ARTS

Yale Africa Film Festival to show f lms from Africa and its diaspora

BY MAIA DECKER STAFF REPORTER

On Feb. 19, The Council on African Studies will host its third annual Yale Africa Film Festival. The festival’s fi lms offer a wide range of voices from the African continent and its diaspora.

The festival, which will take place during the afternoon, is divided into three sessions. These sessions are centered around dif erent themes: “Fashioning the Self and Community,” “Community and Care” and “Black Creativity and Community Organizing.” The themes span experimental, animated and fashion-related topics. The festival’s fi lms, while featuring innovative aesthetics, were also chosen to bring people together. Although registration is required, the festival is free to attend.

“This year is a lot about community, building community and having care for each other during these strange and difficult times,” said member of the YAFF Planning Committee Leslie Rose, GRD ’21.

The festival includes six films, four of which are short films, which will be streamed live and followed by a panel discussion with the filmmakers and moderators. Attendees will receive a link for the two remaining full-length films which can be watched at the viewer’s discretion.

Rose said the festival includes live virtual screening because the organizing committee wanted to keep alive the “spirit of a fi lm festival” while also respecting this year’s unique circumstances.

Each film will highlight a different facet of African culture and African experiences. For example, “Air Conditioner” follows Matacedo and Zezinha, two characters living in a world where air conditioners begin “mysteriously falling” in Luanda. Another fi lm, Ayo Akingbade’s “Street 66,” documents people in the diaspora. The piece follows the life and work of Ghanaian housing activist Dora Boatemah in Brixton, South London.

Thomas Allen Harris, a filmmaker and senior lecturer in African American Studies and Film and Media Studies, said that an essential part of fi lmmaking is “giving voice to the voiceless.”

“Film, both in the production and distribution, is essential in terms of building community around a narrative, theme or group of people,” said Harris. “Particularly for people who are a part of a diaspora, there is a real desire to see representations of themselves, the complexity of their identities and dif erent dimensionalities of their identities.”

In the festival’s third session, “Lights, Camera, Activism: Black Creativity & Community Organizing,” Harris, Akingbade and moderator Alexandra Thomas GRD ’24 will hold a conversation around “Street 66” and its historical context. Akingbade, who directed the fi lm, primarily works on subjects of power and urbanism.

“The online festival is unusual in that we don’t get to enjoy the cinematic coming together of a live audience, but otherwise, it’s more accessible in that folks can enjoy the feature fi lms on their own schedule and in their own homes,” YAFF Planning Committee member Ed Hendrickson GRD ’22 said.

The festival requires preregistration and will begin at 1 p.m. on Friday.

Contact MAIA DECKER at maia.decker@yale.edu.

COURTESY OF UZO NJOKU

Rocky Horror Picture Show returns to Yale

BY ANNIE RADILLO STAFF REPORTER STAFF REPORTER

Determined that the “Rocky Horror Picture Show” must go on Horror Picture Show” must go on at Yale despite the pandemic, the at Yale despite the pandemic, the show’s student devotees hosted a show’s student devotees hosted a virtual showing of the performance.

The show — spearheaded by Aurora Grutman ’22 for the second year in a row — drew 172 attendees, twice as many as last year. ees, twice as many as last year. Those behind the production livestreamed the show via a platform called CYA Live, which is promoted by The Criterion Collection — the owner of the film’s rights. The owner of the film’s rights. The original movie appeared with the original movie appeared with the eight-person shadow cast appearing in small boxes at the bottom of the virtual screen.

“I think the performance went as well as could be expected and as well as could be expected and incredibly well if you ignore the incredibly well if you ignore the lag between the movie and the lag between the movie and the performers,” said Reilly Johnson performers,” said Reilly Johnson ’22, who acted in the show. “I was really proud to do something new and unique, and I thought it was and unique, and I thought it was cool that we were sticking with something we all love so much something we all love so much even in the terrible circumstances of the pandemic.”

Prior to the show, the production team and actors struggled to tion team and actors struggled to fi nd a form of virtual presentation fi nd a form of virtual presentation that would allow them to include that would allow them to include the jeering, dancing and livelithe jeering, dancing and liveliness and the callbacks — responses ness and the callbacks — responses shouted out by audience members shouted out by audience members in sync or in response to the origiin sync or in response to the original fi lm, often disparaging the fi lm nal fi lm, often disparaging the fi lm in obscene language — present in in obscene language — present in typical showings of “Rocky Horror.”

Even though the team was unable to accurately recreate unable to accurately recreate this experience, the online forthis experience, the online format made the show more invitmat made the show more inviting for many fi rst-time viewers, ing for many fi rst-time viewers, as it allowed them to watch from as it allowed them to watch from a more familiar setting, according to fi rst-time attendee Max Krupnick ’23. The show’s raucous callbacks were transformed into silent chatbox entries.

Grutman mentioned that the day before the show, the cast realized that the CYA Live chat function disabled the use of profane language.

“People couldn’t write ‘balls,’ or ‘fuck,’ or even ‘phuc,’” said or ‘fuck,’ or even ‘phuc,’” said Grutman. “A lot of the callbacks Grutman. “A lot of the callbacks are pretty explicit.”

Luckily, the cast managed to remove this restriction. During the show, even though a vast majority of the audience did not know the of the audience did not know the callbacks, a single attendee knew callbacks, a single attendee knew them all.

“People who’d never seen the show realized this [audience show realized this [audience member] was saying integral parts of the audience participation in the chat and would chime in,” the chat and would chime in,” Grutman said.

What resulted was a unique disWhat resulted was a unique display of audience participation. Not only were the callbacks typed out in a chat rather than shouted out, in a chat rather than shouted out, but they also deviated greatly form their usual script. Participants specifi cally seized upon a classic specifi cally seized upon a classic callback, “Where’s your neck?,” callback, “Where’s your neck?,” typically yelled when the narrator typically yelled when the narrator makes their fi rst appearance, chatting the question every time the narrator appeared on screen.

“Having never seen the show, I didn’t fully understand the culI didn’t fully understand the culture of callbacks,” Krupnick said. record the show and prohibited “But [I] did enjoy goofi ng around audience members from fi lming it. in the chat.” Johnson said the “Rocky Hor-

Some attendees felt that the ror” team was “really intentional online showing actually made it about … [their] treatment of the easier to participate in a cultural dif cult elements of ‘Rocky,’ spephenomenon which can be dif - cifically the sexual assault and cult to partake in in person. cannibalism,” adding that they had

“The idea of dressing up and many internal discussions about attending an interactive show attending an interactive show those topics. During the perforis prohibitively intimidating for is prohibitively intimidating for mance, actors notifi ed the audimany people,” Krupnick said. “The ence in advance and connected fact that I could watch the show them to resources discussing in my common room with just my in my common room with just my uncritical portrayal of sexual viofriends made it an easy sell.” lence in “Rocky Horror.”

But Grutman said that people Grutman said that despite are also naturally shyer on camare also naturally shyer on cam- the great limitations of showing era. Since audience members were Rocky Horror virtually, she loves more reluctant to participate, the show. The online format even Grutman and her co-actor Charlie allowed the show to transform in Foster ’21 became the sole actors new ways, she said. in the orgasm-faking competition in the orgasm-faking competition “What I love about ‘Rocky’ is intended for the fi rst timers. that it’s a space where you can

The team was aware that many really create,” said Grutman. “And traditional components of “Rocky traditional components of “Rocky it’s a space for everyone.” Horror,” such as the orgasm-fakHorror,” such as the orgasm-fak- The “Rocky Horror Picture ing competition, might make ing competition, might make Show” debuted in 1975. attendees uncomfortable. To attendees uncomfortable. To make attendees feel more at ease, make attendees feel more at ease, the production team chose not to the production team chose not to record the show and prohibited ror” team was “really intentional about … [their] treatment of the dif cult elements of ‘Rocky,’ specifically the sexual assault and those topics. During the performance, actors notifi ed the audience in advance and connected them to resources discussing uncritical portrayal of sexual viothe great limitations of showing Rocky Horror virtually, she loves the show. The online format even allowed the show to transform in that it’s a space where you can really create,” said Grutman. “And

Contact ANNIE RADILLO at annie.radillo@yale.edu .

ARTS

Yale student creates project to integrate violin pieces by Black composers into pedagogical canon

COURTESY OF AVA GEHLEN-WILLIAMS BY MARISOL CARTY

STAFF REPORTER

Violinist and Yale Symphony Orchestra member Ava Gehlen-Williams ’24 strives to integrate music by Black composers into mainstream violin repertoire.

Earlier this month, Gehlen-Williams co-published a document titled “Integrating ‘Music by Black Composers: Violin Volume 1’ into The Suzuki Method for Violin Teachers and Students.” The document provides guidance on how nine musical pieces by Black composers — selected from a book called “Music by Black Composers: Violin Volume 1” — can be integrated into musical curriculums.

“There’s increasingly more of these great resources, like the ‘Music by Black Composers’ book, but it’s all treated as supplemental material,” Gehlen-Williams said. “It’s important that it is part of the core repertoire.”

Gehlen-Williams is a teacher following the Suzuki method — a teaching method that emphasizes immersion in a musical environment and applies the principles of learning acquisition to music. Suzuki students learn from a series of books with a set repertoire, and Gehlen-Williams’ document provides suggestions for pieces by Black composers that should be included in the repertoire and at what level they should be taught.

Gehlen-Williams co-published the document with her high school violin teacher, Sarah Pizzichemi. They both noticed that despite several teaching guides for works from the classical Western canon, there was less guidance about works by Black composers.

Gehlen-Williams explained that various books of violin music by Black musicians have been published, but it is difcult for teachers to find a way to integrate it into their curriculums. These books are often used as practice for sight reading — a practice that trains musicians to read on command — and are not viewed to have great pedagogical value.

YSO violinist Nanki Chugh ’22 said that she thinks Gehlen-Williams’ project is a “brilliant idea.”

“Creating resources that provide access to repertoire by Black composers is a really efective way to increase awareness and recognition for both instructors and students, as well as helping begin the process to integrate Black composers into our classical music ‘canon,’” Chugh said.

YSO violist Daniel Chabeda ’22 said that there are many pedagogical challenges to teaching music composed by Black composers, not due to a lack of classical repertoire, but rather because the historical exclusion of Black composers’ works from publication and audio recording “severely hinders present exposure to those great works.”

“Not only is this repertoire incredibly diverse and artistically meaningful to articulate, but learning works by Black composers requires the musician to grapple with the history of exclusion that keeps these awesome pieces out of classical canon, publication and discography,” Chabeda said. “Initiatives like [Gehlen-Williams’] could bring a lot of missing masterpieces into classical music.”

YSO violinist Andrew DeWeese ’24 agreed that difculties of integrating music by Black composers into core pedagogical repertoire arise from the works’ systematic exclusion from the canon. The works are not performed with the same frequency, DeWeese said.

“I don’t believe there is a lack of repertoire by Black composers,” DeWeese said. “The more I have researched and the more I have attended concerts where these great pieces are played, the more I am made aware of just how much repertoire is out there. The greatest shame I see is the systemic refusal to perform the copious Black compositions out there.”

According to YSO violinist Janet Hsu ’22, there is a lack of repertoire by Black composers in the music world, but the larger problem is the fact that the music is not widely shared.

“I think any musician can benefit from learning music by Black composers to understand the diversity in classical music,” Hsu said. “Without studying music by Black composers, you miss out on so much depth in music, as well as immersion in a variety of styles, melodies and history.”

Gehlen-Williams has been teaching violin since 2014.

Contact MARISOL CARTY at marisol.carty@yale.edu.

Farago discusses global art criticism at this year’s YCBA Norma Lytton Lecture

BY BRYAN VENTURA STAFF REPORTER

On Feb. 10, New York Times Art Critic Jason Farago ’05 delivered this year’s annual Norma Lytton Lecture hosted by the Yale Center for British Art. At the lecture, Farago discussed global art criticism in the modern day.

The Norma Lytton lectures are supported by the Norma Lytton Fund for Docent Education, established in memory of Norma Lytton by her family. According to Beth Miller, YCBA’s deputy director for advancement and external afairs, Lytton was an active docent at the center for more than 20 years. Lytton also engaged in research for the center’s “Paintings and Sculpture” department for a decade.

In this year’s hour-long lecture, Farago discussed how white art historians and critics should approach art from other cultures. Farago also stressed the importance of interpreting art with an open mind.

“You’ve probably had this experience: you go into a museum, you look at the painting for two seconds, then you read the wall label because you want clarity,” Farago told the News. “But what if you let yourself be confused, and tried to work out what something meant on your own? Art is something more than information, and you might find your own way in.”

Farago emphasized that the world of art advances with criticism. Yet he also said western critics, who are “almost entirely white,” should approach art created by non-Western societies with a mindset that allows them to make “substantive judgments.”

YCBA’s Head of Education Linda Friedlaender, who hosted Farago’s lecture, shared similar thoughts on approaching art.

“Appreciating, understanding and liking things are all very different things,” Friedlaender said. “I often explain to audiences that our mission is not to help or even get people to like what they see, but rather to try and understand what the artist may be trying to communicate. The visitor can decide if the artist was successful or not.”

Farago said he often sees younger people making quick judgments or comparisons, and added that he finds this “exclusionary” and “condescending.” Instead, Farago believes aesthetic judgments reflect a civic character. He said that criticism should be constructive in the form of a social endeavor rather than personal judgment. “[Criticism] comes with more than just saying what you like or you don’t,” Farago said.

Farago told the News that he was “really glad” to be asked to deliver the lecture. When he attended Yale as an undergraduate, his courses and trips to the University’s museums helped him decide to be a history of art major.

“This felt not only like a homecoming, but also an opportunity to [trace] how I ended up where I am today,” Farago said. “I could have hardly foreseen it when I first walked onto Old Campus.”

Now, Farago writes a regular series called “Close Read” for the New York Times. He is excited to begin reporting about the post-pandemic state of museums in Europe and Asia once commercial flights resume.

A recording of Farago’s lecture will soon be made available online on the YCBA website.

Contact BRYAN VENTURA at bryan.ventura@yale.edu.

SPORTS

PATRICK RACE CAR DRIVER

Cullman Courts through the years

VENUE FROM PAGE 14

venue’s brief opening in the fall of 2020, undergraduate students were charged $10 per court per hour, while staff, faculty and Yale Health staff were charged $40 per court per hour with no prime-time fees.

According to Lin, while the tennis teams only play on the outdoor courts for one to two months in the fall and occasionally at the end of April, there are currently 22 courts located outside.

THE RENOVATION

After a wave of improvements in Ivy League tennis around the turn of the century, all of the member universities now have six indoor tennis courts, except for Brown, which has four, UPenn, which has eight, and Yale, which has eight.

“It was a diferent era of facilities. I played at a time when the Ivy Leagues were upgrading their facilities and Yale was pretty consistent with the rest,” recalled Christopher Drake, current Yale men’s head coach and former tennis player at Brown, from which he graduated in 2003.

Cornell opened the indoor Reis Tennis Center in 1994 just before Harvard opened the indoor Murr Center in 1998. In the spring of 2000, Harvard reopened the outdoor Beren Tennis Center after renovation, while Dartmouth inaugurated both the outdoor Alexis Boss Tennis Center and indoor Alan D. Gordon Pavilion in the fall. Two years later, Columbia's six-indoor-court Dick Savitt Tennis Center opened in 2002.

Centerbrook Architects and Planners conducted the renovation of the Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center. Mark Simon ARC ’72, the project’s designer, evaluated eight or nine plans for adding courts.

“Our charge was to see how we could get eight new courts,” Simon said. “We settled on building four new courts in an indoor structure [in addition to renovating the original four courts]. What you see now is what everyone thought was the best direction to go.”

COURTESY OF CODY LIN

The Cullman-Heyman Center received its name after being initially constructed through a generous donation from Joseph Cullman III ’35.

Heyman led the donation efort for the renovation, raising around $13 million. The facility doubled in size to encompass over 70,000 square feet and added a canopied entrance, which evokes a variety of images from a tennis swing to a tennis racket.

To follow the suggestion of Yale ofcials who wanted to reference neighboring buildings, Simon decided on brick columns ornamented by Kent Bloomer ART ’61 in order to create a biophilic marriage of materials.

“Yale wanted this place to be lively. This meant that the front entry should be fun. People go to play tennis for fun,” Simon said. “By adding [Bloomer’s] structure and his ornament, it brought an intention to say that this is a long-lasting place worthy of this kind of efort.”

TODAY

Inside, the renovated lobby, named after the late Laurence C. Leeds III ’79 as a gift from his father Laurence C. Reeds Jr. '50, offers an elevated view of six of the eight indoor courts — the four newer courts, which spell out “Y-A-L-E,” and the two left courts, which make up half of the older courts. A seating cantilever accessible from the lobby opens directly above the courts, while a hallway below provides direct entry and wheelchair accessibility.

The original four indoor courts featured Dynaturf surfacing when constructed, but now all eight utilize DecoTurf — the same brand of surface used at the US Open and the Olympic Games — and have similar features to ensure fairness in competition. Simon said that the decision to install DecoTurf was also based on the use of the courts and the neighboring Connecticut Tennis Center for the former Connecticut Open, a “runner-up tournament to the US Open.”

“The center is really helpful with scheduling opponents. Other schools sometimes can’t invite strong teams because their facilities can be of-putting, but the [Cullman-Heyman Center] isn’t like that,” Drake said. “It’s not dark or gloomy.”

Additionally, Drake noted that the number of courts helps both the men’s and women’s teams stagger matches if needed and naturally “lends itself to recruiting.”

Women’s team member Chelsea Kung ’23 echoed this sentiment.

“I was blown away by the dedication that Yale Athletics has to tennis … It’s really enticing for future recruits to see that ‘Oh my god, tennis is a big deal here,’” Kung said during a Zoom interview.

For her teammate, Jessie Gong ’22, the center was not a deciding factor, but “more like an added bonus.”

The center is strengthened not only by its numerous newly renovated courts, but also by the facilities that it offers. The building contains locker rooms, a small gym converted from a children’s play area and ofces for coaches. In 2010, donations to the facility from Donald Dell ’60, Robin Selati ’88 and Jonathan Clark ’59 funded a scoreboard system. Further changes to the facility include new HD live streaming and a transition from halogen to LED lighting.

Since its renovations, the center has drawn architectural praise, including the 2009 American Sports Builders Association Outstanding Indoor Tennis Facility of the Year Award and an Outstanding Facility Award from the U.S. Tennis Association. Such praise has drawn tournaments to the center.

“In years past, Yale has been able to showcase the Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center through hosting numerous ECAC and ITA Championships and bring individuals from across the country to compete at the highest intercollegiate level,” Associate Athletic Director for Facilities and Operations Danielle Upham said.

These tournaments include the 2009 Women’s Northeast Regional Championships, the 2009 Intercollegiate National Indoor Tennis Championship and the 2017 ITA Division I National Women’s Team Indoor Championship, in addition to professional tournaments such as the 2019 Oracle Challenger Series and men’s legends tournaments that drew players such as James Blake and Tommy Haas. An ATP-WTA pro event, the Pilot Pen Tennis, ran from 2005 to 2010. Then the center hosted a women’s only tournament in some form from 2011 to 2018 that drew Grand Slam winners such as Caroline Wozniacki, Petra Kvitová and Simona Halep.

The center opened briefly this past semester for recreational tennis, although masks were mandated except during play and most facilities, including showers and lockers, were unavailable. Bookings were made through Bond Sports. During the center’s closure, however, a number of first years coordinated to play tennis outdoors at Wilbur Cross High School.

Despite multiple temporary closures over the past several months, the center still inspires awe in students yet to visit and interest from organizers. It pays homage to those who came before it and grows through the help of those who developed their skills there. The Cullman-Heyman Center has proven that it can keep pace with the evolution of its parent institution and serve as a physical testament to the care of generations of Bulldogs.

The tennis center is located at 279 Derby Ave., West Haven.

Contact HAMERA SHABBIR at hamera.shabbir@yale.edu.

No Ivy League competition this spring

IVY FROM PAGE 14

ics competition this spring,” the eight Ivy League presidents said in a joint statement.

The announcement also stated that the conference would continue using the return-to-play athletic activity phases that it has employed since the beginning of the 2020-21 academic year. Earlier this month, the Ivy League modified its phasing guidelines to provide a path to competition, according to Matt Panto, the associate executive director of strategic communications and external relations within the Ivy League.

The conference announced Thursday that the phased training guidelines will remain in place despite the cancellation of Ivy League competition — Phase IV could potentially allow individual schools to participate in local nonconference competition.

“These competitions will be subject to league stipulations and must remain consistent with institutional policies for comparable co-curricular activities, including applicable travel restrictions for on-campus students and university visitor policies,” the announcement detailed.

The long-awaited decision comes a week after an exception to the Ivy League’s long-standing eligibility policies was announced. The onetime waiver allows graduating seniors the chance to compete as graduate students at their current schools next year, provided that they are accepted into a degree-granting graduate program. The announcement garnered mixed reactions from student-athletes, many of whom seemed puzzled by its timing, which fell after application deadlines to more than 50 of Yale’s graduate programs passed in December and January.

In January, the Ivy League released a “status update” about the possibility of spring sport competition to athletes and coaches. The memo was the Ivy League’s first official guidance on spring athletics since November and warned that the return of competition would require “significant changes” in the state of the pandemic, adding that athletes might have to make enrollment decisions without any definitive clarity on the status of spring competition. Yale’s deadline to request a leave of absence for the spring term passed on Monday, Feb. 15.

“The league was headed this direction for months,” Yale baseball alumnus Benny Wanger ’19, who had previously vocalized his frustration with the Ivy League’s decision-making process, said. “It’s sad, but not surprising to anyone. This is a result of poor leadership, and while every other DI conference moves towards the start of their spring season too. Since this was clearly a preset decision (COVID rates are dropping dramatically), presidents should've made this announcement back in December to help their student-athletes make future plans. If I were a current Ivy student-athlete I would feel totally betrayed by the administration. This decision is going to impact the Ivy League negatively for years to come.”

When asked for a timeline of when the decision was made and what prompted the Council of Presidents to decide to cancel the spring sports season, Panto said that the Ivy League does not comment on Council discussions and referred the News to the joint statement that was released with the announcement. According to The New York Times, the Ivy League is the only NCAA Division I conference that has not released a baseball schedule.

Last November, the Ivy League announced its decision to postpone spring sports through at least the end of February. Last year’s spring season was abruptly cut short due to the onset of the coronavirus.

The Ivy League announced the cancellation of its winter season on Nov. 12.

Athletes react to policy change

REACTION FROM PAGE 14

en’s squash captain Aishwarya Bhattacharya ’21. Bhattacharya is enrolled in the bachelor’s/master’s of public health degree program, a five-year joint program between Yale College and the Yale School of Public Health. Prior to the announcement, Bhattacharya had accepted that next year she would have to cheer on the squash team from the sidelines.

Now, she has an opportunity to play one more season for the Blue and White.

“I am a little disappointed by the timing of this announcement, though,” Bhattacharya said. “I think that a number of athletes would have preferred to have known this earlier and a lot of deadlines have passed by now.”

The website for Yale’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences lists deadlines for more than 50 diferent programs in a variety of fields from applied physics to history, all of which have already passed in either December or January. The one exception was the Yale Law School application, which is reviewed on a rolling basis, although the last deadline was Feb. 15.

Former Yale baseball player and current Miami Hurricanes player Benny Wanger ’19 had much harsher words to say regarding the Ivy League’s new policy.

“It's a weak move by the league — too little too late,” Wanger said. “It basically just confirms that there will not be an Ivy season this year.” Although spring competition has been delayed, the Ivy League has not yet ruled out the possibility of a spring season this year.

Wanger graduated from Yale in 2019 and then played as a graduate transfer student at USC in the shortened 2020 season. The twoway player took advantage of the NCAA’s ruling last March that gave spring-sport student-athletes an additional season of eligibility and used the graduate transfer portal again to play the 2021 baseball season at the University of Miami.

Unlike other NCAA conferences, the Ivy League typically does not allow graduate students to participate in athletic competition.

Contact EUGENIO GARZA GARCÍA at eugenio.garzagarcia@yale.edu and JAMES RICHARDSON at james.richardson@yale.edu.

St. Ivany at BC

HOCKEY FROM PAGE 14

Ivany said. “The team here is much younger than at Yale … which provides a bit of a diferent dynamic in the locker room, but at the end of the day the message and goal is the same as it was at Yale … to win games and ultimately win a National Championship.”

The BC team consists of three seniors, five juniors, nine sophomores and 10 first years. Meanwhile, at Yale, the team breaks down into their seven seniors, three juniors, seven sophomores and seven first years.

BC sophomore right-wing forward Mike Hardman, one of St. Ivany’s roommates, expressed his excitement to have the ex-Bulldog joining him as an Eagle. “Jack was a great addition to our team both on and of the ice,” Hardman said. “We were very excited when we heard he was transferring here and have really enjoyed having him on the team.”

Yale Athletics declined to comment on St. Ivany’s January transfer and Boston College Athletics did not respond to requests for comment.

When asked about his experience at Yale, St. Ivany emphasized

COURTESY OF YALE ATHLETICS

So far, St. Ivany has played 11 games and notched four points with the Eagles.

that it was a pleasure for him to have the opportunity to wear the Blue and White.

“I made some of my best friends for life there and was able to learn from one of the greatest coaches in college hockey,” St. Ivany said. “Yale will always have a special place in my heart.”

Yale head men’s ice hockey coach Keith Allain spoke with a similar tone to the News last fall, stating that “Jack will always be a member of the Yale Hockey Family.”

The Boston College’s men’s ice hockey team is ranked No. 1 in the country according to United States College Hockey Online polls.

Contact TRISHA NGUYEN at trisha.nguyen@yale.edu and AMELIA LOWER at amelia.lower@yale.edu.

NEWS

doubts of today.” FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT

New Yale summer policies allow for student fl exibility

BY JULIA BIALEK STAFF REPORTER

While the pandemic shut down nearly all undergraduate activities on campus last summer, the University plans to welcome students back for summer 2021 — with some changes that promote fl exibility.

On Jan. 29, Dean of Yale College Marvin Chun announced in an email to undergraduates that all Yale College students would be able to participate in in-person research or work this upcoming summer, regardless of their class year or enrollment status, so long as they fulfi lled all public health guidelines and safety trainings required by their activities. Following this announcement, changes to summer policies — in regards to COVID19 tuition credits and research fellowships — have been made to allow students to take advantage of as many opportunities as possible.

“We are not constraining who can work on campus this summer,” Chun told the News. “To make it a viable option for as many students as possible, we’ve adjusted the science fellowship terms for the money that my of ce gives out.”

As Chun explained, in addition to inviting students back to campus for the summer to engage in work or research, another major change is that the Yale College Dean’s Of ce is giving out research fellowships for shorter terms.

In past years, the YCDO gave out research fellowships for 10-week terms. But upon hearing that many students wanted the ability to both engage in research and utilize the two free COVID-19 tuition credits for classes in Yale Summer Session New Haven, Online or Abroad — which are awarded to all students in the first-year and sophomore class who enrolled in both fall 2020 and spring 2021 and took one of the terms remotely — Chun decided to shorten the fellowships.

Now, students have the fl exibility to engage in research and enroll in one YSS term, depending on the specifi cs of their research program.

In a document entitled Guidance for Yale Summer 2021 STEM Research Fellowships funded through the Office of Science & QR, Associate Dean for Science and Quantitative Reasoning Education Sandy Chang ’88 provides students who are awarded the Yale College FirstYear Summer Research Fellowship or the Yale College Dean’s Research Fellowship with a variety of options that allow them to engage in research, enroll in YSS courses if they so desire and optimize their COVID-19 tuition credits if they are eligible for them.

Combinations range from 10 weeks of in-person research with no availability for summer classes to eight weeks of part-time, remote research that permits students to simultaneously enroll in one YSS course.

Chun said that students should be aware that Independent Research in the Summer — which is a fi veweek course that allows students to engage in full-time research on a particular interest with the help of a faculty advisor for credit — is a course to which the COVID-19 tuition credit can be applied.

Dean of Yale Summer Session and Associate Dean of Yale College Jeanne Follansbee explained that a student’s ability to engage in research and enroll in YSS courses depends on the particular requirements of specifi c research programs. For example, some research programs are full time and would not permit students to be enrolled in YSS courses simultaneously, while others may permit it.

However, with the fl exibility of shorter research fellowships providing students with the possibility to engage in research and enroll in one session of YSS courses in dif erent combinations, students should be able to craft a summer that works for them. Follansbee guided students to a FAQ page that addresses how COVID-19 credits can be used. First-year students and sophomores who are eligible for the COVID-19 tuition credits and receive fi nancial aid through Yale College are also eligible for a YSS housing subsidy — which provides additional financial support to subsidize on-campus room and board if they choose to study in residence. However, to use that subsidy, students must enroll in two YSS courses during the same fi ve-week session.

Session A of YSS runs from June 7 to July 9, and Session B runs from July 12 to Aug. 13.

Contact JULIA BIALEK at julia.bialek@yale.edu.

SCHIRIN RANGNICK/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

For the upcoming summer, the Yale College Dean’s Of ce has shortened the length of its summer research fellowships.

Board of Alders unanimously agrees to sell Dixwell Plaza

BY ÁNGELA PÉREZ STAFF REPORTER

At a Tuesday night meeting, the New Haven Board of Alders unanimously approved the sale of cityowned land for a planned $200 million Dixwell Plaza redevelopment.

Two nonprofi t connected corporations, the Connecticut Community Outreach Revitalization Program, or ConnCORP, and the Connecticut Center for Arts and Technology, or ConnCAT, have played a vital role in New Haven’s economic development efforts through employment opportunities and new facilities for residents. The organizations will purchase the plaza property, a mid-century strip mall on Dixwell Avenue, from the city for approximately $750,000.

ConnCORP’s plan, which was of cially unveiled in January 2020 and has been in the works since 2013, includes the redevelopment of the Plaza complex, described by Ward 21 Alder Steven Winter as “rusting and neglected.” The plan would build a new commercial building to hold a grocery store, child care center, banquet hall, performing arts center and more.

The ConnCORP is an economic development corporation associated with ConnCAT. ConnCORP looks to “drive economic development [in Dixwell and Newhallville] by investing in local commercial and residential real estate.

“This is about lives. This about job opportunities. This is about growth,” Ward 29 Alder Brian Wingate of Newhallville told his fellow alders at the meeting, thanking them for the board’s continued support for the project. “I really believe that we need this in this community at this time,” Wingate said.

Project funds will come from “private equity, subordinated debt, new market tax credits and fundraising,” Erik Clemons, the president of ConnCAT, told the Independent in January 2020. According to Clemons, the project has no links to Yale.

Winter described the new development and the investments as “brought by an accomplished local development team,” noting that the space, together with the Q House, a community center in Dixwell in the process of rehabilitation, will “meet an array of community needs and fuel an engine for lifting families out of poverty.”

Winter noted that the Dixwell Plaza development does not “move the needle towards af ordable housing,” but it does “provide a strong basis for hiring Black and brown New Haveners.”

For alders like Winter, local ownership remains a priority in a changing Newhallville neighborhood. At the meeting, several alders pointed to a resident’s decision to keep real estate in local hands as a point of pride. Initially, alders said, an out-of-town investor made a high bid for a three-story house on Winchester Avenue, but the homeowner chose to sell the building to a local owner at a lower cost instead.

Winter noted that community feedback on the Plaza plan has revolved around building design, hiring policy and project af ordability.

A change to the most recent version of ConnCorps’ plan requires that 25 percent of the total project value — the sum of costs including construction, acquisition and design — must be awarded to minority-owned businesses. In addition, according to the plan, 25 percent of project hours must be awarded to New Haveners, and “25 percent of project hours must be worked by Black and brown New Haveners, minorities as defi ned in city code 12.5.” Funding to the Q house also increased.

In a speech before the fi nal vote, Ward 22 Alder Jeanette L. Morrison of Dixwell thanked ConnCORP for its ef orts in her community. The development, she said, has the potential to diversify the types of businesses and improve the livability of the neighborhood.

“This is the time to ensure that the Dixwell community has all the amenities it needs,” Morrison said. “My father always used to say to me … ‘When I came here, if you lived in the Dixwell community, you never had to go downtown. Because everything you needed was right there, and that’s what ConnCORP is representing in this project.”

Dixwell Plaza lies between 200 Dixwell Ave. and 26 Charles St.

Contact ÁNGELA PÉREZ at angela.perez@yale.edu.

For registered in-person classes, some start meeting, others waiting

BY EMILY TIAN AND MADISON HAHAMY STAFF REPORTERS

While Associate Research Scientist Man-Ki Yoon plans to transition to in-person teaching in March, for now, virtual machines running car simulators hooked to the computers in the computer’s usual lab on Hillhouse have provided a pandemic-friendly substitute to his hands-on course on self driving cars.

Just shy of a year since classes first went online last March, 54 classes this semester were approved to be taught, at least in part, in person. Of those approved, around half are STEM courses and labs, 15 fall into the humanities and social sciences and 10 are visual and performing arts courses.

The News reached out to 11 professors about their plans for in-person instruction, six of whom responded. None are currently teaching their classes in person and only two — Yoon and Edward Wittenstein, lecturer at the Jackson Institute for Global Af airs — indicated confi dence that their classes would ultimately transition to in-person learning.

Wittenstein’s course, Cybersecurity, Cyberwar and International Relations, will have an in-person option starting on Wednesday, Feb. 17.

MARISA PERYER/SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

Almost half of registered in-person classes are listed as STEM classes, while only three percent are registered as language classes.

“It is a much larger classroom than normal, with everyone socially distanced, wearing masks, and closely following all Yale health procedures— plus a lot of wires, microphones, video cameras, and screens,” Wittenstein wrote in an email to the News. “However, these necessary inconveniences are a small price to pay given our desire for in-person interaction, to the extent circumstances permit.”

In a follow-up email, Wittenstein added that he is tested twice a week and expects “rigorous adherence to all health protocols” from students who decide to attend his class in person. He also thanked Yale’s maintenance and custodial staf for their “tireless ef orts” during the pandemic.

Charles Musser, professor of American Studies and Director of Undergraduate Studies in Political Science David Simon are both waiting for public health conditions to improve before teaching their respective classes in person. Musser cited that he would receive the COVID-19 vaccine soon and Simon cited a potential downgrade of Yale’s alert level as potential signs to move to in-person teaching.

“Will it happen?” Musser wrote in an email to the News, “Who knows. Many of the students taking the class are not even in residence. Obviously it is a frustrating situation for all of us but we are fi nding ways to deal with it.”

Director of Undergraduate Studies of Anthropology William Honeychurch, who was planning to hold his undergraduate course in person after a successful in-person graduate seminar last semester, ultimately decided not to after the appearance of the new COVID-19 variants.

Although Honeychurch does not feel as though students are able to fully experience his course virtually, he called the decision “the best practice given the situation.”

While Mechatronics Laboratory is listed as a hybrid course, Tyler Imprescia ’22 added that it is currently set to remain remote.

“We’ll be receiving a box with everything we need to do all of the labs and the fi nal project from wherever we’re learning,” Imprescia said. “I’m sure it would have been a better experience in person, but I’m really glad we still get to apply the theory we’re learning to a physical product.”

The classes that will meet in person beginning in the third phase of the spring arrival quarantine have also needed to reimagine what a COVID-19-safe collaborative space may look — or sound — like.

Stoeckel Hall, where the School of Music is housed, debuted a no-latency audio system between studio practicing rooms in the fall, so that musicians in one room could hook up to an audio system that would allow them to listen, in real time, to musicians in another room in the building.

“You can be together without seeing each other,” Dani Zanuttini-Frank ’22 said. “Listening is where the information is. Have faith in your ears.”

Brian Isaacs ’22, who is taking a class called Musical Acoustics and Instrument Design that is cross listed in both the music and engineering and applied science departments, said that the Center for Engineering Innovation and Design will be reserved for their class during its lab times. While the class would theoretically be able to accommodate for remote lab work, all nine of his classmates are enrolled in New Haven and plan to attend the in-person classes.

Bradley Nowacek ’23, a theater and performance studies major currently residing on campus, will be attending a weekly theater performance class in person starting this Thursday.

Nowacek noted that the class will need to be adjusted to accommodate both students learning in person and remotely. But despite reservations about performing theater in masks, Nowacek still maintained that he appreciated gaining a “regular, dependable source of in-person contact” through the course.

Currently, Yale University is at an orange, or moderate risk, alert level.

Contact EMILY TIANat emily.tian@yale.edu and MADISON HAHAMYat madison.hahamy@yale.edu .

FRIDAY, FEB. 12 CORRECTIONS

An earlier version of the article titled “Yale employees seek millions for University’s alleged mismanagement of funds” said that Yale fi led a motion for summary judgement requesting the court dismiss the suit. In fact, the University is seeking a judgement on the suit without going to trial through the motion for summary judgement. The story also referred to the plaintif s’ original fi ling as a “brief.” In fact, it is a class-action complaint. The story has been updated on the News’ website.