March 5, 2021

The Huntington News March 5, 2021

The independent student newspaper of the Northeastern community

@HuntNewsNU

Photo courtesy Northeastern Marriage Pact

student matchmaking program creates more than a love connection

By Grace Comer | News Staff

A marriage pact in college sounds intimidating, but the Northeastern Marriage Pact offers a refined way to meet someone with shared interests and unique differences. Originally created at Stanford in 2017 as a capstone project, the Marriage Pact has arrived at Northeastern.

“I have a friend at Stanford who reached out to me at the beginning of the year, saying that they were looking to expand, and Northeastern was one of their target schools,” said fourth-year behavioral neuroscience major Mollie Harmon.

Harmon created a team with fourthyears Katie Prendergast, an international business major; Alex Lopes, a business administration major; and Alaine Bennett, an interaction design major. Together, they selected 50 questions from a database to include in the questionnaire.

“Out of all of the questions, we tried

to find ones that resonated most with the Northeastern community,” Prendergast said.

From “Do you feel bad when you kill a bug?” to questions about values and goals, each has a specific psychological purpose.

“Even though a question might sound silly, it helps us get to know the individual taking the test on a more psychological level,” Lopes said.

The answers to the questions are broken down by the algorithm to find matches.

“It breaks into categories where it’s looking for degrees of similarity, but then there’s also questions where they’re looking for degrees of difference,” Harmon said, describing the algorithm. “In a sense, opposites attract.”

Since its release, the Marriage Pact has made rounds in group chats, Facebook groups and Instagram pages. With decreased in-person interactions, social

media is more powerful than ever.

The team hopes the Marriage Pact will rebuild connections missed due to the pandemic. “I thought that this would be an easy way to instill a sense of community on campus,” Harmon said. Though students may not be able to meet in person, digital matchmaking could push them to start talking to someone new.

“This is a great way to meet people because this is all just Northeastern students, so you could meet someone in your community,” Lopes said. With concerns about COVID-19, the university community gives the Marriage Pact an edge over dating apps.

However, the Northeastern Marriage Pact isn’t just about romantic relationships.

“It’d be great to have people make human connections and possibly a long-term friendship out of it,” Prendergast said.

The questionnaire asks about relation-

ship status, so students seeking a platonic match can find one too. Other schools had difficulty finding everyone a match, given a deficit of genders and sexualities. Adding platonic pairings helps ensure matches.

Prendergast said the questionnaire has almost 2,000 responses. “The more we get, the better chances we have to find a really authentic match,” she said.

With this large number of responses, the team hopes the Marriage Pact becomes a yearly tradition.

“I’d really like to see this repeated in future years, not necessarily always focused on the romantic aspect, but just some funny stories that we can revisit year after year,” Prendergast said.

Editor’s note: Alaine Bennett, one of the creators of Northeastern Marriage Pact, is a staff member on The News’ design team.

Quarantine affects students’ mental health

By Peyton Doyle News Staff When a student at Northeastern tests positive for COVID-19, their close contacts must remain in isolation housing for eight days after their initial exposure. Some individuals stay longer, however, and this social isolation has led to new mental health challenges for quarantined students.

Students’ time in wellness housing can range anywhere from eight days to 18. If a student tests positive, they must quarantine for 10 days even if they were already in wellness housing.

For some students, days in quarantine can feel like a lifetime.

Since they’re prohibited from visiting

anyone, their only human interaction is with test administrators at the Huntington Testing Center, a separate testing facility for both those showing symptoms and students who have been directly exposed to COVID-19.

The removal of face-to-face communication is unnatural for humans, and can even result in changes in the brain, according to Northeastern professor of psychology Kyle Gobrogge.

“Socializing is a natural reward and, when you remove it from a social species — like humans — it can cause a whole host of organic issues in the brain,” Gobrogge said.

“Dopamine [and] oxytocin [are] neuropeptides that will change the way in which [the brain] commu-

nicates and helps neurons facilitate synaptic transmission.”

Jack Hansen, a first-year mechanical engineering student, spent eight of his first 13 days on campus in International Village’s wellness housing. He said he experienced adverse mental health effects.

“It definitely was not an easy adjustment,” Hansen said. “It felt like I was trapped in there for weeks.”

Hansen, a self-proclaimed extrovert, spent his first semester of college in Dublin last fall, as a part of the N.U.in program.

“I hardly had time to get settled in before I was moved out,” Hansen said. “I met two new people, but that was it...So I didn’t get a chance

to connect with many students on campus before classes started.”

It wasn’t just the inability to make new acquaintances that bothered him, Hansen said it was difficult to communicate with close friends and family.

“It was just hard only talking to them virtually. I need that faceto-face interaction,” Hansen said.

“Talking to people definitely made it easier, but I still couldn’t wait to get out of that place. Calling them or FaceTiming made me want to be with my friends even more.”

Gobrogge noted feeling unfulfilled by virtual communication is normal.

“You can get similar levels of dopamine or oxytocin through two-dimensional audio or visual socializing,

but it is not as robust as being face-toface with somebody or socializing in that way,” Gobrogge said.

Aside from the isolation from friendly faces, other aspects of the isolation process began to get to Hansen.

Struggling with the scant vegetarian options, Hansen said the food hampered his ability to manage isolation.

“To be perfectly honest, their vegetarian options were garbage,” he said. “I don’t know if I can eat lentils ever again. They provided plenty of food — it just came to a point where I couldn’t stomach it anymore. That consistent diet, combined with some isolation hysteria, led me to throwing food at the wall several times in ISOLATION, on Page 2

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Students face stress in wellness housing ISOLATION, from front those final days.”

Hansen may not have known it then, but there may have been a concrete scientific reason for his “isolation hysteria.”

Gobrogge identified the lack of social interaction as the top stress producer in cases like Hansen’s.

“The social buffering of stress is the x-factor here,” Gobrogge said.

“The underlying x-factor is, without socializing in person, we are missing this stress-buffering that is important for humans to function in a healthy emotionally stable society.”

As the days wound down, Hansen said he did everything he could to leave quarantine housing. He began to receive tests on consecutive days to prove his health and also spent hours on the phone with Northeastern staff.

Tom Eckel, Hansen’s roommate, was designated a close contact the same day as Hansen. Eckel, a firstyear engineering student, was sent to quarantine housing and said he experienced similar paranoia as a result of

prolonged isolation.

“The isolation did not help my mind initially. I couldn’t get the image out of my head, that, as soon as I opened the bathroom door, the adjoining room’s door would click shut as if someone else was there,” Eckel said. He described his life in isolation as “monotonous” and “lonely.”

While initially, the eight-day stay was difficult, Eckel eventually adjusted to life alone. Eckel stayed in touch with people close to him and developed new hobbies in isolation.

“I called my family and girlfriend a lot to pass the time, and I completed a pretty extensive embroidery project,” he said.

Dylan Hruskar, a first-year student in the Explore Program, entered wellness housing Feb. 22, right at the height of his midterms. He said he particularly struggled while taking certain exams.

“I had to read questions over again. I was getting very frustrated with myself.

At the end of an exam, I got rather upset. I took my drawer and started slamming it. I had a little bit of a men-

tal breakdown after the exam,” Hruskar said. “My professor was very understanding and said I could wait until the next day to take it, but I just wanted to get it over with and off my mind.”

Outside of the exam schedule, Hruskar found it difficult to stay focused in class after previously experiencing in-person classes.

“It is a lot harder to pay attention and engage in virtual class,” Hruskar said. “When you are in class and talking to people you pay attention a lot more, so I have certainly been struggling to pay attention in classes, especially when I have a lot in a row.”

Hruskar said he is thankful to be able to still have a good support system while he grinds through virtual school and exams and appreciates the accommodations Northeastern provides.

“I think having people to talk to helps a lot. It is great to have the support of friends and family,” he said. “Of course Northeastern is emailing me every day offering mental health support if I need it, so overall I don’t feel quite as alone as I thought I would.”

College students like Hansen, Hruskar and Eckel, are particularly vulnerable to the effects of social isolation, as their brain is still developing throughout a person’s early 20s, due to a process called myelination.

“What is dramatically different even between a college-age brain and my brain which is at almost 40 is the frontal lobe,” Gobbroge said.

“Even though the dopamine levels are similar, the myelination of areas like the frontal lobe that are involved with decision making, top-down control of impulses, emotional stability and that kind of regulation is very different in the college-age brain.”

Among students at Northeastern, Hansen and Eckel are not alone in their quarantine experiences. According to data published March 3, there are 76 students in on-campus wellness housing and 132 students in off-campus quarantine housing.

“When you don’t have those faceto-face social experiences, somebody who is more vulnerable to stress is exacerbated. As the absence of social

contact physically with people gets longer and longer, the stress-buffering effect goes away,” Gobrogge said. “The longer somebody is socially isolated, the worse the product can be later on.”

Sustained social isolation can have adverse effects on one’s mind, and it is necessary to understand the importance of mental health during these times. A lack of face-to-face interaction leaves humans more vulnerable to stress and mental health challenges down the road, especially if they had a past history of mental health issues.

“Say if you and I were best friends and we were separated for a year or longer. Our stress vulnerability is much higher,” Gobrogge said.

“Because stress intersects [with] depression and anxiety, [it] is a trigger for drug and alcohol abuse. [It] can trigger neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s in old age, depression in young age, suicidality, schizophrenia. When you remove a natural reward like socializing in a species that is highly social, it can create all these negative affective side effects.”

Jewish students at Northeastern speak up about anti-Semitism Photo by Quillan Anderson The NU Jewish community hosted a roundtable Feb. 17, intended to foster a discussion about anti-Semitism and create a safe space for students to share personal experiences.

By Grace Comer News Staff Last November, the Student Government Association, or SGA, passed a resolution adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Association’s, or IHRA, official definition of anti-Semitism.

In conjunction with this resolution, SGA senator and member of the Student Affairs Committee Arika Dwivedi organized a roundtable discussion for members of Northeastern’s Jewish community to talk about anti-Semitism. The Feb. 17 discussion was closed to non-NU students with the intention of providing a safe space for students to share personal experiences.

At the roundtable, students noted the difficulty in passing the resolution at SGA. “I thought it was going to be an easy conversation, but no, it took a very long time,” said Elie Codron, a third-year international affairs major, who signed the resolution as a student-at-large and is involved with several Jewish organizations on campus. While no senators voted against the resolution, 28 chose to abstain from voting.

“A lot of the objections come from a place of stifling free speech,” said Yehuda Gannon, SGA senator and a fourth-year political science major.

Gannon said there was concern among senators that the resolution could prevent free discussion about

the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Despite the concern, other senators said that the resolution would not prevent this discussion. “We very explicitly and in great detail, went line by line through the definition, and there is no language in the definition that restricts speech,” said Josh Glickman, a second-year business administration major. He was also the senator for Alpha Epsilon Pi, or AEPi, which is a Jewish fraternity.

The debate over whether or not the resolution would restrict free speech resulted in a longer SGA meeting than some of the co-authors had been expecting, Codron said. In the end, the resolution was adopted as it had originally been written.

The IHRA definition is the broadest accepted definition of anti-Semitism. It covers outright acts of violence and extends to microaggressions. These include propagating myths of Jewish control over the economy or denying the Holocaust.

The definition also encompasses ways in which protests against the Israeli government can turn anti-Semitic.

This definition has been adopted in 29 of the United Nations, or UN, states, as well as many smaller organizations and university administrations across the world.

“In all of the countries that have approved the use of that definition, debate about politics, and about the conflict, is as lively as ever,” said Jon-

athan Golbert, a third-year political science major involved in AEPi. Some of the conversations at the roundtable centered around the Israel-Palestine conflict, which, as explained in the IHRA definition, can lead to anti-Semitic attacks. “I’ve experienced microaggressions from people who I consider my friends, and from certain organizations on campus,” Golbert said.

Another issue discussed at the roundtable was the prevalence of anti-Semitic microaggressions and discrimination both nationally and on campus. FBI statistics from 2019 show that nearly 60% of religious-based hate crimes targeted Jewish people, despite making up only 2% of the U.S. population.

The resolution mentions specific incidents of anti-Semitism on university campuses across the U.S., including printers being hacked to distribute white supremacist fliers that mention the anti-Semitic work “The International Jew” and swastika graffiti in dorms.

Beyond students and student organizations, Jewish students have also been frustrated with actions from Northeastern administration. The academic calendar conflicts with major Jewish holidays, and some students said that it was hard to get a religious exemption to leave class or reschedule exams.

Earlier this year, the Office of the Provost mixed up the high holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur with

the spring holiday of Passover, taking a week to send a follow-up email.

Some Jewish students say they have faced discrimination from professors, many of whom still work at Northeastern. According to the SGA resolution, one professor claimed that being called an anti-Semite is “a sign of distinction.”

Other students felt that they needed to hide their pro-Israel views or Jewish identities from pro-Palestine professors, according to a letter written to President Joseph E. Aoun

by Jewish students.

The goal of the roundtable was not only to share these common experiences with microaggressions and other forms of discrimination, but also to unite students as a community.

“The Jewish community can come together to overcome those obstacles, and we can advocate and fight for ourselves,” Gannon said.

Codron said that when the resolution was presented to the SGA, it was accompanied by a petition signed by almost 300 Jewish students at Northeastern.

“The purpose was to highlight the unanimous backing of the Jewish community for this resolution,” Glickman said of the petition.

Only 17 states in the United States currently require an education on the Holocaust, and advocates agree that there is still much more work to be done. Members of SGA and other

Jewish groups said that they plan to continue educating non-Jewish students about anti-Semitism. One common theme of the roundtable was that much of the anti-Semitism on campus is rooted in ignorance.

Gannon said that educating others about anti-Semitism is the first step to fighting it, and it’s important to address the issue proactively, before it escalates further.

Students also offered advice for addressing anti-Semitism once it is recognized. “On the individual level, each of us needs to make anti-Semitism a deal breaker when it comes to our friends, family and the political figures that we may support,” Golbert said.

Other plans include working directly with the administration on new legislation to protect students.

“We really hope that this resolution will wake up the administration and realize that Jewish students want and need this,” Codron said. The ultimate goal of the resolution, and educational events like the roundtable discussion, is to make Northeastern safer for Jewish students.

“What we’re trying to do right now is make it so that there is a mechanism if something happens, the university can do something about it,” Gannon said. Although Title VI protections covers anti-Semitic discrimination, SGA is looking to create a more direct method of protecting Jewish students, Gannon said.

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NU law students investigate, correct history

By Annie Probert News Staff Northeastern University School of Law’s Civil Rights and Restorative Justice project, or CRRJ, is seeking to correct the false narrative surrounding the lynching of a Black man nearly 75 years ago through a documentary made in collaboration with the School of Journalism.

Henry “Peg” Gilbert was wrongfully arrested in May of 1947 in Troup County, Georgia, following a crime he did not commit. Weeks before Gilbert’s arrest, a Black man named Gus Davidson shot a white farmer named Olin Sands in self-defense. Davidson had accidentally hit and killed the farmer’s cow and a fight ensued.

A furious white mob scoured the county for Davidson, who had already fled to the north. Looking for a member of the Black community to blame, the mob narrowed in on Gilbert, a successful, land-owning farmer who pushed the limits of what Southern society expected from a Black man in the 1940s.

After being charged with “aiding and abetting a fugitive,” Gilbert was brought to the Harris County Jail where he was beaten and tortured.

Gilbert’s brother-in-law visited him, where Gilbert reportedly told him, “Don’t worry, there’s nothing you can do. I will never get out of here alive.”

Gilbert was murdered four days after his arrest. On May 23, Gilbert’s wife Mae Henry Gilbert was told to come pick up her husband’s body.

The chief of Harris County Police, W.H. Buchanan, claimed to have shot Gilbert in self-defense, a conclusion complicated by the gunshot wounds, crushed skull and broken bones

found on Gilbert’s body.

A weak FBI investigation did not result in any criminal charges against police and maintained the police chief ’s account despite conflicting forensic evidence.

After further law enforcement attempts to incriminate the family, Mae Gilbert and her daughters were forced to sell the land they had worked hard to obtain and move away.

The inconclusive FBI results remained the official narrative of Henry Gilbert’s death for almost 70 years, until 2016, when Tara Dunn and Ariel Kong, law students enrolled in Northeastern’s Civil Rights and Restorative Justice course, were handed a folder with Gilbert’s name and told to research his story.

The annual course, which is open to graduate and law students, assigns teams of students to homicide cases involving racial violence against Black people in the Jim Crow South spanning from 1930 to 1970. The cases often have no secondary literature, meaning they are not written about elsewhere and all that exists are the files themselves.

“We don’t do big cases like Emmett Till or Scottsboro; we do cases where if we don’t add those cases to history they will essentially be forgotten,” said Rose Zoltek-Jick, associate director of the CRRJ. “Nobody has told these stories. There’s nothing that would mark that these people ever lived and more importantly that they were killed because of their race.”

Using documents from sources like the Library of Congress and newspaper records, students investigate the cases and work with victims’ relatives to create a restorative justice

plan and help those impacted.

In the past, results of CRRJ students’ work have been featured in national outlets such as The Washington Post and USA Today. However, the Gilbert documentary is the first film produced in collaboration with Northeastern’s School of Journalism.

Dunn and Kong researched and uncovered the story of Gilbert’s wrongful death at the hands of Georgia police. Mike Beaudet, a journalism professor of the practice, said that seeing that the CRRJ saw that the narrative would lend itself to visual storytelling and reached out to the School of Journalism to collaborate on a project telling the true story of Gilbert’s lynching.

“They had done all the research, and it was our job as journalists to try to bring it to life and tell it in a way that people could understand and learn from it,” Beaudet said. “I think that’s why they came to us, because we know how to tell stories.”

The research for the documentary was passed down between multiple classes of students since its conception in 2016 and completion this past year, Beaudet said. The process involved multiple trips to Georgia to interview family members and collect video clips.

In 2018, Zach Ben-Amots, a graduate student studying multimedia journalism and current digital video producer at ABC 7 Chicago, began to work on the project and helped carry it to the finish line. The CRRJ class drew Ben-Amots to Northeastern when he toured graduate schools and he said he liked the idea of bringing the stories to a broader audience.

“I had this vision that I could do a documentary about it,” he said. “It didn’t work out for me to take the

class, but I’m really glad it worked out for me to jump onto the documentary.”

When Ben-Amots joined the project, he gathered elements of the film that prior students had produced, such as interviews and videos from trips to Georgia.

The CRRJ was kept in the loop throughout the creation of the documentary, Ben-Amots said, with each new cut of the video sent to CRRJ founder Margaret Burnham, Dunn and Kong for feedback.

Collaboration between the CRRJ and the School of Journalism was crucial throughout the years-long process.

“That relationship with CRRJ was critical for us to be able to tell this story because they were the experts on these lynchings that they’ve been documenting,” Beaudet said.

“We kept going back to them and talking about how we were going to approach the story and seeing how it evolved as we better understood exactly what happened.”

Piecing old videos together and producing new elements of the documentary such as animated illustrations and additional interviews, Ben-Amots created a finished version of the documentary by the time he graduated in 2019.

A year later, during the protests for racial justice following the murder of George Floyd, Ben-Amots pitched the project to his producer at ABC, who agreed to air it. He took a couple months to polish the documentary to its final version, which was broadcasted in October 2020. The short film will be available on Hulu with a release date TBD. Despite the documentary taking nearly four years to complete and involving the work of many students

along the way, its later-than-expected release date paid off, Beaudet said.

“I feel the timing worked out perfectly in the end and we told the story the right way and when it needed to be told,” Beaudet said. “Shining a light on this case and these cases in general is really important, especially now with everything that’s going on in the last year with the push for racial justice.”

In setting the record straight on how Gilbert was lynched, Ben-Amots said he hopes the documentary can help open viewers’ eyes to similar cruelties that have occurred throughout American history.

“We need to take the time to recognize that each of these stories is a different person’s life and a different family, and each of these stories of lynchings that the CRRJ looks at is a different individual tragedy that’s part of a broader fabric of the tragedy of American racism,” Ben-Amots said. “It’s important to meditate on each individual story that exists within what the CRRJ does.”

Beaudet, Ben-Amots and ZoltekJick all said they intend to maintain collaboration between the CRRJ and the School of Journalism and they would love to continue creating documentaries and publicizing the cases of lynchings that students uncover.

“There are hundreds — if not thousands — of Henry Gilberts and Gus Davidsons who need to be written back into history,” Zoltek-Jick said. “We’re extraordinarily proud of the film that Zach and Professor Beaudet produced, and that kind of collaboration is both [an] excellent education and extraordinary social justice contribution to the world.”

NU stops administering first vaccine doses

By Matt Yan News Staff In an email to all Northeastern students Feb. 26, the university updated its vaccine rollout plan. Now, students will no longer be able to schedule first dose shots of the COVID-19 vaccine through the university, according to the email from Chancellor and Senior Vice President for Learning Ken Henderson.

“We realize this update is disappointing to many in our community,” Henderson

wrote. “The rollout of a comprehensive vaccination program in the midst of a global pandemic – with limited federal supply – has been highly complex. Governor Charlie Baker and his administration have been working tirelessly to fine-tune this program, always keeping the best interests of the state’s citizens in mind.”

Once eligible, students must now schedule their vaccines through the sites listed on the official state website. However, according to the email, the university will still provide second dose shots to those

who received first doses at Northeastern.

The email said the shift is due to the state’s announcement that “it will prioritize vaccine distribution to its mass vaccination sites, medical facilities, and pharmacies.”

“This means that some other sites – such as those on college and university campuses – will not receive additional vaccines in the near term,” Henderson wrote.

However, the university said it is possible that vaccines may start up again.

“We have been assured by the state that, if and when supply increases sufficiently,

higher education sites may again be able to vaccinate members of their community,” Henderson wrote.

As of Feb. 26, Massachusetts has administered 1,622,553 doses of the vaccine, with 1,142,357 people receiving their first dose and 480,196 people receiving their second, according to the Boston Globe.

Massachusetts is currently in Phase 2 of its vaccine distribution.

Photo by Marta Hill The university announced Feb. 26 in an email that NU will no longer schedule first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine due to the state’s decision to prioritize other vaccination sites.

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Essaibi George will focus on the economy, education as mayor of Boston

By Kelly Garrity News Staff Boston’s next mayor will inevitably have to address a number of compounding issues, including systemic racism and racial inequality, as well as the health and economic crises brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. For mayoral candidate and City Councilor Annissa Essaibi George, there’s only one way to confront these obstacles: together.

“To me, this work is very much about the collective. I have a hashtag, #GovermentIsATeamSport,” said the 47-year-old mother of four.

Essaibi George, a Boston native, joined the City Council in 2016, serving as an at-large member and as chair of the education committee.

She announced her candidacy for mayor at the end of January, joining her colleagues Michelle Wu and Andrea Campbell in what is likely to be the most diverse race in the city’s history. So far, three candidates are women and people of color. If elected, Essaibi George would bring a number of “firsts’’ to the role, as the first Arab and first former teacher to hold the position, as well as the first duly-elected woman. Essaibi George acknowledged the gravity these “firsts” would have, but also recognized the importance of each candidate’s experience.

“Representation absolutely matters, but we do, in the end, want the mayor who can best serve in the best interest of the entire city,” she said.

“So it’s racial diversity, it’s gender diversity, but it’s also diversity of experience. Exploring and understanding and investigating the experiences that each candidate brings is the most important component of looking and selecting who the next mayor would be.”

Essaibi George said she believes her 13 years as a Boston Public School, or BPS, teacher at East Boston High School would help her in this role.

“I think that teachers can do anything. If you can manage a classroom of 30 students on any given day, you’ve got a pretty good skill set to manage the work of a city,” she said.

Essaibi George also said her experience as a mother of four BPS students and as a BPS graduate herself means she already has the ability to “get into the weeds on education topics and academic topics.”

When it comes to education, Essaibi George said she would prioritize improving the program of study at Madison Park Technical Vocational High School, the Roxbury high school that has consistently fallen into the state’s worst accountability ranking.

Essaibi George also said she hopes to increase early education literacy and

add a full-time nurse and a mental health professional in every school building.

Although she acknowledged that the city faces many competing crises that require serious attention, Essaibi George said that if elected, her top priority will be restoring Boston’s economy.

“As a city, and as the mayor of this city, it is certainly critical that those critical issues and challenges and faults in our systems are certainly dealt with head on. For me, for sure the lead issue for our city is our local economy,” said Essaibi George.

“When economic opportunity is the answer, we’re finding solutions to the problems in schools, in healthcare, in housing, in policing.”

Essaibi George said she would increase economic opportunity by making it easier for any industry to do business in Boston and by being more “creative and intentional” about creating centers of business across Boston’s neighborhoods, instead of only focusing on the downtown region.

“We’ve got to look to create economic opportunities across our neighborhoods, so not everybody needs to come into the downtown to work, so you can find work in Hyde Park, you can find work in Roslindale, or Jamaica Plain, or East Boston of Charlestown,” she said. “We have to make sure that we’re looking at all of the neighborhoods as opportuni-

ties for economic growth.”

As a small business owner herself, she also emphasized the need for the next mayor to focus on providing assistance to businesses working to recover from the impacts of the pandemic.

“We’re still going to see some businesses fail over the next couple of months, but for those that will be able to survive, we need to, as a city, double down on the supports that we put in place to help them through that last leg of the pandemic,” said Essaibi George.

She said that her own business, Stitch House, a yarn shop in Dorchester, has struggled during the pandemic, but acknowledged that she has more flexibility than most small businesses, as she owns the building her shop is in. “It gives me a great deal of flexibility, I’m not chasing myself around for rent,” she said.

As of the end of January, Essaibi George was behind her opponents in campaign fundraising, with $152,000 raised compared to Wu and Campbell’s respective $741,000 and $743,000.

However, Essaibi George said she believes this is mostly the result of joining the race later than her colleagues.

“I think it’s about eight and seven months later than my colleagues, so if you think though about the timeline, I’m actually pretty close to them when you think about the percentage over time,” she said, adding that she continues to hit her fundraising

Photo Courtesy Annissa for Boston benchmarks. “Running for mayor costs a lot of money, and as a little bit of an underdog in this race, I continue to earn additional support both financially and personally.”

Even as an underdog, Annissa Essaibi George is staying optimistic.

“I am so proud of the work that’s got me to this position, that I am a candidate for mayor — that I am a legitimate, top tier, high-quality, candidate for mayor — and I look forward to bringing experiences growing up in this city and my work to inform how I will lead this city in the future,” she said.

The Female Founders Summit highlights successes of female entrepreneurs

By Allie Kuo News Correspondent Almost a year after the sold-out Female Founders Summit was postponed at the start of the pandemic for health and safety reasons, it returned Feb. 17 of this year in a digitized and COVID-safe format. The event was put on by For Now, the store and retail incubator with locations in Seaport and Nantucket, and connected attendees with 28 female entrepreneurs for a day of panels, keynotes and “office hours” — all over Zoom.

For Now co-founders Katharine ReQua and Kaity Cimo are the organizers behind the Female Founders Summit. While the in-person summit was initially scheduled for March 12, 2020, it pivoted online this year, becoming a virtual conference inspired by their company’s strong network and community of like-minded, driven women.

“The overarching mission was really to inspire women who have either thought about starting a business or maybe they have an idea for one and

haven’t had the confidence to take the first step for it,” Cimo said.

When creating the list of women to join their lineup, Cimo said that they made an active effort to focus on diversity.

“We all come from different backgrounds and different careers, and the more diverse it is — whether that’s race or age or even role — is all just so helpful,” Cimo said. “For example, we don’t only have female founders speaking on the panel. We have women from larger corporations, because that perspective is also really valuable.”

Accessibility to these events is another element that encourages diversity, and For Now offered a 50% discount for attendees of color (tickets for this year’s digital event started at $50). Cimo attributes this discount to their desire “to be as inclusive as possible,” while also acknowledging that learning and growing “does take investment.”

“I think one of the things that every business owner needs to come to terms

with and be comfortable with is that you really have to invest time and money into your own success,” Cimo said.

“These events are expensive to put on, we’re a young business ourselves and can’t take on all the cost. But we also really wanted everyone to be opting in and investing and being engaged.”

This engagement and desire to build community was the ultimate mission of the Female Founders Summit. It was created to connect like-minded women, whether new to the business world or veterans in their industry.

“I think starting a business can be lonely unless you really surround yourself with women who have been through it,” Cimo said. “So it really was that, to bring inspiration and knowledge to women who want to succeed, like the panelists.”

ReQua and Cimo moderated the keynote speakers, including Cheryl Kaplan of M. Gemi, Mara Hoffman of her namesake brand, Ngozi Okaro of Custom Collaborative and Kerry Docherty of Faherty Brand.

Photo by Allie Kuo Kaity Cimo and Katharine ReQua brought together a diverse network of female entrepreneurs to the summit.

“Our keynotes are all just amazing,” Cimo said. “Some of them we know personally, so we talk to them on a monthly basis. And some we’ve never met before.”

Many of the speakers had previously worked with For Now, which has both a physical and online retail presence. The store carries the products of emerging designers and makers whose businesses have been around for two or three years — brands that are established enough to sell in a retail space but young enough to benefit from additional support. For Now provides a space for these brands to get everything from sales and awareness to product feedback.

“We make it easy to shop and support the best up-and-coming entrepreneurs,” Cimo said.

Since For Now’s inventory rotates every quarter, there is no shortage of new business partners. This constantly changing lineup means that Cimo and ReQua have not only developed relationships with their founders but have also seen relationships form between them.

“We’ve just worked with a lot of great founders and brands that we organically started connecting with each other like ‘Oh, you should meet this person’ or ‘This person has been through this, you should talk to them,’” Cimo said.

Beyond connecting within their business network, Cimo and ReQua also hosted events at their Seaport location that brought together experts and community members, covering topics from female entrepreneurship to sustainable manufacturing. These panels, which were limited to around

40 people due to the small store size, sold out every time and were the catalyst for creating the Female Founders Summit.

“Those two things — connecting founders with each other and holding these panels — were really just inspiring to us and so we wanted to do it on a larger scale,” Cimo said.

While this is the first time the event has come to fruition, Cimo is optimistic about its longevity and growth.

“Every year, we can build on it and just the more often we do it, the more credibility or awareness it will get. It’s all about getting the word out there,” she said.

With nearly every option of the “VIP” tickets sold out — which gave ticket holders access to “office hours” with speakers on topics from “How to Pitch the Media” to “Managing Supply and Demand” — and a steady stream of questions from attendees filling up the Zoom chat during sessions, participation in the summit was evident. Attendees also have access to recordings of the keynotes and panels until the end of March, giving them the opportunity to revisit sessions like “How to Approach Financing and Fundraising” and “Pandemic Pivots.”

And while the virtual format may be here to stay, Cimo sees it being combined with an in-person component for a hybrid version in the future, even in a post-COVID world. While the digital reach allows speakers to join from beyond the Boston area and encourages a wider audience, it is not quite enough to overshadow crucial parts of an in-person event.

LIFESTYLE

March 5, 2021

Page 5

Phoebe Bridgers brings emotional sound to Northeastern

By Clara McCourt Deputy Lifestyle Editor Northeastern welcomed singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers to its virtual stage Feb. 24 as a surprise event through the Council for University Programs, or CUP, in collaboration with the NU Live Music Association and Green Line Records.

Bridgers is best known for her melancholy indie-pop tunes. Her latest album, titled Punisher, earned her four Grammy nominations, including best new artist and best rock performance for her hit song “Kyoto.”

Bridgers’ Northeastern concert was more scaled-down than her usual electric performances. Armed with only her guitar, her webcam and her signature skeleton bodysuit, Bridgers delivered an impressive virtual performance.

Bridgers opened her set with “Kyoto,” followed by the gloomy “Moon Song” and “Chinese Satellite,” finishing her performance with “Motion Sickness” and “I Know the End.” Northeastern students enthusiasti-

cally responded to Bridgers’ performance. The chat feature on Zoom was bursting with Bridgers’ lyrics, crying emojis and even marriage proposals.

Bridgers made her mark on the music scene in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, working almost exclusively from home after the June 17 release of Punisher. “[Working from home] was weird, to say the least,” Bridgers said in the Q&A portion of the evening. “One of my favorite parts was that I got to play late-night shows in my pajamas.”

On Feb. 6, Bridgers safely transitioned to an in-person performance as the musical guest on “Saturday Night Live,” hosted by star of “Schitt’s Creek” Dan Levy. Bridgers jokingly described the experience as “horrific,” saying she felt a loss of control in a live setting.

“I was so used to sending in a video of me playing, controlling everything up to the audio,” Bridgers said. “I’m going to miss that.”

In addition to producing and performing from home, Bridgers also created her own record label, Saddest Factory Records. Bridgers referred to

herself as a “music fan as a musician” and created the label in October 2020 to amplify other artists.

“I wanted to bridge the gap between artists I love and the infrastructure that a label provides,” Bridgers said.

Bridgers has released two solo albums — with her debut Stranger in the Alps released in 2017 — but still collaborates in her other musical pursuits. Her indie rock band, boygenius, consists of Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker. The trio has also worked on both of Bridgers’ solo albums.

Bridgers has also collaborated with Conor Oberst under the name “Better Oblivion Community Center” and has been featured on songs by high-profile artists like Kid Cudi and The 1975. In November 2020, Bridgers released a cover of “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls with fellow singer-songwriter Maggie Rogers on Bandcamp. The pair donated the proceeds from the duet to Fair Fight, a voting rights organization created

by Stacey Abrams.

Despite her collaborations,

Bridgers explained, she still enjoys producing her own music.

“The freeing part [of producing solo music] is that I’m the boss,” Bridgers said, “but being in a band humbles me.”

In the Q&A portion, a student asked Bridgers a live question about her Grammy nomination for best rock performance, a category which is made up exclusively of female-fronted artists for the first time in Grammy history.

“Awards shows are never representative of the music scene as a whole, but this means that the world is moving in the right direction,” Bridgers said.

Bridgers also spoke of her beginnings in music. She experimented with different styles of music in high school, which she attended with fellow Grammy-nominated band HAIM. Ultimately, it wasn’t easy for Bridgers to cultivate her distinct soft, somber sound, which she described as requiring “trial and error.”

“What nobody tells you is that you have to be bad for a while to be a musician,” Bridgers said.

Pandemic Shakespeare builds virtual, global community through classic plays

By Matt Yan Lifestyle Editor For those looking to dive into Shakespeare’s classic plays and chat about them with others, a digital project at Northeastern created with the pandemic in mind allows students to do so.

“Pandemic Shakespeare was born out of that desire to use Shakespeare again … [to] test the flexibility of his plays to respond to crises, which has been how his plays have been used for hundreds of years now,” said Erika Boeckeler, an associate professor of English and principal investigator at Pandemic Shakespeare, which launched last summer.

With the help of graduate students and doctoral candidates in the English department, Boeckeler put together a website housing three of Shakespeare’s plays: “The Winter’s Tale,” “King Lear” and its most recent addition “Twelfth Night.”

Here, each

play acts like an active document where students can annotate the play, leaving comments on certain lines and replying to each other.

The goal is not only to facilitate conversation and collaboration in a virtual setting, but to also act as a means of catharsis — especially for those who resonate with certain themes of death, loss and sickness echoed in these plays and present in society amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s Shakespeare — it is timeless. The stories that he wrote … he couldn’t have ever known what was going to happen throughout history,” said Adriana Messina, a first-year graduate student studying global studies and international relations and publicist for Pandemic Shakespeare.

“We can still really easily connect with the characters who feel isolated, who feel scared of a sickness or feel cut off from the normal resources.”

This feeling of fear or isolation, Messina said, is “a human

Photo Courtesy Pandemic Shakespeare Pandemic Shakespeare’s logo reimagines a 16th-17th century printer’s device or icon with the coronavirus molecule.

feeling.” With the database, students now are able to come together when annotating the plays, albeit virtually.

The database isn’t just used by NU students, though.

“I wanted to have a way to use Shakespeare as part of a public conversation … [to] find a common ground, common language [or] common set of scenarios to talk about the pandemic — not just on a Northeastern level but a global level,” Boeckeler said.

Last fall, Boeckeler organized a partnership with Panjab University in Chandigarh, India, where students also use the database. Messina explained that the global aspect of the project is essential to its goal.

“It’s one thing that all of us are in it together,” Messina said. “We are all experiencing this together, and a lot of people are feeling the same feelings. I think Pandemic Shakespeare being global allows us to see that we’re not alone in how we might be feeling about the pandemic.”

Without the digital component, the opportunity to connect with students across the world wouldn’t exist. Pandemic Shakespeare used a content management system called Drupal, which is similar to WordPress, to build its website. The system uses plug-ins to help put the whole site together — something that was a lot easier than building an entire site from scratch in JavaScript, said Avery Blankenship, Pandemic Shakespeare’s web and database designer. For her, accessibility was a crucial component in its design.

“When I was first working on the website, I was really trying to keep accessibility in mind,” said Blankenship, a first-year doctoral candidate in English. “[I was] making sure that all the plays are very easily screen readable, that we didn’t violate any color blindness [and] that the text

was large enough to read — all of that stuff is very important to me.”

When setting up the annotation feature, rather than using a more common plug-in called Hypothesis, she used a plug-in called Annotator, which is a JavaScript library inputted into Drupal, Blankenship said. However, she explained that Annotator was a bit outdated and required her to rework the code with JavaScript, especially since it worked only on an older version of Drupal.

“The reason why I didn’t want to use Hypothesis is because Hypothesis sort of stores data on their platform, rather than letting the website sort of control all of the data [and] what gets stored,” she said. “I didn’t want to introduce a third party into the website, where then students would have to make a Hypothesis account.”

With Blankenship’s careful work, students now can engage in conversation on the website itself, which Boeckeler said is something students have received well.

“Some of them really love that it’s a dynamic conversation,” Boeckeler said. “This platform goes a little bit further than say, [a group annotation platform] like Perusall, in that it’s global and that it also really has questions about race and gender baked right into it.”

Ultimately, Pandemic Shakespeare is a place to learn and explore the classic text, serving also as a method of collaboration to make sense of the surrounding world.

“Even if we were under normal circumstances, and we were reading Shakespeare in a classroom, I think, in a way, there is something very valuable about doing this on an online platform,” Blankenship said.

“You’re really having to think about how other people in the world are thinking about these texts.”

Calendar compiled by Rachel Erwin and Clara McCourt Graphics by Alaine Bennett

Now - March 7 “Sensitive Guys” Watch the theatre department’s live Zoom comedy about toxic masculinity and sexual violence on college campuses.

Zoom, Pay what you can

Now - March 13 Virtual Architecture Tour Attend a virtual tour of the historic Boston Athenaeum, one of the oldest libraries in the United States.

Online, Free

Monday, March 8 International Women’s Day Virtual Brunch Join a panel of female leaders as they discuss racial justice, intersectional feminism and coronavirus recovery in the Boston area.

11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m., Online, Free

March 9 - March 22 “A Brimful of Asha” Stream ArtsEmerson’s play about a real-life mother and son and the generational clash between them.

Attend a live talkback with the pair on opening night.

Online, Pay what you can

Friday, March 12 “But Tonight I Bounce Back” Join NU Stage at their virtual cabaret, featuring high-energy songs meant to combat the negativity surrounding the past year.

8 p.m., YouTube Premieres, Free

SMALL BUSINESSES

Page 6

March 5, 2021

MINORITY OWNED BOSTON BUS

32% Photo courtesy Maria Vasco Maria Vasco owns UVida.

According to the city’s 2016 Small Business Plan, minorities own 32% of Boston’s businesses.

53% According to the city’s 2016 Small Business Plan, minority groups make up 53% of Boston’s population.

Latina-owned UVida combats climate change by bringing 'zero waste' to Boston

By Gabrielle Hernandez News corresponedent After bearing witness to disastrous floods, endless hurricane seasons and massive, blazing fires, many from younger generations are seeking change. Maria Vasco hopes to be a part of that change by bringing UVida, a store that sells zero-waste products, to Boston.

Zero-waste lifestyles have become increasingly popular over the last few years — consumers, especially millennials and Generation Z, are concerned about the environment and looking to invest in companies that seek to preserve their future and the future of the planet. The overwhelming amount of plastic in personal care items, kitchen goods and everyday products is devastating in the face of fighting global climate change.

Zero waste is not just about buying from environmentally-friendly companies. Adopting the lifestyle typically entails reducing the amount of plastic in everyday purchases. It is a challenging shift to make — if you take a tour of your own house, you might be apprehensive to give up your

favorite shampoos and face washes, tightly wrapped in plastic that will sit in a landfill for centuries. On top of that, it can be hard to find those products on a casual shopping trip, with few stores carrying truly plasticfree brands.

“Because there are not a lot of zero-waste stores, you have to go out of your way to be zero waste,” said Charlotte Collins, a third-year environmental studies major and co-president of Composting at Northeastern University, or CANU. Accessibility to zero-waste products remains one of the more common challenges for students trying to adopt a sustainable lifestyle.

In December 2019, Vasco decided to make zero-waste products more accessible to the average consumer.

With her environmental science background and interest in bringing the zero-waste lifestyle to Boston, she started UVida, an online store that carries beauty, health and household needs sans plastic.

Her business is the first zerowaste store in the city. Led by Vasco alone, the shop carries artisan products to jumpstart anyone’s zerowaste journey, ranging from deodorant with recyclable containers to solid dish soap.

“I did not know I was going to start a business,” Vasco said. “Boston did not have a store that was just plastic-free home essentials that people need.”

Vasco found inspiration in an environmental science class she took.

“My brain was exploding everyday.

I was learning something that I found to be really important,” Vasco said. “‘This is it, I have found what I am interested in and what motivates me to get out of bed in the morning.’”

While studying abroad for a semester in Madrid, Spain, Vasco found the solution to turning her passion for the environment into an entrepreneurial goal. Just below her apartment was one of a few zerowaste stores in Madrid. For Vasco, it was revolutionary — they sold bottles of sunscreen that could be brought back to the store for refills, significantly reducing the need for more plastic.

Born from these inspirations was

The black buildings in this graphic represent the roughly 32% of Boston businesses that are minority-owned.

UVida, which started with bamboo toothbrushes and water bottles, two things Vasco thought were essential and easy swaps for anyone that wanted to reduce their carbon footprint. Then, the pandemic started.

While many people newly in quarantine were cultivating sourdough starters and catching up on shows, Vasco began planning for her first storefront. As a college senior in 2020, Vasco graduated online into a dismal job market. She decided that instead of waiting for her UVida dreams to come true, she would make them happen.

“I just had to take the leap of faith … I was not happy at all at my fulltime job, so I quit and I decided to just aim to open my own storefront,” Vasco said. In December 2020, she launched UVida’s first permanent location at 28 Atlantic Ave. in the North End. “I cannot believe Boston didn’t have a zero-waste store before, it seems so counterintuitive because Boston is pretty sustainable as cities go,” Collins said.

Boston has some governmentled sustainability initiatives, such as switching to a renewable-based electrical grid and multiple private

composting companies. UVida’s new, permanent location in the North End will hopefully make plastic-reduction a new priority in Bostonians’ fight against climate change.

For the near future, Vasco has grand plans for UVida. With the storefront open, come February, Vasco is looking to add a refill station allowing customers to easily refill their sunscreen, shampoo and face washes. Post-pandemic, her dreams are even bigger.

“I am prepared. I have this storefront, I know this movement is happening,” Vasco said.

With the space she has, she wants to host events and free community classes highlighting sustainability and teaching people how to adopt a zero-waste lifestyle.

“Just dip your toe in and see if you like it — see if you like that product, see if it makes your skin feel better, see if you feel better about how you treat the planet,” Vasco said, encouraging others to help change the environment with one less plastic product at a time.

SMALL BUSINESSES

March 5, 2021

Page 7

SINESSES

9%

84% In the article, “White Male-Owned Businesses In MA Received Majority Of PPP Loans,” Christopher Huffaker found that 84% of PPP loans went to businesses owned by white people.

According to the city’s 2016 Small Business Plan, immigrants owned 9% of firms with employees

Photo by Katie Mogg David Atkinson owns Wingz and Tingz.

The Boston Black Restaurant Challenge shines light on Black-owned restaurants

By Katie Mogg News staff To bring more business to Blackowned restaurants throughout Greater Boston, State Rep. Chynah Tyler, who represents the seventh district of Suffolk, created the Boston Black Restaurant Challenge.

Encouraging consumers to visit at least one Black-owned restaurant per week, the challenge aims to funnel customers to Black-owned restaurants during Black History Month.

However, this initiative is about a lot more than just drawing attention to restaurants. The underlying mission is to close the inequality gap between white and Black communities.

“The average net worth for a Black family is $8 as opposed to over $250,000 to their white counterpart,” Tyler said. “My goal is to be able to do whatever I can to be able to close that gap, but more importantly, to create generational wealth when it comes to Black families.”

Tyler created the challenge in 2018. With the pandemic inhibiting in-person gatherings and large events, Tyler had to readjust.

“In the past we used to do a really big kickoff at these restaurants, and we used to have to buy a big bulk of supplies and foods and different appetizers for people to be

able to try to catch their interest,” Tyler said.

Now, Tyler promotes Black-owned restaurants by posting weekly videos on social media.

Tyler explained that the pandemic made the challenge even more crucial because the economic difficulties that Black owners face have become exacerbated.

Black businesses are already far more likely to shut down within their first year of opening, Tyler said.

With countless businesses across the country biting the dust due to economic inactivity during the pandemic, the challenge serves as a way to keep Black businesses afloat during these trying times.

“A Black business is almost 80% likely to fail within the first year of it coming on board,” Tyler said.

“And so while the goal of the Black Restaurant Challenge is to create year-round support for Blackowned restaurants and businesses, more broadly speaking, we have to address the pain happening in our communities right now.”

David Atkinson, owner of Wingz and Tingz, saw firsthand the

pressures the pandemic put on his business this February.

“It’s a short month. People have bills. So with that being said, things that are a ‘want’ and not a ‘need’ slow down,” Atkinson said. “My food is fun food, it’s a ‘want’ food. So I kind of have an understanding why it’s going in the direction I’m in. But you just have to be prepared for times like this.”

Shary Browne, the owner of Shea Butter Smoothies, has noticed an increase in business that combats the losses the pandemic spurred.

“I think [business] has expanded throughout the whole year,” Browne said. “A lot of people came to us and said ‘Oh, we heard about you,’ whether it was through the Black Restaurant Challenge last year or just word of mouth. So I just think it definitely brings awareness overall.”

Despite the struggles the pandemic presents, Atkinson has plans to properly

celebrate Black History Month in the future. He anticipates hosting a tasting event to highlight the wide array of chicken wings and ethnic cuisines such as Jamaican and Hispanic dishes.

To make the event extra special, Atkinson plans on inviting his mother to visit Wingz and Tingz, a full-circle moment for his family since Atkinson first worked in the restaurant business with his mom in 1999.

“So where I started with my mom, now I have the opportunity to invite my mom into my store,” Atkinson said. “She’s gonna bring her business in here, and we’re going to join again where we started and we’re hoping that’s going to bring more business and make people more happy.”

The Boston Black Restaurant Challenge promotes over 65 restaurants that offer a wide variety of options. Wingz and Tingz and Shea Butter Smoothies highlight the diversity among the list. While meatlovers can visit Wingz and Tingz to fulfill a fried foods fix, Shea Butter Smoothies provides smoothies filled with fruits and vegetables, even offering vegan alternatives.

“We are a healthy, cool, fun spot for our community,” Browne said.

“We’re

definitely trying to promote health and wellness through beverages such as smoothies and fresh pressed juices.”

While these two restaurants offer menus on opposite ends of the spectrum, the fundamental purposes are still similar – promoting health in their community through delicious food and drinks.

“I want the world to know that we started our business really to help our community and to provide healthy, fast, fried food,” Atkinson said. “So basically, I want the world to know that our food is fresh, it’s not processed and we love what we do and we do everything with passion and a smile.”

Although the pandemic is preventing consumers from dining in at restaurants, take-out options like Uber Eats and GrubHub can still be used to support them. Through the Boston Black Restaurant Challenge, quality yet lesser-known businesses have the opportunity to be at the forefront of the consumer’s mind.

“I think that the barrier in the past was knowing that these places actually exist,” Tyler said. “We’re doing what we can, and we’re trying to spread our businesses as far and wide as we can possibly spread [them].”

SPORTS

Page 8

March 5, 2021

No. 2 women’s hockey poised for Hockey East playoff run and beyond

By George Barker News Staff At long last, the Hockey East postseason is upon us. Tonight, the No. 2 women’s hockey team will face the visiting UNH Wildcats in the Hockey East quarterfinals, a game that will hopefully be just a stepping stone to much greater glory for the reigning Hockey East champion Huskies.

During NU’s (17-1-1, 17-1-1 HEA) final series of the season against UVM (6-4-0, 6-4-0 HEA), NU head coach Dave Flint noted that while another Hockey East crown and the work required to grab one are nothing to overlook, his team has a national title on their mind once again.

Last season, NU burst through the Hockey East postseason with relative ease, claiming the conference title in a 9-1 rout over UConn and looking primed to compete in the Frozen Four before COVID-19 shut their plans down.

NU only graduated three seniors after that cancellation, giving them the same core with the same aspirations this season.

The Huskies certainly delivered upon the expectations set by Flint and themselves and finished their regular season well ahead of any of their peers with 51 regular season points. While second-place Boston College (14-4-0, 14-4-0 HEA) claimed just 40 points and no other team had a points percentage anywhere near NU’s .895 mark, Hockey East still opted to not declare a regular season winner this year, providing the Huskies a bit of additional bulletin board material.

“The team was disappointed with the decision [of not naming a] regular season championship this year, but I said, ‘Hey, listen, the regular season trophy is still here, and you know what? We earned it,’” Flint said. “People can say whatever they want to say, but at the end of the day, it was still a regular season championship in our eyes. It’s definitely added motivation for them.”

Currently, NU has a 17-game unbeaten streak, a 13-game winning streak and a three-year Hockey East championship streak.

How did NU get here?

The usual suspects delivered for NU, with junior forwards Alina Mueller and Chloé Aurard leading Hockey East in assists and goals, respectively, while senior defender Skylar Fontaine won the Hockey East

Photo by Ethan Wayne Sophomore forward Katy Knoll scored her 10th goal of the season, bringing the team to a 4-1 win against UVM.

defenseman scoring race with ease.

Mueller finished with a scoring line of 9-22-31, Aurard carried one of 13-8-21, while Fontaine impressed with a 9-12-21 line. The trio were Hockey East’s top three point-getters per game.

No discussion of NU’s dominance this year would be complete without mentioning senior goaltender Aerin Frankel, who started 17 games for NU this season and notched a shutout in eight of them en route to an absurd 0.65 GAA and .971 save percentage. Predictably, Frankel was named Hockey East Goaltender of the Year.

The classic core four, who were all named Hockey East First-Team All-Stars, were aided by senior captain blueliner Brooke Hobson, who doesn’t notch the same lofty point totals as some of her D-partners but brings a strong defensive presence alongside the aggressive Fontaine. Hobson was a part of arguably the scariest five-skater unit in women’s college hockey alongside the aforementioned Mueller, Aurard, Fontaine and redshirt junior transfer forward Maureen Murphy.

Murphy got a later start to the season, but her insertion into the Huskies’ top line had a noticeable impact on how opponents played NU’s top unit. Murphy finished with a 5-9-14 line in 10 games, while Hobson earned a 2-11-13 line in 19 contests. With those five on the ice, opposing defenders were visibly more cautious and wary of protecting the front of their net, giving the Huskies pseudo power-play chances a few times a game.

Hobson earned Second Team Hockey East All-Star honors, while Murphy was elected to the Third Team All-Stars.

“My philosophy has always been if you can

load up one line and make a really dangerous line, I like to do that,” Flint said after the team’s 8-0 win over Holy Cross earlier this season, which he referenced as one of their most complete victories this season.

“Every time they step on the ice, they make teams sweat. They work hard, they’re starting to get some chemistry now.”

In addition to the “fearsome five,” sophomore blueliner Megan Carter and sophomore center Katy Knoll took huge steps in their development this season after successful freshman campaigns. Knoll had the secondmost goals on the team, with 10, while anchoring the second line, and Carter brought a top-tier two-way game to NU’s blueline with seven points in the team’s final five games.

If their top scoring threats weren’t scary enough though, Northeastern carries enough scoring depth to roll four goal-scoring forward lines, so much that Flint doesn’t even consider there to be much of a difference in talent between their third and fourth unit.

“Our players playing against the elite athletes on our team forces them to get better every day… It takes some of the pressure off of our top line and our top players to know that we can rely on other lines to score,” Flint said. “The nice luxury of having third and fourth lines that we can really rely on is it gives our top kids who are playing a ton of minutes a little more of a breather.

They’re a little more fresh when they need to be on the power play or penalty kill.”

Who will the Huskies face first?

Like the regular season, the postseason comes with some extra COVID-19-induced challenges, mainly that every round of the playoffs will be single elimination, removing some of the protection afforded to top seeds like NU in the early rounds of past tournaments.

UNH (7-13-1, 7-13-1 HEA) is one of just two teams to grab points against the Huskies in the regular season, as they played NU to a tie Jan. 9 and went on to win the ensuing shootout.

Northeastern won their other three games against UNH 3-1, 6-1 and 4-1, and that 6-1 contest was realistically a 3-1 win for NU as the Huskies’ final three goals came in the last three minutes of the game, two of them on an empty net. UNH has played a physical brand of hockey this season, with 5’11” freshman forward Chavonne Truter, 5’10” senior defender Julia Scammell and 5’11” redshirt junior forward Paige Rynne giving the Wildcats quite a bit of size to work with. NU’s last game against UNH was one of the most physical games Flint had seen in a long while.

“They’re big,

they’re physical, they’re going to try to slow us down. We need to move our feet, keep our composure,” Flint said. “They’ll take some penalties, and we need to take advantage when we get on the power play. I don’t think it changes our game plan at all; we’ll do what we’re going to do and

This year’s playoffs are just single elimination, so anything can happen. We need to be ready, and the important thing too is we got to stay healthy.

— Dave Flint Head coach make them adjust to us.”

Truter was one of UNH’s better scoring threats in addition to bringing a physical edge, but the Wildcats’ top scoring options are freshman forward Nicole Kelly (5-9-14), junior center Lauren Martin (5-6-11) and sophomore forward Tamara Thierus (4-5-9).

Redshirt junior goaltender Ava Boutilier (2.43 GAA and .919 save percentage in 19 games) proved to be one of the more difficult dams to break for NU scorers this season, even if the games’ final scores don’t particularly reflect that and her defenders play tight around her net to block any pucks shot from the perimeter. UNH junior defender Emily Rickwood led Hockey East with 48 blocks this year, and outside of UVM, their defense was the only one that looked respectable against NU in 2021.

“I watched the game last night and Holy Cross was very perimeter and all the shots were from outside.

She’ll stop those all day long, so we need to get into those dirty areas,” Flint said. “We need to get traffic in front of her. If we can do that, we’ll have success. If we play perimeter, we’re throwing shots from the outside, nobody’s driving the net, we’re going to have a tough time getting pucks by her.”

The Huskies won the contest against UNH 7-0 and also won the Hockey East semifinals against UConn 2-1. They will play Providence Saturday night at Matthews Arena for a shot at their fourth straight Hockey East Championship.

SPORTS

March 5, 2021

Page 9

College Hockey for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion looks to increase opportunity, spread awareness

By Eamonn Ryan Deputy Sports Editor Hockey has historically been a predominantly white sport with marginal amounts of diversity compared to other sports such as baseball or basketball, but College Hockey for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, or College Hockey for DEI — a new initiative launched this month by 26 members of the 11 college hockey conferences — is looking to change that.

The organization announced their creation and the launch of their website Feb. 10 in a virtual press conference. Their mission is to promote cultural change in the sport of hockey via four avenues: communication, education, allyship and advocacy.

“To be a transformative leader and change agent, I felt compelled to enter the national discussion for a sport that means so much to our Northeastern community,” said Jeff Konya, the Northeastern University director of athletics and College Hockey for DEI committee member, in the opening press conference.

“Fortunately there were many across the collegiate hockey landscape that shared my passion and our collective departments’ impetus for trying to make a difference one shift at a time.”

At the press conference, Konya joined Western College Hockey Association women’s league commissioner Jennifer Flowers, University of Nebraska assistant coach Paul Jerrard and four studentathletes as they unveiled their mission and fielded questions.

The group said that there has been a need for this type of initiative for a long time, citing hockey’s overwhelmingly white demographic makeup and the importance of continued discussion and action within locker rooms. Members of the

Photo by Harriet Rovniak

Northeastern men’s hockey team felt the group was a step in the right direction as well. “[The committee’s] using college hockey as a platform,” said sophomore defenseman Jayden Struble. “That’s more of the bigger picture ... it is good that it’s focused on communication and resources throughout their slogan and campaign. I think that they’re on the right track, and it’s good to see them taking strides in an active effort to try to help things out.”

Konya’s inclusion on the committee adds to the number of initiatives the university’s athletic department has taken to increase diversity since the killing of George Floyd in May 2020. The department worked with athletes to create the Northeastern University Black Athlete Caucus over the summer and has put out numerous messages in support of people of color.

For players like Struble, the efforts of Konya and the committee show an effort to promote real change. “[Konya] reached out to me a couple months prior and recently, when he actually accepted the position, just to let me know, like, ‘Hey, your words you shared were a big reason why I decided to take up the committee,’” Struble said. “It means a lot because he is at the top of our athletic department and he represents us and me, so it’s really nice to see ... he’s definitely been doing a great job with all this.”

Back in June, at the height of the Black Lives Matter movement, Struble went viral on Twitter when he spoke out in support of social change and called teammates, coaches and fans to action. His words and the ensuing discussions between his teammates and coaches opened their eyes to the real issues that Black people face both on and off the ice.

Photo courtesy Northeastern Athletics Northeastern director of athletics Jeff Konya is one of 26 committee members focused on spreading awareness about and improving diversity in hockey.

“We had a team Zoom just talking about the struggles around Black players in hockey and minority players in hockey. Just having that open discussion led to a learning opportunity for myself and I’m sure our other teammates as well,” said Jordan Harris, assistant captain and junior defenseman.

The meetings the team had were similar to meetings happening in and between locker rooms across the country. College Hockey for DEI formed because of these types of conversations — players, coaches and league leadership members all worked together to find a way to make a positive impact on the entire hockey landscape. “[The commissioners] had some really honest conversations and

there was a commitment right away from all of us that this needed to be something that everybody was brought into,” Flowers said.

The creation of this committee does not mean the work is done, however, as they still believe that there are issues that need to be addressed. One of these problems, according to Struble, is the racism that players face.

“Honestly, it starts with just racism as a whole just being eliminated first when you talk about making people feel comfortable, and then diversity; maybe we’d have more people of color play the sport,” Struble said.

“It is obviously predominantly white and I don’t think it has to be ... I definitely could see some more faces in the game.”

Struble says he sees Black players are turned away from the game at a young age and are told that the sport is not for them.

Without equal

opportunity and encouragement, minority players won’t feel as compelled to continue and ultimately make it to the collegiate or professional level.

“It’s when you’re growing up and you’re getting told, ‘Stick to basketball,’ or something like that, and I feel like a lot of people maybe just do,” he said. “They’ll pick another sport or shy away from [hockey] because of the social implications of it; I think that more of that ‘Hockey is for everyone’ slogan, just hammering that home, it starts with that.”

NU men’s hockey head coach Jim Madigan, while not a part of the committee, believes that this type of initiative can help make hockey more diverse but also thinks that every sport needs a similar organization. In terms of changes, he said that it really starts with giving opportunities to those who might not receive them often.

“The more awareness and education we can have around [diversity] I think is really good and hopefully then it enables us to attract more people of color to play the sport,” Madigan said. “One of the things we’ve talked about here at Northeastern hockey is being involved in some youth programs and groups that are here around the Boston area that are based on more representation of African Americans and Latinos.”

College Hockey for DEI knows that the issue of diversity and inclusion is complex and difficult to tackle, so they are trying to take it slow and move forward step by step.

“We believe our collective voices and our unique ability to work together as a sport provides us an opportunity to make a difference,” Flowers said. “We will approach this challenging and necessary work just like we play our game: one shift at a time.”

OPINION

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

Valeria Vazquez

Op-ed: Northeastern isn’t “Protecting the Pack” when it ignores mental health

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Editor’s note: The Huntington News wants students to know Northeastern University and elsewhere provide mental health resources for students.

• WeCare: wecare@northeastern.edu, 617-373-7591, 226 Curry • University Health and Counseling Services (UHCS): uhcs@northeastern.edu, 617-373-2772, Forsyth Building, 1st Floor • 24/7 Mental Health Support: for students by phone (FIND@ Northeastern) – 877-233-9477 (U.S.), 781-457-7777 (international) • Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800273-8255 • Network of Care Massachusetts: COVID-19 mental health support

Last September, before coming to campus, I wrote an op-ed about Northeastern’s hypocrisy in asking students to “protect the pack” while at the same time ignoring the

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demands and needs of the community, specifically demands for better mental health treatment. Now that a pandemic semester has passed, I would like to reinstate and update my position on the matter.

My initial view was that the entire system of mental health support was broken and poorly funded, with the blame falling squarely on University Health and Counseling Services, or UHCS. I now know that this isn’t exactly the case.

I first began to change my mind when I read statements from UHCS Executive Director Christine Civiletto from last December. What struck me was her empathy toward the students who had spoken out against the department and her willingness to adapt to student demands. Developing online tools to help students find therapists and partnering with student groups to provide support are small steps to better UHCS, but something significant is still missing. In my mind, that “something” is an expansion of health resources, which includes hiring more counselors and physicians to service the community. Civiletto suggests that this could be done, but it is seemingly impossible with the department’s limited budget and resources. At the moment, UHCS’ student-to-therapist ratio is around 1,300 to one. For comparison, MIT’s ratio is about 140 to 1.

I find this deeply troubling because I know that Northeastern is not short of money. In the past month, the Student Government Association passed a referendum requesting that the administration increase UCHS’ budget to hire more counselors. I’ll believe it when I see it.

Look at the giant hole in the ground filled with cranes, trucks, concrete and steel that will soon become a second science and engineering complex. Or what about the recently announced plans for a second LightView apartment complex, which has brought on a well-deserved lawsuit from Roxbury residents combating gentrification?

You’re telling me that there’s always been enough money for these structural behemoths and never enough money to hire new therapists, who are likely paid a paltry fraction of the cost of a construction project in downtown Boston? These issues seem much larger than UHCS, with foundations in the pocketbooks of the university.

Which leads me to ask: What does our school prioritize?

It is no longer the health and education of its student body, for these are only the tools used to garner a higher national ranking. It is only now that I realize Northeastern only cares about its profits and donations, its national image and its board of directors.

There are those who will say this is to be expected from a private institution, since they are businesses that must make money to survive. I say that this is not a school being described, but a firm treating its students as materials and products who will go out into the world and hopefully donate later — one needs only to look at the annual “Giving Day” to understand the university’s desire for money from its students, many of whom are already struggling with debt.

If we are being treated as emotionless materials and products, then we aren’t being trained to be “robot-proof.” We’re just becoming robots. To understand

Northeastern’s focus on ranking and profit, one can also look at the building projects I described above. The building and enhancement of dorms and engineering facilities are sexy, exterior additions that can easily be shown off in an advertisement or tour.

The problem is: Mental health isn’t sexy. In an era where mental health still remains a taboo topic, campus tours aren’t likely to talk about how many therapists are on campus, so the entire health department has its budgets cut and tucked into the corner of a building hardly anyone can find.

But let me offer the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps the administrators deciding budgets and crafting slogans don’t truly understand the seriousness of mental health and how deep the abyss really is for those who suffer from these illnesses. Maybe they haven’t sat on the floor of their kitchen in the middle of the night, trying to silence their crying to avoid waking up their roommates; maybe they haven’t felt the crushing weight of loneliness that forces the air out of their lungs; maybe they haven’t tested to see how “suicide-proof” the dorm windows really are.

But I have. And it feels like they haven’t.

To me, this isn’t about business, nor is it about budgets or donors. It’s my life. So, I’m begging you, Northeastern, to truly put in the effort to protect the pack, because it seems you care more about the guarantee of a donation than the guarantee of my safety.

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

Op-ed: In defense of the snow day

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March 5, 2021

Photo by Harriet Rovniak The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc across the United States, and it may soon claim another victim: the snow day.

According to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, snow days may be a “thing of the past” for New York City’s public school students.

“As a parent — and I was a kid once myself — I have to say I feel a little sad that the snow day we used to all know may be gone because it’s really not going to be a day off if we have a snow day,” de Blasio said after New York City faced snow squalls in December.

Is nothing sacred, Mr. Mayor? (As a side note, has anyone fact-checked that de Blasio was, in fact, once a kid? I don’t know if I’m buying it.)

We’ve already lost so many important days during the pandemic — graduations, birthdays, Coachella, etc. Adding snow days to the list of things that could only be treasured

pre-pandemic would be a crime on par with letting your five friends cut the sandwich line at Rebecca’s during the lunch rush.

Of course, there are logical arguments for the continuation of the snow day, arguments touting educational equity and accessibility. Not every home has a computer or reliable internet, and even those that do may face challenges when there are competing Zoom meetings vying for wifi bars. Personally, I don’t think I ever fully comprehended high school biology, but I know I’d never be able to pretend I understood apoptosis come test time if my teacher’s every third word cut out due to a shoddy or overworked internet connection.

Students may also face challenges finding a place to work in their home, especially students with siblings or parents who also have to stay home as a result of bad weather. Requiring kids to learn how to switch from in-person to remote learning at the drop of a pin could mean that some students end up having to do English class from the bathroom, or worse, the room with all those things someone in the family (looking at you, Dad) thinks they might really need one day. The room someone else in the family (Mom) always says is “off-limits” when guests are over. It’s probably the same one where your rollerblades and recorder from fourth grade music class are stored. You know the one. And no one should have to do English class from there.

Research has also shown that moving learning online not only increases the achievement gaps among students, but also lowers achievement across the board. In research published on the education reform publication Education Next, Joshua Goodman, an associate professor of economics at Boston University, found that math scores on standardized tests drop by up to 5% of a standard deviation with every one-day increase in the rate of absences caused by bad weather.

However, according to Goodman’s article, test scores were unaffected by “instructional time lost to weather-related school closings.” Goodman concludes his article noting that superintendents ought to err on the side of cancellation when a storm seems likely to impact attendance.

This research is important to note when considering who will be “absent” from remote learning: likely those who are already at a disadvantage, those without internet access at home, those who have to serve as caregivers and teachers to younger siblings while parents go to work.

These are all critical things for superintendents to consider before cancelling the snow day. However, there are also plenty of less critical — but more fun — reasons for keeping the snow day around.

Weather in New England is objectively miserable for a large chunk of the year. If you’ve ever endured a January, February or March in Boston,

you know this to be true. Snow days and Super Bowl championships are the small returns on investment New Englanders get for putting up with freezing temperatures and seasonal-depression-inducing months of gray skies.

If schools do decide to replace the snow day with a remote learning day, the magic and excitement of an impending snow storm will disappear.

Instead of a collective whoop for joy after getting the cancellation call from the principal or superintendent, there will be a collective groan from students who find out that, instead of a day of sledding and snowball fights, they’ll be doing school sans the fun parts (lunch period, recess, seeing friends). We’ll end up creating entire generations of kids who see snow as a wet blanket instead of a gift, a HailMary, another day to put off figuring what apoptosis is.

Of course, in the 2020 school year, students did lose so many critical days of learning. It’s understandable that in the wake of this, school officials, teachers and parents might feel that students cannot afford to lose even one more day. However, when the pandemic ends, whenever that may be, schools should consider keeping snow days as a tribute to what the relief of a mid-week blizzard once meant.

Kelly Garrity is a fourth-year political science major. She can be reached at garrity.k@northeastern.edu.

OPINION

March 5, 2021

Page 11

Column: Northeastern Hillel’s absurd statement on Angela Davis

Photo by Harriet Rovniak In the year 2021, America sees a concerning rise of anti-Semitism.

Neo-Nazis feel emboldened to flaunt their bigotry in the streets and in the U.S. Capitol, while hate crimes have increased across the country. A significant number of U.S. congresspeople (all Republicans) have supported numerous anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, such as QAnon, which is lifted directly from the age old “blood libel” canard, which holds that Jews drink the blood of Christian children.

With this in mind, there is much reason for hope, especially for solidarity between marginalized groups.

It is disheartening to see so much of our national discourse on anti-Semitism occupied by a fool’s errand: the equation of anti-Zionism or Palestinian solidarity with anti-Semitism.

Yet, perhaps predictably, this has been the response of Northeastern Hillel to the Northeastern Honors event with Angela Davis. After the Feb. 15 event, Hillel released a statement on social media accusing Davis of supporting anti-Semitic movements.

The lack of real thought put into the smear highlights how baseless it is. The only actual objectionable

statement Hillel can reference is the alleged “Zionist fascists and opponents of socialism.” If it is true that Davis said these words, this would undoubtedly be a callous thing to say about political prisoners. The only problem is that Davis never said this. The quote originates from Alan Dershowitz’s book “Chutzpah.” Dershowitz, a friend of Jeffrey Epstein, was criticized by Jewish groups for allegedly making things up in the book. Dershowitz claims that when he called Davis’ secretary, he was told that the Soviet Jews in question were not political prisoners, that they were “Zionist fascists and opponents of socialism.” Even if Dershowitz’s words are taken at face value, something that can’t be assumed due to his penchant for misrepresenting facts and blatantly lying, the phrase in question was not even said by Davis.

Alan Dershowitz slings the charge of anti-Semitic at anyone he dislikes.

In his worldview, Davis can be easily labelled anti-Semitic, but to use the term to describe Steve Bannon, a white supremacist and key figure in the global “alt-right” movement, is unfair. One would think that Hillel would have researched the actual incident in question before falsely accusing Davis.

Hillel’s objection “to the politicization of the conversation of the State of Israel” is completely irrelevant, considering Davis’ speaking event was not about the Palestine-Israel issue. Furthermore, the assertion is meaningless given the fact that, of course, the issue is political. How could it not be? References to the Abraham Accords are especially perplexing in the context of a “peaceful and harmonious coexistence,” because the normalization of relations between numerous Arab nations and Israel was not done in the name of peace. For example, the Israeli government has worked with Morocco

for decades to exchange arms and intelligence. This is no surprise, as such collaboration is often to the benefit of regimes that seek to stifle opposition.

After the deal Hillel claims will usher in peace, the United States approved a $1 billion Moroccan arms deal. The collaboration of oppressive governments for their own interests, and not those of their people, should not be encouraged.

To speak of peace in any manner regarding the state of Israel while its occupation of Palestine continues, is absurd. Netanyahu’s government can sign all the arms deals he likes, but they are merely emblems of a negative peace predicated on ignoring the perpetual state sanctioned violence against the Palestinian people. The oppression of any marginalized people is seen as unacceptable to Angela Davis, and it is this that she has dedicated her life to fighting.

Referring to Davis as an elder stuck in past stupor is a childish, frankly racist barb that deserves little response. Professor Davis has walked this earth longer than Israel has been a country, and we appreciate her insight about the movements she has dedicated her life to fighting for.

The views that Hillel is allowed to get away with endorsing about Palestinian people are absolutely horrific, especially considering how a tenuous six degrees of separation connection between the Students for Justice in Palestine and a group the U.S. deems a terrorist organization was enough to warrant endless debate in the Student Government Association last November. There is no backlash when Hillel likes tweets opining that “If only Palestinian children were given toys to play with & not taught to kill & glorify terror.” Dehumanization of any people, especially children, is wrong, and to present these traditionally fascist rhetoric as empowering to the Jewish communi-

ty is despicable.

Hillel’s stance on what counts as anti-Semitism, if taken as true, would negate the commendable human rights work of countless Jewish activists, and would cast them as either anti-Semites or “bad Jews.” Davis’ critique of the Israeli government (not the Jewish people), is the same held by B’Tselem, a leading human rights organization in Israel that has been harassed by the government for challenging its apartheid state. The Israeli state operates by the maxim that it cannot end its occupation, but that it has no obligation to the people it holds violently under that occupation. To call this apartheid is not to slander the Jewish people, it is to state a basic reality that would not be controversial under any other circumstances.

The framing of Boycott Divest & Sanction, or BDS, as discriminatory is especially insulting when referring to Davis, considering the role boycotts and sanctions played in both the Civil Rights Movement and the struggle against apartheid in South Africa (leaders of both these

movements, such as James Baldwin and Nelson Mandela, also supported Palestine). A boycott cannot be discriminatory because it targets a specific entity; indeed, that is the very purpose of it, to exact a specific policy preference. Hillel’s logic would cast literally every targeted economic action as discriminatory. It also blatantly lies about the scope of BDS: it calls for divestment from businesses that support the Israeli apartheid state, not to boycott Jews in particular.

Angela Davis came to Northeastern to reaffirm her commitment to the destruction of all oppressive systems. Hillel’s statement fails to comprehend the notion that to acknowledge the struggle of one group in no way minimizes that of another. Indeed, if we are lucky, that recognition will be the beginning of solidarity between the oppressed people of the world.

Noah Colbert is a first-year mathematics and political science combined major. He can be reached at colbert.n@northeastern.edu.

“Angela Davis, painted portrait IMG_6929004” by Abode of Chaos is licensed under CC BY 2.0 Abolitionist Angela Davis spoke to the NU community Feb. 15.

Column: President Joe Biden is not a president for all; he is a dictator for all

Photo courtesy Madison Boudreau Popovic Toward the end of January, Donald J. Trump’s term came to a close as President Joe Biden officially took on his first term in office. Within a few days of the start of his presidency, Biden insisted on not just passing one or two executive orders, but 29 in

conjunction with 14 memorandums and proclamations. In an attempt to instill his agenda upon Americans, he chooses to ignore the rightful process of passing laws that was put into place to give all Americans rightful representation and, in doing so, ignores nearly half of the United States population. It seems to me that Biden is acting more like a dictator than a president for all people.

To put Biden’s 29 executive orders into context, presidents before him did not pass nearly as many during the beginning of their terms. Trump and Obama both signed five executive orders in their first week. Some presidents signed zero. 29 executive orders is a big leap from zero and five. So why should the American people allow him to keep going at this ridiculous rate? The answer is that they should not.

Biden promised Americans that he would be everyone’s president.

But how can he do this when he does not even consult Congress when implementing policies? Even though Biden’s actions are constitutional, it does not make the excessive use of executive orders morally right. It goes against democracy at its core.

The United States government is designed so that proposed bills go through the House of Representatives and the Senate for approval.

Those serving in the House and the Senate are elected to represent the people of the United States. But what happens when bills are no longer put through the proper process and the president chooses to bypass Congress? The voices of the people become stifled. Given this information, it is noteworthy that Congress has the power to override executive

orders if they are deemed overused.

It is now more appropriate than ever for Congress to utilize this power as Biden ignores many Americans.

While presidents in the past used executive orders to push their agenda, these actions can be easily undone by their successor. An executive order is by no means permanent. Sure, at the moment when it is passed, it can act like a law. However, as soon as the president decides to do away with such orders, those executive orders are extremely easy to get rid of. Trump put a stop to many of Obama’s executive orders and replaced them with his very own.

So why is Biden continuing in this tradition and opting to take the easy way out? It is as if he wants to stick a Band-Aid over a giant bullet wound.

Or rather, many bullet wounds.

What can Americans do about

this? Not much. They can continue to complain on social media about his excessive executive actions. But ultimately, Republicans and Democrats in Congress must stand up to this dictator on the rise. If they do not, American society will become even more fractured and polarized than it is now (if that is even possible). There is an obvious pattern of increasing executive orders; presidents must not continue to use these orders as a crutch whenever it is too much of a hassle to try to pass a law. It is time to see Biden for who he really is — a power-hungry politician who does not wish to be a president for all.

Madison Boudreau Popovic is a first-year political science and business administration combined major. She can be reached at popovic.m@northeastern.edu.

Page 12

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