February 3, 2023

The Huntington News

Q&A: PRESIDENT AOUN DISCUSSES GLOBAL STUDENT EXPERIENCE, NEW MIAMI CAMPUS

By Rachel Erwin and Marta Hill

Northeastern President Joseph E. Aoun spoke with The News in a conversation Dec. 14 about the university’s global expansion and experiential learning programs, after the announcement of the new Miami campus.

Below is a transcript of the full

The Huntington News: We want to start with the recent news of the Miami expansion. What can we expect from that new campus, why Miami and what are you looking forward to?

President Aoun: By definition, whatever we do has to be experiential, and what is experiential? It is learning in different contexts. And that’s what we do. And so, from

Seattle, you can be in San Francisco, you can be at Mills, you can be in Charlotte and in Vancouver and in London, and now Portland, and now Miami. So this will provide our learners — our students — opportunities to have co-ops in different contexts and also will provide opportunities for learning. For instance, we have now a semester of entrepreneur-

granted the full fledged title of university in London, which means that we can also provide our students with opportunities to have dual degrees.

If you look at it from the point of view of the undergraduate students, moving forward you have the opportunity to spend time in one of our campuses and study there, especially on the West Coast

Because we all are going to become obsolete one day, one way or another, because there are new fields, new domains, new discoveries and we want to be able to reach learners and help them wherever they are. We are not going to ask them all to come to one campus.

EXPANSION, on Page 2

Gender-affirming care is a need, not a want, for transgender individuals at Northeastern

By Rachel Umansky-Castro News Staff

Finn Seifert, a second-year human services major at Northeastern, started hormone replacement therapy at 16, a treatment some hope to render illegal as part of a national campaign to restrict minors’ access to gender-affirming care.

But Seifert, who wanted to transition as early as middle school, argues that his exposure to the appropriate therapy was critical to his mental health and worries that waiting until he reached “adult status” would have put him at a disadvantage.

“I needed access to hormones and surgery to feel like myself,” Seifert said. “If I had to wait until 18, I would have missed out on so much.”

He believes that gender-affirming care, including for adolescents, is life-saving care for transgender individuals to exist as themselves.

A recent study in the Netherlands using data from the Amsterdam Cohort of Gender Dysphoria posited that continuing gender-affirming treatment as adolescents reach adulthood is typical and therefore affirms

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National Girls and Women in Sports Day celebration

Learn more about the event hosted by the Northeastern University Black Athlete Caucus.

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underage treatment is not detrimental to one’s mental growth.

“People often don’t believe kids. But for trans kids, puberty is trauma,” Seifert said. “To avoid that would relieve so much trauma. Not taking treatment right away kept delaying who I actually wanted to be.”

Parents are often skeptical of their children’s “premature” decision to transition; however, according to Planned Parenthood, middle school age is not too young to start questioning one’s gender since most people are aware of their identity when they’re toddlers.

“For most individuals, a stable sense of their gender identity appears at around three years old,” said Caitlyn Jarvis, a postdoctoral teaching associate of communication studies at Northeastern. “Once kids enter the school system, their perception of what it means to be a woman versus a man is confirmed.”

During children’s time in elementary school, the structure of the education system establishes what is societally appropriate for boys in comparison to girls, such as proper attire, extracurricular activities — baseball for boys, dance for girls — and other

stereotypical gender-specific categories. Through these barriers, it is common for children to agree or disagree with their current gender identity.

“Gender is a social construct. As [American philosopher and gender theorist] Judith Butler said, ‘gender is performative,’ therefore, children can play with the fluidity a bit more,” Jarvis said.

Seifert felt the challenges and effects of his predetermined gender as a child.

“I did not feel comfortable as a girl. I wasn’t me,” Seifert said.

Seifert is very grateful for the positive changes he has seen in his body and mind post-treatment. He feels that gender-affirming care should be considered a need for all ages, not a want. And Seifert is not alone.

“Transgender people are always the target as if we ask for so much. As a trans person, we already don’t have privilege,” said Grayson Peel, a fourthyear cultural anthropology major at Northeastern. “We are just asking for so little. Respect. Anytime a minority has a basic need, it’s a threat.”

Peel notes that because transgender individuals are often marginalized, it makes it difficult for them to

LIFESTYLE

NU Fashion Society hosts clothing swap

Take a look into how students trade opinions, taste and clothing items to seek new outfit inspiration. PAGE 4

transition smoothly. This is especially true for children, many of whom are not allowed to use a bathroom that best corresponds to their identity.

“Occasionally, I get scared and really self-conscious to use the men’s bathroom,” Peel said. “It took time after I transitioned.”

Peel came out as transgender at age 19. He did not have any gender-affirming care until he was 21. He then started hormone treatment in September and had chest masculinization surgery in October of this past year.

“Some ways [gender-affirming care] has helped me — facial hair and lower voice. The voice was the most drastic change. But the gender dysphoria was worse for me,” Peel said.

Gender dysphoria is a term that represents the feeling an individual may have due to the mismatch of their gender identity and biological sex.

“I was hyper-aware of what was changing,” Peel said. “And people kept misgendering me, which made me more frustrated because I am taking the hormones to be gendered correctly.”

Many transgender individuals can relate to the frustration Peel experi-

enced, especially kids who have been restricted from recieving gender-affirming care because of their age.

At Northeastern, organizations like NUPride create a safe haven for members of the LGBTQ+ community to express the obstacles they face with identity.

“Our organization is to support anyone through the transition process and provide them with the correct resources — many come asking about gender-affirming care,” said Ezra Statsky-Frank, a fourth-year computer science and finance combined major and president of NUPride. “I make sure to direct them to well-qualified doctors.”

Hailing from Florida, a state that recently banned transgender youth from receiving gender-affirming care, StatskyFrank empathizes with the difficulties that minors looking to transition must handle.

Transgender people, especially youth, struggle to coexist in a society that prioritizes the needs of cisgender individual. As a result, many push for the proper resources to be recognized as deserving of their human rights.

“Gender-affirming care saved me. It was the only way to exist as myself,” Seifert said.

MULTIMEDIA

57 Questions Video Interview Series

Check out our video series to learn from NU club presidents.

Photo by Sophie Quisenberry

Photo by Krista Brochu

Aoun talks campus expansion with The News

This is why we build those campuses, precisely to provide opportunities for lifelong learners — so undergraduate learners will benefit, lifelong learners will benefit and also each place has research needs, and so we would be able to work with the community, to work with the elected officials, to work with other universities precisely on solving the challenges that the places are facing.

Now you asked me, ‘Why Miami?’ Because Miami is on the move. Miami is attracting tech, is attracting health, and obviously sustainability is a big thing in Miami. With all these companies relocating, they need talent, and therefore we are going to step in and work with the partners on educating the talent.

HN: What’s the future of global campuses for Northeastern? Where are we going from here? We already have 14 campuses. What are you looking forward to next?

President Aoun: I was talking to a faculty colleague and they said, ‘What about the moon, going to the moon?’ So maybe the next campus will be there.

But meanwhile, if you look at where we are today, we are in the United States, in the UK and in Canada. Clearly, the world is not defined only by the three countries we are in. So we are looking at opportunities in Asia, for instance. So stay tuned because, at some point, you may go and have a certificate or graduate degree after you finish in Asia or maybe Latin America or maybe in Africa — we don’t know yet.

We’re constantly looking, but the whole idea is not to expand for the sake of expansion, but [the question is] would it allow us to be engaged with the communities we are in and a part of, but also to help our learners, wherever they are? We have over 300,000 alumni worldwide — so wherever you go, you will find an alumnus or an alumna. I was in Cape Town, and suddenly somebody stopped me and said, ‘Oh, we’re here because we’re doing social entrepreneurship.’ A group of students, which means our students, our learners, love to be part of different environments. That’s the essence of experiential learning.

We will keep looking at opportunities and we take our time. Usually when we enter into a new community we spend around two years meeting with city leaders, elected officials, the community leaders, the companies, the other education institutions, to try to understand whether we have a role and what role we can play because we’re going there precisely to further the environment, not only to help our learners but also to further the environment. That’s where we are, so stay tuned.

HN: With student populations all around the world, how do you see Northeastern maintaining a cohesive school identity across all those campuses?

President Aoun: That’s a great point. Ultimately, the people value tremendously the fact that they are a part of Northeastern. I value that, our students value that, our staff value that, our parents value that, our faculty value that. We had an exercise all together some years ago, and we said ‘what is the essence of a Northeastern education?’ Because precisely we are global, we want our essence to be there wherever we are. For instance, we are going to be engaged because we are an engaged institution with our communities. We are innova-

tive, we are entrepreneurial, we are experiential by definition. And therefore, the essence that we worked on, we did it on purpose because we say wherever we are, we have to live this essence.

HN: We’ve heard a lot about Experience Unleashed this year, how do global campuses fit into that plan?

President Aoun: If you unleash the experience, you’re going to see that there are opportunities in various contexts and variable opportunities in various cities. And therefore, what you have to do, what we have to do and what we continue to do is to try to understand the communities that we are part of, understand their needs, understand their challenges and understand their aspirations, and then play a role in, precisely, building that and working with them on that.

Let me give you an example: [in] Portland, Maine, we have the Roux Institute. When we were invited to go to Maine by Barbara and Dave Roux, the whole vision was that Maine is a great city, well positioned for the future in terms of food, in terms of tourism, but not as well positioned in terms of what shapes different industries, namely tech, AI, life sciences, etc. So they said, ‘We need a graduate school or graduate institution that will step in and help position Portland, Maine for the future.’ So we worked together and we said, ‘We will do it but in order to do it we need to have partners at the table. We need to have NGOs, we need to have companies, we need to have governmental organizations, etc. not only to help us understand what the needs are and what the aspirations are, but also to build a true partnership.’ And that’s what we did.

We have over 75 companies, NGOs, partners, even higher education partners working with us — Jackson Labs, the Maine Health System and the University of Southern Maine. So this allowed us not only to educate the talent at the graduate level, and also provide research solutions, but also we launched an ecosystem of entrepreneurship in order to incubate new companies and create startups because they’re the ones who will build the new economy.

In other words, what I’m saying is that every time we go to a place we are establishing a social [contract] with the community. To do it, you have to one, understand the community, second, earn the trust of the community by working together and third, have a mutual engagement to move that forward. Otherwise, it doesn’t work.

HN: What would you say to students who aren’t sure what the benefits of global travel are, or what they can gain from Northeastern’s position in the world?

President Aoun: There are two dimensions in what you ask: One is why is it good to have a global education, and second, how to get this global education.

Look, the world is too interesting to ignore. We are seeing now that people in the world are retrenching away from some globalization saying, ‘I want to remain confined to my geography, my environment.’ The challenges and opportunities that we face as human beings are on a worldwide level. Take the notion of the environment and sustainability; no one can work to solve the issues we face in terms of the environment on a national level only. So that’s one aspect.

The other aspect is that we are impacted by actions that we take and

actions that people in other countries take, by definition. So for instance, take the notion of what happened during the pandemic. No country could say:

‘I am going to solve the pandemic for my community.’ So, we all benefited by working together — universities across the globe and companies and world health organizations to tackle that — because we didn’t know how to start. We didn’t know how to react. We built vaccines together, etc., etc. etc. If you look at sustainability and the environment, if you look at health and if you look at well-being of human beings in general, we are all interdependent. So, our students need to learn about the world because they’re going to engage with the world and the world is going to engage with them even if they don’t. For instance, take Dialogue of Civilizations. That’s a marvelous way of getting familiar with a different environment. Co-op is another way because now you’re spending six months being there, living there, going overseas if you are [doing] Engineers Without Borders or doing social entrepreneurship, etc. So what’s in it for the students? They understand the world, but they understand themselves. There are many things that we take for granted. Some students came back, they went to Nepal some years ago, and they had a co-op there and they showered every day in cold water because that’s what people had. That gave them an appreciation of what we take for granted. We take for granted that we have hot water, we take for granted that we have water. Essentially, what’s in it is a notion of self discovery and engagement – self discovery because you understand yourself and you understand others, and also engagement with the world in order to see where you want to be, where you want to have an impact.

English is becoming the lingua franca of the world. That means English is becoming universal, everybody is using English. So you say ‘Oh, in that case, I don’t need to understand other languages.’ But then it puts us at a slight disadvantage because the world knows English, knows our culture, knows about our TV shows, and they know about their culture, their language and their TV shows. So essentially you are in a situation and we are in a situation where the world understands us and understands themselves, and this is an opportunity for us to reciprocate. And that’s the beauty of the global system. Global education allows you to understand yourself, understand how to engage the world and also understand how you can be impacted and impact the world. And our students are amazing with that. Global education has been on the move here. People, our students, our community want to do that. No one can say ‘look, that’s not for me because I want to stay and work in Minnesota or work in California or work in Boston,’ because even [then] we are impacted by this. We’re all interdependent and Northeastern University students are engaged — and they are engaged with the world — not only with one community but with the world. That’s beautiful.

HN: With Miami opening, what is one thing in particular you think students should take advantage of with the new campus or something they might not know about it that you think they should?

President Aoun: Miami is a hub … for the Caribbeans and also for Latin America. It’s a magnet for the people in

Latin America, in the Caribbean, and just by the mere fact of being in Miami you are seeing a fusion of different cultures and different interests.

Also, Miami is a gateway to Latin America and the Caribbean. Take a look at, for instance, where we are in Boston. Boston is under-Atlantic, therefore, we tend to look at Europe and the UK and, obviously, Canada. And now that we are in Seattle, and San Francisco, and Toronto, and Vancouver, the focus and the orientation is toward the Pacific Rim. … Therefore, it’s a gateway to the Pacific Rim. … The West Coast presence allows us to engage with Asia in the same way that our presence on the East Coast allows us to be engaged with the Atlantic Rim, so that gives our students opportunities to explore the world from these vantage points.

HN: One of the things we do hear a lot about at all universities, not just here, is the focus on conversations about mental health, and understanding how students can best benefit from mental health resources and how universities can address students’ needs. How do you think Northeastern can work to better support students, especially when they’re scattered across the world?

President Aoun: That’s important. We [were] one of the first universities to open [following the pandemic] and we did it successfully, because essentially we wanted to make sure that every member of the community — students, faculty, staff — were here in a healthy environment.

One of the reasons was that our students said ‘isolation and staying at home is not good for us, for our mental health.’ That led us to open very early on, one of the first universities to open, precisely to mitigate the mental health crisis that is affecting us all.

Mental health is a big issue. Mental health is an issue that we face as human beings, and especially the younger generations, namely your generations. So we were very, very cognizant of that and we worked with the community, mainly with the students, to do a certain number of things. … For instance, you, the students, said we would love to have

Wellness Days and we do have that. You initiated this, we worked with you to make it happen. And the community responded well — by community, namely, the students — but [also] the faculty had to learn to do it, and staff, everyone.

So first is, listen, talk. Our students are creative, entrepreneurial — Wellness Days [are] a direct consequence of what happens. Second, you raise an important point. If we’re global, our students have mental health needs and it’s not only in one campus, it is in all these campuses. So what we wanted to do is have accessibility worldwide. So you know about FIND, we launched FIND precisely [because] it’s not place-bound. FIND allows the students to have access to mental health engagement with professionals worldwide, 24/7. They can do it with a person in the place where they are, or they can do it [elsewhere]… How can we provide access across the whole global university system? FIND is good with that.

I said at the beginning two things: one is provide support, provide engagement and the other is [to] see whether we can also help mitigate any issue that can lead to mental health stress or crisis. So, for instance… we have … Headspace. So Headspace, that has been and is being used by our students, precisely, what is it providing? Meditation, relaxation — I use that too. We all need it, because we’re all under stress, we’re all running, we all have it. Similarly, we have the SilverCloud platform… So if you look at all these, it has two components: one component, trying to provide a nurturing environment where we as community members support each other. And second, if there is a need, we need to provide this need and we need to help the students and you need also to help them and help each one have access to this. So that’s the idea. Are we happy? Yes. Are we satisfied? Never. Stay tuned, more will happen. I just learned today that we’re working with a foundation called the JED Foundation. We’re always looking at new dimensions. Happy but not satisfied.

EXPANSION, from front

President Joseph E. Aoun speaks at Convocation Sept. 6 in Matthews Arena. In an interview with The News, Aoun said what attracts him to the Northeastern community is how engaged and innovative it is.

Photo by Marta Hill

First-gen low-income Northeastern students experience unseen struggles

By Rachel Umansky-Castro News Staff

Cynthia Barrera, a second-year criminal justice and political science combined major, has a packed schedule for a Northeastern University student: she’s balancing four classes while working 10 to 15 hours a week as a peer mentor, a teaching assistant and a receptionist at an office on campus.

“There comes a struggle with learning how to balance my work life and my school life. And a lot of professors aren’t always the most understanding when it comes to you having to balance life outside of Northeastern that isn’t solely just student life,” Barrera said.

Barrera is a first-generation, low-income student who needs to contribute to her tuition bills to attend Northeastern.

“We’re trying to earn money and live on our own,” she said.

Northeastern provides support to members of the first-generation low-income community, or FGLI, by offering scholarships and grants, and by working with organizations such as the Summer Bridge Scholars Program that can help with the transition. However, many in this community say these resources are limited and not enough to help students overcome the burdens they face, which often include significant responsibilities at home and the need to work. This is particularly true for students in Boston, now ranked the secondmost expensive city to live in the United States.

“Prices are going up due to the high inflation in the world,” said Peter Simon, an economics professor at Northeastern, who has been teaching for 15 years. “The university would then have to pay higher electricity,

housing et cetera, which affects the tuition costs. And low-income families always, no matter what happens to the economy, have a greater effect on their community.”

Barrera is a part of the community that understands the struggles of handling financial issues without any support from others — and she is not alone.

“The cost of living in Boston is so extreme. It would be nice to be able to move off campus and have an apartment, but I just found out about how much that would actually cost and it’s just things that you may not take into consideration before going to college,” said Clara Barsoum, a fellow first-generation low-income student and a political science and communication studies combined major with a double major in philosophy.

Barsoum moved to the United States from Egypt when she was 3 years old. Since moving, her father has been working in the automotive industry, as did her mother until she had Barsoum’s younger brother seven years ago.

“Scholarship and financial aid [are] helpful, but I also have to constantly have a job to be able to support my needs,” Barsoum said.

This common hardship of being a working student means missing out on typical student life at a university.

“Due to one of my jobs, I was unable to participate in a lot of the clubs I was really interested in. I’m missing out on those opportunities,” Barrera said. “Without my job, I wouldn’t be able to pay for food, textbooks and everything else that I need that Northeastern wasn’t able to help me with.”

Barrera also had to figure out how to properly fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, by herself. It may seem like a lot for a 19-year-old student to have to

learn how to manage paying tuition independently, but it became a norm for Barrera and Barsoum.

“Even when it comes down to the little things for me like paying my own tuition, people are absolutely shocked that is something I actually have to deal with. And I never thought that was odd beforehand,” Barsoum said.

Many people within the FGLI community can relate to this setback of not having the ability to simply call up someone in their family who is well-versed and knowledgeable in the academic field.

In response to this recurring and prevalent issue, the Massachusetts Office of Student Financial Assistance, or OSFA, promotes success in higher education through financial aid resources and services for students who may not have the economic or social opportunity to do so on their own. OSFA also has a program called GEAR UP, a federally-funded initiative that facilitates the needs of first-generation, low-income high school students who require guidance on the application process, forms, bills and any other necessary documents.

“Our staff is really there to help answer those questions that they may not be able to get. Even with something as technical as a FAFSA, it can be overwhelming to hear about taxes or students whose parents’ first language may not be English,” said Krista Callinan, GEAR UP scholarship and school initiatives coordinator. “We try to break down the barriers and expose [students] to things that may be second nature for some folks but for students who have never been on a college campus or heard from their family members, they may not know as much.”

Although GEAR UP only supports students from seventh grade

until their first year of college, Northeastern has supportive organizations, such as the First-Generation Low-Income Student Union, which can support students with a community once they transition to the university and throughout their college experience.

“I wanted to give other freshmen the same community that I once felt coming here,” said Donte Lewis, a first-year cell and molecular biology combined major at Northeastern and the first-year representative of the union. “Fortunately enough, I am a Torch scholar, so that means I came in with a cohort of friends and people that are like-minded. I want to take that embrace and give it to people that didn’t have that same support.”

Lewis connects with the community the FGLI Student Union represents because he is the first in his family to graduate high school and attend college.

“This adds to the pressure of being the first one to create new experiences and opportunities for my family that did not have the same opportunity as me,” Lewis said.

However, some other FGLI students feel these resources are not as promoted or available as often as they should be on campus. This leaves students figuring out financial and academic information by themselves or from word-of-mouth rather than hearing it directly from the university.

“The resources at Northeastern are not widespread,” Barsoum said. “It took until my second year to know we had a First-Gen Low-Income Student Union. I feel like that is something I should have known beforehand.”

Motivated by her experiences as a FGLI student, Barsoum is now try-

ing to provide resources for students like herself.

“One thing that I’m trying to do is create a first-gen and low-income resource toolkit, so then students within the Boston area are able to find those resources to help them with economic or academic needs,” Barsoum said.

While Northeastern’s FGLI students criticize its support system, some of Northeastern’s faculty believe it is substantial and will only develop further.

“We count on the advisors to really guide the students and tell them everything that’s available,” said Mary Mello, the assistant dean for undergraduate academic affairs at Northeastern University.

At the same time, Laura Green, the associate dean of teaching, learning, and experiential education and professor of English and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies, recognizes the limitations of the university’s resources.

“Students who might not already know that [resources] exist from previous experience might not feel comfortable advocating for themselves,” Green said.

Green said she thinks the main issue is the university’s lack of promoting its support for these students.

“Having the resources is as much of a challenge as actually connecting students with resources, [such as] the Student Support Initiative,” Green said.

The Student Support Initiative, or SSI, was created by Northeastern to provide all students with general information and resources for academic success.

“I feel like there really needs to be an extension of resources, and also making them more accessible and just easy to find, so that everybody is on the same playing field,” Barsoum said.

Clara Barsoum, Donte Lewis and Cynthia Barrera (pictured left to right) pose for a portrait. They spoke with The News about the challenges they face as first-generation low-income students attending Northeastern, such as balancing their part-time jobs with classes.

Photos by Jessica Xing

Clara Barsoum combined political science and communication studies & philosophy major

Cynthia Barrera criminal justice and political science combined major

Donte Lewis cell and molecular biology combined major

The Fashion Society’s clothing swap builds a style community at Northeastern

By Katy Manning News Staff

In a basement classroom in International Village, some of the most stylish and creative Northeastern students met up Jan. 24 to swap outfits and inspiration.

At their weekly Tuesday meetings, The Fashion Society holds events intended to get students talking about clothing.

“This event is a way to be more interactive within The Fashion Society as a whole and to build community within the club,” said Adriana Alvarez, a second-year cell and molecular biology major and co-events coordinator for the club. “It’s good for people to mingle around and to see everyone’s tastes and opinions about clothes.”

Many attendees at the meeting were new to The Fashion Society.

Ethan Vassilakis, a first-year student in the Explore Program, found out about the club through social media.

“It’s my first time here, and I had seen one of their scrapbooking events on Instagram,” Vassilakis said. “I got into fashion because of TikTok and watching drag races, and I wanted to learn more.”

Liat Weiss, a first-year international business major, said they enjoyed seeing every member’s unique style.

“I feel like I have very eclectic taste and I love seeing different aesthetics,” Weiss said. “I wanted to get inspiration from others and I’m really getting that here.”

Throughout the hour-longmeeting, attendees wandered around the room, approaching each other with their offerings in hand. Students tried on new pieces over their current outfits, and the room buzzed with compliments.

“Fashion is such a great way to show your individuality, and to express yourself without boundaries,” said Fortune Fawlae, a second-year nursing major and seasoned member of the club.

“It’s so exciting to take a certain piece and make it your own. One piece can be worn differently by so many people, and it’s really cool to see.”

Fawlae brought a variety of items to swap. She explained the pieces would give their new owners a chance to try out different trends.

“I already traded my parachute pants, which are really trendy right now and great for someone who wants to try a streetwear style. I also brought a pink corset which is super trendy and a great way to take an old fashion and make it modern,” Fawlae said.

Clothing swaps are also a great way to reduce waste and promote sustainable fashion. Vassilakis, for example, brought clothes he no longer wears to the swap, in hopes that “someone else would enjoy them as well.”

Second-year environmental science major Nikki Looney also cited thrifting as a great way to reduce clothing waste.

“All of the clothes that I

brought today are thrifted, and my outfit today is thrifted as well,” Looney said. “I try to thrift whenever I can, also just because it’s more affordable. I’m trying to minimize my impact in whatever ways that I can.”

She also found success in trading away her old clothes for newer finds.

“I brought this Nike quarter-zip hoodie that I thrifted years ago and I’ve just worn it too much. I also had a funky ballerina top

that everyone has been wearing right now,” Looney said. “I’m not really a fan but I figured someone would like it and I actually already swapped it.”

The Fashion Society’s weekly meetings have activities ranging from tote bag decorating to custom jewelry making. Alvarez explained the club’s biggest event of each semester is their student-run fashion show. The spring 2023 show’s theme is “The

Deadliest Sins,” and it will take place in mid-March.

Applications for various fashion show committees, including styling, modeling, hair and makeup, event management and marketing are now open until Feb. 13.

“Students can get involved by just showing up to meetings and following us on social media,” Alvarez said. “We’re always welcome to new members and new ideas.”

Review: ‘M3GAN’ balances elements of horror and serious themes with comedy

By Laura Emde News Staff

When it comes to promoting a movie, most studios do not use eight girls dressed as the main character dancing at an NFL game. Unless it’s “M3GAN,” of course.

Gerard Johnstone’s 2022 horror film “M3GAN” achieved surprising box office success following its Jan. 6 release after a creative promotional campaign took the saying “go big or go home” to heart. The campaign included a tour of New York City, a trailer wherein M3GAN dances before a violent rampage and videos ads specifically for a Bad Bunny music video.

The film depicts a young woman named Gemma (Allison Williams), an engineer at a toy company who recently gained custody of her niece Cady (Violet McGraw) following her parents’ tragic death in a car accident. In order to both cheer up Cady and prove herself to her boss, Gemma programs her newest toy, M3GAN, to protect Cady and provide her with companionship.

The comedy utilized in the promotions translates into the film itself. One such humorous moment comes about halfway through the film, after M3GAN attacks a boy harassing

Cady and sends him rolling down a hill — and into oncoming traffic. Cady is upset by this, and in an attempt to comfort her, M3GAN decides to serenade her with a lullaby version of “Titanium” by David Guetta and Sia.

The random song choice sent audiences in fits of laughter, because truthfully, did anyone expect the murderous doll to burst out into song?

However, the choice to have M3GAN sing “Titanium” is a strong one, as many of the lyrics in the song reflect M3GAN’s one purpose in life — to protect Cady. By being “bulletproof,” she wouldn’t let anything harmful reach Cady. The lyrics “shoot me down, but I won’t fall,” are a playful hint to the ending of the film, when Gemma and Cady struggle to destroy M3GAN and permanently shut her down.

Nevertheless, “M3GAN” is still a horror film at its core, even with its outlandish and amusing scenes.

M3GAN’s design alone is enough to warrant this classification. Although she is a doll, her face and movements emulate a human child, and the eerie combination of toy and person gives the titular character an “uncanny valley” effect that is unsettling to viewers. This was likely intentional, considering M3GAN

was brought to life using both puppets and a child actor.

The film also has traditional elements of horror-like suspense. At multiple points in the film, a character is walking alone in the dark and viewers are left to wonder when the bloodthirsty android in a wig will attack. There is a bit of gore in the film, as M3GAN — quite literally — rips off someone’s ear. For those with a weaker stomach, this might be the time to look away from the screen.

However, many critics of the film have expressed their disappointment with the lack of gore in the film, as much of it was cut so the film earned a PG-13 rating as opposed to R. The gore that remains is still enough to invoke fear in viewers and get the point across that this little doll is out for blood. Removing violent scenes for a PG-13 rating meant that M3GAN was accessible to a wider range of audiences, which increased its ticketing sales.

Underneath the meme-ification and horror of the film, “M3GAN” also deals with serious topics, such as grief and how to cope with it. After her parents’ deaths, Cady misses the relationship she had with her parents and the safety that came with it, and attempts to replicate that with M3GAN. As M3GAN’s only objec-

tive in life is to keep Cady safe, in a way, she is filling a void that was left after the car accident.

Gemma is also coping with the deaths of her sister and brother-in-law by avoiding the negative feelings that come with it. She does whatever she can to make both Cady and herself happy, which ultimately connects to M3GAN — Cady becomes happy once she finds a friend in M3GAN, which in turn lifts Gemma’s spirits.

The film makes a point of demonstrating that neither of these coping mechanisms are necessarily healthy through a scene in the third act of the film where Gemma takes M3GAN away after the doll kills their neighbor. Cady’s reaction is emotional and somewhat violent, kicking Gemma’s seat as she drives and begging to know where M3GAN is. Gemma realizes avoiding the negative emotions that come with death is not the way to cope, and that Cady’s attachment to M3GAN is ultimately harming her more than it is helping her.

“M3GAN” proves that horror films can successfully challenge the traditional concept of a horror genre by adding in elements of comedy and drama, and hopefully it will pave the way for future thrillers to break the mold.

Students at the fashion swap draw inspiration from other styles, try out new trends and meet other clubmembers. For some attendees, it was their first time joining a meeting after learning about the exchange on social media.

Photo by Sophie Quisenberry

Underneath the memeification and horror of the film, “M3GAN” also deals with serious topics, such as grief and how to cope with it.

— Laura Emde News Staff

Lucy Dacus takes the ‘Night Shift’ at Northeastern’s Blackman Auditorium

By Jake Guldin Deputy Lifestyle Editor

In the dimly lit Blackman Auditorium Jan. 29, singer-songwriter Lucy Dacus emerged, guitar in hand, to the delight of an audience best characterized by their affinity for Dr. Martens’ boots.

Dacus — who was booked by organizers from both the Northeastern Council of University Programs, or CUP, and Tastemakers, Northeastern’s student-run music magazine — has garnered an impassioned fan base since her last appearance on campus in 2019.

Katherine Miner, a third-year music major, is one such recent devotee, having learned of Dacus through boygenius — an indie rock supergroup made up of Dacus, Phoebe Bridgers and Julien Baker. Miner’s admiration of Dacus is, as for many people, rooted in the storytelling found throughout her discography.

“She writes about a lot of things that are relatable to people, but she also makes it specific,” Miner said. “Because her songwriting is so emotional, a lot of people have a big investment in her. Her music has helped them through stuff.”

The audience’s interactions with Dacus throughout the entirety of the event, but especially during her acoustic set, confirm Miner’s assertion about the relationship between Dacus and her fans. Attendees sat in awe of Dacus’ vocal chops and melancholic lyricism, joined her enthusiastically — per her request — to loudly belt the chorus of “Night Shift” and laughed at the jokes she cracked between songs.

During the Q&A portion of the event, spectators attentively listened as Dacus responded to a myriad of prompts. These questions, some of which were usersubmitted via Instagram, sought to grill Dacus on everything from her songwriting process to her activity on Goodreads, where she has a significant following.

Of the night’s events, though, one moment stood above the rest.

After performing “Thumbs,” Dacus allowed the applause to subside. She coyly looked out at her enraptured crowd.

“The next one is really exciting,” Dacus said. “I’ve never played this…”

In an instant, the crowd erupted into a frenzy as the opening chords of “True Blue,” a boygenius single that was released Jan. 18, emanated

from the speakers. Alejandro Hernandez, a first-year computer science and psychology combined major, was still recovering from the impromptu performance of the track after the show concluded.

“When she performed ‘True Blue,’ I was not expecting that,” Hernandez said. “I wasn’t expecting any boygenius songs, but her new one? Oh my god, I was shook. I’m sorry, that was crazy.”

For many, though, the road to the evening’s festivities was a long one.

Lila Poppel, a theater and psychology junior at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, found herself in the middle of a queue — one that managed to reach the Curry Student Center adjacent to Blackman Auditorium — with the Northeastern friend who had invited her. Poppel, who drove around two hours and waited in unfamiliar territory just to see Dacus, did so in part because of Dacus’ ability to speak to her identity as a queer woman.

“I connect with a lot of her lyrics and a lot of her messages,” Poppel said. “Her music … it’s like having a friend, almost, which sounds super cheesy, but I genuinely feel like I know her to some extent.”

Gaby Rivera, a recent graduate of Brown University who attended the event as a friend’s plus-one, arrived well before doors opened to secure an ideal spot in the front of the line.

“I’ve been here since 9 a.m.,” Rivera said. “She rarely comes up to the Northeast. She does a lot of amazing shows in New York, but very rarely in Boston. So it’s just a treat to see her in a more intimate setting.”

Fortunately for everyone, Blackman Auditorium — which can hold 988 people — had just enough space to account for all who were interested. Rosie Scott, a third-year music industry major and CUP’s small concerts chair, said the venue was “four people short of capacity” when doors closed at 7 p.m.

Once that happened, she, too, was able to partake in and thoroughly enjoy the event.

“It was a very unique experience, especially when you’re in somewhere like Blackman where it’s more like a viewing than an interactive concert,” Scott said.

“Having an acoustic set definitely helped with that because she was able to really showcase her vocals and it was a lot more personal. I loved being able to watch her play and getting to know her more.”

Column: These new and upcoming books are a perfect next winter read

By Cynthia Chen News Correspondent

Winter, the season of chilly days and even chillier nights, is the perfect time to bundle up in thick sweaters and warm blankets, with a cup of hot cocoa and a paperback in hand. For those looking for the perfect winter read, look no further. Here’s a list of new and upcoming books to satisfy your cravings.

For the light academia fans:

“If You Could See the Sun” by Ann Liang Alice Sun is the only scholarship recipient at her elite Beijing international boarding school. She has always felt invisible among her peers — that is, until she starts uncontrollably turning invisible, like actually invisible. When her parents can no longer afford her tuition, even with the scholarship, Alice decides to monetize her new abilities by uncovering her classmates’ scandalous secrets — for the right price. But as her tasks escalate from petty gossip to actual crimes, Alice must decide if it’s worth sacrificing her conscience or risk losing her life as she knows it.

For readers ready for cuffing season:

“Lucy on the Wild Side” by Kerry Rea Lucy Rourke has dedicated her whole life to what she loves most — gorillas. As a junior primatologist, she’s focused on getting one thing: a promotion to head keeper. So when a wildlife documentary hosted by hotshot TV personality Kai Bridges chooses the zoo she works at as his filming location,

Sunday, Feb. 5

Community Skate

Enjoy ice skating, arts and crafts and free food with loved ones.

12 p.m. - 4 p.m., Canal District Kendall, Free.

Thursday, Feb. 9

Black History Month Music Festival

Celebrate Black artistry with a musical lineup including bLAck pARty, Hannah Jadagu and Ernest Rareberrg.

7 p.m., AfterHours, Free.

Tuesday, Feb. 14

Love at Loretta’s

she takes the opportunity to showcase her beloved gorillas and land a starring role in her department. However, when Kai and his crew arrive, it’s obvious Kai cares more about ratings than actual animals. But as summer goes on, Lucy is surprised to find that there might be more to him than his brooding personality and cheesy catchphrases — maybe a promotion isn’t the only thing she wants.

For readers looking for an adventure back in time:

“Foul Lady Fortune” by Chloe Gong

The year is 1931; the setting, Shanghai. Four years ago, Rosalind Lang was brought back from the brink of death, but the strange experiment that saved her also left her in a predicament — she cannot die. Now, desperate for redemption from her traitorous past, Rosalind uses her abilities as an assassin for her country. But when the Japanese Imperial Army invades China, Rosalind’s mission pivots, and she must infiltrate foreign society and identify the culprits behind a series of brutal murders before more are killed. To reduce suspicion, she poses as the wife of Orion Hong, another Nationalist spy. But Orion has an agenda of his own, and Rosalind has secrets she wants to keep buried. As the ill-matched pair attempt to unravel the conspiracy, they find there are deeper and more horrifying layers to this mystery than they ever imagined.

For readers feeling a bit lonely during this time of the year:

“I Want

by Baek Sehee

Translated from the South Korean bestseller, “I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki” is a candid and intimate memoir that details Baek Sehee’s experience seeing a psychiatrist about her — what to call it? — depression? She does not receive anything as serious as a full diagnosis, but Baek feels persistently low, anxious and self-doubting. The constant effort to hide her feelings and present a calm face is exhausting and overwhelming. But even when she feels hopeless, Baek still craves her favorite street food: spicy rice cakes, or tteokbokki. Written in the form of dialogues with her psychiatrist over 12 weeks, Baek begins to map a way out of her seemingly endless cycle of self-abuse. “I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki” is a book for anyone who has ever felt alone in their everyday hopelessness.

For readers who want to channel their inner teenage misfit:

“Now Is Not the Time to Panic” by Kevin Wilson

Aspiring writer and offbeat loner Frankie Budge just wants to make it through another summer in Coalfield, Tennessee, when she meets Zeke, a talented but similarly awkward and lonely artist living with his grandmother. When the pair posts an enigmatic anonymous poster together, their work becomes unforgettable to all who see it. When the posters begin appearing everywhere, people wonder about its creators and rumors spread. Soon, the mystery behind Frankie and Zeke’s sign poses repercussions that spread far beyond the town, threatening to tear the two apart. Twenty years

later, famous author and loving mother Frances Eleanor Budge gets a call from journalist Mazzy Brower about the Coalfield Panic of 1996. Would she know anything about that? Will her secret destroy what she’s so carefully built? “Now Is Not The Time to Panic” is a bold coming-of-age story about the secrets that haunt us and the truths that will set us free.

For readers who want a chill to match the outside weather:

“How to Sell a Haunted House” by Grady Hendrix

A darkly comedic and horrifying novel about the haunted houses and the people that haunt us.

When their parents die at the end of the coronavirus pandemic, Louise and Mark Joyner are devastated. Nothing can prepare them for how bad things are about to get. The two siblings are almost totally estranged, and couldn’t be more different — but now, they don’t have a choice but to get along. The virus has passed, and both of them are facing bank accounts ravaged by the economic meltdown, and their only asset is their childhood home. They need to get the house on the market as soon as possible, but before their parents died, newspapers were taped over the mirrors and the attic door was nailed shut. As disturbing events pile up in the house, Louise and Mark have to learn that sometimes the only way to break away from the past, and to sell a haunted house, is to burn it all down.

As the snow falls and seasons change, switch up your reading list with these fun book releases.

Celebrate Valentine’s Day at a southern restaurant with live music and line dancing.

5 p.m., Loretta’s Last Call, Reservations recommended.

Wednesday, Feb. 15

Book Reading at The Museum of African American History - Boston

In honor of Black History Month, attend a reading and discussion of Dr. Jaqueline Jones’ new book, “No Right to an Honest Living: The Struggles of Boston’s Black Workers in the Civil War Era.” 12 p.m., 46 Joy St., Boston, Free, RSVP required.

Feb. 15 - Feb. 20

The Boston Science Fiction

Marathon & Festival

Watch groundbreaking science fiction films, connect with Whovians — fans of the BBC series “Doctor Who” — and more at this annual celebration of all things sci-fi.

Times vary per day, 55 Davis Sq., Somerville, Tickets start at $15.

Calendar compiled by Cathy Ching & Jake Guldin Graphics by Emma Liu

WOMEN IN SPORTS

Senior goalie Gwyneth Philips steps into big shoes to defend her team’s title

By Amelia Ballingall Deputy Sports Editor

With 12 departures at the conclusion of the 2021-22 season — including multiple high-profile players — the future of the Northeastern women’s hockey team was uncertain. But when senior goaltender Gwyneth Philips stepped into the net, the path to success became clear once again.

Philips started playing hockey around the age of 6, the self-proclaimed “puppet” of an older brother who would urge her to practice with him day after day.

“I have an older brother. He’s like six years older than me, so I’d skate with him and he’d put me in the roller hockey gear and shoot at me, so that’s kinda how I started to become a goalie,” Philips said.

The Athens, Ohio native couldn’t always be found between the pipes, however; she didn’t start as a fulltime goalie until she was about 12.

“I can think like a player,” Philips said, citing her ability to quickly and easily predict the movements of oncoming opponents. “I can see the ice from the players’ perspective pretty well.”

Even after beginning that goaltending career, Philips could still be found playing on the wing from time to time on her high school team. On top of that, she was involved in many other sports throughout her youth — volleyball, lacrosse and track, to name a few.

But it was hockey that stuck.

Philips was double-rostered from a young age, playing on multiple teams to develop her skill. After moving to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the goaltender played simultaneously at her high school and with the city’s youth team until her arrival at Northeastern.

“I didn’t give it a thought to not play college once I realized it was an option,” Philips said.

Once she got to Northeastern, she learned the path to the net would not be as easy as it had been throughout her youth. For the first three years of her collegiate career, Philips sat in the shadow of Huskies’ five-year starting goaltender Aerin Frankel, but did not let that deter her.

“I went from being the starting goalie all throughout my youth career to not playing very much, so I had to learn how to grow from that,” Philips said. “I took that time to understand myself as a player, under what conditions do I thrive in, under what conditions do I struggle in, so I was able to translate that from hockey-specific to real world [knowledge].”

Although she was second-in-command to Frankel, Philips gave a strong showing every time she hit the ice. In the 14 games she started prior to the 2022-23 season, she boasted a 13-1

record, including six shutouts, three of which came in her first three starts.

Then, when USA Hockey hosted a goaltending camp in 2021 for some of the country’s top female goaltenders, Philips was one of only 12 on the roster, proving she was a force to be reckoned with, even with limited ice time.

Although her impressive stats could’ve easily given her a starting position on another top-tier collegiate team, Philips felt at home at Northeastern.

“They valued me as a person and a player even when I wasn’t playing as much,” Philips said. “And I think that was really important in my development not to lose confidence in myself.”

That change has been noticed not just by the netminder herself, but by the teammates and coaches she’s chosen to surround herself with throughout her time at Northeastern.

“I’d say the biggest change I’ve seen in her is just the confidence in the way that she carries herself — that’s on and off the ice — and I think it takes a special person to come into the situation she did … but it didn’t change anything for her,” said assistant coach Lindsay Berman. “She still worked as hard, she still fought for every single puck in practice.”

Now sitting firmly on the starting lineup game in and game out, Philips has done what she came to Matthews Arena to do — goaltend.

“She just wants to play, and frankly, she just wants to win. She doesn’t care about the personal accolades,” Berman said.

And the accolades are numerous.

Philips was named Hockey East goal-

tender of the month for both October and November 2022 and sprinkled a few weekly awards on the season for good measure.

On top of that, Philips leads the NCAA in save percentage (.961), goals against (.781) and shutouts (nine), putting her on track to be the best in the nation this year.

Philips credits much of this to her defenders, who she says “make [her] job easy.”

“Yeah I have really good stats, but it’s more of a nod to how much my d[efense] and my forwards help me, because they just make my job as easy as it possibly can be,” Philips said. “In return, I’m able to perform well.”

With defenders diverting off the efforts of the opposing teams — and even swiping pucks away from the goal line themselves — Philips has taken half as many shots as her opponents have, but when an attacking forward slips through, the Huskies know that Philips will be there to easily tackle the one-on-one.

Philips remains calm and collected each time she steps between the pipes, even when down a player. Northeastern currently holds the third best penalty kill in the NCAA at .921, and Philips is largely to thank for that.

“She gives us so much strength and power and confidence just by being like, ‘Okay, I got this, I know I got this,’ which means we’ve got this … so that, at least for a defenseman, that’s huge,” said junior defender Lily Yovetich.

Even in practice, Philips is always working to help the team. From her

spot at the tail end of the rink, she has a better view than most and is quick to help make a change when needed.

“There’s no holding back with her, so if we need to make an adjustment, or if [Philips] notices something that we need to know, she shares it right away, and I think our d-core really appreciates that about her,” Berman said.

Philips has been known to have a great balance of competitiveness and humor during practices, but her positive presence doesn’t stop there. Her uplifting, quick-witted demeanor gives her a unique role on and off the ice, and has for the past four years.

“She’s just so unapologetically herself,” Yovetich said. “She’s just so funny and so witty, always cracking jokes.”

Humor can go a long way on a team, especially one as competitive as the Huskies, who recently skated their way to a fourth consecutive Hockey East regular season title. Whether she’s pulling up to Matthews Arena on her signature electric bike or cracking a quick joke at a team dinner, Philips knows how to put a smile on the faces of the people around her.

“Her teammates absolutely love her because she’s so much fun to be around,” Berman said. “I think they just want to play so much harder for her because of how much they love her.”

After a stellar first half of the season, that admiration befits Philips even more now, as the goaltender recently embarked on her second co-op.

“It’s hard, just because when you’re in classes you have the break in between classes to get food and just

decompress, but on co-op, you don’t really have that,” Philips said. “It’s hard but it’s definitely worth it. The actual real world experience is invaluable, so I definitely make the sacrifice.”

The days are long for the industrial engineering major, who gets up at 6 a.m. to ensure she can get to work on time. From there, it’s a full day on the job, followed by practice with the team. The jam-packed schedule, and the ever-fluctuating hours due to games and practices, may seem overwhelming at first glance, but Philips has never felt alone in her endeavors.

“I’m more than just a hockey player; I’m a student, I’m a kid. So the support I [get] from my teammates and coaches has always been really helpful,” Philips said.

With one more year left in her NCAA eligibility, and one more left in her degree program, it looks as though Philips will be riding out the rest of her collegiate career with the Huskies, and the team is grateful she’s stuck around all this time.

“Gwyn is just super even-keel, and I think that is such a quality that you need in a goalie, because they’re the backbone,” Yovetich said.

Bearing down on the last few weeks of the regular season — and with even more in store after that — Northeastern knows that it’s lucky to have a team player like Philips in its net.

“She just came in and proved it on the ice,” Berman said. “She didn’t have to say anything, she just performed and continues to perform.”

Senior netminder Gwyneth Philips looks on from the net during the game against Holy Cross Jan. 27. Philips made 16 saves against the Crusaders and earned her ninth shutout of the season.

Photo by Elizabeth Scholl

Huskies get educated on National Girls and Women in Sports

By Eamonn Ryan News Staff

Twenty-six years after graduating from the Northeastern School of Law and now the United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, Rachael Rollins knows the lessons she learned as a lacrosse player at University of Massachusetts Amherst have translated to her booming professional career.

“When you’re playing a sport,” Rollins said, addressing Northeastern student-athletes on Solomon Court Wednesday evening, “you have coaches, you have captains … I try to go back and say, ‘How can I be the best coach or captain for people?’”

Rollins was the primary speaker in a National Girls and Women in Sports Day discussion moderated by NBC 10 Boston social media producer Kwani Lunis, who graduated from Boston College in 2016 and covered the Eagles’ football team for the BC Interruption, a sports media outlet at the school. The discussion was hosted by the Northeastern University Black Athlete Caucus, or NUBAC, who wanted to put on an educational discussion to kick off their series of Black History Month events.

“Being able to publicize this day and make it as essential as it’s supposed to be is very important to us,” said Savion Thompson, co-president of NUBAC and a junior runner and jumper for the Huskies’ track and field team. “This is not only National Girls and Women in Sports Day; it’s falling during Black History Month, so we need to highlight those people as well.”

As she answered questions from both Lunis and student-athletes, Rollins discussed her history playing lacrosse, calling sports “a great equalizer” as she grew up on the field in a predominantly white sport. The Roxbury native went to high school at Buckingham Browne & Nichols School — a private school in Dedham — before earning a scholarship to play at UMass.

Rollins, the first Black woman to be named the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, recalled

her days in Amherst. She told the story of how, when the athletic department cut women’s lacrosse and two other women’s sports, she and her teammates forged a path to bring the sports back by applying pressure to the athletic director. But, by that point, it had been a year since the team had been on the field together.

“It’s really easy to be upbeat when you’re winning, but who are you when the lights go off?” she said.

The pair of speakers fielded questions from athletes from a myriad of Northeastern sports. The questions ranged from how the former athletes applied their skills to their jobs and the discrimination they faced in the workforce, to what motivated them to keep going and general life advice.

“Put yourself in circumstances

in which you are always learning, always being pushed,” Rollins said.

Rollins also discussed how her personality has shaped her career path, declaring that being true to yourself and working hard is one of the best ways to earn respect and forge ahead with people who are biased against you.

“I can look back, and I worked with people who I know didn’t like me,” she said, “but they still had to respect me because I was that good.”

Both Rollins and Lunis entered the conversation excitedly and were grateful for the opportunity to speak with student-athletes.

“There couldn’t be a more perfect thing for me to do as an [alumna] of Northeastern,” Rollins said. “I just thought it was a great opportunity to learn from the students and

maybe explain a little bit about the Department of Justice or my path to getting on this.”

Lunis was just as interested in helping the Huskies and said she gained some valuable insights from Rollins and the student-athletes.

“The biggest lesson I learned from Rachael Rollins and, of course, the students is how confidence is so important,” Lunis said. “I tried to encourage [the students] that whatever they decide to do after college, to just walk into the room confidently and know that they do belong in spaces whether or not they see other people that look like them in those rooms.”

While the guests wanted to learn from the students, NUBAC

co-president and senior track and field athlete Kennedee Cox took plenty away from their answers and from the cooperative effort of NUBAC, Northeastern Athletics and the guest speakers to put on this event.

“It was exciting just because it shows how many allies we have in the athletic department,” Cox said. “I’m really happy to see it; everyone walked away learning something.”

Rollins certainly made sure every student-athlete walked away learning that their experiences wouldn’t just make them better people, but rather make them the best examples of people.

“You’re going to use all these skills because you’ve been on a team,” she said. “You are perfectly suited to lead.”

Photo by Krista Brochu

Rachael Rollins (left), a former lacrosse player at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, talks with students about her experiences as a collegiate athlete and woman in power in conversation with Kwani Lunis. Rollins became the first Black woman to earn the title of United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts last year.

Northeastern athletes compete and celebrate in their respective sports. This year marked the 37th annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day.

Photos by Hunter Peters, Mike Puzzanghera, Sarah Olender, Mike Puzzanghera (left to right)

Tyler enters ‘Spottlight’ after 100 games played

By Rachana Madhav News Correspondent

The Northeastern men’s hockey team picks its players well, and it has found a great one in Tyler Spott. A senior forward, Spott celebrated the 100th game of his career Jan. 20, all the while prepping for the upcoming Beanpot. Spott, who is beloved by his teammates and coaches alike, has been very open about how much the sport means to him. From stepping on the ice at no more than 3 years old to competing on influential teams as a teenager, Spott is no stranger to the demands of hockey.

Spott grew up in Toronto, where he played on multiple teams. His most recent team before Northeastern was the Green Bay Gamblers, a junior team in the United States Hockey League, or the USHL, which was an impressive feat as an 18-year-old. Playing for the Gamblers taught him to lose the fear of playing against older opponents.

“I moved to Green Bay when I was 18, and playing against 21-year-olds was a lot, but it helped me. Making that transition was a lot easier,” Spott said.

As a wide-eyed high schooler, playing against people older than him was difficult, but helped make his transition to Northeastern’s team easier. Hockey was a sport that felt “automatic” to Spott, who never looked back before committing to play in college.

“[Playing at Northeastern] means everything,” Spott said. “This is a really special place. Being here for the last four years has meant the world to me.”

His love for his team is reciprocated, especially in the eyes of assistant coach Jason Guerriero.

To both his eager team and the roaring crowds he plays for, Spott is seen as a stoic and trustworthy defenseman — “a real powerhouse on the playing field” — Guerriero said.

“He’s a guy that you want as a front and center for your program,” Guerriero said. “You know what you’re getting out of Spott every single day. He comes to work — you can trust him. He’s consistent, both on and off the ice.”

Guerriero has known Spott for over six years now, and has truly enjoyed watching his development as a player.

As a senior, he’s been on the Northeastern ice for a while, where he has garnered the love of his newest teammates as swiftly as becoming someone that they look up to.

“He’s been a great leader and role model for the younger guys that come in,” Guerriero said.

Freshman defender Vinny Borgesi, Spott’s blue line pairing, sees him as a leader as well as a friend.

“He’s nothing but the best to me all the time,” Borgesi said. “When I first came in, he was kind of this quiet dude, but now obviously, we’re

so far in the season now, he just opened up a bit.”

As defensive partners, Borgesi would follow Spott anywhere.

“He knows the ropes, he’s obviously helped me a lot. I’m lucky to have that,” Borgesi said.

Borgesi is quite keen on modeling himself after Spott once he becomes a senior. Though being a freshman on the hockey team is daunting, people like Spott play a huge role in making the newcomers feel welcome.

“There’s been a couple of times where Spott has pulled me aside and gave me a little advice here and there, just like he’s been in my position before, so, you know, I’m going to do the same thing when I’m a senior, I think he does a really good job of helping young guys out, and just being a great guy,” Borgesi said.

Spott said he didn’t realize he had hit 100 games until someone told him.

In his freshman year alone, he played in 33 games, including the Beanpot, where he helped his team to a 5-4 overtime win against Boston University. As someone from outside of Boston, Spott had no idea how important that was to the locals, or his teammates. The Beanpot, an annual hockey tournament that is quite popular in Boston, is something that is very dear to Northeastern students.

The tournament was an eye-opener for him — just seeing how much it

meant to the kids from Boston made it mean a lot more to him.

“Being able to win it my freshman year was honestly one of the coolest things I’ve ever been a part of,” Spott said, “You have those rivalries with those other schools, and being able to compete in that tournament and play against them is a ton of fun.”

Spott plays his heart out every game, where he leaves all his distractions off the ice. In terms of handling the immense pressure that comes with having a dad and cousin in the NHL, Spott tries to take it day by day, where he looks to his family for advice and coaching. His dad, Steve Spott, currently works as an assistant coach to the Dallas Stars, while his cousin played for the Florida Panthers and Detroit Red Wings.

“He grew up in a pro locker room, you can tell by the way he carries himself and the way he talks,” Guerriero said.

While admitting that it might be a cliché, Spott lives by the rule of truly going out on the ice and having fun, even if you’re not feeling your best.

He enjoys the sport not only for the gameplay, but for the feeling of competing against the very best in the most notable ice rinks of the NHL.

“The coaches and my teammates have made me into the player I am today,” Spott said. “Being able to compete with the best players in the country every day is a lot of fun, and then playing

against the best players in the country on weekends is even more fun.”

To Tyler Spott, continuing to play hockey seems like a given.

After Northeastern, he is open to whatever opportunities come his way, whether it be playing in the NHL, or potentially being an NHL referee. Wherever he decides to go, his coaches and teammates at Northeastern would undoubtedly have his back.

‘We’re getting our swagger back’: Huskies look to carry newfound power into the Beanpot

The end of January means one very important thing for the Huskies: Beanpot is coming.

The men’s ice hockey team (13-9-3, 11-4-2 HE) will head to TD Garden Feb. 6 once again to compete in the 70th Beanpot tournament, Boston’s most highly-anticipated college hockey rivalry series, where they will face Boston University (19-6-0, 13-4-0 HE) for the third time this season.

Beanpot wages a war between Beantown’s four biggest Division I hockey programs — Northeastern, BU, Boston College and Harvard — and drives them to compete for a pot-shaped trophy and earn city-wide bragging rights for the year to come.

Though the battle does not affect conference standings, it will be personal for both teams, as the Huskies fight to dismount the reigning Beanpot champions and the Terriers seek to stop Northeastern in its tracks for the second year in a row. In last year’s title game, BU topped Northeastern in a 1-0 slugfest behind then-sophomore forward Dylan Peterson’s goal in the final two minutes of the game.

Northeastern is 1-1 against BU this season, skating to both a heroic last-period victory and a crushing overtime defeat in a home-andhome series last November. As they head into the next matchup, the Huskies are looking to extend their five-game win streak marked by victories against No. 14 University of Connecticut and No. 15 Merri-

mack College. To do so, they will need to do three things: focus on the offensive details, stay out of the box and come awake defensively.

One of Northeastern’s greatest roadblocks this season has been its difficulty completing passes and finishing plays; five of its nine losses have been decided by one goal.

The Huskies often struggle with closing gaps and communicating on-ice, two things which cannot happen against a competitive team like BU — a group that only has one regulation home loss so far this season (Northeastern’s 2-0 win Nov. 18).

In head coach Jerry Keefe’s eyes, this first step is vital.

“I think some of our details are getting better — they need to be better,” said Keefe at Monday’s Beanpot media luncheon. “Our commitment to checking in the middle of the rink and back pressure has been a big emphasis for us. That’s helped us offensively because we have the puck more.”

A huge component of Northeastern’s recent scoring efforts has been the emergence of graduate student forward Liam Walsh as an offensive force. After a slow start marked by no points and an injury that sidelined him for much of October and all of November, Walsh is on a five-game point streak that began with a goal against UConn at Frozen Fenway in early January.

Walsh, who transferred from Merrimack this season, attributes this sudden spike to an increased comfort level on Husky ice.

“Coming back [from the injury] … and being able to play those

back-to-back games has really allowed me to be more comfortable with the system,” Walsh said. “Getting familiar with some linemates has been a big bonus as well.”

As Walsh and other middle-liners heat up, the top line — usually featuring senior Aidan McDonough, sophomore Justin Hryckowian and freshman Cam Lund — gets a bit of a break.

“We feel like [our strength] is up the middle,” Keefe said. “It allows us to really use our depth in each game now.”

In addition to an improved full-strength play, the Huskies have also cleaned up their penalty kill. Northeastern’s .856 penalty kill ranks No. 8 in the country, but Keefe knows that isn’t enough.

When penalties come from lazy moves or sloppy plays, they put the team at an unnecessary disadvantage. A team’s best bet is to be disciplined and clean.

“Your best penalty kill is not taking penalties,” Keefe said.

“When you’re playing teams like … BU, you’ve got to make sure that you’re disciplined, you’re prepared on the [penalty kill]. You’ve got to have all five guys … on the same team.”

When the Huskies lose momentum, they struggle to regain it. Back-to-back penalties could mean the difference between another shot at the trophy or a demotion to the consolation game in the upcoming tournament.

In moments like those, having a goalie as strong as Levi — a .927 save percentage has him tied for sixth in the country — is

extremely comforting for a team’s defensive core.

There is a danger in having this safety net, though. A defense too reliant on a brick-wall goalie puts too much pressure on the netminder. One goaltender can only do so much; they are the backup defense, after all.

As Levi, who missed last year’s tournament to play for Canada’s Olympic team in Beijing, takes the Beanpot ice for the first time, he will need a steady and forceful defense protecting him, and his team knows that.

“If [Levi] sees the shot, he’s going to save it 99% of the time,” said senior defenseman Tyler Spott. “If we just clear the lanes and get guys out of the net front, he’s going to make the save … We don’t want to take advantage and play too risky.”

Northeastern entered this season as the favorite to win the Hockey East regular season. After a bumpy start to the season, they quickly dropped from the pairwise ranking. In the last few weeks, however, Northeastern seems to have gotten back on its feet.

Before the Huskies make the trek downtown, they will face UConn for the third time this season in their home barn Friday. If Northeastern can carry that momentum through the next week, it should have a shot at the ‘pot.

“We’re getting our swagger back,” Walsh said. “Getting those [five] wins has been really big for the morale around the room, and [it shows] that we believe in this group — we always did. … We know we can do it, and we’re proving that now.”

Senior defenseman Tyler Spott on ice at Frozen Fenway Jan. 7. Spott tallied one assist against the University of Connecticut.

Photo by Mika Podila

Senior forward Matt Demelis takes a face off against Boston University in last year’s Beanpot championship game. Northeastern fell to BU 0-1 in the title game.

Photo by Quillan Anderson

By Julia Yohe Sports Editor

By Eli Curwin News Staff

On the second floor of MIT’s Rotch Library sits a display case containing a wooden Arabic instrument, revealing part of the complex and lost history of the Syrian community in Boston.

The pear-shaped stringed instrument, called an oud, was owned by the late Arabic singer Anton Abdelahad, a resident of Boston’s Little Syria. Abdelahad’s oud and his story are part of an MIT exhibit, opened Dec. 1, that chronicles the near-forgotten history of the neighborhood.

“In the beginning for us, [we were] just thinking about … how [we can] understand the context of larger patterns of migration from the Ottoman Empire, and specifically Lebanon and Syria, to Boston and … the Americas,” said Chloe Bordewich, a postdoctoral fellow at Boston University and historian of the modern Middle East.

Through oral histories, Boston census data and familial interviews and heirlooms, Bordewich and Lydia Harrington, a postdoctoral fellow in the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at MIT, curated the

exhibit to create a tangible way to explore the past of Middle Eastern communities in Boston.

“One large point of the exhibition was to show real visual evidence of the neighborhood as it was,” Harrington said. “We had been in touch with families we found through local churches … and we talked with them a lot to find out their specific experiences, or to research specific people who were major figures in the neighborhood.”

One of these notable figures was Abdelahad, whose music appeared in famous movies such as “Pulp Fiction.” He performed for the king of Saudi Arabia and became, at the time, one of the most popular Arab performers in the country though appearing in concerts and music festivals.

Abdelahad’s parents, his father Assad Abdelahad and his mother Ramza Abdelahad, immigrated to the South End from Damascus, Syria as teenagers in 1902 and 1904, respectively.

“My father’s mother was 15 years old when she came to the United States. She was very well educated in the Middle East, a kind of prodigy,” said Sharon Abdelahad Wall, Anton Abdelahad’s daughter and a 1973 Northeastern alum. “Her mother had looked into a pre-arranged marriage … so [Ramza] appealed to her dad and said, ‘My sister is in Boston, they want me to come. They

are running a business and would like me to go to America.’”

Between 1880 and 1930, thousands of Syrian and Lebanese immigrants moved into Boston’s South End and today’s Chinatown, forming a small neighborhood labeled “Little Syria.” Fleeing economic hardship, Ottoman military conscription during World War I, religious persecution and the 1860 Mount Lebanon civil war, “Little Syria” communities popped up throughout the United States.

Ramza and Assad Abdelahad settled on Hudson Street, where they had three children: Evelyn in 1908, Anton in 1915 and Charles in 1918. For Anton Abdelahad, coming from an impoverished family compelled him to take up an early profession in music.

Little Syria was “never 100% Syrian,” Bordewich said. Buildings in the neighborhood housed Syrians, but also Greeks and Armenians.

“We found an oral history where one woman said, ‘We could swear in 10 different languages,’” Harrington said. “[The Syrian community] was definitely interacting with different types of people, different backgrounds.”

With Abdelahad’s fast-tempo and authentic Arabic music entertaining Middle Eastern audiences throughout the country in the ‘30s and ‘40s, he was able to move out of his parents’ home to live with his wife in 1940 and start his own record label in 1947.

In fact, at this time, many families started to move out of Little Syria and into the suburbs. Highway and university construction, development of condominiums and upheaval due to the Boston Redevelopment Authority’s urban renewal program forced many families into the outskirts of the city.

“The demographics shifted overtime and, by the ‘40s and ‘50s, you are seeing new groups of immigrants who are coming in and … [now] renting from the Syrians,” Bordewich said. “The Syrians are no longer the ones renting from the Irish, Italian or English owners.”

As the salience of Little Syria wound down in the late 19th century, so did Abdelahad’s time performing. He died in West Roxbury Dec. 25, 1995, but his music continues to be played in Arabic settings throughout the world.

Today, remnants of the community can be found in the Syrian grocery stores and restaurants on Shawmut Avenue and within the churches that moved with the community out into the suburbs.

“The community is still there,” Arthur Abdelahad said. “Unfortunately, with every generation, it gets a little thinner, but that’s the way it is. But my children, we’ve embraced the food … the traditions and our children still feel the love and embrace their heritage.”

Boston’s Little Syria: How a forgotten, lost neighborhood lives on today Embrace monument brings to life MLK’s history, legacy in Boston Common

By Ali Caudle Deputy City Editor

New memorial art installations — especially those costing $10 million — are rare occasions in Boston. But for the first time in 30 years, a new memorial sculpture was unveiled in Boston Common Jan. 13.

“The Embrace,” designed by American conceptual artist Hank Willis Thomas and the MASS Design Group, is an inspired interpretation of the hug shared by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, after learning he won the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize.

The Kings met and fell in love as students in Boston — Martin Luther King Jr. attended Boston University, and Coretta Scott King attended the New England Conservatory of Music. In late April 1965, Dr. King gave a speech on Boston Common following a march from Roxbury. The memorial is located adjacent to the Parkman Bandstand, where Martin Luther King Jr. addressed the crowd of 22,000.

Nearly 60 years later, on a misty Friday afternoon ahead of the unveiling, hundreds stood for hours in the muddy grass between the bandstand and the sculpture, listening to government and community leaders.

“This memorial means so much, the unveiling being MLK weekend and everything,” said Aja Jackson, an accountant and Roxbury resident.

“This is just something Boston really needs, especially in Boston Com-

mon, to have representation of African Americans in Boston. MLK was a staple in Boston and he did a lot [here]. This is a great thing for me, and that’s why I came and attended.”

Members of the King family attended the unveiling. Martin Luther King III and his wife Arndrea Waters King spoke of the love the Kings shared. Martin Luther King Jr.’s only grandchild, 14-year-old Yolanda Renee King, shared words of optimism and hope with the crowd.

Massachusetts politicians of past and present joined.

“Equity in the permanent artistic DNA of this city’s infrastructure matters, especially in a city with a storied past, but an evolving and still-struggling present,” Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley said. “This is a day that has been a long time in the making that is only made possible due to a vision, an unrelenting commitment and the service of those who labored for many years to make it.”

Latoyia Edwards, an anchor with NBC10 Boston, emceed the unveiling.

“I could not imagine this as a woman who was once a little girl raised in the housing projects in Dorchester, just miles from this storied common,” Edwards said. “I am absolutely humbled and emotional to stand here on this stage as your emcee, because I am also standing on the shoulders of the many people of color in this city, like my mom, who was a kid during the school desegregation, getting pelted with rocks.

… I represent those many people in Boston who passed away without seeing this promise come to life.”

The design of the memorial was selected by the King Boston Art Committee assembled in conjunction with Embrace Boston, the organization behind the monument, and the City of Boston.

Embrace Boston is a nonprofit first founded by tech entrepreneur Paul English. His co-chairs, the Rev. Liz Walker and the Rev. Jeffrey Brown, led the crowd in a prayer at the start of the ceremony. At the unveiling, Walker shared a story about the time she heard Martin Luther King Jr. speak.

“My father took me with him to Art Street Baptist Church in my hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas, to hear Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” she said. “It was probably after the successful Montgomery Bus boycott. Of course, I was too young to understand anything. All I knew is Daddy was gonna go see the king. I thought that was Jesus. So I better be there.”

The crowd laughed as she continued.

“I will never forget the electricity of that moment when ordinary people were inspired to take extraordinary measures in the name of love, not as a sentiment or a romance, but as a creative weapon of force for change,” Walker said.

Executive Director Imari Paris Jeffries broke down into tears when he stepped up to the podium to speak at the unveiling.

“I’m just so grateful to give something back to this city that gave me so much,” he said. “[This] is not only a symbol of the King’s legacy, but its embodiment of their love and the impact of the love within all of us.”

The 22-foot tall sculpture is made of 609 pieces of bronze and rests on a plaza of diamond shaped pavers engraved with quotes and the names of Boston civil rights leaders, called the 1965 Freedom Plaza. There are over 1,300 granite stone pieces in six different finishes that honor the patterns of traditional African-American quilts.

“This memorial honors ministers and justices, artists and scientists, educators, and advocates, the countless outstretched arms and helping hands to welcome the Kings and embrace their vision,” Mayor Michelle Wu said.

Among the names on the plaza is John D. O’Bryant, a former Northeastern vice president of student affairs. A civil rights leader of Martin Luther King Jr.’s era, the African American institute on campus is named after him.

His son, Dr. Richard O’Bryant, the current director of the institute, facilitated the transport of Northeastern community members to Boston Common to witness the unveiling.

“[It was] a wonderful day, honor and moment to have such an extraordinary monument recognition occur in our great City of Boston,” Dr. Richard O’Bryant said in an email statement. “It will grow to be an important historical Boston landmark recognizing Martin and Coretta Scott King’s union and how their U.S. and global legacies began where America began.”

A display case in MIT’s Rotch Library shows remnants of Boston’s Little Syria. The neighborhood, once located between the South End and Chinatown, disappeared in the ‘40s and ‘50s as Syrian immigrants moved to suburbs.

Photo courtesy Lydia Harrington

Hundreds gather to witness the unveiling of “The Embrace” in Boston Common Jan. 13. The sculpture honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was modeled off a photo of him and his wife, Coretta Scott King, who embraced after learning he won the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize.

Photo by Ali Caudle

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Op-ed: You can’t touch my hair

should look like, and in doing so, erases Black voices and tells people they are not enough. Hair discrimination affects Black women’s self-esteem, the beauty industry, jobs, education and more.

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The transatlantic slave trade did more than just sell people into slavery. By performing a single brutal deed — shaving the hair of African enslaved people — slaves were robbed of their cultural and spiritual importance.

Given the significance of hair in Africa, it was an especially cruel act designed to cut people off from their communities. This began the process of the systemic erasure of culture and identity. We are taught from an early age whether we have “good” or “bad” hair. This occurs both within and outside of the Black community. Black hair is intimate; it is a form of expression and it is beautiful. Our society’s attitude toward Black hair continues to influence how Black individuals are perceived today.

Growing up, I remember having to straighten my hair for important social gatherings such as weddings, first-communions and holiday parties to look more feminine. The Western beauty standard of hair is straight and blonde, yet many Black people strongly coil threads to varying degrees. Our society pushes this concept of what hair

Discrimination based on hair type stems from institutionalized racism. It exists to protect white beauty standards. There are no national legislative protections against hair discrimination; Black individuals are routinely compelled to choose between investing time and money to adapt to Eurocentric ideals of professionalism and beauty or facing repercussions at work or school for having their natural hair.

Natural hairstyles have been prohibited, resulting in the expulsion of Black students from schools and Black workers from workplaces who refuse to conform to traditionally western styles. Michael Trimble is a six-year-old living in Tatum, Texas. His grandmother claims that in 2019, when he was in preschool, the district director gave her the option to either cut off Michael’s ponytail or pin it up. Boys were not permitted to wear their hair in a ponytail, a puff ball or in any other way that extended past their collar, according to the district’s rules. Michael, though, refused to cut it. His grandma claims that when she objected, he was expelled. Hair prejudice affects Black women as early as five years old (as reported by their parents). By the age of 12, 86% of Black youths have experienced hair prejudice.

Hair discrimination has led to the time-consuming procedure of straightening hair. This involves the use of hazardous chemicals, which have a negative impact on the health of Black women. Black

people, particularly with regard to hairstyles, have had to adopt similar habits to those of white people in order to fit in with society. Conformity means Black moms must straighten their children’s and their own hair in order for white people to see them as peers. According to a 2019 research paper by Tamara Gilkes Borr, Black women who used chemical hair straighteners on a daily basis were roughly 30% more likely to get breast cancer than white women. Regular use of dangerous procedures like relaxers or perms, which are chemical creams or lotions used on natural hair to “relax” the curls and give it a straight appearance, is harmful. Black women of all statuses are subject to hair prejudice. When recounting their experiences on set, some Black actresses stated how the hairstylists normally hired failed to manage their hair or did a poor job.

Yvette Nicole Brown is a well-known actress who was a main ensemble character on the show “Community.” She didn’t have a hairdresser, so she had to come with her hair styled to set. The idea that Black women in the entertainment business must confront such difficulties is concerning. Why should they have to beg for the same fundamental treatment that is provided to their peers? To meet white beauty standards, Black women performers are often compelled to wear wigs made from other types of hair. Hiring diverse talent requires hiring diverse makeup artists and hairstylists. Black women should not have to work twice as hard as white women.

After spending hours visiting the beauty sections of various shops, I saw that the items geared towards

Black hair were locked in comparison to the products used for straight hair. Pushing a button, waiting up to 20 minutes for assistance and then having someone arrive with a key to unlock what I need is infuriating, especially when the items are more expensive and scarcer than white hair treatments. According to a poll done by McKinsey & Company, 73% of poll respondents reported that when they attempted to purchase Black cosmetic products, they were usually out of stock. When they were in stock, 54% stated they were difficult to find. Products for Black hair are already rare, and even when they are available, they remain inaccessible for Black individuals. Why should Black women have to beg for shampoo or moisturizer while other people can just walk to the shop and buy their hair products?

So, no. You can’t touch my hair. You can’t wear our braids for fun. You can’t make cornrows become boxer braids. You can’t erase the cultural and historical meaning of Black hair.

Hair discrimination is a result of systemic racism and serves to safeguard white beauty standards. To fight for equality, we must educate ourselves. Students that study social justice, cultural diversity and racial issues are already on a path of inclusivity and respect. In order for every member of our community to feel secure in their identity, we must learn to dismantle our individual prejudices and foster a mutual and beneficial understanding of our differences.

Chanel Lebrun is a second-year communication and media studies combined major. She can be reached at lebrun. cha@northeastern.edu.

Op-ed: Environmental racism is harming people of color

neighborhoods for real estate investment. Communities and neighborhoods deemed “hazardous” by the government were those heavily populated by Black Americans and Hispanics, which were largely surrounded by major industrial districts and highways. Areas considered “desirable” were those with a large white American population.

Since the 1980s, research has shown and proven people of color and ethnic minorities are at a higher exposure rate of environmental contamination due to improper industry practices, which are a direct result of redlining.

In 2019, the Rhodium Group, an independent research provider that gathers information on energy and climate change, in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, and the Census Bureau conducted a survey and found Hispanics are significantly more likely to live near areas in high traffic proximity and volume of pollution compared to white Americans. The historical practice of redlining is part of environmental racism, and it has affected the health and quality of life for millions of Hispanics and Black Americans.

In the 1930s, the U.S. government created maps of cities across the country based on the “riskiness” of different

According to a journal published by the Environmental Science and Technology Letters, Hispanics and Black Americans are exposed to more smog and fine particulate matter compared to white Americans. This heightened exposure puts the health of both communities at a greater risk. Cars, trains and many other forms of transportation emit diesel, CO2 and particle pollution, which negatively impact people’s cardiovascular health, and increase the risk of cancer.

The Rhodium Group conducted another survey and found Hispanics are at a 12% toxic air cancer risk while Black Americans are faced with a 19% risk.

This poses the questions of how this risk has played a role in major health crises,

such as the pandemic. Officials stated that underlying issues faced by people of color and ethnic minorities contributed to the disproportionality in hospitalization and death due to COVID-19.

Though some may argue the correlation between the death rates and pollution is unrelated, cities and towns rating 11 on the EPA’s environmental risk measures, which are assessed based on the gravity the effects may have on the health of humans, were faced with larger COVID-19 death rates compared to communities rating two or lower.

The government continues to ignore the improper practices of major white corporations as they directly impact the living conditions of Hispanics and Black Americans living near industrial plants. For example, a small Hispanic community in the San Luis Valley noticed trucks constantly passing through town with what seemed to be waste until the community found out the trucks contained uranium. After the community spoke out against the improper disposal, the company realized the paperwork had not been updated for the past 30 years.

Our government and major corporations have and still continue to disregard the safety of millions of Americans.

Living near Newark, New Jersey, one

of the most heavily contaminated cities in the U.S., led me to wonder “will I fall victim to the racist practices that riddle the government?”

As I begin to question these racist practices, I know students who come from similar areas may also feel a sense of distress. Northeastern University is home to students of different identities from across the globe. As future members of the workforce, we have the power to change lives. We can use our voices to inform lawmakers of the effects of redlining and how Americans are still suffering today through increased cancer and respiratory risks, and a myriad of other health complications as a result. As students, we can also conduct research on environmental racism and its effects today in Boston. We can use our knowledge and inform lawmakers of the effects of redlining and how communities in Boston are still being affected. We have so much power as students, armed with the tools of knowledge and education. Therefore, let us use it to improve the lives of others and fight these racist governmental policies.

Elena Hernandez is a first-year psychology major. She can be reached at hernandez.e@northeastern.edu.

Photo by Colette Pollauf

Photo by Colette Pollauf

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Op-ed: More must be done to prevent imposter syndrome in college students

Upon starting college this past September, I experienced the typical emotions a freshman might feel. I was excited about new experiences, nervous about making new friends and hopeful about my academic success. What I didn’t expect was the crippling anxiety from imposter syndrome.

Imposter syndrome, as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary, is “the persistent inability to believe that one’s success is deserved … as a result of one’s own efforts or skills.” This is all too common among college students. In fact, according to a 2019 study from Brigham Young University, about 20% of students surveyed felt a sense of imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome also negatively impacts mental health, leading to feelings of anxiety and disconnection from peers. Although many students feel the effects of imposter syndrome, the phenomenon is often excluded from conversations regarding mental health or challenges in an academic setting.

As a Northeastern student, I fell victim to imposter syndrome due

to the culture of competition and excellence created by the university. Northeastern is a rapidly growing university, ranking 44th in the U.S. News report this past year. I felt as if my peers were leaders with unmatched professionalism and drive while I was confused and unprofessional. However, I quickly discovered this depiction was unrealistic, as students come from a variety of cultural, economic and academic backgrounds, which provide them varying levels of experience in professional fields. Northeastern regularly boasts the achievements of exceptionally performing students, such as the 6 students and alumni who made BostInno’s 25 Under 25

List, which celebrates the accomplishments of “elite young founders, nonprofit leaders, startup employees and students” in the Boston area. While highlighting such high-performing students is likely meant to celebrate their achievements rather than deflate others, the constant praise of high-achieving students made me feel as if I was behind my peers professionally.

Additionally, the focus on co-op often creates unnecessary stress and anxiety for students, furthering feelings of imposter syndrome. Recently, I attended a panel on co-ops intended for first-year students in the Khoury College of Computer Sciences. While the panelists did a fantastic job answering questions and calming the concerns of firstyear students worried about co-op, the event further exemplified the fabricated images Northeastern creates of students. A majority of the questions focused on resume building and obtaining work experience

prior to going on co-op. In focusing on the advantages of industry experience rather than focusing on the personal strengths of those applying to co-ops, students face unnecessary pressure to search for internships or work-intensive clubs, which can often be difficult to find. As a result, those who cannot obtain experience are made to feel like the minority and may lose out on experiences they feel they do not deserve.

I myself experienced imposter syndrome upon arriving at Northeastern. Coming from a small town, I regularly placed at the top of my class academically, outperforming my peers in classroom assignments and state testing. I was the valedictorian of my graduating class, though it was a small achievement as my graduating class only had 63 students. Therefore, it was a shock to me when I realized my skills were minimal in comparison to students from larger areas with greater access to academic resources.

My feelings of inadequacy only grew upon arriving at my first computer science lecture where I realized most students were more skilled than I was. Though my computer science classes in high school introduced me to many of the ideas behind computing, my small public high school lacked the resources to provide a solid background in established coding languages. In turn, I was overwhelmed by the syntax of Racket, a language-oriented programming language used for Fundamentals of Computer Science, and didn’t know who to ask for help. Growing up in such a small town, I had rarely been in a class of over 20 students, never mind a lecture of a hundred. I felt

exposed when asking questions in class and often did not have time to attend office hours with my teaching assistants, which often had queues lasting upward of an hour.

Fundamentals of Computer Science, or “Fundies,” as students like to call it, is a course for beginners that supposedly requires no prior experience. However, instructors brush over the basic fundamentals of programming, leaving many students with little to no experience feeling unprepared to tackle tougher assignments. Though I had some prior experience with pseudocode, I was shaken not only by the pace of the course, but also by the level of knowledge my classmates held. Many held years of experience with practical coding languages such as Java and Python, greatly overshadowing my skills gained through basic learner languages like Scratch.

After weeks of wallowing in my self-doubt and inadequacy, I quickly learned imposter syndrome had become a detriment to my success rather than a motivation to work harder.

I was beginning to withdraw and even avoided applying for clubs and attending events that I was interested in because I feared I wasn’t good enough or deserving of the opportunity. Finally, I realized I needed to overcome my feelings of inadequacy, or I would have a miserable college experience, filled with what-ifs and unfulfilled goals.

Overcoming imposter syndrome isn’t easy. To affirm your abilities, you must reach deep inside yourself to not only discover your skills but actively acknowledge them, which goes against most social teachings of what it means to be humble and

modest. While initial growth may seem foreign or arrogant, the ability to see your strengths allows you to determine your place in the Northeastern community.

It is also helpful to remember how your academic journey has unraveled. Though others may appear to be smarter, more experienced or more deserving of their place at Northeastern, all students are ultimately here because an admissions officer felt they fit into the mold of what a Northeastern student is. This is no easy feat, considering the acceptance rate of the college was 18.38% in 2021 and 6.7% in 2022.

Finally, finding clubs or hobbies that fit outside of your academic and professional life can aid in finding a community of like-minded individuals without feeling the pressure of competition. I joined NU Stage, Northeastern’s student-run musical theater company, at the beginning of this semester, and the experience helped immensely to affirm my place at Northeastern. Because NU Stage members exist across all academic disciplines and years, I was able to find like-minded individuals who not only focused on more than just the best path to reach their desired career but felt similar feelings of imposter syndrome. Knowing I wasn’t alone in my struggles was what ultimately helped me feel connected to my Northeastern community, and I now hold the confidence to go after opportunities I want, knowing that I am just as competent as my peers.

Emma Klekotka is a first-year computer science and journalism combined major. She can be reached at klekotka.e@northeastern.edu.

Op-ed: Weightlifting is beneficial to the physical and mental well-being of students

is not conducive to being healthy and happy. I first got into weight training about a year ago, and I approached it with the attitude and goals that many do: to get more fit and improve my body. Fast forward a year later and I’ve found the benefits of weight training go far deeper than physical looks. Rather, I’ve noticed a significant difference in my mental health and concentration since the beginning of my fitness journey.

Not every gym rat is lifting weights for a chiseled physique. Weight training can be the perfect addition to a student’s routine for mental health and memory benefits.

For years, I did hours upon hours of cardio, under the impression that burning calories on runs and bike rides would help me achieve my fitness goals. At the time, my wellness teacher in high school emphasized that losing weight was solely dependent on burning more calories than you consume, but now I have learned that weighing less

40 million American adults ages 18 and older are affected by some sort of anxiety disorder, as reported by The Anxiety & Depression Association of America, and those without anxiety disorders are not excluded from feeling angst and heightened nerves in their daily lives. The stressors that come with rigorous academics, living without the constant support of parental figures, navigating the social scene that college offers and getting involved on campus are familiar to all students. Weight training might be a solution to decrease these anxieties.

Weightlifting and resistance training have been found to significantly reduce anxiety and improve

mental health. You don’t need to be an avid lifter with a passion for the sport, rather, a greater decrease in anxiety was induced through low-to-moderate intensity weight training than in higher intensity workouts, as cited in a 12-week study in Frontiers in Psychology. This means if you’re seeking to reduce feelings of anxiety rather than grow bulging biceps, low-to-moderate weight training, meaning lower weights at higher repetition, will be effective for your goals.

According to the Mayo Clinic, prolonged anxiety can endanger the body as the effects of high cortisol levels, or the stress hormone, can result in undesirable physical effects such as interrupted sleep patterns, weight gain, concentration problems and more. Sleep and concentration are vital for a student’s ability to function and thrive. It is of the utmost importance to seek ways to lower one’s anxieties in an environment with constant stressors.

Through my experience, I have found a morning workout helps me start my day with a clear head. The reeling nervous thoughts that

sometimes plague my head for the entire day seem to fade after a morning weight training session. This clear mind helps me focus in class and be more productive while studying.

Similar to many of my peers, anxiety has been a part of my life for quite some time, but weight training has been an escape of sorts. Once I realized that weight training was impacting more than just my physical health, it increased my persistence because I found that spending just an hour of my day in the gym benefitted my overall well-being.

Not only can weight lifting decrease anxiety levels, but exercise itself can actually aid memory, a necessary skill to build for when exam season rolls around. A 2019 study conducted by Paul D. Loprinzi P.D. and colleagues concluded that performing acute exercise prior to a memory activity can enhance one’s recall ability. Weightlifting can act as an acute exercise if done in shorter spans of time rather than spending long at the gym.

While I cannot say I have developed an exceptional memory since beginning my time in the gym, I do

feel it has increased my daily attention, which allows me to focus more intently on studying post-workout.

If both of these studies are taken into account, a moderate level weightlifting session may simultaneously decrease anxiety and increase memory recall, seemingly the perfect balance for college students.

The gym can be intimidating for newbies, but once you develop a routine it becomes a comforting part of your day. For those who cannot fathom walking into the overpacked Marino Recreation Center on campus, there are ways to weight train in the privacy of your dorm; with just a pair of dumbbells, resistance bands and a kettlebell, you can develop a simple routine without leaving the safety of your room. Whether you make it to the gym to weight lift, or you bring the gym to your dorm, taking a chance on the gym rats could be just what your cortisol levels and study skills need.

Alexis Algazy is a first-year journalism and political science combined major. She can be reached at algazy.a@northeastern.edu.

Photo by Jessica Xing

Photo courtesy Emma Kletotka

CROWDS RETURN TO CHINATOWN IN CELEBRATION OF LUNAR NEW YEAR

so now that I’m a mom, I want to bring my son here and celebrate,” said MetroWest resident Jennifer Wong. “It’s just really great to be here with everybody, of all different backgrounds and ages, and seeing families, especially with little kids. It just makes me really happy to have a reason to celebrate, especially during this hard time for Asian Americans — it’s just nice to see peo ple come together.”

of the Rabbit, which hopefully will bring health, wealth and happiness to the community,” Massachusetts State Rep. Donald Wong of the 9th Essex District said in a speech. “But I would like to see a crowd like this,

art that needs us to do this every year to ensure that it doesn’t die.”

Boston’s Chinatown has been a staple of the city since the 1880s. Last month, the historic district was brought to life as patrons from all around the city came together to experience Asian culture, and to welcome the Year of the Rabbit.

“I haven’t been to Chinatown yet, so for me, this is an opportunity to see more of the restaurants in the community, and what it’s like here,” said Jade O’Connor, a Brighton resident. “I’m half Taiwanese, so it’s really nice to see my own culture

owners leave offerings for the lions, usually cabbages and oranges, which represent wealth and good fortune.

According to Chinese tradition, the oranges are tossed into the air by the lion dancers, and any spectator that catches one is said to receive especially good luck for the year. Cabbages are smashed on the ground, symbolizing spreading good fortune to everyone.

Firecrackers and fireworks are ignited to scare away evil spirits for the new year.

“I came here when I was a kid around when I was 11 years old, and

At the start of groups gathered one at a time in front of a podium occupied by Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and her children, the com missioner, the head of Chinatown main streets and other staff.

Many visitors, including politicians, said they wished the crowds continued through out the year in Chinatown.

“The last few years with COVID have been hard, but it’s a big crowd today, and it’s the Year

like this, not just on Chinese New Year, but throughout the year. ”

— Rep. Donald Wong 9th Essex district

Lion dancers lift costumes during the Lunar New Year celebration in Chinatown Jan. 29. The celebration featured city and community speakers and a parade through the city.

Photos by Quillan Anderson