November 29, 2018

The Huntington News Vol. XII No. 5

File photo by Alyssa Lukpat Former SGA president Nathan Hostert, left, resigned.

The independent student newspaper of the Northeastern community

November 29, 2018

HOSTERT RESIGNS

ENDING STIGMA

Nathan Hostert resigned from his position as president of the Student Government Association on Nov. 19. According to the meeting minutes, the Executive Communications Director requested that Senate members not make his resignation public. His resignation means Executive Vice President Dylan Balcom is president.

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Very few students say they personally would think less of someone for seeking mental health treatment, but nearly half of students say most people would think less of someone for doing so. This negative stigma surrounding mental illness is largely perceived because of widespread silence on the topic, researchers say.

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Photo courtesy Isaac Feldberg Izzie Irizarry, right, organized two campus suicide prevention walks.

Photos by Dylan Shen In a demonstration Nov. 15, full-time non-tenure track faculty marched to President Joseph E. Aoun’s office requesting the administration recognize their right to vote to form a union.

FULL-TIME ADJUNCT FACULTY PROTEST FOR RIGHT TO UNIONIZE

By Christopher Butler Campus Editor Full-time non-tenure track faculty members of Northeastern marched from Centennial Common to President Joseph E. Aoun’s office Nov. 15 to deliver an open letter requesting their right to hold an election to form a union.

The demonstration was organized in part by Service Employees International Union Local 509, or SEIU, which is the Massachusetts union for human service workers and educators. The purpose was to deliver an open letter to Aoun asking the administration to reconsider their response and grant the faculty the right to vote to form a union.

“We want [Aoun] to recognize our right to go to an election, which is something that is being contested right now by the university,” said Somy Kim, an associate teaching professor of English.

On Nov. 5, Northeastern’s full-

time non-tenure track faculty, a group of teaching staff hired on a one-year renewable contract, submitted a signed petition to the National Labor Relations Board, or NLRB, stating they wanted to vote on whether or not to form a union.

After submission, the university responded, deeming the faculty as managerial staff. Managerial staff cannot form a union and hold financial, admissions or curriculum development responsibilities.

“The university has come back and said they don’t agree that we even have the right to form a union because they consider us managers,” said Pete Fraunholtz, an assistant teaching professor of history. “I have none of those [responsibilities]. I never have. None of my colleagues here do.”

In an email sent to faculty Nov. 8 and obtained by The News, Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Debra L. Franko said that having

SEIU represent the full-time adjunct faculty would hinder the university’s One Faculty model as the union would exclude clinical faculty members, who are staff that fulfill specialized teaching or supervisory roles.

“Northeastern has worked hard over the last several years to build its One Faculty model,” Franko wrote.

“Excluding some colleagues from the petition is inconsistent with One Faculty, and would splinter the faculty, undermine our shared sense of community, and hamper our collective work to enhance the role of full-time faculty in college and university governance.”

Franko further explained that having SEIU represent the faculty would hinder communication between them and the university.

“If SEIU becomes your exclusive representative, you may lose your ability to have a say in your employment terms through participation in governance committees or the

Faculty Senate. It would also make it more difficult for the university to communicate directly with you — on issues ranging from leading a Dialogues program to employment benefits.”

Renata Nyul, Northeastern’s vice president of communications, added in an email sent to The News on Nov. 16 that “the NLRB determines who will have the opportunity to vote, not the university.”

The open letter contained more than 305 signatures supporting the faculty, said SEIU Local 509 Lead Organizer Ally Little. Nyul accepted the letter on Aoun’s behalf while he was out of town.

The full-time adjunct faculty revoked their petition to the NLRB Nov. 14 after hearing the university’s response, noting it was unlikely for the NLRB to vote in their favor.

“We withdrew our petition, knowing that there were hurdles ahead of us,” said Megan Piccirillo, SEIU

Local 509 Communications Director.

Fifth-year psychology major Gaby Thurston was among the two demonstrators who delivered the letter to Nyul, representing the Progressive Student Alliance.

“Without faculty, without adjuncts, there would be no university.

And they invest so much of their time and labor into making this university function,” Thurston said. “It’s important for us to be aware of that and do everything we can.”

The demonstration was held in hopes to gain support from the university for the full-time non-tenure track faculty demands.

“We always teach our students to work together, to get together to unite on common causes, and this is a way for the faculty to actually come together,” said Vaso Lykourinou, associate teaching professor of chemistry. “We want to make this university better. We want to make each other better.”

CAMPUS

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November 29, 2018

SGA President Hostert resigns discreetly

By Christopher Butler Campus Editor In an unexpected announcement to the student Senate last week, Nathan Hostert resigned from his position as Student Government Association president, making Executive Vice President Dylan Balcom the Association’s chief executive.

During a Nov. 19 address to the Student Government Association, or SGA, Senate, Hostert attributed his decision to several unspecified personal reasons.

“It is with a heavy heart that I say that I am officially stepping down as Student Body President. This decision is motivated by a number of personal reasons which I won’t delve into,” Hostert said in his address, according to meeting minutes obtained

by The News. “I am doing so for what I believe is best for both my well-being and also for this association.”

According to the minutes, which were sent to The News by a former SGA member, Executive Director of Communications Victoire Cointy told members to refrain from making Hostert’s resignation public.

SGA has yet to make a public statement regarding the resignation.

“If you could please refrain from telling everyone about it, not because it is top-secret and we don’t want to tell people, but respect Nathan’s time, respect that he is doing this,” Cointy told the Senate, according to the meeting minutes.

In an email sent to The News on Nov. 27, the former SGA member, who asked to remain anonymous to protect his reputation, discussed concerns of the association’s clandestine handling of the situation thus far.

“This is particularly concerning, knowing that the Student Body has not been informed of its new representative to the University administration,” said the email.

Hostert declined to comment on the issue of secrecy.

The anonymous source highlighted that this resignation follows a controversial referendum process and just under 2,000 votes of “no confidence” out almost 8,000 total votes in the 2018 Direct Election.

While the circumstances surrounding Hostert’s departure are unclear, the meeting minutes show that no senators asked questions following Hostert’s announcement.

“This is concerning because it

suggests that SGA has essentially lost all of its momentum to the point that it can’t even promote interest from within its most important branch,” read the email from the former SGA member.

Some view this as a reflection of an overarching communication issue between SGA and the student body.

“We worked really hard to make SGA as transparent to the student body, and to make SGA have this active presence with the student body,” said fourth-year biochemistry major Collin Walter, the former executive director of communications for SGA. “And to see most of the initiatives that we enacted last year effectively discontinued is extremely disappointing.”

Hostert said that he was aware of SGA’s general lack of communication coming into his presidency, and said that he knew there would need to be “huge changes, and we did that.”

The anonymous source said additionally the Hostert administration attempted “to promote a friendly, care-free environment within the Association through the appointment of friends, rather than qualified individuals.”

File photo by Alyssa Lukpat Nathan Hostert, left, resigned as SGA president, making Executive Vice President Dylan Balcom the Association’s new chief executive.

Hostert said that all appointed Several SGA board members will members of his administration were meet Nov. 29 to discuss the processes approved either unanimously or by a moving forward, said Balcom. He wide majority of the previous semescould not confirm who will be apter’s leaders. pointed as Executive Vice President “Choosing a person who is best or that an appointment will occur. qualified doesn’t necessarily mean “We’re going to take time to rethey are already a member SGA,” evaluate,” Balcom said.

Hostert said. “I couldn’t be more Overall, Hostert is satisfied with proud of this leadership team.” the work his administration has Succeeding Hostert, according to completed throughout his time as SGA’s constitution, is Dylan Balcom, president. who will simultaneously maintain his “I’m really proud of the work we’ve elected position until he appoints a gotten done in the past six months,” new Executive Vice President. he said.

Study criticizes NU for lack of female leaders

File photo by Dylan Shen Joseph E. Aoun has been president of Northeastern since 2006.

File photo by Brian Bae James C. Bean is Northeastern University’s provost and senior vice president for academic affairs.

File photo by Dylan Shen Richard A. D’Amore is the chair of Northeastern’s Board of Trustees.

By Sully Barrett News Staff In a September gender parity study conducted by the Women’s Power Initiative, Northeastern University ranked 72nd out of 93 Massachusetts colleges.

The study gave points to the colleges based on factors such as the number of women in leadership roles and the distribution of compensation, using the results to categorize each institution’s progress toward gender equality into one of four groups: “Satisfactory,” “status quo,” “unsatisfactory” and “needs urgent attention.”

The Women’s Power Initiative was created by the Eos Foundation, a philanthropic organization formed to fight inequality. One way it aims to promote diverse female leadership in Massachusetts is through change at the higher education level.

“I think that what happens in Boston — which is a politically progressive city — is that people think we’re sort of post-gender,” said Andrea Silbert, the president of the Eos Foundation and a graduate of Harvard Business School. “The truth is, our society is not yet there where everybody has an equal chance.”

The report cited Northeastern’s historical lack of female presidents as a key influence in designating its progress “unsatisfactory.” The study highlighted that less than a third of the university’s board positions were held by women, although it credited the university for employing a majority of female deans.

Renata Nyul, Northeastern’s vice president of communications, could not be reached for comment on the study.

Dr. Moya Bailey, a professor in women’s, gender and sexuality studies at Northeastern, said the report speaks to a structural sexism in our society that hasn’t been dealt with yet.

“Women are present, but they aren’t being tapped for leadership positions,” she said. “Women across the board have a higher rate of at-

tending college, and yet they are not in the leadership of our educational institutions.”

According to the report, none of the 17 doctorate-granting universities examined by the study — including Northeastern — had a female board of trustees chair. Of those, only Harvard University and Lesley University had boards with a majority of female members.

“That’s a structural problem,” Silbert said. “Is there some sort of subconscious bias where people don’t think of a woman in that role?”

In addition to analyzing overall gender equity, the study looked at each school’s representation of race in leadership positions. Out of the 94 university presidents represented, only five were women of color.

“I think a lot of people of color have to deal with the racism that’s in the city at large — not just the structural racism that exists in higher education,” Bailey said. “But I do think that there are challenges that make it difficult for faculty of color to stay at Northeastern and flourish.”

Bailey suggested several ways for the school to promote diversity within leadership positions.

“One of the ways Northeastern can help address that problem,” she said, “is by looking at other institutions’ policies and ways that they have done work around supporting faculty of color. How do women of color

advance in their careers? And how do we make our institution more accepting and affirming for those of us who are there?”

Danielle Mahn, a second-year criminal justice major, said she feels that Northeastern generally fosters a diverse community.

“As a women’s, gender and sexuality studies minor, I’ve had woman professors more so than males,” she said. “But in many categories on campus, there’s a lot of female professors.”

Although the study emphasizes the duty of university administrations in reaching gender parity, Silbert said that students play a role in promoting diversity as well.

“One of the things [students] can do is find out what the terms of the board members are,” Silbert said, “and look at those opportunities as moments to organize and say, ‘we want women and candidates of color to be considered for the board.’”

Mahn said she thinks students should take their opinions on the issue straight to the administration, in addition to initiating discussion on social forums.

“That’s what gets things started, that’s what gets things going — especially in this day and age,” she said.

“But a supplement to that has to be talking to actual leaders or bringing up petitions that will further your cause.”

Genders of Executives at MA Doctorate-Granting Universities 18

17

16 14

13

13

12 10

10 8

7

6 4

4

4

2 0

0 President

Executive Vice President

Provost

Board Chair

Positions Male

Female

Northeastern

News illustration by Corey Dockser A gender parity study by the Women’s Power Initiative included statistics on women in executive leadership positions at the 17 doctorategranting universities examined by the study — including Northeastern.

CAMPUS

November 29, 2018

Female entrepreneurs discuss startup culture

By Yunkyo Kim News Correspondent The Northeastern Entrepreneurs Club and Women’s Interdisciplinary Society of Entrepreneurship, or WISE, hosted two speakers in a panel on Nov. 27 in Snell Library to discuss the experience of female entrepreneurs and venture creation.

After noticing the lack of female representation at the Husky Startup Challenge, organizers were compelled to start an initiative to include more females in business. Keith Corso, a second-year majoring in finance who helped organize the event, said that only one out of 112 applicants were female.

“I think that’s a pretty poor representation, and there’s no reason why that should be the case. There are [as] many bright women as there are bright men out there, ” Corso said.

At the panel, MIT professor Kirk Arnold and partner at Pillar Venture Capital Sarah Hodges answered student questions about gender bias, success and female empowerment in the startup sector.

Corso collaborated with WISE founders and fellow executive members of the Entrepreneurs Club — second-year business administration major Mia Nguyen and first-year business administration and psychology double-major Eliana Berger.

When asked about gender discrimination in the business industry, Arnold acknowledged the relative lack of female representation, citing her previous workplaces and colleagues as examples.

“It’s the people who don’t understand their biases. Deeply set biases that well-intended people don’t even realize that it’s impacting their decision,” Arnold said.

Hodges shared her experience with gender bias in her first years as a partner of her company, a venture capital firm focusing on artificial intelligence. She said she learned to educate male colleagues and potential business partners on female gender discrimination in the workplace.

“Almost every man who came to take a meeting with [my co-partner] thought I was his assistant, and asked me to get them coffee or a beverage.

And after a while, it really started to grate on me,” she said. “[At first] I didn’t call anybody out in a really confrontational way, but over time I did.”

Margot Vincent, a fourth-year business administration major who attended the event, said she felt hopeful after listening to the speakers’ advice on how to achieve success as a woman in the industry.

“I really wanted to come out and support women entrepreneurship by attending this event,” Vincent said.

“I think really being yourself, in my opinion, is to make it in the world.

You have to put on this character and be a specific person, and now I feel like we’re all different, we’re all interesting.”

After observing the turnout of the event, organizers from the Entrepreneurs Club and WISE said they hope to see further strides toward inclusion of female startup entrepreneurship in the campus and beyond.

While both speakers acknowledged the difficulty of women en-

trepreneurs in the male-dominated industry, they nonetheless encouraged aspiring women in business to continue to resist the prejudice and discrimination.

“Don’t be distracted by it. There’s lots of work we have to do to try to educate around and press on the institutional biases that are there,” Arnold said.

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NUPD CRIME LOG Compiled by Christopher Butler, campus editor

NOVEMBER

19

NOVEMBER

19

NOVEMBER

20

Photo by Riley Robinson MIT business professor Kirk Arnold, left, and Sarah Hodges of Pillar Venture Capital talk to Northeastern Entrepreneurs Club and Women’s Interdisciplinary Society of Entrepreneurship Tuesday.

NOVEMBER

20

NOVEMBER

22

NOVEMBER Photo by Riley Robinson The talk was relocated to a Snell classroom after the Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex closed Tuesday because of main electrical vault damage from heavy rainfall.

24

5:05 p.m.

NUPD reported observing a man unaffiliated with NU who seemed to be acting erratically outside of Ruggles.

Officers responded and reported stopping the man and placing him under arrest for multiple warrants. A report was filed.

9:52 p.m.

NUPD reported confiscating marijuana and cocaine from the residence of an NU student in Speare Hall. A report was filed.

8:38 p.m.

An NU student reported his bicycle was stolen from a bike rack outside of Shillman Hall. A report was filed.

9:49 p.m.

An NU student reported his unattended laundry was stolen from a dryer in 337 Huntington Ave. NUPD responded. A report was filed.

5:17 p.m.

A proctor at the YMCA reported two individuals unaffiliated with NU went up to the seventh floor of the building. NUPD responded and reported speaking to the individuals, who said they accidentally got off on the wrong floor by taking the wrong elevator. One was arrested for five warrants. A report was filed.

1:38 p.m.

NUPD reported stopping two individuals unaffiliated with NU in the bicycle storage area of the Renaissance Park Garage. One of the individuals was found with a warrant and put under arrest. NUPD reported finding class B drugs among the individual’s belongings. A report was filed.

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CITY

Page 4

November 29, 2018

Boston takes action on climate change

By Maria Lovato News Correspondent As sea levels rise and storm surges start to occur more often, coastal cities in the Northeast rush to prepare themselves. Boston is no exception.

Mayor Martin J. Walsh unveiled a plan on Oct. 17 titled “Resilient Boston Harbor.” With a series of sea walls, buffers, open space and elevated landscapes, this plan attempts to protect Boston from rising sea levels.

In addition, the Climate Ready Boston initiative, led by Program Manager Mia Mansfield, launched in 2015. The initiative currently has four projects underway: Coastal resilience plans in East and South Boston, flood reduction and community improvement in Charlestown and a collaboration with the Parks Department to redesign Moakley Park in South Boston to make it more resilient.

“The goal [of the initiative] is to better understand and prepare for climate change from now to the end of the century,” said Mansfield, who has a master’s degree in city planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “We work with the university community and translate their predictions into short-term and long-term vulnerability plans.”

On Tuesday, the United Nations released a report that states that if all countries continue with their current emission targets, the global temperature will rise an average of 3.2 degrees Celsius by 2100. This would mean intense consequences for sea level rise, human health and the economy.

In addition, a study published in 2017 by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, or PNAS, found that rising sea levels caused by climate change will increase the overall flood impact associated with major storms. Based in Washington, D.C., PNAS is one of the world’s leading scientific journals.

The study combined model storm surges with sea-level rise projections

to assess coastal flooding in New York City from the preindustrial era to the year 2300. The results show that the water level of floods so severe that they only occur once every 500 years will increase by up to 40 feet above mean tidal level from 2005 to 2300.

Although the study was focused on New York City, the findings have implications for many coastal cities in the northeast. Boston is especially prone to coastal flooding because much of its coastline is built on areas that were artificially created by filling in wetlands in the 1800s.

“There’s a definite need for us to take actions to make our coastal communities more resilient,” said Andra Garner, one of the authors of the PNAS study. “Although I don’t think we’re quite prepared enough in many cases, I do know that coastal adaptation planning is well under way in many areas.”

Although Boston’s risk of flooding will increase over time, new infrastructure can be used to manage the risk. Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, can serve as an example. The city lies on the North Sea Canal, about 7 feet below sea level and uses man-made structures such as surge barriers, artificial dunes, and the elevation of houses and roads to turn flood-prone areas into green areas that tend to be more resistant to flooding, said Thomas Wahl, an associate professor of Coastal Risks and Engineering at the University of Central Florida.

“Even though there are big storm surges and the city lies below sea level, they are not at risk because of man-made structures,” Wahl said.

“Therefore, they are exposed but not vulnerable.”

In 2007, Amsterdam developed “room for rivers,” a concept where planners allow rivers to expand when large amounts of water enter them, instead of fighting it with the traditional dike system. Amsterdam is no longer vulnerable, with the chance of

Photo courtesy U.S. Global Change Research Program Projected sea level changes through 2100. Levels are projected to rise rapidly over the next few decades. their flood protection system failing being one in 10,000, Wahl said.

Planning and preparing for the impacts of climate change in coastal areas is essential, Wahl said. In 2017, he worked on a study, that found in the year 2050, “only a tiny tropical depression will be needed to create the same level of water as caused by [Hurricane] Florence.”

Garner agrees that coastal flooding is a major concern, especially for the East Coast.

“We know that tropical cyclones are particularly hazardous for the U.S. Atlantic coasts and sea-level rise will continue to worsen the flooding events we see associated with storms in the future,” Garner said. “When we combine this with the fact that

Photo courtesy Creative Commons MBTA workers create dam for tunnel near Fenway Station during 2010 floods. Flooding is expected to increase as climate change progresses.

coastal populations and infrastructure have been and continue to grow, we see that risk for these regions is indeed increasing.”

As major storms start to dominate the news more often, Boston citizens are starting to look for ways to be more involved in preparing their city for climate change. One of these ways is the Greenovate Boston Leaders outreach program. This program aims to train local leaders to educate their community on climate change preparedness. So far, the program has trained 143 leaders and reached 1,364 residents.

Climate Ready Boston also emphasizes community engagement, making use of focus groups and community meetings in the formulation of their resiliency plans. The initiative’s website also has progress trackers and reports readily available to keep residents informed.

Although the initiative is focused on planning more than emergency management, a representative from the public health or emergency management department is present at most meetings, Mansfield said.

The task that the initiative is taking on is a big one. The program works with the private sector, state organizations, federal organizations, community groups and philanthropic groups in order to better achieve its goal of protecting the city and its residents.

“There is nothing we can do about the possibility of extreme events; we can’t tell a hurricane to go away. We can’t do much about exposure; we can tell people to leave but they won’t go,” Wahl said. “But we can control vulnerability.”

CITY

November 29, 2018

Page 5

School closings, renovations stir controversy

By Rhyia Bibb News Correspondent

After decades, the city of Boston plans to renovate 12 public schools and close three.

On October 26, Boston Public Schools released the second phase of its 10-year, $1 billion plan, BuildBPS. The BuildBPS master plan is the first long-term renovation project for city schools in more than 40 years, with the goal of bringing the 65 percent of Boston schools that were built before World War II “into the 21st century,” as stated within a Boston Public Schools press release.

In a statement with the official BuildBPS 10-Year Educational and Facilities Master Plan published in March 2017, Mayor Martin J. Walsh promised to “create a new era of equity and excellence in Boston’s schools.”

Beyond physical renovations, this will include creating fewer school transitions for students and their families by reconfiguring up to 20 schools to accommodate grades K-6, and seven schools to accommodate either grades 6-12 or 7-12.

According to BPS, the majority of families support the elimination of the transition to and from middle school. The change is also designed to improve student achievement and success after graduation.

This new era also brings about drastic changes for students at West Roxbury Academy and Urban Science Academy high schools, as

well as John W. McCormack Middle School. As part of the second phase of its plan, BPS is proposing closing these schools.

McCormack Middle School’s proposed closure, which would occur in 2020, is a result of the district’s effort to eliminate standalone middle schools. Interim Superintendent Laura Perille said in a November interview with WBUR, the purpose would be to renovate the building and convert it into a school capable of accommodating grades 7-12.

As for West Roxbury Academy and Urban Science Academy, their closures are up to a vote by the Boston School Committee in December.

BPS has decided to close the schools because of inadequate facilities, declining enrollments and poor academic performance.

Although there will be resources available to these students during their transition, there is concern with how the students these schools serve and the specialized programs they host will be allocated throughout the district. McCormack Middle School, for example, has an English Language Learners program for students that have recently arrived in the U.S. and are behind their peers in literacy.

Among those concerned about the school closures is Monica Cannon, CEO and founder of local activist group Violence in Boston.

“Every time they close a school, communities of color suffer,” she said at a BPS student walkout that took

place at City Hall November 19.

The walkout, organized by Cannon and others from Violence in Boston, was meant to object to the closing of the schools and to bring awareness to the gun violence that plagues largely black communities.

Blen Lewute, a senior at Excel Academy Charter High School, recognized the significance of demonstrations like this one.

“I’m here to support the black community,” she said, “because that really matters.”

Once students began arriving, Cannon addressed the crowd of people, most of them of color.

“We don’t have an issue of there not being enough money,” she said.

“We have an issue of lack of allocation. It’s not that they don’t have the resources, it’s that they don’t allocate them to you.”

Seven Klein, a community member and supporter of Violence in Boston, agrees with Cannon and urges others to look at the difference between schools in affluent white communities and those in communities of color. “They are unbelievably financed,” they said, specifically highlighting the disproportionate financing between exam schools like the Boston Latin School and schools like West Roxbury. “You can see the disparity.”

The students, who came from schools like Excel Academy Charter High School, TechBoston Academy and West Roxbury Academy, walked

into City Hall and held a die-in in front of Mayor Walsh’s office. The die-in, in which students laid still and silent on the floor, lasted 43 minutes to represent the 43 homicides as a result of gun violence that have taken place in Boston so far this year.

Each minute Monica Cannon read off the name, neighborhood and date of death for each victim.

Following their demonstration, Cannon presented Mayor Walsh with a set of demands. This list included their desired allocation of funds to public schools and the instillation of a Community Accountability Board “to discuss what organizations are getting money for violence prevention at the expense of the black

community, but not actually helping.”

Mayor Walsh was given until November 26 to respond to the demands, but instead issued a statement on November 19.

“I value your advocacy on behalf of our community,” he wrote. “We’re working tirelessly every day to make Boston a better place for all.”

Despite his assurance that students are at the heart of the BPS proposals, Violence in Boston is not convinced.

“Your classes will be the ones that are overpopulated when they close these schools, when they funnel kids into schools that are already struggling,” Cannon said to the crowd. “They need to know that it is not okay.”

Photo by Chris Triunfo Monica Cannon-Grant (center) lists off the names of 43 gun homicide victims to a crowd of students and activists outside Mayor Marty Walsh’s office.

MENTAL HEA

Pages 6-7

Stigma against mental illness is decreasing on college campuses.

Why don’t students feel that way?

By Paxtyn Merten Multimedia Manager As Mallory Gothelf inched through her freshman year at Northeastern University, it became increasingly difficult for her to manage her anxiety and depression. The transition to a university far from her home in Maryland had been difficult — she’d left behind her therapist, psychologist and support system of friends and family.

7%

she did the right thing, her lack of understanding alienated Gothelf and worsened her condition.

“I’ve never heard from her since.

And I have no idea where she went,” Gothelf said. “And it doesn’t bother me anymore, but in the moment I felt like she just assumed — people jump from ‘I have depression, I’m feeling unstable’ to ‘This girl’s going to kill herself, she’s mentally unstable, I can’t talk to her anymore.’”

Now a Northeastern alum, Gothelf is one of nearly 22 percent of the U.S. population between the ages of 18 and 25 who suffers from mental illness, according to the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. This is higher than any other age group, and the numbers continue to rise.

Despite the prevalence of mental illness, there remains a stigma around the topic: According to the 20162017 Healthy Minds Survey, which aims to provide a detailed picture of mental health among college student populations, 47 percent of college students agreed that most people would think less of someone who has received mental health treatment.

This number is striking compared

judgement from her peers. She first spoke publicly about her experiences at an event called “Break the Silence,” hosted biannually by Northeastern’s chapter of Active Minds, which serves as a platform for students to talk about their struggles with mental illness in front of a larger audience.

Photo courtesy Mallory G Gothelf poses against the Boston skyline graduating from Northeastern in 2017.

Gothelf shared a video of her speech on social media. Shortly after, her inboxes filled with messages

47%

of college students agreed that less of someone who has receiv

college students agreed that most people would think s of someone who has received mental health treatment

6%

UT ONLY

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of stude of someo

Photo courtesy Mallory Gothelf Mallory Gothelf during her freshman year at Northeastern.

Gothelf, a brown-eyed, curlyto the mere 6 percent of students of students say they personally would think less haired and then-enthusiastic who say they personally would psychology student befriended a think less of someone for receiving of someone for receiving mental health treatment

een 2007 and 2017, the number of students negative opinions toward people who seek mental illness decreased by

classmate and confided in them about her intensifying depression.

The classmate called Northeastern’s health center and told them Gothelf was a threat to herself. But Gothelf, who feared the repercussions of telling university personnel about her worsening condition, said she who reported couldn’t let herself be “turned in.”

“I picked treatment for up their call and told them that she was lying,” Gothelf said.

This incident caused her to put off getting the help she needed, she said.

Though the classmate likely thought

almost

22%

1/2

of the U.S. population between the ages of 18 and 25 suffer from mental illness

Design by Devin Raynor

from people saying “I had no idea you went through that,” “You’re so brave” and “You’re so strong.” Some mental health treatment. This disalso messaged her saying they had parity shows that negative attitudes gone through Between 2007 and similar 2017,experiences the number of surrounding mental illness, at least and were afraid to talk about it, butpeople w negative opinions toward in college settings, are primarily wanted to open up after hearing her mental illness decreased by perceived and not often based on speak. true animosity.

“That was such a powerful moLaura Horne, the national director ment for me to know that other peoof programs at mental health advoca- ple who I had known for years were cy group Active Minds, said this stastruggling,” Gothelf said. “We could tistic shows students at the very least have been struggling at the same know they’re not supposed to think time, but because we weren’t talking less of someone for seeking help. about it, I had no idea and they had “That in and of itself is good news no idea. Me sharing gave them the because I think that means that peofeeling that they could share. That ple understand more about the kind made me realize that, one, I have a of burden that people with mental voice that I need to use, and two, that illness are holding and that they this is something I should never stop should be able to get help without talking about.” stigma,” Horne said.

Where, then, does the perception of negative attitudes toward mental illness stem from? Researchers, mental health advocates and students living with mental illness say the answer is widespread silence on the topic.

The disconnect between perWhen Gothelf started sharing her ceived and actual antipathy toward story, she thought she would face mental illness is not entirely new.

a

22%

of the U.S. of 18 and 2

The disconnect: perceived and personal stigmas

47%

ALTH STIGMA

Gothelf after

of college students agreed that most people would think less of someone who has received mental health treatment

6%

BUT ONLY The Healthy Minds Survey, which has been collecting some of the most comprehensive data on campus mental health since 2007, has documented similar gaps since its first year.

Still, rates of both personal and perceived stigma are falling: The 6 percent figure in 2017 is down from more than 11 percent in 2007, marking a near-halving in the number of students who reported negative opinions toward people who seek treatment for mental illness.

the idea that they should tell people “It’s okay to get help.” But the energy toward this cause is fleeting, and once the sting of a suicide has faded, the conversation falls flat as quickly as it surfaced.

“Because we’re not continuing this conversation, the people who are still struggling still don’t think it’s okay to get help,” she said.

Advocacy groups, then, must look at ways to encourage more students to speak openly about mental illness.

Between 2007 and 2017, the number of students who reported negative opinions toward people who seek treatment for mental illness decreased by

almost

22%

Peter Ceglarek, one of the survey’s coordinators, says this is fascinating.

“The plus side is we’ve reached a point where it seems like individually stigmatizing beliefs are decreasing, so students themselves are feeling more open and accepting toward people struggling with mental health issues,” he said. “However, there’s some disconnect in that the perceived cultural norm is still that most people aren’t okay with it.”

This negative perception can be exacerbated in students with a mental illness such as anxiety, which New Jersey-based social worker Audrey Mayer said is characterized by

“If people aren’t thinking less of others for seeking help, we need them to be saying that out loud,” Horne said.

Ceglarek agreed that mental health advocacy groups should focus more on opening a conversation and sending the message to students with mental illnesses that a majority of their peers will not judge them.

“Those two numbers should match in an ideal world, you know: 6 percent of people hold the beliefs and only 6 percent of people think that other people around them hold negative beliefs,” Ceglarek said. “But there’s a great disparity, so to make

%

almost

1/2

difference and other days it is literally me dragging myself out of bed and saying ‘you have to push through’ in order to get through my day.”

The impact of negative stigma can be crippling. The 2017 Healthy Minds Survey shows that 43 percent of students experiencing symptoms of anxiety or depression never sought treatment. Among students who have, 35 percent say they sought fewer services because they don’t need them and 35 percent say they do not have enough time to pursue treatment. Ceglarek says it’s likely that stigma influences these and other barriers to students seeking help.

“When you try and unpack these, there is a strong likelihood that the influences on some of these ideas is still the worry that so many people out there are still going to think negatively of you if you seek treatment, especially when someone is saying ‘Oh, I’d rather just deal with it on my own,’” Ceglarek said. “If you’re dealing with it on your own, that means you never have to talk to someone else about it. That means no one has to know what you’re going through.”

Jenna Malley, a 2018 alum of Northeastern’s accelerated master’s program, was diagnosed with anxiety and depression during her first year of college alongside her best friend.

“We really relied on each other to get through our freshman year of college,” she said of the longtime friend who attended Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts. When they saw each other the following summer, Malley said, “It seemed like everything was fine.”

But two weeks before Malley returned to Northeastern and one week before her friend was supposed to return to Stonehill, she read a story in the news about an accident in the New Jersey town neighboring her own.

“I found out that my best friend had died by suicide,” she said. “That was probably one of the most traumatic experiences of my life.”

In the following year, Malley said she realized she didn’t have any friends left at school — no one was willing to help her deal with her grief, or no one knew how.

“It also felt like it was because it was a loss to mental illness that they just didn’t want to deal with it,” Malley said. “I actually had someone tell me that she would rather go out to parties than deal with somebody that was going through what I was going through.”

illness and suicide,” she said.

The fear that a doctor’s note from a psychologist would raise eyebrows is concerning, but not unique. Many students with mental illness believe their conditions will not be taken as seriously as physical health issues typically are. Whenever Gothelf had a panic attack or was in the midst of a depressive episode, she felt she had to lie to professors and say she had a cold or the flu to legitimize her absence.

“It’s upsetting and it’s extremely frustrating,” Gothelf said. “I think it’s also kind of demeaning because this is a very real illness. I wake up every morning knowing that I’m going to be anxious for no particular reason, that’s just the way my anxiety works.”

of the U.S. population between the ages of 18 and 25 suffer from mental illness

ents say they personally would think less one for receiving mental health treatment

symptoms that cause those students to “look at it through that lens that they would be judged.”

“Somebody with anxiety and depression presume that they students whomayreported would be harshly judgedfor for seeking who seek treatment help, but somebody more stable would just understand that they need the help,” she said.

Still, Horne said silence is a big reason students still feel like there’s a long way to go to reduce stigma on their campuses.

In turn, the lack of conversation surrounding mental illnesses can cause students struggling with them to feel more alone.

“I think on college campuses people don’t talk about it and people aren’t getting help,” Gothelf said.

“Because people aren’t talking about it, people have to hide and things keep building up … It makes you feel so alone in your battle and as though no one understands. And isolation breeds depression so the more lonely you feel, the worse your depression is going to get.”

Gothelf said after tragic events on campus, such as student suicides, community members rally around

Malley was afraid to go to University Health and Counseling Services because she didn’t want people to question why she was there, and she was afraid to go to counseling off-campus in case she had to miss class and get a doctor’s note from a psychiatrist.

“It’s not something I felt comfortable with because I just assumed that people were going to have this negative reaction because there’s so much stigma surrounding mental

Efforts and effectiveness

Horne said even in her role as a supervisor for a mental health organization, she has failed to notice when her coworkers and people she supervises are struggling with mental health.

“There weren’t a lot of tools for me. There weren’t a lot of policies in place or supports in place or precedents for how to support your employee,” she said. “I think we see things, we see signs and symptoms, and we might assume that person is just disinterested or lazy or unproductive, but we don’t usually take a step back and consider that there might be something real that that person is dealing with.”

To ensure more people do take mental health into consideration, Active Minds and other organizations are working to raise awareness and erase stigma through education and silence-breaking.

Active Minds organizes young adults who have personal experiences with mental illness to travel to college campuses around the country and talk about those experiences.

They also organize an exhibition called “Send Silence Packing,” of backpacks, each representing a college student who died by suicide and accompanied by their story.

“You walk through the exhibit and you read these stories, and you understand — for the first time, maybe — just how unfortunate it is that many people who died by suicide have mental illness and it’s treatable,” she said. “So that also starts a conversation and gives a voice to all

of students say they personally would think less of someone for receiving mental health treatment

most people would think ved mental health treatment

%

Christmas Day in the Johns Hopkins University emergency room. Gothelf was eventually diagnosed with major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder and has since been in and out of treatment, even taking a medical leave of absence from Northeastern to get back on track.

“Every day is a battle,” Gothelf said. “Every day I don’t know how I’m going to wake up and how I’m going to feel … some days I hop right out of bed all inspired to go make a

November 29, 2018

those two match we need to shift our conversation around stigma.”

“I think maybe shifting our messaging a little bit so that we give a voice to people who want to see their friends get help, allies and really engage them,” Horne said. “It’s not a normal conversation yet to have in the same way that if we were physically ill we would talk about it.”

1/2

Living with the inevitable

When Gothelf was a sophomore in

high school, something felt off. population between the ages “Not just the normal growing up; 25 suffer from mental illness something felt really off,” she said. “I

started to realize this feeling wasn’t right, but I’m kind of a perfectionist so I didn’t want to admit I had a flaw or there was something wrong with me.”

However, her friend knew. And when Gothelf began harming herself, that friend showed up at her house and said she had to tell her parents.

When her mother found out she was considering killing herself, they spent

Photo courtesy Mallory Gothelf Mallory Gothelf now works in communications and event planning, and created a mental health festival concept.

Gothelf ’s anxiety makes her heart race, which over an extended period of time also makes her nauseous: physical implications of her mental illness which she never believed would qualify as valid reasons to miss class or work.

Others’ doubts make Gothelf doubt herself, as well. She said thoughts occasionally surface that she could be making up the condition, and maybe it’s all in her head.

“It makes me doubt all the things that I’ve been working so hard to break in that stigma,” she said.

of these stories and the people who have died.”

Horne said the most successful thing Active Minds has created is of set of tools and resources called “Transform Your Campus” which aims to help students advocate for policy and systems change on their own campuses and provides a template for them to implement mental health education.

“All of these efforts combined at Active Minds are meant to help start conversations, help break that silence AWARENESS, on Page 8

November 29, 2018

MENTAL HEALTH STIGMA

Page 8

Left: Jenna Malley, pictured with her dog Otis, founded the AMAZING campaign to raise money for and awareness of suicide prevention.

Below: Izzie Irizarry, left, and former vice president of Behind the SMILE Ffion Titmuss at the 2018 Out of the Darkness walk.

File photo by Paxtyn Merten

Photo courtesy Isaac Feldberg

Students step up to combat campus stigma AWARENESS, from Page 7 on campus and help make it easier and more normalized and more part of what it is to be a college student to use counseling services just like you would academic services or disability services,” she said.

Students are also taking the issue of stigma into their own hands. As an NU student in spring 2017, Malley created the AMAZING Campaign

“

amazing. Proceeds from the shirts go toward the National Foundation for Suicide Prevention, while the shirts themselves start conversations.

“Our whole goal is to raise awareness of mental illness, raise awareness for suicide prevention and really just tell people that they’re not alone in what they’re dealing with,” Malley said. “Our hope is that anyone wear-

Our whole goal is to raise awareness of mental illness, raise awareness for suicide prevention and really just tell people that they’re not alone in what they’re dealing with.

in memory of her friend who died by suicide. Through the campaign, she sells t-shirts that have “AMAZING” printed backward on them, so when people wear them and look in the mirror they see that they are

”

ing the AMAZING campaign shirts will feel comfortable talking about it.

If somebody sees it and is like ‘Why is amazing backward on your shirt?’ people will actually start a conversation.”

Additionally, in 2016, several Northeastern students who wanted to create a space on campus to talk openly about mental health issues founded Behind the SMILE. The club is devoted to advocacy and awareness, and hosts discussion-based meetings for students to express anything they feel without judgement.

Among the founders was Izzie Irizarry, a fifth-year psychology major and the club’s former president.

In 2017, she organized the first “Out of the Darkness” walk at Northeastern, a fundraiser similar to “Relay for Life” that instead raises money for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Irizarry said Behind the SMILE members were excited about the message the walk sent to the Northeastern community as the first large-scale event dedicated to suicide prevention on campus. She organized a second Out of the Darkness walk this past April.

“We felt like it really just showed that a lot of people cared,” she said.

“People outside looking in see that a lot of people care about mental illness, a lot of people also have experiences, it’s okay to have these

File photo by Derek Schuster Irizarry organized NU’s first Out of the Darkness walk in 2017. experiences as well because you’re not alone. And then the people who participate also find a lot of community in seeing that there are people who share their passion for the issue.”

It is these grassroots movements that are changing the national conversation. Gothelf said members of mental health advocacy groups are almost always sympathetic to the cause already because of their own experiences with mental illness, but said the culture is shifting. In her own conversations among friends

who have never dealt with mental illness, she said opening up and explaining her experiences really changes their perspectives.

“I really do think that it’s the small efforts to keep talking that are starting to shift the perspective,” Gothelf said. “I say it comes from grassroots movements and I do really mean that, and as these grassroots movements gain national spotlight attention, I think then they are getting a bigger push as they’re growing on campuses and throughout society.”

SPORTS

November 29, 2018

Page 9

Men’s basketball scores win

By Seamus McAvoy News Staff The Northeastern men’s basketball team faced their toughest competition of the young season earlier this November when they travelled to Charleston, South Carolina to participate in the Gildan Charleston Classic. The team got off to a promising start with a win over Alabama, but came up short in losses to Virginia Tech and Davidson.

The Huskies’ first tournament action came Nov. 15 as they faced the Alabama Crimson Tide. Despite losing leading scorer Collin Sexton to the NBA draft, Alabama returned many contributors this season including sophomore guard John Petty who entered the evening averaging 15.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.

Northeastern began the afternoon hot from the field and built an 8-0 lead in under four minutes, forcing Alabama coach Avery Johnson to call an early timeout. The Tide tightened up defensively but the Huskies still took a 33-22 lead into halftime.

Senior guard Vasa Pusica dominated the second half, scoring 15 of his 20 total points after the break. Pusica also added five assists and three steals, contributing to a well-rounded effort by the Huskies.

Northeastern never let the Tide within seven points and closed strongly with a 16-point victory over the Tide, 68-52.

Third-year guard Bolden Brace and fourth-year forward Jeremy Miller supplemented Pusica’s performance with solid contributions of their own, adding 11 combined points and helping the Huskies shoot 52.4% from the field. The win was their first ever over a team from the Southeastern Conference.

“Enjoy this one, and understand how you got here,” said head coach Bill Coen as he addressed the team after the game. “Everybody did their job … We stepped up and made shots, the right guy was the open guy.”

The Huskies had an even greater challenge in store the following morning against 16th-ranked Virginia Tech, as Northeastern hasn’t beaten a ranked opponent since 2015.

The Hokies are led by standout guard Justin Robinson, who was named to the Wooden Award Watch List prior to this season.

The Huskies extended their hot shooting from the previous game into this matchup and connected on eight 3-pointers in just under 15 minutes to give them a 24-23

lead, but a talented Hokies roster answered with a dominant 23-2 run to end the half. The closest the game got from that point on was when a 3-pointer from sophomore forward Tomas Murphy cut the lead to 16 with 15 minutes left, but Tech’s stout defense held off an unlikely comeback effort.

The Hokies cruised to an 88-60 victory over Northeastern, and although the Huskies connected on a season-high 13 3-pointers on 50% shooting, a lack of 2-point scoring hurt the overall offensive effort. Murphy led the Huskies in scoring with 11 on 5-6 shooting and junior guard Jordan Roland added 10 on 3-5.

Following the loss to Virginia Tech, Northeastern’s next action came on Sunday, Nov. 18 against the Davidson Wildcats, when the programs competed in the thirdplace game in the Gildan Charleston Classic.

Though Northeastern’s strong shooting numbers faltered later, the Huskies once again started the game well. Brace led the way, netting 12 points, with seven coming in the final 12 minutes of the first half. A buzzer-beating layup in traffic for Pusica tied the game at 28-28 as the first half ended.

Continuing the story from the previous outing, Northeastern was susceptible to a big run by the Wildcats. After briefly keeping it close, the Huskies were outscored 15-3 in just three minutes with Davidson at one point extending their lead to 17. Redshirt first-year forward Jason Strong added nine quick points late in the second half thanks to a trio of 3-pointers to make things interesting, but Davidson handled the comeback efforts and comfortably took the game 71-59.

The Huskies left Charleston feeling unsatisfied after the first meeting between Northeastern and Davidson.

They had an opportunity to get their revenge against the Wildcats shortly after on Saturday, Nov. 24, but fell once again by a score of 78-69, this time without Pusica who picked up a wrist injury against Alabama. Pusica managed to play through the injury for the remainder of the tournament, but further examination revealed a fracture that will likely keep him out of action for 4-6 weeks.

The Huskies nonetheless demonstrated in Charleston that they could hang with one of the stronger mid-major teams in Davidson and give Power-5 conference teams trouble evidenced by their commanding victory over Alabama.

Photo by Brian Bae courtesy of Red and Black Fourth-year guard Vasa Pusica avoids his defender as he goes up for a lay-up. The Huskies fought for a win, and ended the game 68-52.

Photo by Riley Robinson Second-year Brooke Hobson celebrates the teams’ OT thriller win by embracing her fellow teammate fourthyear Kasidy Anderson. Riding high on their 11 game winning streak, the team beat the Eagles 5-4.

Women’s hockey beats Boston College in OT

By Caroline Ingram News Staff On Tuesday evening, two of the top five women’s hockey teams in the nation met at historic Matthews Arena for an epic showdown. The Huskies entered the game owning an 11-game unbeaten streak and were successful in snapping an eight-game winless streak against Boston College, topping the Eagles 5-4 in OT. The matchup was a battle of two teams boasting top-notch strength at both ends of the ice. The Huskies own the best scoring average in the nation with 3.50 goals per game while the Eagles are right behind in second with 3.20 goals per game.

Defensively, the Eagles own a scoring defense at 1.27 goals against per game, while, the Huskies follow right behind at 1.36 goals against per game.

Following the game, head coach Dave Flint spoke about the team’s approach to the game against a tough opponent and rival such as BC. “The approach we’ve taken to all our games this year is that it doesn’t matter who we’re playing, we are going to treat every game the same and prepare for every game the same way,” Flint said.

In the first period of action, the Eagles found the scoresheet first with a rebound goal by forward Savannah Norcross at 6:33 of the period.

Not long after the BC goal, firstyear forward Alina Mueller had a great scoring chance on a partial breakaway, but her slap shot from above the circles went wide.

Then, midway through the period the Huskies went on the man advantage as third-year forward Matti Hartman drew a penalty after BC’s Kelly Browne collided with her in the neutral zone. On the power play, the Huskies had a number of prime scoring chances, including a one timer by first-year forward Chloe Aurard that BC goalie Maddy McArthur just got a pad on.

Later in the period, the Eagles extended their lead to two goals after a knuckleball shot from defenseman Grace Bizal at the point was deflected by forward Daryl Watts.

The Huskies headed to the locker room looking to work hard as they had their work cut out for them in a 2-0 hole.

After the game, Mueller spoke about the team’s emotions in that locker room knowing they were facing a tough task of being in an early deficit.

“We knew going into the game that it’s always a big game against our rivals like BU and BC,” Mueller said.“BC obviously is a very good team so we just tried to really work as a team and to go 60 minutes. It doesn’t matter if we are two goals down, we knew we just needed to battle hard.”

To start off the second period, Frankel came up with a few big saves early before Mueller cut the deficit in half on the power play with a wrist shot from the point that made it through a netfront screen and found the back of the net.

Later in the frame with 4:58 to go in the period, Mueller notched her second goal of the game to knot the teams at two goals apiece. Second-year forward Veronika Pettey battled for the puck behind the net, spun around and found Mueller out front for the one-time shot that beat McArthur low on the near post.

With the game’s momentum in NU’s favor, the Huskies scored their third unanswered goal of the period to pull ahead 3-2 with 1:10 left.

Fourth-year forward Kasidy Anderson picked up the puck high in the offensive zone and sent it down low to Mueller in the corner, who spun acrobatically around a BC defender.

Mueller found Anderson circling low through the slot and fired off a quick shot for the score.

Flint touched upon the impressive composure of his young team, especially when having to score multiple goals against a stingy BC defensive unit.

“One thing that is pretty special about this team is their resiliency and I told them in the locker room how plenty of teams will just give up being down 2-0 early like we were there. Those same teams may sense trouble being in that kind of hole, but I wasn’t worried after that first period — I knew if we could get things going and cut the deficit in half, we’d be okay,” he said.

Northeastern opened the third period short-handed, but Frankel’s strong play in between the pipes kept the score in NU’s favor.

A little under five minutes into the third, BC was able to get one back and tie things up 3-3. Forward

Makenna Newkirk fired a rocket that beat Frankel’s high blocker side.

Moments later, Anderson was called for a penalty and the ensuing BC power play resulted in another goal for Newkirk to make it 4-3 Eagles.

Special teams continued to be a major factor of the game, as the Eagles found themselves shorthanded for the fifth time in the night.

On the man advantage, Anderson nearly evened things up with a blast that ricocheted off the crossbar.

Although things went their way in the end, Flint noted his disapproval with the team’s high penalty minutes that at times proved to be very costly.

“We have to do a better job of staying out of the box, especially late in the game like that. We know that our penalty kill is good, but their power play is also good, so we have to be a bit more disciplined in order to stay out of the box in those situations,” Flint said.

With 1:21 to go in the game, the Huskies thundered back to pull even yet again. This time it was Aurard who was in the perfect position to poke home a rebound off a shot from the point by second-year defenseman Skylar Fontaine. Down the stretch with ten seconds to go in regulation, Frankel came up huge, stopping a breakaway chance for BC’s Caitrin Lonergan.

The teams headed to overtime tied 4-4 as sixty minutes of regulation failed to decide the tilt. Midway through the extra session the Huskies capped off the thrilling game with a dramatic goal by first-year forward Mia Brown.

“It was an awesome play by [Brooke] Hobson who took it out front and Mia was in the right spot and it was certainly an emotional moment for us all,” Mueller said.

“Mia has played great for us, she is a big body, she is strong and if she goes in front of the net it’s always dangerous.”

When all was said and done, the Huskies reigned superior in the battle of Beantown powerhouses.

Perhaps Mueller summed up the nail-biting yet unforgettable game best, speaking with a huge smile on her face.

“Winning after coming back like that is the most beautiful win. We were screaming and it was just a lot of fun. That’s why we practice all the time. That’s why we play hockey.”

OPINION

Page 10

November 29, 2018

Editorial: Keep on voting, America

The Huntington News Editorial Board Editor-in-Chief

Morgan Lloyd

editor@huntnewsnu.com

The 2018 midterm elections were remarkable in terms of voter turnout.

Almost half of the people in America who can vote, did.

What’s particularly striking is that nearly a third of young people voted in this election — the highest proportion of this age group to vote in the last seven midterms. When the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18 more than 50 years ago, more than 55 percent of young people voted in the presidential election, a figure which has steadily declined in the years since.

Voter apathy, a lack of means to get to polling places and inadequate voting education among other obstacles got in the way of even the famously activist 1970s youth. Young voters have cast ballots at consistently lower rates than older age brackets.

One notable exception includes a 49 percent turnout among 18-24 year olds in 2008. Now, in 2018, we’re seeing those numbers start to rise again, and that’s encouraging, but it’s not enough.

As citizens, we all have a civic duty to stay educated and vote. As young people, we have a responsibility to increase our representation in voting numbers. With approximately 31 percent of people 18-24 voting in this year’s midterms, there is a distinctive shift we can’t ignore. But with so much at stake in the next presidential election — just two years away — we can’t afford to lose this momentum, so let’s strive to keep this trend up.

This year’s midterms were record breaking in several respects, but why? Why 2018? Why did so many millions of people plan to vote early and why did more Democrats vote than Republicans?

Most of those answers can likely be drawn back to the American public’s highly divided opinions on President Donald J. Trump.

There’s no substantive middle ground in terms of people’s opinions on Trump. In a CNN exit poll, approximately 45 percent of 2018 voters said they approve of his work as president and 54 percent said they

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News Illustration by Pete McKay disapprove. That fervor on both sides is likely the main factor that brought people from all walks of life to the polls in record numbers. Trump’s incendiary rhetoric and language — which won him the presidency in 2016 — harmed his party’s Congressional control in 2018. We saw a repudiation of Trump among the historically lowest voting demographics, including young people and Latino voters.

What does it all mean, though? At the end of the day, after a recount in Florida and a highly contested Georgia gubernatorial race, Democrats

have secured a majority in the House of Representatives and Republicans have added two seats their 51 seat majority in the Senate.

The 2018 midterms seemed to indicate that people under 30 are realizing the efficacy of their vote. The result is that after 2016’s Republican sweep of the elections, the two parties now share control of Congress.

We can’t let our political involvement end with voting in the midterms, though. Keeping an eye on local and state government officials is the best way to see how voting directly impacts lives. Additionally,

going to town hall meetings and public forums can give all citizens a better sense of how we can effect change, beyond just voting.

It is imperative that passion in politics — for both parties — doesn’t taper off now. The more Americans that vote and stay politically active every year, the more representative our government will be of all people.

Higher voter turnout among the youngest age group is directly related to increasing youth involvement.

Remember to stay active and vote again in 2020. Don’t worry, we’ll remind you.

Column: U.S. must respect rights

Melissa Wells When history looks back on Nov. 25, nobody will remember why the United States justified an attack on unarmed civilians. It will remember Maria Lila Meza Castro dragging her twin daughters away from the tear gas, one barefoot, the other tripping over her mother’s dirt-covered shoes.

The girls have nothing but t-shirts and diapers, but their existence was

threatening enough to provoke an attack by U.S. authorities.

No one will remember that the migrants intended to peacefully march toward Tijuana, Mexico. No one will remember the backlash criticizing authorities for overreacting. But history will remember the United States characterizing hundreds of human beings as criminals and attacking unarmed people seeking the American dream that brought the founders of this country here so long ago.

I am a proud Mexican-American, the daughter of an immigrant mother who came to the United States for the higher education it had to offer, that I now also enjoy. But I am very in touch with my heritage and the country my mom still calls home.

Closing the San Ysidro Port of Entry was like closing the door to a place I hold dear and holding the people I love on the other side captive. It meant that I wasn’t sure if it would open in time for my abuelos to join us for Christmas. It meant shutting the door on my abuela, who may

forget what day it is or how to get to her room because of her dementia, but never ceases to call America her home. That, she remembers.

Nov. 25 will always be the day Americans were the cause of impoverished migrants clinging to one another against a blockade of soldiers.

Deliberately closing the border to slow the process of legal asylum cases is a cruelty that cannot be justified, aimed at immigrant communities.

We cannot ignore morality, compassion, empathy and safety out of partisan disagreement and discriminatory ideologies.

Politics aside, it seems we have forgotten that their blood bleeds as red as our own. This country may refuse to acknowledge its racist history that led us here, but it needs a reminder of how human rights have been defined universally following a turbulent time in which they also were ignored.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was proclaimed on Dec. 10, 1948. In its preamble, it

stated: “Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world, Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind…”

Human rights, in short, are inherent to all human beings. As the United Nations summarizes, they are rights endowed upon each human life “regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status.”

Americans are guilty of disregarding human dignity. That shame can only be wiped clean by stepping up, speaking out and changing the political framework that has allowed those from both sides of the aisle to yell past one another so hateful policies can be enacted against the interests of people like me. And my abuela, who still struggles to study for her citizenship test, but calls this country her own.

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LIFESTYLE

November 29, 2018

Ciara McAloon writes and directs first show for Silver Masque

Page 11

Hunt News

Event

Calendar Calendar compiled by Claire Wallace Graphics by CJ Andrews

Thursday, Nov. 29 Join Mayor Marty Walsh and residents of Boston for the lighting of the Christmas tree in Boston Common. The event will feature the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and a fireworks show following the lighting. There will be food vendors and other festivities throughout the common as well. 7 p.m.- 9 p.m.; Boston Common; Free.

Photo courtesty Meryl Prendergast Kaila Bonocore, Lukas Heeringa, Anna Macek, and Carla Mirabal perform in “Attention All Passengers.”

By Samantha Barry News Staff Last spring, Ciara McAloon was waiting for a bus at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York when a common travel phrase caught her attention. “Attention all passengers” repeatedly blared through the loudspeaker as she waited, sparking an idea.

“I thought it would be a really funny format for a ten-minute play,” said McAloon, a second-year theater and English double major. “I just imagined this person that kept saying this phrase over and over with the most ridiculous things after it.”

Photo by Samantha Barry Ciara McAloon wrote her first play, “Attention All Passengers,” for the student-run theater company, Silver Masque.

Over the summer she wrote it up, titled it “Attention All Passengers,” and submitted it to Silver Masque, a student-run theater company on campus. By October, McAloon was preparing to put the show on for an audience in Ryder Theater. She joined Silver Masque her freshman year and is currently on the e-board as a member of the tech squad, handling lights, props, sets and other behind-the-scenes aspects.

Silver Masque’s main event, Fortnight, occurs every other Thursday in the Theater Lab at 11 p.m. McAloon described it as a cabaret-style open mic night where all students, not just theater majors, can sign up and perform. She has seen everything from song-and-dance routines to bizarre performance art.

Each Fortnight ends with a ten-minute play written and directed by students. Writers submit their plays before the start of the semester and the e-board picks five to six to be produced and put on throughout the year. McAloon went through the process and the e-board chose to produce her play.

“The selection process was a little difficult since I was on the e-board and they make the selections. I wasn’t allowed to tell anybody else I wrote it because we select plays blindly,”

McAloon said. “We all met up and talked about the plays and it was terrifying to hear people discuss my work. They didn’t know it was me, but people ended up liking it.”

After the selection process, the e-board held casting, picked a producer and rehearsals started at the beginning of October. They set the show date for the 19th of the month, giving them only two weeks to get everything together.

McAloon drew inspiration for her piece from the NYC bus terminal, which is where the story takes place.

In the play, a woman arrives at the terminal and begins waiting for a bus with other travelers. While they wait, an announcer continually comes over the loudspeaker and repeats the phrase “attention all passengers” followed by a ridiculous statement. One example is, “Attention all passengers: All buses going to the spikes have unintentionally melted.”

The longer they wait, the more outrageous the announcements and travelers get due to boredom. There’s yelling, fighting and a man clipping his toenails on stage, all of which culminate in the realization that their buses are never coming.

“At the end there’s this really big riot, which was sort of different every time we rehearsed,” said McAloon. “There was heavy strobe and screaming, a frying pan and people dropping dead, it was outrageous.”

McAloon described how she pushed the cast to be as weird as possible and follow their wildest impulses. She wanted everyone to vie for the audience’s attention.

“She is really interested in absurdism and she likes really funky, interesting things happening on stage,” said Emma Hunt, third-year theater major and fellow Silver Masque e-board and tech squad member. “We had a really big cast, nine people, so she did a really good job of collaborating with them and helping bring in their ideas while also keeping a really strong vision of what she wanted.”

Hunt also produced the play and handled many of the logistical elements so that McAloon could focus on her vision of the story. As producer, Hunt handled the scheduling of rehearsals, emailed the cast with updates, kept track of set design, props and costumes, coordinated lighting and served as support for McAloon.

The support was much needed, with McAloon in the unique position

of being both the writer and director of the play. Typically for Silver Masque productions, the roles go to two separate people, but McAloon wanted to take on the challenge of doing both.

“I had never written a play before this, so this was very exciting for me.

I had directed one thing previously my senior year of high school, but I never had experienced directing my own work,” McAloon said. “I often felt like I was wearing two hats at the same time and it was difficult to know if I should have both on or one at a time.”

She also said being both writer and director took much of the guesswork out of making sense of the show. Knowing exactly what she meant in each scene helped making cuts to the script easier and gave her more freedom to direct the play in exactly the way she wanted.

According to Hunt, audiences reacted well to the play and appreciated McAloon’s over-the-top style humor. She herself was proud of the way it turned out and said writing and completing her first play was very fulfilling.

“I was there for every step of conceptualization and followed it from birth to performance. I had two weeks of stress dreams about it, but when it was performed I was pleased with the result,” McAloon said.

Silver Masque is one of the few organizations on campus that allows students to showcase their skills in this way. Hunt believes this is beneficial not just for theater majors, but for students of all disciplines.

“There’s a big commitment to producing student work which is really nice because it means anyone can participate,” Hunt said. “It’s become a really nice communal gathering place and community for people who really like the performing arts to come even if they aren’t necessarily studying it as their major.”

As for McAloon, she wants to continue to write and direct more shows for Silver Masque. Although she said it is intense, and a big time commitment, she thinks it’s fun and enjoys theater as a creative outlet.

In the end, the play left some questions unanswered. What was the symbolism behind the dead-end bus terminal, crazy cast of travelers, and the repetitive announcer? What did it all mean?

“It’s not that deep. I just hate Port Authority,” McAloon said.

Friday, Nov. 30

Join NUTV in celebrating their 12th Schefen Awards, hosted by two Northeastern students and honoring videos created by students. The event will feature awards, prizes and never-before-seen video content for audience viewing. The dress code is formal, so don your evening attire and head to the awards. 7 p.m.- 9 p.m.; Afterhours; Free.

Saturday, Dec. 1

Are you a fan of Harry Potter and all things fantasy? Then put on your wizarding robes and join artists as they paint, sell and display artwork focused on Harry Potter, Star Wars, Marvel, Game of Thrones and other fan-favorite shows and books.

Admission is free and there will be art for sale throughout the exhibits.

12 p.m.- 7 p.m.; Hilton Boston Back Bay; Free.

Sunday, Dec. 2 Asian Student Union, Resident Student Association, Barkada and other on campus groups will be performing in Northeastern’s charity dance competition, ticket proceeds going to the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center. BARCC works with schools and communities to provide aid for survivors. 6 p.m.- 8:30 p.m.; Blackman Auditorium; $8.

Monday, Dec. 3

This year, Northeastern’s TedX event will follow the series TedWomen, showcasing femaleidentifying performers and storytellers. There will be special activities, performances and speakers sharing their experiences and stories as women. This event is open to all. Sign up for the limited space event here: 6 p.m.- 9 p.m.; Northeastern Alumni Center; Free.

Tuesday, Dec. 4 Blink! features the signature holiday tree at Faneuil marketplace, making it the center of an engaging light and sound show that celebrates the holiday season. This event will continue through Jan. 1 and includes multiple performances daily. 4:30 p.m.-10 p.m.; Faneuil Hall Marketplace; Free.

Wednesday, Dec. 5 Northeastern Chabad will be hosting a Chanukah party to celebrate the beginning of the holiday, otherwise known as The Festival of Lights. Chabad will be lighting up the night with menorah making, doughnut making, latkes, crafts, music and more. Help kick off the holiday season in Afterhours.

7:00 p.m.-9 p.m.; Afterhours; Free.

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LIFESTYLE

November 29, 2018

Collaborators make LEGO cars at LEGOLAND Discovery Center. The theme of this month’s event was Star Wars and drew crowds from all over Boston.

Photo courtesy Natalie Hill

LEGOLAND Discovery Center hosts Star Wars adult night

Photo courtesy Natalie Hill An attendee takes part in a virtual reality experience at LEGOLAND Discovery Center.

Photo courtesy Natalie Hill Visitors build LEGO art at LEGOLAND Discovery Center.

By Brittany Mendez News Staff One Wednesday each month, LEGOLAND Discovery Center Boston hosts a themed adult night from 7-9 p.m. and November’s was Star Wars themed. Adults got the chance to participate in challenges designed by Megan Amaral, the Master Model Builder of the Boston location.

“It’s so cute and it’s so fun. I’m like a 35-year-old big child right now,” said attendee Kendra Zysk.

A life-sized LEGO giraffe greeted guests as they enter the center and they became surrounded by LEGO structures of all sorts. The multi-leveled center is completely LEGOfied, from the LEGO characters on the bathroom stall doors to the LEGO themed food. The center made use of every surface and even attached LEGO building bases to the walls for visitors to build horizontal structures.

“We had a friend who had a birthday tonight and she’s pretty big into LEGOs,” attendee Justin Slawson said. “We got the email and she invited us all out and here we are.”

A popular collaborative activity was the tile mosaic. For this activity attendees chose a square tile that had a color pattern composed of LEGO sized squares.

They then matched small LEGO pieces according to the colors on the tile. Once visitors completed their individual tile, they added it to a larger image to create a picture of a Star Wars character. Another team building exercise included a crowd building activity which allowed groups of adults to work together to create a larger LEGO sculpture.

“We are building a giant Yoda,” explained Amaral. “What we do is call this a crowd build when we have the different layers and everyone helps build the different layers while I add to the big model and at the end we have a 6-foot-tall Yoda.”

The event also had an interactive display of “Mini-Boston” invaded by LEGO Star Wars designed by Amaral. The exhibit was a miniature model of the city of Boston and featured famous landmarks such as the Prudential, Logan Airport and Fenway Park. Attendees could press buttons to make pieces of the display move or race LEGO boats down the Charles River.

“

We are building a giant Yoda.

What we do is call this a crowd build when we have the different layers and everyone helps build the different layers while I add to the big model and at the end we have a 6-foot-tall Yoda.

Adult night admission included access to a 4D movie that told the story of a LEGO superhero group. The theater was tricked out with many special effects to make the viewers’ experience more realistic. The audience was splashed by water when the LEGO characters got wet and the theater’s fans roared to create a cool breeze as the movie characters raced through the LEGO streets.

Anthony Flores, a LEGOLAND employee, highlighted that the most popular adult night theme so far has been the murder mystery. He expressed his excitement to have worked that particular night.

“I think we had like 300 to 400 people,” he said. “Everybody was working together trying to find out who did the murder.”

The next adult night at LEGOLAND Discovery Center Boston takes place on Wednesday, Dec. 12 and the theme will be ugly sweater party.

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