December 6, 2024

December 6, 2024

The last time President-elect Donald Trump was in the Oval Office, most undergraduate students at Northeastern were in middle school.

Though some remember the rhetoric — mostly anti-immigrant, sexist and inflammatory LGBTQ+ sentiments — that marked his first stint in the White House, students and experts say his second presidency is likely to do more damage to marginalized communities.

While Massachusetts state legislators have vowed to do everything in their power to stave off Trump’s possible damaging policies, students are concerned his speech will embolden extremists and his administration’s agenda will negatively impact their lives over the next four years.

“I’m worried about how many of my family members and community would be directly impacted by Trump’s immigration rhetoric,” said Kevin Mai, a fourth-year bioengineering major whose parents are immigrants from Vietnam. “I know that currently a lot of the focus on immigration is

By Emily Spatz and Kyle Kucera | Campus Editor and News Correspondent

on immigrants coming from Latin and South America … [but] when one domino falls, the rest fall too. How long will it take before the focus shifts to immigrants from other regions?”

On Nov. 22, Northeastern sent an email to community members who hold reentry visas warning international students, visiting scholars, faculty, researchers and staff to be “proactive with international travel plans during the upcoming months” in light of the “results of the U.S. presidential and congressional elections.”

The email, obtained by The News, recommended those on visas return to the United States by Jan. 6, 2025 before “possible restrictions take effect.”

The concern for international students and scholars — of which Northeastern has the second-most of any university in the country — isn’t unfounded. Molly O’Shea, a senior associate at immigration law firm Clark Lau LLC, said the last Trump administration attempted to curtail several policies beneficial to international students and compli-

cated the process for entering the U.S.

The firm is expecting the next four years to be even more tumultuous.

“With Trump, with his first administration, they were a bit disorganized

Krentzman ‘Rooted’ exhibit faces student calls for removal

in their approach,” O’Shea said. “This time around, the theory I’ve heard often is Trump and his team have been planning for four years now. They have a bit more of a strategy in place.”

Students brace for Trump presidency SGA gives $4 million to student clubs

By Paloma Welch & Sarah Sajjad News Staff & News Correspondent

On Oct. 28, the Student Government Association overwhelmingly voted to remove Cicely Carew’s “Rooted” art piece from Krentzman Quad after more than 1,890 students signed a petition arguing for its removal.

The art piece, often compared to the Truffula Trees from Dr. Seuss’ “The Lorax,” was installed in April as part of President Joseph E. Aoun’s Public Art Initiative, which began in

2014 with a goal of utilizing creative expression to build stronger global communities.

The legislation calls on the university to remove “Rooted” from Krentzman Quad and work with students regarding future installations of public art projects. The measure passed with 52 senate members in favor and 12 abstaining.

“Our mandate is to represent the student body and advocate those concerns to administration,” said third-year international business major Julian Herzing-Burkard, vice

president of campus affairs for the Student Government Association, or SGA. “We can do what we can do given our mandate, and we believe we have fulfilled that, too.”

Chair of the Campus Planning Advisory Board for SGA’s campus affairs division and fourth-year politics, philosophy, and economics major Zi Glucksman said SGA has spoken to Northeastern’s administration on the issue but is not certain on the university’s standpoint or plan for the display going forward.

The “Rooted” art installation on Krentzman Quad. The piece was installed in April and has since received many negative comments from students, with more than 1,890 students signing a petition arguing for its removal.

CAMPUS

NU affiliates’ political contributions

Read about how much money faculty and trustees donated in the run up to the 2024 election.

Liu

PROJECTS

From the Archives

Read documents from Northeastern’s Archives and see how former university presidents molded the university. PAGES 6-7

During his first term, Trump’s administration proposed restricting a program called Optional Practical Training, or OPT.

By Eli Curwin News Staff

In spring 2024, nearly 95% of participating Northeastern undergraduate students voted to increase the transparency of the Student Government Association’s budget allocation process for student organizations.

On Nov. 8, the Student Government Association, or SGA, which oversees how much money clubs receive from the university, published student organization funding reports for the first time in over a decade — a pivotal moment in a years-long push for increased transparency into the budget process. The reports, which SGA leaders say are part of a multipronged approach to make the funding allocation process more accessible, provide a generalized overview of how SGA allocated annual budgets during fiscal years, or FY, 2024 and 2025.

The FY 2025 report, which encompasses July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025, shows SGA received 222 annual budget requests from undergraduate student organizations totaling $6.8 million. The association approved roughly

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Check your answers from the last issue’s crossword.

$4.026 million of the requested funds to 204 organizations, with an average allocation of $19,733 and a median of $5,855, according to the document. The report also says that organizations received, on average, 7.36% more than in the previous fiscal year, and all requests that satisfied the university and SGA’s established budget criteria “received at least partial funding.”

SGA’s Executive Director of Club Finance Alexander Leblang clarified that the 18 requests that did not receive SGA funding did not meet university criteria. According to the Student Activity Fee Manual — the document outlining student organization budget regulations — groups must be in good standing with the university and meet all registration and documentation requirements to receive funding.

The recently published report provides a breakdown of the types of student organizations that were granted budgets and how much funding they received. Organizations categorized under “Signature Events & Programming” received $1.51 million, “Performing Arts MONEY, on Page 3

Photo courtesy NU Library, Archives and Special Collections

Graphic by Emma Liu

Graphic by Emma

Trump photo courtesy Gage Skidmore, flickr. White House photo courtesy Ad Meskens, Wikimedia Commons.

Graphic by Jessica Xing

Photo by Jessica Xing

POTUS, on Page 2

TREES, on Page 2

45 days before inauguration, NU expresses fears for next four years

POTUS, from front

In 2023, more than 160,000 students in the U.S. participated in OPT, which allows eligible students to work in the U.S. in their field of study for one year after graduation. Trump’s administration attempted to eliminate a similar program, called STEM OPT, which allows students in science-related fields to stay for an additional two years.

Though neither of the rules went through during his last term, O’Shea said she expects the president-elect will likely try again.

“We do think it’s possible that this is something that’s going to come to the surface again during Trump 2.0, that there could be challenges to the program and who is eligible to take part in the program,” she said, adding that many students chose to go on OPT after completing their time in college on an F-1 visa.

OPT is also a crucial step for those hoping to obtain permanent residency in the U.S. After completing the program, students usually apply for an H-1B visa, which allows for temporary employment in the U.S. H-1B visas, which are usually a step toward getting a Green Card, are chosen through a lottery system with a 20 to 25% selection rate each year — OPT and STEM OPT offer students critical extensions to apply for temporary work authorization multiple times.

“The good thing about OPT and particularly STEM OPT is that [students] have those three years of fairly stable work authorization, which gives most folks at least two to three tries at that H-1B lottery,” O’Shea said. “If STEM OPT is eliminated and they really only have one shot, then there’s a lot more pressure.”

Students’ concerns extend beyond their own ability to study or work in the U.S. Mai, who is a U.S. citizen, said their worry lies more with how the people around them will be impacted.

“Even though I’m privileged enough to essentially not worry about it, there are people in my community who do worry about this, and we’ll all suffer together,” Mai said.

Rashida Jalloh, a fourth-year communication and media studies combined major and co-president of the Northeastern Black Students Association whose parents immigrated from Sierra Leone, said she remembers delays in her family members

getting visas to visit the U.S. during Trump’s first term.

“At the time, my grandmother was trying to come to the states, and there was a longer process of getting a visa or Green Card for her,” Jalloh said. “My parents were always complaining about having their family come to America, and they really couldn’t.”

Besides fear about tangible immigration policies Trump’s administration may implement, students also said they’re concerned about the anti-immigrant and racist rhetoric Trump voiced in his first term and throughout his 2024 campaign.

“I remember the racist nuances that would be spewed from Trump and his supporters,” Jalloh said. “I remember the ‘Africa is a sh*thole’ comment.”

Sofía Zamora Morales, a thirdyear politics, philosophy, and economics major who immigrated with her family to the U.S. from Chile in 2018, said she’s worried Trump is echoing sentiments that led to the Chinese Exclusion Acts, which effectively barred Chinese people from immigrating to the U.S. and becoming citizens, throughout the late 19th and mid-20th centuries.

“He’s bringing back very important patterns in history … of exclusion,” Morales said. “He’s bringing back that same exact rhetoric — it’s terrifying.”

O’Shea said while it’s possible Trump will attempt to implement identity-specific immigration restrictions — like his 2017 executive order that barred people from six Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. — the more serious concern for students is increased security screenings before entering the U.S., causing delays and complications during travel.

“It’s just disappointing given how America traditionally embraces immigrants, that it seems now more of the public has this negative perception of a lot of immigrants,” said Giannis Kastanos, a fourth-year biochemistry major and immigrant from Greece. “It feels like Trump has been really careful to say that he’s only talking about illegal immigrants, but it definitely feels the rhetoric that he is using and the people that he has surrounding him are extending that to anyone that’s not American-born.”

Between 2017 and 2019, white nationalist hate groups increased by 55% in the U.S., a phenomenon

the Southern Poverty Law Center reported could be attributed to Trump’s first campaign “energiz[ing] white nationalists.” In the same year, anti-LGBTQ+ hate groups increased by 43%; students who are part of both communities said, more than anything, they’re worried about a rise in hate crimes and discrimination.

Dakota Castro-Jarrett, a fourthyear journalism major who is Black and a part of the LGBTQ+ community, said Trump’s recent campaign has produced “a lot of animosity.”

“I’ve definitely experienced more explicit homophobia than I ever really have throughout my entire life,” he said, adding that he’s faced discrimination in his home city of Pittsburgh for dressing femininely.

Castro-Jarrett said he’s also concerned Obergefell v. Hodges, the landmark 2015 Supreme Court case that legalized gay marriage, could be overturned after Trump appointed three conservative-leaning justices his last term. He isn’t alone.

“[Trump’s] work with the Supreme Court is just insane — the way he’s trying to appoint someone else to it to threaten same-sex marriage and further push abortion bans,” said Morales, who is queer. “It could impact every single part of my life in scary, scary ways.”

The president-elect’s stance on abortion was also a controversial part of his 2016 and 2024 platforms. In

2016, Trump advocated for an abortion ban, and the Supreme Court justices he appointed eventually overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. In the run-up to the recent election, Trump flip-flopped on the abortion question, ultimately saying he would veto a 15-week national abortion ban, which several of his cabinet picks support.

“Roe v. Wade was the law of the land, but Trump put in the groundwork to unravel that,” MaryRose Mazzola, chief external affairs officer at Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, said in an interview with The News. “What we saw in his most recent campaign is Trump and his associates running away from that record and saying they wouldn’t pass a national abortion ban, but we really have to look at and trust his record on this issue. He’s bragged about overturning Roe v. Wade. We’re had folks in his orbit including his incoming [vice president] saying they want to investigate Planned Parenthood.”

Mazzola said as long as there isn’t a national abortion ban, access to the procedure or pill is likely to remain available in Massachusetts.

As students brace for whatever Trump’s impact may be, both Mazzola and O’Shea said Northeastern can play a critical role in protecting students from possibly harmful policies.

“It’s not required by law, but private universities can make sure

they’re providing reproductive care directly or they have good relationships with area health centers they’re referring students to,” Mazzola said. Northeastern’s health center says it offers consultations and referrals for abortion services.

O’Shea said immigration restrictions are likely to see pushback and legal challenges from universities and companies that rely on visas for students and employees. Most importantly, O’Shea said students shouldn’t panic and should try to educate themselves about their options.

“There’s a lot of noise out there about immigration, particularly in the media, particularly from President Trump,” she said. “But as a country with checks and balances, the president doesn’t have unilateral authority over the entirety of our immigration system.”

While the future remains uncertain for many students, most said they’re not giving up on their beliefs and advocacy — instead, they’re throwing themselves into helping their communities.

“[I’m] anchoring in community,” Morales said. “I work on queer issues on campus, queer organizations that provide a good safe space and preserve history and share ideas. I’ve also reached out to organizations that are working on immigration issues and trying to keep my options open to try and see what I can do at a community

Source: U.S. Department of State • Visa services were disrupted when the COVID-19 pandemic started in March 2020, according to the U.S. Department of State.

SGA votes to remove art on campus quad

TREES, from front

Though SGA can pass resolutions recommending the university take action, it’s ultimately up to Northeastern’s leaders to implement changes. Northeastern media relations did not respond to The News’ request for comment about what it plans to do with the installation.

The art installation consists of five 15-foot-tall structures made of steel, aluminum mesh and translucent plexiglass meant to resemble flowers. Carew told the university-run media outlet Northeastern Global News that the goal of the art piece was to “inspire wonder and allow for enchantment.”

“Her messaging for the art is actually really beautiful, and if you look at her website, the art that she creates is fabulous,” Glucksman said. But he added that the “location does not really match up exactly with the intentions of the art: bringing color to a utilized but overlooked location.”

The SGA resolution said the main reasons for removing the installation included the historical value of Krentzman Quad, its importance for graduation photos and the discoloration of the exhibit despite artist’s claims that it would withstand the elements.

“The art installation is idiosyncratic and incongruous with the iconic char-

acter of Northeastern’s historic modernist white brick architecture,” the document reads. The resolution also says students should be consulted on public art projects moving forward.

“I think that the loofah trees are ugly and an eyesore. With any art, there is an inspiration behind them. Northeastern has done an atrocious job at publicizing why they are there,” said second-year psychology major Quinn Shoffner. “I don’t think they’re a good addition to the campus, and I absolutely support taking them down. They don’t add anything positive to the campus and are ugly.”

While some students dislike “Rooted,” others said they support

Northeastern’s public art initiative, including the Krentzman installation.

“I appreciate that the trees add a pop of color on campus; however, I think the university should have consulted the student body before installing the art,” said first-year political science and international affairs combined major Madaline Turula.

Universities across the nation have implemented similar public art initiatives, including Carnegie Mellon University. Carnegie Mellon’s initiative aims to promote artistic expression among people “from all walks of campus life” and allows the student body to help select the art on campus.

The Carnegie Undergraduate Student Senate and the Graduate Student Assembly voted to install an art submission by first-year School of Art student Bella Alt entitled “Four Birds” in August. Her work was chosen from 32 submissions by 25 students or teams of students, which underwent a process of reviews by students and faculty.

“I think a really important part of the legislation is the fact that it requires administration to engage with students on future decision-making regarding public art on campus,” Glucksman said. “It states that the administration needs to engage with the Northeastern community and specifically students.”

Graphic by Emily Spatz

FEC data show disparity in NU employee, Board of Trustees political donations

News Staff, Data Editor & Deputy Campus Editor

Since the start of 2023, Northeastern staff and faculty have donated a total of $1.6 million toward various political action committees and candidates, 99% of which went to Democratic campaigns. In the same timeframe, five members of Northeastern’s Board of Trustees collectively donated more than $1.17 million to political groups and candidates — 99% of which went to Republican candidates and political action committees, or PACs, an analysis by The News found.

The News used publicly available data provided by the Federal Election Commission, or FEC, to analyze where Northeastern employees and trustees’ political donations went in the leadup to the 2024 election, from Jan. 1, 2023, to Oct. 16, 2024. According to Massachusetts state law, every person whose contribution or contributions in aggregate equals or exceeds the sum of $200 within any calendar year must include their occupation and the name of their employer.

Despite Northeastern employees giving the majority of donations to

Democratic candidates and groups, members of the Board of Trustees heavily preferred Republican campaigns and causes.

Northeastern staff and faculty made a total of 7,518 individual transactions to candidates and PACs in the 21-and-a-half-month span, according to The News’ analysis.

Of that sum, $1,588,962 went toward Democratic candidates and PACs. The most popular recipients of Northeastern employees’ donations were Harris for President, the ActBlue PAC and the Harris Victory Fund, bringing in a combined total of more than $1 million for the three Democratic organizations.

Northeastern’s policy on partisan political campaign activity states that university employees can participate and donate to political campaigns as long as it is not on university time, using university resources or done in the name of the university.

Only $6,682 went to Republican candidates and organizations, and $8,471 went to independent or bipartisan organizations including campaigns for Jill Stein, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and The Lincoln Project, an anti-Donald Trump Republican PAC.

While Northeastern faculty and staff leaned Democratic in their

contributions, five members of Northeastern’s 33-member Board of Trustees donated a combined $1,176,000 to Republican candidates and right-leaning organizations in the last two years.

Northeastern’s Board of Trustees serves as the university’s governing body, appointing the president of Northeastern and approving Northeastern’s “mission, budget, policies, and significant changes to academic programs,” according to the university’s website. Additionally, the board “oversees the university’s finances and assets.”

Around $864,200 was donated by James J. Pallotta, a billionaire who graduated from Northeastern with a master’s degree in business administration in 1981 and is the chairman and managing director of Raptor Capital Management LP. Pallotta, who has served as a trustee since 2016, donated to Republican candidates Nikki Haley and Trump, as well as the Republican National Committee.

Pallotta’s contributions significantly increased the percentage of trustees’ donations that went to Republican organizations.

Amin J. Khoury, cofounder of B/E Aerospace and namesake of the

Khoury College of Computer Sciences who graduated from Northeastern with a master’s of business administration in 1989, donated around $203,008 to organizations including the Trump 47 Committee, Donald J. Trump for President 2024 Inc. and the Republican National Committee. Khoury has served on the board since July 2018.

Alan S. McKim, vice chair of the board, CEO and chair of Clean Harbors Environmental Services Inc. and namesake of the D’Amore-McKim School of Business, donated around $109,723 to Republican presidential candidates and the Massachusetts Re-

publican Party. McKim was appointed to the board in 2010.

Both Frances N. Janis, who graduated from Northeastern with a masters degree in business administration in 1982 and is a senior partner at Pomona Capital, and Winslow L. Sargeant, managing director of S&T LLC, donated around $500 each to Democratic campaigns including the Harris Victory Fund and ActBlue.

The News was unable to confirm nor find contribution records for 28 members of the board through the FEC database, 10 of whom work outside of the United States, according to Northeastern’s website.

Student government discloses funding allocations for first time in years

& Media” organizations received roughly $886,000 and “International & Cultural” organizations received about $522,000.

In FY 2024, 171 on-campus student organizations requested annual budgets totaling $6.1 million. SGA, with access to $4.145 million, allocated $3.966 million through the annual budget process. The report, published alongside the FY 2025 document, similarly says that all organizations that met the university and SGA’s criteria received at least part of what they originally requested.

Leblang, a fourth-year business administration major, said that after publishing FY 2024 and FY 2025, SGA does not plan on publishing past reports on student organization funding.

The figures for FY 2024 and 2025 only pertain to annual budgets, which are granted at the beginning of the fiscal year to fully recognized organizations with recurring finances and completed previous spending reports.

The FY 2025 report says that SGA’s Finance Board had access to a total of $4.515 million to allocate to student organizations through either annual budgets or supplemental budgets. Supplemental budgets, the other type of funding SGA grants to student organizations, can be requested up to four times throughout the year for a maximum of $1,500 by clubs for specific purposes such as events, equipment or registration fees.

Leblang said the Finance Board plans on publishing the FY 2024 supplemental budget report in the next few months and the FY 2025 report after the fiscal year ends.

The $4.5 million total is funded by Northeastern’s student activity fee, or SAF, which is currently $174 per full semester for the 2024-25 academic year. The reports say the fee was created in 1983 by a student government referendum “with the intent to create an activity fee that would be allocated by students for students.”

Student Body President Matt Coughlin told The News that SGA worked closely with Northeastern’s Student Activities Business Office, or SABO — the university department that oversees the SAF, per its manual — to craft and publish the report.

“These reports are reviewed by our two separate entities together before release,” Coughlin, a fourth-year mechanical engineering major, said.

Coughlin also told The News that SABO prohibited SGA from disclosing budget allocation information for specific student organizations due to university policy.

“We asked SABO that exact question,” Coughlin said of SGA’s ability to disclose information for specific student organizations. “We did ask because we would like to share more, and we were told that it would be a violation of university policy.”

In a follow-up email, Leblang shared a text excerpt of the university policy.

“Student group budget information is private and access to this information is limited to the individual members of the organization and staff members,” the excerpt stated. “Although students are not permitted to have access to the University Financial System, Finance Board members are authorized to allocate funding to student

groups as part of their role. They are not authorized to publicly share personal budget information of individual organizations.”

The Northeastern media relations team did not respond to a request for comment on the policy.

Coughlin also said SGA is not permitted to publicly disclose when certain organizations mismanage funds or fail to abide by regulations regarding student organization finances. The Finance Board is permitted to conduct audits of student organizations, and Leblang said the board often learns of discrepancies through SGA’s anonymous reporting form. He said most reports are equipment-based, where organizations no longer use equipment they once maintained.

“[In] most cases, the [organization] is completely fine,” he said.

Student organizations that request funding from SGA are subject to review by SGA’s Finance Board and, after the funds are spent, must provide a spending report to the board, per the SAF Manual. The Center for Student Involvement, SABO and SGA’s Division of Student Involvement are all also tasked with monitoring student organization expenditures, according to the manual.

While there were limitations on how much information SGA was permitted to publish, Coughlin, Leblang and Vice President for External Affairs Olivia Oestreicher said the reports, along with a handful of other initiatives, mark a significant step toward increased transparency.

“Transparency in the club funding process has been a priority, and

something that we in SGA have been working at for a while now,” Coughlin said. “That [referendum] was written by several members of the SGA leadership team to really emphasize a sentiment that we as SGA felt and that was seen among the student body.”

The 2024 funding transparency referendum criticized the Finance Board’s “inconsistency with providing transparency into its operations and budget allocation decisions” over the past 20 years. According to the referendum, budget allocation information was publicly available prior to September 2010, but it’s not clear when SGA last made club funding information public.

The document references a 2004 article by The News containing details of the Finance Board’s budget allocation decisions and several 2010 pieces on then-SGA leadership’s decision to make budget information unavailable to the public.

“In his infinite wisdom, Student Body President Ryan Fox has decided to close Finance Board meetings to the public,” one letter to the editor said. “This means that unless you’re a member of the exclusive Student Government Association (SGA) Cash Club, you’ll have no say in how your Student Activity Fee (SAF) is spent.”

The initiative cites SGA meeting minutes, governing documents and procedures at other universities as evidence of a lack of transparency in Northeastern’s student government and justification for the annual reports. The document also points to several previous editorials by The News and reports of closed-off

finance board meetings and unkept promises of budget allocation reports.

With the overwhelming vote in favor of the ballot initiative last spring, the requirement to publish budget reports was added to the SAF Manual Oct. 28 after a presentation to the SGA Senate earlier in the month, Leblang said.

“We want to make sure that [these changes] stick, per the referendum,” Leblang said. “They are now codified in the SAF Manual — written down that we will release the report.”

In addition to the reports, Coughlin, Leblang and Oestreicher, a fourth-year political science and communication studies combined major, pointed to several other efforts to enhance transparency in the budget process including a monthly newsletter, consolidation of the SGA and Finance Board websites and the offering of office hours where student organizations can discuss the budget process, expenditure restrictions or ask board members questions.

Leblang said the Finance Board has held over 200 meetings with student organizations, of which 34 were “office hour” meetings, an initiative the Finance Board officially launched in October.

The multifaceted approach, Oestreicher said, is part of a broader shift in the way SGA is attempting to communicate with students.

“I think our philosophy has changed from ‘You come to us if you have concerns,’ to ‘We come to you,’” Oestreicher said. “We want to take that proactive approach and make sure we are reliably hitting every single student on a consistent, monthly basis.”

By Frances Klemm, Olivia Mintz & Lily Webber

MONEY, from front

Familiarity, fresh dialogue found within MFA’s O’Keeffe and Moore exhibit

By Eleanor Hardy News Correspondent

Visitors can experience the extraordinary parallel worlds of two distinct artists through the “Georgia O’Keeffe and Henry Moore” exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts, or MFA. The timed-entry ticket exhibit will be open in Boston until Jan. 20, 2025 and marks the final stop of its fourcity tour across North America.

Organized by The San Diego Museum of Art in collaboration with the MFA, the exhibit features more than 60 works by renowned

American painter O’Keeffe and 90 pieces by English sculptor Henry Moore. It draws on the MFA’s current collection of contemporary pieces, complemented by the contributions of the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum and the Moore Foundation.

O’Keeffe and Moore, both pioneers in modernism, uniquely explored the abstraction of the natural world and human relations to organic objects in nature. The exhibit features O’Keeffe’s paintings and depictions of New Mexico landscapes and Moore’s sculptural depictions of dynamic human asymmetry. When

these works are placed together and paired with those of other modernist contemporaries, such as Edward Weston’s “Shell and Olla,” natural forms impart shared fascinations with the organic world.

“They’ve done a very special job,” said visitor Marilyn Burke. “I wasn’t too familiar with Moore’s work, but seeing them together is really quite something.”

The exhibit’s intentional layout thoughtfully pairs these works, allowing for a conversation between the artists’ biographical influences and visual styles across connected rooms. The walls blend earthy white, red and blue hues, conjuring images of the American Southwestern sky and soft-fired terracotta clay.

Goldie Zaldivar, a visitor from Los Angeles, found that the rooms and Moore’s prominent sculptures evoked a familiar beloved desert landscape.

“I stayed in the first room for so long, doing circles,” Zaldivar said. “Some of the pieces are rhythmic under the light, and when they’re placed together, you can see the artists mimic each other.”

Zaldivar described the overhead lights against Moore’s “Reclining Figure: Bone” as “smooth and grainy.” The sculpture has a texture similar to coarse desert sands, ap-

pearing both gritty and dusty.

O’Keeffe’s works often drew upon observations of her natural surroundings on her New Mexico ranch. Her reverence for this land is explored both in her works and in the replica of her studio at Ghost Ranch, located in the third room of the exhibit.

The room assembles pigments O’Keeffe mixed herself with organic materials found on the site. Among works displayed here, she transforms traditional still lifes to unearth undiscovered abstractions, like “Abstraction White Rose,” where spirals of light emerge from layered textures.

For visitor Susannah Birch, O’Keeffe’s art captured “the peace and tranquility of that part of the country.”

“The stillness in her art, I feel it within myself,” Birch said. “Her work has always been so calming to me.”

Other rooms also transport visitors directly into the artist’s workspaces, including a recreation of Moore’s Maquette Studio at Perry Green in England. The “Library of Natural Forms,” as the film describes the studio, nestles animal bones and shells next to original tools and plaster, pitted against a softly illuminated video of Moore explaining his deliberative working processes. The studio contextualizes his detail-oriented fascination

with the objects he sculpted.

Contrasting O’Keeffe’s visualization of balance within the room through paintings, Moore highlights tension, grounding his physical forms, like “Working Model for a Mirror Knife Edge.” This contrasts with other exhibits where Moore’s work has been suspended in the air, or isolated within rooms.

During his early work for the British government as a war artist during World War II, Moore developed a fascination with asymmetries present in humanity and developed a portfolio of more than 9,000 drawings, which is displayed next to the studio replica. For Moore and O’Keeffe, the human form undertook a mix of realistic and abstract interpretations.

To Birch, juxtaposing O’Keeffe’s “use of contrast and colors” makes her works and artistic intention “feel flat, an interesting contrast to [Moore’s] very angular 3D sculpture.” The dim light washes over the textures of his material works like the stalactite sculpture “Mother and Child” and becomes illuminated by the negative space, representing Moore’s simplification of landscape in his constructions.

Visitors can immerse themselves and explore new dimensions of this exhibit for timed-entry ticket prices.

Review: mxmtoon’s ‘liminal space’ is heavy, yet remains hopeful

By Antaine Anhalt News Correspondent

Mxmtoon’s newest and third studio album, “liminal space,” released Nov. 1, carries the artist’s dynamic essence more than ever. Since the 2022 release of “rising,” her second studio album, mxmtoon has released several singles, EPs and even a revisited version of her 2018 debut EP “plum blossom.” Mxmtoon’s music gained internet virality beginning in 2017 and rapidly picked up with the release of her 2019 debut studio album “the masquerade,” her unique style speaking to millions.

While “liminal space” is less upbeat than “rising” and much gentler in tone — albeit heavier lyrically — it carries the same underlying hope that is mxmtoon’s signature. Across mxmtoon’s discography, listeners are able to hear how she’s grown through the years on a journey of self-love and acceptance, creating music that is not only encouraging to her, but to her fans as well. Raw emotion shines through on “liminal space” stronger than ever and it feels even more personal than the albums that came before.

“Liminal space” acknowledges the challenges mxmtoon faced in recent years. She expresses her frustrations about stereotypes pressed upon her as a woman and the struggles of growing up, missing her childhood sweetness.

“Dramatic escape,” the album’s opener, eases listeners into the album, but it’s not a weak start by any means. She expresses the want to get

away from the stresses of everyday life, but as her lyrics reveal, she’s “not looking for a gradual change.”

“I hate texas” carries more energy with it than “dramatic escape” as a fictionalized version of mxmtoon moves from New York to Texas to avoid an unnamed figure from her past, assumingly an ex. The track captures the dramatic escape and measures people may take to avoid those who have negatively impacted them. Mxmtoon communicates anger, frustration and sadness, but also a new sense of independence, particularly with the line “I’m reclaiming my life ‘cause I know that it’s mine.”

“Working on ‘i hate texas’ felt like when I first started making music, like I was completely in my element,” mxmtoon said in an interview with Flood Magazine in July. “I felt inspired to get a little sarcastic and write a song with some kick to it, just as pure fun.”

“Rain,” the album’s third song, stems from mxmtoon’s discovery of her mother’s cancer diagnosis. It’s much softer, carrying a feeling of needing to leave where you are but not feeling unsure of where you’re going or when you’ll return.

“[‘Rain’] was about that feeling of moving to a city and discovering who you are outside of your hometown and then having to go back to it before you’re ready,” mxmtoon said in a September TikTok.

In “elevator,” mxmtoon makes emotional distance between her and someone else. “I’m living through the process, you get to sit and watch it,” she sings. “My back’s so bent, it’s bro-

ken, and you’re too man to notice.” Likely a message to someone who kept her in a rigid role or held her to unrealistic expectations, she’s coming back into herself and acknowledging that healing is a process and she doesn’t need this person to heal.

“One more second ‘til I shatter, I’ve been told to say I’m fine,” she sings in “just a little,” expressing her need to be able to let out her emotions and break free of expectations placed upon her to keep her feelings in. “Feel so much ‘til I feel nothing,” repeats the bridge, representing the way mxmtoon was made to bottle up her emotions until they had the appearance of going away.

“VHS” directly confronts the idea of growing up and how odd it can feel to look back, considering it through her parents’ eyes. Mxmtoon describes the process of looking back on her childhood as akin to watching a videotape on VHS — fitting for a reflection on early childhood, as she was born in 2000.

Leading the the album’s second half, “number one boy” discusses mxmtoon’s desire to be regarded in the same way as her younger brother, feeling like she disappointed her parents as an eldest daughter. While she has referred to her gender identity as cisgender, she still envisions another universe in which she was born a boy, wondering if the disparity between how she is treated and how her brother is treated is because she is a woman or if it is because of the person she is.

With “passenger side,” the album returns to a more upbeat feeling

with a stronger beat and more pop elements. “Used to think your love would be the end, then I went and found myself again,” mxmtoon sings, the confidence in her voice returning. The tune sounds similar to her songs on her album “rising,” mostly similar in instrumental style, possibly an additional reference to how she’s learning to return to her authentic self again. By staying true to what she wants, she’s resolving to “take back all the time wasted on a lover” and “sit back and enjoy the ride.”

“The situation,” featuring indie pop band Kero Kero Bonito, hides heavy lyrics facing growing up and death in a peppy, upbeat track comparing life to a rollercoaster ride. “We get older and then we die, and there’s nothing you can do about it,” mxmtoon sings, instead opting to “put her hands up high” and enjoy the ride.

“God?” directly addresses her confusions in finding faith in religion, talking about how “I do believe in something, I just don’t know what it is.” Returning to a bit of a calmer tone, she talks about how in being unsure of herself, she searches for a “greater purpose” and “divine signs.”

While religion isn’t the place for her, she still tries to seek solace in the world around her and find some kind of answers among the supernatural. Toward the end of the album, “now’s not the time,” featuring Luna Li, returns to a sobering somberness, talking about the weight of expectations placed upon mxmtoon as the eldest daughter. Expected to push her own problems aside for the good

of others, her lyrics explain how she’s always told that “now’s not the time” when she tries to bring her own issues to light. She confronts the issues of growing up too fast and not being sure of who she is, as she is too used to masking her emotions to let them all out.

The 12th and final song of the album, “white out,” talks about self-destruction and feeling alone amidst her struggles. “What’s wrong with finding refuge in the white out?” she sings, finding solace in being alone but possibly going too far with self-isolation and pushing people away. Rather than bringing her journey to find herself to an end, though, “white out” sounds like the start of a new one, representing her commitment to a slow journey of healing and recovery.

“Liminal space” is a beautiful representation of the complicated emotions that come with growing up and a continued journey to self-healing. It speaks to the listener in profound ways, encouraging self-reflection and also serving as a reminder that it’s okay to slow down and feel a certain way. Regardless of if the listener shares similar experiences and feelings to those of mxmtoon’s, the album melds lyrics, tone and music to put the listener in her shoes as if going through the motions of life alongside her.

The “liminal space” tour will commence in Nashville, Tennessee Feb. 18, 2025, with a stop at Boston’s Roadrunner April 2, 2025.

The Maquette Studio in the MFA. The studio mimicked that of Moore’s at Perry Green, containing his desk, figures and sketches.

Photo courtesy MFA

Rosie’s Place empowers Boston women

By Nidhi Prakash News Correspondent

For more than 40 years, Rosie’s Place has been a safe haven for women in Boston, a city with the second-highest homeless rate in the United States.

Founded in 1974 as the first women-only shelter in the country, it offers far more than food and shelter — women can also access education, legal services and a path toward empowerment. Rosie’s Place is more than a shelter — it’s a bridge to a better future.

For Diah Williams, a Roxbury resident, Rosie’s Place served as a turning point when she faced unexpected unemployment.

“They treated me like I mattered,” she said.

Williams lost her teaching job due to racial and gender discrimination.

At Rosie’s Place, she found not only nourishing meals and safe shelter, but also legal resources and career advancement education.

Her experience is representative of the broader challenges count-

less working women of color in the United States face every day. These challenges include persistent wage gaps driven by discriminatory hiring practices, occupational segregation and a lack of career advancement opportunities. The Center for American Progress reported that Hispanic women experience the largest pay gap, earning just 57 cents for every $1 earned by white, non-Hispanic men in 2020. Despite consistently having some of the highest labor force participation rates, Black women earned just 64 cents for every $1 earned by white, non-Hispanic men in 2020. These barriers compound the risk of homelessness when combined with the rising living costs and limited access to affordable housing in Boston.

Amid these obstacles, Rosie’s Place, Williams said, offered more than temporary relief.

“They gave me the tools to rebuild,” she said.

“Without them, I honestly don’t know where I’d be today.”

Carmen Perez, a cashier who spent over a year living out of her car, said Rosie’s Place is her “lifeline.”

“One of my coworkers told me about it and, I can’t lie, I was very hesitant at first, but I had nowhere else to turn,” Perez said. Now living in transitional housing, she credits the shelter with helping her navigate a path out of crisis.

The organization provided Perez with meals and clothing along with connections to housing programs.

“They don’t just hand you a meal and send you on your way,” she said.

“They listen, they care and they help you figure out what’s next.”

Perez’s story highlights the fragility of financial stability for many low-wage workers in Boston. MassINC reported that over a third, 1.1 million to be exact, of Massachusetts workers struggle to afford basic needs, including housing, despite working full-time.

This economic fragility, coupled with rising living costs, heightens the risk of homelessness for many residents, particularly in high-cost cities like Boston. Rosie’s Place addresses these gaps, providing holistic support that goes beyond emergency assistance.

For Simone Santiago, a home health aide from Jamaica Plain, Rosie’s Place served as a catalyst to a new beginning.

“I do love my patients deeply, but the work isn’t always steady,” she said. “There were many, many months when I just couldn’t make ends meet.” Santiago utilized budgeting workshops, food services and other resources at Rosie’s Place.

“At Rosie’s Place, I found more than help — I found hope, at a time where I was truly hopeless,” Santiago said. “I used to feel constantly overwhelmed and on edge, but their workshops helped me break down my finances, step by step. Now, I know not just how to make ends meet, but how to plan ahead.”

The stories of Williams, Perez and Santiago reflect a broader community of women who, with the help of Rosie’s Place, are not just surviving, but thriving. Whether it’s through offering a safe place to stay, serving healthy meals or advocating for lasting change, Rosie’s Place undoubtedly stands as a pillar in the Boston community.

As homelessness and poverty continue to affect Boston’s residents, Rosie’s Place remains steadfast in its mission: provide a safe and nurturing environment that helps poor and homeless women maintain their dignity, seek opportunity and find security in their lives.

“They see the person behind the struggle,” Williams said. “This country needs more like it — places that recognize the humanity of women like us and fight for real change in our lives.”

Holiday pies help feed neighbors in need at annual Boston fundraiser

By Cassandra Kromer News Correspondent

On the evening of Nov. 25, the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center was alive with holiday cheer as 30 volunteers and program coordinators formed a well-oiled pie-prepping machine for the annual Pie in the Sky fundraiser.

Held each Thanksgiving season by Community Servings, a Jamaica Plain-based nonprofit, over the course of two hours, more than 2,000 pies were prepped for distribution across Massachusetts. Volunteers maneuvered between tables with impressive stacks of pies ready to be sorted and inspected.

“We receive pies that are baked by restaurants, caterers and other businesses … and we take a look at them, make sure that they’re up to snuff,” said Deva Djaafar, a volunteer and logistics coordinator for onsite volunteering.

Pie in the Sky has been around for 32 holiday seasons. David Waters, CEO of Community Servings, started the event to ensure that people who have specific dietary needs have access to nutritious, medically-tailored meals. It began as a grassroots bake sale that funded the organization’s work of preparing and delivering hot, nutritious meals to individuals living with HIV/ AIDS in Dorchester and Roxbury, according to the organization’s website. At Pie in the Sky, each pie sale provides a week of hot meals for someone in need.

“There are over 100 pickup sites around the state where people can pick up their pies,” Djaafar said. If people order more than one pie, or a pie with a Community Servings-branded hat, those specialty orders will be delivered to the Exhibition Center in Seaport. There, the pies will be inspected and sorted by at least three or four volunteers to ensure the pies make it to the correct pickup locations.

“A lot of those [pickup sites] we send pies directly to, but there are some that require special handling,” said Ryan Levasseur, director of communications at Community Servings. Preparation for this annual event begins as early as August, with Levasseur organizing everything from marketing campaigns to community outreach.

“This is a peer-to-peer fundraiser, meaning members of the community sign up to sell pies,” Levasseur said. “They sell pies to their networks — family, friends, colleagues — using social media, email and word of mouth. It’s a grassroots effort to engage the community and explain how purchasing a pie helps fund the work we do.”

In addition to networking among members of the community, the Pie in the Sky fundraiser relies on the efforts of volunteers to see to it that all of the pie orders are properly sorted and delivered to the right drop-off locations in a timely manner.

Beth Gustin, a returning Pie in the Sky volunteer, enjoys dedicating her time to helping out her community,

especially during the holiday season.

Keeping families well-fed “means the world” to her, she said. “This is what the holiday season is all about — giving back.”

Kelly Bunting has volunteered for Pie in the Sky for five seasons and values the accessibility of the volunteering event.

“It was really, really convenient. You can just pick a time to do this on the website, and every time I’ve done it, I’ve had a lot of fun,” Bunting said.

Bunting also said Community Servings has grown greatly since her first time volunteering.

“I remember being in a facility in Dorchester, helping actually make the pies,” Bunting said. “Now it’s just a huge, large-scale operation.”

This high-energy, extensive operation is much more than pie preparation; it’s about bringing people together to support a meaningful cause.

“It’s much more complex, what we do now — it’s very rigorous in terms of the scientific approach,” Levasseur said.

Since its creation in the early ‘90s, with the help of over 500 volunteers and over 150 Boston-area chefs, bakers and caterers donating

Thanksgiving pies, Pie in the Sky has been able to grow the quality and reach of its operations, securing critical funding for the expansion of its nutritional meals program. Pie in the Sky now has a fundraising and research development team, registered nutritionists and client services and a culinary crew. It also has its own kitchen in Jamaica Plain where its meals are made from scratch.

Each pie is sold for $35, which is the cost to provide one week of medically-tailored meals to someone in need.

“For $35, we give you a pie to enjoy at home on Thanksgiving and you get to slice into that pie knowing

that you helped give a week of meals to a neighbor in need in Massachusetts or Rhode Island,” Levasseur said. “It’s remarkable.”

This season, Pie in the Sky aimed to sell 20,000 pies and fundraise nearly $1 million that will directly support the nutritional meals program at Community Servings, according to Levasseur.

“People get a lot of satisfaction from being here. They know they’ve done something impactful,” Djaafar said. “Some volunteers come every year. It’s their tradition. Others are first-timers, and it’s amazing to see their reactions when they realize how much their work helps.”

A pastry chef prepares to cut the top of a pie. The proceeds from each pie sold provided a week of hot meals for someone in need.

Photo courtesy Community Servings

The Rosie’s Place entrance on Harrison Avenue. Rosie’s Place provided shelter, food and even computer classes to women for over 50 years.

Photo by Nia Calais

By Elsa O’Donnell News Staff

In letters penned over a century ago, Northeastern’s first president warned colleagues of the threat a future leader with too much power could pose to the university.

During his tenure as president from 1898 to 1940, Frank Palmer Speare — Speare Hall’s namesake — restructured Northeastern’s administration and founded the law school in 1922. But the university’s survival after he stepped down from the top position was at the forefront of his mind, The News found through a review of his letters in Northeastern’s archives.

“If one of our men should become bull-headed, domineering, dictatorial, unreasonable, hot-headed and animated by sledge hammer methods,” Speare wrote in a 1923 letter to Galen D. Light, who served as the secretary of Northeastern at the time, “this man could do irreparable damage as he would be quick-tempered, obstinate, brazen, outspoken and undiplomatic.”

THE

The Huntington News reviewed hundreds century to investigate how Northeastern

In 1923, Frank Palmer Speare warned future leaders about power

Today, Northeastern — which has operated under the leadership of President Joseph E. Aoun for nearly 18 years — manages 13 campuses across Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. It’s undeniably a powerhouse, boasting state-of-the-art research centers and a renowned co-op program that drew 98,373 students to apply for the fall 2024 semester.

Despite its booming success now, Northeastern had humble beginnings. When it was founded in 1898, the university was called the “Evening Institute for Younger Men” and hosted night classes in the YMCA of Greater Boston on Huntington Avenue. As a commuter college, Northeastern was an outlier among its peer academic institutions in Boston like Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which were older and more traditional.

To establish Northeastern as an influential university, Speare led a significant reorganization of its administration by simplifying its leader-

ship model. He reshaped the existing nine administrative units into three and appointed one director to each unit. Speare envisioned the three unit directors would lead the university and report to the president, according to his 1923 letter.

The second part of Speare’s plan involved reducing how much unit directors were paid. Prior to the new plan, there were two directors: Ira Flinner, headmaster of Huntington School, an all-male preparatory college that also operated out of the YMCA, and Carl Ell, head of the engineering unit, who became the university’s second president in 1940. The men’s great successes were reflected by their high salaries, which were “largely disproportionate to the others and in fact dangerously prohibitive,” Speare wrote in 1923. His new plan would distribute money more equally among the three unit directors.

“I am of the opinion now that the present form of contract will have a wonderfully beneficial effect upon our entire organization and will enable us to keep our costs at the minimum and claim the maximum of service with the lowest possible financial risk or burden to be assumed by the directors of the Association or others,” Speare wrote.

Speare also recognized the dangers associated with the reorganization and outlined in extensive detail all of the ways in which it could possibly go wrong. Speare even requested that Light return the letter after he read it so Speare could “file it in the archives for future reference as bearing upon conditions which may or may not arise as a result of the signing of the contracts.”

Speare’s main concern was that the ambition of the inexperienced directors would impede their ability to efficiently run the university together. Although Speare would continue as Northeastern’s president for another 17 years after the reorganization in 1923, his fears about new leadership ran deep.

Speare detailed the weaknesses of Ell and Flinner, his directors, and the possible dangers they could pose as leaders.

“Another individual is apt to be secretive, very dictatorial, super-sensitive, worries over detail, is thoroughly honest, right-intentioned and as much hurt by criticism or reproof

Speare was proud and protective of his new plan, which he methodically outlined in the 1923 letter to Light.

as a spoiled child,” he wrote. “Any of these tendencies might become overdeveloped and lead to trouble.”

Speare explained to Light how the former administration was set up in a way in which he was able to either “mold the men into a harmonious whole” or “remove [them] wholly” from the position they occupied.

But with Speare’s proposed plan, this power-checking would become “more difficult,” he explained.

“It can be readily seen, therefore, that this group must be handled with the utmost care, must be watched, counselled, guided, encouraged, checked, stimulated, soothed and kept very busy in order to preserve harmony,” he wrote.

Speare told Light that he would “stand by [the directors] and with them just so long as they are right.”

“Should they take the wrong turn of the road, however, and undertake to do things which I do not stand for, I shall assert myself to the utmost and openly oppose their propositions,” he continued. “The perfect harmony which has reigned here for the past 29 years can be continued if the men are animated by the same objectives which have led me, but self-seeking, egotism, bad temper, intolerance, bigotry and selfishness can never enter in and the good work go on as heretofore.”

With that, Speare concluded his letter, which The News found in the Snell Library archives over 100 years later:

ARCHIVES

hundreds of documents from the past Northeastern became Northeastern

By Sarah Mesdjian News Staff

In 2023, the United States Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in college admissions, fueling feelings of frustration and isolation in Black students at Northeastern. Though Northeastern is still reckoning with a 35% drop in Black student enrollment seen in the Class of 2028, the university made notable leaps in the late 1960s to appeal to Black students, The News found through a review of archives from Asa S. Knowles’ presidency.

Knowles, Northeastern’s third president from 1959 to 1975, encouraged Black students to advocate for changes at the university that would benefit them and Northeastern’s educational mission. During his tenure, Knowles oversaw the implementation of a Black studies program at Northeastern, the establishment of the African American Institute and an increase in Black student enrollment.

Northeastern’s John D. O’Bryant African American Institute was established in 1969 after a little over a year of deliberation between Knowles, faculty and Northeastern’s Black Community Concerns Committee, according to documents in Northeastern’s archives. The organization was initially titled the Afro-American Institute and was renamed in 1993 in honor of John D. O’Bryant, Northeastern’s vice president of student affairs from 1979 to 1992. O’Bryant was also the first Black president of the Boston School Committe and served from 1977 to 1990.

“Northeastern will provide fifty new full tuition scholarships for qualified Black students in the freshman class entering in the fall of 1968 and will do its best to see that no qualified Negro applicant from Greater Boston is unable to enroll in one of the co-operative colleges because of inadequate financial resources,” Knowles wrote in a May 7, 1968 letter to “Members of the Black Student Community at Northeastern University.”

The letter came in response to a list of 13 demands made four days prior by Black students. One demand called for the formation of the Committee on Black Community Concerns — a committee of faculty, administrators and African American students that would ensure the university upheld its commitments to the Black community. Another demand included a goal to increase Black student enrollment to at least 10% of the incoming freshman class by 1971.

The 13 demands proposed by Black students were designed to ensure full and fair treatment of Black students at Northeastern and encourage success after their graduation.

During this time, many Black student groups at other universities were also submitting demands to improve opportunities for Black people in higher education, invigorated by the ongoing Civil Rights Movement By 1968, the Civil Rights Movement had sparked the creation of national legislation that greatly improved racial equality. Two such

pieces of legislation were the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex or national origin, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which made voting easier for people of color in the South by undoing Jim Crow laws. However, following Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination April 4, 1968, conflicts intensified and the movement saw a reinvigorated push, particularly on college campuses.

University of The San Francisco was the first to implement an African American studies program in 1968.

At Northeastern, Knowles was adamant about achieving his goal of bolstering Black student enrollment.

“The goal of ten percent of Black students in the freshman class by 1971 seems a reasonable one and the University will strive to attain it,” Knowles wrote in his letter.

In 1968, Asa Knowles helped Black students fight for equality

But today, only 5.1% of Northeastern’s 2028 graduating class identify as Black — half of the target goal set for the freshman class 53 years ago.

In the late 1960s, Knowles’ aspirations to increase Black student enrollment did not bode well with many in Northeastern’s community, The News found.

“Why is the University giving negroes special treatment? What has happened to equal treatment for the people wanting to enter college? Is the University afraid of a small group [of] militants?” Northeastern alum

Paul H. Sherman, a 1966 graduate, wrote in a letter to Knowles. “If this is an example of the type of policy the University is in favor of, then I can not support the University. The money I was planning to send now has been canceled.”

Several other letters made their way to Knowles’ desk, some using racial slurs and provocative language.

“I sincerely hope enough alumni believe the way I do, so that the University will have to change this policy of unequal opportunity to one of equal opportunity,” Sherman wrote.

The Supreme Court decision to remove affirmative action echoed Sherman’s sentiment 55 years later.

The majority decision, delivered by Chief Justice John Roberts, established that colleges can no longer consider race when admitting students, saying universities’ admissions have wrongly deduced that “the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges bested, skills built or lessons learned but the color of their skin.”

Despite facing public scrutiny at the time, Knowles defended the university’s decision to prioritize Black student enrollment.

“Northeastern is located on the edge of Roxbury next to the ghetto area and it cannot ignore the problems of this area,” Knowles wrote in a May 10, 1968 letter addressed to Sherman. “Two of the great problems are for better education and for equal opportunities for Negroes. The University’s relationships with its Negro students have been very friendly and the students have been very appreciative of any programs we conduct to help the community.”

Northeastern kept reports tracking Black students’ academic performance in order to most effectively support their success. A 1968 report compiled by John A. Curry, then the director of admissions who would later become president in 1989, tracked 80 Black high school graduates who enrolled in a special summer tutorial program. The report showed that 35% of the 80 students were in “academic difficulty” as defined by a quality point average — average quality points earned per credit hour — of 1.4 or lower.

“This author prefers the point of view that 65% of the 80 students, a large number of whom otherwise would not have attended college are functioning at a better than failing level,” Curry wrote in the report.

Given the backlash from some people on campus, Black students who began to make a home at Northeastern had a few wishes for how to make their community feel more welcome.

On Feb. 14, 1969, the Black Student Committee submitted a proposal for the establishment of an “Afro-American Cultural Center and a Black Studies Department which would offer courses leading to a major and degree in Black studies.”

After several months of deliberation between the Black Student Committee and Northeastern’s faculty Senate, an agreement was reached to establish a noncredit Black studies program in which the Black Student Steering Committee would have full control over course material, staff and operation of the Institute.

“Black perspectives and accom plishments have not been given their rightful place in American education,” Northeastern’s Faculty Senate wrote in a letter to the Black Student Committee. “The University’s best interest, and that of the wider society is served by cooperation with you.”

On March 7, 1969, Northeastern’s Board of Trustees approved the use of the Forsyth Annex Building for an Afro-American Cultural Center. The African American Institute was later moved to what is now John D. O’Bryant, adjacent to West Village F. The Forsyth Annex is currently used for the Latinx Student Cultural Center.

In its official proposal to the university May 20, 1969, the Black Student Committee wrote the following explanation detailing the importance of Black studies:

“Black Americans have incurred many injustices at the hands of white society. They are far too numerous to list here, but one that stands out from the rest is the systematic and ruthless elimination of all materials related and relevant to black people in both public and private, so-called educational institutions.

Black perspective and accomplishments have all but been excluded from American textbooks.

What is the role of the University in this ‘Crisis in Black and White?’ All we ask of the University is that it do its job. It must educate whites as well as blacks (blacks foremost however) in course matter that should have been a normal part of the University curriculum for the past 300 years.

Brandeis University, recently stated that ‘It is not the job of the University to cure all the ills that society has inflicted upon black people.’ Perhaps not, but as one pensive student later responded, ‘If it is not the job of the University to heal the wound at least it should be able to soothe the pain.’

Northeastern University did not create the racial pit that engulfs the nation, per se, but in not establishing a curriculum in ‘Black Studies’ it would sub-consciously partake in its perpetuation, as it has unwillingly done for the past 60 or so years of its existence.” Knowles and Northeastern staff agreed.

“In their planning for the proposed Institute, the Black student community group members conducted themselves in an exemplary manner,” Knowles said in a May 30, 1969 memo to university staff. “They have followed and are continuing to follow all the proper channels to accomplish their goals.”

The Black Student Committee was able to accomplish a majority of their goals with cooperation from Northeastern staff, but as the decline in Black student enrollment for the Class of 2028 demonstrates, the fight for racial equality in higher education is far from over.

“The diversity of students plays a big role in how people of color feel belonging on campus,” Shania Rimpel, a fourth-year biology major, told The News in October. “It’s important to show students of color that there is a space where they can find each other and so it makes the transition easier.”

Women’s basketball team pushes harder amid program rebuild

By Cassandra Joyce News Staff

The Northeastern women’s basketball team kicked off its season in November and has struggled to get its footing, starting with a 1-6 record.

Last season, the Huskies finished with a 10-17 record and only had six healthy players left on their roster after a slew of injuries. Moving into this season, the roster has gone through significant changes as the team had eight graduating seniors last year, requiring a wave of new talent.

Redshirt sophomore guard Abby Jegede is one of the newest additions to the team and has been making her impact on the court. Jegede transferred to Northeastern from Villanova University after realizing Boston reminded her of her hometown, Toronto, and hearing about the coaches’ rebuilding plans. The level of Northeastern’s academic programs was an added bonus. Jegede is the team’s leading scorer by 26 points and has so far averaged 11.4 points per game.

One of Jegede’s biggest goals for the season is to win the CAA tournament, but she is equally focused on the journey and growing close bonds with her teammates, she said.

“My favorite part has to be the friends I made. I have never been on a team with this many international people, so that’s been pretty cool because I’ve always been the only one that was far from home,” Jegede said. “It’s been cool having that community, and whenever there’s holidays, we’re always able to hang out together [and have] that family vibe.”

Freshman forward Taylor Holohan has also been leaving her mark. Holohan leads the team in

rebounds and is the fourth-leading scorer. She and Jegede are the only players to start every game this season — making themselves an indispensable duo.

Although it’s early in the season, the team has already struggled with injuries. Sophomore point guard Yirsy Quéliz suffered a concussion and missed the first two games of the season, but is back and ready to play for the Huskies. In her first three games, Quéliz scored a total of 30 points. For Quéliz, this team is different from last year’s in many ways, and she hopes to be a strong component in her team’s success.

“We are definitely playing a different style. We have [many] new players, so most of it is different and the pace of how we want to play is different, too,” Quéliz said. “For me, [my goals are] definitely be a better leader and teammate on the court and just have better game than last year.”

Head coach Priscilla Edwards-Lloyd said the team’s areas for improvement are “play[ing] more connected” and “with more consistent effort.” Key ideas for the Huskies are the importance of effort and “not growing weary,” she said.

“Our goals are to learn how to compete, be competitive in everything we do and build our culture long-term, which is developing the mindset to be champions,” Edwards-Lloyd said.

Jegede said the team also needs to continue to work on its competitiveness and fight to win games. So far this season, the Huskies have been out-rebounded 269-212, had 37 more turnovers and been outscored 499-344.

“[The other teams were] a lot more aggressive and physical than

we were. There were times when they were outrunning us and taking the ball from us, so I think being more greedy and more physical is something that we’re going to need to do to be able to compete,” Jegede said. “Every team, no matter how talented they are, if they want it more, then they’re going to get it, so we just have to want it more than everybody else. I think that’s the one thing that we’re trying to bring out of everybody right now — to have that will to win and hate losing.”

However, Jegede said the different talents of each individual on the team and the camaraderie they are building is a strong point that will grow stronger as the season progresses.

“Individually, everybody brings something different to the table, which is what I think is going to work well for us once we are able to start playing together more,” Jegede said. “That’s what’s going to make us play well because it’s hard to guard a team with people that can do different things. Once everybody’s able to do their role, it’s going to all come together.”

Although the Huskies’ record is not where they would like it to be right now, Edwards-Lloyd feels this season is important for rebuilding the program, and support is vital in the team achieving their goals.

“I think all programs that have become powerhouses, when you look back into those early years, it was rough, but with that, you continue to develop what you’re trying to do long term. You bring in the right players, get people believing, and it requires support,” Edwards-Lloyd said. “This is a program that hasn’t had much success over the past extended period of

time, so what we’re trying to do is a challenge, but it can be done. We need to continue to stay the course and believe and need people to continue to support us, even through the rough times.”

As the Huskies move forward with the rest of the season, they are

looking to be a competitive force in conference play. Northeastern’s first conference game will be Jan. 3, 2025, in Cabot Center against the Stony Brook Seawolves (2-6, 0-0 CAA).

“I’m excited for the season,” Quéliz said. “I think it’s going to be a good one, so don’t sleep on us.”

NU club sailing shoots for success

By Caroline Baker Dimock News Staff

Northeastern club sailing is in a league of its own — literally. This team is the one of two club sports teams at Northeastern that competes against varsity teams in its normal competitive circuit, and this past year, Northeastern club sailing qualified for both the women’s and open team nationals.

Club sailing at Northeastern is one of the four oldest sailing teams in the country and has had a partnership with the MIT Sailing Pavilion since its creation in 1939.

The team, which started with just a handful of sailors, has been growing and improving ever since and currently has 33 members.

The club, which relies heavily on donations, as all club sports do, has struggled to maintain their time

at the MIT Sailing Pavilion due to rising fees.

Northeastern club sailing hired a full-time coach in 2013, a result of a family donation allowing them the budget to do so, according to fourth-year civil engineering major Aidan Boni. This gift was the largest ever given to a Northeastern sports team. More recently, the same family donated $250,000 to continue to support the team.

Because the team regularly competes against varsity teams with higher budgets, fourth-year mechanical engineering major Adrian Winkelman emphasized the need for more funding to continue bettering the program.

“I think that the university could support all club sports more — sailing is kind of in a tough spot,” he said. “[We] compete against varsity teams, and we have really maxed out our potential as a club team.”

Despite difficulty in funding, the Huskies have earned great success. Both the open and women’s team qualified for nationals in the 202324 season, and the women had their highest-ever finish at nationals, ending up 15th in the country.

The team competes weekly, often leaving to travel to regattas either Friday nights or Saturday mornings.

Upon arrival, the athletes rig their boats, launch them and get ready to race as many as 14 races in a day on both Saturday and Sunday. The team is on the water the entire day — leaving as early as 10 a.m. Saturday and coming back as late as 6 p.m.

In the fall semester, most of the regattas are fleet racing and in the spring semester, most are team racing. Team racing in sailing involves two or more teams competing against each other, with the goal of accumulating the fewest points by finishing fastest. In fleet racing, every boat competes individually.

This past spring, the team attended very few regattas, instead choosing to practice and compete in the few fleet racing regattas in an effort to qualify for nationals. In order to qualify, the national committee chooses the top 36 teams based on six total regattas: Atlantic Coast Championships, the spring and fall championships and the team’s other two best regattas, and then selects the top teams from that. This past year, nationals were held on the Charles River in Boston.

In addition to creating a national level team, the Northeastern club sailing team has worked to create a welcoming community for everyone.

“[The team] has always been really stable, like a support system,” said Zoe Grant, a fourth-year biology major and women’s team president. Fourth-year health science major Lila Coffman, who grew up in Hyannis and has spent her entire life sailing, found the team to be incredibly welcome when she transferred to Northeastern.

“I came here during my sophomore year, and that was really helpful to join the team right away. Some of my best friends are on the team. I spend a lot of time with my teammates, just because we spend a lot of time together practicing,” Coffman said.

The team is looking forward to a future with more success, both on the community level and at the competitive level.

“Our hope for this season is to make it to nationals again. And I think generally the hope for the future is to just continue to build on the momentum that we have going at the moment,” Boni said.

“So continue to do well in regattas, continue to make it to nationals and then use that energy to recruit better, to have better practices with more competitive sailors and just to continue to build.”

Junior forward Oralye Kiefer jumps for the basket against UNH Nov. 14. The Huskies started the season 1-5.

Photo by Sydney Ciardi

The Huskies focus on the water. The women’s team finished 15th in country at nationals for the 2023-24.

Photo courtesy HDFA Photography

NU baseball heads into season with abundance of new talent and grit

By Siera Qosaj News Correspondent

Following Northeastern’s elimination from the CAA baseball tournament last season, head coach Mike Glavine knew the team had some serious work to do going into this year.

The team is undergoing notable shifts this fall with 16 newcomers, including three Division III transfers. Fall practices have had both new and returning Huskies working harder than ever leading up to the season’s start in February, and one of the most important aspects of this process has been ensuring the smooth transition of the 16 new players on the roster, according to Glavine.

“It starts with the coaches — asking yourself what you can do differently, what you can do better,” Glavine said. “We had a couple meetings with our incoming class. … We really encouraged them to come watch us play last year and see what the intensity is like. So, we started integrating them into our team even last spring.”

Two freshmen, outfielder Carter Bentley and pitcher Cam Keaveney, emphasized the huge growth needed to transition into DI baseball.

“It’s obviously a big jump. The intensity is way higher, the competition level is way higher,” Bentley said. However, the abundance of freshmen players joining the team has made the transition easier for everyone involved. Keaveney detailed the positive aspects of joining the team with so many newcomers by his side. “We’re all learning from each other. It makes us all better as a group,” he said.

Ensuring a smooth transition for the incoming freshmen was extremely important for Glavine. “For the freshmen, this semester is typically the hardest semester of their life. They’re away from home with new coaches, new teammates,” Glavine said.

Many of the new players already knew each other going into this fall, perhaps a result of Northeastern’s penchant for primarily recruiting players from the New England area. “I played a bunch of these kids in the Futures League and summer ball,” Bentley said. “A lot of us were already pretty close. We’re all close, we’re all friends.”

One player coming in with more experience under his belt is graduate student pitcher Max Gitlin, a DIII

transfer from Clark University. While Gitlin may already have four years of experience with collegiate baseball, the transfer to Northeastern is an adjustment nonetheless.

“It’s definitely a close-knit group. If you’re a part of the team, they bring you in really quickly. It’s made my transition much easier,” Gitlin said.

Many of the new additions, including Gitlin, are pitchers, which will likely add much-needed strength on the mound for the Huskies.

The most important quality of the newest additions to the Huskies can be summed up into one word: grit. While every player has their individual strengths and weaknesses, the one quality shared amongst them all is the unique toughness that is found in the world of New England baseball. Bentley highlighted the efforts of the recruiting staff to ensure they choose the best players to add to the team’s roster.

“They do a really good job recruiting guys that work hard, who are gritty and hard-nosed, and have all these core values that our team has,” he said. “Our motto is ‘Northeast Made,’ and the coaches do a really good job enforcing that.”

Crossword Edited by Arielle Rabinovich

Across 1. Bear, residing in the Arctic

Take a soak

Relating to printers or traffic

Make reparations

March follower

Malty drink often spiced for Christmas 17. Moves quickly, but doesn’t quite gallop 18. Sly, cunning 19. “__ at all!” 20. Having only daughters, say

Solar system members

24. List ender 25. Formerly Yugoslavia

Easily stubbed digit

Showed affection, to a dog

Sodium hydroxide, for example

Non-flowering plant 46. Capacity, space to move 47. “__ there, done that” 48. Writes with a pen 49. Outlines

51. Swindle

53. Still true, as of now (2 wds.) 55. Social platform operated by Meta 59. __’s Declassified School Survival Guide, bygone Nickelodeon show

Creator of Beats

Like Thor or Erik the Red

Prefix meaning “together”

67. Lock of hair

68. You might take this when expressing your opinion

Down

1. New England football team, familiarly

2. Other, in Barcelona

3. Waterfowl

4. Feature found on Comet or Cupid

5. To start over

6. You might take these shopping

7. Owner of the Kwik-E-Mart

8. Camera stabilizer

9. Rolling terrain

10. __ Rigby

11. “Pride and Prejudice” author (2 wds.)

12. Tons (2 wds.)

13. Rival of the Yankees

21. Spooked

23. Boy, in Granada

25. The __, singers of 10 down

26. Slightly wet

27. Senior member

28. John Steinbeck novel (3 wds.)

30. News network founded by Ted Turner

32. Baby deliverer, according to myth

35. “La Vie en Rose” language

36. Longs

39. Part of a needle, or potato

42. Undecided

43. Issuing from

45. Masterpieces (2 wds.)

47. “Watch out!”

50. Boat power source

52. Killer whales

53. Concludes

54. Extremely

55. Binds or fastens

56. __ Delvey, controversial Dancing With the Stars contestant … and con artist

57. Put an end to (2 wds.)

58. Tournament standing

61. Web feed format

Returning junior catcher Matt Brinker amplified the importance of the “Northeast Made” concept as the team heads into this season.

“That idea is what makes our program as tough as we are. Every guy they bring in here is tough. If it’s not there, it gets exposed early,” Brinker said.

Glavine reiterated the importance of exposing each player’s toughness during the fall.

“It’s either brought out of them or they have to go somewhere else. And I’m okay saying that, because I think we have a certain culture and standard here that needs to be met when we are a Northern team playing in a predominantly Southern conference,” Glavine said.

These expectations come as no surprise to the newcomers, though, as Northeastern’s coaching staff ensures they are made aware of the expectations and values of the team.

“There is a grittiness to our program, and the first thing we do is talk about that openly. From day one, our opening team meeting focuses a lot on our culture, who we are and what we want to be. And they all know that before they get here,” Glavine said.

While grit may be a core value for Northeastern baseball, another important quality in order to ensure a strong season is the brotherhood and bond amongst the players. Ensuring that the newcomers gel with one another as well as with the returning players is integral to a successful season.

“Those things aren’t on the stat sheet. Those are the ones that I probably take the most pride in as a coach. The heart, the dedication, the hard work, the willingness to do more, the willingness to overcome obstacles,” Glavine said.

When it comes to the camaraderie amongst this year’s team, Brinker expressed his positive outlook and hopes for this season.

“I’m out there watching everybody, and it looks really good. I couldn’t be more excited for what the team’s going to look like come February,” he said.

As the newest Huskies prepare for this season, one thing is for certain: the foundation of grit and brotherhood will drive them forward as a team and fuel their competitiveness this spring. Last season may have had its setbacks, but the Huskies seem confident and hopeful as they enter this new chapter.

Answers to Nov. 15 puzzle

Editor-in-Chief

Sonel Cutler

Managing Editor

Ananya Kulkarni

Val O’Neill

Editor-at-Large

Kate Armanini

Campus

Emily Spatz

Lily Webber

Zoe MacDiarmid

City

Alexis Algazy

Gitana Savage

Sports

Sofia Garrett

Esha Minhas

Lifestyle

Kristina DaPonte

Claudie Bellanger

Darin Zullo

Opinion

Rachana Madhav

Galiah Abbud

Projects

Alexa Coultoff

Photo Jessica Xing

Elizabeth Scholl

Margot Murphy

Design

Liza Sheehy

Emma Liu

Multimedia

Jake Guldin

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Social Media

Annika Sunkara

Kevin Gallagher

Copy Chief

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Web Manager

BUSINESS

Business Manager

Ananya Chaudhari Advertising Emily Liu Outreach Anna Morrison

Arielle Rabinovich STAFF

Annelise Dramm, Aoife Jeffries, Ava Vitiello, Bailey Reynolds, Camryn Cunningham, Caroline Baker Dimock, Cassandra Joyce, Devyn Rudnick, Eli Curwin, Elli Einset, Elsa O’Donnell, Emily Chung, Frances Klemm, Grace Cargill, Heidi Ho, Isaac Pederson, Jack Masliah, Janira Skrbkova, Julia Yohe, Kaelyn McFadden, Kara Orsini, Katarina Schmeiszer, Laura Emde, Lawrence Brown, Lily Cooper, Meghan Hirsch, Mikayla Tsai, Nikkia Jean-Charles, Nikhil Jagannath, Nikolas Lyras, Paloma Welch, Samantha Denecour, Sarah Mesdjian, Sarah Pyrce, Sencha Kreymerman, Tanvi Saxena, Yashavi Upasani and Zach Cohen

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Bill Mitchell, Carlene Hempel, Gal Tziperman Lotan, Jenna Duncan, Laurel Leff, Lincoln McKie, Mark Gooley, Marta Hill, Matt Yan, Meredith O’Brien and Zolan Kanno-Youngs

Op-ed: Northeastern legacy admissions should

As a third-year university student, I am very lucky to enjoy the luxury and benefits that a Northeastern education provides. In my first-year of college, I was admitted despite having no familial ties to this institution, yet the same may not be said at the Oakland and Silicon Valley campuses, where Northeastern continues to practice legacy admissions despite a California state ban.

As of fall 2022, 42% of private institutions consider legacy status as a factor of admission to a university. What people often don’t know is that legacy policies were originally implemented in the 1920s to strategically limit the number of Jewish immigrants admitted to historically Protestant institutions, including the Ivy Leagues. Should birth into a particular family truly be a determining factor for a student’s likelihood of admission into higher education? I think not.

Google, in all its glory, is a verb just as much as it is a search engine. When trying to find information, very rarely do I hear people say “look it up,” it’s always “Google it.” ChatGPT is now enduring the same fate, becoming a verb rather than just being artificial intelligence software. I overhear classmates saying they’ll “just ChatGPT it,” speaking about mundane assignments they don’t want to take the time to complete, or readings they want shortened and summarized.

The difference between Google and ChatGPT as verbs is that Googling still requires some student participation; ChatGPT replaces it. While I could list all of ChatGPT’s pros and cons, from plagiarism concerns to falsified information, my greatest concern is what it means for learning in a classroom setting.

The legacy policy refers to a boost in an applicant’s odds of admission, simply because they are related to certain alumni who attended that institution. I believe this policy is outdated and should be abolished as it creates an unfair advantage for already privileged individuals whose parents have likely obtained a college degree and can financially provide for themselves. Even so, this policy has been shown to lower the chances of admission for people of varying race and socioeconomic status. Ideally, an applicant should be assessed based on criteria including their academic standing, merit and individuality. However, legacy admissions may result in disparities and failure to foster a diverse and equitable educational environment.

Black and Latino communities have argued that this policy is no different from racial discrimination.

A complaint filed against Harvard University just days after the Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling against affirmative action in June 2023 alleged that legacy admissions also violated the law by favoring white applicants — 70% of donor-related and legacy applicants were white. I believe that universities choosing students based on their legacy status violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits racial discrimination in institutions that receive federal funding.

In his majority opinion ruling against the constitutionality of affirmative action, Chief Justice John Roberts said that Harvard and other institu-

cease to exist

tions still “pick winners and losers based on the color of their skin.”

Racist beginnings are at the heart of the longstanding tradition of legacy admissions. In the early 1900s, the “Big Three” Ivy League schools — Harvard, Yale and Princeton — grew alarmed at the influx of Jewish immigrants, as there were two to three Jewish students among every 10 firstyears admitted into these colleges. In turn, an admission system was created to “admit the dull sons of major donors and to exclude the brilliant but unpolished children of immigrants,” said University of California Berkeley sociology professor Jerome Karabel.

Known as the legacy policy, remnants of this admission system still exist in the modern day, the effects of which classify white Americans as the “dominant group” and ethnic minorities as less than.

This is morally wrong; the essence of an individual and the multidimensional qualities they contribute have nothing to do with their racial background.

Besides racial background, students of lower socioeconomic status are also disadvantaged by the policy. Studies have shown that applicants from the richest 1% of households are 50% more likely to get into “Ivy Plus” schools including Harvard, Duke and MIT than non-legacy applicants from the bottom 95% income bracket.

While it’s a popular belief that you can create an excellent future for yourself regardless of the college you attend, to some extent, a higher-ranking

institution still impacts career success. With the legacy policy implemented, low-income students are potentially excluded from a wider range of resources or career opportunities only provided by top-tier schools. These students will likely end up in community colleges with a greater likelihood of dropping out — around a 40% graduation rate within six years.

While this remains an ongoing issue, there is light at the end of the tunnel as an increasing number of states target legacy admissions. On Sept. 30, 2024, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill that bans private institutions from giving preference to legacy and donor students in the admissions process in California. This spring, Virginia also barred legacy admissions at public colleges and lawmakers in four other states have introduced bills to ban legacy admissions.

Ultimately, an increasingly diverse student body would enable individuals to utilize their unique gifts to benefit their respective colleges. In addition, a school can also receive donations and non-fiscal advantages by choosing students who have individual merit.

I hope other states and universities like Northeastern will gradually follow suit in eliminating the legacy policy so that the American Dream is open to individuals of all backgrounds.

Mikayla Tsai is a third-year behavioral neuroscience major and columnist for The News. She can be reached at tsai.mik@northeastern.edu.

learning

College students, myself included, often view assignments and readings

as a graded task, not an educational tool. It’s not a surprising modality of thought considering the scope of work we have in a semester, our social lives and other commitments to balance. But it means that assignments get completed through whatever means necessary without ever learning the material they were intended to reinforce.

What is the purpose of paying for an education when our goal isn’t to learn but solely to succeed?

The issue stems from students viewing knowledge and education as a mere commodity. We go through college thinking about how we will use our degrees to land jobs rather than how our accumulated knowledge has made us better and more well-informed people. While it’s true that our society is largely dependent on education for economic success, I think it’s important to remember that knowledge isn’t always something to be bought and sold.

Of course, this is easier said than done. In a collegiate environment, where academic pressure is high and free time is minimal, it’s hard to feel that knowledge is more than just a means to an end.

But that doesn’t mean we should rely on ChatGPT to foster our academic success; when it gets used in that way, the value of education is lost. Sure, there may be a good grade on one’s transcript, but the individual who asked ChatGPT to give the information needed to get that grade never fully learned it.

My view on studying and completing assignments solidified when I began taking a Global Perspectives on Discrimination and Health course this semester. Global Perspectives is a discussion-based class in which we have weekly readings about theories of discrimination and how they impact health. But there’s one important stipulation to this course: we aren’t allowed to use our laptops during class. Twice a week, we all come to class with paper notes and marked-up printouts of our daily readings, ready to have productive, detailed conversations about what we’ve learned.

I can honestly say it’s the only class I’ve been in since I started college where everyone actually does the readings, and doesn’t just skim or skip them. And it’s because we’re engaged with the material and with one another.

Everyone brings diverse and thoughtful questions and comments about the readings to class, unashamed of participating in discussions. By being bound to paper rather than screens, we’re forced to take notes on concepts and quotes that captivate us, not what ChatGPT tells us we should think is important.

The class made me realize that learning isn’t meant to burden our lives. I look forward to completing my readings, even if they’re 40 pages long, because I genuinely feel like I’m learning something.

When you strive for knowledge as a way of bettering yourself mentally, you become more connected to the

enjoyment of learning. Of course, as students, we’re all in school to advance our careers, but that can’t be the only way we think about education.

Knowledge is how we connect with the world and people around us, and curiosity is what drives us forward. A passion for learning is something that doesn’t leave you as an adult, nor can it ever be replaced by AI software that simply regurgitates information when prompted. Similarly to how ChatGPT and Google are verbs just as much as they are internet software, studying is an action just as much as a skill. Having the discipline and desire to sit down and study takes practice and isn’t going to go perfectly all the time. But studying the “real” way, without the help of ChatGPT, will be more beneficial for students in the long run and gets easier the more it’s practiced. This applies directly to future classes, but also to our adult lives in improving our attention spans and making us more inquisitive.

Our minds are muscles, and learning and studying are how we exercise them. We owe it to ourselves to commit to learning, not just completing assignments. It will make studying in the future easier, increase our knowledge and likely improve our grades. The ease of AI is undeniable, but so is the power of knowledge.

Kara Orsini is a fourth-year health science major and columnist for The News. She can be reached at orsini.k@ northeastern.edu.

Op-ed: The lost art of

Photo by Elizabeth Scholl

Photo by Jessica Xing

By Mikayla Tsai | Columnist

By Kara Orsini | Columnist

Op-ed: High school to college transition is important, but expectations are high

Life comes with plenty of transitions, some unavoidable and many harder than others. Going from kindergarten to first grade feels minor now, even though it felt like the entire world to us then. Before we knew it, we were walking out of our high schools for the last time, diploma in hand, time for us to tackle the next big obstacle ahead: college.

From K-12, our weeks were structured for us — 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at school, then clubs, sports or work, then we went home and did our homework. But now, my schedule feels like class timings are determined by throwing darts at a dartboard, and my aim feels off. Some days, I’m rushing across campus from one class to another with barely 10 minutes to spare, and other days,

I have a random three-hour-long gap between classes.

At the beginning of the semester, everything felt so overwhelming all the time, and honestly, it still does. We’re nearing the end of the semester, yet I still feel like I just started yesterday. Thankfully, I’ve started to find a rhythm in the chaos of it all, but I’m nowhere near where I need to be.

But that’s okay. College is for learning how to be an adult, and even if you feel behind in some aspects, like socializing, you may be ahead in others, like time management. Find your strengths, identify your weaknesses and learn how to boost yourself all-around.

Transitioning to college can be much harder for some students than others. Not every student has access to resources or support — especially in that key phase between receiving the acceptance letter and graduating from high school. For those who have to move far from home, especially international students, the adjustment can be quite a shock.

AP courses and dual enrollment can help ease students into a higher level of academic rigor from a “normal” high school course to a college-level course, but not all students have access to these courses. Despite having the aforementioned access to AP and dual enrollment classes, nothing could’ve prepared me for the

amount of studying we are expected to do once on campus.

Since there’s more content to cover in a college course and less time, everything can feel so rushed. According to the Learning Center of California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, it’s recommended to spend two to three additional study hours per credit the class gives a week. For the average full-time student course load of 16 credits, that’s 32 to 48 extra hours of studying on top of the time spent in class. While somewhat understandable, it feels unrealistic to ask of students. Finding that time can be difficult, not counting extra time spent on classes a student may struggle in. We’re not machines; we’re young adults.

Dorm life can be pretty rough, too. I’ve heard horror stories of inconsiderate roommates, and some students seem to have interesting perspectives on what constitutes responsibility in communal living spaces. It can also be difficult to make your room feel like your own, and some days, it feels more like a hotel room than a ninemonth-long living arrangement (for some students, it literally is).

Balancing a social life has also been a difficult challenge. Some of my closest friends live states away, and I miss seeing them, especially when I used to get to see them nearly every day. Making friends can come less naturally, considering you don’t see

the same rotation of people five days a week. Some days, I don’t even see my neighbors. Most of the friends I’ve made have resulted from clubs or living near each other, not classes.

While advising services have been personally helpful in navigating my academic path, expecting students to suddenly know what to do with their lives feels like too much to ask, especially from such a relatively young age. At Northeastern, 50% of students change their major at least once. For the roughly one-third of students who come in undeclared, the Explore Program gives them options to try out various majors, but you’re encouraged to declare as soon as you can.

Not only are you expected to declare, but it feels like you’re supposed to present your entire life plan — a near-impossible task in the uncertainty of today’s world and the job market. Some fields are more competitive than others, and unfortunately, not everyone can follow their dream career.

At the end of the day, I think the transition to college is a necessary part of growing up. It’s a bridge from being a kid into being an adult — a time to learn how to balance your work with your personal life, but that doesn’t make the transition any easier. More high schools and colleges should offer support and more understanding should be given to those who are struggling to adjust.

While Northeastern has college transition resources, including academic advising and mental health support through University Health and Counseling Services, it feels stretched thin, especially at high-need times, such as the beginning of the year and finals season. The resources don’t feel well-advertised, either, and I think Northeastern needs to improve its outreach to students in this regard.

As my first semester comes to a close, I’ve found myself looking back on things that did and didn’t work. Setting a routine schedule is crucial. I made a spreadsheet for all my assignments, outlining the classes, due dates and details of the work, and it has kept me in check. Talk to others who live in your residence halls and reach out to your professors when you need help.

Perhaps most importantly, join clubs and explore your interests. Maybe you’ll find another part of yourself you didn’t know about before or find that you enjoy an activity a lot more than you expected — and maybe even want to make it part of your career. Things are different in the adult world, and some days, it’s hard to accept that I’ll never go back to sitting on the alphabet rug.

Antaine Anhalt is a first-year communication studies major. He can be reached at anhalt.a@northeastern.edu.

Op-ed: Donald Trump: the United States’ president, the world’s headache

On Nov. 5, former President

Donald Trump won the keys to the White House yet again. His first term in office was characterized by welfare cuts, tariffs and disastrous policies relating to the “hoax” that most of the world calls climate change. As for the contents of his second term?

Anyone’s guess.

As the United States braces for Trump’s return to power, we now face threats of abortion bans, mass deportations and uncertainty about the future of our democracy. But the impact of who the American people elect stretches far beyond U.S. borders, and the shockwaves of Trump’s second term will be felt across the world.

Four years ago, while Democrats across the United States celebrated President Joe Biden winning the presidency, I watched the news back home in the U.K. with my family.

As a country, we were in the depths of an eight-month-long COVID-19 lockdown, but when the result of the United States 2020 election finally rolled in, we saw a glimmer of hope. News outlets rejoiced, and Europe breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Our most powerful ally would no longer be governed by a man we viewed as unpredictable and extremist.

A year later, I made a major life decision. I wanted to leave home, move an ocean away and go to university in the United States. It was an idea I’d always had, but my parents weren’t very enthusiastic — they didn’t want me living in a country led by Trump, even if I was safely tucked away in New England.

I couldn’t blame them. I also viewed Trump as volatile, and the United States seemed to be descending into chaos. But now that he was gone, the Democrats were in power and moving seemed like a viable option.

This year, I watched election coverage from my Boston apartment. As the map turned red, I couldn’t believe my luck. I was going to be living under a right-wing Republican government, while back home in the U.K., the left-wing Labour Party is leading the government for the first time in 10 years.

As I despaired, so did the rest of Europe. We asked ourselves: “Really? Again?”

Trump is notoriously unpopular across the pond. Recent polls in 32 European nations found that in 24

countries, over half of respondents said that given the choice, they would’ve voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 election. In 14 of those countries, at least 75% of the people polled thought Harris was the better option.

On Nov. 7, European leaders met in Hungary to discuss the state of war in Ukraine, Germany’s political collapse and, most prominently, how the continent will deal with the Trump problem. Western Europe hitched itself to the United States’ wagon a long time ago, a connection solidified by NATO and various trade partnerships throughout the 20th century.

Now, it feels as though the wagon is on fire and missing both of its wheels. Trump has promised to impose 10 to 20% tariffs on all imports, a strain that Europe, whose biggest trading partner is the United States, is unprepared to take. The continent has not yet recovered from the steel and aluminum tariffs that Trump enforced in 2018 and European economies are struggling more than ever to compete with China and the United States.

As for the conflict in Ukraine, if Trump stays true to his campaign, Ukrainians may be free from war, but at what cost? It’s improbable that a deal made between the former president and Vladimir Putin would be favorable to Ukraine. On the flip side, if the fighting continues, and Europe doesn’t increase its defense budget, Trump may follow through with his threats to back out of NATO, leaving Europe at the mercy of Russia.

The European leaders’ other major qualm is Trump’s approach to climate change. In 2020, Trump formally withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement, which aims to keep the global average temperature below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, joining only three non-ratifying countries: Iran, Libya and Yemen. Trump said the agreement had resulted in an “unfair economic burden on American workers, businesses and taxpayers.”

One hundred and seven days later, the United States rejoined the agreement after Biden signed the instrument to bring the country back in on his first day in office. But it is expected that once in power, Trump will withdraw from Paris again, a move that the United Nations secretary general has warned could “cripple” the agreement, undoubtedly raising questions from smaller nations about why they should keep putting the work in when the world’s second-largest greenhouse gas polluter is abandoning the deal.

Trump has also said that he wants peace in the Middle East but that this should be achieved through a victory for Benjamin Netanyahu rather than a peace deal. He wants a swift victory for Israel in the conflict, promising to “finish the job,” and has encouraged Israel to ramp up activity in the region, including carrying out strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Sadly, in this scenario, the election result could not have helped people in Gaza, as Harris also failed to condemn

Israel’s actions, instead choosing to protect the status quo and allow the war to continue, a move that lost her votes from Arab American and leftwing voters.

At Northeastern, Harris’ stance on the Israel-Hamas war certainly caused a stir. I reported on the Young Democratic Socialists of America presidential debate watch party in September, and everyone I spoke to was anxious to see what Harris would say about the conflict. Her refusal to condemn Israel made people uncomfortable. The events of Oct. 7, 2023, were hideous — nobody denied that. But the inescapable reality is that today over 44,000 Palestinians have been killed with weapons that are primarily supplied by the United States.

With all this being said, the United States’ fate for the next four years is sealed. The country with the world’s biggest economy and second-largest nuclear arsenal has a convicted felon in the driver’s seat, and he’s holding only the concept of a map. The rest of the world is preparing for the crash, and it’s bound to be one they won’t be able to tear their eyes away from.

So, as a country, I implore you: Next time you fill out your ballots, cast aside the man who is an international joke and make sure that someone else — anyone else — ends up in the Oval Office.

Lily Cooper is a third-year biochemistry major. She can be reached at cooper.li@northeastern.edu.

Photo by Jessica Xing

Photo by Jessica Xing

By Antaine Anhalt | Contributor

By Lily Cooper | Contributor

Column: What’s behind the rise in celebrity look-alike contests?

By Grace Phillips News Correspondent

What’s better than meeting Timothée Chalamet? If the recent fascination with celebrity look-alike contests is any indication, it’s finding 50 of his doppelgängers in one place — and some lucky attendees left having interacted with both.

A much-anticipated Chalamet look-alike contest took place in New York City at Washington Square Park Oct. 27, and it didn’t disappoint. Superfans and fascinated onlookers thronged to judge the competitors — along with Chalamet himself. What started with the “Dune” and “Wonka” star in New York snowballed into a global trend. More than normalizing fan behavior and raising questions about beauty standards for men, the recent obsession with celebrity lookalike contests reflects communities in need of distractions from political realities and gender-based tensions.

YouTuber Anthony Po, who organized the Chalamet look-alike contest, set in motion an event that has since gone viral. A Paul Mescal look-alike contest sprung up in Dublin Nov. 7. Two days later, fans in London congregated to crown the individual who most resembled Harry Styles. The next day: a Dev Patel contest in San Francisco. Just when fans thought the craze was fading, Chicago hosted its

own look-alike contest Nov. 16. Yes, chef, it was in honor of “The Bear” star Jeremy Allen White. A Zayn Malik contest followed in Brooklyn — and still, there are more celebrities to be impersonated.

In Boston, a Tom Holland lookalike contest took place in Boston Common Nov. 24. A Chris Evans look-alike event followed shortly after. These contests are even pulling from the archives to honor attractive male idols: There is a John F. Kennedy look-alike contest scheduled for Dec. 8.

Zendaya marked the first female celebrity to have a look-alike contest thrown in her likeness Nov. 20 in Oakland, Calif. Rachel Sennott was the subject of a look-alike contest shortly after. However, they remain outliers among packs of male heartthrobs.

Perhaps unremarkably, all of these celebrities are cisgendered, able-bodied and conventionally attractive. The majority are white men. This is not a departure from Hollywood’s demographics — considering celebrities’ homogenous appearance, this beauty standard feels like nothing new.

However, the very action of look-alike contests, which involves men publicly showcasing their likeness to an attractive celebrity, indicates a change in priorities for men. Traditionally, taking pride

in one’s appearance and the vanity that is associated with it is dubbed as feminine; it is still more socially accepted to see a woman touching up her appearance at a dinner table than it is a man.

The advent of look-alike contests, which function quite similarly to beauty pageants with how they crown the winner, may indicate traditionally gendered beauty lines are blurring. Men across the world are flocking to these look-alike events and relishing the spotlight for their appearances, which may be the result of how commonplace it is for fans to lust after their favorite celebrities online.

The nature of these events also indicates a shift away from gender binaries. Gender non-conforming people are contestants for the likeness of many of these cis male celebrities. The normalization of performance-based look-alike contests was largely paved by the drag scene, which often hosts celebrity likeness events. Drag impersonators of celebrity icons — from Marilyn Monroe to Madonna — have been around for decades but are now becoming more mainstream.

To a public that is often unaccepting of drag, the majority of these performance-based events are community-centric and entirely harmless. At these celebrity lookalike contests, little kids entered the

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ring and cheered on by the joyous atmosphere. The participants seem as much focused on commitment to the costume and humor as they are to the actual likenesses. The goal is not to ordain the next Harry Styles — it is to gather with like-minded people in a community.

The timing of such events is no coincidence. After an incredibly divisive presidential election, as well as existing in a world fraught with global conflicts, many people may be using these events as a muchneeded distraction — something drag has long advocated for.

Considering the gendered wedge brought by the election results, it may be relieving for femaledominated fanbases to sink into the comforts of fan-girl culture, which projects the “written-by-awoman” complex onto attractive male celebrities. If it’s the case that

Nick Anderson, a 26-year-old chief of staff at Shipyard Software from Melrose, competes in Boston’s Tom Holland look-alike contest Nov. 24. A Chris Evans look-alike contest organized by the same hosts took place in Boston the week after.

the men in their lives aren’t meeting their standards, at least they can cheer on dreamy Chalamet-lookalikes decked out in purple “Wonka” garb. The humorous elements of performance-based events such as these can provide an escape when people need it most.

Ultimately, look-alike contests have become places for young people to gather and forget the harsh realities that may be present in their lives. For the time being, the contests aren’t going anywhere — after all, there is no shortage of celebrities to impersonate. The meteoric rise of celebrity look-alike contests was characterized by the community-based aspect; at least initially, these events were not hosted by any promotional entity. So long as these contests can stay that way, they will continue to foster camaraderie in a time that sorely lacks it.

presenting a

The contestant intentionally wore wired earbuds to emulate a photo of Holland dressed similarly during the filming of “Spider-Man:

Photos by Jessica Xing

A contestant smiles while

photo of Holland on his phone.

Homecoming.”

Holland lookalikes smile and dance to “HOT TO GO!” by Chappell Roan. The four joined the audience in performing the viral dance that Roan is known for teaching her fans at performances.