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Huntington News Photo by Scotty Schenck

Photo by Scotty Schenck

Photo courtesy Kevin Murray, Northeastern Athletics

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For the students, by the students since 1926

October 1, 2015

Assault Doors open to community members survey results released

By Anmolpreet Kandola & Elise Harmon News Staff

Almost a year after Northeastern University conducted a survey on sexual assault and misconduct on campus, the Office for Student Affairs released the results Wednesday afternoon.

The Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Assault, sent to random students last October, was mandated by the White House’s “It’s On Us” campaign. About 25 percent of those asked to participate in the survey did so voluntarily and confidentially.

In the latest meeting between the administration and the Northeastern Sexual Assault Response Campaign (SARC) on July 13, Vice President for Student Affairs Madeleine Estabrook told SARC representatives, who had been pushing to get the results of the 2014 survey released, that responses would be made public.

Students received an email from Estabrook containing a summary of the results and a link to the full report on Sept. 30 around 4 p.m.

“We [at SARC] are really happy that the survey was released,” Brennan Caruthers, a third-year business administration and finance major, said. “We think the Sexual Assault, Page 2

Photo by Scotty Schenck

The ribbon-cutting of the new Northeastern Crossing community center on Monday was attended by Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh, Vice Pres­i­dent for City and Com­mu­nity Affairs John Tobin and North­eastern Pres­id ­ ent Joseph E. Aoun. The center will support the city’s Imagine Boston 2030 ini­

By Elise Harmon News Editor

Northeastern Crossing, a new center intended to be a gateway to the university for local residents, formally opened with a ribbon-cut-

Women’s hockey secures first win

ting ceremony on Monday.

Northeastern Crossing is located at the former site of Peet’s Coffee & Tea and Jamba Juice on Tremont Street. The space was created as a part of the 2013 Institutional Master Plan (IMP) and is meant to be

a bridge between Northeastern and the surrounding community. During IMP meetings with university officials and community members, local residents requested a space that they could come to without feeling out of place.

“Apparently, community members felt uncomfortable coming to campus even though Northeastern has resources available,” Derek Lumpkins, the Crossing’s director of neighborhood partnerships and Center, Page 3

Photo courtesy Margaret Meluzio, Havas PR

Photo by Jim Pierce/Northeastern Athletics

Senior defenseman Jordan Krause, 15, manages the puck in one of two weekend matches against the St. Lawrence University Saints.

By Bailey Putnam Deputy Sports Editor

After tying St. Lawrence University in the season-opener in Canton, N.Y. on Saturday night, the Northeastern University women’s hockey team (1-0-1) skated past the Saints, 9-5, in a rematch the following night. Three Huskies earned weekly Women’s Hockey East

Association (WHEA) awards for their excellence during the opening weekend.

St. Lawrence got the jump in the season-opener on Saturday night, scoring 3:01 into the first period.

Senior forward Kendall Coyne answered the call 10 minutes later with a rebound goal. The goal was Coyne’s first of five points on the Coyne, Page 12

Primark, a U.K.-based clothing retailer, recently opened its first state-side location in Downtown Crossing.

New retailer makes its mark

By Kathryn Stavish & Sam Haas News Staff

As shoppers flocked to the Boston branch of discount clothing chain Primark, drawn in by cheap prices and flashy signage, a second flurry of activity was already brewing steps from the store’s Down-

town Crossing entrance, which opened its doors for the first time on Sept. 10.

Labor organizers began planning to unionize Primark employees over the summer. Since the retailer’s Boston opening, a campaign has kicked into high gear according to Fabricio Da Silva, a strategic campaign creator with United Food

and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) Local 1445.

“We currently have a very aggressive campaign to sign up Primark employees,” Da Silva said.

Originating in Ireland, the chain opened its first US location at Downtown Crossing. While opening-day customer traffic was lower Retail, Page 6

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T h u r s d ay , O c t o b e r 1, 2015

news

Aoun talks new curricula

Photo by Scotty Schenck

President Joesph E. Aoun addressed the faculty senate on Wednesday.

By Elise Harmon News Editor

Northeastern University needs to concentrate on research, personalized curriculum, online education and experiential doctoral programs, President Joseph E. Aoun said during his annual address to the Faculty Senate on Wednesday.

At the meeting, Aoun introduced James C. Bean, the new provost and vice president of academic affairs. Bean, who started working as provost in August, will help the university develop a new strategic academic plan and mission statement.

“What are we looking for?” Aoun asked about the initiative to create a new plan. “We’re looking to define our future for the next 10 years. I have asked the provost to lead this effort. We need to think about Northeastern 10 years from now, 20 years from now – what kind of university we are going to be.”

Aoun began his speech by commending the faculty on what he speculated to be the “best year ever” for the university in terms of the accomplishments of incoming students. However, in order to stay competitive, the school has to continue to change and improve by offering research opportunities and

autonomy for students, he said. “[Young people] are global,” Aoun said. “They want to be involved in shaping their journey. The time that we as faculty could say, ‘We know what you need’ is over…

Moving forward, it’s clear that the personalization of the curriculum has to be something that we work on. That’s the demand, that’s the expectation and that’s the opportunity.”

Aoun also discussed increasing experiential learning at an online level. He believes that Northeastern is approaching online learning from a different perspective than other universities.

“We are in a startup mode here,” he said. “We are way ahead, and we are building at the same time that we are flying.”

In terms of developing doctoral degree programs, Aoun aims to incorporate experiential learning in ways similar to the co-op program at the undergraduate level.

Bean, who was previously the provost at the University of Oregon, will lead the Senate and the Northeastern community to develop a new academic plan that addresses these goals and more. “[Bean has] been in engineering; he’s been a business school dean;

he’s been involved in design, so that right there means he bridges three colleges in the university,” Gloria Barczak, a professor of marketing and faculty senator, said. “I would expect that he would push more interdisciplinary kinds of programs and curricula and push us farther along that path.”

There are several reasons Northeastern is developing a new strategic plan now, according to Bean. It has been nearly 10 years since the last one was finalized in 2007. The Great Recession has come and gone, there’s a new provost and every academic dean has been replaced, he explained.

“Given all the changes [in the university] since we developed an academic plan, I think it seems like a logical next step,” Barczak said.

Right now, Bean intends to divide the plan into two sections: an academic strategy and a long-range strategy.

“The academic plan has to do with what we want to be as an academic institution,” he said. “The idea is focusing on areas that we’re going to be preeminent in and the types of curricula we’re going to do in the discussion.”

These would be the kind of goals that Aoun set out in his address: increase experiential Ph.D. programs and enhance the online curricula, for example.

“While the academic plan will define what [the goal] is, the longrange plan is ‘okay, let’s get down to nuts and bolts,’” Bean said. “How many more faculty do we need in different areas? How do we start to generate our doctorate program to the same level that we did our undergraduate programs? Do we the have the infrastructure? What are we going to have to do as an organization to get ourselves there?”

Bean anticipates that the new plan will be ratified next fall.

“We are in a position where we have confidence, we have results and the competition is getting tougher and tougher,” Aoun said. “We cannot play by their rules. We have to identify our own rules.”

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Photos by Brian Bae

Top: Members of the Sexual Assault Response Campaign (SARC) petitioned Northeastern to release the results of a sexual assault climate survey.

Bottom: Roxanne Anderson, Joseph Eisner and Morgan Helfman talk at a SARC meeting.

Sexual Assault, From Page 1 school is attempting to do their part and is making great steps in the right direction… but it makes no sense that the university took almost a year to process the data.”

The survey was intended to gauge student opinions regarding current resources for survivors of sexual assault.

“In many ways, the recent strides the university has made to provide victims of sexual violence with access to support services and other resources appear to be paying off,” Estabrook said in the email containing the results. “More than 73 percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, ‘If a friend or I were to be a victim of sexual violence, I know where to go to get help.’”

However, according to the survey, over 25 percent of respondents did not know where to get help if they or a friend were a victim of sexual violence. Almost 60 percent were unaware that they could have an O.S.C.C.R. no-contact order issued to their alleged assailant, 48 percent were unaware that they could get alternative housing arrangements and 60 percent did not know that they could get their class sections or schedules changed.

“In terms of specific questions that were asked, a lot were very general yes or no questions,” Roxanne Anderson, a third-year human services major and SARC member, said. “It feels like they kind of brushed over the point of the survey. One of the biggest things that was missing was a question about the prevalence of sexual assault on campus.”

Anderson pointed out that questions pertaining to consent didn’t actually test people’s understanding of the policy. Question 19 asked “Did you know that the Code of Student Conduct’s definition of consent is the following?” before listing the entire policy. Students could choose “yes” or “no.”

“A more specific question might be, ‘If you are in a situation where someone is intoxicated, is it okay to sleep with them?’” she said. “That would [help us see] if students understand consent.”

The survey revealed that while many students would trust Northeastern to handle sexual violence correctly, a significant number would not.

Eleven percent of respondents doubt that the university would take the report of an instance of sexual violence seriously, while 16 percent disagree or strongly disagree that the university would support a survivor of sexual violence on campus who made a report, according to the survey results. More than 25 percent disagreed or strongly disagreed that the university would take corrective action against an assailant.

“I personally feel like the questions on this survey were very wishywashy,“ Caruthers said. “[The yes or no questions] had very generalized statements.”

Along with the sexual violence prevention training for incoming students that was implemented last summer, Northeastern plans to conduct another climate survey this fall and wants students to approach the Violence Support, Intervention and Outreach Network (ViSION) with questions and for resources, according to Estabrook.

Carlos Cuevas, an associate professor of criminology and criminal justice at Northeastern, said schools and communities need to handle cases with an approach that emphasizes the support and safety of survivors.

“How students feel about reporting comes from how they learn that schools handle it,” Cuevas said.

“There needs to be a visible presence, attitude and execution in the way that victim centers focus on victim safety. Having a more public presence would go a long way in helping move the needle on how people feel in terms of coming forward.”

One thing that SARC members felt was lacking in Northeastern’s email was mention of a resource center on campus where survivors could go for help.

“Our No. 1 goal is to get a resource center on campus, and that is something that is noticeably left out of the email,” Anderson said. “The email said stuff about already-existing offices in place, which we’ve seen are not the most supportive places for survivors to go. We’re interested in the administration giving us a more clear-cut answer on that.”

One of the biggest problems that Caruthers had with the survey was the use of the word “victim” instead of “survivor” to describe those who had been sexually assaulted.

“It’s upsetting for a few reasons,” he said. “It shows a pretty intense lack of understanding of the nature of sexual violence on Northeastern’s part, and also shows a lack of consideration for people taking the survey.”

SARC members plan on meeting with Estabrook in the coming weeks to discuss the survey, a possible resource center and the new survey that Northeastern plans to send out this fall.

“I think that this creates a precedent for the university,” Anderson said. “Students will hold the university accountable to report the facts.”

The External Affairs Office at Northeastern declined to provide additional comment on the survey results.

To view the full results of the Northeastern Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Assault, visit www.

HuntNewsNU.com.

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news

crime log

Compiled by Stephanie Eisemann, news staff

ENTRY OF THE WEEK

NU PD NU PD NU PD NU PD NU PD NU PD NU PD NU PD NU PD NU PD NU PD NU PD NU PD

Thursday, Sept. 24 @ 12:11 p.m.

Northeastern University Public Safety Division A Northeastern University (NU) student reported she left her diamond earrings (valued at $1,800) unattended on a table on the second floor of the Curry Student Center and returned to find them missing. A report was filed.

Northeastern University Public Safety Division Monday, Sept. 21 @ 1:23 p.m.

An employee of Wollastons Market in the Marino Center reported a shoplifter in his 30s. The Northeastern University Police Department (NUPD) responded and stopped a man outside Loftman Hall fitting the description. The subject, who is unaffiliated with Northeastern, was checked for priors and warrants. He was arrested at 3:24 p.m. on a warrant from the East Boston District Court.

Photo courtesy Matthew Modoono, Northeastern University

Members of the Northeastern community, local politicians and residents of surrounding neighborhoods unveiled Northeastern Crossing on Monday.

Northeastern University Public Safety Division Monday, Sept. 21 @ 12:53 p.m.

An NU student notified NUPD that 20 minutes prior, a male subject had attempted to steal her purse on Parker Street near the Wentworth Institute of Technology parking lot. A report was filed.

Northeastern University Public Safety Division Tuesday, Sept. 22 @ 4:34 p.m.

The Boston Police Department (BPD) reported a person was shot in front of Boston House of Pizza on Huntington Avenue. Suspects were seen running on Gainsborough Street in opposite directions. According to the BPD, the identity of the shooter is unclear. BPD and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) were on the scene and transported the victim, who is not an NU student, to the Brigham and Women’s Hospital Emergency Room. BPD secured the scene, and the roadway was reopened at 5:50 p.m.

Northeastern University Public Safety Division Wednesday, Sept. 23 @ 5:20 p.m.

A Residence Director (RD) reported two males attempting to steal a moped near the bike racks of West Village A. NUPD responded and reported that two juveniles fled the area on a red scooter. The subjects were seen on the sidewalk near Gainsborough Street and the New England Conservatory, but the area was checked with negative results. The owner arrived and claimed his property. A report was filed.

Photo by Scotty Schenck

Northeastern University Public Safety Division Friday, Sept. 25 @ 10 a.m.

An NU student reported his Samsung Galaxy cell phone and Reebok wallet, which contained a debit card, were stolen from a locker in the Marino Center. A report was filed.

Friday, Sept. 25 @ 8:47 p.m.

Northeastern University Public Safety Division NUPD officers stopped an underage subject, who is unaffiliated with the university, for possession of alcohol. Officers confiscated 14 bottles and two cans of beer, along with a black backpack, and sent the subject on his way. Officers transported the alcohol back to headquarters. A report was filed.

Saturday, Sept. 26 @ 9:06 a.m.

Northeastern University Public Safety Division An NU student reported her Genesis road bike was stolen from in front of 768 Columbus Ave. between Friday and Saturday, despite being secured with a U-lock. A report was filed.

Northeastern University Public Safety Division Saturday, Sept. 26 @ 11:51 p.m.

An NU student reported driving by Symphony Road and Hemenway Street and seeing two intoxicated males passed out on the corner. NUPD received multiple calls about one of the males, who was wearing a blue button-down shirt. Officers responded and reported the NU student was extremely intoxicated. EMS was notified and transported the male to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. The RD on call was notified, and a fake ID was confiscated from the student.

Sunday, Sept. 27 @ 1:19 a.m.

Northeastern University Public Safety Division A Resident Assistant (RA) in the east tower of International Village reported a female lying in the hallway. The RA stated the female was responsive but not alert, and he believed she had been drinking. NUPD responded and spoke with the student, who was responsive but unaware of the place and time. NUPD requested EMS, which arrived at 1:50 a.m. and transported the student to Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The RD on call was notified.

Northeastern University Public Safety Division Sunday, Sept. 27 @ 11:53 p.m.

The manager of the Wollastons Market in West Village B reported a male who had passed out on the floor was becoming aggressive. NUPD responded and placed the NU student under arrest at 12:05 a.m. EMS transported the student to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He will be summonsed to court for two counts of disorderly conduct, two counts of assault and battery and shoplifting. The RD on call was notified.

Northeastern University Public Safety Division Sunday, Sept. 27 @ 2:53 p.m.

The assistant director of the Social Justice Resource Center reported that a sign outside her office at 106 St. Stephen St. had been stolen. A report was filed.

Sunday, Sept. 27 @ 8:10 p.m.

Northeastern University Public Safety Division An NUPD officer was at the Marino Center attempting to recover a stolen laptop on a plainclothes assignment when a juvenile subject attempting to sell the laptop made contact with the officer. The subject was placed under arrest at 8:57 p.m. for receiving stolen property. A report was filed.

Northeastern Crossing occupies the space that used to hold Peet’s Coffee & Tea and Jamba Juice, near International Village.

Center, From Page 1 programs, said.

Mayor Martin J. Walsh, Northeastern President Joseph E. Aoun, Vice Pres­id­ent for City and Com­ mu­nity Affairs John Tobin and City Councilor Tito Jackson all attended the ceremony, which was open to members of the university, residents of the surrounding neighborhoods and community groups.

“The purpose of the Crossing is not only important for the community but important for every member of Northeastern,” Aoun said. “We want the worlds not only to collide but to innovate. In so doing, we are not just making the community better, but also making ourselves better.”

Walsh praised the university for engaging with the City of Boston and supporting the surrounding community.

“Northeastern connects students with the Boston community as well as with the international community,” he said. “Making connections is what defines this school.”

Jackson, who represents the Roxbury neighborhood as well as parts of the South End, Fenway and Dorchester, pointed out the huge disparities in the city. In Boston, he said, an average white family has $256,000 in net assets while a black family has $750. These numbers coincide with a report published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston in March.

“Higher education brings people higher, and we want to make sure that people who live across the street are also taken to the next level,” Jackson said.

Northeastern Crossing includes four public computers, a conference room, a classroom and an art gallery displaying the work of local artists.

Currently on display is the work of Ekua Holmes, a Roxbury resident.

The conference room will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays for whoever wants to work there.

Lumpkins envisions the space as a place for coworking, where people

with different interests and projects initially work separately but have the opportunity to influence each other’s work and collaborate.

At other times, the conference room can be reserved. The classroom, which seats 30 people in desks or has space for 70 without furniture, is also available for free by reservation.

Four public computers are open for public use by students and community members with a photo ID. The building is Wi-Fi-enabled.

Aneudy Gonzalez, a South End resident, attended the ribbon cutting with St. Stephen’s Youth Programs, an organization that provides out-ofschool opportunities for disadvantaged youth.

“This would be a great place for people,” he said. “I see it as a community center, and I see it as a place where people can walk in and do what they want without any problems.”

Currently, a language class called “English for New Bostonians” meets at the center every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Northeastern students in the Civic Engagement Program help tutor immigrants on the English language.

According to Lumpkins, Historic Boston Incorporated, a preservation organization, has expressed interest in holding its board meetings in the conference room and opening up parts of the sessions to those interested in its work.

Lumpkins wants people to see the space as something beyond a community center.

“Thinking of it as a community space really limits the scope,” he said. “We didn’t just want this to be a community space. We’re referring to it as a portal [between the school and the surrounding neighborhoods].”

Northeastern Crossing is intended to have community-driven programming, so the university is looking for input on how to use the space.

“We’re not going to say we know what projects the community needs to work on,” Aoun said. “We’re here in a listening mode.”

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The Huntington News 295 Huntington Ave., Suite 208 Boston, MA 02115

Editor-in-Chief

Mary Whitfill

Managing Editor

Rowan Walrath

News Editor Editorial Editor Inside Editor Sports Editor City Editor Photo Editor

Elise Harmon Sean Connolly Liam Hofmeister Bailey Knecht Sam Haas Scotty Schenck

Deputy News Editor Deputy Inside Editor Deputy Sports Editor Deputy Photo Editor

Varun Goyal Megan O’Brien Bailey Putnam Brian Bae

Staff Directory Staff Writers: Jose Castillo, Audrey Cooney, Stephanie Eisemann, Giovanni Gray, Matthew MacCormack, Alexandra Malloy, Jodie Ng, Ethan Schroeder, Madelyn Stone Staff Photographers: Kariman Abuljadayel, William Bryan, Ethan Kaley, Arzu Martinez Staff Copy Editors: Miharu Sugie, Sara Tucker Columnists: Ross Beroff, Gavin Davis, Alana Dore, James Duffy, Alastair Pike, Angelica Recierdo, Gwen Schanker, Kyle Taylor Opinions expressed in The Huntington News by editorial writers, All Hail writers, cartoonists and columnists are not necessarily those of The News staff or of the Northeastern administration. Northeastern University undergraduate students conduct all operations involved in the production of this publication.

THE NEWS WELCOMES LETTERS TO THE EDITOR & COMMENTARIES

Opinion pieces must include the writer’s full name, year, major and position at the university. Letters should be sent in the body of an email, not as attachments. Letters may not run and may be edited due to space constraints. Poems and anonymous letters are not printed. Please keep entries under 500 words. Email letters to Comments@HuntNewsNU.com.

Vol. VIII No. 15

Column: Students should use FERPA Most college students have heard of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act ( F E R PA ) at least o n c e .

It’s often thought of as the reason why high school teacher letters of recommenRoss Beroff dation are confidential. In actuality, this confidentiality is created because when students apply with CommonApp, or most other applications, they waive their right to see these letters.

Excercising FERPA rights would allow students to see these letters, but it can also let them see much more. As stated in the law, “eligible students have the right to inspect and review the student’s education records maintained by the school.”

A little-known open secret is that included in these records are all admission documents for the school you attend. In theory, students wondering why they got into a college can find out.

In order to access these records, you must request them from the admissions department. I sent an email with my name and student ID and told Northeastern what I was requesting under FERPA. By law, they have 45 days to reply and comply or risk losing federal funding.

Sure enough, a response was received. It was full of documents and disappointment. All the documents, except for one, were either elements of my application that I had sent to Northeastern or documents that I received when accepted, such as financial aid information.

The one page I received that I had not already seen was entitled “Evaluation Summary.” It, too, mainly consisted of information that was

already known, such as my address and desired major. Only one section consisted of new information from the admissions department. This section was basically in a code, one I hope to figure out as more people request and compare their records.

This small section only consisted of eight unintuitive lines. Some had a sort of ranking or qualifier attached, while others were left blank.

In this section was: counselor rating, academic rating, innovative/ entrepreneurial, diversity of community, engagement, leadership, experiential learning and, most interestingly, desirability code. I can only assume that these are the main areas that Northeastern focuses on when considering applicants.

I received a desirability code of two and the engagement, leadership and innovation sections were all left blank, which baffles me.

I would not normally expect much of this type of request, but I was given good reason to. Last year, Elizabeth Cheron, the director of undergraduate admissions for recruitment and selection, gave a lecture to the University Scholars. In reference to the admissions process, she said, “We’re reading and we’re assigning a whole variety of different descriptors, ratings, comments and notes.”

I did not receive anything like what she described and, after being bounced around to different offices to track down someone else in the Admissions Office to speak to, I was told that those sorts of notes did not exist and, if they did, they weren’t stored as part of the “official record.”

I’m no lawyer, but I don’t think this fits well with the spirit of FERPA. All I can hope now is to figure out what the code means. I encourage all students to request your records, compare with others and find out what about you made you so special. Is it truly what we have accomplished, or just an attempt to fill a quota?

News illustration by David London, Concept by The Huntington News

Drug prices too unstable Recently, a story about how a drug increased 5,000 percent in price overnight has had airwaves and broadsheets reporting on the relative pricing of pharmaceuticals.

After a hedge manager acquired the rights to distribute the 62-year-old drug Daraprim, he increased the price from $13.50 a tablet to $750.

This drug is used primarily by patients with AIDS to help fight off a life-threatening parasitic infection.

This increase was condemned by people in both the public and political spheres. Hillary Clinton called the increase “price gouging,” and vowed to create a plan to address high drug prices. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT, and Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, D-MD, who were already investigating recent increases in drug prices, sent a letter to the company, Turning Pharmaceuticals, requesting information on the reasons for the increase.

“The enormous, overnight price increase for Daraprim is just the latest in a long list of skyrocketing price increases for certain critical medications,” the two politicians said in a press release. “Americans should not have to live in fear that they will die or go bankrupt because they cannot afford to take the lifesaving medication they need.”

Unreasonable drug prices are part of an institutional problem. The fact

is, most drug companies are more concerned with making a profit than providing good medicine. The total spending on medicine in the US has increased from $195 billion in 2002 to $374 billion in 2014. Americans spend more than twice as much per year on prescription drugs than Canadians or Europeans, according to the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics (IMS).

Because of how much control major companies have over the market, it’s incredibly difficult for smaller companies to break into the scene and introduce what could be more effective drugs. A common counterargument is that the for-profit drug market drives innovation, but this doesn’t hold water.

Worldwide, the 10 largest pharmaceutical companies control over one-third of the market. These companies are happy where they are, making profits by increasing prices on extant drugs. “[There is] an inherent conflict of interest between the legitimate business goals of manufacturers and the social, medical and economic needs of providers and the public to select and use drugs in the most rational way,” reads a statement by the World Health Organization (WHO).

This is made more problematic by the fact that pharmaceutical companies are the main source

of information to the public about which drugs are most effective. In the U.K., where there is more publicly-funded information on drugs than in the US, corporations spend 50 times more on promotion than independent and government sources do on public information around drugs, according to the WHO. An evocative example is the industry surrounding cancer drugs.

Global cancer drug sales are over $100 billion a year. This is largely caused by increasing drug coststhe average monthly cost of cancer drugs from 2000-2004 was $4,716, and the average cost today is $9,900, according to IMS. Life expectancy for people with cancer has been improving, but it’s expensive. The result is a large amount of cancer patients falling into debt.

There’s not much choice provided; survival comes with a high price tag.

Arguments saying the for-profit model without any regulation is beneficial fail to take in account the individuals who have to struggle both with life threatening illnesses and crippling drug prices.

This model also fails to account for the fact that the companies already profiting off the current system are more likely to attempt to keep the status-quo than to spend a major part of their profits on research.

“If you represent Israel, then why are you here?” the man demanded.

“We’re here because we represent Israel,” I replied.

On Saturday, Sept. 19, Huskies for Israel stood in Copley Square surrounded by over 200 people with signs and candles who had come to honor the lives of Aylan Kurdi, Galip Kurdi and the thousands of other children and adults who have lost their lives in the conflict in Syria. Many attendees held signs, reading “4 million refugees...

Can’t we help more than 0.0025 percent?” and “You have to understand, no one puts their children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land.” Others carried a massive banner that read “We the people of Boston welcome Syrian refugees.”

We were the only ones holding an Israeli flag. Our flag began to draw some looks and murmurs and, before long, we were approached by a young man who introduced himself as Feraz and requested to know the reason for our presence.

“My family came to this country as refugees,” I explained. “Everyone deserves to have a home they can feel safe in, without the fear of rockets and destruction. We’re

here to show that Israel stands with Syria.” For the next hour, we were continuously approached by other attendees – families, journalists and other students. Among them were Syrians, Lebanese people and Palestinians. Though many of these confrontations started with hostility, they opened the door to an important dialogue for a humanitarian cause.

Over 4 million refugees have fled the war in Syria. In what is being called the worst humanitarian disaster of our time, more than 11 million Syrians have been displaced, crucially impacting surrounding nations. The Syrian civil war has killed over 220,000 people, half of whom are civilians, with widespread human rights violations on all sides of the conflict. With a lack of food and medical assistance and the constant threat of danger, people have fled Syria in massive numbers, seeking refuge abroad.

While many have welcomed refugees into their countries, others have passionately protested against the newcomers. Syria’s neighbor, Israel, has been providing medical treatment to refugees, with over 1,000 treated in Israeli hospitals.

The Israeli organization IsraAid has sent a team to help refugees in Europe, and the Israeli company SodaStream has offered to help by providing jobs and homes for 1,000 Syrian refugees.

At the vigil, we shared our stories, putting politics and ideology aside to focus on this humanitarian crisis. Some conversations were more tense than others, but ultimately, each ended with a feeling of camaraderie and support for the Syrian people. Israeli, Lebanese, American, Syrian – regardless of background, we were singular of purpose.

Overall, we came away from the event with the realization that what unites us as people is far greater than what divides us as nations. All you have to do to find that common ground is agree to listen to each other’s stories, whether they be about Syria, Israel or the millions of refugees currently in desperate need of help.

Letter: Huskies for Israel attends vigil for regufees

-Allie Glushanok is a third-year business administration and interactive media dual major and vice president of communications for Huskies for Israel at Northeastern.

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citypulse

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Mass. legislators push civics education bill

By Meaghan Dowd News Correspondent

Only 23 percent of eighth graders in the United States are “proficient” in civic education, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. A new bill proposed on Beacon Hill by State Sen. Harriette Chandler aims to change that.

Chandler, alongside Rep. Mary Keefe and Rep. Louis Kafka, sponsored bill S.249, “An Act to involve youth in civic engagement.”

The act would require the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to create “one or more model curriculum units” for civics education, which public schools would then implement.

“What we’re hoping is that every community will have a unit of civics and they can determine what it’s going to be like,” Chandler said. “We are hoping it will energize people to get involved.”

A “unit” could comprise any combination of a semester-long course, a Model U.N. program, weekend activities, or any “other such program promoting civic engagement,” according to the bill’s text.

Massachusetts school districts would also be required to host voter registration drives. Programs would not be mandatory for students.

The bill is necessary because most high school graduates in the state have little to no knowledge of how the US is governed on a national or local level, which can lead to low approval ratings and voter turnout, Chandler said.

The absence of active civic en-

Photo by Scotty Schenck

State Sen. Harriette Chandler sponsored a bill calling for expanded civic education and engagment in state schools. All public schoool districts would be required to implement civics curricula outlined by the proposal.

gagement hampers students who want to address issues in their communities but have little idea how, according to Kristen Lobo, thirdyear business and economics major at Northeastern. Lobo is also the executive director of Northeastern’s chapter of Generation Citizen, a volunteer organization that teaches project- and action-based civics classes in partnering schools.

“The government was put in place to represent the voices of the

people, but there’s a lot of communities that aren’t being represented because they don’t necessarily know how to, or have the opportunities or means to empower themselves and use the government to their advantage,” Lobo said.

In order to be effective, the bill should focus on local government, local civics and what engagement looks like at the community level, according to junior international affairs major Yasmen Bel-

lemsieh, who said she had a traditional civics class in high school.

“It’s really unrealistic for us to focus so much on national elections,” Bellesmieh said. “It’s really important to vote in city elections and to really force kids to realize that if they don’t vote, then their voice is not going to be represented. That’s especially important in a community that has significant minorities that are represented by white males that don’t listen

to or care about their opinions.”

All 50 states have a requirement to teach material or offer at least one course in civics or government in high school, according to the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, but Chandler says it needs to expand beyond the classroom.

“The opposition has always been that we have a day, a school day, that’s already loaded with certain subjects that have to be given,” Chandler said. “That’s why we didn’t talk about it as a course or as a class. I talk about it as a unit.”

Civic education should address the alienation people feel from their governments, according to sophomore interactive design major Jailene Cabrera.

“Officials and politicians tell everybody, ‘Oh, we need to make this community safer,’ and stuff, and attention gets brought to issues, [but] it’s still not enough,” Cabrera said. She added that she wasn’t convinced bill S.249 would make a substantial difference.

The Joint Committee on Education hosted a hearing on Sept. 24, where Chandler, the proposal’s other sponsors and a handful of community members attempted to convince the committee of the bill’s merit. Next in the process is a vote in committee, the timetable for which has not been set.

“The chair of the committee will make the decision,” Chandler said. “They have to go into an executive session to do that and I don’t know when that will be – but I hope it’s a ‘yes’ vote.”

Company opens shared workspace in Back Bay

Photo courtesy Danica Chang, Cove

Cove, first launched in Washington, D.C., recently expanded into Boston. The company offers students, freelancers and others a place to work.

By Cassidy DeStefano News Correspondent

Among the cadre of universities, libraries and coffee shops dotting Boston, recently-expanded startup Cove hopes to popularize a new class of workspace.

“We feel like we’re a stand-alone [company] serving the general purpose of being productive,” Adam Segal, Cove’s co-founder and chief executive, said at the company’s Boston launch party last night.

The driving force behind Cove is supplying a tranquil workplace equipped with all of the necessary utilities including commercial-grade printing, free Wi-Fi, scanning services and a selection of beverages, according to Segal. The Cove workspace is located at 297 Newbury St. Cove should be seen as a ris-

ing staple of urban campuses that provide not only a peaceful work environment but a supportive community forum, Brand Director Erin Gifford said.

“It’s kind of twofold, which is really exciting,” Gifford said.

“We’ll host events and try to create opportunities for people to come together outside of the work space. We host happy hours, industry-specific productive hours, book club, fun things like that.”

Members have several payment packages to choose from, ranging from $59 to $249 per month. Josephine Do, a student at the New England College of Optometry, said she chose the “Steady” option, the most popular plan, which charges $99 each month with a limit of three hours onsite each day.

According to Do, her investment has already paid dividends.

“I don’t really like studying at libraries so much, and I’ve noticed I’m a lot more productive when I’m here,” Do said.

Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer Jeremy Scott, who attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), met Segal in graduate school at Harvard University. The duo launched Cove’s first location in Washington, D.C. in September of 2013 and now operates 10 workspaces there. “[Washington, D.C.] has a great startup community, but Boston’s is one of the strongest in the country,” Scott said. “I think every city needs something like Cove. It’s just a pervasive, universal need that isn’t a coffee shop and isn’t your living room.”

According to Judy Hsu, a Northeastern graduate and site manager at the fledgling Back

Bay location, the storefront on Newbury Street has already enjoyed significant foot traffic.

“People are constantly out and about especially on the weekend so street teaming as an advertising strategy works really well,” she said.

Hsu, who majored in management at Northeastern, completed co-ops at Plymouth Rock Assurance and Massachusetts Convention Center. Although she found both rewarding, she ultimately sought a job at a company free of ties from an umbrella corporation.

“I first got super attracted to Cove because of the mission statement that they had,” Hsu said.

“And if I were a student, I would totally use a space like this because there were many times when I was roaming around Newbury and I wasted two hours, partly because I was procrastinating

but also because I was genuinely trying to find a place to work.”

Other Massachusetts students who attended yesterday’s launch party at the facility agreed with Hsu. Fulton Wang, a graduate student studying computer science at MIT, said that Cove serves a vital need.

“People are noisy, and sometimes you just need a quiet place to work,” he said.

Quiet, accessible space is important to some people, MIT alumna Leyla Isik agreed. Isik, who recently earned her master’s degree in computation biology, says Cove’s ability to provide that space to many people at once makes it unique.

“I’ve heard of similar concepts, but I think it’s really great,” she said. “My boyfriend works from home sometimes – I actually think he was one of the first members at this location.”

Although Segal could not disclose an exact number of members spanning the Washington, D.C. and Boston locations, he stressed that the Cove network boasts “considerable participation” from a sampling of distinct neighborhoods.

Beginning in January, Northeastern students will be able to partake in co-ops at Cove. Students can expect to perform jobs ranging from marketing strategy to on-site greeting, according to Gifford.

“I think even if somebody was interested in the tech side, we could accommodate them,” Gifford said.

Cove plans to launch another location in Somerville’s Union Square this month, bringing the total count to 12 by the end of October, Segal said.

Cove’s managers aren’t quite sure what comes after that, Scott said. Domestic expansion is on the agenda – but first comes building a bigger community in Boston.

“It’s pretty up in the air,” Segal said. “We’d love to open on the West Coast in a big city like San Francisco, but that’s way down the line.”

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citypulse

Harborwalk revitalized by Boston artists

By Gemma Bonfiglioli News Correspondent

In the latest splash of color to hit the Rose Kennedy Greenway, nine formerly-gray pillars along a pedestrian walkway have been painted over with abstract patterns designed by local artists.

Pattern Walk, the public art installation, wraps around the columns of the Harbor Garage structure, located at 70 East India Row, near the Harborwalk and the New England Aquarium. Design Museum Boston collaborated with the Chiofaro Company, the Harbor Garage and Boston-area graphics firms to put on the project.

“The [exhibit] is a unique way of presenting an art form that is usually only portrayed digitally,” Cei Lambert, a 27-year-old designer with web design company Fresh Tilled Soil who created the pattern “Luna Moths” for the exhibit, said.

“Luna Moths” features a repeating yellow pattern set against a navy background. Viewers who stand close enough realize the pattern is composed not by lines but by four moths, explained Lambert.

In addition to Fresh Tilled Soil, eight other local design firms and artists developed patterns for the exhibit: The Analogue Studios, DockYard, Proper Villains Agency, The Design Group at Arnold, Image Conscious Studios, Artaic, Kim Poliquin and Cast Collective.

Each pattern centers around a unique theme and includes elements of cubism, the abstract, digital design and optical illusion.

These features combine to draw in pedestrians from afar and en-

gage them as viewers while they approach, according to DockYard designer Tim Walsh and creative director Steven Trevathan, who together crafted “Shapes #2.”

“When you’re very far away from our art, it appears to be a different pattern to when you approach it,” Trevathan said. “We knew that it would be outside and people would be interacting with it at different view lengths.”

Trevathan and Walsh said they outlined 50 different patterns before coming up with their final result, one that emphasized high contrast – the artists’ focus – in addition to color, which they say Design Museum Boston requested.

“I think it kind of morphed over the creation of it,” Walsh said. “With each layout I was trying I was figuring out different meanings in each one.”

The final version of “Shapes #2” portrays a collection of green geometric solids and prisms, outlined in black and set against a flat green background.

Like Walsh and Trevathan’s pattern, the Greenway has undergone a series of transformations in recent years, according to local designer Megan Ducharme.

Ducharme’s piece “Cow Tongue” aims to reflect that theme, she said.

“The concept was transition because the Greenway had gone into transition recently,” Ducharme said. “Cow Tongue” features a series of concentric black lines set against a white background with three wavy ribbons of pink superimposed on the measured, black-and-white geometry.

Inside the nearby Design Mu-

seum Boston store, Stephanie Andrews, an intern, greeted people as they entered the center to view the wide variety of artistic products made by local designers.

“Sustainability is really big in design right now,” Andrews said. “The Museum is trying to source from Boston artists.”

Andrews said that since the patterns had been installed, she had noticed people outside observing

ations, according to Da Silva. UFCW Local 1445 representatives had expected it to stay that way, he said.

“The prior mayor [Thomas M. Menino] said whoever came into that store would have to be a union store,” Da Silva said. “Walmart tried to come into the space, but because of Menino, they stayed away.”

The labor status of employees isn’t the only new thing about the building. Primark’s redesign of the space, which included the installation of black brick inside and vibrant blue lettering outside, makes it stand out from the office buildings and storefronts surrounding it, said Rachel Friend, 35, of Boston.

“I just saw the sign walking by on the street and decided to come in,” Friend said. “I’m pretty happy with my shopping experience so far.”

Primark’s prices are also a strong pull, according to freshman international affairs major Asta MacKie. Originally from San Francisco, MacKie said she hadn’t heard of Primark before coming to Boston.

She couldn’t resist going to the store

soon after it opened, although she felt some misgivings.

“While I do love the clothes and prices, I’m very skeptical as to how they get their prices to be so cheap,” MacKie said.

To other many Primark shoppers, the company’s stated commitment to fair wages and social responsibility is another selling point, said Julie Nagler, 18, of Concord.

“I think it’s awesome,” Nagler said. “It feels good to know that the money I’m spending is going toward a company that supports all these great causes – especially since the prices are so good.”

Despite some customers’ support, though, Primark’s history of living up to its own code of conduct is mixed.

In 2013, 668 people were killed or injured in the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh while working for one of Primark’s suppliers. To date, the company has paid out over $14 million in compensation to those affected, according to a press release dated March 31.

In March, Greenpeace recognized

Photos by Scotty Schenck

(L-R): “Cow Tongue” by Megan Ducharme, “Luna Moths” by Cei Lambert, “Balanidae” by Analogue Studio, and six other abstract patterns transformed columns along the Harborwalk at the Rose Kennedy Greenway.

them, though not as many people had been reading the descriptions of each pattern as she had hoped.

Several of the artists involved expressed excitement that Boston residents and officials alike were embracing public art.

“I think [Pattern Walk] shows promise to the area that Boston is willing to accept and exhibit the creative nature of the city,” Walsh said.

Lambert went further with his

praise for the city and the exhibit. “[Pattern Walk] is doing an amazing thing,” Lambert said.

“It shows different applications of patterns and different ways of having the pattern seen.”

The exhibit will remain on display until Nov. 4.

For more photos, visit huntnewsnu.com

Primark pleases shoppers, frustrates union

Retail, From Page 1 than expected, business has been steadily good, according to employee Nefeteria, whose manager told her not to give her last name.

“Last Saturday, they had to put up barriers at the front of the store,” Nefeteria said. “There were lines all down Summer Street, and one even going back around the other side of Washington.”

The store is known both for cheap goods – women’s jeans are listed online at $17 and men’s dress shirts are priced as low as $10 – and a commitment to fair labor practices, Nefeteria said.

Located in the Burnham Building at the intersection of Washington and Summer Street, Primark occupies the 77,000 square feet that once housed Boston retail icon Filene’s Department Store and the original Filene’s Basement outlet before it shut down in 2007.

The building’s legacy holds significance for UFCW because Filene’s employees were unionized for gener-

Photo courtesy Margaret Meluzio, Havas PR

The United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) launched a campaign aimed at Primark workers.

Photo by Scotty Schenck

Discount clothing chain Primark opened a Boston store on Sept. 10.

Primark for its dedication to the elimination of hazardous chemicals.

Primark has been a member of the Ethical Trading Initiative, a group committed to fair labor practices and living wages, since 2006.

While those accomplishments should be applauded, labor practices are unfair to workers at Primark’s Boston store, Da Silva said.

“The No. 1 problem is they have workers from a temp agency that are getting paid more money than the direct employees,” Da Silva said. “It really shows what the company is about – they aren’t willing to create real, sustainable jobs for the Boston area.”

Other issues facing employees are the lack of guaranteed hours, disorganized management and poor communication from bosses, according to Da Silva.

UFCW’s biggest concern, though, is anti-union pressure that Da Silva claims some managers are exerting on workers.

“Managers are approaching employees and telling them to avoid the union people,” Da Silva said. “It might be local managers trying to be the heroes and corporate headquar-

ters doesn’t know anything about it.

Still, it goes against the code of conduct posted on their own website.”

The News was unable to confirm this report.

Da Silva was quick to add that his group doesn’t plan to discourage shoppers from buying Primark products, acknowledging that many people enjoy the products and the prices with good reason.

UFCW labor organizers simply want the company to expand its labor concessions to the new store, Da Silva said.

Primark’s website reports the company pays workers “at a minimum the national legal standards or industry benchmark standards” but does not specify what that number is in the US or any of the other nine countries in which people are employed by the retailer.

“All over the world, Primark has 60,000 workers who enjoy the benefits of union jobs, fair conditions and good wages,” Da Silva said. “We want the same thing here.”

Primark headquarters failed to respond to multiple requests for comment as of press time.

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Headliners rock the Boston Calling stages

By Mayeesha Galiba News Correspondent

Boston Calling returned to the city this weekend, drawing thousands of music lovers and a diverse lineup of artists. Since its inception in 2013, the festival has continued to grow and expand, accommodating more people and vendors this year than ever before.

Musical acts like Alt-J, Alabama Shakes and The Avett Brothers headlined the nights, but the music didn’t stop there, as the likes of Hozier, Of Monsters and Men and CHVRCHES helped push Boston Calling’s lineup over the edge. The festival ran all weekend at City Hall Plaza next to the newly renovated Government Center.

“This Boston Calling. the lineup is pretty diverse – a lot of the artists are from all around the world,” Victoria Barnaby, interactive marketing manager at ’47 Brand, which had a booth at Boston Calling, said. “Every single year, more and more bands have a presence here and do more than just throw a t-shirt. They’re becoming more interactive.”

Last seen at Boston Calling in 2013, Iceland natives Of Monsters and Men returned to the festival as the main fixture of Friday night’s lineup. The band walked onto rolling clouds of fog, the band members’ likenesses displayed on 50-foot-long screens on the sides of the stage and shadows cast onto the back wall. The set was instrumentally-focused, but the high energy indie-folk pop and haunting vocals from Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir left the crowd energized.

Saturday was the first full day of the festival, and attendees arrived early to snag prime spots in front of each stage, hoping to hold their position until their favorite artist performed.

“We’ve been here many times,” Jack Banagis, a recent graduate from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, said. “It’s easy for me to pick [a stage] I want because then I can go and stand at the front before anyone gets there and then I’m ready for the band to come on.”

As “The Circle of Life” from “The Lion King” blasted, indiepop band Walk the Moon ran onto the stage at 6 p.m. on Saturday, the first majorly-billed band of the day

Photos by Scotty Schenck

Top left: CHVRCHES lead singer Lauren Mayberry performs on the Red Stage on Saturday at Boston Calling. Top right: Ashley Morse, right, 18, and Patrick Moran, left. 19, from Providence, R.I. scream as Walk the Moon performs. Bottom left: Nate Ruess holds up his microphone cable during his set. Bottom right: Hozier waves to the crowd as he walks on stage to perform his set under the blood-red moon. on the Red Stage. Face paint was air. Mayberry said she was a little sexes. styled Wagamama to the American smeared across lead singer Nicho- under the weather, but that didn’t Hozier and Alabama Shakes grill Tasty Burger. las Petricca’s face. The band’s set hinder her performance and it only closed off the night with perforWith the completion of Governwas upbeat from the start, and the led to funny on-stage banter as she mances under the light of the ment Center, the festival grounds whole crowd was dancing. There had to occasionally stop to blow blood-red moon. brought attendees to a musical oawere two arrows on stage, chang- her nose.

“The lunar eclipse was awe- sis within the urban jungle of Bosing colors throughout the set, a Sunday brought indie-pop band some,” Charlie Doherty, a North- ton. nod to the song “Different Colors” MisterWives, Hozier and Alabama eastern sophomore business major, “I have to say that the new defrom new album “Talking Is Hard.” Shakes. said. “It was the perfect ending to sign [of City Hall Plaza] is really Up front, many fans also had on Lead singer of MisterWives my Boston Calling.” doing it for me,” Tyler Smith, a tribal face paint to match that of Mandy Lee danced and ran across While music was the main fo- MassArt third year graphic design the lead singer. the stage relentlessly. The band’s cus of the weekend, there was also major, said. “The old design kind Scottish band CHVRCHES was mash-up cover of “I Can’t Feel My plenty of fun and food for festival- of looked too basic and mainarguably the highlight of Satur- Face” by The Weeknd and “P.Y.T. goers. Luden’s, a cough drop com- stream, and I think they’re taking day’s performances. Lead singer (Pretty Young Thing)” by Michael pany, sponsored a mouth-themed a new step with the new design Lauren Mayberry’s voice cut Jackson sent the crowd into an bounce house, complete with hang- because Boston is changing and through the production with elec- elated frenzy of recognition. At one ing bags as uvulas. Giant games moderizing.” tronic beats playing in the back- point, Lee dropped to the ground of Jenga and Connect Four were ground. She pumped her fist to and started to do pushups while available for people to play when For more photos, the beat of the songs and whipped simultaneously giving a speech they were not watching a set. Food visit huntnewsnu.com the microphone cord through the blasting societal standards for the options varied, from Pan-Asian

A capella group defies cultural music gap

By Steven Woodring News Correspondent

To carry both musical talent and cultural pride may weigh on some as a burden, but for The Filharmonic it’s a natural fit.

The Filharmonic, an a cappella group from Los Angeles, flew into Boston to play a show on Friday, Sept. 25 at Northeastern.

“We like to bring the party,” VJ Rosales, one of the six members of the entirely Filipino-American group, said.

Based on crowd response, they

succeeded.

The Filharmonic started to gain fame after appearing in 2013 on NBC’s “The Sing-Off,” a competitive a cappella television show, and recently took part in the filming of the movie “Pitch Perfect 2.”

Northeastern’s Asian Student Union (ASU) invited the group to perform at afterHOURS. Though the stage was one of the smallest venues the group has encountered since their recent burst of popularity, the band members said it did not change their attitude toward the show.

Starting the night off with a ren-

dition of Nick Jonas’ “Chains,” The Filharmonic started with high energy. They covered hit songs from pop icons like Justin Bieber, Rihanna and Bruno Mars. Beatboxer Niko Del Rey even took advantage of a lag in the concert to challenge his band members in a beat-making match.

In between songs, the group kept the crowd entertained by putting individuals on the spot to answer a question or singing happy birthday to a lucky student sitting in the second row.

Following the show, fans lined up

Photo by Robert Smith

Filipino a cappella group The Filharmonic performs rearranged pop hits at Northeastern’s afterHOURS.

to get an autograph, take a picture or just talk to the group before they flew back to California.

While ASU was glad to see the show be fun for everyone, they made it clear that they brought The Filharmonic to campus not only to put on a great show, but also to support the club’s mission.

“Our goal is to foster a community to spread awareness about cultural issues,” Xida Zou, junior pharmacy major and president of ASU, said.

For those of Asian origin, one of the most concerning cultural issues is the prominent stereotype that Asians are virtually limited to occupations in the medical or scientific fields. Groups like The Filharmonic break down this stereotype by succeeding in professions of a creative focus, according to Emily MillerMcglone, sophomore computer science and communications major and a representative for ASU. “Asian-Americans aren’t only doctors,” she said. “They can be in the music industry as well, and they can excel in it.”

The Filharmonic’s penultimate stop on their nationwide college tour was one of the many performances the ASU has brought to NU. Every semester they bring in a different act that affirms the notion Asian-Americans can be successful in many fields. When the club heard that six Filipino-Americans were making

a name for themselves in a branch of the entertainment industry, they could not resist.

“They bring something new to the table, being an a cappella band.

They stuck out to us,” Christina La, junior health science major and vice president of ASU, said.

Though the group began as a friendly musical outlet for the band members, The Filharmonic could never have imagined becoming this well-known frot their music.

“Initially, our goal was just to get past the first round of ‘The SingOff.’ It’s crazy how far it’s taken us, it’s been very surreal,” Joe Caigoy, member of The Filharmonic, said.

Although they have now completed their college tour, there is no time for them to rest.

“Nothing’s really down time for us. Shows always just spring up,” Trace Gaynor, group member, said.

Looking toward their future, The Filharmonic band members are as unsure about where they are going as to how they got to be where they are now.

“Hopefully we’ll be in ‘Pitch Perfect 3,’ if that’s a thing,” Del Rey said.

As for Caigoy’s vision, his ambitions set the group’s aspirations even higher.

“We could have never even imagined touring or making videos,” he said. “Maybe we’ll go around the world, who knows.”

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Students learn at night of science

By Saumya Chopra News Correspondent

Taking the semblance of a college campus quad, the Museum of Science (MOS) offered a night of educational excursions for the students of Boston this weekend.

On Friday, the MOS hosted thousands of college students from around Boston for its annual College Night.

Sponsored by MathWorks, the museum offered college students free and discounted access to exhibit halls and 4-D and IMAX films.

“Boston has a ton of college kids.

[College Night] is interesting, it’s fun and it’s hands-on,” Erin Shannon, a publicist at the museum, said.

“We do this event once a year, and we see about 4,000 students walk into the museum. It just gets better every year.”

Attendees experienced the Charles Hayden Planetarium, the museum’s butterfly garden, live presentations of a high-voltage electricity show, astronomy after-hours talks at the Gilliland Observatory and a new

exhibit called “The Science Behind Pixar.”

The Pixar exhibit premiered on June 28 and was the main attraction of this year’s College Night.

“It’s very hands-on and interactive,” James Preiss, marketing coordinator at the MOS, said. “It’s a good cross between the two. It’s Pixar meets science. I’m in my 20s, and I still enjoyed it. There’s something for everyone in this exhibit.”

The 10,000-square-foot exhibit explores the eight areas of Pixar animation that help the beloved films come to life: modeling; rigging, making models move; surfaces; sets and cameras; animation; simulation, creating automated motion; lighting; and rendering, turning a 3-D scene a 2-D image for the theater.

The exhibit will be featured at the museum until Jan. 10. Students had the opportunity to view the exhibit at a discounted price of $6 and, according to Shannon, tickets sold out by 7 p.m. — just halfway into the night.

“The Pixar thing was really cool.

You got to see how it all works, and

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Photo by Brian Bae

A student at College Night experiments with a pivoting balance, moving metal washers from peg to peg.

it was really interesting,” Sam Hanson, a freshman veterinary technology major at Mount Ida College, said.

In addition to exhibit halls, students in attendance could also take part in a scavenger hunt and go on Boston Duck Tours.

“You can see that they put a lot of work into making this event,” Juhi Narula, a Northeastern senior be-

havioral neuroscience major, said.

“It’s cool to see a lot of college kids being interested in science.”

The goal of the College Night is to expose college students to science and the museum in a fun and economically feasible way.

On a normal day, entry to exhibit halls in the museum can cost up to $23 and entry to the Pixar exhibit

costs $29 for adults. This annual event allows a college student to explore the museum and have a free educational experience with their friends.

“We’ve been doing [College Night] for a while,” Preiss said. “It’s a really good opportunity for college kids to do something different on a Friday night.”

ing.

“What the Fluff?” festival back in Somerville

cream, and Archibald Query, the man from Somerville who invented the sticky spread.

“The music, games, attendance and vendors were all fabulous,” Esther Hanig, executive director of Union Square Main Streets (USMS), said. “It is my first festival as executive director, and I hope I didn’t drop

the ball on anything I didn’t know about. I think it was fun.”

USMS, a Somerville community development group, organizes “What the Fluff?” every year. The organization works to both preserve the history and character of the neighborhood while also advancing small-scale businesses within the

community.

“This is our second year at the festival, and it is the perfect venue for us,” Autumn Silva, owner and creator of Marshfellows, said as she sold marshmallow figurines, necklaces, buttons and stickers from her booth. “This is Marshfellows’ sixth year — it all grew out of a hobby.

Next thing I knew, I had a PayPal account and a Facebook page.”

The festival featured snacks such as Fluffernutters, a sandwich filled with marshmallow fluff and peanut butter; fluff-filled empanadas; and marshmallows on sticks dipped in an array of chocolate and caramel sauces for families and Fluff fans to enjoy.

“I heard about the festival through social media,” Dennis Ambrose, a Somerville resident, said. “It is nice that the community can come together to have fun and relax and celebrate where Fluff came from.”

The festival also showcased a myriad of live music performances. Acts included School of Honk, Revolutionary Snake Ensemble and dance performances by the Flufferettes. There were also many new additions to the Fluff fest, such as the Midway Kids Area, which featured Fluff activities such as bowling, ring toss and cornhole, according to Han-

Othello (Johnnie McQuarley) is the protagonist and a Moorish military general. Iago (John Kuntz) stands as Othello’s devious righthand man, and Roderigo (Bari Robinson) is Iago’s gullible henchman.

Iago’s honorable position in the army is contradicted by his manipulation of his wife, Emilia (Jennie Israel) and his betrayal of Othello and Desdemona (Josephine Elwood), Othello’s bride. As Iago falsely convinces Othello of Desdemona’s disloyalty, he causes a trail of chaos, murdering innocent people in the process. While the result of their actions are drastic, the characters convey feelings that are synonymous with those people experience today.

The space of the theater brought these characters to life. The close-up orchestral seating of the audience allowed people to interact with the characters and become enveloped.

“As a design team, we talked about wanting it to feel like it was everywhere and nowhere,” O’Leary said. “When we talked about costumes, we asked, ‘Who were these militaries? Are they the marines?

Are they naval? Are they US ambas-

sadors?’”

One of these military men, McQuarley, has been in other Shakespearean tragedies but said “Othello” offered something more relevant than his past works.

“In rehearsal, [McQuarley] spoke about this internal racism that spurs on Othello’s jealousy by his own acknowledgment of his place in the world,” O’Leary said. “He was less sure of Desdemona’s love for him or other people’s faith in him as a leader and a man. It’s what makes Iago so successful.”

McQuarley also understands the divide between Othello and those he lives and works with. “[Othello] can’t go back to where he’s from,” McQuarley said. “Other roles I’ve played have had a very solid genesis that they can turn to.

Othello seems to be starting from the middle, trying to discover himself in a new way in a new world.”

Some parts of the plot, however, were more difficult to adapt to a contemporary setting. One of the most obvious contemporary changes O’Leary made was the switch from Plot, Page 9

Iago (John Kuntz) pushes his fingers into the temples of Roderigo (Bari Robinson) in the Actor’s Shakespeare Project’s production of “Othello.”

Photo by Robert Smith

A volunteer mixes marshmallow Fluff with various flavorings and spices for passer-bys to try at the Fluff festival.

By Alejandro Serrano News Correspondent

Hundreds of Fluff fans gathered on Saturday, Sept. 26 in Somerville to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the “What the Fluff?” festival. The celebration centers around Fluff, a spreadable marshmallow

“Othello” takes new style

By Pamela Stravitz News Correspondent

The Suffolk University Modern Theatre was packed as the audience quieted, lights dimmed and Roderigo stepped out from the aisle in a three-piece suit, followed by Iago, fully dressed in 21st-Century army fatigue.

The Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s production of “Othello” premiered Friday, Sept. 23 and will run until Oct. 25 under director Bridget O’Leary, who is also a theatre lecturer at Northeastern University.

For those who know Shakespeare’s “Othello” well, the new millenium aesthetic may come as a surprise, given the play is traditionally set in the 17th Century.

For her first professional Shakespearean show, O’Leary wanted to make the production seem accessible to a modern audience.

“It was important to me that when people watched, it debunked the stereotypes of who these iconic characters were and made them real, like you were seeing something for the first time,” O’Leary said.

“This is our third year performing at the Fluff fest,” Dixie Douya, a Flufferette dancer, said. “We live in the area and always came to the fest.

Then we were asked to perform, and it was a great honor. We will perform for as long as we are invited – this is one of our favorite events and we love Fluff.”

There were three different stages at the festival: the Main Stage, the Shenanigans Stage and the Sideshow Stage. Each one had a plethora of acts, with the main stage having the “fluffiest” activities, such as the multiple Fluff lick-offs, a competition to be the first person to lick a glob of Fluff off of a clear sheet of paper.

This year’s festival also had a new website, alongside a new “Fluff Festival Guide” mobile app via Yonward – an app that allowed attendees to partake in creating a map for the festival.

“There is a lot to do, and it’s great to see the local turnout. I see the horn band [School of Honk] around Union Square and it’s cool to see them here,” Chelsea Rice, a Brighton resident, said.

“If someone is new to the area, I would recommend them to come next year.”

Photo courtesy Joanne Barrett, Stratton McCrady Photography

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calendar Entry of the Week “Donut Throwdown” at Post 390 Sunday, Oct. 4

Doughnut aficionados of the Northeast will find their niche in Back Bay this weekend when Post 390 hosts the second annual Rise and Rumble Donut Throwdown. Chefs hailing from the Boston and New York areas will whip up their most creative versions of glazed goodness for a chance to be voted best doughnut by guests. Kenmore Square chef Lauren Kroesser from Island Creek Oyster Bar took home the title last year with a jelly-filled, hazelnut-topped doughnut. A ticket to the event includes access to a brunch buffet, coffee bar and one of each doughnut entered in the competition. 406 Stuart St.; noon - 2 p.m.; $30.

Photo courtesy Dave Crosby, Creative Commons

Calendar by Megan O’Brien, Deputy Inside Editor

Thursday, Oct. 1

Saturday, Oct. 3

Friday, Oct. 2

Grateful Dead fans may be seen flocking to Digital Silver Imaging in Belmont this week to meet Herb Greene, the man who documented the rock band’s heyday.

“Dead 50 Years” is a collection of images taken or selected by Greene, who befriended the band in the 1960s. He will be in the gallery on Thursday evening to sign copies of a limited-edition print.

Refreshments will be served, and live music will be provided by local band The Sorry Honeys.

The exhibition is open until Oct. 9. From Boston, the commute to Belmont is roughly an hour commute from Bostonwith a switch from the Orange to Red Lines. 9 Brighton St., Belmont; 6 - 8 p.m.; free.

Starting this Friday, 21-year-old playwright Ruby Rae Spiegel’s work will be introduced to Boston theatergoers. “Dry Land,” a New York Times critics’ pick, will open at the Plaza Theatre at the Boston Center for the Arts this weekend, directed by Steven Bogart. Spiegel, who wrote the play while still an undergraduate at Yale University, has created a coming-of-age story about “abortion, bad jokes, bathing suits and friendship,” according to producer Company One. The inevitable mess of youth meets a highlyordered theatrical form, bringing this melodramatic comedy to the forefront of theatre and social discourse. Performances run through Oct. 30. 539 Tremont St.; 8 p.m.; $15 with a student ID.

The Let’s Talk About Food Festival will return to Copley Square this weekend for its fourth consecutive year. Activities will center around the organization’s mission to spark conversation about the role of food in society. This includes hands-on cooking demonstrations and moderated discussions. This year, the festival is part of Boston’s first HUB Week, a collaboration between the Boston Globe, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard University to celebrate the convergence of art, science and technology in the community. A full list of HUB Week activities can be found at www.hubweek.org. 560 Boylston St.; 10 a.m.; free.

Monday, Oct. 5

Tuesday, Oct. 6

Wednesday, Oct. 7

Interested in beating the Monday blues and ushering in the start of the autumn season? Take care of both by celebrating Oktoberfest at Trident Booksellers and Cafe in Back Bay. The tasting celebration will feature fall beer by Lagunitas, as well as local companies Rapscallion and Ipswitch.

Appetizers will be served, and guests will have the opportunity to finish out the evening over a game of Cards Against Humanity or by coloring in coloring books.

Tickets can be purchased through Trident’s website. 338 Newbury St.; 6 p.m.; $10; 21+.

Now that October has arrived, those looking to do some “frightseeing” can find a scare on the Ghost and Gravestones Tour.

Guests are invited to explore some of Boston’s most haunted locations on this themed trolley tour as a conductor leads them through the city. Stories about notorious Boston criminals such as the Boston Strangler and occupants of two of the city’s biggest graveyards will be told, and walking tours of two burial grounds are included in the 90-minute session. Tours run through the end of October. 200 Atlantic Ave.; times vary; $36.75.

Through Oct. 21, MIT will host the MIT Making Life Soapbox Discussion, a lecture series exploring the details behind synthetic biology.

Topics will address what synthetic biology is and how scientists use innovative techniques to genetically modify organisms. This week’s theme is “Breaking the ‘Synbio’ Barrier.” Peter Carr, senior scientist at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, and Jeffrey Way, senior staff scientist at Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, will speak on the subject. 265 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge; 6 - 7:30 p.m.; free.

Play emphasizes design Plot, From Page 8 casting a Brabantio, Desdemona’s father, to Brabantia. No longer is the character an overbearing father, unwilling to give away his property; as a woman, Brabantia is still stubborn but understands Desdemona’s desire to choose.

Costume director Tyler Kinney created humor with his wardrobes.

Laughter bounced off the confined walls of the theater as Cassio popped his collar or Emilia unexpectedly pulled a handkerchief from a keyhole on her blouse. Characters in blue jeans, crop tops and military camouflage helped solidify this idea of accessibility.

However, O’Leary understands that the idea of jealousy and manipulation were still the most modern aspects of the show.

“It’s upsetting to think that a play like ‘Othello’ could still resonate in a way that we feel connected to,” O’Leary said.

Photo courtesy Joanne Barrett, Stratton McCrady Photography

Othello (Johnnie McQuarley) stands shocked by the words of his enemy.

Page 9

The art of being a modern friend

When I was in elementary school, my hometown seemed bigger than it really was. In the summer, I would exchange home phone numbers and street addresses with the girls I sat with at lunch or played with at recess, and then I would bid them farewell like they were going on a two-month hibernation.

Summer was a roadblock to our friendship because we weren’t physically in a classroom together.

Nonetheless, some friends and I would stay pen pals in the same town, writing about the summer programs or trips that kept us apart. That was almost 10 years ago, when friendship meant including their initials in away messages on AIM and wearing the other half of a heart “best friends” necklace. Today, I think the art of making new friends has become less of a declaration and more of a chosen association.

When I’m really excited by a person, I want them to experience things with me – maybe we clicked in a class or laughed at the same things at a mutual friend’s party.

Friends are made instantaneously now, and what used to take years of being next-door neighbors to form a bond now just takes the right conversation at the right time.

So we hand out pieces of our heart in the forms of Facebook event requests, likes and follows. We copy and paste links to articles and videos to garner a quick laugh or sense of approval. Parsing the media of others has become a way of conversation. Tell me what you did last weekend and I’ll tell you I missed you by showing you a funny meme that reminded me of you. Snapchat is yesterday’s knock on the door and LinkedIn is the past’s good word. Will all of those apps and networks be archaic to the people of the future? What else could possibly replace them and facilitate friendship?

We all have our ways of staying close to old friends and acquaintances. We may not have an hour a week to spend together at times, but I’ll Angelica Recierdo make recommendations of all the places I went The Annotated Muse recently that I think you’d like. If you like postcards, I’ll remember that next time I’m in a new place, and when I come over for a movie night, I’ll bring that riesling wine you like. Small but thoughtful actions go a long way in a fast world that will leave you behind. I think the most intimate of gestures nowadays is a handwritten birthday card. There’s no accrued social media following that could be comparable to the weight of a message that reminds someone of the first time you met or of the qualities you love so much about them.

We could all be better friends to the people we already have in our circle and to future new ones.

Starting off screen-free will make the bond much stronger. Continuing to pencil in screen-free time by going for a run in the park or making things together, like new music, is the way people grow. The world needs more candid and ugly conversations. No more surface recap of: How’s work? How’re classes? How’s the love life? Ask the questions that hurt, like, how is your family doing after your grandma passed away? Or, is going to business school really going to make you happy? We are not as polished as our profiles online make us seem, and we deserve people who will chip us off a little to really get to our story.

Will we ever be able to stop collecting friends and colleagues and connections and really curate the special few? Will we really go visit them on that long weekend that we’ve been promising about all year? Actually show up to the event they invited us to? Meet the other special people in their lives?

Cancellations, missed calls and excuses should be used sparingly, and, when it comes to filling the hearts of those that have hand-picked us as their friends, there is no excess.

-Angelica Recierdo can be reached at Inside@HuntNewsNU.com.

Swim team earns win in first meet

By Bailey Knecht Sports Editor

The Northeastern University (NU) swimming and diving team returned to the pool for the 201516 season, beating Wagner College by a score of 162-130 at NU’s Barletta Natatorium on Saturday.

Head Coach Roy Coates, who has been with the team for over 20 years, praised the Huskies’ performance after the meet.

“I was really impressed with the way they raced,” he said.

“We had some really close races and we won more than our share, so I really liked that.”

The Huskies kicked off the first event of the meet on a high note, winning the 200 medley relay. The team of sophomores Christine Leong and Sara Touchette-McGowan and juniors Taylor Ellis and Rachel Green finished with a time of 1:46.55. Touchette-McGowan also took home first in the 100 butterfly, the 50 freestyle and the 100 freestyle. Last year, she broke school records in all three events.

Juniors Kerry Treusdell, Delaney Lanker and Ellis all secured individual victories, as well as freshmen Adrianna Ciebielski and Kierstin Chu. Overall, the Huskies earned firstplace finishes in 11 of 16 events.

“I think we have a great mix, and I really don’t think we have too many holes in our lineup at all,” Coates said. “We’re deep, and we have some people who are compet-

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Page 10

ing within the team for certain spots, so it’s a really well-rounded team.”

Sophomore Jacquelyn Gover, reigning Colonial Athletic Association Rookie Diver of the Year, finished first in both the three- and one-meter diving events. Fellow sophomore diver Caroline Gonsalves followed closely behind, earning second place in both events.

“The divers looked great, and everyone kept positive and cheered for each other,” senior diver Megan Rutter said. “I think we worked together really well.”

Though she didn’t compete on Saturday, Rutter, one of the team captains, said she predicts her fellow divers will improve on the boards this season.

“They’re all prepping harder dives, and they’re ready to show what they can do this year,” she said. “I think last year was an adjustment since they were only freshmen, and this year they’re going to do bigger dives and score higher scores. It’s really exciting.”

The Huskies will round out this month’s campaign with an exhibition meet against Harvard University on Oct. 17, as well as a trip to the University of New Hampshire on Oct. 24 and an appearance at the George Mason Quad Meet in Virginia on Oct. 30 and 31.

“Overall endurance we need to work on, and speed we need to work on,” Coates said. “Those are the things we really want to concentrate on [in the upcoming meets].”

sports

Photo courtesy Mike Skovan, Northeastern Athletics

Northeastern’s swimming and diving team beat Wagner College 162-130 in a dual meet this weekend.

The team took home first place in 11 of 16 events on Saturday afternoon.

Photo courtesy Jim Pierce, Northeastern Athletics

Volleyball beats Elon in four, earns first CAA win

By Tim Foley News Staff

Senior outside hitter Cherylain Dizon, 4, dominated in the front row with 11 kills on Sunday.

Photo by Brian Bae

Photo by Brian Bae

Sophomore outside hitter Brigitte Burcescu, 9, dives for the ball in a loss to the College of William & Mary.

The Northeastern University women’s volleyball team pulled out its first Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) win on Friday at home against Elon University but followed with a tough four-set loss against the College of William & Mary on Sunday.

After losing a 3-2 battle against Hofstra University on Wednesday, the Huskies rebounded against Elon.

Northeastern packed Cabot with 410 fans in attendance for Friday’s match.

“It’s such a big difference when we have a fanbase here,” junior setter Jamie Bredahl said. “Just the crowd and the cheering and the noise and having people who support our program, it’s really helpful, especially when we play good teams.”

The Northeastern women felt the energy in the first set, accumulating a 14-7 lead. The Husky attack generated six kills over the stretch. Bredahl added three assists and a service ace. She leads the team in both categories this season.

The Huskies maintained a comfortable lead and finished the set 25-19.

Despite a 6-1 Northeastern run to tie the score in the second, Elon bounced back, winning 25-21 and evening the match at one set apiece.

The third frame turned into a marathon when the score was knotted at 25 on an Elon service error. The teams exchanged points until outside hitter Brigitte Burcescu stepped up to serve. After two clean serves from the sophomore and two Elon attack errors, the Huskies won the set 29-27.

The next set was crucial for the Northeastern women. One set away from an important home win, the Huskies knew they couldn’t leave the door open for Elon. Six different Huskies landed at least one kill in the set. Burcescu and junior middle hitter Caterina Rosander proved to be terminal, combining for six kills.

Elon put up a fight, tying the score at 24, but Bredahl assisted a Burcescu kill and added one of her own.

The strong play by Bredahl lifted the Huskies to a 26-24 win and helped seal the four-set victory. Bredahl and fellow setter Kristen Walding each totaled 19 assists in the match.

“I love it,” Bredahl said of the team’s 6-2 system. “That’s what I came to college to do, to set a 6-2 and be able to hit and be a threat in the front row, so it’s really working out

right now. We’re starting to get more chemistry as the season goes on.”

Sophomore middle blocker Carmen Costa led the team with nine kills in the match, and the Huskies improved to 1-1 against league opponents.

Sunday’s game against William & Mary was more of a struggle for the Huskies. With little time to rest between games, the Northeastern women lacked some of the energy they had against Elon.

“Definitely physical tiredness comes into play when you have three games at home within five days, but that’s no excuse,” Bredahl said. “We just didn’t come out as strong as we could have.”

Play was even early in the first, but midway through the set, the Tribe began to build a lead and took control, winning 25-18.

William & Mary took an early lead in the second, and the Huskies were unable to make up for the deficit. Freshman defensive specialist Sherrie Wang had a service ace, and Northeastern strung together five straight points, but it wasn’t enough.

The Tribe led two sets to none.

In the third, senior Cherylain Dizon took over. The California native landed seven kills in the set, giving the Huskies the 25-23 edge.

The Tribe was able to turn it around in the following frame, winning 2523 to secure the four-set victory.

Northeastern Head Coach Ken Nichols discussed the differences between Friday’s win over Elon and Sunday’s loss.

“In particular, the ability to serve tough and disrupt was more consistent in the Elon match,” Nichols said. “[Against William & Mary], we came out very flat from the service line, very conservative, and we were missing serves on top of it. So, I think if we had served with aggression from the beginning to the end, then it probably would’ve helped us a lot.”

Dizon posted 11 kills against William & Mary – her secondhighest total of the season. However, the team struggled as a whole, ending the game with a season-high 10 reception errors.

The 4-14 Huskies will look to notch a victory at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington on Friday.

For more photos, visit huntnewsnu.com

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Junior midfielder Marc Greenblatt, 4, looks to clear the ball up the field against James Madison.

Photo by Brian Bae

NU soccer drops two games

By Ethan Schroeder News Staff

The Northeastern University (NU) men’s soccer team remains winless after its first eight games, unable to come out on top in its first league matchups of the season with losses against the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW) and James Madison University (JMU).

This Saturday, the Huskies (0-6-2) traveled south for a tough road game against the UNCW Seahawks (6-11). Ranked No. 22 in the country by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the time of the game’s occurrence, UNCW humbled the visitors by allowing zero shots on goal en route to a 1-0 victory.

The game was characterized by strong defensive play, and UNCW did not attempt a shot on goal until the 57th minute. In the end, it was corner kicks that did Northeastern in. The Seahawks received four corner kicks, one of which resulted in the game’s only goal. UNCW senior midfielder Daniel Escobar struck for his team in the 67th on a header. Escobar’s score came as a result of quick passes in the box after an unsuccessful corner.

The Huskies registered four shots over the course of their first conference game, but none of them required a save from Wilmington junior goalkeeper Sean Melvin.

NU sophomore Khesanio Hall provided two shots for a team that has only scored four goals this season.

“When you look at all of the offensive players on our roster, you wouldn’t think that [scoring] would be a problem this late

into the season,” NU Head Coach Brian Ainscough said. “I thought we did well getting into spots, but we’re getting gun-shy when it comes to making that final play.”

Northeastern’s starting 11 have been plagued with injuries so far this season. Ainscough believes lack of structural consistency on a game-to-game basis has fed into the Huskies’ scoring woes.

“You hate to use it as an excuse, but we really have had so many hurt guys,” Ainscough said. “It’s not even just in the forwards. Scoring starts from the defense, and we have guys that have been either hurt or sick back there, too.”

Wednesday, NU returned to Parsons Field to take on the JMU Dukes. Entering the game, the visitors had a 1-6-1 record. Ainscough was confident in his team’s chances in the days before the matchup. “[JMU] is in the same boat as us -- more or less -- as far as the win column goes,” Ainscough said. “The only way to get out of a rut is to grind out a win, and against JMU we have a good shot at improving to 1-1 in the [Colonial Athletic Association].”

On Wednesday, the Huskies took the Dukes to overtime tied at 2-2.

Unfortunately, a JMU goal in the 103rd minute gave the visitors their second win of the season, further prolonging NU’s winless drought.

After being held scoreless for two games prior to the matchup, the Huskies struck first in the 33rd minute. Assisted by Hall and sophomore striker Frantzdy Pierrot, sophomore forward Harry Swartz was able to record his first goal of the season and put NU up 1-0. JMU

was not down for long, however, as a header from redshirt freshman forward Billy Metzler only four minutes later evened things up.

The quick counter-scoring set the pace for the game’s duration. In the 69th minute, Northeastern jumped back ahead with Pierrot’s second goal of the year.

JMU redshirt junior forward Connor Coward tied the game 38 seconds later with a finish of his own.

The Huskies narrowly outshot the opponent 13-12 over the course of the game. When the match needed overtime with both teams still tied at two, it was the Dukes that finished things off. After a quiet first overtime period from both sides, JMU ended the game in the 103rd minute. A header from senior forward Eric Schmidt handed NU yet another disappointing result.

Though NU is still searching for a win, its play against teams thus far suggests success is not far away, according to Ainscough. Northeastern’s goals-conceded-per-game average currently stands at 1.25.

Northeastern’s schedule does not get easier moving forward, as they travel to North Carolina this Saturday to take on Elon University.

Elon is currently ranked No. 10 in the country by the NCAA. Despite the challenge, Ainscough sees the tough opponent as a means of finally getting the team into form.

“We’ve been in this position before,” Ainscough said. “Getting victories in the conference is how you get out of it. We’ve got a young squad with short-term memories, and a game against a team like Elon could be a great source of motivation.”

P a g e 11

Liverpool FC lacks passion this year I was 11. One day, a boy brought a pack of soccer cards to school. It was new to everybody, and it instantly set off a frenzy. Everyone, including me, started buying and trading these cards at school. My friend, Justin, was a big fan of Liverpool FC at the time, and we started looking out for the Liverpool players in the packs. Just like that, I started supporting Liverpool.

Back then, I only watched Liverpool play from time to time, and I was more drawn to the players I was getting in my packs than the ones I saw on TV. The days at school felt longer, but there was always something to look forward to. All it took was one boy’s small gesture.

Today, I find myself watching every match Liverpool plays and sweating and pounding over every attempt of a goal and every defended corner.

From not knowing who Liverpool was to learning the names and faces of the players, I can say I love Liverpool FC. It’s been seven years, and I have found my passion in soccer and in sports.

It takes time and, at this moment, I think Liverpool hasn’t found its passion this season. One goal in 120 minutes of soccer against a team that has conceded the most in the fourth tier of the English league is not like Liverpool. Failing to score more than one goal in all but the last match is not like Liverpool.

There is something infuriating with the way Liverpool has played so far. The League Cup game against Carlisle was one match that lacked passion. Liverpool had 58 shots but Alastair Pike ended up with only one goal, and more strikingly, 72 percent of the shots were off target.

The lack of speed and ability to read the game were fully exposed. Liverpool moved up the pitch so slowly that Carlisle had put every player behind the ball even before Liverpool passed the halfway line. The product of that was disappointment – disappointment that will morph into anger.

How, then, will Liverpool find its passion? Will it stumble upon the boy with the soccer cards, or will it hunt it like it’s treasure? Liverpool desperately needs to play with speed, power and passion. The soccer philosophy of Jürgen Klopp rings true to the tunes of Anfield, Liverpool’s home stadium, in its glory days. “It’s very emotional, very fast, not boring, very strong… with a big heart, emotion makes the difference, life in our game.”

Photo by Brian Bae

Sophomore forward Frantzdy Pierrot, 23, scored a goal against JMU.

Field hockey splits weekend road matches

By James Duffy News Correspondent

Over the weekend, the Northeastern University (NU) field hockey team (3-7) split a pair of games against Monmouth University and the University of Maine, putting up strong performances and rebounding from a three-game losing streak.

The skid ended when NU beat Monmouth on Friday by a score of 5-4.

The team fell just short on Sunday in Orono, Maine, losing 2-1.

On Friday afternoon, hosting the Monmouth Hawks, the NU offense came out in full force. The team fired 33 shots towards sophomore goalkeeper Christen Piersanti, five of which reached the back of the net.

Junior midfielder Natalie Stewart was one Husky with a particularly strong outing, notching two

goals and adding an assist, but senior forward Vanessa Pryor was the key to winning. With time running out in regulation, NU drew a penalty corner, and senior back Kate Carlson, set up by Stewart, put a shot on net that was turned away. Pryor picked up the rebound and fired it home for the win.

“It was a scrappy play,” Pryor said of her last-second goal. “I just happened to be the one who hit it last.”

The attack was firing on all cylinders at Dedham Field on Friday, with additional goals coming from Carlson and freshman forward June Curry-Lindahl.

The Huskies scored five goals, the most in a single game all season. The offensive dominance offered some relief for junior goalie Becky Garner, who stopped four of the eight shots she faced.

NU was unable to string together a winning streak and fell to the Maine Black Bears on Sunday.

Maine, improving to 9-2 with the win, secured the lead five minutes into the second half with a goal from senior midfielder Marissa Shaw. They held onto the lead for the rest of the game.

Garner stopped three shots on the day but was outperformed by sophomores Emma Cochran and Emily Corbet in net for Maine, who combined to stop 10 shots and stifle the hot Husky offense.

Vanessa Pryor struck again, scoring the only goal for NU and finding the back of the net in her second straight game. Along with Pryor, Stewart and Carlson continued to lead the offense, combining for nine shots with seven on goal.

Despite the loss, the Huskies

Photo courtesy Kevin Murray, Northeastern Athletics

Junior midfielder Natalie Stewart, 8, scored twice against Monmouth. played a strong game against a tion (CAA) opponent on Oct. 2 talented Maine team, current- when they host Drexel University. ly ranked No. 25 in the nation.

“It starts now,” Pryor said.

The Huskies will face their “We’re excited for CAA play, this first Colonial Athletic Associa- is what the season is all about.”

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Women’s hockey opens season with 9-5 win Coyne, From Page 1 weekend, a feat that would earn her Warrior Player of the Week honors.

Northeastern took the lead midway through the second period when sophomore forward Shelby Herrington fired a shot off a St. Lawrence defender that found the back of the net.

The Saints answered just over three minutes later to even the score. Despite outshooting their host 37-29, the Huskies could not put away more than two opportunities, and the game ended in a 2-2 tie.

“It was nice to get the first [game] under our belt,” Coyne said. “But I think we were all a little mad that we tied.”

That anger was all the motivation Coyne and the Huskies needed in their rematch on Sunday night.

The Olympian recorded her eighth career hat trick as NU outmuscled the Saints 9-5 at Appleton Arena.

Coyne was the first to strike when she scored an unassisted tally at 4:12. A St. Lawrence equalizer goal four minutes later threatened the possibility of another close game, but the Huskies rattled off four more goals by the end of the frame and pulled away from their opponents.

Sophomore forward Denisa

Krizova started the Husky march when she jammed home a rebound just two minutes after the Saints’ strike. Freshman forward Kasidy Anderson helped NU pull away when she decked through three defenders and netted a backhand goal.

Coyne rifled home her second of the night on a power play with less than four minutes left in the frame.

After the Saints cut the lead in half with a tally of their own, junior defender Heather Mottau extended the gap to 5-2 with a top-shelf snipe following a tic-tac-toe play with less than a minute to go in the first.

Junior forward Hayley Scamurra was the first to find the back of the net in the second period with an unassisted goal from the slot at 7:40 to put the Huskies up 6-2.

The Saints rallied to cut the NU lead to 6-4 midway through the second, but three more Husky tallies quelled the comeback attempt. Sophomore forward Christina Zalewski, Scamurra and Coyne netted a goal apiece to seal the first win of the season.

Anderson’s goal and two assists in Sunday’s victory earned her the Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Week award. Senior defender Jordan Krause took home the WHEA Defensive Player of the Week

crown after ending the weekend with a plus-five rating and an assist on Coyne’s Saturday night goal.

The Huskies will embark on a seven-game home stretch starting with an exhibition game

against the Toronto Leaside Wildcats this Saturday at 2 p.m.

“It’s important for our new players to experience what it’s like to play at Matthews [Arena],” Coyne said of the upcoming exhibition tilt.

“It’s awesome to have so many home games in a row, especially because last season we started off with eight away games. Any opportunity to play at Matthews is a special opportunity because it’s such an amazing place.”

Photo courtesy Jim Pierce, Northeastern Athletics

Senior forward Kendall Coyne, 77, tallied four goals against St. Lawrence University this weekend.

Soccer starts CAA action with 0-0 tie

By Giovanni Gray News Staff

Photo courtesy Jim Pierce, Northeastern Athletics

Junior defender Jenny Sinclair, 3, warms up for the game. The team held Elon scoreless last Friday.

Northeastern University (NU) women’s soccer traveled south to begin Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play this weekend.

Before this week’s games, the Huskies were ranked No. 37 in the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) first Rating Percentage Index (RPI) report. As of Sept. 28, the Huskies’ RPI ranking dropped to 52.

Following last week’s double overtime win against the University of New Hampshire, the team traveled to North Carolina to take on Elon University, where the Husky defense notched its second-straight shutout in the 0-0 tie.

In the shutout, which was the Huskies’ fourth of the season, the Huskies managed to outshoot Elon 22-7, with sophomore forward Kayla Cappuzzo leading the squad with five total attempts.

The Huskies also won the shots-on-goal battle, edging Elon out 9-2. Despite not taking home a win, Northeastern earned a point in the CAA standings.

The Huskies then moved on to Virginia to face off against the College of William & Mary, which fell 4-0 to Northeastern in the first round of last season’s CAA tournament. This time, the game ended in a 3-1 loss for the Huskies.

The Tribe struck first in the 15th minute, when senior forward Sa-

mantha Cordum notched her first of three goals on the day. Cordum would net another goal in the 59th minute, while NU freshman midfielder Valentina Soares Gache scored on a header just five minutes later, making it a 2-1 game.

The goal was Gache’s first on the season and was assisted by junior midfielder Breeana Koemans.

Cordum would go on to score the game’s final goal in the 87th minute.

This weekend, the Huskies return to Parsons Field to take on the College of Charleston and University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW), two more CAA opponents with RPI rankings of 105 and 47, respectively.

Last season, Northeastern also matched up against both teams in the same weekend, scoring four goals in the contests en route to two shutout victories.

The Huskies enter the weekend’s matches with a 7-4-1 overall record and a 0-1-1 CAA record.

In the CAA, the Huskies’ RPI is bested only by Hofstra University, which sits at 28, and UNCW, which comes in at 47. William & Mary sits at 59 and James Madison University comes in at 73 of 333 teams. The RPI uses factors such as a team’s schedule and the records of the opponents it faces to determine a ranking.

“We’re taking it one game at a time,” junior defender Mackenzie Dowd said. “We’re confident in our ability to play. Despite results this weekend, we’re still playing well.”

Cross country competes in Battle of Beantown

By P.J. Wright News Correspondent

The Northeastern University (NU) men’s and women’s cross country teams journeyed just a few miles south of campus to Franklin Park on Friday to compete in the annual Coast-to-Coast Battle of Beantown, hosted by Boston College.

The men’s squad finished in 12th place out of 21 teams in the 8,000-meter run, earning 348 points. Four of the top-five NU runners in the meet are in their first season wearing red and black.

Syracuse University, ranked the third-best team in the National

Collegiate Athletic Association, placed five runners in the top 10, scoring just 25 points on the afternoon with an average time of 24:01. In cross country, points are awarded based on the order the runners cross the finish line. The team with the fewest points wins.

Senior Nephat Maritim, a transfer student from Harvard University, made his debut for the Huskies on Friday.

He led the way for NU with a time of 24:48.3, placing 40th and earning himself the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Runner of the Week award.

“Nephat has emerged as a

natural leader as expected,” Head Coach Cathrine Erickson said in an email to The News.

Sophomore Christian Stafford scored 57 points for Northeastern, timing in at 25:06.3, while freshman Dan Romano tallied 75 points of his own, coming in at a time of 25:24.4.

Romano won the CAA Runner of the Week award two weeks ago after the first meet of the season.

“Dan is a hard worker, and he is focused on getting better,” Erickson said. “His priorities are in line with what it takes to go from good to great.”

Romano attributes his success to the coaching staff, his support back home and the strength

of

his young team’s bond.

“We are really meshing well together and are very good at working with each other on everything from long runs to repeats,” Romano said. “We have a lot of team spirit and high goals for ourselves this season and in the seasons yet to come. The team has become remarkably close since we got here, and I think that we will only get closer.

It’s going to be a good season.”

On the women’s side, Northeastern finished 21st overall out of 24 teams in the 5,000-meter run, scoring 628 points.

Junior Jordan O’Dea led the Huskies, finishing in 47th out of 206 run-

ners, with a time of 17:53.2. Freshman Elizabeth Harrington came in 168th at 19:26.0, followed by freshman Camila Cortina in 181st, crossing the finish line at 19:48.3.

Much like the men’s squad, the Northeastern women have a young core in place that is showing potential.

“The young kids are great,” Erickson said. “They are extremely positive and hungry to excel, and we are genuinely enjoying coaching them.”

The Huskies will compete against other New England schools in the New England Championships on Oct. 10 in Boston.

The event will begin at 11:45 a.m. in Franklin Park.