February 19, 2021

The Huntington News February 19, 2021

The independent student newspaper of the Northeastern community

@HuntNewsNU

NORTHEASTERN STARTS VACCINATING STUDENTS, STAFF

VACCINES

by appointment only

| News Correspondent

By Desmond LaFave 19 vaccines to students After rolling out COVID, Northeastern University and staff for nearly a month n its vaccine distribution pla slowed the progression of ls. cia ssachusetts state offi Jan. 26 at the behest of Ma ted as an official MassaNortheastern was designa in late December 2020 chusetts vaccine distributor ing doses of COVID-19 and had been administer ng Center as part of Phase vaccines at the Cabot Testi vaccine distribution plan.

One of the Massachusetts t Jan. 9 to all members of According to an email sen g tors have been vaccinatin the university, administra e t Testing Center, the Lif staff who work at the Cabo d University Health and Sciences Testing Center an COVID -19, on Page 2

Graphic by Angelica Jorio

Northeastern Baseball alum Adam Ottavino returns to Boston

By Vitoria Poejo News Staff At the 2004 inaugural spring exhibition game between the Boston Red Sox and the Northeastern University Huskies, a 19-year-old Adam Ottavino pitched a scoreless inning against the soon-to-be World Series Champions.

Seventeen years later, Ottavino will put on the Red Sox uniform and return to Boston in a rare trade between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. This move was one for the books for Ottavino and the world of baseball as his rare trade marks the fourth time since 1998 that the bitter

rivals have traded with each other.

“I didn’t think the Yankees and the Red Sox would ever trade with each other,” Ottavino said. “So for me to be traded there, it is definitely strange.”

The two teams have a tumultuous history that dates back to the 20th century when the Red Sox traded Babe Ruth to the Yankees. The trade led to an 86-year drought for the Red Sox in which they did not win a World Series. Since then, the two teams, out of superstition and hostility, have been reluctant to trade with each other.

“I know it’s the Yankees and I understand what that means and it’s the most storied rivalry in sports,” said

Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom in a press conference. “But if we’re not willing to do something that helps us because it also helps them, or worse… then, we’re just playing scared, and we’re not going to play scared.”

Ottavino’s career took off in Boston, where he attended Northeastern University, pitching for the baseball team from 2004 to 2006. In his collegiate career, Ottavino broke the school single-season strikeout record twice, and he continues to hold the school record for career strikeouts with 290. In addition, the now-relief pitcher threw his first career no-hitter against James Madison University in 2006.

“Immediately, in just a few pitches, we could tell right away that he was a very talented prospect,” said Neil McPhee, a former Northeastern baseball coach.“He has all the qualities of what a coach is looking for.”

McPhee first met Ottavino at a high school clinic the university’s baseball program put on at the Cabot Center. His command of the strike zone and his signature wipeout slider were two skills that stood out to McPhee.

In 2006, Ottavino was selected as the 33rd overall pick in the Major League Baseball draft by the St. Louis Cardinals. He pitched in St. Louis OTTAVINO, on Page 12

New York Yankees. All Rights Reserved

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February 19, 2021

University rolls out COVID-19 vaccine program COVID-19, from front Counseling Services since early January. The email says that Northeastern has been authorized to distribute the vaccine to university students, faculty, staff and external vendors.

However, Massachusetts state officials ordered Northeastern to pause the rollout Jan. 26 in order to focus on the elderly at-risk community and to stay compliant with state restrictions.

After vaccinating the university’s Phase One population, which included front-line workers at Cabot Testing Center, there were over 2,000 doses left in the university’s supply. University officials originally made plans to continue distribution and vaccinate additional employees included in the Phase Two populations.

NU spokesperson Jessica Hair wrote in an email statement to The News Feb. 4 that the university “learned that there are hundreds of thousands of Phase 1 workers across the state who have yet to be vaccinated.”

“In order to support the Commonwealth with this very important effort and to help healthcare workers in hard-hit areas, we donated our surplus doses to the state,” Hair wrote.

Dr. Brandon Dionne, an assistant clinical professor at the Northeastern School of Pharmacy, said that it has been a challenge for the university to balance the number of doses it receives with the university population qualified to receive the vaccine.

Dionne noted the difficulties of distribution during Phase Two. He

said the university has to coordinate vaccinations with vaccine shipments, which may not be consistent.

Additionally, NU has to account for how many doses the state receives as well as who is eligible.

“I don’t know that [the university wants] to get too far ahead of the state’s rollout because we have to think about equitable distribution of the vaccine,” he said. “We definitely want to vaccinate people at Northeastern as fast as we can, but we don’t want to take doses away from other people who need it.”

Phase Two of the Massachusetts vaccination distribution plan began Feb. 1 with an initial expansion of vaccine access for individuals over the age of 75. The Commonwealth has not yet expanded access to the other populations falling under the Phase Two distribution plan. Phase Three is not expected to begin until April.

In the email statement, Hair wrote that administrators are now vaccinating members of the university community over 75.

Other groups, including those over 65, those with one or two comorbidities and essential workers, will be eligible later as the Commonwealth completes the initial stages of Phase Two distribution.

In a Jan. 20 email, Northeastern officials announced that university community members would be able to submit an attestation form to determine whether they are qualified to receive a vaccine in Phase Two.

Grace Kryzanski, a second-year health science major, works in Cabot as a patient care associate. She received her first dose of the Pfizer vaccine upon her return to campus in January.

Kryzanski said that the university was clear in its communication regarding the vaccination process.

“Once your phase is available, they’re very straightforward about how you come in and sign up,” she said. “They’re definitely very serious about doing whatever they can to stop the spread.”

Kryzanski believes early vaccination of students and front-line workers may encourage others to follow suit.

“I think it’s helpful to vaccinate workers like me so that other college students and the general public can see that it’s not just an elite group of people working in the healthcare field [receiving vaccines],” Kryzanski said.

Some Northeastern students have received vaccines from their co-op employers. Those working in hospitals or other healthcare jobs across Boston may be eligible to receive both doses of their vaccine in accordance with the Massachusetts vaccine distribution timeline.

Lindsey Hurd, a second-year nursing major, is on co-op as a patient care associate at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. She said that she received the first dose of the Moderna vaccine before she began her in-person job in early January.

Hurd was notified through the hos-

pital’s database that she was eligible to be vaccinated in the hospital’s first wave. Similar to Kryzanski’s experience, she found the vaccination process to be relatively straightforward.

“It was actually very simple and easy,” Hurd said. “I just signed up, walked over and got it and then had work the next day.”

Like Kryzanski, Hurd feels grateful to have received the vaccine in an early phase of the rollout.

“I’m very thankful that I had the opportunity to get it and I consider myself very lucky to be able to be working during this time,” she said.

“It makes me a little more comfortable with going on the T in the morning for work.”

Though Kryzanski and Hurd may develop immunity to COVID-19 following their second dose of the vaccine, and say that they are hopeful for the future, they plan on continuing to follow all guidelines in order to protect their community.

“I definitely wouldn’t say it changes what I do and how I conduct my life because I definitely want to protect as many people as possible,” Kryzanski said.

Health experts have not yet determined whether vaccination prevents transmission of the coronavirus.

Accordingly, the CDC recommends that vaccinated people continue to follow mask-wearing and social distancing guidelines, even after being fully vaccinated.

Dionne said that he expects a

significant portion of the university’s population would have to be vaccinated before students and faculty could begin returning to pre-pandemic behavior. Additionally, he said he is doubtful that the university would be able to develop self-contained herd immunity, meaning the state would also need to reach high levels of immunity before students on campus could responsibly return to pre-pandemic behaviors.

“Northeastern isn’t an isolated area,” Dionne said. “Students live off-campus and come into contact with other people.”

Students come into contact with high-risk individuals in Roxbury, a predominantly Black neighborhood whose residents have faced disproportionate health risks over the course of the pandemic.

While Northeastern’s goal is to vaccinate the entire university community by the end of the spring semester, Dionne stressed the importance of patience with the vaccine process.

“I think that even though we may not be able to get back to normal as quickly as we hope and being vaccinated doesn’t mean that you can go totally back to normal, it’s going to help us get there and it’s going be necessary for us to get there,” Dionne said. “So it still is super important [to get vaccinated].”

Club coalition unites sustainability efforts Northeastern University is home to numerous student-lead organizations that prioritize sustainability, environmental activism and social justice.

Clubs involved in this sphere now have an opportunity to combine their efforts under a new coalition of student organizations: Canopy.

According to Canopy’s constitution, the organization “is a council of students and organizations committing to the exchange of knowledge and sharing of resources in the pursuit of shared missions. These missions include, but are not limited to, racial, environmental, economic, climate and healthcare justice.”

Northeastern has numerous student-led organizations dedicated to missions in Canopy’s constitution, and Canopy has extensive and multi-faceted goals to unify these communities.

“I realized that Northeastern was really lacking the culture of sustainable living, and not even sustainable but just socially responsible and aware of the outdoors and our planet,” said Brienn Douglas, a founding member of Canopy and third-year business administration major.

Mason Fitzpatrick, a fourth-year combined business administration and health science major and president of one of Canopy’s founding organizations, NU Impact, said that environmental and social consciousness is necessary to the Northeastern community and Boston at large.

“When it comes to environmental justice and the communities that are most impacted by the climate crisis,

mainly Black and Brown communities, Northeastern has not been super beneficial to those communities in the surrounding areas like Roxbury and Dorchester,” Fitzpatrick said. “So I think it’s extra important that our institution has a mechanism to give back to those communities.”

To create a culture conducive to sustainable living, Canopy aims to make environmental justice events and educational resources readily available to the Northeastern community.

“What [Canopy] is supposed to do is be a resource for anybody on campus, whether that be professors, whether that be other faculty, students or other organizations,” Douglas said. “We want to be this resource that people feel they can go to about social justice opportunities, environmental issues or any type of intersectional environmental issue.”

Canopy was founded by fifth-year mechanical engineering major Melissa Rath. She felt motivated to build this organization to eliminate competition between pre-existing environmental and sustainability clubs on campus.

“I felt this competition within the other sustainability and justice clubs at Northeastern and I was just like, ‘I shouldn’t be feeling this competition with them,’” Rath said. “‘I shouldn’t be jealous of what they’re doing.’”

Realizing that several clubs like Net Impact, NU Impact, Husky Environmental Action team, or H.E.A.T, UNA Northeastern and Sunrise have similar interests and missions, students involved in these groups came together to brainstorm ways to collaborate.

These clubs are Canopy’s five founding organizations and tree

members — organizations that demonstrate a continued pursuit of social and environmental justice and are obligated to attend and host Canopy events. Canopy has a second tier of organization membership called sprouts: clubs affiliated with Canopy and its goals, but have less physical responsibility to the council.

As Canopy is still in its developmental stages, opportunities to apply as tree members and sprouts are still open. Canopy is also looking to fill vacant positions on its executive board, a task that has been difficult because of the pandemic.

“Our e-board is still open, it’s been hard to find people. I’m sure with COVID the word’s not getting around,” Rath said. “All of the [e-board] positions are open. You don’t even have to be a member of any of the founding organizations. There are zero requirements. Obviously we’ll evaluate your application, but there are zero barriers for entry for people to apply.”

While Canopy’s ability to function as an independent entity remains unique, it’s collaborative foundation was inspired by Mosaic, Northeastern’s network of builders and leaders.

“We were basing [Canopy] really heavily off of Mosaic, which is a network of all the entrepreneurial clubs, and so we just wanted to have this basis where everything environmental related was in one little bubble and you could kind of pick out what fits you best,” Douglas said.

The little bubble that Canopy wants to create will be executed through a shared calendar where the leaders of tree member organizations can facilitate events.

“We are going to create a shared calendar which hopefully will be published on NEU Sustainability’s website or some sort of open place that has all of our member organization’s events,” Rath said. “One of our biggest things is that we don’t want to schedule things at the same time because we don’t want to take away from our audiences.”

Fitzpatrick believes uniting the environmental justice community is essential to success and tangible benefits on campus and around Boston.

“When it comes to something like environmental justice, I feel like it’s even more important to make sure that we’re bringing all the efforts on campus together,” Fitzpatrick said. “Asking the school to make some sacrifices in the name of sustainability and environmental justice, it requires a lot more power and a lot more coordination. And so for me, Canopy is a way to bring together what I see as a lot of like-minded organizations.”

Although Canopy’s website and shared calendar have not been launched, the organization is actively supporting other initiatives that are already underway, including one targeting NU’s management of vegan cuisine.

“Cruelty-Free Northeastern has been working on getting more vegan

options and better labeling in the dining halls,” Rath said. “Net Impact has been partnering very strongly with Wollaston’s to get a lot more vegan and waste-free products and food at their place. So we’ve been collaborating with that and thinking of ways we can combine our efforts to work towards all facets of dining at Northeastern.”

Canopy is still a work in progress, Rath said, but its founding members hope that momentum will pick up by the end of February, when the e-board is projected to be finalized.

“Canopy can allow all these different organizations to be greater than the sum of its parts. Together it’s exponentially more valuable and more impactful,” Fitzpatrick said.

Illustration by Avery Bleichfeld

By Katie Mogg News Staff

CAMPUS

February 19, 2021

Page 3

NUPD CRIME LOG Compiled by Mike Puzzanghera, News Staff

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 3rd 11:57am

An officer found graffiti on 140 The Fenway. A report was filed.

5:23pm “Angela Davis en Montevideo” by MediaReduy is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Davis spoke to the Northeastern community Feb. 15 about racial capitalism, education, abolition movements and the role of music in liberation movements.

Angela Davis discusses how students can work toward a liberated future

By Christie Ya-chi Lee News Staff Most students nationwide have only seen the name “Angela Davis” in their class readings and history textbooks. Northeastern students, however, had a chance to meet the abolitionist Feb. 15, when she joined them in a conversation about racial capitalism, education, abolition movements and the role of music in liberation movements. The event was led by Students Advancing Intersectional Dreams, or SAID, with other student organizations co-sponsoring.

Former SAID Director Charles T. Wallace-Thomas IV, a fourth-year economics and mathematics major, moderated the conversation.

Davis first addressed Wallace-Thomas’ question about the dual and contradicting role of higher education in the fight for liberation.

Davis said higher education can provide tools needed to fight injustices, while also serving and perpetuating structural inequalities.

“The major purpose of education [is not only to learn] how to approach the text we read, but also how to approach the conditions under which we live,” Davis said.

The best education a student can acquire, she said, occurs through the realization that the “university is not the only venue for the production of knowledge.” She added that one of the most important skills a student learns is how to critically examine ideas that are “in tension” with each other.

Highlighting the stark contrast between the violent response to Black Lives Matter protests and rioters who stormed the United States Capitol Jan. 6, Gabrielle Hernandez, a second-year biochemistry major, asked Davis about the racism seen in the comparison between the protests and its contradiction to freedom of expression.

In response, Davis referred to the ideologies of freedom and equality that have shaped the founding of the United States. She reiterated the importance of “be[ing] able to hold things in tension.”

To hold ideas “in tension” involves identifying ideologies that may be “productive and positive,” such as freedom, with the realities that are contradictory to them and detrimental, such as slavery.

Davis related these contradictions to the desire of the United States to dominate the rest of the world.

“The [idea that] the United States of America is the most important embodiment of collective freedom in the world … Well, at least half the country recognizes that [this idea] is a serious misapprehension,” Davis said.

Davis also explained racial capitalism, a term coined by Cedric Robinson in his book “Black Marxism.”

“Capitalism itself was born of colonialism and slavery,” she said.

Eri Lee, a third-year sociology student and co-coordinator for SAID’s organizing committee, was “awestruck” by Davis. Lee said she was very proud of the student groups that organized the event. Particularly, she praised Wallace-Thomas for being

The major purpose of education [is not only to learn] how to approach the text we read, but also how to approach the conditions under which we live.

— Angela Davis

an “incredible” moderator and being “on the same wavelength as [Davis].”

“What was most interesting and captivating for me was [Wallace-Thomas and Davis’] conversation about jazz and music like the music of revolution,” Lee said.

Davis saw music as a tool for furthering political action. “[Music] allows us to feel what we haven’t yet figured out how to say in our ordinary language,” she said.

“Black music has always been the music of freedom … [Jazz’s] improvisational nature teaches us that we have to do the experimentation and imagination and all the cultural work that is necessary to push us forward.”

Wallace-Thomas said the conversation provided critical information for students looking to create change on campus. He said that the theory-based discussion “dropped bread crumbs that we can follow on the way towards our own paths to fighting for a liberated future.”

Wallace-Thomas said the practicality of Davis’ teachings reckoned with his experience entering college as an aspiring engineer hoping to secure a stable financial future.

“The engineering curriculum and the experiences available to me within engineering co-ops weren’t necessarily giving me the tools, the social analysis, that I needed,” he said. “If we’re not addressing the fundamental reasons why the world exists [the] way that it does, and we’re trying to create solutions that are almost Band-Aids, we’re not going to fundamentally solve anything.”

For Davis, the fundamental problem that caused our structural inequities today is capitalism. She said she was glad that racial capitalism has finally gained momentum in recent years, crediting Robinson for his decades of advocacy.

“As scholars, activists, advocates, artists [and] community people, we’re finally begining to recognize that the task confronting us is one that should have begun to unfold in the aftermath of slavery … We’re 150 years too late, but we’re still doing the work,” Davis said.

A caller reported being scammed out of money online by an individual claiming to be from U.S. Immigrations and Custom Enforcement, or ICE. A report was filed.

8:14pm

A caller reported being scammed out of money online by an individual claiming to be from ICE. A report was filed.

THURSDAY, FEB. 4th 1:53pm

A caller reported the smell of marijuana coming from a student’s room in West Village F. A report was filed.

FRIDAY, FEB. 5th 11:52am

An officer found students smoking marijuana in the alleyway by Rubenstein Hall. The officer confiscated the marijuana from the students. A report was filed.

SATURDAY, FEB. 6th 12:09am 9:55am

10:53pm

A caller reported receiving threats via text message. A report was filed.

A caller reported loud noise coming from the area of 122 St. Stephen St. Officers reported checking the area but did not locate the noise. A report was filed.

A caller reported the smell of marijuana coming from a student’s room in International Village. Officers reported checking the area but did not locate the source. A report was filed.

SUNDAY, FEB. 7th 1:03am 1:52am

2:47am

A caller reported an intoxicated individual inside Davenport A. Officers responded and requested EMS to transport the individual to the hospital. A report was filed.

A caller reported loud music coming from a student’s room in Davenport A. Officers responded and reported finding several bottles of alcohol strewn across the room.

A report was filed.

A caller reported a fallen intoxicated individual outside of 407 Huntington Ave. Officers responded and requested EMS to transport the individual to the hospital. A report was filed.

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February 19, 2021

Virtual teaching presents unique challenges, learning opportunities for professors

By Lillie Hoffert News Correspondent Elisa Kodama, a third-year biology major, sat in a Shillman Hall classroom with three other students and their professor. With a few swift keystrokes, the professor invited the remaining 36 students to join the class from home. Their tiny, faceless gray squares popped onto the screen at the front of the room.

The lecture was a virtual presentation void of interaction among students. As the Northeastern community adapts to hybrid NUFlex classes, students and staff have faced new hurdles to keep digital lessons engaging in a virtual format.

“I can imagine for a majority of the class who is doing it virtually, it can be disengaging because you’re staring at someone narrate PowerPoint slides,” Kodama said. “On our first exam [our class] did not do very well, especially relative to the other sections, and I wonder if that maybe was why.”

Northeastern’s transition to online classes last spring ushered in a new form of education. The university has installed video conferencing technology, part of the NUflex system, into on-campus classrooms. Some students learn online, either by choice or because of density restrictions, and interact virtually with the rest of the classroom. Some professors teach from home using software like Zoom. However, traditional teaching methods may not translate well to online platforms.

Experts say learning online constitutes a completely different experience than learning in a classroom. Effective teaching requires adaptation, rather than relying on

old methods and materials.

“I think the first mistake is that everyone wants to replicate what they have been doing in a face-toface environment and doing exactly the same thing in an online environment,” said Betül Czerkawski, professor of instructional design and technology at the University of Arizona, who has studied technology and learning for the last two decades.

“These are like apples and oranges.

They’re completely different.”

Classrooms across campus are outfitted with NUflex technology designed to facilitate a hybrid learning model.

Before the pandemic, most Northeastern professors had never taught an online course, said Hilary Schuldt, director of project and team strategy at the Northeastern Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning Through Research, or CATLR. CATLR helps educators develop more effective teaching strategies.

This year it served as a resource for many first-time online teachers.

“One of the things we often talk about with faculty is, how are you transforming your teaching, rather than how are you translating your teaching from on-ground to online,” Schuldt said.

When the university switched to online classes last spring, Claudia Sokol, associate teaching professor of Spanish, realized she did not know how to effectively communicate with her online students. Sokol has been at Northeastern since 1988, but had never taught an online class. During the fall 2020 semester, she planned to teach entirely from home Over the summer Sokol got to work, training individually with a col-

league and taking two online classes offered by CATLR. She said her hard work and training has paid off.

“Now I’m comfortable with the new technology,” she said. “Lots of colleagues my age are not.”

Sokol said she was pleased with how smoothly she could communicate with students online.

Sokol prioritizes interactivity in assignments for her synchronous classes, Elementary Spanish and Advanced Spanish for Healthcare Professionals. Now she uses Padlet, an interactive bulletin board, for students to post photos and videos. One board about Día de los Muertos , or the Day of the Dead, was decorated with photos of extravagant costumes and brightly colored skulls. She also implements assignments where students post and respond to each other on video while speaking in Spanish.

“I’m so happy that I invested so much time in the right training,” Sokol said. “Not everyone is in the same boat.”

Besides answering questions about how to use new technology, Schuldt said CATLR receives a lot of requests for advice on how to best engage with students online.

“I think for some faculty there was a real sense of concern of, ‘I’m not in the classroom, how am I getting to know my students as people? How am I getting to know my students individually?’” Schuldt said.

This concern was shared by Dennis Svoronos, who teaches Studio Art and Design at Northeastern. He said that creating an artistic community between the teacher and students is an essential part of making creative objects. Otherwise, the process is “a

little more flat.”

“There’s something missing when I sit in front of the NU Flex cart waving my hands,” Svoronos said.

He said he is lucky that his class structure did not have to change significantly to adapt to an online format. Much of his course focuses on working with 3D printers and laser cutters, which use online programs.

“The real downside that I find [is] not with the structure but in the downtime when I’d be walking around class,” Svoronos said. “[In person] I get that spidey sense that someone’s not on the same page. That can’t be conveyed over tiny squares.”

To foster more interaction, Svoronos has students present their work to the class by sharing their screen rather than submitting assignments. He hopes this will generate discussions and encourage more social interaction. Some department leaders, however, have found that it is nearly impossible for their courses to be translated online. Last spring when the university shut down all in-person instruction, the chemistry department relied on videos for the lab sections, but professors were

concerned this was not properly preparing students for later in life.

“Chemistry is about learning to handle glassware, mix chemicals and learning what precipitations should look like, and that’s hard to do just by watching someone,” said Penny Beuning, chair of the chemistry department at Northeastern.

This semester nearly all chemistry labs take place on campus or are otherwise deferred to a later semester.

As a result, lab sections are split into groups, topics are reduced to a few key concepts and many more teaching assistants are available to help.

“Students, in general, seem appreciative to go to lab and do work,” Beuning said. “I think that for students going to lab seems normal.”

Regardless of the method, experts say there is no single way to teach in the new NUFlex model. Methods vary by class size, course content and what works for each educator.

“Different professors are approaching this differently; everyone has different strategies,” Czerkawski said. “But at the end of the day, good teaching is just good teaching.”

NU announces in-person plans for commencement

By Ethan Wayne Breaking News Editor Northeastern announced a tentative plan for 2021 commencement in an email from Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs David Madigan Feb. 11. The update includes in-person proposals for the undergraduate and graduate classes of 2021, as well as May 2020 graduates who did not have an inperson commencement ceremony. The class of 2021 includes December 2020 graduates and May and

August 2021 degree candidates.

NU was forced to cancel in-person commencement plans last May, instead hosting virtual interactions and mailing diplomas to abide by

government COVID-19 guidelines.

Commencement plans are becoming more relevant as the university continues to distribute vaccines and restrictions relax in accordance with Massachusetts’s reopening plan.

For class of 2021 undergraduates, Madigan explained a preliminary plan to celebrate commencement outdoors May 8, allowing one or possibly two guests for each graduate. There will be two separate ceremonies that will abide by projected COVID-19

circumstances and protocols.

Graduate students in the class of 2021 will have an in-person ceremony the week of May 3 through May 7. Capacity limits, venue options and guest protocol will all be communicated as details are finalized by university, city and state officials.

Celebrations for the class of 2020 have not been officialized as interest is still being gauged by the alumni relations office.

Madigan emphasized that, while these plans still remain provisory, the university is confident that they are achievable.

After cancelling in-person commencement plans last spring, Northeastern announced tentative plans for commencement 2021.

“As of today, we remain optimistic that by early May these outdoor events, with appropriate physical distancing and other protective measures, will be feasible,” the email read.

As of May 31, 2020, Massachusetts had 96,965 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 6,846 COVID-19 related deaths and had performed 592,853 COVID-19 tests with a 7-day average positive test rate of 7.1%. As of Feb. 9, 2021, the state dashboard listed 521,045 confirmed cases, 14,903 COVID-19 related deaths and had performed 14,520,845 tests with a 7-day average positive test rate of 2.82%.

Photo by Harriet Rovniak

CITY

February 19, 2021

Page 5

Michelle Wu calls for increased coordination between city services, Boston communities

By Kelly Garrity News Staff Boston mayoral candidate and City Councilor Michelle Wu held a virtual press conference for student journalists Feb. 13 to discuss her plans to increase coordination in communities and city departments in order to handle some of the most pressing issues the city faces, including COVID-19 vaccinations and economic recovery.

Wu said that if elected, her first objective will be strengthening the links between communities and city services and within city departments themselves.

“My number one priority is making sure that we build a connected city,” Wu said. “That means connecting people to each other and providing the support for families to be connected, for neighborhoods and communities to be connected, but also that we’re connecting the ways in which our departments work and our city services are structured to recognize how intersectional our issues are as well.”

A number of the issues residents face — such as access to quality education, food, healthcare and transportation — are impacted by what neighborhood they live in, Wu said.

“If you look at the outcomes across our communities, more often than not, the health, educational access, food access, economic opportunity, is tied to where you live in the city,” Wu said. “Your zip code is often so closely linked to so many factors that

Photo by Quillan Anderson Boston mayoral candidate Michelle Wu said she will prioritize community connections, the COVID-19 vaccine rollout and barriers faced by minority groups if elected mayor. determine opportunity and stability.”

Wu pointed to research that found that the life expectancy of Boston residents drops by 30 years in Roxbury compared to Back Bay, as well as that Black bus riders in the city spend 64 more hours a year on the bus than white bus riders.

The best way to begin reconciling these inequities, Wu said, is by “breaking down silos in City Hall” and aligning city resources on those issues.

“We need to make sure that every community feels connected to the outcomes and the success and the opportunity in every other community,” she said.

One of the most immediate issues the city needs to do this with is the

rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine, Wu said.

“This is the most urgent thing we could be doing right now … to make sure everyone is protected and to end the pandemic by rolling out vaccinations in a fast and an urgent, accessible, equitable way,” she said.

In order to do this, Wu advocated for the creation of a telephone hotline — launched by the state Feb. 12 — to streamline the vaccine registration process and ensure those without access to internet could sign up.

Wu is also calling for the creation of vaccination sites in every residential zip code in Boston, with hours that “fit families’ lives,” including hours in the early mornings, evenings and

on the weekends. Currently, there are vaccination sites in Roxbury, Dorchester, Fenway, Mattapan and South Boston.

Combatting the effects of the pandemic will mean more than mass vaccinations, however. Wu also said she has been pushing to understand the city’s COVID-19 emergency spending.

“In my role as a city councilor, we have been ensuring that the actions and funding through the city won’t just be band-aids on the immediate crisis, but actually align with the underlying structural change that we need to see,” Wu said.

It’s an issue that is closely tied with work Wu has done on the City

Council to increase equity in the contracting processes for the city’s discretionary spending. In 2017, Wu co-sponsored an ordinance with then City Councilor Ayanna Pressley requiring the city to create a supplier diversity program and increase outreach to women-owned and minority businesses.

Historically, only a small percentage of the city’s contracts have gone to businesses owned by people of color or women. A recent report obtained by the Boston Globe found that between 2014 and 2019, only 1.2% of the city’s $2.1 billion in contracts went to Black–and Latinx– owned businesses. Wu said only one contract during the pandemic went to a locally-owned Boston-based business of color.

“There’s a lot of work to do in not just standing up for relief and getting residents the resources they need as quickly as possible,” Wu said. “But also these underlying issues around closing the racial wealth gap and ensuring equity in all the decisions and actions being taken now.”

If elected, Wu will not only be Boston’s first Asian-American mayor, but also the first non-native Bostonian mayor since Malcom Nichols took office in 1926.

“I love this city like someone who learned it from scratch,” said Wu. “Having served the entire city for over seven years now, I’m excited to be able to break down even more of these silos and connect all of our communities together.”

Biden focuses on COVID-19, climate change

By Leah Cussen City Editor Less than 24 hours after becoming the 46th president of the United States, Joe Biden signed 15 executive orders concerning a multitude of issues from the coronavirus pandemic to climate change to racial and gender equality.

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were sworn into office Jan. 20.

The inauguration was a historic one, as Harris became the first Black, first Asian American and first woman to hold the office of vice president.

Biden’s first actions after the inauguration were largely an attempt to reverse policies put in place by former President Donald Trump.

While the Trump administration did not implement a federal response to the coronavirus pandemic, the Biden administration instituted a mandate to wear masks and practice social distancing on all federal government property.

“With COVID, [change is] very gradual,” said Jackie Baker, a firstyear communication studies major.

“I’m glad that there’s a mask mandate. That will definitely help.”

Another executive order created the COVID-19 Response Coordinator position. Jeff Zients, who was tapped for the position, is responsible for “[coordinating] all elements of the COVID-19 response,” including treatment, the supply and distribution of personal protective equip-

ment and the expansion of testing.

“I don’t think that his plans are sustainable. And I think that for the benefit, the cost — the immediate cost — is a little too high,” said Nick Santangelo, a second-year political science major. “I think some COVID relief, for now, is good. However, what I would have liked to see personally is a rerouting of funds, not just an extension of funds in general.”

The Biden administration also stopped the process of the United States’ withdrawal from the World Health Organization, or WHO, which formally began last July under the direction of former President Trump. Without Biden’s reversal, the change would have gone into effect July 6, 2021.

Northeastern professor of public policy and director of the public administration and public policy masters programs, Christopher Bosso, said that Biden’s executive orders are largely in response to areas where the country is experiencing crisis. “[The Biden administration] is basically just saying, ‘Alright, we’re gonna take this disease seriously,’” Bosso said. “[They are] going to use the force of the federal government and resources of the federal government to respond to the threat, to get it under control, to get vaccinations done.”

President Biden has also taken measures to combat the growing environmental crisis, including issues such as environmental injustice, pollution and the use of fossil fuels. The United

States is now set to rejoin the 2015 Paris climate agreement from which it officially withdrew in November 2020, three years after Trump announced the decision to do so. The countries that have entered the agreement are committed to combating the threat of climate change by reducing global greenhouse gas emissions.

Biden also revoked the permit granted to the Keystone XL oil pipeline. The pipeline’s history is controversial — it was projected to carry over 800,000 barrels of oil each day from Canada to Nebraska, create jobs and lower energy costs, but it would cut through Indigenous lands and risk spillage and pollution. By revoking the permit, the Biden administration is taking another step away from dependency on fossil fuels.

The Indingenous Environmental Network is one of many organizations that have opposed the pipeline’s construction. They expressed their support for Biden’s revocation of the permit with a tweet: “We appreciate your commitment to climate justice and to canceling Keystone XL. We call upon you to take the next step toward restoring balance for future generations. Please shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline,” the tweet read.

Others are worried about the revocation. On Feb. 4, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem tweeted, “The Keystone XL pipeline brought jobs to our state.

Those jobs are gone, devastating in-

“Joe Biden” by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 President Joe Biden wasted no time in getting to work after his Jan. 20 inauguration, focusing largely on relief measures for the coronavirus pandemic and reversing other policies from the Trump administration. dividual families and small businesses across South Dakota.”

Other executive orders focused on promoting racial equality, preventing gender and sexuality-based discrimination and revising the enforcement of immigration policies. These executive actions are not permanent if Biden does not work with Congress in order to pass lasting legislation.

In his first 100 days in office, Biden plans to address health care, the economy and police and criminal justice reform.

“Given the narrowness of legislative majorities, it’s gonna be very difficult to get anything transformative passed,” Bosso said. “You’re not going to see a major transformative piece

of legislation like the Affordable Care Act, the votes simply are not there.

But you might see us getting some tweaks around the edges, maybe on immigration policies where there might be some bipartisan support, maybe on criminal justice reform, where there’s some bipartisan support. It just really depends.”

The Democrats currently have control of the executive branch, the House of Representatives and the Senate. However, the president’s party generally loses seats in the midterm elections, Bosso said, meaning their party could lose control in just two years. If Biden is to fulfill the promises he laid out in his campaign, he must act quickly.

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Boston parks memorialize Clarence Jones, other prominent Black figures

By Zeynep Tuncer | News Correspondent

In recognition of Black History Month, the Parks and Recreation department of the City of Boston has put out a list highlighting some of the public parks named after historical Black figures. The list features four locations throughout the city — Ramsay Park, Gourdin Park, Harriet Tubman Square and Jeep Jones Park — that are named in recognition of important civil rights activists, veterans and public officials.

Throughout the month, Boston Parks and Recreation has been posting informative tweets regarding the leaders that the parks were named after. They tweeted Saturday, Feb. 13, about Edward Gourdin, whom Gourdin Park was named after.

“Justice Edward O. Gourdin was the first Black judge appointed to the Roxbury District Court and the first Black person in New England appointed to the Massachusetts

February 19, 2021

Supreme Court,” the tweet said.

The City of Boston has published tweets bringing light to historical Black landmarks, short stories about Black figures and educational resources and programs to celebrate Black History Month. They’ve also been reposting the work of other departments, such as the Office of Arts and Culture, that highlight different Black-owned businesses and initiatives. On Feb. 8, they posted a short video about the Black Heritage Trail and how people could learn more about it.

“Looking for a way to celebrate #BlackHistoryMonth this weekend?

Take a stroll along the Black Heritage Trail. You can immerse yourself in the history of Black Boston by downloading the audio tour app or printable map of the 1.6 mile walking tour,” the tweet said.

Jeep Jones Park in Roxbury, named after Clarence “Jeep” Jones, is one of the parks listed by the department of Parks and Recreation. Jones, who passed away during Black History Month last year, was known for his activism and involvement within the Roxbury community. Jones was elected as the deputy mayor of Boston in 1976, making him the first Black man in that position as well as the highest ranking Black public official in Boston’s history at the time.

Before his position as deputy mayor, Jones was on the board of Boston’s Youth Activities Commission and the Office of Human Rights. He was cherished by his community for the programs he led and was known

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as a role model. Jones attended Winston-Salem State College, which made him an even bigger figurehead in Roxbury, since he was one of only a few from the community to get a higher education.

Jones — a veteran, activist, public official and community leader — was awarded an honorary doctorate in public service by Northeastern in 2005. He was also a part of the university’s Lower Roxbury Black History Project.

Franklin Grear, a second-year politics, philosophy and economics student at Northeastern, is a current resident of Roxbury. Although he has never been to Jeep Jones Park, he has heard of its mention in the community and said he believes it’s important to name public spaces after prominent figures.

“If it’s someone that’s good to look up to and is relevant to the community, or someone the community can see themselves in, then it’s important,” Grear said.

Commemorating public spaces by attaching the name of a community figurehead to them is a practice long repeated throughout history. There are countless examples throughout Boston of such spaces, including M.L.K. Jr. Boulevard, Malcolm X House and the Florida Ruffin Ridley School. By choosing people who left a distinct mark on the populations utilizing the space, the importance of the name grows, acting as a reminder of a real member of the community who was able to make a difference.

“The Value of a Life” is a memorial by Fern Cunningham located at the edge of Jeep Jones Park that honors the youth of Boston.

Photos by Leah Cussen

Column: It is time to reconsider our statues

Photo by Kelly Thomas The removal of statues and monuments is not a censorship of history, for the statues themselves erase key parts of history, idolizing individuals solely by showing their likeness and name. The humanity of the person is covered with a thick metal cast, and it’s left up to the viewer to investigate further. For most, however, that extra effort is not put in; they just think that person must’ve been pretty special and admirable to get a statue on a pedestal in some park.

It is only in the past decade that some statues are receiving the scrutiny and criticism they deserve. Efforts to remove Confederate statues and monuments have grown in strength and intensity with various degrees of success, but there has only been moderate change in how the United States depicts its past. Mostly, this stems from the lack of support for the reconsideration of other monuments.

Confederate soldiers are clearly the “bad guys” of history, so most Americans are comfortable supporting the removal of their monuments.

Other historical figures — ones with complex lives and ideas — are more difficult to reconsider. As a result, most of the calls to reinvestigate history are ignored.

This must change.

I firmly believe that the same critiques used against Confederate monuments, such as those of General Robert E. Lee, are just as applicable to other historical figures.

Across the American South, Lee’s name and likeness can be found on or in schools, government buildings, parks and street names. Indeed, it

goes unquestioned by most Southerners since it has seemingly come with the region, a region in which some of its inhabitants remember the Civil War as a glorious fight for Southern sovereignty. Remnants of this belief are even found beyond the South in places like Washington D.C. and Massachusetts. To understand why the Confederate myth remains prevalent across the United States, we must turn to the aftermath of the Civil War. Upon their return to power, these Confederates were not severely punished for their treason or for perpetrating slavery; instead, under the guidance of then-President Andrew Johnson, many former Southern elites seemed to be welcomed back with open arms.

Naturally, such actions were hotly contested by radical Republican senators who saw the victory over the South as an opportunity to provide human and civil rights to newly freed Black Americans. Their efforts were thwarted by moderate Republicans and the newly empowered Democrats, who eventually weakened the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments and acquitted President Johnson during his impeachment

trial. The rebuilding of a nation was no longer in the hands of the victors and champions of emancipation; it was in the hands of Confederates and moderates across the aisle who believed that the war was more for preserving the union than for the basic human rights of Black people. This period of rebuilding, called Reconstruction, was characterized by a reinstitution of racial oppression through actions other than enslavement, including suppressing voting rights, instituting segregation, building an institution of sharecropping and strengthening the police.

To uphold the new era of oppression, white elites constructed the narrative of a “Lost Cause.” This new story depicted Confederates not as upholders of slavery but as martyrs who stood for states’ rights and liberties. A generation later, making the true story of their predecessor’s defeat into a fairy tale of their victory, Southern governments and federal representatives funded the construction of Confederate monuments. They did this to honor and celebrate the Confederate cause, not to remind the public of the horrors of the past and our nation’s true history. According to the Southern

Poverty Law Center, most of the statues we see today were built during this period of the Jim Crow South. We must remove these statues if we are going to end the “Lost Cause” narrative for good, but there are even more stories that need revision.

We must also recontextualize the monuments of our founders, whose personal histories and legacies are more complicated than the Confederates. The men of the Enlightenment who professed a love of liberty and equality were the same men who viewed Black people as genetically inferior to whites. Thomas Jefferson, a respected leader of knowledge and freedom, owned enslaved Africans, supported the disempowerment of women and sought the removal of indigenous peoples; George Washington, perhaps the most idolized American, also owned enslaved Africans and claimed that one of the reasons he supported the revolution was to protect his “property” from British emancipation; and even the beloved Alexander Hamilton has come into question for his involvements in the slave trade.

Do we really want to continue

glorifying these men as bronze or marble idols in a neoclassical temple, completely ignoring their glaring hypocrisies? To fully capture the life and ideas of a person, one must do so in a museum or a book — not in a statue. Statues are for heroes who exemplify the narratives we wish to tell as a diverse, united nation.

What statues should remain, then? It is a difficult question to answer, for we must decide what aspects of a person’s history we are willing to overlook. Yet it is a worthy undertaking, especially during Black History Month, when the people forgotten by history finally get the praise they deserve. The images we choose matter greatly for the education of our nation’s children and adults alike. Of course, we should not remove every statue — there are truly admirable people and ideas in this world — but we must have these discussions if we are ever going to steer our nation to true justice and equality.

George LaBour is a fourth-year combined economics and history major. He can be reached at labour.g@ northeastern.edu.

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NUBAC seeks to promote Black athletes’ voices on campus

By Sam Culver News Correspondent In the wake of George Floyd’s murder and the subsequent nationwide Black Lives Matter protests, a group of student-athletes founded the Northeastern University Black Athlete Caucus, or NUBAC, with the goal of using their platform to create a permanent outlet to empower Black athletes and create positive change.

Over this past summer, fourthyear business administration student Khailah Griffin and graduate business administration student Erica Belvit, both track and field athletes, got together to discuss ways that they could help the growing problem of social injustice, especially in the Northeastern athletic community, where some Black athletes had concerns about not being heard. “[Erica and I] started brainstorming ways that we can have an impact on the school, and that is when we formed NUBAC and just took it from there,” Griffin said.

“We just made the decision that we were going to do something about what was going on, and we were going to build something that would continue throughout the entirety of Northeastern, not just something that is in the moment.

We knew that with social media it makes it feel like things are a trend, but obviously the injustices haven’t stopped and nothing’s changed, but we can start off by implementing things that last a while.”

Second-year psychology student Mide Oriyomi, the current NUBAC president, echoed Griffin’s thoughts on the hope for longevity in the founding of the caucus. “[The murder of George Floyd] really inspired two seniors to make sure we had a movement, not a moment and people wouldn’t forget about everything that happened,” Oriyomi said.

After founding the group, Griffin has taken on an advising role, guiding Oriyomi and the other members of the executive board with her vision, while letting them be the “face and the mouthpiece and the leaders driving it,” she said.

Griffin felt that creating a lasting impact would be easier if younger students took on leadership positions, so that the same core group would be driving change for a couple years and could get the caucus off to a great start.

Currently, the caucus is focusing on establishing a fundraiser for a nonprofit organization helping people of color, working with community schools and continuing to have meetings within the Northeastern Black student-athlete community.

NUBAC will soon be partnering

with a youth program in Boston to give underprivileged children the opportunity to see what it’s like to attend an elite school like Northeastern and be a Division 1 athlete.

Griffin is excited about how the body meetings have helped to amplify Black voices that might have previously gone unheard.

“We have about 50 Black student athletes at Northeastern, with 25 on the track team. The rest of the 25 are sparse throughout all the teams, so there might be just one or one to two Black people on a team,” Griffin said. “As much as you have a sense of community, it can be hard when you are the only one in the space. I think that one of the things we were tackling over the past semester was just saying this is your space and your time, so if you ever need anything this is the group for you.”

In addition to its own body meetings, a large part of what NUBAC does on campus is meeting and working with the administration. Both Griffin and Oriyomi stressed the importance of holding it accountable.

“We are having monthly meetings with the administration to check in and make sure we are holding them accountable for everything they said they would do and keeping them updated,” Oriyomi said.

This sentiment comes especially due to a lack of diversity in the administration.

“We have been building action-oriented plans with the administration, making sure they’re being held accountable for the things they say they are going to do,” Griffin said.

One important achievement between the administration and the NUBAC was the suspension of all athletic events on election day to give student-athletes a chance to vote. All scheduled games, practices, workouts and team-related events were cancelled that day, Nov. 3, and will continue to be cancelled on subsequent election days in order for student-athletes to have the opportunity to vote.

“Young people tend to find excuses not to vote or feel that their voice does not matter or that they have something better to do. We wanted to make sure there was no excuse

on that day. Forgoing all athletic events that day really gave me the time to go out and vote,” Oriyomi said. “Voting will create the change that is necessary in our community.

Collective action is key to social solidarity amongst our society. For that reason, we encourage every student-athlete to vote.”

Despite being less than a year old, the NUBAC has already made progress on giving Black student-athletes at Northeastern a community.

Now, their thoughts can be freely voiced and they can make positive impacts geared around social justice at the school and Greater Boston.

Leadership has no plans for the group to fizzle away, with Griffin hoping that they “have something that’s going to be established in Northeastern forever.”

Photo courtesy NU Athletics

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February 19, 2021

Review: A year later, ‘Black Histories, Black Futures,’ exhibit is still relevant Calendar compiled by Clara McCourt & Rachel Erwin Graphics by Marta Hill

Saturday, Feb. 20 Virtual Open-Write Company One’s resident playwright, Kirsten Greenidge, will lead an online writing event, where writers can brainstorm ideas and participate in writing exercises together.

11 a.m., Online, Free

Now - Feb. 22 “Julia” Catch “Julia,” a reimagining of August Strindberg’s play “Miss Julie,” presented by ArtsEmerson.

The play was filmed in front of a live audience, touching upon the power dynamics of race, gender and class.

Ongoing, Online, Free.

Tuesday, Feb. 23 “The Three Mothers” Author Event In her debut book “The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation,” author Anna Malaika Tubbs discusses Black motherhood in an online event.

6 p.m., Online, Free

Thursday, Feb. 25 Black History Month Film Festival: “Glory” After a virtual screening of “Glory,” director Ed Zwick and Leon Wilson, president and CEO of the Museum of African American History, will lead a discussion of the film.

3 p.m., Online, Free with reservation

Friday, Feb. 26 Emerson String Quartet Listen to the Grammy-winning Emerson String Quartet in their pre-recorded performance, featuring music by Mozart and others, followed by a live Q&A. 7:30 p.m., Celebrity Series of Boston website, $20

By Chelsea Henderson News Correspondent Walking into the Mary Stamas Gallery of the Museum of Fine Arts, or MFA, in Boston, you’re greeted by an etching of a giant head. Created

by John Wilson in 2003, “Monumental Head” is a black and white etching of a side profile that draws viewers in with its intensity and high color contrast. It’s an enticing piece that serves as a warm welcome for the museum’s year-old exhibit.

Wilson’s piece is a part of the museum’s exhibit, “Black Histories, Black Futures,” created in honor of the museum’s 150-year anniversary celebration. Installed Jan. 20, 2020 during the museum’s celebration for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the exhibit contains four themed sections curated by local teens.

Despite being installed last year, the exhibit is as relevant as ever. Following the resurgence in calls for social justice and protests surrounding Black Lives Matter, it’s still important to raise up voices that have long been underrepresented. “Black Histories, Black Futures” not only gives the spotlight to Black artists, but it also gives the spotlight to the teens that put the exhibit together.

The exhibit lies at the center of the museum and spans over three different galleries. It was created in partnership with three local youth organizations focused on the empowerment of teens: Becoming a Man, the BASE and the Bloomberg Arts

Internship Boston program. Teens in these organizations began their curations in the summer of 2019.

The art displayed in the exhibit features prominent Black artists throughout the decades, and the curations of the local teens emphasizes their beauty and significance in Black history. Each section of the exhibit offers a new take on the art, including pieces from well-known artists like Norman Lewis as well as lesser-known artists like Napoleon Jones-Henderson. It’s clear that each piece of art was chosen with precision and care to best tell the story of “Black Histories, Black Futures.”

Armani Rivas’ “Normality Facing Adversity” showcases the normality of hardships Black individuals face in their daily lives. Scenes of adolescence, such as boys at play, emphasize the normality they experienced.

Photos of jazz icon Duke Ellington as well as other famous drummers show how music was an important aspect of life that brought joy and happiness to their everyday lives.

Jennifer Rosa’s curation, “Smile in the Dark,” also focuses on joy and hope in the Black community.

According to the label, “Smile in the Dark,” gives viewers like you a small glimpse of what it was like to be unapologetically happy, during a time in which it was difficult to even let out a smirk.”

The exhibit certainly succeeds at that goal through its use of exuberant art. The pieces exude warmth, joy and hope, all evident in their

Photo by Chelsea Henderson “Black Histories, Black Futures” focuses on works by 20th-century Black artists. content and depiction. For example, one screenprint in the gallery by Jones-Henderson features a colorful depiction of two Black men about to kiss, and according to the piece’s label, “Shows that even at times when people felt like the world was against them, they could still find love and happiness.”

The most centrally located section of the exhibit is “Ubuntu: I Am Because You Are” by Jadon Smith.

Located in the Carol Vance Wall Rotunda, the exhibit features multiple large vibrant paintings by Black artists like Archibald Motley and Allan Rohan Crite. The colors of the paintings are what draw you in, but upon closer inspection, you see intricate and festive paintings of interper-

sonal connections and lively musical scenes. While artist Eldzier Cortor uses darker colors in his pieces, they are still scenes of intrigue and vitality that cause viewers to appreciate the artistry and message of the piece.

The vivacity of the art featured throughout the exhibit draws viewers in and causes them to appreciate the art for what it is. But what makes “Black Histories, Black Futures” particularly effective is not only the art that is proudly displayed on the walls of the museum, but the significance for what it could mean for the museum’s future.

“Black Histories, Black Futures” will be available for viewing at the MFA until June 20, 2021.

‘It’s an ongoing struggle’: COVID-19 wreaks havoc on Boston cafe culture

By Katie Mogg News Staff Before COVID-19 struck, students frequented cafes like Pavement Coffeehouse, Farmer’s Horse Coffee and Solid Ground Cafe to study or socialize with friends. Now, students are forced to find alternative study spots as cafes offer little to no indoor dining. Meanwhile, business owners struggle to recover from months of decreased economic inactivity.

How have cafe owners and students adjusted to this stark change? “[The pandemic] hurt sales quite a bit,” said Andy LoPilato, Pavement Coffeehouse president. “That whole portion of our business of being a place ... to socialize is an essential component of coffeehouses and what we try to create in our spaces … and that is really specifically what we can’t do right now.”

Lucia Patrick, owner of Solid Ground Cafe located in Mission Hill, saw a similar shift, noting the drop in sales once students stopped coming to cafes at the start of the pandemic.

“Most of our clientele work in the area, so it’s people that work at all the offices, all the administrative staff, but also all the students that live on Mission Hill,” Patrick said.

“So once universities dismissed all the students in March, we saw a big decline. That was super drastic ­— it affected us a lot.”

The pandemic put extra financial burdens on cafe owners. Simultaneously, it created a cultural strain within Northeastern student life.

“It’s so Northeastern. I feel like it’s such a big part of the culture,” said Isabela Fox-Mills, a second-year sociology major. “When I’d go to Pavement, you’d know everyone there.’’

While most cafes remain off limits, NU students still have plenty of places on campus to study. The fate of cafe owners, however, is less certain. Many have struggled to remain afloat, balancing unforgiving rent fees compounded by decreased customer turnout.

“In the months of April, May, maybe June and July we were losing money,” said Farmer’s Horse Coffee owner Meran Atoufi. “And on top of that we had to pay rent.”

Atoufi explained the struggles of business inequity. Certain businesses are paying decreased rent fees to get by during the pandemic, but Farmer’s Horse’s landlord hasn’t afforded Atoufi such a privilege.

“I have other business owner friends who have got big breaks from their landlords. There are some that got a small break, it all varies,” Atoufi said. “And our landlords did not give us any break.”

Fortunately for Patrick, her landlords provided her the generosity that business owners like Atoufi have craved.

“I think we lucked out on our landlords. They have been [forgiving],” Patrick said. “They really gave us a break in 2020. I know of other landlords who didn’t do that. They’re senior citizens, but their parents had businesses in [Mission Hill], so they were just cool.”

To attract customers, local cafes have gone back to basics.

Atoufi attributes his business’s ability to remain connected to customers during the pandemic to Farmer’s Horse’s high-quality food and Ethiopian coffee but gives all credit to his wife: Larisa Bulicanu.

“She cares for this place just like it’s her home,” Atoufi said. “Everything that she does, and everything that she makes is made here. She tries to make [Farmer’s Horse products] the way that she makes food for us, for our kids.”

If the pandemic has brought anything to light, it’s to no longer take the human connection that cafes provide for granted.

“When we can imagine a world without COVID, I think there will be … a deeper appreciation for the sort of exchanges that used to be seen as typical or mundane,” LoPilato said. “Us having a new appreciation for [human connection] is something we can try to build better and appreciate more.”

Photo by Matt Yan Farmer’s Horse Coffee, located on Massachusetts Avenue, is one of many cafes who have pivoted with the onset and continued rise of COVID-19.

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The Boston Globe celebrates Black History Month with a film festival

By Natalie Duerr News Staff

To commemorate Black History Month, the Boston Globe is hosting a digital film festival, honoring films that document the Black experience. These films range from newly released to tried and true classics, and each film is paired with a live, post-screening discussion with the filmmakers.

While more films are said to be announced, the current schedule includes “Black Boys,” “CodeSwitching,” “Process Is The Project: Part One— Inviting Witness” and “Glory,” which are screening throughout February.

The festival kicked off with “The Inkwell,” a 1994 movie that follows a naive boy named Drew as he travels with his family to Martha’s Vine-

yard for the summer to visit their relatives. The title refers to Inkwell Beach in Oak Bluffs, a location frequented by Black travelers and a piece of Black history that is often tucked away.

Unlike other films or shows about Black families made in the 1990s, the audience sees a Black family that is not struggling – they are wealthy and full of a multitude of personalities and ideologies. There is a Republican, an ex-Black Panther member, a young boy going to therapy and a hip, older cousin living with the family. Despite their differences, they still love each other. The film is a classic coming of age tale with a twist of comedy, but unlike many coming-of-age films, “The Inkwell” focuses on a Black boy.

After the screening, Boston Globe

culture columnist Jeneé Osterheldt led a Zoom Q&A with Director Matty Rich about what “The Inkwell” meant to him, which led to larger conversations about art and the portrayal of Black people in Hollywood.

Rich explained he was drawn to the script because it featured African Americans “Not in poverty, not struggling.” He said the character of Drew, played by Larenz Tate, was unique as well.

“You see this young man who is kind of withdrawn in the beginning … and he actually goes to therapy while he’s on the island. We haven’t seen that in African American life, where we see ... a young African American man blossom and open up when he is speaking to the therapist,” Rich said.

After the success of his first film,

“Straight Out of Brooklyn,” he wanted to do something unexpected.

“I didn’t want to do another ‘hood’ movie,” he said. “I wanted to do a movie that showed a different slice of our lives as African Americans.”

To Rich, “The Inkwell” was about understanding and creating Black love. In the film, Drew experiences love when his therapist lends a sympathetic ear and braids his hair. Drew grows that love inwards, embracing himself, and in turn, the family returns that same love. For Rich, creating art that affects its audience is what he considers Black love.

“Yes it would be great to have 20 movies, but I have two movies ... [that] as an artist, I gave myself, I touched people, I affected people, and that is what being an artist is. It’s using your gift, using your talent to

touch somebody to make a difference … That is Black love,” Rich said.

Finally, Rich offered a piece of advice reminding the audience of the importance of speaking your truth and studying to find your talent, no matter who you are.

“You have to tap into your gift. It’s never too late. You’re never too old.

You’re never too young. You ain’t too Black. You ain’t too poor. You ain’t none of that,” Rich said. “If you say you’re an artist, prove it. Don’t prove it to anyone else, prove it to yourself.”

While it is important to celebrate Black History during February, it is imperative to support and celebrate Black filmmakers throughout the year. Learn more about how to attend Boston Globe’s Black History Month Film Festival on our website.

“Pals at Inkwell Beach, Oak Bluffs” by Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism is licensed with CC BY-ND 2.0

Students reimagine theatre, debut ‘How to Survive a Pandemic’

By Grace Comer News Staff

The magic of the theatre is in the audience engagement and intimacy of the show – a key feature that separates it from film – and that is now missing from digital performances.

Northeastern University third-year students Kaitlyn Fiery and Shira Weiss are using new technology to try and recreate that interaction digitally in their new play, “How to Survive a Pandemic.”

Following the closure of Northeastern in March 2020, Fiery, a theatre major, found herself grappling with questions of how to respond to the challenges of the pandemic – as did students around the world.

“All of their experiences, woven together, were what we wanted to explore,” Fiery said, describing her inspiration for the project.

“How to Survive a Pandemic” hopes to tie together the major themes and crises of 2020 into a story of resiliency.

“Between the pandemic, the wildfires, the impeachment, the murder hornets, the election and white

people’s newfound attention to the very-much-not-new issues of racism and police brutality, 2020 was a lot,” said Weiss, a theatre major.

While the topics may be heavy, Weiss explained the themes are not all negative.

“The crux of the show became showing struggles, but also how we get through the struggles,” Weiss said.

Through a series of one-on-one interviews and story circles with the Northeastern community, Weiss and Fiery discussed a broad range of topics, from “What would you put on your quarantine playlist?” to more serious questions about mental health and national unrest.

“Reading through these hours and hours of people’s stories, themes started to emerge. So many people are talking about hope and fear,” Weiss said.

One of the challenges of the play is that Fiery and Weiss, as students, are very close to the subject matter.

“It felt like we were in the thick of it in a way that many artists we studied haven’t been,” Fiery said.

However, their familiarity allowed them to contribute their own

emotions, and interviewing students helped to give the play a broader scope and explore a more global student experience.

In fact, the interviews helped to create not only the main themes, but also the show’s main plot.

“It feels like we’re in a game, and there’s some player somewhere just having fun messing with us while we try to play the game,” Fiery said, recalling a student’s quote they used as inspiration.

The play is centered around actors trapped in famous video games, addressing our newfound relationship with and dependence on technology.

As the play progresses, the actors “win” their games and earn virtual points by reflecting on and facing their struggles.

Fiery and Weiss were recipients of the Northeastern Project-Based Exploration for the Advancement of Knowledge, or PEAK, award for their project. Their staff mentor for this project is Northeastern CAMD professor Melinda Lopez, an award-winning playwright.

“To have an amazing playwright say, ‘You have touched on something that is really important,’ really helped us have the courage to get this done,” Fiery said about working with Lopez.

Once they finished writing the play, there was a whole new set of challenges.

“It is so exhausting to try to sit through theatre on Zoom, it’s not the art that we love or the craft that we’ve studied,” Fiery said.

Attempting to avoid the Zoom fatigue that has become all too common nowadays, Weiss and Fiery worked with a student production team to create an innovative and interactive experience. Instead of having each actor in their own Zoom box, the team has worked to utilize

the medium in a way that makes it feel more like a live play.

“In the program Open Broadcaster Software, we can pull video directly and add it to a screen,” said third-year Northeastern student Emma Nafz, a theatre major and the streaming producer for the show.

Performed live on Zoom, all the action will take place on a single screen with actors live streamed onto that screen. Alongside the actors, there will also be classic video-game style animations.

“We are asking audience members to utilize the chat to interact with the actors,” Fiery said. The audience participation helps the actors to “beat” the levels of the game by introducing new ideas on themes of normalcy and recovery, while the actors have a chance to improvise and react to the chat.

Similar to onstage acting, sound effects are utilized to create a realistic and immersive experience. This is especially important when drawing inspiration from well-known classic video games.

“I pulled from video game soundtracks, sample libraries and even from a couple live play streams,” said first-year Wynn Graves, a theatre and interaction design combined major and the sound designer and board operator for the show.

With so many technological elements to incorporate, the crew is working full time with 3-hour tech rehearsals this week and additional free time spent on perfecting the animation, sounds, cues and mics. The production team compiled all of this information into QLab, a program for organizing the various technological inputs of a performance.

Other dilemmas arose from the

fully-virtual aspects of the performance as rehearsals continued.

“Costuming is super weird, because they can’t make anything and have to work with what’s already in actors’ closets,” Graves said. Costuming is especially difficult because each actor plays several roles and needs multiple costumes from a single closet.

Despite the challenges, creating this play has been a positive experience not only for Fiery and Weiss, but also for the Northeastern community.

“One of my favorite parts was having connections with people at times where connections are hard to come across,” Weiss said of the story circles.

“How to Survive a Pandemic” brings together common themes in the universal experience with the COVID-19 pandemic to present a message of strength and resilience for students of all groups.

“The beauty of this play is that it explores the student perspective from many angles, identities and personalities,” Fiery said.

Photo courtesy Shira Weiss Created by two NU students, “How to Survive a Pandemic” is an online production born out of the COVID-19 crisis.

OPINION

Page 10 The Huntington News EDITORIAL BOARD Editor-in-Chief

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Jayden Khatib Jessica Silverman

February 19, 2021

Op-ed: Solving climate change starts from the bottom

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Demonstrators participate in the Climate Justice Strike in Boston Oct. 15, 2020.

During the past four years, climate policy has been a heavily debated topic, especially after the United States withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement in 2017. Since then, confusion, misinformation and extremism have soared. From phasing out air travel to reviving the coal industry, American climate policy is stuck between two factions in a much deeper ideological battle.

This is an ideological battle, mostly as a result of the two-party system. I wish it was just about the environment, but it goes so far beyond that. Neither side wants to budge from their standpoint, because doing so would ruin their credibility. With both parties unable to compromise, there is very little hope for finding a solution that would satisfy both sides. For instance, it is not possible to protect all jobs in fossil fuel sectors; they will eventually, and inevitably, be phased out. Similarly, it is not realistic to implement drastic measures to combat climate change, as this will have massive social and economic ramifications.

A compromise between these two extremes must occur in order to tackle climate change. We must start a steady transition phase that will allow those affected by job cuts to find employment elsewhere while new technology makes the transition over to clean sources of energy much cheaper.

It’s unlikely that this ideological battle between the two political parties is going to weaken in the next few years. Changing the political dynamic, especially at such a high level of government, takes a lot of time — precious time we simply do not have. Therefore, any change implemented from the top down is going to be slow and weak. If we are going to make real progress on climate action, we need to start taking steps ourselves and implement change using a bottom-up approach.

In politics, it is harder to gain support for a policy that will

benefit a large group in a small way over one that will benefit a small group in a large way. This principle is known as Olson’s law of large groups, and it lays the foundation for lobbying. Lobbying is another reason American climate policy is slow to change. Over $200 million is spent each year lobbying against new climate policies like enhanced emissions regulations and carbon taxes, mostly by large fossil fuel-based conglomerates that have a major stake in climate policy. Even a small policy change can ruin their revenues for years to come.

Combine that with the fact that it is very hard to diversify from the oil business, and the result is a group of people who will do almost anything to prevent legislation such as the Green New Deal from getting passed through Congress.

Given that climate change is a global issue, collaboration between countries can quickly get bogged down as every nation continues to pursue its own national interests.

For example, former President Donald J. Trump pulled the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement because it gave China and India a free hand to continue using fossil fuels while the United States had to switch over to renewables. Why should the United States spend so much money and take the resulting economic blow when China and India are simply going to keep pumping more CO2 into the atmosphere?

Answering this question is tricky. While the deal is definitely unfair toward the United States, what really matters is whether Americans think it is a good deal for them. Imposing an unfair deal from the top down is wrong and would probably cost the government votes in the next election.

However, if it is supported from the bottom up, then it is only fair that the deal is enacted regardless of how unfair it seems to be.

Large scale top-down change is further hindered by the current state of energy technology. Many

solutions simply cannot be fully implemented in a short amount of time. For example, as much as environmentalists would like to completely transition to renewable forms of energy production, that is simply not possible. Clean energy sources such as wind and solar polar are alone incapable of sustaining the growing energy demand of the nation today; large installations are also simply way too expensive and unreliable with current technology.

So, what can we do about it?

First and foremost, we need to change the modern political environment. Negotiations between the two parties should not be viewed as zero-sum, but rather a potential victory for both sides and the nation as a whole.

For example, the recently passed coronavirus stimulus bill was held up in Congress for seven months as neither the Democrats nor the Republicans were willing to budge from their positions. It was passed only when they decided to draft a bill based on the points they agreed upon, rather than continue to bicker over whatever differences they might have in order to maintain their party image. The end result? Tens of thousands of lives were unnecessarily lost and even more unemployed. Some even accuse Congress of abdicating its responsibility by delaying the bill for so long.

Secondly, more investment should be made by the federal and state governments, either directly or indirectly through tax breaks, to individuals and companies researching nuclear energy or working toward achieving carbon neutrality. This is a great way to incentivize green policies on a smaller scale, which will then add up to create a much larger impact.

Microgeneration grants are also another means of encouraging a bottom-up approach to wean our dependency on fossil-fuel based power sources. Tax breaks given by the state and federal govern-

Photo by Mihiro Shimano ment to households that have installed Tesla power walls are a great example of this.

While nuclear power is not the most popular source of clean energy, it is a much better way to cut carbon emissions than solar or wind. It is cheaper, more reliable and actually generates less waste all while creating massive amounts of power. Despite events such as Fukushima and Chernobyl, nuclear power remains one of the safest methods of energy generation we know today.

Finally, people need to receive accurate information about current policy, proposed changes and the impact that these changes will have on them rather than the highly politicized interpretations the media spreads today. I not only think that this information will help mitigate the spread of fake news, but it will also enable people to make educated choices on what changes they want to see.

The United States is and will continue to be limited by the problems we just discussed. Therefore, the federal government can only take limited action on climate policy, which is exactly what we have seen so far. It is up to the people to push for change from the bottom-up. For instance, if we want to support companies that are carbon neutral, then we should buy their products over other competitors that are not. This will force companies to adapt much faster than any piece of legislation would.

I firmly believe that climate policy cannot be enforced from the top down — it needs to be supported by the people from the bottom up. Only then can we effect real change that will combat global environmental degradation and create a brighter future for our nation.

Rahul Rao is a first-year computer science and political science combined major. He can be reached at rao.ra@northeastern.edu

OPINION

February 19, 2021

Page 11

Op-ed: Big Pharma’s true influence

Photo by Harriet Rovniak In January 2020, I began my first semester on campus at Northeastern and my second year taking Effexor, an antidepressant.

One day, I mistakenly ran out of the medication, and due to a pharmacy mix-up, it wouldn’t be refilled before the following afternoon.

By the time I returned from the fiasco that is the Massachusetts Ave. CVS to my dorm in International Village, I had missed my usual dosage time by about an hour and began to experience debilitating symptoms. I was shaking, nauseous and had an electric popping sensation in my brain which all caused me to cry uncontrollably.

Terrified by my apparent dependence on the drug, I decided to begin weaning myself off the medication. However, over the next several months, the symptoms only worsened. The zapping sensation intensified, I lost my ability to focus and I began having panic attacks for the first time in my life.

As a first-year at the time, I was reluctant to reach out to UHCS for help — all I had heard were horror

stories about overworked staff and subpar treatment quality. I called my doctor and pharmacist searching for answers, but they were unfamiliar with the symptoms and suggested I just wait it out. According to the American Psychological Association, “[M]ost antidepressants are prescribed by primary-care physicians who may have limited training in treating mental health disorders.” This was proven true as my doctor was totally unfamiliar with my withdrawal symptoms.

As a last resort, I began researching my symptoms and trying to find others who shared my experience. I found Facebook groups containing dozens of people who had similar experiences with Effexor and were calling for the drug’s ban.

I found studies detailing withdrawal symptoms that left some patients in the emergency room believing they were having strokes or nervous breakdowns. How was it possible that this many people were prescribed a drug without being made aware of the severe side effects that came with withdrawal?

In most instances, it is not a case of doctors withholding information.

Rather, it is a case of doctors’ ignorance, influence from big pharmaceutical companies and the naivety of patients.

In 2001, Dr. Daniel Carlat, a psychiatrist in Newburyport, Massachusetts, was hired by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals to travel to doctors’ offices and convince them to prescribe Effexor over other medications. Carlat and his colleagues were “wined and dined” and “treated like the anointed” in exchange for $500 an hour and turning a blind eye to the studies that showed Effexor in a negative

light. Once Carlat disclosed the drug’s dangers in his presentations, he said he lost his drug marketing side-hustle.

Thus, general physicians are educated by big pharmaceutical companies — who fund 85% of all drug research and feel little obligation to patients’ conditions — and are left with skewed perspectives of the benefits and dangers of certain drugs. This, combined with a patient’s idealistic belief that their doctor will choose the most beneficial treatment option, means that millions of Americans who seek mental health treatment are left at the mercy of Big Pharma and end up blindly accepting prescriptions without truly understanding the risks.

While I strongly believe it is not a patient’s responsibility to be a

prescription expert, I do feel that the only way to protect yourself from this situation is to research your anxiety or depression medication before you agree to take it. We must normalize asking physicians why they choose to prescribe a certain drug over another.

You will be shocked to find there is often no reason behind the decision, and you may be surprised to discover that your prescription is the direct result of a drug representative’s influence.

Additionally, it is important to establish an exact diagnosis. Do you have a chemical imbalance causing your mental health issues or is it situational? Do you need to be medicated for the rest of your life or for the rest of the semester?

For others struggling to come off antidepressants, I encourage you to

reach out to find others who share your experience and work with your physician to develop a tapering plan; preserving your mental health is paramount, especially amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is now February 2021. Six months after taking my final dose, I still have a hard time focusing and I struggle with feelings of emotional numbness — but this is nothing compared to the withdrawal symptoms I experienced. While I am grateful to be Effexor-free, this suffering could have been avoided if only I knew the risks of the drug when it was prescribed to me.

Ella Witt is a second-year journalism and political science major. She can be reached at witt.el@northeastern.edu.

“Prescription Prices Ver5” by ccPixs.com is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Op-ed: Toxic positivity brings more negativity during the pandemic

Photo by Kelly Thomas 2020’s been a dumpster fire for just about everyone, and 2021 hasn’t been all that great either. There’s no avoiding it — things kind of suck right now.

Stop being so negative! There have been so many good things to come out of quarantine! Look at all the new hobbies you picked up!

What the hell am I going on about, you ask? Let’s start with

a definition: Toxic positivity is, according to the Psychology Group, “the overgeneralization of a happy, optimistic state that results in the denial, minimization and invalidation of the authentic human emotional experience.”

So, while there may be a “silver lining” to everything, it’s not always relevant. Looking at the “bright side” of things all the time gives you an excuse to suppress negative feelings, which can lead to even more of those feelings.

When other people tell you to be more positive, it can make you feel shame or guilt for having negative feelings, leading you to hide them in front of those who don’t want to see any negativity. When you internalize toxic positivity, it can cause you to dismiss your feelings and push them away instead of dealing with them in a constructive way. Studies show that denying feelings triggers physiological responses to stress, as well as increased difficulty in avoiding distressing thoughts and feelings.

That means it’s important to process emotions — positive and negative — in order to lead a healthy life. We need negative emotions to fully comprehend our experiences, and doing so allows us to make meaning out of our lives. As suppressing emotions actually leads to thinking about them more, the only way to make them go away is to stop suppressing them.

As with everything else, the first step is always to acknowledge your feelings and problems. That’s the only way you can successfully cope with everything that’s going on right now.

During this time, social media certainly doesn’t help. It can be so easy to fall down the rabbit hole of watching productive and successful celebrities on platforms like Instagram and Twitter, which will inevitably make yourself feel worse and worse as you compare your own life to theirs. I would argue it’s never good to compare yourselves to others. Even if you aren’t doing something as spectacular as what you see others doing online, you

have to remember that social media never gives you the full picture.

You never really fully know what is going on behind those photos. This sentiment is especially true during the pandemic.

Listening to people who say that quarantine is the best thing that’s ever happened to them will only make you feel bad for ostensibly not doing enough to enjoy it. The COVID-19 pandemic has been hard on all of us. A Center For Disease Control and Prevention study found that two in five Americans experienced pandemicrelated mental or behavioral health problems. For those who fall in that category, being force-fed positivity isn’t going to make anything better.

It doesn’t benefit anyone when some use social media to spread “good vibes only” when there’s a lot more to talk about than that.

It’s like the Arab proverb that says: “Sunshine all the time makes a desert.” Trying to be positive all the time isn’t healthy, and we need to be able to process negative feelings

comfortably without being pressured to be more positive.

Yes, there’s a lot we can do to take advantage of the pandemic.

Furthermore, many of us have a lot to be grateful for, and gratefulness can be the key to happiness. Several studies have also shown that positive thinking has numerous health benefits. However, I’m just pointing out that positivity shouldn’t prevent you from dealing with all of your emotions, especially the negative ones.

We all have to be more open to the full spectrum of human emotion.

That means we have to accept those feelings when they come from within, and when we’re trying to help and support others. The only person who really knows what you’re feeling is you, so you have to take charge of processing them — yes, all of them — without succumbing to toxic positivity.

Mia Merchant is a first-year in the Explore Program. She can be reached at merchant.mia@northeastern.edu.

SPORTS

Page 12

February 19, 2021

Ottavino joins Red Sox in rare Yankees’ trade OTTAVINO from front until 2012, when the Colorado Rockies claimed Ottavino off waivers. In 2019, as one of the top relievers in the MLB, Ottavino signed a threeyear contract with the New York Yankees.

As a native New Yorker and now former New York Yankee, the relief pitcher was well accustomed to the New York-Boston contention. But starting this spring, he will now be on the other end of one of the biggest rivalries in sports history. Ottavino, however, is not phased by the rare

trade deal between the two teams. He said he is excited to bring his talents to a new city.

“Playing for the Yankees was a dream come true, growing up as a New York fan,” he said. “And then playing for Boston [has also been] a dream since the time I was in school and I understood what the Red Sox were all about.”

Ottavino is no stranger to the Boston sports scene. During his time at Northeastern, Ottavino experienced the breaking of the infamous Red Sox curse and witnessed two Super Bowl

wins by the New England Patriots.

“The passion for Boston sports is out of this world,” Ottavino said. “It is so intertwined in everything and it means so much to so many generations of people in New England.”

While his time at Northeastern was cut short after being drafted, Ottavino fondly remembers the three years he spent both on and off the field.

“I had a great time being in Boston and enjoyed all the different classes I took,” Ottavino said. “The team was a great group of guys and we had great camaraderie and we all really

supported each other.”

While many of the signature spots around campus that he frequented are now closed, including the staple eatery Chicken Lou’s, Ottavino said he is looking forward to re-discovering what the city has to offer, this time with his wife and two daughters.

Ottavino slumped during the shortened 2020 season with a 5.89 ERA, the highest in his MLB career, so the trade came as no surprise to fans and sports critics as the New York Yankees look to cut payroll for the upcoming 2021 season.

“I’ve had my head down this offseason, just working really hard behind the scenes trying to make myself a better player and bounce back from last year and put my best foot forward this year,” Ottavino said.

And for the Northeastern baseball team, Ottavino’s career continues to have an impact.

“He brought notoriety and naturally, that attracted players each year into recruiting,” McPhee said. “For the college kids, it means trying to bring their game at a level as close to [Ottavino’s].”

Northeastern women’s soccer 2021 preview

The Northeastern women’s soccer team stands at a game in October 2019 during their last season before a 15-month-long hiatus due to COVID-19.

By Peyton Doyle News Correspondent The last game for Northeastern University’s women’s soccer team came in a 2-1 loss against Elon University in the CAA quarterfinals Nov. 1, 2019.

Since then the team has seen their fall 2020 season cancelled and could only practice for over a year now to abide by strict COVID-19 guidelines.

The Huskies will be playing their first game in 15 months when they face the New Hampshire Wildcats on Feb. 14.

The team has been able to practice outdoors for the most part since September, only being inside for a couple of days after the snowstorms at the end of January and early February.

Winter in Boston is not an ideal time for anyone to be practicing outdoors, but it has been even more difficult for the team as they have been forced to hold practices only at night.

“We have to go in the evenings because we have nine players on co-op right now. So it’s been a little chilly,” said head coach Ashley Phillips.

“They’re cold, I will say they’re cold.

And to be fair, they actually sometimes run a bit more because they’re freezing. So when you run you get a little bit warmer. So they’re kind of more inclined to want to go, go, go, they don’t really want water breaks.

They’re not joking around as much as they normally are.”

Senior goalkeeper Megan Adams and the rest of the team cannot wait to finally get some real game action after just practicing since November 2019.

“We have been able to do some intrasquad practices and scrimmages that certainly get pretty competitive because we’re all just rearing to go and compete again in a game format,” Adams said. “I think we are all looking forward to getting back out there. I think everybody is super excited. It is a little nerve racking from a COVID perspective, but also

because we haven’t done this for so long. I almost forget what it’s like to be in a locker room before a game and we’re still not sure what that is exactly going to look like.”

The team lost their second and third highest point scorers from last season to graduation, as well as their previous captain and two-time All-CAA Second Team center back, Eve Goulet.

Phillips, however, is not overly concerned with the loss of her seniors, as she knows that her team’s strength lies in its depth. This will be her fifth season as the team’s head coach and her 10th season with the program.

Despite the ongoing pandemic, the team is still doing their best to try to get to know one another. The team consists of just five freshmen, but the older players have welcomed them with open arms.

“I was surprised. Honestly, I think our older kids did a really good job, just understanding how challenging this was gonna be for the freshmen,” Philips said. “So our freshmen are pretty quiet. That adds another little wrench to this problem, I thought it would take a little bit for them to come out. But I think the older kids kind of gravitated towards them and kind of forced them to come out a little bit quickly.”

In normal times teams can face chemistry issues, but a lack of preseason road trips or team dinners due to COVID-19 restrictions can hamper a team’s ability to meld even more.

Adams said that she felt the freshmen adapted well to their new environment, given the strange circumstances of the times.

“I think that to a certain degree, the fact that we were all going through this chaotic period, wondering what we’re doing, what’s the routine, helped [the freshmen],” Adams said. “In some respects I think it could be almost comforting that they weren’t the only people not

knowing what’s going on. I think this year more than ever we made a real effort to reach out to the freshmen and try to incorporate them into the social setting.”

Phillips thinks some of those freshmen can impact the team early.

The graduation of Olivia Ware and Kerri Zerfoss has left a lot of important minutes up for grabs in the midfield. Midfielders Eleanor Fisher and Gaby Scarlett are two of the freshmen poised to get playing time in this upcoming season.

“You know, I think the speed of play and those things, they’re still adapting to, but if we played UNH, this Saturday, they would both get minutes in those games,” Phillips said in regards to Scarlett and Fisher.

“I don’t know to what extent and you know, it’s really hard to evaluate them properly without playing an opponent or an inner squad. I think every one of [the freshmen] will get some playing time this year.”

Last season the goalkeeper position presented an interesting problem for Phillips and her staff as they had two talented players competing for one position. Adams and then freshman Angeline Friel both vied for playing time before Friel eventually went down with an injury, forgoing the spot to Adams.

This season will present a similar predicament for the coaching staff.

“I think it’s a good problem to have, it’s sometimes a little challenging because they’re both so different, like they’re not even close to the same type of goalkeeper,” Phillips said. “So it could end up being like dependent on games or just kind of who’s in the best frame of mind and confidence.”

Adams understands that it will be a competition this year for the starting spot.

“I played last fall a good amount but walking in this season does not mean anything. It does not mean that it will be my spot for this year,” Adams

said. “I am hoping that I can earn that spot again this year. My main expectation is to earn that playing time, do well and have my team have confidence in me while I am in the net.”

The roster has plenty of other key returners outside of their goalkeeping pair. Returning players also include All-CAA First Team defender senior Julianne Ross as well as sophomore defender Jane Kaul and senior defender/midfielder Mikenna McManus who will help man the back line. Joining them is leading scorer senior forward Chelsea Domond, sophomore midfielder Alexis Legowski, sophomore forward Nina Dooley and sophomore midfielder Halle McCabe, as well as junior Grace Moore, who is working her way back from injury but could be a huge addition to the defense. “[Domond] was probably our most dangerous front-runner. I’m hopeful that her goal percentage is higher for her shots because I think she’s a little more confident being older,” Philips said. “She’s so fast and dynamic, and she’s a special dribbler.”

The Huskies will face a slightly shorter slate of games this season, currently scheduled to play 13 games over the next two months compared to their usual 20. Four of those games will be in conference bouts against the University of Delaware, Hofstra University, Towson University and Drexel University.

The remainder of the season will see the Huskies play a wide range of opponents, with the first game of the season Feb. 14 at UNH, and the final non-conference April 1 against Boston College. Phillips acknowledged that their non-conference opponents will not be easy.

“We were lucky we are in a region that has so many talented programs that we can bus to, and a lot of the programs are following the same protocols,” Phillips said. “BC is an ACC school, and they typically

Photo by Brian Bae always make it challenging for us. We have not played UMass Amherst in a while. And they’ve recently in the last couple years changed coaches and have been phenomenal in [the Atlantic 10 conference]. So I think that’s going to be a great game.”

Even with a tough stretch of non-conference games, Phillips sees their most challenging opponents coming from within the CAA. “Hofstra has kind of run the table for the last few years and they have won [the CAA] the last three years.

So I think that’s always like a really serious, stressful for everyone, exciting kind of a rivalry,” Phillips said.

“Even since I was an assistant coach, we have always found ourselves in the top three mix. They’re also close to us geographically, so it makes it fun.”

For Adams, the nearby opponents give her and her teammates a little extra motivation. The team’s past history with Hofstra is not easily forgotten either.

“Playing the local teams gets you fired up, because you want to be the top Boston team. While we don’t have anything formal like the Beanpot, everytime we go into a game against a Boston team it gets us fired up because we want to rule the city, if you will,” Adams said. “We look forward to playing Hoftstra. We have lost to them in the playoffs a couple times in my career here so that always lights a fire under you.”

It has been a long 15 months since the Huskies fell to Elon in the CAA tournament. However, since the two teams do not play each other in the regular season, their potential rematch would have to come in the playoffs. The Huskies will have to wait a couple more months until they get their chance at revenge.

“Losing to Elon last year hurt. If we are able to play them this year, I’m sure we’ll be fired up. Trying to take care of unfinished business in that respect,” Adams said.