-time team MVP. Growing up in Maryland, she was introduced to basketball by watching her brother’s practices. She picked up a loose ball and just started playing around with it. Initially, her mom didn’t want her to play basketball and preferred she do gymnastics and cheerleading instead.

“My brother was actually the one

who convinced her to let me try it out for a year, and then the rest was history,” said Staples about the inception of her basketball career.

For her, being away from home was the toughest part of transitioning to college. The collegiate basketball schedule was a rough change because it had fewer breaks than Northeastern’s general undergraduate schedule..

“There were times where my roommate wouldn’t be here because of vacation, and I’d be here not doing classes but going to practice,” she said.

“And it was during those moments that I truly missed home the most.”

Lucky for her, many of NU’s opponents reside in the D.C., Maryland and Virginia area, allowing her family to watch her games. Her mom, whom

Staples called her role model, even came to every home game to bridge the gap of not being able to go home.

Another challenge for her was from being the captain and leader of her high school team to coming to college where she’s back at the bottom. She had to learn how to adapt to this new dynamic.

“I really had to listen to the rules and shape myself to the team’s goals and values because it is a team sport at the end of the day,” Staples said. “I had to find my place and play my role.”

Last season, the typical game day for her consists of a shootaround before the game, followed by her grabbing something to eat from Rebecca’s Cafe.

After that, she’d head back to the gym to shoot a bit more and have her pregame meal with the team. She’d then

take a power nap and get to the gym about two hours before the game to do her pre-game rituals, which include 10 minutes of ball-handling before heading to the locker room for exactly seven minutes to listen to “Rain On Us,” a gospel song by Earnest Pugh.

Her recruitment process was much different than how recruitment typically goes. At one of the last tournaments of her Amateur Athletic Union career, Northeastern presented themselves as a top choice for her.

“Northeastern just had better opportunities and the level of education it provided was unmatchable,” Staples said. “I loved the team, and I loved the coaches straight away as well.”

Photo courtesy Jim Pierce, Northeastern Athletics Sophomore guard Mossi Staples runs the ball up the court at Cabot.

Century McCartney For Century McCartney, picking up a basketball was one of the best decisions she ever made.

Her family, especially her cousin and father, sparked her passion for basketball, and their encouragement made it her number one sport.

She said that basketball taught her how to hold herself accountable.

“The coaches can only tell you to do so much,” McCartney said.“You have to be more of a leader and talking a lot more on the bench or in the game.”

For her, a typical practice day started with a 6 a.m. lift followed up with “Rebreakfast” — a breakfast from Rebecca’s — followed by class. After class, she went to practice and treatment, where her coach would play videos of the practices and games in order to suggest any improvements. Following her last

class of the day, she would go to study hall, which she was required to attend as a freshman student-athlete.

Her accountability also translated into her academics at Northeastern.

“As a freshman [student-athlete], every week you have to spend at least 10 hours in study hall,” McCartney said. “It’s a great way to make yourself accountable for everything you do on and off the court.”

Although she finished high school in Waterbury, Connecticut, McCartney grew up in the Bronx so city life is normal to her. In fact, she hopes to move to another city in 10 years: Atlanta, where she hopes to become a police officer after completing her criminology degree at Northeastern.

As a criminology major, McCartney is deeply interested in crime and its related fields. If she could theoret-

ically turn invisible, she’d want to go into a penal institution and see the reality of what it’s like to be in jail.

“I like researching cases, and serial killer documentaries are some of my favorite things to watch,” she said. “In fact, one of my favorite shows is ‘Law and Order: Special Victims Unit’ — I’ve seen every episode.”

Although she’s not too far from home, the one person she misses the most is her sister whom she FaceTimes almost every day.

“She’s my best friend for sure, and I love going home to go see her,” McCartney said about her sister.

For McCartney, the adjustment to college was difficult.

“It’s different than doing eight classes a day,” McCartney said. “My day is never over when my friends are over. We have to have mandatory study hall hours and

practices between classes, whereas in high school you’d have class then practice and then get to go home and do what needs to be done for the next day.”

However, her teammates have helped her settle into her college life.

The bond that she created with her team was instantaneous.

“Aya [Dublin] and Alexis [Hill] have really taken me under their wings because we are all post players; it’s easier to get tips and feedback from them.

Shannon [Todd] has also been a role model for me on the team.”

Growing up a city kid, being in Boston is the perfect combination of both Waterbury and the Bronx and provides a sense of balance for her. Walking around the city gives her a sense of freedom, but putting on the Northeastern jersey and playing the game she loves so much makes it her new home.

Photo courtesy Jim Pierce, Northeastern Athletics Bronx native Century McCartney goes for a layup.

SOPHOMORES, on Page 9

SPORTS

October 16, 2020

Page 9

Second-year forwards take on Northeastern SOPHOMORES, from 8

Mide Oriyomi Already recruited twice in her lifetime for basketball, psychology major Mide Oriyomi, a world traveler most recently hailing from Ontario, set her sights on Northeastern to continue her basketball career.

When Oriyomi first moved from London, England to Ontario, she picked up figure skating and track. Although she enjoyed those sports, she slowly began to realize they weren’t the sports for her. Thus began her journey to the sport she now loves: basketball.

Oriyomi’s first recruitment for basketball happened very early on

in her life. Her elementary school principal saw her best friend and her running track and said that he needed players for the U-9 basketball team, which was comprised of players ages 9 and under.

“It was hard for me to say goodbye to track, but it’ll always hold a place in my heart,” Oriyomi said.

Her next recruitment came from Northeastern and its coaching staff, although she experienced a different recruitment process than her fellow rookies of the basketball team. NU men’s basketball coach Bill Coen, who knew Oriyomi’s high school coach, spoke to Kelly Cole, NU women’s basketball head coach, about her play. Oriyomi committed

late into her senior year, later than when most Division I athletes make their decision, but now she can’t imagine having gone anywhere else. “[Northeastern is] a prestigious school,” Oriyomi said. “When I came here, I loved the girls. I wanted a balanced university experience, and I thought NU was extremely balanced and it matched my well-rounded personality.”

Being one of three abroad players from the rookie class, Oriyomi definitely misses her home and family, especially her mom, whwo is her role model.

“Growing up I would have said I have no role model, but she was my silent role model. Unknowingly, I was modeling myself after her,”

Oriyomi said. “I was actually on the phone with her, and I was telling her that with every year passing I just become more and more like her.”

Although it is hard being away from home, Oriyomi loves the life she has created here in Boston and her newfound sense of freedom. She is excited for whatever the future has in store for her as a Husky.

Oriyomi’s first season as a Husky was a strong one, earning CAA Rookie of the Week (Jan. 13) and leading the rookie class in scoring (5.2) and minutes per game (15.9).

“I obviously still have a lot of learning and growing to do, but I think I’m going to get to where I want to eventually be,” she said.

Photo courtesy Jim Pierce, Northeastern Athletics Sophomore forward Mide Oriyomi led her rookie class in scoring average (5.2 points) and minutes per game (15.9 minutes).

Sammie Martin Once she finishes traveling the world, specifically to Greece where her favorite movie “Mamma Mia” was filmed, Sammie Martin wants to return home to Sudbury, Ontario to one day become a teacher for kids with special needs. But until then, she’ll be in Boston, a city she now calls another home.

Originally starting out as a competitive dancer up until high school, Martin gave up dance to follow in the footsteps of her dad and brother who played basketball in high school.

“My dad told me to try basketball and the rest is history,” Martin said.

“Looking back on it now, I wish I never danced and had just started basketball right away, I love it.”

In basketball and in life, her role models include her parents and older brother, who has become her best friend. Although she is close to her family at heart, she has been away from them since the age of 16. Having to move for college was

nothing new for her: when she was 16, she made the decision to move by herself from Sudbury to London, Ontario to continue her education and further her basketball career.

Her parents are her biggest supporters, especially her dad, who would make the five-hour drive to see her if she ever had a bad day in high school. Although she is now further away from them and in a different country, she makes up for it by talking to her family every day and utilizing FaceTime to remain close.

Martin didn’t have the typical road to playing college ball. In fact, she did a post-graduate year of high school after breaking her ankle her senior year.

She committed that November.

“They [NU coaching staff] were always the most consistent, they kept in contact the most,” Martin said. “I got really good vibes [from] all the coaches I talked to. You could just tell that they

genuinely cared about you and made it a focus to not just connect with me but my parents and high school coach as well. They portrayed a family dynamic and I was drawn into that.”

This past season was riddled with injuries for her, mostly concussions, yet she has enjoyed every single practice and game. Even if she spent most of the time biking on the sidelines or cheering on her teammates.

Her adjustment to college has been challenging, as she has had to work on her time management skills to make sure she got everything done. Her basketball transition was challenging for her as well.

“I didn’t have a clear picture in my head of what I was expecting college basketball to be like, but it was just very different than how it was in high school. Everything you do is for a purpose,” Martin said. “Going from being a leader of the team as a captain, where your team looks up

to you as the captain, to go to a team where everyone is presented equally is different. It really is like a big-fishsmall-pond to small-fish-big-pond.”

However, Martin likes the challenge of having to work to get a starting position. She appreciates the discipline that the Northeastern coaching staff instills in its players.

“Nothing is given on this team. Every day you have to fight, work, and prove to yourself, teammates and coaches that you can get it done,” she said. “Having a coaching structure like this is a great motivator to push yourself to the next level and I can’t wait to see what I do as a Husky in the future.”

Photo courtesy Jim Pierce, Northeastern Athletics Sophomore forward Sammie Martin cheers on teammates as the Huskies hope for another win.

Hockey, basketball likely to return by late November

By Valeria Vazquez Sports Editor Husky fans can expect the hockey and basketball seasons to come back around Nov. 25, Athletic Director Jeff Konya said.

“For the hockey and basketball fans, I think I have a little silver lining here. Our intention, as well as the intention of our respective conferences, is to play the winter sports,” Konya said. “There’s nothing definitive, but I imagine that the hockey conference and hockey teams in the area will look to start hockey in and around that same timeframe as men’s basketball.”

However, those games will be played without fans in the stands.

“We’re being very vigilant to make sure that our games and our content is going to be available via broadcast and through social media channels, for all of our fans,

including our students,” Konya said.

“Hopefully with our wonderful relationship with NESN we can be able to reach our students and our

fans in the area.”

The athletic department made the decision in July to postpone the university’s fall sports to the spring.

Photo by Sarah Olender The women’s hockey team at the Women’s Hockey East Championship, where they beat University of Connecticut 9-1.

“As we tried to look at regional scheduling, those opportunities started to dry up through the course of the summer, especially when the Ivy League, the Patriot League and then America East made the decision to postpone or suspend fall play,” Konya said. “Therefore, we thought, from a practical standpoint, as well as from a health and safety standpoint, that we would make the prudent decision to also postpone fall sports to the spring when we’d have a better chance of having competition to play and we’d have time to make sure that it’d be a safer environment.”

With recreation facilities opening Sept. 11, the teams have started individual workouts as part of phase one of the athletic department’s tentative timeline for the fall semester. The goal is to have full team practices back by the end of the semester.

“We wanted to begin with individual skill instruction, which basically means that the student athletes will basically practice their sport individually, maintaining proper social distancing between their teammates and wearing a mask at all times of the activities,” Konya said. “We’ve allowed the teams to use their primary athletic facilities in Dedham, in Parsons, in Cabot and in Matthews. That’s basically where we are in this phase one.”

Athletes are expected to complete the Daily Wellness Check and check in to gain entry, in accordance with a master schedule to keep track of who is in what building and for how long.

With these policies in place and if COVID-19 cases on campus remain low, fans just may have hockey and basketball back — but they’ll just have to sing “Stacy’s Mom” from home.

OPINION

Page 10

The Huntington News EDITORIAL BOARD Editor-in-Chief

Kelly Chan

editor@huntnewsnu.com Managing Editor

Op-ed: The male-dominated world of STEM must end

Deanna Schwartz Avery Bleichfeld

managing@huntnewsnu.com Editor-at-Large

Charlie Wolfson

c.wolfson@huntnewsnu.com Campus

George Barker Jessica Silverman Lucy Gavin

news@huntnewsnu.com Opinion

Brittany Mendez Poon Singhatiraj

comments@huntnewsnu.com City

Jordan Baron Jayden Khatib

city@huntnewsnu.com Lifestyle

Sarah Olender Ingrid Angulo

lifestyle@huntnewsnu.com Sports

Valeria Vazquez Leah Cussen

sports@huntnewsnu.com Photo

Kelly Thomas Harriet Rovinak

photo@huntnewsnu.com Design

Devin Raynor Alaine Bennett

design@huntnewsnu.com Multimedia

Ashley Mandel Arden Heminway

multimedia@huntnewsnu.com Web Manager

Shannon Haley

web@huntnewsnu.com Social Media

Matt Yan Nolan Piccola

Photo courtesy Madison Boudreau Popovic One of my chemistry lectures the other day reminded me of something I had briefly forgotten about: Women in STEM have a history of not being recognized or heard.

This discussion brought me back to the days of AP Biology, where I learned about how James Watson and Francis Crick claimed all the glory for discovering the structure of DNA, while the person who did all the work remained hidden and not talked about for years.

This woman who was silenced and in the shadows of her male peers was Rosalind Franklin. It is time for the next generations of men in STEM to be more inclusive and recognize the extraordinary work and contributions

Copy Chief

Claire Wang

copy@huntnewsnu.com

BUSINESS

Business Manager

Rhyia Bibby

business@huntnewsnu.com Outreach Coordinator

Rhyia Bibby

outreach@huntnewsnu.com

COPY EDITORS

NEWS STAFF Ali Dusinberre, Ananya Sankar, Annie Probert, Christie Ya-Chi Lee, Corey Dockser, Elena Plumb, Isaac Stephens, Marisa Lijoi, Maya Homan, Mihiro Shimano, Mike Puzzanghera, Nico Malabuyo, Niyati Parikh, Petrina Danardatu, Rachel Erwin, Riley Robinson, Seamus McAvoy, Clara McCourt, Jacob Kemp, Taylor Hsu

PHOTO STAFF Samantha Barry

DESIGN STAFF Angelica Jorio, Elana Lane, Marta Hill, Samantha Barry, Sofie Kato

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Bill Mitchell, Carlene Hempel, Gal Tziperman Lotan, James Ross, Laurel Leff, Meredith O’Brien, Olivia Arnold, Rachel Zarrell Opinions expressed in The Huntington News through letters to the editor, cartoons and columns are not necessarily those of The News staff or the Board of Directors. Northeastern University students conduct all operations involved in the production of this publication.

For inquiries about the Board of Directors, email the outreach coordinator. For general inquiries, email the managing editor.

The Huntington News 360 Huntington Ave. 102 Lake Hall Boston, MA 02115

huntnewsnu.com @HuntNewsNU

of women. This male-dominated era must be reformed in STEM departments worldwide.

Women make up approximately 28 percent of the STEM workforce, and the amount of women of color in STEM is even lower. Alongside this, men significantly outnumber women when it comes to pursuing a major in STEM in universities. But why?

There are strong stereotypes that date back for many years pertaining to STEM majors and jobs. One of many stereotypes conveys that women do not possess as much natural talent as men do at STEM. However, research refutes these unproven claims, demonstrating that women are just as talented as men involved in this area of study. Additionally, the pay gap between men and women is not promising. For every dollar a man makes in a STEM career, a woman makes 86 cents. On top of these deterring factors, it is not exactly enticing when there is a history of women’s work in STEM going unnoticed.

What if a man involved in STEM did a research project, and instead of receiving proper credit and recognition for their work they were ignored? Not cared about? That is what women involved in STEM endured for years. This combined with stereotypes and the pay gap does

not paint a promising picture of a possible career or major choice for women.

Things must change. How can people inspire change in a community and major riddled with sexism? It must start at a young age. Western Governors University suggests that education professionals and those in the STEM community can promote this area of study to girls at a young age in order to combat stereotypes and sexism.

Everyone must engage in a collective effort to persuade young girls to pursue a future in STEM, beginning prior to high school. By the time girls and boys enter high school, many decide what their majors will be and the number of boys that choose to take part in STEM outnumber that of girls. By beginning

the encouragement process early, this can inspire young girls to build a better future for the STEM community, with less sexism and more recognition for women’s work in STEM. The gender gaps between men and women, unfavorable stereotypes and the hidden nature of women in STEM needs to end. Women make amazing contributions to science, and it is a shame for it to be masked by such pesky, disgraceful traditions rooted in the STEM world.

Madison Boudreau Popovic is a first-year biology and English combined major. She can be reached at popovic.m@northeastern.edu.

Cartoon by Madison Boudreau Popovic

Column: Say my name correctly

social@huntnewsnu.com

Ariana Bennett, Dayna Archer, Jenna Chin, Jill Makin, Maria Lovato, Marta Hill, Samantha Cadenasso, Sarah Brinsley, Savannah Miller, Hannah Rosman, Alexis Santoro, Vishrut Sundararajan

October 16, 2020

Photo by Harriet Rovniak Have you ever been asked how to pronounce your name or to come up with a nickname?

Well, that’s exactly what happened to Phuc Bui Diem Nguyen when her professor asked her to Anglicize her name, but why do people have to change their names at all?

Several years ago, I was sitting in class and the teacher was calling out students’ names. For every other student before me, I heard their first and last name being called out and yet when it got to me, I only heard Taylor H. I realize my first name is a traditionally Anglicized name, but my last name isn’t. This was the first of many times that I have been told, “I’m sorry, I don’t know how to pronounce your last name, so I’m not going to say it” or “You’re going to have to keep reminding me how to pronounce your name.”

To me, my last name is a tie to my heritage and culture, and I’m proud to have the last name I do. It isn’t my job to remind you how to pronounce it, nor is it the job of anyone else with a non-Anglicized name.

Growing up with an Anglicized name can make it much easier to achieve success. One study in 2011 found that having an easier name to pronounce made it easier for the name holder to leave a positive impression. Name-shaming isn’t new and even occurs publicly, such as at the 2017 Oscars.

Mahershala Ali rightfully won Best Supporting Actor for “Moonlight” and thanked his wife for being strong and giving birth four days prior to his win. At this moment, host Jimmy Kimmel made a joke targeting Mahershala’s name, saying he couldn’t possibly give his child a name like Amy, seeing as his own name was Mahershala. Jokes like this are harmful because they imply that non-Anglicized names are “unusual,” effectively alienating those who have culturally significant names.

As a result, many have decided not to just Anglicize their own name, but choose an easy-to-pronounce or typically American name for their children as well. However, there are many who have not taken that path when naming their children. Many parents give their child a non-Anglicized name in the hopes

Check out our new podcasts this semester!

that it will give them a greater connection to their culture and identity, and for many it does.

Names that aren’t Anglicized are not unnatural nor exotic. Every name has meaning, and there is no need to change your name to try and fit in.

When you meet someone who has a non-Anglicized name, ask for a pronunciation and use the name they give you. Don’t use a nickname unless they express that they have no issue with it, and don’t assume that a person of color who has an Anglicized name also has another name. As someone who was given an Angli-

cized name to make it easier for me to adapt, I don’t like being asked for my real name because my name is simply that — my name.

To someone, their name may be the greatest connection they have not just to their own identity, but to their culture and heritage. Don’t ask someone to change their name, and don’t take the easy way out. Say their name.

Taylor Hsu is a third-year business administration and psychology combined major with a minor in behavioral neuroscience. She can be reached at hsu.ta@northeastern.edu.

“Singapore Air Show 2008 - Country Flags” by shayanlinux is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 There have been reports of students being asked to Anglicize their given names.

OPINION

October 16, 2020

Page 11

Column: Columbus Day was always racist and must be replaced

Photo courtesy Brittany Mendez Content warning: brief mention of rape In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue. He had three ships, colonized the Americas and murdered millions of Indigenous people, too. You’ve probably never

heard that version of the nursery rhyme in school.

As of 2019, at least five states and several cities now recognize Columbus Day as Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Only this year did Northeastern officially announce that the university will acknowledge the holiday as such. It is time for the rest of the United States to follow in these footsteps.

Studies show that European colonizers like Columbus brought violence and diseases that killed 90 percent of the Indigenous population in the Americas. His crew documented Columbus capturing a woman and giving her to them to rape. Columbus enslaved Indigenous people, trafficked young girls and initiated the Atlantic slave trade. These are only a few of the horrifying acts committed by Columbus, yet the United States still honors him hundreds of years later.

U.S. education tends to sympathize with European colonizers like Columbus by downplaying their actions, which misleads students about the horrors of the country’s past. Although students are taught that Columbus “discovered” the Americas, Columbus did not discover anything. Rather, he stumbled upon land already inhabited

by Indigenous people and subjected them to murder and servitude.

We must learn from history to avoid making the same mistakes as Columbus, but that does not mean we should glorify him. Renaming Columbus Day is not enough; we must honor Indigenous people by replacing it entirely. Indigenous Peoples’ Day should be completely severed from Columbus’ name and what he stands for.

Similarly, this logic applies to honoring the Confederate flag, which symbolizes Confederates’

support for slavery. Today, there are still more than 1,500 Confederate symbols in this country, so if you are not racist, why support the flag?

Both of these historical examples show that if the United States wants to truly condemn its racist past, it must stop glorifying racists.

Tearing down every Confederate symbol and renaming every city that honors someone racist is not practical — so what should we do?

The answer is in plain sight: we must improve history curricula.

Educators must stop teaching whitewashed history and downplaying atrocities committed by people like Columbus. Rebranding and replacing Columbus Day requires us as a country to learn about the awful things Columbus did and honor the Indigenous people he stole so much from.

We should not ignore Colum-

bus’ actions, but recognizing them does not require us to honor him.

Columbus Day glorifies a man who initiated millions of murders, raped women and began chattel slavery. Instead of honoring Columbus, we should learn about Indigenous cultures, the lasting effects of the Removal Act of 1830, listen to the concerns of Indigenous activists and more. As a country, America can recognize the legacy of Columbus in a way that uplifts Indigenous people. Each year, more institutions recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day, but true action would be for the federal government to acknowledge it as a national holiday.

Brittany Mendez is a fourth-year politics, philosophy and economics major. She is the opinion editor and can be reached at comments@ huntnewsnu.com.

Column: Northeastern, vote yes on ranked choice voting

Photo by Kelly Thomas From 29 candidates in the Democratic presidential primary to nine primary candidates in our very own Massachusetts 4th Congressional district race, 2020 has been a year of bloated races and overwhelming election cycles. With another presidential election coming up between arguably two less-than-ideal candidates, it’s understandable that so many feel disillusioned with the two-party system.

Luckily, for those of us in Massachusetts, we have more than just Joe Biden and Donald Trump on the ballot this November. We get to cast our voices in a proposed upgrade to our elections themselves: ranked choice voting, or RCV. What is ranked choice voting?

Well, the name pretty much says it all. You get to rank your choices on your ballot, instead of having to choose just one.

The concept is relatively simple.

But you may be wondering: What’s the matter with the current voting system? There are a number of problems with simple-majority elections — most notably, its failure to capture the nuance of voters’ preferences.

That’s where RCV comes in.

First, far too many times we’ve seen someone in a big field of can-

didates, particularly in a primary, win with only 30, 20 or even 10 percent of the vote, simply because the remaining votes are split among different candidates.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren gives an excellent example of this in a Boston Globe opinion piece she penned in support of RCV. She gives an example of a race where a town “[prefers] to elect identified environmentalists to their town council, and a dozen environmentalists might show up to vie for that spot — but as the green dozen divides up the majority of votes, a single pro-fossil-fuel candidate who stirs up anti-environmental sentiment could win with only a small fraction of total votes cast.” In our current simple-majority system, some candidates win elections despite being the last choice of most voters. For this example, with RCV, the majority sentiment in support of an environmentalist candidate would likely prevail.

Second, studies about ranked choice voting have found that it leads to less negative campaigning and more positive election cycles overall, something we could sorely use right now. Instead of creating toxic environments to pull as many voters as possible, candidates can focus on positive coalition politics, appealing to the second and third choices of their opponent’s supporters rather than exacerbating divisive issues. Playing electoral math and battling it out for the last vote would be out of the question, and candidates would have to run on the issues that matter to and benefit the most number of people.

Finally, under ranked choice voting, we can kiss the “spoiler effect” goodbye. RCV allows us to vote for whom we really want, without settling for the lesser of two evils.

Instead of picking between principles and pragmatism in a “lose-lose” scenario, we rank them both above

our last choice, in the order we choose. RCV also allows for more diverse candidates and gives smaller parties the opportunity to participate in our democracy without fear of “splitting the vote” or being shamed as “spoilers.” We get to vote for whom we want to win, instead of just voting against whom we don’t.

Ranked choice voting will be Question 2 on the back of your November ballot. If it passes, we can have more productive campaigns, more diverse candidates, more democratic elections and more representative elected officials.

If that sounds as good to you as it does to me, I urge you to vote yes

on ranked choice voting in Massachusetts this election. Maybe we can finally elect a candidate that the majority of us truly support.

Jacob Kemp is a second-year political science major. He can be reached at kemp.j@northeastern.edu.

“absentee ballot” by Muffet is licensed under CC BY 2.0 Question 2, or ranked choice voting, will be on the November Mass. ballot.

Page 12

ADVERTISEMENT

October 16, 2020

2 MONTHS FREE

On 1 Bedroom Apartments & Studios

1 MONTH FREE

On 2 Bedroom Apartments Free rent offered on direct rentals only.

Financial guarantors required for all students.

Five Great Reasons Northeastern Students Choose Church Park 1. 5 minute walk to Northeastern 2. Largest roof deck in the city for lounging and grilling 3. Huge apartments ideal for roommates 4. Penthouse Lounge and Study and Fitness Center 5. Retail Galleria with shops, CafĂŠ Nero, Energize, and Whole Foods

Make an appointment today! 617.437.7328

221 Massachusetts Avenue - Boston, MA 02115 617.437.7328

n

info@churchpark.com

n

A Boyd/Smith Inc. Property

churchpark.com