March 28, 2019 by The Huntington News

The Huntington News March 28, 2019

The independent student newspaper of the Northeastern community

@HuntNewsNU Campus

Student elections Photo courtesy givingdayneu.com Five versions of the fake posters were placed around campus, including the ones above about NU’s tuition and ISEC.

Fake Giving Day posters go viral, spark debate over NU fundraising By Deanna Schwartz News Staff On Thursday, fake posters for Northeastern’s annual Giving Day fundraiser popped up around campus with statements such as “You pay $67,800 to go here. Why not an even $70,000?” “Tired of having no place to study? Your donation could add one more seat in Snell!” and “ISEC was a $225 million dollar project. We need more of your money for Phase II.” Many Northeastern students did not know what to think. “When I first saw it, I couldn’t tell if it was real or not. But honestly, if it was, I wouldn’t be surprised,” said Elena Boggio, a first-year combined business administration and design major. The posters linked to a website, www.givingdayneu.com, that listed some of the possible recipients of donations as “science,” “college of science,” “maybe housing” and

“clubs or whatever.” A photo of the fire on Hemenway Street last semester was laid behind the text. Other than one section toward the bottom, the website mimicked the official Giving Day website closely. In very small font at the bottom of the site was the text: “This website and related posters are in no way affiliated with Northeastern University.” The site has since been deactivated. Giving Day will take place April 11. The university established the day for its “students, alumni, parents, partners, friends, faculty and staff ” around the world “to support Northeastern’s trailblazing research, acclaimed athletics, global connections and so much more,” according to the website. Giving Day events are set to include free donuts and coffee, a free lunch from The Sausage Guy food truck, a pie-in-the-face fundraiser, a staff lunch and a

senior-exclusive social catered by Chicken Lou’s. The fake posters were taken down throughout the day on Thursday, but not before photos of the posters spread on social media. One photo garnered more than 43,000 upvotes and 1,000 comments on Reddit. Many users appeared to not know the posters were fake, with one user commenting, “Time to find a new school, that’s absurd.” A photo even made its way

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the wrong ways, and we make the problem worse, we aggravate it,” said Abigail Steiner, a fourthyear health science major who is working on a capstone project to bring opioid training and education to NU. “That’s not what we need. We need these people to get help.” Opioid overdoses and related health issues caused the deaths of 1,156 people in Boston from 2000 to 2015. The National Safety Council reported this year that Americans have a higher chance of dying from opioid overdoses than car accidents. The rate of opioid-related deaths in Massachusetts has slightly decreased since 2016,

but the impact of the epidemic in Boston may have worsened overall. EMS records from 2017 indicate a 30 percent increase in the administration of Narcan, a brand of the Naloxone drug that temporarily reverses opioid overdoses, and a 54 percent in-

Photo by Dylan Shen Naloxone is a prescription drug that temporarily reverses overdoses. It can be administered through a nasal spray (Narcan) or injection.

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March 28, 2019

What’s the SGA voting process? The voting period lasts from April 7 to April 11. Votes are cast through the myNortheastern portal.

Photo by Samantha Barry Casey Waskiewicz, a second-year political science and international affairs major, is the chair of Student Government Association’s Election Committee. The committee will add an abstain option to the fall ballot.

SGA adds option to abstain on ballot By Yunkyo Kim News Staff Following last year’s election, which saw around 1,000 “no confidence” votes out of the 8,000 total votes cast, the Elections Committee of the Student Government Association, or SGA, will implement an “abstain” option in the upcoming presidential elections ballot, according to the committee’s chair Casey Waskiewicz. “Last year, the elections results were a little startling for us,” said Waskiewicz, a second-year political science and international affairs major. For the election to be verified, 20 percent of the undergraduate population needs to vote. Unlike the “no confidence” vote, the “abstain” votes will not count toward the 20 percent.

If the SGA does not receive the sufficient percentage within the voting period between April 7 and April 11, the student body will be given five more days to vote. In the case that the 20 percent is not achieved in the extension period, or that the ballot reveals more “no confidence” votes than the slate, the vote will go to the SGA senate, where a two-thirds majority is needed to elect the slate. “No confidence” means that voters do not believe that the running slate is qualified for the SGA position, and “abstain” will mean that voters chose to forfeit their input. In last year’s system, students had to pick between the slate and “no confidence” in order to vote for referenda. Waskiewicz said she believes many students were forced to vote “no con-

fidence” due to their bigger interests in voting for the referenda. “Obviously, people were voting no confidence because they had no confidence, so we didn’t want to get rid of it completely,” Waskiewicz said. “But we thought a lot of people were using no confidence in place of an abstention.” Waskiewicz also said that the abstention option will be a good opportunity to evaluate public opinion. “If I still see those numbers, I think that’s something that the association should take very much into consideration as this is the one big platform that the student body has to voice their opinions,” Waskiewicz said. “If two years in a row, we have a high percentage of no confidence votes, the students are trying to tell us something.”

By Yunkyo Kim

students residing within a housing complex system, such as West Village, cannot enter buildings other than their own apartments, making it difficult to find residential assistants and work on group projects. The priorities of the campaign are derived from the experience of the candidates within and beyond the SGA. Nobile, a second-year psychology and business major who was on the Events and Communications Committee and now the Finance Board, said her work as a peer mentor inspired her to advocate for the outreach of academic resources. “I have talked to different groups of freshmen, and they just don’t know what’s out there for them,” Nobile said. “Just putting [the resources] out there and getting them to the students and making sure that students have a way to better access the things they are looking for, are really a big part of our platform.” Brown said he is currently working on “rebranding” TRACE evaluations and NUCareers. He said SGA leadership will continue expanding experiential learning by creating more co-op opportunities on campus. Both the Elections Committee and the slate are paying attention to student attitudes toward the SGA ad-

ministration. Responding to a high rate of “no confidence” responses on ballots in recent years, the committee will add on the option of “abstain.” “We did get a high volume of ‘no confidence’ votes last year, which was something that was obviously concerning, and I think that at least for some portion of the vote, it was not understood what a ‘no confidence’ vote meant,” said Casey Waskiewicz, a second-year political science and international affairs combined major and chair of the Elections Committee. “We wanted to add the extension option on the ballot in the hopes that we won’t see as many ‘no confidence’ votes as last year.” The new slate is aware of this trend and plan to make the campaign more accessible and improve relations between the SGA and the student body. Brown also said he wants to raise school spirit with hockey games and SGA-sponsored tailgates. “Something to really drive students together … We’re always looking for more ideas in maintaining a greater community bond between Northeastern students,” Brown said. The team is also looking for public opinion and suggestions on key

If 20 percent of the undergraduate population casts a vote the vote is verified. No confidence votes count towards verification but abstain votes do not. Last year one eighth of votes cast were no confidence.

If 20 percent of the undergraduate population does not cast a vote students get five more days to cast votes. Students must vote in the presidential election to vote on referenda.

If the 20 percent is not achieved or there are more no confidence votes than for the candidates the vote goes to the SGA senate where a two-thirds vote is needed to elect the slate. Graphic by Avery Bleichfeld

Chris Brown to run unopposed News Staff Chris Brown and Gabby Nobile will run uncontested for president and vice president of the Student Government Association, or SGA, for the upcoming school year. Students can cast ballots from April 7 to April 11 on the myNortheastern portal starting April 1. “We would like to expand access to the resources we have now and use them more efficiently,” said Brown, a second-year math and finance major who currently serves as SGA vice president for academic affairs. Brown said the pair will primarily focus on accessibility, academic advising and improving SGA relations with other student organizations. Their campaign will be managed by Karl Salvatore, a fourth-year industrial engineering major, and Emily Newell, a first-year political science major. “We want 24-7 swipe-in access to buildings,” Brown said. “Space is a huge issue on campus, and we really think that this is something that will help alleviate that.” The team wants to pilot a system of swipes and access shortlists that will give students entrance to all buildings in a complex. As of now,

issues. They seek to run a campaign of transparency and accessibility. “If you have this dire need that

isn’t being heard, we want to hear it, and we want to involve it,” Newell said.

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Narcan access gains student support at NU NALOXONE, from front or injection (Evzio). NUPD Sergeant Detective Brian Nocerino said all community service officers and police officers carry it and also receive yearly training. Steiner has worked with the Health in Justice Action Lab at the NU School of Law for two years and is currently collaborating on the capstone project with Faculty Director and Associate Professor of Law and Health Sciences Leo Beletsky. They are in the process of compiling sources for a needassessment report comparing opioid training and education between Northeastern and other American universities. “I noticed at my last co-op that there was a huge discrepancy between how to deal with individuals who have substance use issues. People just weren’t educated on it, to say the least,” Steiner said. “They were using stigmatizing language. Everything I was seeing just wasn’t what I had learned at the [Health in Justice Action Lab], so I really saw an issue that needed to be tackled.” Other than a EMT training class in which Naloxone training is required by state law, Steiner said that she has not encountered a curriculum in her health science classes that addressed or discussed the opioid epidemic, and said that conversations with other Bouvé students and professors so far confirmed her experience. “We pretty much found that we’re not teaching any info,” Steiner said. Nola Rich, a fifth-year health science major, said that more Naloxone training and public access is necessary for students to prevent fatal overdoses. “I think that increasing access to [Naloxone] and increase in the number of people who are trained in how to recognize and respond to an overdose is a great thing and a lot of college campuses are doing that already,” Rich said. “It would be great if Northeastern would.” The implementation of Naloxone is an ongoing national effort in American universities. Tom Horvath,

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NUPD CRIME LOG Compiled by Sully Barrett, News Staff

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Photo by Dylan Shen Nola Rich, a fifth-year health science major, said public access to Naloxone and training on how to use it is essential on campuses. the founder of Practical Recovery Within the Northeastern campus, — a San Diego-based company that efforts to introduce trainings are promotes a “non-12 step rehab and primarily driven by students. On alcohol treatment without stigma, Tuesday, NU’s Neurons Club invited without shame” — said he supports two student trainers from the using Naloxone to reverse overdoses Massachusetts College of Pharmacy as “common sense.” and Health Science, or MCPHS, “For the benefit gain of saving a for an event during the club’s Brain life … the effort involved is relatively Awareness Week 2019. minimal, and training doesn’t have “We go directly through students, to take very long,” Horvath said. “I which I think is empowering in recommend getting training.” itself … the fact that students are Horvath said he created an reaching out and saying ‘Hey, we outreach initiative a year ago to need a training like this,’” said Carly promote the benefits of Naloxone Magoon, one of the trainers invited to educational institutions and by Neurons Club and a fourth-year surrounding communities. pharmacy doctorate student at Pro-Naloxone initiatives at MCPHS. Northeastern are already underway. Steiner plans to conduct a survey The Health in Justice Lab is to evaluate the knowledge level of the conducting broader research on the NU student body in order to convey intersection of public health policy a need for more education to Bouvé and criminal justice with Zachary College of Health Sciences faculty Siegel, a journalism fellow at the lab. and administration. “One thing we care a lot about is She said she hopes that the that Naloxone is accessible to anyone research would be used to ultimately that might need it,” Siegel said. create a guideline for prevention Siegel said every campus residence and awareness in nursing and health hall should have a first aid kit science curricula. equipped with the antidote. “The fact that Northeastern, so far, “If on the floor of every dormitory, hasn’t put the curriculum in place is there’s a first aid kit with a discouraging to me,” she said. “I just defibrillator, and everything else that want to see my peers and the rest of should come with saving someone’s the students have the knowledge to life, Naloxone should also be in that go out into the world and make a kit,” Siegel said. difference.”

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Photo by Dylan Shen Nola Rich holds up a dose of naloxone nasal spray, commonly known as Narcan. Naloxone, an opioid antagonist, is used to temporarily reverse overdoses.

3:45 p.m. NU staff reported a man yelling racial slurs in the dining hall in International Village, or IV. Officers responded and reported the man was an NU student and that he denied making the slurs. Officers reported escorting the student from the building. A report was filed.

4:02 p.m. During a health and safety inspection, an RD reported finding an exit sign in a room in Kerr Hall that was previously removed from another location on campus. Officers responded and reported not being able to contact the residents. A report was filed.

5:22 p.m. An RD reported that an RA found an NUPD traffic barricade in a room at 106 St. Stephen St. while conducting health and safety inspections. Officers responded and reported not being able to contact the residents. A report was filed.

5:52 p.m. An NU student reported her cell phone was stolen from a room in Churchill Hall. A report was filed.

10:30 a.m. An NU student reported her package was stolen after being delivered to her residence at 409 Huntington Ave. A report was filed.

5:43 p.m. NU staff reported a former NU student who was not registered with the Alumni Office was repeatedly sneaking into the Snell Library. Staff reported attempting to make contact with the former student by email and in person with no response. A report was filed.

2:44 a.m. An officer reported an Uber driver signaled him and stated that an intoxicated woman was in the back seat of his car and needed medical assistance. The officer reported identifying the woman as an NU student and that she was conscious and alert. The student declined all medical attention. A report was filed.

10:47 a.m. An NU staff member reported that students were defacing property her department had placed around campus and that the “Giving Banner” was missing from Columbus Garage. A report was filed.

11:22 a.m. A staff member at Wollaston’s Market in the Marino Recreation Center reported a man was attempting to shoplift a sandwich and a drink. Officers responded and identified the man as not affiliated with NU. Officers reported banning the man from all NU property. A report was filed.

2:51 p.m. An individual reported a homeless man was yelling at her and refusing to leave Chicken Lou’s. Officers responded and identified the man as not affiliated with NU. Officers placed the man under arrest for active warrants for open and gross lewdness and disturbing the peace. A report was filed.

6:30 p.m. An individual not affiliated with NU reported her coat and purse were stolen from the restroom on the first floor of Marino Recreation Center. A report was filed.

4:29 a.m. A Northeast Security supervisor reported a man was passed out in the Architecture Studio. Officers responded and identified the man as an NU student. Officers reported an ambulance transported the student to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center for medical evaluation. A report was filed.

6:28 p.m. An NU student reported a man was stumbling around in Carter Park and appeared to need medical assistance. Officers responded and reported the man claimed he was an NU student and that he had recently used heroin. Officers requested an ambulance which transported the man to Tufts Medical Center. Officers reported having no record of an NU student with the man’s name. A report was filed.

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ASL brings music to deaf audience By Yunjia Hou News Correspondent When performers sang “Touch Me” from the musical “Spring Awakening” at Northeastern’s Blackman Auditorium Friday and Saturday night, there were four students standing at the corner of the stage “singing” with them — with their hands. They were American Sign Language, or ASL, interpreters helping deaf audience members enjoy the musical. “Deaf people can enjoy music,” Laurie Achin said through an interpreter. Achin is a deaf professor at Northeastern who teaches ASL. “It doesn’t have to be through your ears. It’s not all about sound. You can feel it, see it and dance to it.” The four student interpreters were from Northeastern’s American Sign Language Club; the university’s theater club, NU Stage Musical Theater Company, produced the musical. Anna-Reine Beaulieu, one of the interpreters and a fourth-year ASL major, said the ASL club interpreted the theater club’s production of “Cabaret” last semester and they decided to continue the collaboration. Beaulieu said Achin translated the musical into ASL and the four interpreters practiced on their own. They volunteered for the role and prepared for a month.

Enjoying music comes in many forms

Achin said there is a wide range of individuals in the deaf community. Some can hear a little with a hearing aid while others are fully deaf. However, all are able to experience music through vibrations. When deaf people listen to music, they put on large headphones, turn up the volume and touch the speaker to feel vibrations, she said. “But at a theatre, typically it is two to three times as loud as everyday music,” Achin said. “It is guaranteed they can feel vibrations on the floor. That is why deaf people like going to the theatre.” Achin listens to music by matching a song with numbers and memorizing it by breaking it into eight-beat segments and counting. It usually takes her two to three weeks to memorize a song. She said she can also feel the music by dancing to it. “If it is a happy song I might do

something like this.” She waved her arms and bent her knees. “If there was a very slow song I might do something like this.” She touched her heart with her hands and frowned, meaning heartbroken. “Hearing people typically just stand there while deaf people will use their body to interpret the music,” Achin said. “Sometimes deaf dancers are better than hearing dancers because they are not paying attention to the sound. They are paying attention to the feeling. They let their body interpret the music.” Achin said there are generally four ways to help deaf people access the theatre: The first is having a captioning device or a live sign language interpreter. The second is having hearing artists and deaf artists both on the stage. For example, the lead role of a musical is performed by a hearing artist and his wife is performed by a deaf artist. When the lead role speaks, his wife will do ASL to interpret his words because she is deaf and she knows ASL. And when his wife is speaking in ASL, someone backstage will read her lines through the sound system as she signs. In this way, the show is accessible to both hearing and deaf audiences. The third way is having deaf theatres, like the National Theatre of the Deaf in New London, Connecticut and the New York Deaf Theatre in New York City. Most performers, directors and managers of those theatres are deaf and use ASL. A fourth alternative is to use lights as a means to show the rhythm. “If it is heavy metal and dark music, they would have dark lighting, like red and black flashing. If it is a happy song, they would have yellow, pink or green light flashing with the rhythm,” Achin said. She said

although there are many ways to help deaf people access theatres, many theatre companies do not like to do it because of the cost. She also said she worked with the Boston Symphony Orchestra to add abstract concepts to a symphony whose theme was protecting the environment and saving marine animals. “What we did was something like this, the whale coming up and the tail going down,” she said. To demonstrate, she extended her thumb and smallest finger while holding the three middle fingers curled, like the fin of a whale. She moved her hand up and down like a whale was swimming up and down.

Interpreters and deaf artists provide access

Outside the theatre, some ASL interpreters work at live music festivals to help deaf people enjoy music. “We want to provide the access that deaf audience deserves,” said Kyla Wilkenfeld, a freelancer interpreter from California who has interpreted live music festivals for eight years. “When I am interpreting the music, I am providing the same access and enjoyment I get to somebody else.” To help deaf audiences feel surrounded by the events and know what is happening around them, ASL interpreters not only interpret lyrics but also feedback from the crowd and the beats, like a

guitar or drum solo, Wilkenfeld said. She said she holds an air guitar for the solos. Her hands move up and down with the pitch. For longer notes or held-out sounds, she holds out the sign. Wilkenfeld said it usually takes her a month to prepare for one artist’s performance, which is about 90 minutes, and about three months to prepare for a music festival. “It is the same way I would work with Shakespeare,” Wilkenfeld said. “I have to do the research of when the artists wrote the songs, where they were emotionally at that moment, what happened in their life and what was the meaning behind the metaphors. I try to find signs that both match the rhythm and the meaning. And from then on, it’s just a lot of practice.” In most cases, interpreters cannot access the artists before the show because the artists are so busy, so they have to work on their own, Wilkenfeld said. More deaf people have attended live music festivals recently, said Lindsay Roth-

schild-Cross, a freelance ASL interpreter from Texas who has interpreted live music shows for five years. Rothschild-Cross said last year, about 90 deaf people went to the Austin City Limits, a music festival held in Texas. “They love music,” she said. “When I was interpreting, especially a popular song, they would sign along like hearing people would sing along.” Jules Dameron is a deaf director who has worked in professional directing for 15 years. She has created many music videos including Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” and Disney’s “Let It Go” in ASL. A 100 percent deaf team created one of her favorite music videos, Bruno Mars’ “The Lazy Song” in ASL. Dameron said in an email that it is challenging for deaf people to create music videos, and sometimes they need to ask hearing people to help them describe the mood, style and rhythm of the song. But they have the advantage of getting the music visually represented rather than having the visuals “compliment” the music. “If we are trained and aware of all the factors involved in a music video, there’s nothing we cannot do,” Dameron said.

Members of NU’s American Sign Language club interpret a performance of NU Stage Musical Theater Company’s “Spring Awakening” over the weekend.

Photo by Samantha Barry

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NU community critical of fundraiser MONEY, from front into a Boston University student Facebook group with the caption, “Northeastern has no sense of shame.” The creators of the satirical posters and website have not revealed themselves to the public. The posters’ criticism of Giving Day is not isolated — across the Northeastern community, Giving Day does not have a good reputation among many students. Echo Gagush, a first-year mechanical engineering major, said Northeastern’s marketing of Giving Day shows that the administration does not understand the student body. “I’m curious how effective Giving Day has been in the past and why the school is continuing to do it, even with the backlash. Do they not notice how much their students dislike it?” Gagush said. A university spokesperson said

Giving Day is a positive occasion for the school. “Every year, thousands of Northeastern alumni, parents, students, friends, faculty and staff participate in Giving Day,” said Renata Nyul, NU’s vice president for communications, in a March 26 email to The News. “It’s an opportunity for the Northeastern community to show their spirit and enthusiasm, and the university is grateful for their generosity and partnership. At the same time, one of the hallmarks of a great university is people feeling free to offer alternative viewpoints. It’s called academic freedom.” Gugash said that even the real Giving Day advertisements around campus could have a negative effect on prospective students. “The signs that are plastered around buildings are semi-invasive, and I feel like they don’t present a

good image of Northeastern to prospective students,” Gagush said. “I would not want to go to a college trying to pressure me into paying more money.” Ben Winslow, a fifth-year industrial engineering major, said Giving Day is often misunderstood. “People think it’s just more money for NU to use at their discretion, when in reality it encourages alumni and students alike to donate to the changes they want to see in Northeastern,” Winslow said. Winslow pointed out that when making donations, contributors can choose where the money goes. “Alumni donations increase NU’s national ranking, which is good for everyone,” he said. “If you’re in any student organization, large amounts of

your funding can come from Giving Day. If you want to see certain causes get more attention, donating to that cause is a great way to be the change you want to see.” Some Northeastern parents and alumni are among those expressing concerns about Giving Day. Gayle Pickering, whose son is a fifth-year student at Northeastern, said she has mixed feelings about the fundraiser. “On one hand, I can understand their push for money,” said Pickering, from Sag Harbor, New York. “On the other hand, I’ve spent five years writing checks. I’m a bit over the request for money. But, if that’s what it takes to run a first-rate, diversified university in a great city, I’m okay with that.” Laurie Ayala-Alvarez said she believes paying tuition for her son, a health science major, has been

enough of a donation over the past four years. She said she gets calls and emails about Giving Day every year and often laughs at them with her husband. “I find it almost offensive that they have the nerve to ask parents who are currently paying upwards of $70,000 a year for money,” said Ayala-Alvarez, who lives in Brewster, New York. “I think it’s insane, and they shouldn’t do it.” Andrew Mensch, who graduated from Northeastern in 1987 and now lives in Randolph, New Jersey, said he has conflicting views as both an alum and a parent of a first-year communication studies major. “As an alum, I think it is a great idea,” he said. “As a parent who is paying for school, I think that asking for donations while we are paying ever-increasing tuition every year isn’t effective or right.”

Giving Day promotional materials appear around campus, including this poster on Huntington Avenue. The third-annual fundraiser will take place April 11.

Photo by Samantha Barry

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Jewish community struggles with conflict between finals and Passover

Randy Evers, a second-year economics major and Hillel shabbat chair, leads prayers during sh

By Deanna Schwartz News Staff

“

For the Jewish community at Northeastern, final exams come with added stress this spring. The exam period — April 19 to 26 — coincides directly with Passover, one of Judaism’s most important holidays. Passover is an eight-day holiday commemorating the liberation of the Jewish people from Egyptian slavery as described in the Hebrew Bible. It is traditional for families to host a seder, a ritual dinner, at home, where they tell the story of Passover. Celebrants follow a specific Kosher diet and periods of non-working days. Many in the Jewish community at NortheastThis is part of ern worry about what it means to be coordinating Jewish in the adult their exam-relatworld. Conflicts will be ed responsibilities inevitable for you with holiday observance. your whole life. “It’s been stressful thinking – Lori Lefkovitz, professor about planning of Jewish studies when I’ll be able to study because of this important holiday,” said Eva Gaufberg, a fourth-year psychology major. “I definitely won’t be able to celebrate it the way I’d like to.” Aaron Abecassis, a first-year finance major, has exams on both Friday mornings during finals week and will not have time to take a train or bus home to New Jersey before the holiday begins. He said that he

”

did not realize the conflict until after conflict forms were due. Students with a final exam conflict could file a conflict form between when exam dates were released on Jan. 23 and when the forms were due on Jan. 30. Possible final exam conflicts listed on the registrar website include “three finals in one day” and “two finals at the same time” — religious conflicts are not mentioned. Daniel Aldrich, a professor of political science at Northeastern and a practicing Jew, is also affected by the conflict between Passover and finals. “I have to balance my duty to students and to ensuring that the class is done, with my desire to take part in the rituals and beliefs with which I strongly identify,” Aldrich said. He said that students often come to him for assistance when they have academic requirements that conflict with Jewish holidays. Northeastern’s Policy on Instructional Accommodations For Student Religious Observance states that “when any student is unable, because of religious practice, to attend class or participate in an examination or any other required assignment or activity in any course in which she or he is enrolled, the course instructor shall provide reasonable opportunity to make up the examination, assignment or activity.”

NU response falls short for some In an email to all active students on March 21, Madeleine Estabrook, senior vice chancellor for student

affairs, wrote, “Northeastern is committed to honoring the religious commitments of all members of our community, including faculty, staff and students. “Both Northeastern’s policy and Massachusetts law provide that students and employees of the univer-

appreciates the recognition, the university’s statement does not change anything for her. “I’d have to take all my finals much earlier and most of my classes are going to teach right up until the last class, so I would have no time to study and may actually still be learn-

Jewish students at NU Northeastern is the 19th most Jewish private university in the U.S.

6% of the undergraduate population 4% of the graduate population Graphic Devin Raynor Source Hillel International sity may be allowed to take time off for religious observances. Students unable to attend classes, participate in required course activities or take a scheduled examination because of religious observance should be provided with reasonable opportunity to make up the course work without adverse effects.” Estabrook also wrote that students have the option to request that their exams be rescheduled and that faculty may use personal time to observe Passover. All faculty members received a nearly identical email from Debra L. Franko, the senior vice provost for academic affairs. Gaufberg said that while she

ing material,” she said. “I don’t think I will be contacting my professors to try to take them earlier because I would probably do much worse on my exams.” Avital Brodski, a second-year environmental science and media and screen studies combined major, said she worked with her professor to reschedule a final presentation that fell during Passover. Brodski said she was planning on going home to Philadelphia and did not want to have to find a seder in Boston while also preparing for the presentation. She said that she thinks the email sent out by Northeastern was too late to be effective.

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Photo by Riley Robinson Food prepared for Shabbat sits in Hillel’s kosher kitchen on Friday. Shabbat is Judaism’s day of rest.

Photo by Riley Robinson habbat service Friday at Northeastern Hillel. “I think they sent that after a lot of people were complaining,” Brodski said. Aldrich, however, was pleased to see Northeastern’s sensitivity to the scheduling needs of students and faculty. “It makes accommodation far easier when we have support from the administration,” Aldrich said. The March 21 email from Estabrook was a game-changer for Abecassis — after receiving it, he emailed his professors to ensure he could go home for both weekends of Passover.

Conflict persists yearround

Northeastern has the 19th-highest Jewish population among private universities in the U.S. with Jewish students making up 6 percent of the undergraduate population and 4 percent of the graduate population, according to self-reported data from Hillel. However, some students feel that their minority status forces them to make compromises between their education and religious traditions. One Jewish graduate student said she has often struggled to reconcile her faith with her education at Northeastern. The student, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of “falling out of [her] program’s good graces and not getting the best placements [she] can,” does not have final exams during the non-working days of Passover this year, but she has experienced conflicts with academics and holidays in the past. “In many cases, especially for hol-

Photo by Riley Robinson Aaron Abecassis, a first-year finance major, found out he has exams on both Friday mornings during finals week and will not make it home in time for the first few days of the holiday. idays, I modify my observance to not inconvenience my professors,” she said. “As a minority group, we have choices as to what we are willing to give in order to be educated at a top university.” Gilad Skolnick, executive director of Northeastern Hillel, said he has found the administration to be very accommodating and believes it to be the responsibility of the student to “know their rights and bring this conflict to the attention of the right people.” Based on the academic calendars out for upcoming years, another conflict with Passover and final exams is not in the foreseeable future. Although this particular convergence will not happen again any time soon, Jewish students will always have conflicts to deal with, said Lori Lefkovitz, Ruderman professor of Jewish studies and the director of Northeastern’s Jewish studies program. “This is part of what it means to be Jewish in the adult world,” Lefkovitz said. “Conflicts will be inevitable for you your whole life.” Lefkovitz said Jewish students should view this as an opportunity to affiliate. “You shouldn’t feel isolated in your needs,” Lefkovitz said. She recommended students attend seders on campus through Chabad, Hillel or community members if they are unable to return home in time. “Jewish students should seek out community on campus and talk to each other about their needs,” she said.

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OPINION

Page 8

March 28, 2019

Column: New Zealand is a lesson the US hasn’t learned

Melissa Wells

or Muslims around the world, Jumu’ah, also known as Friday Prayer, is the most sacred time of the week — the most important part of Friday. But for Muslims in New Zealand, Friday, March 15 became a nightmare. With a camera fashioned into headgear, an individual who remains nameless was greeted at the front doors of Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand at 1:40 p.m. Daud Nabi, a 71-year-old former Afghan refugee, beckoned him from the doors of the mosque he helped found with a cheerful, “Hello, brother!” The man raised his gun and fired, killing the first of 50 victims. The two consecutive terrorist attacks shocked communities around the world and left New Zealand reeling. However, unlike the United

States, New Zealand did not falter in taking action. It took less than a day for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to rightfully condemn white supremacy, which the gunman used as justification for violence. And it took less than a day for our president’s responding commentary to dismiss it. It took one day for New Zealand to decide that it must ensure the safety of its people against gun violence. It took six days for New Zealand to legislate action against the instruments used to facilitate mass murder. All in all, it took one week for New Zealand, a nation in grief, to do better than the United States ever has in protecting the livelihood of its people against the epidemic of gun violence and rising white extremism worldwide. How New Zealand, a country at peace, confronted this violence and the subsequent tragedy is telling of both its people and its government. What is more telling, however, is how the United States responded to three key things: the role of guns, white supremacy and the xenophobic aspect of this attack on the Muslim community and its faith. In the wake of what Ardern called “an extraordinary and unprecedented act of violence,” Trump was asked whether he thought white nationalism was a growing threat around the

world. He said, “I don’t really. I think it’s a small group of people that have very, very serious problems.” The thing about a serious problem like white supremacy, other than the fact that it is not nor has it ever been “a small group of people,” is that it does not manifest in a vacuum. Islamophobia, homophobia, racism — that kind of hate doesn’t just happen, it is emboldened by bigotry normalized in political discourse. The hate that permeates this violence is staggering and on the rise despite those unwilling to acknowledge that truth. The Center for Strategic and International Studies, or CSIS, conducted a study examining the rise of rightwing terrorism, which is commonly referred to as “the use or threat of violence by sub-national or non-state entities whose goals may include racial, ethnic, or religious supremacy …” It found that the number of terrorist attacks perpetrated by farright extremists quadrupled in the United States between 2016 and 2017 and in Europe, far-right attacks rose 43 percent over the same time span. The increase in attacks perpetrated by white supremacists and anti-government extremists is “of particular concern,” according to the CSIS. The subject of white supremacy merits a discussion concerning not only what is wrong with this racist

belief system, but how the global community can unite against the rise of white extremism internationally. A good start would be following in New Zealand’s footsteps. The United States has much to learn from New Zealand. The multitude of ways they have displayed their solidarity with Muslims members of their community has brought New Zealanders together in a time when violence tried to divide them. New Zealand’s government responded to the deadliest mass shooting in its history by taking the necessary measures to learn from it. It serves as a lesson for us — and highlights a failure on our part — that steps can be taken to combat such problems. The United States has chosen to confront neither the growing issue of gun violence nor the rise of white supremacy, and the danger both pose. It can take a single day, a day like March 15, for our faith in humanity to be shaken. Or, like the peaceful worshippers in attendance at the two mosques attacked, for that faith to be targeted. It can also take a day like March 15 for that faith, in the face of tragedy, to be strengthened by the very humanity that connects us to one another. As Hasan Minhaj said, “Our faith should never matter more than our humanity.”

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Op-ed: Support NU faculty W

e, like all Northeastern students, interact with professors on a daily basis. While it can be difficult to discern different types of faculty, a significant portion of our courses are taught by full-time, non-tenure track faculty. We build lasting and meaningful relationships with many of these professors and feel a responsibility to stand with them when given the opportunity to do so. Now, an opportunity to uplift them has presented itself that will prove crucial to improving our own learning environment, as well as that of all students who come after us. Last November, our full-time, non-tenure track faculty filed for a union election to vote on whether they want to form a union. This can only occur with significant support from the faculty body. Rather than allowing faculty to move forward in this democratic process, President Aoun and our administration responded in a deeply concerning manner. Relying on an expensive anti-union law firm, Jackson Lewis P.C., Northeastern’s administration suppressed our faculty’s right to a union election, claiming they disagree with established labor law and that full-time, non-tenure track faculty are “managers,” ineligible to hold an election or form a union. The decision our administration made is clear: They spent possibly

hundreds of thousands of our tuition dollars to obstruct our professors from deciding how they want their voices to be heard. As students, many of us are working multiple jobs or taking out tens of thousands of dollars in loans to cover our tuition. Yet, instead of spending our tuition dollars on scholarships or educational, recreational and medical resources for students, the administration hired an overpriced, union-busting law firm. Northeastern clearly has a surplus of money it could use to create a more supportive, healthy and collaborative environment for all of us. Rather than make decisions reflecting that mentality, they have proven that protecting their own financial interests is a more pressing matter. Over the past few years, full-time, non-tenure track faculty at Boston University, Tufts University and Lesley University formed faculty unions, just like adjunct faculty at Northeastern did a few years ago. The Northeastern administration is operating in cooperation with the Trump-appointed National Labor Relations Board to combat union rights everywhere, not just in this specific circumstance. What happens now will help determine the labor market we will live in as students and workers. We, as undergraduate students, have a responsibility to foster solidarity in our community and advocate

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Board of Directors Bill Mitchell, Carlene Hempel, Eliot Sherman, Gal Tziperman Lotan, James Ross, Laurel Leff, Lincoln McKie, Jr., Meredith O’Brien, Nicholas Daniloff Opinions expressed in The Huntington News through letters to the editor, cartoons and columns are not necessarily those of The News staff or its board of directors. Northeastern University students conduct all operations involved in the production of this publication. For inquiries about the Board of Directors, email the outreach coordinator. For general inquiries, email the managing editor.

Cartoon by Pete McKay for faculty’s right to a union election. Learn more about the campaign at www.northeasternfacultyforward.org. Rourke Bywater is a fourth-year history major. Andrew Cherry is a

fourth-year communication studies and political science major. Mackenzie Coleman is a fifth-year bioengineering major. Kim Noe is a fourth-year history major. Isabella Viega is a fourthyear English major.

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LIFESTYLE

March 28, 2019

Lucy Dacus brings mellow vocals to NU By Hayley Slusser News Correspondent Tastemakers Magazine, Northeastern’s student-run music publication, hosted its annual concert in AfterHours Saturday, featuring indie rock singer Lucy Dacus as the headlining performer and local folk artist Grace Givertz as the opening act. Givertz took the stage with Max Grazier on drums and fourthyear NU student Ari Blut on bass. Normally a solo performer, Givertz admitted that this was her first show playing with a full band. Despite their limited experience as a unit, the trio performed as though they had been playing together for years. Givertz’s innovative approach to folk music made each song different from the next. Rather than focusing on a particular instrument, she switched between the acoustic guitar and the banjo, even playing the harmonica between lyrics. Her biggest strength, however, was her voice. She easily transitioned from whispers to powerful belted notes that conveyed raw emotion. Many of her lyrics discussed painful experiences but she maintained her composure and lighthearted attitude. “Sorry if you didn’t come here to cry,” Givertz said. Dacus took the stage accompanied by Jacob Blizard on guitar, Dominic Angelella on bass and Ricardo Lagomasino on drums. This show was the

“

Hunt News

Event

Calendar Calendar compiled by Ali Dusinberre Graphics by Alaine Bennett

Thursday, Mar. 28

This red carpet premiere event will kick off Northeastern’s participation in Campus Movie Fest, or CMF, the world’s largest student film festival. The event will showcase 16 films with the top four advancing to CMF’s national event in June. Audience members will also have chances to win prizes. 7 p.m.-11 p.m.; Blackman Auditorium; Free.

Friday, Mar. 29

Photo courtesy Lauren Scornavacca, Tastemakers Grace Givertz performs as the opening act for Tastemakers’ annual concert in AfterHours March 23. Dacus quickly loosened up, often commenting on how much fun she was having. Known for her gentle vocals and clever songwriting, Dacus showcased her strengths throughout her set, especially in songs like “Night Shift.” The track pairs her smooth, mellow

She has a way of making a room feel far smaller and more intimate.

”

– Jack Pumphret, first-year student

last stop on their two-month American tour. Dacus said she had never played at a venue like AfterHours. “We walked in and people were studying, and there was a Starbucks, and we were like, ‘Oh man, we’re going to be a nuisance,’” Dacus said to the audience. The enthusiastic crowd of students welcomed her with open arms and

Page 9

voice with blunt lyrics about wanting to punch an ex-lover in the teeth. First-year music industry major Jack Pumphret attended the show and said he was captivated by Dacus’s performance. “She has a way of making a room feel far smaller and more intimate,” Pumphret said. “She is also very particular about how she performs

and what instruments are used in a certain song to make sure the ambiance is perfect.” Though many of the songs were from her 2018 album “Historian,” Dacus included a few surprises for the audience. She performed her cover of “La Vie En Rose” by Edith Piaf, which was released this past Valentine’s Day. Dacus admitted her French wasn’t the best but her indie rock rendition breathed new life into the suave 1940s pop song. Dacus also included new music which has yet to be released. Choosing to perform without the rest of her band, Dacus played two songs for the audience as a preview of what they can expect from her in the future. The success of the concert, called Tastemakers Presents, left the audience yearning for new music from Dacus and for another great show next year. Until then, students can get their fix of new music from Tastemakers Magazine, which recently published its 55th issue.

NU Pride will host a conversation with podcaster and content creator Dylan Marron. Marron is best known for his voice work as Carlos on the podcast “Welcome to Night Vale,” the production of his own podcast “Conversations with People Who Hate Me” and his video series “Every Single Word.” 8 p.m.-10 p.m.; Curry Student Center Ballroom; Free for NU students.

Saturday, Mar. 30

Northeastern’s Strong Women Strong Girls will host its first annual Empowerment Conference. A variety of sessions will take place throughout the day including discussions on menstruation stigma in India, self- and communitycare practices and more. Check out the conference schedule on the event’s Facebook page to see which sessions interest you. 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Hastings YMCA Northeastern; Free.

Sunday, Mar. 31 Rally at Southwest Corridor Park and march through Jamaica Plain in celebration of International Transgender Day of Visibility. The march will take place from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. followed by an all-ages open mic at Spontaneous Celebrations in Jamaica Plain at 6 p.m. 3 p.m.; Southwest Corridor Park; Free.

Monday, Apr. 1 The Psi Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. is partnering with DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse in Boston to hold a Soles4Souls donation drive. The shoes collected will be used to help create jobs and empower women in developing nations. RSVP in advance on the Facebook page. 6 p.m.-8 p.m.; DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse; Free.

Tuesday, Apr. 2 As part of Northeastern’s Springfest Rewind 2019, the Council for University Programs, or CUP, will present this stand-up show featuring actress, comedian and writer Nicole Byer. Byer hosts the Netflix baking show “Nailed It!” and can be seen in MTV’s “Girl Code,” “30 Rock” and more. NYC-based comedian and writer Sonia Denis will open the show. 7 p.m.-9 p.m.; Blackman Auditorium; Free for NU students.

Wednesday, Apr. 3

Photo courtesy Lauren Scornavacca, Tastemakers Lucy Dacus performs at Tastemakers’ annual concert in AfterHours March 23.

Northeastern’s theatre department will host a production of Anton Chekhov’s “The Three Sisters” through April 7. The show takes an innovative spin on Chekhov’s work, which follows one family’s journey to discover the meaning of home in 19th-century Russia. 7:30 p.m.-10 p.m.; 180 Ryder Hall; $8 for NU students.

CITY

Page 10

March 28, 2019

Chilacates eatery opens Mission Hill location

Photo by Allie Kuo Socrates Abreu (left) founded Chilacates. He stands with his sister-in-law Kaurys Lajara, who runs the new branch in Mission Hill. his family, who are an essential part Love is in the way Abreu welcomes I’ve had to overcome — it keeps me By Allie Kuo of all the Chilacates restaurants. staff from one of the other locations level,” Abreu said, choking up for a News Correspondent There are family members working who have stopped by to see him, the moment. It all started with a hot dog. A at each of the locations, and for those way he banters with his sister-in-law Even with the success of his Sonoran hot dog, to be exact, eaten who may not be blood relatives, they behind the counter in Spanish and restaurant, Abreu bristles at the during a 2008 trip to Mexico for his are bound to become family. The how he sends a horchata into the thought of being called a chain and brother’s wedding. owner of the Mission Hill location, kitchen to be heated up for a chilly mentions the “ridiculous offers” “They wrap it in bacon, the bread Kaurys Lajara, is Abreu’s sistercustomer. Sitting in the Mission Hill he’s received from people seeking is off the hook, they do the pico de in-law, and the manager, Perfecto outpost of Chilacates, which opened to franchise Chilacates — ones that gallo, the onions, the jalapenos, the Gonsaga, is her fiance. Lajara on Feb. 10 with little fanfare or involve millions of dollars he has no cheese, everything,” said Socrates and Gonsaga were the ones who advertising, the 41-year-old appears interest in. Abreu, describing the meal that collaborated on Chilacates’ menu, right at home dressed in all black, “Anyone can push money at inspired him to open Chilacates, a finalizing it in two days. digging into a bright red plate of you,” Abreu said. “They just see the casual Mexican restaurant with five “Honestly, I just think it’s magical,” shrimp enchiladas in front of him. superficial, what’s on top, but they’re locations around Boston, including a Abreu said about their rapid process. “I’ve never had shrimp in not carving through the layers. So new one in Mission Hill. “When things are meant to be, they enchiladas before. This is also the if it’s gonna happen, it’s gonna be “I don’t know if you want to call just come together. And to this day, first time I’ve talked to someone and because of the love we put in.” that a dish, but it was wow,” Abreu it’s still the same menu. Just simple eaten at the same time,” Abreu said. Word of mouth plays an essential said, taking a moment to pause for things that you would get in the For almost four years, Abreu role in the growth of Chilacates, emphasis. “It hit us in the face. My streets.” worked at American Airlines — first which was evident in returning wife was like, ‘You need to open For Gonsaga, these flavors remind in customer service, and then on customer and Berklee student Max a Mexican place.’ I was like, ‘I’m him of home and his own mother’s the ramp — while simultaneously Nudi. While finishing up the spicy Dominican, I can’t open a Mexican cooking — especially the chicken running Chilacates, but there came chicken burrito in front of him, place!’ And she’s like, ‘Why not?’” tinga enchiladas, his go-to order. a point where he realized his energy which he said is among his all-time could not be split between the two favorites, Nudi gave a glowing review jobs. With a brief email penned in of the Mexican restaurant at the We don’t just make it handmade. 30 seconds, Abreu resigned from Mission Hill American Airlines in February to location. We make it handmade with love. give the restaurant his full attention. “I already Love has to be there. “It was hard, but it’s not fair. You posted on social gotta be fair to your business, and media the first – Socrates Abreu, Chilacates founder you gotta be fair to the people you’re time [I ate working for,” Abreu said. “So if I here],” Nudi Everything about Chilacates’ “I feel like when I eat the can’t give you the energy, like I tell said. “A bunch story is imbued with this sense of enchiladas, it’s like my mom cooked everyone, if you can’t give me the of people hit optimism and trust, between trust in it. That was her special dish — when love and energy I deserve, keep it me up, so I’ve Abreu’s sister-in-law’s ability to create I was in Mexico, that’s what I eat,” moving.” already been a menu that turned strangers into Gonsaga said. Things have been moving rapidly promoting it.” regulars, to trust that the business This familial connection, felt for Abreu ever since then, with the Abreu is would thrive without pumping through a bite of spicy shredded three newest Chilacates locations not dazed or money into advertising efforts. chicken or corn tortilla smothered passing health inspections one after distracted by the After securing a location on in cheese, is something that another and all opening within one allure of creating Amory Street in Jamaica Plain — or Abreu wants all of his customers week. The Chestnut Hill location a Mexican food JP, as Abreu lovingly calls the place to experience. He fosters an opened Feb. 8, the Mission Hill empire, unless where he was born, raised and environment that intertwines the location Feb. 10 and the South it’s on his own currently lives — it took 27 months power of love and food. He said food End location Feb. 16 — all eventerms. This may for Chilacates to finally open its is deeply personal and intimate. numbered days, thanks to Abreu’s be unfortunate doors in July 2015. Those two years He thinks back to his childhood, superstitious ways. news for those were filled with land battles, personal growing up with a father who was “I try to replicate everything. I living outside struggles and what Abreu described not the type to show a lot of love. But listen to the same thing I listened to the range of the as the hardest moments of his life. when he did, it was through cooking the first time we opened, like I go five existing “But I always knew it could be a great meal for those he cared about. through this whole ritual,” he said. Chilacates worse,” Abreu said. “Because at the “When I’m giving people food and He fills the stores with the sounds of locations, end of the day, I still had my family showing them that love it means the Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise.” but Abreu is there, I still had my mother and a lot world to me,” Abreu said. “It’s the one “I think a lot about where I’m steadfast in his of people who believed in me.” thing you give to someone and they coming from, where my parents and commitment to putting the food first He glowed when speaking about ingest it into their body.” family comes from, and the things and foremost.

“

The payoff is in the special moments that happen at his restaurants, when the act of eating becomes something more significant. Abreu said he has seen people meet at Chilacates who have gone on to get married, and he has had children eat their first bites of solid food at his restaurant. He pulled up a photo from the Chilacates Instagram page of a smiling girl, now a toddler, with tortilla in hand and food smeared all over her face. “They live in the South End. We opened in the South End, but they feel that it has so much magic on Amory Street that they continue to go to that one,” Abreu said of the little girl’s family. But looking around the Mission Hill shop, there are signs that the magic might not only be contained to that Jamaica Plain location. Abreu puts extreme care and thought into all the details, from the bold red wallpaper that can be found at all the locations to the little characters that adorn the napkin holders on the table. “I always say the people eat with their eyes and their heart, before you even take a bite. So if you don’t get treated right, and the place doesn’t look right, the food doesn’t taste the same,” Abreu said. With the help of local artist Deme5, Abreu created a logo that reflects the passion that goes into his restaurants. Above the row of red chilacate chiles, where the restaurant’s name comes from, is the phrase “hecho a mano con amor,” which means “handmade with love.” “But we don’t just make it handmade,” Abreu said. “We make it handmade with love. Love has to be there.” There are little things Abreu mentions that point to a larger, grander vision for his humble restaurant, but for now, he just wants to make sure that everyone who enters Chilacates feels like they’re getting a home-cooked meal. “There’s this Spanish phrase — barriga llena, corazón contento. Full belly, happy heart,” Abreu said, taking the last bite of his shrimp enchiladas.

”

Photo by Charlie Wolfson A sign outside Chilacates in Mission Hill introduces the casual Mexican restaurant to the neighborhood.

CITY

March 28, 2019

Page 11

A line of customers trails behind the NETA marijuana dispensary in Brookline Saturday after it opened its doors to recreational users for the first time.

File photo by Jordan Baron

Local marijuana industry lacks diversity By Laura Rodriguez News Staff The Boston City Council is considering legislation that would ensure minority equity in the state’s budding cannabis industry. The American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, cites that for decades, people of color have been arrested and tried for drug-related crimes at a disproportionately high rate, and vulnerable communities have felt the brunt of the war on drugs. Now these groups, referred to in a city council meeting in early February as “equity applicants,” are trying to get an equal opportunity to participate in the rising industry. The proposed law mirrors legislation introduced by then-City Councilor Ayanna Pressley in June 2017, which would have established equity parameters within liquor licensing using an online registry. Now, the registry would be used to ensure transparency in marijuana licensing and would map out the scope of the cannabis industry in Boston. Separately, the proposal would create a Boston Cannabis Board, which would give minority applicants more resources for establishing their own businesses. According to the ACLU, marijuana use is roughly equal among African American and white communities, but black Americans are almost four times as likely to be arrested for marijuana possession. Councilor Kim Janey, when she introduced the legislation at a Boston City Council meeting in February, said “ensuring equity in this industry will help us correct the harms and right the wrongs that have been inflicted by mass incarceration,” and that this will be a step toward “making sure that communities that have been locked up are not locked out of this economic opportunity.” Some members of the Cannabis Control Commission believe that ownership isn’t necessarily the only avenue to equity in the industry, and that Massachusetts should focus more on helping women and minorities find any employment within cannabis shops. The Color of Wealth in Boston, a joint publication between Duke University, The New School and the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, found that a typical white household in Boston is more likely than non-white households to own every type of liquid asset — almost half of Puerto Ricans and a quarter of U.S. blacks don’t have either a savings or checking account, compared to only 7 percent of white Americans. As Janey cited from the Boston Globe Spotlight series about racism

in Boston, the median net worth of black family households is $8 as opposed to $247,500 for white families. Shanel A. Lindsay, co-founder of Equitable Opportunities NOW, a non-profit organization dedicated to fighting for minority representation in the cannabis industry, said there should be a higher focus on the local aspects of the state’s industry. “We need to start prioritizing people at the local level like the prioritization at the state level,” she said. Lindsay’s organization has been closely following legislation since the beginning and said she believes that the mayor will show his support once it reaches his desk to be signed. “I think it’s absolutely necessary. Without this, there won’t be equity in Boston,” Lindsay said. In the city council meeting, Janey said the cannabis industry has already generated enormous wealth — after just 10 weeks of operation, cannabis sales have generated $27.9 million in revenue across the commonwealth, and to date not a single minority-owned cannabis business has been approved by the state of Massachusetts. In the six years since recreational marijuana was legalized in Colorado, recreational sales generated 78 percent of sales revenue in the state, and tax revenue jumped to $247 million in 2017. Marijuana sales have exceeded $6 billion since Jan. 1, 2014. In 2016, the Boston state legislature passed a bill to legalize, tax and regulate the adult use of marijuana. “62 percent of Boston voted to overwhelmingly support this proposal,” Janey said. According to state law, Boston will have a minimum of 50 marijuana businesses, and equity applicants will need to act fast to get the necessary proper licensing and real estate. Jaison L. Cramer, a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag community and an aspiring small business owner, has been working to obtain a license for nine months with no end in sight. “A lot of the people in the industry tend to be either people from outside the state or larger companies that already have very good financing,” he said. “It’s been challenging, just navigating all the different municipalities. Boston for example is a lot different than maybe a smaller town. We have a lot of parks, a lot of schools.” Apart from zoning, prospective cannabis purveyors struggle to find the real estate for a reasonable price. “You have to let a landowner essentially know what you’re doing there and as soon as they hear cannabis, the rent basically quadruples from what it was originally,” Cramer

said. “Which makes it pretty hard for smaller businesses or people of middle-class wealth.” Some of Cramer’s customers, including his father, George Cramer, believe there is a need for equity in the industry. Many large corporations already have a major market share in the industry, often through pre-existing licenses to sell medical marijuana. “Where is the competition, how can others get in when these people already have their foot in the door?” George Cramer said. “They’re already in. They’ve been making money. They shouldn’t be allowed to do that again and again.” The city council will soon decide the fate of minority-owned businesses in the cannabis industry. Time will tell whether this legislation will truly provide an avenue for communities that want a stake in it.

File photo by Riley Robinson Joshua Mendez from City Smoke Shop speaks to potential customers at the Boston Freedom Rally for legalized marijuana Sept. 16.

SPORTS

Page 12

March 28, 2019

Cole’s past experience brings NU success Head Coach Kelly Cole 4 Seasons 20-12 Overall record in 2018-19 12-3 Home record in 2018-19 Graphic by Sofie Kato

File Photo by Lauren Scornavacca Head coach Kelly Cole begins her fifth season with the Huskies in the 2019-20 season.

By Vincent van Oorschot News Staff Kelly Cole, who was born in Portland, Oregon the daughter of two teachers, Midge and Lloyd Cole, never had much of an opportunity to be involved in sports at a young age. Elementary schools in the northwest did not offer competitive girls’ sports. But Cole’s father Lloyd was a part of the Western Oregon State old men’s basketball team, competing against teams across the state. Whenever travel was involved, his daughter Kelly always tagged along. This is how Cole found her love of the game. Going to practices, going to games and keeping score for her dad’s team always kept Cole around the sport but never in it. However, during one game in particular in which her father’s team was up by a wide margin in the fourth quarter, he subbed in his daughter. “Just say your name is George!” he exclaimed as the young girl sat on the sideline. Cole could do nothing but let out a big “Yes!” and run onto the floor to match up on the first man she saw. This was her introduction to competitive sports. Fast forward decades later, she’s in her fifth year as head coach of Northeastern women’s basketball, a program she’s steered to new levels. Cole has 32 cousins, 28 of whom are boys, which led to an abundance of competition growing up. Her brother was an All-State long-distance runner in college who competed in Olympic trials. She has personally never verified this claim, but according to officials at the time, she has her name in the

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a result of being the National Champion in the NBA Pepsi Hot-Shot competition while she was in seventh grade. Being at the helm of Northeastern’s women’s basketball program for five seasons certainly enough time for head coach Kelly Cole to have experience some highs and lows during her tenure as a Husky. “She’s a great role model for all of us, and she’s just passionate about the game of basketball,” said senior guard Jess Genco. “She just keeps pushing us and keeps us accountable, and that makes her teams successful.” Friday night, the Huskies were eliminated from the CAA tournament by Drexel, and true to form they fought to the very end of overtime. This team, the program’s best since 1999, will battle at least once more in the WNIT on March 21 against Butler. Junior guard Shannon Todd admires the togetherness that Cole has facilitated in their group. “Most of the time the girls don’t feel like teammates, they feel like more than that. The bonds we have are really quite special,” Todd said. After graduating from St. Mary’s Academy High School in Oregon, Cole received an offer to study and play Division I Basketball at Northwestern in Evanston, Illinois, where she developed under head coach Don Perrelli. During her five years at Northwestern, the team made it to the NCAA Tournament four times. It was during her junior and senior years that Cole started to take on leadership roles as captain, and naturally she had back-and-forths with the coaching staff. This is where she started to learn and understand the mental aspects of the game. “It’s like chess,” Cole said. “You have to adapt to what your opponents throw at you. If you get in foul trouble you have to shift the game plan. If your opponents shake up their offense you have to shift the game plan.” A couple years after Cole completed her degree at Northwestern,

she needed a job, and after a few unsuccessful applications, she packed her car full of her possessions and drove east. Upon arriving in Boston, she had interviews set up with St. Augustine’s, Boston University and Brown, but those led to dead ends. After a couple of weeks, Perrelli called on Cole to be an assistant coach back at Northwestern, thus starting what has become an extensive coaching career. After two years by Perrelli’s side, a job opening presented itself at Boston College as an assistant coach. After applying for the role, she received an offer and ended up spending nearly a decade alongside Eagles head coach Cathy Inglese. “It was a great growing experience for me,” Cole said. “I got into the program when they were just starting to take off and they hadn’t done a lot on a national scale yet.” Inglese and Cole developed a very strong friendship over the seasons they worked together. The coaches were nearly polar opposites in their approach to game preparation, training and tactics. Cole, who knew Cathy’s mindset like the back of her hand, would always take a more laid-back and controlled approach, whereas Inglese tended to be more vigorous with her training and strategy in-game. Cole referred to the combination that earned three Sweet Sixteen appearances and a Big East championship as “fire and ice.” “Coach Cole is a phenomenal teacher of the game. She possesses a tremendous work ethic, is a great communicator, has a fun spirit, and has a passion that rubs off on others,” said Baptist Bible College head coach Amber Jacobs, who was one of Cole’s players during her days at Boston College. After Cole gave birth to her three children, she left her job at Boston College to spend more time with her family and didn’t coach again for about six years. But as her kids grew and headed off to school, Cole realized she could start to work again. Following a conversation with old friend Kathy Delaney-Smith, who

still presides as the head coach of Harvard, Cole accepted a job as an assistant coach of the Crimson. During her time at Harvard, Cole learned an entirely new approach to coaching under Delaney-Smith. “When I left BC I thought I knew everything,” said Cole. “Just taking in a whole new perspective on motivating players, running practices and being a prominent voice from the sideline really did a lot for me in the long-run.” In the months following her second year at Harvard, Cole was alerted to a potential head coaching opening at Northeastern. However, she was hesitant to leave her post for numerous reasons, such as convenience for her family, good salary and job flexibility. But at the suggestion of many friends and family, Cole was persuaded to check out the campus on Huntington Avenue. “I fell in love when I got here, it was not the Northeastern I thought it was,” Cole said. On previous occasions when Cole had coached against Northeastern and she always got the vibe that “Northeastern was kind of the ugly step-child of the Boston schools at the time.” Peter Roby, the Northeastern athletic director at the time, was a major influencer in enticing Cole to make the transition back in 2014. What stuck out to Cole since she had last been at Northeastern was the transformation of the campus as a whole, and the improving results in the academic departments. Ultimately it was the administration’s dedication to the students that won Cole over to Northeastern. “It’s the main thing that you look for when you’re searching for a head coaching gig,” Cole said. “That and being in a competitive conference, and it was the perfect mix here at Northeastern.” Growing up the daughter of two teachers back in Oregon, education has always been a major part of Cole’s life and helped her guide her path to where she is today.

NU wins Hockey East championship over BC By Sofie Kato Deputy Sports Editor

Nearly 30 seconds into the start of the game, the Huskies (27-10-1) had a big scare when a struggle for the puck ended in an apparent goal for the Eagles (14-22-3). It didn’t count, however, as it was illegally pushed into the goal with a player’s hand. A mere two minutes later, NU junior forward Matt Filipe responded with legal score, giving an early 1-0 lead to the Huskies. The Huskies were on a roll, as three minutes later senior forward Brandon Hawkins spun on a dime and wristed a shot past BC goalie Joseph Woll, giving the Huskies a 2-0 lead only five minutes into the game. Six minutes later, with five seconds left on a power play, Hawkins struck again with a one-timer from the point that beat Woll to his glove side, making it 3-0 with eight minutes left in the first. BC couldn’t get anything going in the period as star NU goalie Primeau deflected shot after shot.

“To be honest, it’s a group effort,” Hawkins said of his goals. “I don’t get those goals without my linemates and my teammates and from then on if we don’t work hard that doesn’t happen. We don’t get those chances.” BC eventually redeemed itself early into the second period with a goal from freshman forward Oliver Wahlstrom 18 seconds in and a goal two minutes later from junior forward David Cotton, making it 3-2 Huskies. The first goal was the fastest goal to be scored at the start of a period in a Hockey East championship game. BC pressed for the remainder of the game, but Primeau was equal to the task and finished with 29 saves. He was recognized as the conference tournament’s most valuable player after the game, less than two months after receiving the same honor at the Beanpot. “There were times this year where we didn’t score as many goals as we like but we’ve got a goalie who can keep us in the game and we’ve got

five defensemen who know how to defend,” Madigan said. The Huskies won three of their four matchups against the Eagles this season, including their 4-2 win in the Beanpot final. “In the locker room we knew that we had a good group and that we wanted to prove all of those people wrong and win the Beanpot again,” Primeau said. “Winning Hockey East, it just shows how this club is and when we play the right way and the way coach wants us to play, it shows how successful we are.” Seconds into the third, BC sophomore forward Logan Hutsko slammed into the glass with another player, causing a scary injury. He was taken off the ice on a stretcher and taken to Mass General Hospital, where BC coach Jerry York said he was conscious and able to move fingers and toes. “My thoughts and prayers are with Logan Hutsko,” Madigan said. “It’s tough to see a young man on the ice

Photo courtesy Jim Pierce, Northeastern Athletics Men’s hockey topped Boston College to become Hockey East champions. NU is one of three teams from Hockey East in the NCAA tournament. like that, so we are hoping that he is doing well and that he has a quick recovery.” The Eagles couldn’t make a comeback after Hutsko’s exit despite piling on the pressure near the end, ending the night with a 3-2 Huskies win. The Huskies walk away as Hockey East champions and with five members of the all-tournament team (Hawkins, Zach Solow, Jeremy Davies, Ryan Shea and Primeau). Primeau was also named MVP of the tournament. They join UMass and Providence as the likely Hockey East representatives in the NCAA

tournament. This is also the first year that the men’s and women’s Hockey East championship went to the same school. “I’m just so happy and pleased and proud of all of our young men who have worked so hard all year round,” Madigan said. “We started our season with everyone questioning us and for them to go out there and just compete for a championship is just — hats off to them.” The Huskies will play Cornell at 4:30 p.m. Saturday in Providence, Rhode Island in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.