4-29-2021

RENTERS, 2

THRIFT STORES, 4

PHOTO GALLERY, 9

GOODBYE, 12

Landlords illegally charge students.

Thrift stores see rise in student business.

Flowers bloom across Boston, welcoming spring.

Editor-In-Chief says farewell to the FreeP

CELEBRATING NEW BEGINNINGS

THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 2021

THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY

YEAR L. VOLUME XCIX. ISSUE XIII

Boston-area colleges mandate vaccines for Fall semester Madison Mercado Associate City Editor

As the Spring semester comes to a close, many Boston-area colleges are requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for students and faculty to return to campus next fall.

Northeastern University was the first college in Massachusetts to announce the requirement April 6. Others followed, including Boston College, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Emerson College, Boston University and the Massachusetts state university system.

Vaccination is encouraged but not required for students at community colleges in the Commonwealth in order to provide equity and reduce barriers to education, according to a Massachusetts Association of Community Colleges statement published by The Boston Globe.

NEU’s vaccination requirement is designed to ensure fully in-person learning and campus life by the fall, according to a release from the

University.

“As we plan for a return to inperson classes and regular campus activities, we know that achieving herd immunity is crucial for the safety of our entire community,” Ken Henderson, chancellor and senior vice president for learning at NEU, wrote in the release.

The COVID-19 vaccination not only significantly reduces the risk of infection, but also provides a sense of “psychological safety” for people, said Paul Beninger, associate professor of public health and community medicine at Tufts University.

“It gives confidence to the individual student that the community is a safe place,” Beninger said. “It communicates to the other people who are in that community that there is a sense of caring.”

A COVID-19 vaccination also reduces social tension and allows students to socialize without as significant a worry, Beninger said.

“It frees up time on your calendar to actually participate in some collective activity, so it’s the small groups, it’s the meal time,” he said.

“You have a much higher level of comfort and assurance that you can just get together with other people without having to do a chat with the door.”

At the colleges requiring the COVID-19 vaccination, there are exceptions for legitimate medical or religious reasons. Beninger said vaccine exceptions are fine if the majority of the on-campus population is vaccinated, which will create herd immunity — with those who have been vaccinated protecting those who haven’t.

“You’re going to have 99% of the people there who are going to be conforming to whatever that campus requires,” he said. “The larger community can feel comfortable that everyone in that community has passed muster.”

Anelise Pardo, a freshman at Tufts University, said she supports the University’s vaccine requirement.

“We’ve seen this pandemic firsthand, the craziness that it’s brought, and when there’s something that’s arguably so easy that we can do to get back to normal life, I’m glad that Tufts is promoting that,” Pardo said. “They already have an idea of like, ‘anything we can do to prevent any crazy outbreak, we will do,’ and this is in line with that.”

Pardo added she has already been vaccinated, using a facility outside of Tufts — something she said is common among students. All Massachusetts residents, students and workers 16 and older are eligible to receive the vaccine as of April 19.

“Most of the people, if they want to get vaccinated, they’re definitely going to try to take the opportunity,” she said.

Beninger added there is some “flexibility” for reducing the

COVID-19 safety rules on campuses when more people are vaccinated, but the situation varies based on group size.

“The larger groups and classrooms, I think there’s still going to be social distance and maybe mask-wearing,” he said. “But I think whatever the health officials in the administration decide, we’ll probably be fine.”

While there may be concern over international students returning to campus with vaccines that are not approved by the United States, Beninger said individual students should not have to worry about the situation.

“That is the responsibility of health officials in the administration,” he said. “They need to make that determination, and the students need to comply.”

Emily Stevenson and Taylor Brokesh contributed to the reporting of this article.

Students share experiences living inside buildings not renovated since mid-’90s Tanisha Bhat Senior Reporter Three Boston University dormitories have been built or renovated in the past three decades, according to a University spokesperson. Students living in buildings that have not been recently renovated say they are unsatisfied with their residences, with some citing mold, water leakage and general signs of age.

The only residences that have been constructed in the past 30 years are 10 Buick Street and 33 Harry Agganis Way, and Myles Standish Hall reopened after renovations in 2018, BU spokesperson Colin Riley wrote in an email. Riley added BU has invested around $2 billion since the mid-1990s in renovating academic, research and athletic facilities.

“As you may know, facilities staff has worked non-stop for the past year throughout the pandemic installing signage, adding protective Plexiglas barriers, upgrading HVAC systems and filters, doing daily electrostatic disinfecting as well as regular cleaning, etc., without a break in order to keep the campus clean, sanitary and safe,” Riley wrote.“The pandemic has understandably interrupted some scheduled campus renovations and maintenance.”

In an interview, Riley said work that would typically have been done on residences during the summer was likely hindered last year due to the pandemic.

Riley added students should continue reporting issues with housing.

“If something isn’t operating properly, doors, windows, problems in the common areas or common baths,” Riley said, “don’t assume someone else is reporting it.”

Simone Velasquez, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Science, resides on the eighth floor of Kilachand Hall and has encountered silverfish, water leakage and centipedes this past year.

“At one point, Facilities [Management and Operations] came in and just gave us a bunch of towels,” she said. “They didn’t fix the leak, they just put towels all around the windows which was really weird.”

Velasquez added she has experienced trouble with the heating and cooling system in her room as well.

“They won’t turn on the AC in the building,” Velazquez said. “Now that it’s getting really hot, it’s just kind of gross and uncomfortable all the time.”

Aria Scopa, a junior in CAS, said she was originally supposed to live in a residence in South Campus but had to move because of extreme mold and rotten wood.

“When I showed up, for whatever reason it was like a weird room but it was all wood panel walls, except the bottoms of the walls were all rotted out and moldy,” she said. “There was holes in the wall. There was water damage to all of the painted surfaces.”

The paint in the room was chipped off and the walls had black mold — the extreme heat and water damage Scopa witnessed potentially being the cause, she said.

“I couldn’t even move in,” she said, “because I literally walked in the room and called housing immediately. It was awful.”

Scopa now lives in a brownstone

single on Bay State Road and said her experience there is much better.

However, she noted there are still many improvements needed.

“They’re really beautiful buildings, but they just need to be beautiful on the inside, too,” she said. “Things don’t have to be perfect, like super, expensive crazy, but just to be livable I think should be the bare minimum.”

Juliette Stokes, a sophomore in the College of General Studies, lives in Danielsen Hall and said it appears to be structured like an apartment building that was broken up to create more rooms for BU students to live in.

“Some people obviously have a living room and they have a fireplace and a big closet, but they don’t have a bathroom,” she said. “There’s definitely a lot of variation within the

Danielsen rooms themselves.”

The main problems Stokes said she has with her dorm room are her window rattling and leaking when it rains, as well as the limited usage of the communal, somewhat malfunctioning kitchen this semester.

“One of my friends here had to replace the toaster with her own money, and I think approximately three of the burners work,” she said, “and they just unplugged all of our ovens because they were turning on to like 500 degrees by themselves in the middle of the night.”

Scopa said the University should improve its communication with students experiencing issues in their dorms and create a system that students can use to document maintenance issues.

“I’ve called before, and [BU

Facilities] will be like ‘Oh, yeah we’ll send someone out’ but no one comes out,” she said. “It’s like, maybe just keep more on top of reports of things that are reported and actually have people come out to look at problems once you contact them.”

Stokes said BU Facilities should try to be more understanding when students call in and report problems they are experiencing.

“The general apathy is a little bit frustrating,” she said.

While she said she recognized it may be challenging for BU to solve all of these issues, listening to students is something they are capable of doing.

“Although it’s definitely hard for the university to fix some of these problems,” Stokes said, “I think at least pretending like they care about them would be a step up.”

ROBERT BRANNING | DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Warren Towers. Most dormitories on campus have not been renovated since the mid-’90s, and students have expressed concerns over the quality of their living spaces.

2 NEWS

Class registration returns to regular schedule Aaron Velasco Senior Reporter Boston University students registered for classes throughout back-to-back weekends this month — in contrast to last semester’s class registration, which occurred during a singular weekend.

Incoming juniors and seniors registered April 18, freshmen and sophomores registered Sunday and non-degree students registered Tuesday. Students said this change to normal scheduling made registration easier than last Fall.

Joseph Bizup, an associate dean for undergraduate academic programs and policies in the College of Arts and Sciences, wrote in an email class registration occurred over one weekend last semester because of the extensive planning required to adjust the Spring 2021 course schedule due to the pandemic.

“I hope that we will never have to do registration in that way again,” he wrote. “Registration for Fall 2021 is as it would be in a typical year.”

Bizup added that to his knowledge, it was “business as usual” for CAS students during registration, and CAS Advising did not receive an unusual number of complaints from students regarding their registration process.

College of Communication Dean Mariette DiChristina said faculty members and administrators strive to make sure students are able to

schedule their desired courses.

“When things are a little different, like they might be during a pandemic, or like they might be when people start returning after a pandemic,” she said, “we still do the best we can.”

DiChristina said as far as she is aware, there are currently no plans to change the student registration process.

“We care deeply about the students,” she said, “and making sure that you learn what you need to know so that you can really succeed.”

Assistant Dean of COM Undergraduate Affairs Bill Taylor said the typical staggered class registration helps COM faculty members decide if they need to make class adjustments, such as adding more seats to courses in high demand.

“Things went relatively smoothly,” Taylor said. “We’re pretty happy with where things stand with Fall registration.”

Taylor said he believes COM students had an easier time getting their classes compared to last semester, with few, if any, class registration complaints received.

“As of right now,” he said, “there’s nothing major that we have planned to change in terms of COM registration for future semesters.”

CAS sophomore Renee Torio said the return to a pre-pandemic class registration schedule for Fall 2021 was more beneficial than last semester’s timeline.

“It was helpful that the juniors and seniors registered a week before,” she said. “I kind of had time to adjust

HANNAH YOSHINAGA | PHOTO EDITOR

Registration tab on the Student Link. Boston University conducted a normal, two-weekend registration the last two weeks, making it easier for students to register for classes.

and think about changes instead of, previously, I had to change things on the spot, which was a little bit stressful.”

Torio said the staggered registrations allowed her to better prepare for the classes she would choose and make adjustments based on course availability.

“This semester was a lot better personally,” she said. “But I also was in the middle of the registration time instead of at the end.”

Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences junior Hannah Levine said while the staggered registration may have eased the process, she believes there were other factors, including desired courses and registration time.

“I had a much earlier time than other people did, like at 9:30 in the morning,” Levine said. “That could have been just another factor that influenced how much easier it was for me because I didn’t have to go at like

2:00 p.m.”

Questrom School of Business sophomore Kevin Liang said he registered for class without a hitch, because he received early time slots for both semesters. He added that expanding registration times was beneficial for students’ chances at receiving their desired classes.

“Your college career shouldn’t really be dependent on how fast you can click a button to register a class,” Liang said.

Student renters charged illegal fees, face tenancy violations Daniel Kool City Editor Samuele Petruccelli Senior Reporter

Landlords and brokers operating in Allston and Brighton have illegally billed prospective student tenants looking for housing off campus.

Factors including tenant inexperience, predatory behavior and short-term leases associated with student occupancy have contributed to a climate of persistent illegal practices, according to experts in housing law and policy.

“Most landlords and most students

are operating in good faith, but you always need to be a skeptical consumer,” Jeff Levine, lecturer of economic development and planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said.

Levine said students may not be aware of building codes, which mandate safety measures such as smoke detectors and alternative exits.

“It’s challenging because obviously not every student’s a home inspector,” Levine said. “The idea of what meets basic life safety or fire code is just something they’re not familiar with.”

Jessica Adejobi, a freshman in the College of General Studies, said she first started looking for off-campus housing after being unsatisfied with the remaining on-campus options after the first few rounds of rooming selection. She said she was surprised by how quickly the process went.

“The whole process probably took like two weeks max,” she said.

“I thought that leasing agents and

whatnot would be more hesitant to rent to students.”

Adejobi and her roommates applied for an apartment managed by The Hamilton Company, a Bostonbased real estate firm that charged the group a $39 application fee before providing a lease, she said.

Application fees are illegal under Massachusetts General Law, which stipulates that landlords may not charge more than first and last months’ rent, a security deposit and the cost of a new lock and key at or before a tenant signs their lease.

Any lease application fees that landlords and brokers charge prospective tenants are a means of collecting additional revenue without having to provide additional services, Levine said.

“There definitely are landlords who will change an application fee,” Levine said. “They know they’re not going to lease to 95% of them. It’s a way of collecting additional revenue.”

KATHERINE FEUERMAN | DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Apartment building at 1110 Commonwealth Ave. in Allston. Boston University student renters face illegal fees from off-campus landlords.

In an interview, Jameson Brown, co-CEO of The Hamilton Company, said he didn’t think the firm charges application fees to prospective tenants. However, a current rental application still lists a $39 fee, according to a prospective tenant’s document.

A representative of The Hamilton Company could not be reached for further comment regarding application fees.

Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences freshman Nupur Aroskar, along with her three roommates, was also charged a $40 application fee when she applied for tenancy through Modern Real Estate, a brokerage firm in Allston.

Modern Real Estate declined to comment on their leasing and application process.

James Matthews, clinical fellow at Suffolk University Law School’s Accelerator Practice, who focuses on eviction and tenancy law, said in addition to application fees, landlords may ask for extra charges — such as those to hold an apartment until the lease is signed. None of these additional fees, he said, are legal.

“It’s important for students and all tenants to understand that a landlord can only charge first, last, security and the cost of a new lock and key,” Matthews said. “Landlords shouldn’t be charging application fees or fees to hold the apartment.”

He added that, under state law, landlords cannot charge late fees until rent is at least 30 days late.

While prospective tenants may refuse to pay these illegal fees, landlords could in response refuse to rent to them, according to an advocacy guide to tenants’ rights from the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute. Other potential charges include “pet fees” and “rental fees.”

The short-term nature of most college students’ rentals may create opportunities to exploit them as tenants, Levine said.

“Somebody may complain about something that’s not safe in their building, but then they move out at the end of the semester and the

landlord doesn’t have to necessarily feel as pressured to address the concern,” Levine said. “With longerterm tenants, they’re more likely to address those concerns because they’re the same tenants, they’re still there a couple years later.”

George Trammell, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences, signed a lease with Boston’s EDGE Realty Advisors in March for a Sept. 1 move-in, said the application process was “pretty painless.” He was not charged an application fee.

Trammell added that he initially felt supported in the touring and application process, but that support began to decline after he and his roommates paid the leasing fees, despite having additional questions for the landlord.

“They were really cordial and on top of everything right up until they got their first paycheck,” Trammell said. “Then we were pretty much in the dark.”

Levine said on-campus housing may be a more reliable option for some students.

“There is an advantage with on-campus housing where you presumably have aligned needs and expectations for safe, affordable housing for students,” Levine said.

“Those needs may not always align the same way in the private market.”

Matthews said students should make sure they read and understand their lease before signing it, and noted that Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey’s office has been active in issues of tenancy violations.

In a statement, Healey encouraged students with questions to reach out to her office.

“Our state is home to more than half a million students and they have a right to safe and affordable housing,” Healey stated. “We encourage students who are seeking off-campus housing to talk [to] their potential landlord and neighbors about the unit, view the unit, and to carefully read and understand all the terms of their lease before signing it, and importantly, not to agree to anything that is not in the lease.”

NEWS 3

Boston’s animal shelters adapt to pandemic, struggle with funding Jesús Marrero Suárez Senior Reporter Boston’s animal shelters and rescues have seen a drop in financial resources since the start of the pandemic and a decrease in animal availability as the demand for adoptions increase.

Three hundred twenty-seven animal shelters and rescues operate in Massachusetts — 13 in Boston alone — according to data from the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources.

Victoria Odynsky, adoption center manager at MSPCA-Angell Boston, said she attributes the increased interest in adoption to the location’s shift to a virtual, social-media centered adoption process — set in place as a health precaution.

“We had to manage people’s expectations,” Odynsky said. “We get 100 inquiries for one pet, and obviously we can only pick one person for that pet.”

She said the animals at the shelter are either strays, surrendered to them by their previous owners, or transferred from other shelters.

Throughout the past 10 years, she added, an increase of spays and neuters has led to a “pretty steady decline” in the number of animals without homes, causing the shelter to take in fewer animals overall.

“There used to be litters and litters of puppies and kittens every year,” Odynsky said. “But now we’ve helped to spay and neuter so many of those pets that that’s really not an issue anymore.”

With fewer animals entering shelters, combined with the recent uptick in adoption interest, the animals the shelter receives tend to find a home relatively quickly — within a few days or Boston animal shelters have struggled to obtain adequate pandemic began. a few weeks before those funds through a mix of being adopted, she said. fundraisers, grants, sponsorships and From January to November 2020, donations. the national rate of pet adoptions The MHS will celebrate its 17th rose to 59.2% of animals taken in by year in June, Maniero said. In that shelters, compared to 54.6% during time, she said they have assisted in the same period of 2019, according the care of not only cats and dogs, but to the American Veterinary Medical animals everywhere from “land to Association. Intake fell from roughly ocean to forest.”

2 million to 1.5 million animals.

But during the early months of the In addition to the increase in pandemic, Maniero said funding fell demand for pets, Massachusetts because holding fundraisers became shelters have struggled with a lack of nearly impossible with the lockdown. funding.

“We couldn’t go anywhere and do Joanne Mainiero, president of the bake sales or yard sales, we couldn’t Massachusetts Humane Society, said really interact with the public the shelter provides animal health anywhere,” she said. “A lot of the care that they can afford, obtaining

She said the shelter especially needed help from March to August of last year with personal protective equipment for volunteers and food and medication for the animals.

Odynsky said the role of animal shelters and rescues goes beyond facilitating the process of adoptions.

She added that the MSPCA-Angell has MEGHAN SCOTT | DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF community outreach funding and meet increased demand for pets since the programs, in addition to offering companies couldn’t have us on their affordable animal health care, with property to have fundraising.” low-cost animal vaccination clinics Mainiero said the local and state and spay or neuter surgeries. government disregarded animal “We’ve seen that help people shelters and rescues, adding that keep their pets instead of having while many businesses received to surrender them,” Odynsky said, financial resources and stimulus “because now they can have an funds, the Humane Society did not affordable option to care for their receive masks and gloves or monetary pets.” assistance.

Their law enforcement department “The only time you hear from and advocacy team also works to pass [politicians] is when they’re in a bills for the betterment of animals, bind, and they have animal issues she added, and over the pandemic, somewhere and they need a local they donated more than 1 million pet animal shelter to do something,” meals from their food pantry.

Mainiero said. “Other than that, “It is a huge part of the community,” you’ll never hear from them.” she said.

BU faculty express hopes, doubts on return to in-person classes Jesús Marrero Suárez Senior Reporter

Boston University’s 4,171 faculty members had to adapt each of their courses to the University’s Learn from Anywhere format over the course of the past academic year. As BU gears up for a return to in-person learning next Fall, faculty say they hope to see a transition to pre-pandemic teaching while continuing to incorporate some tools from online learning.

“I’m definitely looking forward to just having more students in the same physical space as us,” film and television master lecturer John Hall said. “I’m very excited to feel their energy and curiosity and to get to know people better.”

Hall added the hybrid format creates a distance, “both physically and metaphorically,” between students, professors and even between members of faculty.

“It’s quite lonely, even here at work,” he said. “There’s not that many of us who are in-person on a daily basis, and so there’s very few opportunities to just have a friendly conversation with your colleagues.”

Despite the strained connection, the online shift led Hall and other professors to largely do away with physical, paper submissions entirely.

Instead, Hall said he will likely continue using the electronic format options — such as Turnitin — for future semesters.

“I think we are going to be thinking more about ‘how does something come across in an electronic environment?’” he said, “that that’s

something we have to be mindful of.”

Similarly to Hall, Sheryl Grace, an associate professor of mechanical engineering, said one of her classes — Introduction to Engineering Design — was restructured in a way that will likely remain going forward.

Normally, students complete a design project in groups over the course of the semester, Grace said.

Following the introduction of LfA, the project was split into individual and group assignments.

“What they found was that making the individual assignments exist, which did not exist, actually made the students be a bit more honest and not rely on teams,” Grace said.

Hall and Grace both said they were curious as to whether classes continue to be taught through Zoom this Fall.

BU spokesperson Colin Riley wrote in an email the details of teaching next semester would be “clarified in the coming days and months,” as the university president and provost send out communications to the community.

Grace said she hopes and anticipates teaching will return to normal because it is difficult to teach courses, such as coding, over Zoom, given that the course relies on collaboration for effective learning.

“I understood that’s where we were headed,” she said, “and so I guess I’ll be depressed if that’s not because they just totally missed the ‘learning from each other’ part.”

Ibrahim Alazza, an advertising and graphic design professor, said the shift to a hybrid format was “strange” and “weird.” He said teaching a class with students from all over the world

BAILEY SHEN | DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Hallway in the College of Arts and Sciences. While Boston University faculty have some doubts about the Fall semester, they hope to return to pre-pandemic teaching models.

and in different time zones lead to challenges with class engagement.

“Dealing with students just waking up … and also students trying to get ready to go to bed,” he said, “it wasn’t that easy to keep everyone focusing for three hours.”

Alazza — a 2020 graduate from the School of Visual Arts — said adapting to an unfamiliar system was a difficult task when he began teaching as a part-time professor last semester.

“How can you work with two screens, plus the projector and maybe

your laptop and the desktop and the computer within the classroom,” he said. “I was nervous as a teacher.”

Alazza said he hopes the “human, in-person interaction” will return to the classroom next year, which he said is an important aspect of studying the fine arts in particular.

“You’ve got to feel stuff, touch stuff, create something,” he said. “It’s a little bit hard through the screen.”

Ana Albuquerque, an associate professor of accounting, said she looks forward to seeing her students

again but anticipates and supports health precautions as the university moves toward next semester.

“I would expect us to continue to be vigilant and still be wearing our masks when indoors,” she said, “but I’m very, very hopeful.”

Albuquerque said she is optimistic for an in-person return to the classroom, and teaching in front of her students would be “such a treat.”

“I think just that, plain and simple, makes me very happy,” Albuquerque said. “Just the thought of that.”

4 FEATURES

BUSINESS Boston’s thrift stores talk growing student interest Ramsey Khalifeh Staff Reporter Whether it be picking up vintage fashion items or recycling personal goods, thrifting in Boston is a community-oriented activity for people of all backgrounds. Both thrift store managers and student shoppers said thrifting is more popular today than ever before. In total, the resale market is predicted to reach $64 billion by 2024, according to Thredup research.

“I think the business is growing,” said Kenza Trabelsi, the assistant manager at the Goodwill located at 965 Commonwealth Ave. “It’s much better than it used to be.”

Trabelsi said the rise of student participation in shopping at thrift stores, especially on weekends, has been positive for business. Although more students are shopping over the weekends, she added regular customers are still showing up daily.

With increasing youth involvement, Trabelsi expressed optimism in the future of the thrifting industry.

“We have a bright future, very good,” she said. “The minimum wage went up, which is good for our employees, and we get very good merchandise, we have good people.”

Trabelsi said the store contains rare gems to suit students’ ever-changing style at relatively inexpensive prices — ranging from about 99 cents to $10 — which makes shopping more accessible.

“If you go to a regular store, you cannot find the same stuff at Goodwill,” she said. “People are

very trendy, they like baggy pants, big blazers, men’s blazers, shirts, everything changes, you know, from two years ago.”

Boomerangs, a thrift store franchise, is owned and operated by Fenway Health’s AIDS Action — the region’s most prominent provider of HIV wellness and prevention services — and all proceeds go to help people with HIV and AIDS and prevent new infection, as well as support the LGBTQ+ community.

Jill Martin, the store manager of Boomerangs in Jamaica Plain, said despite busy hours, the thrift store’s cause-driven nature makes the work rewarding.

“Even when it’s busy, when it’s tough work, it’s all going somewhere

good at the end of the day,” Martin said, “and I think that a lot of people like supporting us because of that cause.”

Boomerangs is located in both Jamaica Plain and Central Square in Cambridge, along with a special edition store in the South End. In addition to the specific charitable focus of Boomerangs, Martin said thrifting in general has environmental benefits by eliminating waste.

Martin said the fast-fashion industry — where clothes are massproduced and sold at low costs — can create “a strain on the environment,” but thrifting can help mitigate its harms on the environment.

“There’s so much water used and

waste involved in that,” she said. “It’s good to have thrift stores and places that are recycling.”

Tiana Gallagher, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, said it is important for young people to understand the environmental advantages of buying and selling second-hand clothing.

“The slow fashion cycle that’s brought on by thrifting is very much beneficial for the environment,” Gallagher said. “Especially for young people, I feel like we’re very consumerist nowadays, so it’s good to slow things down.”

Gallagher said she enjoys thrifting not only because of its contribution to sustainability but also because of the gratifying feeling of finding a

CAROLYN MOONEY | DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Thrift store in Brookline. Boston thrift stores have benefited from increased student interest in thrifting.

personal item among all the recycled products.

“It’s fun,” Gallagher said. “For thrifting, when you find something that you like, there’s more gratification.”

While Gallagher enjoys thrift stores, she said people buying items to sell them at a higher price on platforms such as Depop can be problematic.

“I have a big problem with people reselling stuff, just because I think it’s basically clothing gentrification,” Gallagher said. “You should be buying clothes to wear them, that’s the point of clothes. You shouldn’t be buying things just to upsell them.”

Martin said she feels as though more people are becoming aware of the damage of the fast-fashion industry recently, which could explain the uptick of people shopping.

“People are more aware of that now that that’s a better option to get stuff thrifted, and you can find better things that are well-made,” she said.

“The vintage clothes section’s always amazing, you can get really cool items in there from even decades ago.”

Nonetheless, for people like Martin, the benefits of thrifting remain clear.

“In the years that I’ve worked here, I’ve learned so much about everything: about clothes, about antiques, about brands and art,” she said. “We’ve seen so much come through here and there’s some really cool stuff.”

Martin said working at Boomerangs for about six years has made her realize “the value of giving back” to others.

“Thrifting is definitely here to stay,” she said.

ART

Local artists reflect on city’s murals Colin Boyd Staff Reporer

From the reaches of Hyde Park to the heights of Downtown and beyond, there is art to be found streaked across building walls. Livening their surroundings with vibrant colors and striking images, many of these murals are painted by local Boston artists who strive to create conversation and share important messages.

Alex Cook is a Boston-based mural artist who has painted around 190 murals throughout the city and world since 1997. Cook began his painting career after graduating from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a degree in painting.

“I was basically terrified about how to make a living as an artist,” he said. “I [had] this inspiration that I could skip the galleries, skip the middleman, if I could get somebody to let me make a painting on the wall of a public building.”

After creating his first mural at 23 years old in Northampton, Cook said he was hooked. “[I] just really fell in love with the power that one has when you can put pictures in public places and basically be starting this public conversation with an idea that you had,” he said.

“It was really just a very direct way to engage the world with my art.”

At first, he said he’d seek out blank walls he could get permission to paint on. Now, he receives jobs by wordof-mouth, via his social media and

through the murals themselves.

Among some of Cook’s larger works in Boston is a 75-by-12 foot mural that reads “Welcome to Jackson Square” outside of the neighborhood’s T stop, as well as a 14-by-75 foot forest scene mural at 136 Lenox St. in Boston.

In 2013, Cook began a project titled “You are Loved” after working at a school in New Orleans whose principal had requested Cook create a mural to help “children feel more safe.” With that task, he decided to be blunt with his message by simply painting “You are Loved.”

“That kind of blew my mind, to be able to write those words on a wall, and from there I said ‘this is the project I’m going with,’” he said.

“For the last seven-plus years, that has been the thing that has mostly taken up my time, is painting those words.”

He said painting these words and other murals has been his way to bring this “intimate and important and maybe even spiritual” messages to locations that would otherwise be “callous and commercialized.”

“There’s so much suffering happening in the world, as always, and I think a lot of it stems from people just not feeling valuable,” Cook said.

“This is kind of my contribution to the public conversation about health and well-being, worth and value.”

Lena McCarthy, a 2014 Boston University College of Fine Arts graduate, has painted murals in Boston and beyond. McCarthy painted her first mural in college, when she participated in the Community Service Center’s Alternative Service Breaks and traveled to North Carolina

to paint murals in the school.

McCarthy said she started a service-oriented mural club at BU to beautify local schools and parks.

After graduating, McCarthy began her career as a street artist in Santiago, Chile, immersing herself in the art of “powerful feminist muralists.”

McCarthy later moved back to Boston, where she continued her career as an artist in Allston, Cambridge, Worcester and elsewhere.

She said her paintings often explore the theme of “freedom within femininity” and use images of nature.

“Each piece has its own story,” she said. “But that’s definitely something that runs through a lot of connection to the divine feminine.”

Since the pandemic, McCarthy said she has been focusing more on studio painting, but her mural painting hasn’t stopped.

“There’s a couple of spots that I like to go,” she said. “It didn’t slow me down as much as you might have thought.”

On campus, the 91-foot wide mural displayed in the hallway that’s behind Agganis Arena and between 33 Harry Agganis Way and 10 Buick St. remains a prominent site on campus. CFA junior Jayna Mikolaitis was the lead artist of the collaborative painting.

“Chaotic I feel like is the best word to describe going into a mural, just because every single project is so individual to the space,” she said. “It was very labor-intensive and a lot of long hours, but really fun just because there was a lot of freedom.”

Mikolaitis said she has worked on a number of commissioned and classrelated murals, including a current 6-by-12 foot painting across from

the Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground themed around a cookbook written by Sue Bailey Thurman.

Mikolaitis said the pandemic’s challenges have made creating difficult, especially an “enormous project” like a mural.

“It’s a difficult time, no matter what, for artists right now,” Mikolaitis said. “To create anything is kind of like this massive achievement.”

Despite this, Mikolaitis said she still hopes to continue working on large-scale artistic projects in Boston in the future.

“I love also thinking about how people interact with space and how these works change the space that you’re living in,” she said. “I feel like it would be nice to kind of leave my mark in Boston somewhere.”

COURTESY OF ALEX COOK

Southampton Street mural created by Boston-based mural artist Alex Cook. Muralists across the city aim for their murals to tell stories and impact the spaces they are located in.

FEATURES 5

COMMUNITY

Class of 2021 reflects on an unprecedented college journey, gives advice for future Divya Sood Senior Reporter As the end of the Spring semester approaches, Boston University’s Class of 2021 is on track to complete an unprecedented, hybrid senior year.

Their journey — intercepted by the pandemic — was marked with challenges, but also growth, students say.

Veronica Escobar-Mesa, a senior in Questrom School of Business, said her four years at BU pushed her to become more independent as well as academically and professionally strong.

“I grew a lot personally,” Escobar-Mesa said, “in terms of being able to live by myself and take care of myself and learn to do everything.”

Escobar-Mesa said her experience at Questrom and BU in general “surpassed [her] expectations incredibly.”

Thinking back to her freshman-self, Aislinn O’Brien, now a senior in the College of Arts and Science, said she’s surprised by her development while at BU. “I think I underestimated the amount of growth that college would entail,” she said.

“Obviously not having the foresight to predict a pandemic, but it was definitely very different from what I expected.”

O’Brien said though classes are nearly finished, she can’t believe her time at BU is over. However, she said being able to graduate in person is a comforting return to normalcy, making the end feel “a little bit more real.”

Norman Toro Vega, a senior in the College of Engineering, said he entered BU studying computer science, but eventually pursued an engineering degree. Toro Vega’s time at school was interdisciplinary and collaborative, getting exposure to humanities and business too, he

said.

“I originally came from Puerto Rico, and coming here, it was a huge eye-opener into all these different cultures, all these different backgrounds,” he said, “and how working with those people, you really understand how the world works.”

He also said BU teaches students how to apply their studies beyond the professional world.

“BU has really taught me that mindset about how you can use your studies in a way that’s not just for academics, but at the same time how you can actually create a meaningful impact in the world that’s tangible,” Toro Vega said, “and create a better future for people.”

While the year brought many challenges, Toro Vega said the pandemic created a sense of unity among students where “we were all taking care of each other” and adjusting side by side.

“Obviously, it wasn’t what we might have been expecting initially,” he said. “There were some things that were definitely missing from the whole senior experience, but I feel that at least we had a good senior year where we were able to be on campus.”

While virtual learning has posed some difficulties, Escobar-Mesa said the convenience of studying at home gave her the free time to find a job after graduation.

“I’ve had a bunch of opportunities that I think I wouldn’t have had if I had had a normal senior year,” she said. “It has been challenging to study virtually and not be able to see a lot of the people that I saw almost every day for three years, but I think that I’ve still been able to … have some of the experiences I would have had.”

In terms of advice, O’Brien encourages incoming students to build their social network while on campus. She added that students should not be afraid of taking advantage of office hours or seeking mentorships from

professors.

“Don’t be afraid to be wrong,” O’Brien said.

“Everyone is going to be wrong at some point.

The reason that we’re here is because we don’t know everything yet.”

Escobar-Mesa said she’ll miss the people at BU the most — the “friends that became family” and the familiar faces down the street.

For current students, she said getting to know more people and talking to professors can open a number of opportunities for them.

“There are a lot of opportunities that I was able to get and experience because I reached out

to people and I had conversations,” EscobarMesa said. “It’s rare when opportunities just come to you, you kind of have to go out and get them yourself.”

Toro Vega advised students to not be afraid to change their mind and grow like he did, adding that it’s also important to make the most of time with friends.

“Be open to change,” he said. “At the same time, spend as much time as you can with your friends because you never know when a pandemic will happen.”

SOPHIA FLISSLER | DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Class of 2021 banner in the George Sherman Union. Boston University seniors say they faced challenges throughout their college journeys, but also experienced personal growth.

SCIENCE

BU professionals advise on COVID-safe, mindful summer Lily Kepner Features Editor Burnout, pandemic fatigue and Zoom exhaustion are invasive facets of student life today at Boston University and colleges across the nation. But as temperatures climb, so do U.S. vaccination doses. And as the days of the semester decrease, so do average U.S. daily positive case counts.

As the summer approaches and hopes for a return to normal soar, BU experts advise students on how to have a COVID-19-safe summer before the planned in-person Fall.

Hannah Emily Landsberg, the director of case management and contact tracing at BU and a Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and School of Public Health graduate, oversees 70 Healthway staff members.

In an email, Landsberg wrote she has seen the number of COVID-19 cases overall moving in the “right direction,” but have not disappeared entirely.

“We still have new cases each day,” she wrote.

“We cannot stress enough how important behavior is for bringing down our cases!”

Landsberg wrote it’s important to note that the majority of U.S. citizens are not fully vaccinated — only about 29.5% are. Full protection via vaccination, she wrote, does not happen immediately, but rather two weeks after the second dose for Moderna or Pfizer and after the first dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

“I urge people to keep in mind the timing of

their vaccines,” she wrote. “We have seen cases who receive their first dose and then travel a few days later and contract COVID.” Even with the vaccine, however, there have been a small number of breakthrough cases, she wrote. She added communicating with non-vaccinated friends and family about their comfort level is also very important, because vaccinated individuals can still potentially contract and spread COVID-19 to others.

Dawn Belkin Martinez, a clinical associate professor and associate dean of equity and inclusion in the School of Social Work, emphasized the importance of caring not only for oneself, but for other communities during this time.

“We need each other to care for ourselves,” she said. “That’s a really significant mental health intervention. I think we need each other, we need other people.”

Though the vaccines offer a chance to return to normal, Belkin Martinez said acknowledging personal limits is important through these adjustments. For instance, though it is tempting to push aside personal reservations to go along with group plans you’re not comfortable with, indulging in an experience without being “grounded and centered” will have a negative impact, she said.

“If I was 18 years old and everyone was like ‘come on, come on Dawn, come on, let’s go to the restaurant,’” she said, “and I went even if I wasn’t feeling okay, that experience is probably not going to be very … enjoyable for me because I’m going to be worried the whole time.”

David Hamer, professor of global health and medicine, is part of several COVID-19 related

With COVID-19 vaccines now widely available, eligible individuals should sign up for an appointment.

COURTESY OF U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

advisory groups, including the University’s Medical Advisory Group and the Vaccine Preparedness Group.

Hamer said in the Fall, the University hopes to return to “back to more normal operations,” though he said there will likely still be a mask mandate in places like classrooms.

He added the University’s plans are very contingent on vaccinations, and BU hopes to buy and distribute vaccines again soon, especially given the lingering questions regarding students’ access to doses.

“Students coming in from outside the country, if they’re coming from New Zealand or Australia or someplace where there;s basically no transmission, they may have very limited access to the vaccine,” he said. “There’s a number of additional questions.”

Hamer said he’d also encourage students

to stay “cautious” this summer despite the vaccine, especially in the last few weeks before returning to campus.

In terms of recovering from burnout, Belkin Martinez said finding a “balanced life” and knowing what that means to you is an important step. This summer, she’d encourage students to find what fulfills them, she said, “otherwise you just can’t keep going.”

She also said through all these adjustments, it’s important for students to know their limits and to take care of themselves.

“A big piece of the struggle is getting rid of the cop in your head,” she said. “Having a normal response to incredible stressors, right, and that it’s okay to not give your classes 100% right now if other things are feeling more comforting for you.”

6 LIFESTYLE

LIFESTYLE Capturing the springtime Thalia Lauzon Senior Writer It seemed to happen overnight.

One day, out of the cold 30-degree weather and winter jackets, springtime bloomed. The foliage grew greener, trees began to show color, days became longer and you could now go to the dining hall before it was dark outside.

It was finally spring.

While the transition to nicer weather has been slow and rocky this year, there’s no doubt the atmosphere has changed. The city revitalized right when classes turned from multiple small assignments to larger projects and papers, which — both thankfully and sadly — gives me more time and motivation to procrastinate.

The nice days become my excuse to not write that paper I should probably get done … or make that presentation that’s due in a couple of days … or prepare for that exam tomorrow. Basically, springtime is when everything starts to blossom while you start to decay.

But going outside and experiencing the nice weather and capturing a moment somehow slows my mental death. Walking outside for something other than class or food, with the weight of my camera around my neck and my mind clear of the work I need to finish, provides me a needed breath and reprieve. I can get excited about a little bird and blossoming bud instead of meeting a word count –– though you definitely feel more accomplished from the latter.

However, I can earn a different sense of accomplishment from photographing the birds and flowers than

I would from repeatedly hitting my head on the table out of frustration and boredom.

Springtime is the best time for photography, and I will fight those who say otherwise. I’ll concede that autumn is a close second, but spring shows life from death that begs for macro photography and low apertures.

It makes you look at the little things and focus on the details.

It’s fun to get low and take shots from a worm’s eye view of the fresh grass and little creatures within it — even though you’ll look really odd while doing that photographer squat or lying down along a path for all the public to see. It’s all a sacrifice for the hobby, but the best way to see something new.

Photography offers you a new perspective that makes everything seem larger than life, which gives me a lot more respect for the increasing bunnies and birds springtime brings.

I’d be freaked out by the gigantic humans, cars and buildings if I were only four inches off the ground, but they seem so calm.

Honestly, shoving a camera in the animals’ faces makes me feel a little bad, but I can’t help it. Animals are amazing to capture, even when they’re doing mundane activities I’ve seen hundreds of times before.

But that’s what springtime brings.

It’s a time when everything seems interesting enough to capture because it’s new and energized. A tree is its own world. Forests are a new planet that’ll make you want to photograph any random branch or flower. Raindrops aren’t just raindrops — they’re little reflecting kaleidoscopes.

It’s all exciting and incredibly photogenic.

My favorite photographic moments come after a spring shower.

Not just for the dewdrops clinging to each surface in little domes, but also for the time when the clouds clear up and create a spectacular sunset or sunrise, the slightly humid environment the following day and the potential for rainbows and — if you’re lucky — double rainbows.

Rainbows never get old. They’re like fireworks for the daytime.

My best photo of a rainbow came

during Spring Recess 2019 when I was visiting Cuba. I was so excited to see the arch of colors and captured it in all its double-rainbow glory probably more than 30 times — thankfully, I was shooting digital. The first rainbow lined up perfectly with the end of the colorful street, which made it seem like there was actually an end to the light. I’ll openly admit I thought about chasing that rainbow, finding some gold and meeting a leprechaun.

Spring is the best time of year for photography because you can capture many aspects of nature and focus on the details.

THALIA LAUZON | DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

It’s time to get vaccinated Khadijah Khogeer Senior Writer It’s been more than a year since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

While we spent last spring in a nationwide lockdown, this spring looks promising because it coincides with the dispersion of adult vaccinations in the United States.

Ever since news of the pandemic broke out, a possible vaccine was on everyone’s mind. For a long time, it was the only beacon of hope during this tumultuous year.

Social distancing, wearing masks and working from home could only be temporary measures during the pandemic. How long can human society live in this lifestyle? We all miss seeing our family and friends, and we desperately want to go to classes, concerts and sports games.

But none of this would be safe — even with the protective measures currently in place — without being vaccinated.

The virus still has varying effects on those who contract it. A year onward, incidences of “long-haul” COVID-19 symptoms — health issues that persist after recovering from the virus — started to show up in younger, less symptomatic people.

As variants of the disease continue to pop up as well, the need to get people vaccinated is more urgent than ever.

Vaccines don’t necessarily make

you 100% immune to the coronavirus. Vaccines reduce the risk of developing severe symptoms, but you can still catch the virus when vaccinated. We also don’t know how long our immunity will last after receiving the vaccine.

On April 19, vaccination appointments became widely available in Massachusetts. There are some COVID-19 skeptics and anti-vaxxers out there, but I was always set on getting vaccinated when I was eligible.

Moderna vs. Pfizer The great debate over the past few months is which vaccine to choose from. As someone with little interest in the vaccine debate, I was willing to take whichever vaccine was available to me. All I knew was the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is one dose, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had recommended temporarily pausing distribution due to instances of blot clots found in a small number of vaccine recipients. Both the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines require two doses three or four weeks apart, respectively. I got an appointment at CVS and received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

Preparing for the vaccine It may seem a bit overboard, but I felt like I should be prepared the day before my vaccine appointment.

I tried to eat healthy and stay hydrated the night before. Because my appointment was in the morning, I also got up early to have a big breakfast.

Eating before getting a vaccine helps curb nausea and lightheadedness.

Photos like that make me so excited for spring. I happened to be on a great trip that year when I never put down my camera, but every year has its moments, regardless of where you are — though I’m still waiting for a Boston rainbow. The little details and warmer days are the best part of spring, and they really move my nature-photographer heart to get outside and down in the dirt to capture something new.

The vaccination process CVS sends you an appointment confirmation email, which details the time and location. My appointment was at 11 a.m., but I arrived 10 minutes early, which I recommend due to the potential wait time. I was in line for 12 minutes, but it felt like forever.

What makes waiting even harder are the aisles of candy and chocolate snacks tempting you to purchase them. I am convinced CVS does this on purpose to manipulate customers into buying snacks as a reward for getting vaccinated. Throughout the wait, I watched other people move from their spot to grab a protein bar.

I restrained myself, but it was challenging.

I sat down and chose to get the shot on my non-dominant arm, which I recommend because your arm muscle will be sore later on. The vaccine felt like getting any other shot and took a few seconds. Afterward, I sat in a waiting area for 15 minutes to monitor any reactions that would require medical attention.

After the waiting

period, I was all cleared to leave.

Post-vaccination The susceptibility of getting COVID-19 after the first dose is still a concern because your body is busy building immunity. It is just as important to maintain social distancing and protect yourself from the virus during this time.

As for side effects, I only experienced fatigue and a sore arm for a few days. The side effects vary from person to person, some reporting fatigue while others get chills. Most of all, being vaccinated is relieving, and

I’m looking forward to receiving my second dose in May. I will be graduating with the Class of 2021 May 16. Back in September, I wasn’t very hopeful that I would be able to graduate in person with my classmates. To know we will have Commencement in person and I will be fully vaccinated seems too good to be true. But it’s a reminder that vaccinations are instrumental in making in-person graduations — and hopefully more events — possible in the future.

ILLUSTRATION BY ALEXIA NIZHNY

GAMES 7

CROSSWORD

ACROSS 1. Baffled 6. Cypher 10. Hindu Mr. 14. Malicious burning 15. Always 16. Footnote note 17. Ganders 18. Glen 19. Transmit 20. Organized 22. Wise one 23. Indian dress 24. Quake 26. Dines 30. Nigerian tribes

31. Gender 32. Blackthorn 33. Brass component 35. Condition 39. Associate 41. Relating to sight 43. Busybody 44. A Greek territorial unit 46. Former Italian currency 47. Alkaline liquid 49. Gibbon 50. Biblical garden

51. Exit 54. Exhausts 56. Weaving machine 57. Traverse 63. Blind (poker) 64. Colors 65. Heart artery 66. Adolescent 67. Being 68. Ceremonial staffs 69. At one time (archaic) 70. Dampens 71. Breaks

13. Mammary gland of bovids 21. Corn 25. A musical pause 26. Catch a glimpse of 27. Wings 28. Ripped 29. Village 34. They point north 36. Corrosive 37. Container weight 38. Distinctive flair

40. Negatives 42. Furtive looks 45. Least difficult 48. Forgo 51. Gladden 52. Lost cause 53. Anagram of “Store” 55. Cons 58. Ploy 59. A soft sheepskin leather 60. Killer whale 61. Stair 62. Back talk

DOWN 1. Droops 2. 3 3. Functions 4. Outlay 5. Leg joints 6. Crested N. Am. songbird 7. Applause 8. Sandwich shop 9. Builds 10. Relating to a leap year 11. Perpendicular to the keel 12. A type of keno game

WORD SEARCH alias anchor antelope black charm claim clinch count designation exposed fasten fleece grim grope hint insipid

labor linen mundane natural nibble onslaught patch sentimental sheep significant simple strike tackle title wander

8 PHOTO

Spring flowers bloom across Boston Following the start of spring last month and the return of warmer temperatures, flowers have begun to bloom throughout Boston.

HANNAH YOSHINAGA | PHOTO EDITOR

Daffodil garden in Brookline.

SHANNON DAMIANO | DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

A couple sits underneath a blossoming tree.

SHANNON DAMIANO | DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

A goose pecks at grass in a flowerbed.

THALIA LAUZON | DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

A person walks along Bay State Road with a shopping cart.

HANNAH YOSHINAGA | PHOTO EDITOR

Flower buds on a tree.

A person walks along a path lined with flowers.

THALIA LAUZON | DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Two people take pictures in front of a blooming tree in Marsh Plaza.

SHANNON DAMIANO | DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

THALIA LAUZON | DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Two cyclists bike along the Charles River Esplanade.

LIFESTYLE 9

Your time to bloom will come Veronica Thompson Senior Writer In the 14th century, the season following winter was called “springing time” to refer to the period during which plants begin to rise. The vernal equinox is a time of freshness, youth, vitality and energy, when new faunas are born and new flora spring into being.

The change in weather uplifts our moods, and many cultural traditions honor this time of birth and rebirth.

For example, the Hindu harvest festival of colors, Holi, is celebrated annually at the advent of the spring season and represents peace, forgiveness and good triumphing evil.

But spring is so much more than just one of the four seasons of the year — it is a season of life. As human beings, we are constantly maturing and flourishing through formative experiences, whether we are conscious of it or not.

But how do we come into the “spring” of our lives? What does it mean?

As a child, I was confused about the phrase “the real world,” because I didn’t understand how my perception of the world would differ as I grew up. Now I’ve realized that this saying describes the inevitable challenges people face as they navigate life.

Whether it is learning how to drive, embarking on your first romance, tasting your first sip of alcohol, having sex for the first time or traveling beyond your hometown, there are many experiences that force us to face reality that oppose the illusions and movie magic of childhood.

Sometimes we go through paradigm shifts that are so intense they completely change our outlook on everything. As we transition between the stages of life, it is natural to feel like a different version of yourself. That isn’t necessarily a bad or a good thing — it’s just a part of life.

Whenever torrential rains or

windy hurricanes drift into your path, understand that these circumstances are lessons to learn from rather than regrets.

Remember you can weather the storm even if there are no clear skies or rainbows on the immediate horizon.

Conversely, whenever the sun shines down to feed your petals, embrace it. Be mindful of the warmth.

Understand that opportunities may not always present themselves in the way you expected, but you are in control of how you respond to them.

Additionally, there’s no need to compare your spring to others because there’s no standard for flowers. There’s no one way to be a human or to live your human life. In fact, there aren’t even two ways. The possibilities are unlimited.

Everyone’s life is on a different track, so all of our seasons will look different. Maybe your spring is just ending or maybe it is just beginning.

Maybe you’re in the middle of it.

It doesn’t matter if you’re pursuing an internship, studying abroad, starting a new job or graduating. Maybe nothing particularly interesting is happening for you right now and you are simply focusing on being able to get out of bed every morning.

Regardless of what is going on in your life, what has gone on or what will go on, just know you have the power to view every new phase as a transformation and approach it with an open mind.

You will continue to learn, grow and become who you are, even at times when life seems confusing.

You are strong, you are capable and you will bloom too.

Melina Nguyen Contributing Writer After an endless period of black ice, slippery streets, stale snow and biting winds, the sky blooms from its long winter hibernation into a sunny, breezy spring. Frolicking animals, chirping birds and calming mist on shimmering spring days are long-awaited every year.

Except for the poor part of the population who suffer from seasonal allergies.

Seasonal allergy symptoms — sneezing, a runny nose and itchy eyes — usually occur in the springtime when the immune system is triggered by allergens such as pollen and molds.

Previous spring seasons were bearable for me, especially since I was able to find solace in air-conditioned buildings. I’d take a Zyrtec before bed when I felt the urge to sneeze, and most of my allergy attacks would be suppressed.

But my experience with seasonal allergies has only worsened. I remember times during school exams when my nostrils would feel the unbridled urge to just leak,

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Springtime allergies, why can’t you leave me alone? with my throat so scratchy, my nose so irritated and my eyes so watery.

Soon, the Zyrtec hit its carrying capacity of efficacy and fell short of curing my symptoms. Mornings would consist of me shoving wads of tissue paper up both nostrils. Eating was a potential cannonball of projectile food, and drinking water would sometimes trigger itchiness in my esophagus.

I never thought I would be afflicted with this “harmless” condition.

I thought I would have lucked out from the seasonal allergy gene pool, although I should have predicted this — both my father and brother have horrific seasonal allergies.

To make matters worse, my seasonal allergies were usually accompanied by nosebleeds and occasionally laryngitis or bronchitis. My pitiful immune system was overloaded with the outside particles of this disease-ridden, pollen-infested earth. Why did I ever think spring was a beautiful season?

As others were imbibing the delicious sunlight, burgeoning flowers and trees and soft grass, I would be reluctantly perched on the nearest bench, gazing at the pollen collecting on car windshields.

Because of my year-long quaran-

tine thanks to COVID-19, I evaded two spring seasons outdoors. I relaxed indoors almost every day with no qualms. There was nothing I was missing out on other than an atrocious sneezing session.

However, near the end of 2020, my seasonal allergies flared back up, alive and well — the opposite of how I was feeling. One day, I ran downstairs to the sink with a raging nosebleed that took five minutes to clot.

My mom was immediately on the phone with my family doctor.

I honestly don’t see the big deal.

I’ve had to manage these pesky symptoms most of my life. But apparently, it wasn’t normal.

My doctor scheduled an appointment for me to see a legitimate allergy doctor, one who would prick my skin with dozens of needles to assess my reactions to common allergens.

I loved being in that testing room — it was a satisfying process, and I got to see my doctor’s Facebook page, full of fall cabin pictures, as the allergens began festering in my epidermis.

Fortunately for me, I was blessed with the most desirable set of seasonal allergies known to humankind.

Not only was I extremely sensitive to outdoor allergens including most

trees, grasses and weeds, but I was allergic to indoor mold and, surprisingly, many animals. Did you know you could be allergic to cockroaches?

I know I am now.

Well, here’s the verdict after testing: I now have to take expensive nose drops or receive weekly immunotherapy injections. As someone who has only gone to the hospital for a rare surgery, this diagnosis was like being planted in the middle of concrete.

I guess this is where my journey with springtime allergies ends. As I begin my treatment, it will take three years for my allergies to be completely eliminated — coincidentally, lasting my entire college career. Combined with reducing my exposure to allergens, as recommended by our lovely friend, Mayo Clinic, my immune system should be squeaky clean in a couple of years.

To spring: I may have been too weak to approach you myself. However, I am preparing, upgrading and armoring up to stand before you. I will soon be injected with enough allergens to become Mother Nature, and I will make you bow at my feet.

I say this with nasal spray in one hand and my mask in the other. For now, I will just stay indoors.

10 COLORING

COLORING

11

12 OPINION Colbi Edmonds Editor-in-Chief

Andrew Harwood Multimedia Editor

Lily Kepner

Features Editor

Nick Kolev

Campus Editor BEST SMILE

BIGGEST LIFE OF THE PARTY

MOST LIKELY TO MAKE YOUR DAY

MOST LIKELY TO BE ON A REALITY SHOW

MOST LIKELY TO HELP A FRIEND

MOST LIKELY TO BE AN UNDERCOVER SPY

CLASS CLOWN

MOST LIKELY TO ORDER TAKEOUT

MOST LIKELY TO START A YOUTUBE CHANNEL

BEST ZOOM BACKGROUND

BIGGEST #GIRLBOSS

BEST DRESSED

Daniel Kool City Editor

Jackson Machesky Podcast Editor

Charles Moore Sports Editor

Cameron Morsberger Managing Editor

Emma Sánchez Lifestyle Editor

Abbigale Shi Opinion Editor

Alexia Nizhny

Layout & Graphics Editor

Hannah Yoshinaga Photo Editor

FINAL WORD

CAMERON MORSBERGER | MANAGING EDITOR

My No. 1 love language is words of affirmation. So, being tasked to write an article reflecting on my time at The Daily Free Press sounds right up my alley. But some things in life are just too great and too big for words, and if you’ve ever had the opportunity to cross paths with the FreeP, then you know this paper is one of those things.

Coming to Boston University as a freshman, my eyes weren’t set on FreeP. In fact, once I discovered

we had a paper on campus that had reporters frantically covering stories while balancing classes and others editing 45-50 hours a week, I wasn’t sure it would be the gig for me.

I told myself I wouldn’t be a “FreePer” because I wanted more to my identity. College is a time to explore as much as you can, not funnel all of your energy into one activity. But what I didn’t know at the time was how special this paper is. There’s a reason we’re all so

dedicated — it just took me a bit longer to find out.

My journey to the top of this paper was something I never saw coming.

I was a columnist for a semester my freshman year, and somehow I found myself getting an offer for the opinion editor position toward the end of last Spring. About three weeks into the job, I assessed the super late nights and heavy workload, and I prematurely told myself I was retiring from the paper.

I figured one semester on the editorial board of The Daily Free Press was sufficient. I had dipped my toes in the water and gotten a taste of what the paper was all about.

But soon after, I slowly realized the shallow end wasn’t enough — I needed to keep diving in.

There’s something electric about this paper that I just can’t quite put my finger on. I don’t know if it’s the sleep deprivation or the burn from the blue light of my computer, but at the end of the day, nothing feels better than having a Google Drive filled with “final” stories.

So, when I got the call informing me I would be the next editor-inchief in November, I screamed. Out of fear? Maybe. Out of excitement?

Yes. Out of disbelief? Absolutely.

This Spring, we have felt burnout like no other. Another semester of online classes and online FreeP has left me at times feeling like I couldn’t bear the work anymore.

My mental health has certainly taken a dip, and my circadian rhythm has been shattered. Once you reach a certain level of stress and sleep deprivation, you can lose sight of your passion.

Everything is only good in moderation. But you don’t have the privilege of moderation as a section editor for the FreeP. You’re all the way in. Often, I wondered if I was floundering due to my own inadequacies or the fact that I was working a full-time position during the unprecedented — sorry I had to use it — times I am in.

Then, I would hop on Zoom to be greeted with a screen full of faces who made me laugh until I couldn’t breathe. Being surrounded by supportive, talented and loving people has made me realize why I adore this paper and journalism so much.

I’ve been so humbled, grateful and honored to lead the FreeP. Coming into this semester, I wondered what our big story was going to be.

What news would we break? Which politician would we interview? What beat was going to be ours?

I quickly realized that every story is a big story. Although editing articles about Grubhub outages at 3 a.m. on a Tuesday night isn’t always so glamorous, I now understand the impact our reporting can have.

Regardless of how many read it, our work means something to our communities.

We have reported on the Fenway vaccination site opening and the University’s plans for mandated

student vaccinations this Fall. We’ve spoken with movie stars Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield at a roundtable discussion and covered the many protests in Boston demanding justice for Black people killed by police and collective action against anti-Asian hate.

We spoke to students about their experiences with racism, reported on the student protest and activism in response to the University’s handling of sexual assault and covered a story on library staff who were denied workplace accommodations for the Spring. All the while, we had photos and podcasts accompanying our articles and expanding our reporting.

I’m also thankful this paper has allowed us to spark discussions about mental health and the lack of diversity in student newsrooms as we continue the work to improve our operations. With all of my praises, I know this paper is not perfect. We must critique the things we love to make them better, and I hope even lighting the candle was enough to make some change.

To Abbie, Alexia, Andrew, Charles, Daniel, Emma, Hannah, Jackson, Lily and Nick: Thank you.

The universe knew the laughs would be too loud and the energy would be too strong for us to be in the newsroom together and complete our work, so we were forced to take our assignments virtually this semester.

But I know in another lifetime we got to sit in the office and laugh at Charles’ water jug in person and make so many of the memories we missed out on.

And Cammy, we did it. Don’t be surprised if I continue to text you to read over my tweets before hitting send. They may not be breaking news, but I don’t know what my life will be like without consulting you for everything. Thank you for being by my side this semester — I hope you stay there forever.

I will always be indebted to this paper and the people here who have supported me and given me a space to grow. It hasn’t been easy — at all — but knowing how much work we put into the stories we got to share has made this experience rewarding and rather life-changing.

I hope this paper continues to trailblaze. I’ll sit on the sidelines and cheer you all on as you remain objective and steadfast in the principles that make this paper what it is.

Colbi Edmonds Spring 2021 Editor-in-Chief, The Daily Free Press

OPINION 13

EDITORIAL

Returning to in-person classes may invite new anxieties, but will undoubtedly help stabilize our lives ILLUSTRATION BY ALEXIA NIZHNY

If you’re on campus at Boston University and witnessing the city’s slow transition into spring — barring unpredictable Boston weather — the news of in-person classes and Commencement has arrived alongside the bloom of fresh flowers and the irresistible feeling of hope.

But still, all new beginnings bring anxiety and growing pains.

Even if the normal we return to is the “pre-pandemic normal” that current sophomores and juniors have experienced, current and incoming freshmen may have a bigger gap to cross in transitioning to a large, bustling college campus.

Depending on the courses required for their major — such as performing arts classes that have been unable to reach their full potential virtually — some students may find they’re further set back than they would like.

Furthermore, everyone will face an adjustment period coming out of a year of isolation. After registration took place over the past couple of weekends, many have come to reckon with the concept of passing time once more, factoring in commute times between classes on the long stretch of Commonwealth Avenue instead of the time it takes to click between

Zoom links.

More likely than not, this normal will be profoundly impacted by our shared experience of COVID-19. If we return to full capacity in lecture halls, the sheer concentration of people may become overwhelming and anxiety-inducing.

Social interaction, too, may be a lot to handle after this long period of distancing. We may find ourselves

back up? What does it mean for full capacity dorms and classrooms, or visitors in residences?

If BU is planning for a full-throttle return like it seems to be doing, perhaps it should consider reinstating certain aspects of campus life in stages, such as large lecture halls, visitors in residences and dorms with multiple roommates. This way, if there’s a need to boost vaccines or,

friends on campus — introducing yourself to your new classmates; grabbing lunch together at the George Sherman Union; bumping into someone you know while grabbing Starbucks; meeting with your study group in the library; helping someone figure out how to work the printers; passing by a farmer’s market you hadn’t heard about. These are just a few of the million idiosyncrasies

Perhaps most importantly, we’ll be able to track down professors face to face to resolve a problem or question, rather than sitting by our computers refreshing Piazza and our email inbox for hours on end.

There are also some aspects of our pre-pandemic lives we may have long forgotten about that will catch us by pleasant surprise.

If you’ve forgotten to eat or sleep at normal times during quarantine, going back to an inperson experience along streets lined with restaurants and dining halls and spending time with friends will help restore order in your life. You’ll also be forced to go outside and walk to reach your classes, which will naturally make your day more active.

And though class rigor may not change, it will likely be easier to focus in a classroom setting with less accessible distractions.

We’re urgently awaiting Fall 2021 with both excitement and trepidation. For all the downsides, we are desperately in need of inperson classes, socialization and communication. We only ask that the University maintain caution when easing us into the transition.

For all the downsides, we are desperately in need of in-person classes, socialization and communication. easily overstimulated despite our eagerness to jump back into the thick of things.

There also remains the lingering fear of COVID-19 itself — though BU is mandating vaccinations for students, there is still inadequate information on how long-lasting or effective the vaccines will be.

Since vaccine availability to students will be staggered, what does that mean for opening the campus

God forbid, another wave of cases, the consequences will not be as drastic.

What rises above all the fears of returning to campus is, of course, the excitement of returning to normalcy.

It would be remiss not to highlight the palpable optimism in the air.

Think of reestablishing human connection and having all those inexplicable, hard-to-quantify, little moments between strangers and

we’re eager to come home to at BU. We’ll finally be able to transcend those rows of impenetrable greyedout Zoom boxes to establish in-person student-professor relationships. We’ll be able to greet that professor coming into class, stay late to ask a question without the invisible eyes of other Zoom users and crack a joke that will be acknowledged rather than uncomfortably lost in the recesses of the chat.

ILLUSTRATION BY ALEXIA NIZHNY

14 10 OPINION

COLUMNS

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The onset of spring often dredges up an urge for transformation. The practice of spring cleaning encourages people to throw out the old and to enter the new, while the blooming of flowers colorfully advertises the beauty of change.

Though spring traditionally invites these themes into the average person’s life, now that we live in an increasingly visual culture — one in which you can easily document and broadcast these changes to an audience — self-reinvention is all the more appealing.

A TikTok trend from a few months ago involved people showing off their glow-ups. Some of these videos can be emphatically wholesome, with people documenting their journey toward self-acceptance and happiness after leaving an oppressive environment.

Self-reinvention also has a frequent presence in the world of pop music.

This reinvention may involve a radical change in sound, appearance or both, but the process remains the same regardless. The change drums up publicity for the artists’ new work, and fans

the change occurred off screen, independent of any prying eyes, its results were broadcast and staged for an audience.

Any personality heavily constructed around explicit performance requires a person to place greater importance on aesthetics and outward appearances. If this is the most obvious way one can indicate to those around them that they have changed, it allows people to transform themselves without focusing on emotional or mental changes.

I’m not saying this kind of self-reinvention is negative. But these intensely public periods of change gamify self-expression, turning one’s personality into something easily moldable and e n t i r e - ly too dependent on the audience’s reaction.

This becomes all the more complicated when one’s attempt at

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Bini Ollivier Yamin Senior Columnist

are kept intrigued with the “new.”

Take Dua Lipa: While promoting her first album, Lipa was heavily cyberbullied due to her awkward dancing and lackluster stage presence. After a brief break, she came back into the public eye stunning her fans with incredible choreography, an interesting new sound and a new hairstyle to promote her sophomore album “Future Nostalgia.”

But Lipa’s reinvention and these TikToks share a dark underbelly.

People have jokingly pointed to the singer’s improvement as a sign that cyberbullying works. Sure, people seemed to be taking borderline sadistic relish in publicly humiliating this woman, but look at how much better she came out on the other side of the ridicule. Likewise, most of the TikTok glow-ups are accompanied by the implicit knowledge that the creator may have been bullied in some capacity before they were able to change themselves.

Some of these self-transformations seem to have come at a cost, the change occurring only after weathering periods of abuse or unhappiness.

This is why I feel reinvention can be a tricky concept to enact. Oftentimes, self-reinvention does not come from a need to construct a healthier life for oneself, but as a way to avoid ridicule. How can this kind of enforced change lead to anything but a skewed sense of self, created out of a fear of humiliation rather than true self-acceptance?

Granted, I am making a lot of assumptions here. Perhaps Lipa and all of these TikTokers went on a journey of self-discovery independent of outside opinions. Moreover, some self-reinventions can occur after a person has left an oppressive environment and finally has the freedom to be who they’ve always wanted to be — take Kesha, for instance.

However, their transformations were nonetheless staged around performance. Even if

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New spring, new me

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Canceled:

self-transformation fails. Take the recent controversy around the band Tramp Stamps.

On TikTok, Tramp Stamps marketed itself as a punk rock feminist band, with three white members dyeing their hair and singing songs about hating straight white men.

But people soon felt betrayed after finding out its members looked a lot less like actual riot girls a few months ago. People attributed their dyed hair and punk rock sound as clear marketing ploys to appeal to grungy teenagers rather than genuine markers of the band’s personalities.

Of course, the Tramp Stamps members’ transformations are different from your average TikTok glow-up, given that each member has already worked in the music industry. But this band provides an exaggerated case study of how self-reinventions can leave one devoid of any true depth, personality or authenticity.

Spring may be the perfect time to work on letting go of bad habits and trying something new. But to expect complete self-transformation without understanding the added emotional labor behind these changes can lead one to define their personality entirely on outward markers of change.

In short, the performance of self-reinvention — whether it be for the purposes of marketing a terrible punk band, promoting a new album or making a sharply edited TikTok — may destroy more of the self than it reinvents.

Philosophical Soup:

Spring sucks

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Max Ferrandino Senior Columnist What is your favorite season? I prefer summer because I am a big fan of warm weather. I can understand if you like fall because it’s still a little bit warm and the leaves are pretty. Even winter makes sense if you enjoy the snow, but in my 19 years of life, I have never heard anyone say their favorite season is spring.

Simply put, spring sucks. There are many reasons I could list as to why I believe this, but I will stick to the most important ones: allergies, the weather and seasonal depression. These are the three main reasons that spring sucks and why it is the worst season of the four.

You might think I am a little bit too harsh.

Spring is indeed the season of life — flowers grow, and leaves bloom. Why would I not have more of a problem with fall, the season where everything dies?

First, this season of life comes with massive amounts of pollen. For me, this means a period of very unpleasant days and nights because I am very allergic.

These seasonal allergies are very real and affect the daily lives of a substantial percent of the world’s population, most commonly during spring. Furthermore, up to 30% of Americans

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suffer from hay fever, which can last for the entire season. These allergies not only disrupt your quality of life, but can also slow your cognitive responses. Allergic reactions can even cause or exacerbate asthma symptoms in asthmatic people.

The second issue with spring is the weather.

In Boston, weather is very variable, but in no season is it more variable than in spring. Within a week, the weather can vary between 50 degrees Fahrenheit. One day could have a high of 75 degrees and another day has a high of 30 degrees with a low of 28 degrees.

No two days are ever the same when it comes to spring in Boston. Every day, there is a new weather challenge to deal with — it’s always too hot or too cold to wear the same style you wore yesterday. Jeans and a sweatshirt might work for most days, but you will be sweltering when it is 70 degrees and freezing when it is 30 degrees.

Will you be able to wear shorts and a t-shirt to go out, or will you have to wear ten layers of

clothing to avoid frostbite?

It is important to acknowledge my privilege in being able to write an article about why I hate spring. This article should be considered in the context of a college student living in a dorm that has heaters. Many people across the United States do not have access to a central heating system in their homes or apartments and suffer through the cold of winter without adequate protection from the elements.

For them and for unhoused people — of which there are more than 6,000 in 2020 in Boston alone — spring is nowhere near as terrible as winter. Still, the temperamental weather can continue to threaten homeless populations.

The revitalization of cities only presents new challenges such as construction and increased traffic.

Finally, we must consider mild “winter blues,” a condition that affects around 10 to 20% of Americans, starting in the fall and ending in the spring. Seasonal Affective Disorder — which affects around 5% of Americans and

is a type of depression — is a more severe form of these winter blues.

If you suffer from the winter blues, spring may seem like a good place to start getting back to “normal.” In reality, the shifting weather can exacerbate the issue, further prolonging your winter blues.

A form of SAD called “reverse SAD” peaks in the spring and summertime, perhaps in part brought on as a result of allergies. SAD and reverse SAD overlap in the spring, but the belief that sunnier weather will cure depression may make this depression less visible. Suicide rates even increase in the spring and summer.

Ultimately, while I may espouse a particular opinion on the rankings of the seasons, it is up to you to decide if you agree or disagree with me and my hatred of spring. However, regardless of your own perspective on the season, you must understand the deeper issues that affect people across seasons and the more profound problems for those who lack heat or suffer from SAD.

SPORTS 15

BU field hockey loses Patriot League championship to Bucknell in overtime 2-1 John Fallon Staff Reporter Bucknell University handed the Boston University field hockey team its first defeat of the season Saturday.

The loss came in the Patriot League Conference title game at New Balance Field, where the Terriers fell 2-1 in overtime. The Terriers are now 11-3 alltime in the Patriot League Tournament and ended the 2021 season 5-1.

BU entered off of a 5-1 victory over the College of the Holy Cross in the Patriot League semifinal Thursday.

However, five starters and both goalkeepers on the roster were unable to play in the championship because

Chad Jones Senior Columnist

of COVID-19 protocols. The No. 3 Bisons, who beat defending champions American University in a semifinal shootout Thursday, came into the game in pursuit of their first Patriot League title.

“I could not be more proud of just our effort, our guts, our courage and dealing with adversity really as well as you could ever deal with adversity,” head coach Sally Starr said in a press conference Saturday.

“The last I’d say it was 30 hours we kept getting sucker punched … to be able to take Bucknell to overtime today was huge.”

A strong defensive effort on both sides of the field dominated the first half. Opportunities on net were hard to come by — no shots were taken

by either team 20 minutes into the game. The first of Bucknell’s 14 total penalty corners occurred about halfway through the second quarter.

Bucknell played aggressively to close out the half, but BU’s strong defense and goalkeeping by freshman Pili Alvarez kept the score 0-0. The championship was Alvarez’s first appearance in goal.

“She’s fearless the way that she plays as a striker, she’s a diver, she’ll really go after it and I really felt that she could rise to the moment,” Starr said. “The first time she took actual shots in goal was with about 18 minutes before game time.”

The Terriers played more aggressively on the ball in the third quarter, overcoming staunch defense

It has been quite the rush

ILLUSTRATION BY ALEXIA NIZHNY

Since January of 2020, I have been responsible for putting out the weekly hockey column for The Daily Free Press. It was a role I did not take lightly. Each week during the NHL season, I tried to balance writing about a pressing story in the hockey world, while at the same time, leaving room for topics I thought were important to tackle.

Much of the time, I dove into an angle centering around the Boston

Bruins. Writing for Boston University students, as well as watching many of the B’s games, this column gave me the opportunity to highlight important storylines for the organization.

As other journalistic endeavors confirmed to me as well, I thoroughly enjoy taking a retrospective look at certain figures. I reveled in describing what Zdeno Chara meant to the Bruins when he played in his 1,000th game as Boston’s captain. I relished

pointing out both why David Krejci is undervalued by Bruins fans and why he has been invaluable to Boston throughout his career. But I never wanted the column to be just limited to the Bruins.

I also had a blast tackling debate topics. Who is better, Sidney Crosby or Alex Ovechkin? Is Wayne Gretzky the greatest North American athlete to ever play a team sport? In those instances, I wanted to blend my anal-

by Bucknell junior forward Emily Doyle and multiple Bison penalty corners. Terriers senior back Kathryn Scheerer scored a goal, her fifth of the year. Scheerer’s goal helped BU push the attack late into the fourth quarter.

“That’s Kat,” Starr said. “I mean, absolutely tremendous hockey player. Came up big for us this year with a lot of big goals. Absolutely.

Came up huge for us today with a tremendous performance.”

Consecutive Bucknell penalty corners late in the game eventually broke through the Terriers’ defense, equalizing the match with under six minutes to go and forcing overtime. Senior back Kaelyn Long would then score for Bucknell on a

penalty corner after seven minutes of extended play, clinching the first Patriot League field hockey championship in Bucknell history.

Still, Starr had a positive outlook on the loss and completing the difficult season.

“COVID definitely won today, and I think we won today as well,” Starr said. “I really feel that in every sense of the word. When you want to walk off a field feeling that you left it on the field and you did your best that you can do, you’re victorious, and that’s what I feel about today’s game with this team.”

BU field hockey will return in the fall for the 2021 regular season.

ysis while also having the statistics do some of the talking.

But as I think back, two columns really stick out in my mind. I am proud of how these turned out because they were important stories that went so far beyond the sport of hockey.

The first column that jumps out to me was the one I wrote about Bobby Ryan earning the Masterton Memorial Trophy for being a player who best represented the sport’s values. Ryan’s comeback to the NHL, not to mention his childhood, was nothing short of awe-inspiring. I felt the importance of his story and did my best to convey the essence of a life filled with peaks and valleys.

The other column that means a lot to me was a tribute to BU icon Travis Roy after he died last October. I felt the magnitude of the story as I was writing it. I understood the importance of BU’s student-run paper giving a personable salute to Roy and my responsibility in doing so.

While journalists strive to write every story with the same fervor, regardless of the subject matter, the truth is, some stories carry more weight. They just do. And I really hope I honored Roy and his accomplishments appropriately — few Terriers have and ever will leave a legacy as powerful as his.

It was emotional reading what Roy’s

mother, Brenda Roy, had to say in the comments.

I cannot thank The Daily Free Press enough for giving me this opportunity and platform to share my thoughts on the hockey world. I really tried not to take this opportunity for granted because I know how coveted a column slot in any newspaper is. I respected how this paper gave me creative freedom to write about any topic I felt was fit for that specific week. These reps of producing longform, opinionated journalism will prove to be invaluable as I graduate from BU. I would also like to thank anyone who consistently consumed my column. As a journalist, there is no better feeling than learning someone read your work and it garnered a reaction. The thought of people looking forward to reading my articles is nothing short of intoxicating.

As I move forward in my journalistic journey, having this column was a phenomenal way for me to strengthen my voice. But wherever my career ends up going, I will never forget contributing to this paper. Seeing my name on the by-line of a story, having people comment on my work and holding a physical copy of a newspaper containing something I wrote never ceases to be surreal.

GRAPHIC BY JUN LI

Fair or Foul:

Four Stories to watch unfold in the 2021 Season Daniel Multz Senior Columnist As the Spring semester comes to a close here at Boston University, the 2021 MLB season is moving full speed ahead. The first month of the season is coming to a close, so let’s look at four stories and patterns everyone should keep their eye on as the rest of the season unfolds.

1. Will the Bronx Bombers start living up to their name again?

It is no secret the New York Yankees’ lineup is struggling mightily out of the gate in 2021. Through the team’s first 20 games, only Aaron Judge has an OPS over .800, and the team has been riding the white-hot starts of Gerrit Cole and the bullpen to cover for the lackluster hitting.

The good news for the Yankees is that first baseman Luke Voit, 2020 American League home run champion, is progressing in his pursuit to return from a torn meniscus he sustained in spring training. For his team’s sake, his return can hopefully act as the same

resuscitation that Alex Rodriguez’s return in 2009 had — that 2009 team went 12-10 in April before catching fire in May, winning 103 games and then taking home the organization’s 27th title.

The only thing that can nullify the effects of the lineup returning to normal is the rest of the rotation — Domingo German, Jordan Montgomery, Corey Kluber and Jameson Taillon — continuing to pitch short, ineffective outings.

Other than that, if the 2021 Yankees start hitting again, their pursuit for No. 28 will get back on track.

2. Will Jacob deGrom end up winning the 2021 National League MVP? If you followed MLB the last four seasons, then you know Jacob deGrom has been the most dominant pitcher in the league by a country mile. After winning the 2018 and 2019 Cy Young Awards, at ages 30 and 31 respectively, the Mets’ ace shows no sign of slowing down.

Now 33, deGrom’s fastball has undergone a transformation seldom seen by pitchers his age. His

fastball velocity has increased from around 94 mph to just under 99 mph from 2016 to 2021, according to Fangraphs. With that increase, his domination of opposing hitters is ongoing.

So far in 2021, deGrom has allowed just one earned run, with 50 strikeouts and an average of more than seven innings per start. Also, his ERA+ stands at 1238 while 100 is league average. Simply put, deGrom is miles above anyone else in 2021, and that may net him an MVP along with his third Cy Young.

3. The Royals, Mariners and Giants should be struggling, but they’re contending. How long will that last?

Who could have predicted that as of today, teams such as the Yankees, Astros and Braves would all have losing records? At the same time, who could have predicted the Royals would be leading their division, the Mariners would be 13-9 and the Giants would be 14-8 in the same division as the Padres and Dodgers? But, the true question is how long before these surprisingly

overachieving teams crash down to Earth.

For the Mariners, only Ty France and Mitch Haniger are hitting. Their rotation of unproven commodities is playing poorly, and the bullpen full of unknowns will not pitch this well forever. The Royals should follow.

Despite the solid starts of Carlos Santana, Whit Merrifield, Salvador Perez and the decent work from the pitching staff, the AL Central is too stacked for sustainable success from these teams.

Lastly, the Giants already stood their ground once against the Padres and Phillies. Additionally, their pitching staff is off to a great start with every starting pitcher doing well, and their everyday lineup is doing the same. This team looks the most well-rounded and most likely to succeed the longest.

4. What will All-Star Week look like?

The league decided to move the 2021 All-Star Game and all of its surrounding events and financial opportunities from Atlanta to Denver in response to outcry over Georgia’s

recently passed voting bill. This move brought politics into the world of baseball to a degree not seen in decades.

This level of intertwining of the two worlds left everyone who either supports or opposes the decision even more passionate about defending their position.

Nevertheless, the game was moved and will still go ahead in Denver.

But, what will happen once All-Star Week comes around? Will there be any protests and counter-protests?

Will any events get canceled? Only time will tell.

The one positive is the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game should be slugfests. Coors Field is known for being a very hitter-friendly park, so offense will come plentifully and the baseball-related events will still be exciting. However, the unfortunate reality is that this year’s All-Star festivities will not just be about baseball, and that may affect the overall environment of the generally festive week.

Sports Thursday, April 29, 2021

2021 BU men’s lacrosse playoff preview Seamus Webster Contributing Reporter

The Boston University men’s lacrosse team is on its way to its fourth Patriot League playoff run in five years following a shortened 2020 season due to COVID-19.

The Patriot League announced Friday it would expand the number of teams in the tournament from four to six. The Terriers are now slated to play Colgate University for the third time this season at Nickerson Field May 4.

Even with the touch-and-go status of this spring’s athletics season, the Terriers were able to put together a 6-4 record. The team lost two nonconference games, and the remaining Patriot League defeats were at the hands of an Army West Point team ranked second as of April 18.

For all the potential chaos this season held when it started, head coach Ryan Polley said he is pleased with his team’s consistent focus and the position they’re in now.

“We typically start on Jan. 7, and we started on Feb. 1, so there’s been a lack of development from a timing standpoint,” Polley said in an interview. “The fact that we’ve been able to be 6-4 … is a tribute to the leadership and commitment of the

guys on the team and the fact that we have some really good players.”

Part of the Terriers’ success this year can be attributed to individual offensive performances.

Junior attackman Timmy Ley leads the Patriot League in goals per game, despite going down more than two weeks ago with an injury, and sophomore attackman Vince D’Alto is leading the conference in pointsper-game at five.

In addition to Ley, the team has been missing other key players.

Polley said they will be without senior midfielder Sean Christman — the starting faceoff man — and junior midfielder Jake Cates.

“We’re down three guys that are the best at their position,” Polley said.

“That’s hard, and guys got to step up, but injuries have played a major part of the recent lack of efficiency in the things that we’re doing.”

The thinned roster didn’t seem to have much of an effect on the Terriers’ performance in their last game against Colgate. When BU travelled to Hamilton, New York, the team scored seven goals with six different players in the second quarter alone. D’Alto tallied five points, and sophomore attackman Louis Perfetto earned six. It was the game that pushed the Terriers into the playoffs.

The Raider loss aside, Colgate has given the Terriers some fits this

LIBBY MCCLELLAND | DFP FILE

Sophomore attacker Thomas Niedringhaus in a Feb. 8, 2020 game against The Ohio State University. Boston University men’s lacrosse will face Colgate University in the Patriot League Quarterfinals May 4 at Nickerson Field.

season. In the first matchup, the Terriers had to come back from a five-goal deficit to get the win, and in the second, the Raiders pulled off a respectable comeback of their own, scoring six unanswered goals in the fourth quarter before running out of time.

“I think we’re very familiar with each other,” Polley said. “They’re talented, certainly enough to put a run together … I think our best lacrosse against them has been some

of the best lacrosse we’ve played all year, so certainly we’re hoping to capture that and figure it out and do that next Tuesday.”

If the Terriers are able to complete the season sweep of Colgate, they’ll move into the final four and play Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania later that week. The two teams haven’t faced each other this season.

The last time the Terriers met up with the Mountain Hawks was in May

of 2019, when Lehigh eliminated BU in the semifinal round of the Patriot League Tournament — a match tied for the furthest the Terriers have made it in the competition so far.

“I think everybody knows Lehigh would be an incredible challenge, but we need to get there first,” Polley said.

“Although we talk about taking that next step, we can’t take that step until you take the first one, and that first one’s coming up on Tuesday.”

Boston University 2021 softball playoff preview Sonja Chen Senior Reporter

Boston University softball team’s dominant regular-season campaign is drawing to a close. The Terriers (28-2, 17-1 Patriot League) have been practically unbeatable across the board, with their only conference loss coming against Army West Point (8-13, 4-8 PL) earlier this month.

Following this weekend’s season finale against Lafayette University (1-11, 1-7 PL), the Terriers have their sights on the 2021 Patriot League Championship, in which they have clinched the top seed.

BU won the Patriot League in 2018 and 2019, but the COVID-19 pandemic spoiled the team’s chance at a three-peat in 2020. Head coach Ashley Waters said the team has been motivated by the previous season’s sudden end.

“They’ve just been really hungry to get back out on the field,” Waters said in an interview. “They’ve been able to come out of the gate really strong and continue that momentum, knowing that every single weekend, it really could be your last weekend.”

Entering the final weekend, Bucknell University (11-12, 8-8 PL), Colgate University (12-12, 10-8 PL) and Lehigh University (10-14, 8-8 PL) round out the top four in the Patriot League,

with Army trailing by four conference wins.

Waters said the Terriers will focus on self-improvement rather than their opponents in the coming weeks.

“We’re just going to focus on what we can control and who we are, and not so much the other team,” Waters said, “and just prep ourselves to be the best hitting, fielding and pitching team we possibly can going into that weekend.”

BU’s offense has been productive all season, outscoring Patriot League opponents 94-31. Two of the top four conference hit leaders are Terriers — sophomore infielder Caitlin Coker and freshman outfielder Lauren Keleher — and seven of the team’s qualified batters are hitting for an OPS over .800 in the season.

Still, Waters said she sees room for improvement, particularly in getting quality at-bats from the entire lineup instead of from three to four different players each game. Timely hitting and plate discipline, she said, will go a long way in the championship.

“If you get a good pitch, you have a shot to put a really great swing on it and make an outcome happen,” Waters said, “but when we’re swinging at balls, we’re doing the defense a favor.”

Fielding is another area the Terriers may focus on improving — BU has a .960 fielding percentage on the season, having made 37 errors in 30 games. That leads the Patriot League by a wide margin: Lehigh has made

HANNAH YOSHINAGA | DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Junior catcher Nicole Amodio at the plate against Colgate University April 4, 2021. Boston University softball will play its first Patriot League postseason game May 13.

the second-most errors with 26.

“We’ve had some serious miscues that need to be cleaned up,” Waters said.

“The team that has the defense is going to win in the end, and we got to show up.”

Pitching has been a cornerstone for the Terriers this season. Senior pitcher Ali DuBois has had a historic season, and she leads the Patriot League in multiple categories including ERA, strikeouts and wins. Currently, DuBois also has the fourth-lowest ERA across D-1 NCAA Softball. Junior pitcher Emily Gant, who holds the second-lowest ERA in the conference and is tied for third in wins, has also been a key contributor.

Waters said her pitching staff has improved throughout the season, in part

because they “throw a lot” and are able to find ways to get the same players out in successive games.

“When we’re playing four games a weekend, and playing the same team over and over again, you have to reinvent yourself a little bit,” Waters said.

“You have to figure out a way to actually execute and get some out.”

Terrier pitchers have given up 10 home runs to Patriot League opponents this season, more than any other type of extra-base hit. That is not a huge concern for Waters, who said great hitters will find ways to hit the ball out of the park, and limiting traffic on the bases is a larger priority. BU pitchers have been stingy so far, with a combined 0.88 walks plus hits per inning pitched in the season.

“For us, we just want to limit the walks,” Waters said. “I don’t want anyone getting on base for free.”

If the Terriers take the Patriot League Championship, they will advance to the NCAA Tournament, with a chance to reach the Women’s College World Series. Despite having one of the highest-winning percentages in college softball, BU has yet to be ranked among the top 25 Division I teams or receive any votes. Waters said the team doesn’t think about rankings and will take the playoffs one game at a time.

“The outside noise doesn’t get us,” Waters said. “We don’t care about win streaks, we don’t care about records, we simply just care about ‘win that game, win that moment.’”

BOTTOM LINE FRIDAY, APRIL 30

FRIDAY, APRIL 30 SATURDAY, MAY 1

SATURDAY, MAY 1 SUNDAY, MAY 2

MONDAY, MAY 3

TUESDAY, MAY 4

Women’s tennis will play a match in the Patriot League Quarterf inal Friday

Softball will take on Lehigh in two doubleheaders in the last series of the regular season

Men’s and women’s track and f ield will compete in the Patriot League Championship in West Point, New York

Women’s lacrosse will face Colgate in the Patriot League Quarterf inal in Hamilton, New York.

Men’s lacrosse will enter the playoffs on Tuesday in the Patriot League Quarterf inal.