Atlas Magazine: The Catalyst Issue

ATLAS

A T L A S F A L L 2 1

the catalyst issue

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STYLE

CAMPUS

Impact of Music Festivals on Fashion

by Erin Renzi

Lunchbox: A Magazine for Asian Creatives

//pg. 14

by Jess Ferguson

Embracing Our Inner Cheugy

by Molly Goodrich //pg. 18

Revolutionary Leftism in Fashion

by Karenna Umscheid //pg. 25

//pg. 32

Standing Ovation: The Students Who Are Bringing Back Live Theater

by Kathleen Nolan //pg. 36

What Brought you Here?

by Ana Luque //pg. 42

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HEALTH Maintaining Our Minds In a Material World: The Self as a Social Performance

by Kait Joyner //pg. 56

Confronting Your Twenties

by Lauren Surbey //pg. 61

Travel Sick: How to Prioritize Your Health

by Mattie Holloway //pg. 68

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CITY Growing Gentrification

by Grace Rispoli //pg. 74

A Guide for New Bostonians

by Erin Norton //pg. 80

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GLOBE TikTok: A Worldwide Revolution

by Elisa Davidson //pg. 88

The Art of Growing Young

by Marianna Reyes //pg. 96

our staff

editor in chief ANNA MOON cretive director STELLA DREWS-SHELDON managing editor MARIANNA REYES

photography director KAIT JOYNER photographers THALER BISHOP, ROSAMOND CHUNG, ELAINE TANTRA design director CHLOE WILLIAMS designers ABBY PRETTYMAN, ALEX PUCILLODUNPHY, RIFKA HANDELMAN, ROSAMOND CHUNG beauty director MORGAN HOLLY makeup artists ANGELEE GONZALEZ, EMMIE AUFFANT, HENRY WACHS, SAM SILVERA fashion director CHLOE SHAAR stylists JAX GROSS, ROBIN VAN IMPE, NEEKA BOROUMANDI editorial director GRACE COSGROVE team BRYNN O’CONNOR, CHLOE SHAAR, MYA DIGGS, GLORIA NATIVIDADE head copyeditor KATIE POWERS copyeditors CHARLOTTE DRUMMOND REBECCA LETTS, EMMA SHACOCHIS, CAJA LESHINGER, CLAIRE FAIRTLOUGH, AVA SOFIA BRATT, MARISSA VILANOVA style editor ABIGAIL AMATO writers ERIN RENZI, MOLLY GOODRICH, KAREENA UMSCHEID campus editor MARYCATHERINE NEAL writers JESS FERGUSON, ANA LUQUE, KATHLEEN NOLAN health editor MOLLY GOODRICH writers MATTIE HOLLOWAY, KAIT JOYNER, LAUREN SURBEY city editor ABIGAIL AMATO writers GRACE RISPOLI, ERIN NORTON globe editor ERIN RENZI writers ELISA DAVIDSON, MARIANNA POLETTI REYES media director BECCA CALVAR team SYDNEY SCHILLER, ERIN NORTON, CHARLIZE TUNGOL, GABRIELLE GOODE, LAUREN SMITH, NEEKA BOROUMANDI events coordinator KASVI BHATIA team JAX GROSS, BLAKE MARTINEZ, JACKSON BAILEY web director REBECCA LETTS

from the editor Dear Readers, With any Atlas Magazine we publish, our goal is for readers to relate to and find comfort within these pages. The Catalyst Issue aims to be your solace and to remind you what you’re passionate about and why you do what you do. Catalyst isn’t a term you hear often, especially at an art school like Emerson, but in general terms, it is something that causes a reaction or change. In this issue, we looked at the entire scope of the word and its meaning. Words like drive, spur, and revolutionary grace these pages in hopes to inspire.

Let’s be real, for some of us, including myself, this pandemic sucked all the life out of us. We lost our urge and desire to create and do the things we love. Trust me, you’re not alone.

But as life slowly starts to flourish again, we realize that the things we once loved will get us through the tail end of this crisis. So we pick them up again, and slowly but surely, we begin to work and create again.

Looking around at Emerson, I see there is no shortage of people who create change of their own. It is in our blood as Emersonians to have the drive, if not to incite change directly, to inspire others around us. With that being said, I hope that you find what was once lost in the Catalyst Issue.

Enjoy!

With Love, Anna Moon Editor-in-Chief

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Dear Readers, The Catalyst Issue, to us, poses a broad representation of the general ethos this semester. We knew we wanted a theme that felt reflective of the present moment, but we were really sick of focusing on pandemic-esque motifs, and we’re sure everyone is sick of being reminded.

We wanted to go in a visual direction that inspires the mystery, excitement, and empowerment associated with change. Our photographers were urged to design pitches for photoshoots based on the idea of using the medium as a form of narrative storytelling and to capture an image that essentially sets a scene. Through our design, we wanted to highlight these visuals while diverting from the notion of a standardized format. Because the thematic focus was on transformations, beginnings, and expansion, we called upon Y2K style for visual motifs to illustrate the notion of a new era. We also wanted to incorporate a neo-noir element into our visuals to emphasize a departure from our past propensity for softer, more delicate aesthetics.

But I don’t just want to leave you with a pretentious diatribe on the creative process, of course. The Catalyst Issue, at its core, is a rejection of the preachy in a pursuit of the personal. Part of what Anna and I have aimed for in our past issues was the presentness of Atlas and maintaining an authentic reflection on the current moment. I think that the moment right now is one of conflict, confusion, and extremity, but most of all, the resilience of the self. That’s what we wanted the Catalyst Issue to be about: the unmoving and igniting force that is you.

With Love, Stella Drews-Sheldon Creative Director

from the creative director 07

10 YEARS of Atlas: a retrospective

by Anna Moon

When I think about my life 10 years ago, I was a geeky girl in middle school learning algebra. At the same time 10 years ago, Atlas Magazine had published its first issue. In the past decade, Atlas has published over 20 different issues, each with its own theme and style. Founded by Emerson alum Sarah Dwyer, Katie Reynolds, and Rheanna Bellomo, the magazine was meant to be reflective of the entire Emerson community.

The reason behind the name for Atlas was to not only be a guide for Emerson students to read, but to also gain real experience on what it’s like to actually work for a publication. Especially at the time when the magazine was started, there weren’t a lot of publications students could work for and relate to. “I saw the publications that were available at Emerson…and just these weren’t for everyone at Emerson,” said Dwyer, the founding editor-in-chief. “I wanted to make something that all Emerson students could relate to. And that also represented and connected us to the campus, to the city that we live in, that connected us with global issues as well. And then I thought about, what are all Emerson students passionate about? We’re all here, we

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all live in this city that we’re trying to explore, we [are] all big on global issues.” Dwyer then pitched this idea to her introduction to magazine writing class. After the whole class signed up, Atlas was born, proving how much the campus needed Atlas because there was nothing like it at the time.

The whole idea behind Atlas was that it was a publication that represented the entire Emerson community instead of a small, niche part of it. It was designed to be accessible and inclusive, something that Atlas still strives to achieve in its issues today.

Reynolds, the founding artistic director said, “If you couldn’t get a staff position, if you couldn’t or you weren’t getting an art show because it wasn’t your major, you felt excluded because you weren’t getting the same resources as people who had made it their major. Like if it was just a passion, we wanted to open it up so that you had the ability to showcase your work in another way. Or in another publication.” The goal was to have everyone involved as much as they could be, leading them to have a staff of over 70 people, one of the largest on campus at the time.

The first issue of Atlas, My First Atlas Magazine, can only be found online because they weren’t able to raise enough money to print.

“When we first started we were entirely self-funded or donation-funded. We didn’t get student government recognition until our second year. The first two issues were entirely funded by students and ourselves,” said Reynolds. And after going to two meetings with Emerson’s student government association, the organization was finally recognized and was able to receive funding to print and to purchase any necessary materials for shoots.

Atlas was designed to provide real life work experience for its staff, to give them experience that they could apply in the work field. “Atlas definitely taught me a lot about working with people that have a similar but different vision,” said Bellomo, the founding managing editor. “I’d say overall management and having faith in a good team and leading well and not having to make people pay their dues so to speak. Being able to set a good environment.” Atlas fosters skills in students that can be used in multiple jobs, but for the founders, they also learned how to start from scratch. “It was like starting a business, building something from the ground up,” said Dwyer. “It taught me to see the bigger picture but also see all the little details that go into that bigger picture.” And Atlas, of course, also teaches people how to lead and collaborate. “The delegation and collaboration components were one of the bigger things. It was a lot of looking back, realizing what I did wrong, and trying to do it better over and over again is what I learned from Atlas,” said Reynolds.

The Catalyst Issue will mark and celebrate the 10 year anniversary of Atlas.

I have been on the Atlas team for four years and I have watched it change and grow into a publication that matters to the Emerson community. I only hope that after I’ve passed it on to the next generation of leaders, the magazine continues to be the publication it has always strived to be. At its core, Atlas was a magazine made to represent the entire Emerson community, to be accessible, and to be inclusive, and in the past four years, I am proud to say I have been part of a team that has been able to uphold these values. I look forward to seeing what the future holds for the next 10 years and beyond for Atlas.

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impact of music festivals on fashion

By Erin Renzi

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s my friend lifted me up onto his shoulders, I rose above the entire crowd at the 2021 Governor’s Ball Music Festival. The beginning of Post Malone’s song “Motley Crew” started playing, and the mosh of people screamed.

The lights on the stage glowed orange and red, illuminating the sheer amount of people surrounding me dressed in unique festival outfits and covered in glitter. When the beat dropped, the entire crowd began jumping in unison and — for lack of better words — I felt like I was on top of the world.

The height of the COVID-19 pandemic temporarily put one of life’s biggest joys on hold: live music. As the world adjusted to it’s “new normal,” the music industry adjusted with it, and some artists held virtual concerts. These events temporarily filled a void most people felt while being confined to the four walls of their homes, but nothing compares to the adrenaline rush achieved by attending a live music performance. The elaborate lights on stage, the sensation of the music in your chest and feeling connected to a group of strangers because you share the same love for a collection of songs is unmatched. As someone who loves fashion, one of my favorite things to do at a concert is to look at the different outfits, hairstyles and makeup looks attendees are sporting. Music festivals create even greater grounds for creatively expressing oneself through personal style.

Whether it be Rolling Loud, Lollapalooza or The Governor’s Ball, a popular way of dress for music festivals today is the “rave girl” aesthetic, which includes crop tops, neon colors and lots of glitter. Jenny Ferm, a third year journalism major at Emerson College, attended the 2021 Governors Ball and emulated this aesthetic on the first day of the festival. She wore black flowy linen pants and a bright orange cowl neck top with an open back, accessorizing with a chain belt,

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chain necklaces and orange lipstick. “I had glitter all over because it’s a festival, I feel like that’s a given. In my head rave is associated with very bright colors and minimal clothing, so I was trying to do that a little bit,” Ferm said.

Taking inspiration from rave fashion is a popular choice for music festivals today, but this wasn’t always the case. At Woodstock — a cultural reset of the 1960s — women freed the nipple, and people wore tie dye, tiny crocheted tops and denim on denim.

According to “A Look back At Each Decade Of Festival Fashion, From The ‘60s To Today,” an article from Refinery29, “left-leaning youth were disillusioned and looking for an alternative to the status quo” when Woodstock occurred. This mindset can account for the clothing worn to the festival being “provocative” along with bare feet and nudity. At Glastonbury in the 1970s, Doc Martens became popular and a symbol of punk. Festivals held in the 1980s showcased iconic trends from the decade on and off stage:

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T-shirts with slogans, leather jackets, square Ray Bans and layered jewelry.

Festival fashion of the 1990s reflected grunge and angst.

More recently, music festival fashion is a blend of festival fashion from previous decades. If you go to a festival in 2021, you’ll see people wearing as little clothes as possible, the freeing of the nipple, colorful graphic T’s, funky pants, glitter and ripped denim pieces. Many of these trends are also popular for everyday wear.

Music festivals are a commentary on contemporary trends, many of which we have stolen from previous decades.

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The most freeing aspect when picking an outfit for a music festival is the lack of pressure to adhere to current fashion trends. At The Governors Ball many festival goers had elements of Y2K fashion trends incorporated into their outfits (picture butterfly clips and lowrise pants) and unsurprisingly so, since late 90s and early 2000s fashion has come back around in the trend cycle. Even if Y2K styles weren’t on trend currently, a music festival is a place where almost any fashion choice is viable. You can choose to align with current trends or make your own statement.

Performers express themselves through music, and the audience members express themselves through per“You can sonal style. Ferm participated choose to align in the rave girl aesthetic for day one of the Governors Ball, but with current used the two other days to trends or make experiment with fashion and self expression. For the second your own day, Ferm and her friends statement.” dressed in emo fashion and for the third day, they all wore cowboy-inspired outfits.

While none of the days aligned with her everyday style, the festival gave Ferm a chance to experiment with clothing.

“I enjoyed dressing up because I don’t usually dress in that kind of attire when I’m going to concerts in Boston,” Ferm said. “It was a great way to express a completely different fashion side that I don’t usually do.”

As we come out of the pandemic, dressing up for a music festival becomes all the more exciting, especially if you have never attended one before. Emma Tigerman, a fourth year Northeastern University student attended the Governors Ball for the first time this year.

She wore a bright pink cropped shirt with a zipper down the front and a metallic purple skirt. “The lack of live music and festivals due to COVID definitely made me more excited for Gov Ball itself, but the fact that I had never been to a music festival at all was what made me the most excited to dress up.”

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embracing our inner cheugy

By Molly Goodrich

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f you are not as obsessed with internet culture as many of us are, the word “cheugy” might be totally foreign to you. Pronounced chew-gee, this word has popped up in online spaces as synonymous with being out of trend, out of style and, quite frankly, maybe a tad bit ugly. Anything can be cheugy: Live Laugh Love signs, Rae Dunn home decor and perhaps even your unhealthy obsession with Harry Potter. From a fashion perspective, though, think chevron stripes, bootleg jeans and UGG boots.

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We’re all guilty of dressing a little cheugy from time to time, but the question remains: Is that such a bad thing?

This comes at a price, though. If you bought $20 pants at the beginning of October, chances are they’re out of style by Halloween. And if you have to keep doing this every month, you’ll Overconsumption in the U.S. has be- eventually spend way more than if you come a huge problem. From Zara’s invested in an expensive, good quality white-knuckle grip on fast fashion to pair at the beginning.

Amazon Prime creating knockoffs for every brand imaginable, we are faced These micro-trends can be damaging daily with micro-trends and the ability for our self worth in the long run. to buy nearly anything we want from a With he rise of TikTok fashion influencsingle click on our trackpad. ers, it seems as though there is a new Pre-2010, the fashion cycle was nor- trend to jump on every day, meaning mally divided into the four seasons. clothes we were wearing just months If you bought a new outfit for spring, ago are already seen as out of touch. you could wear it for multiple sea- For many young people, being onsons, and for multiple years. Most peo- trend is one of the most important ple bought one pair of jeans with the things in our lives. If you weren’t wearidea that you could wear them dai- ing lilac this past spring and corduroy ly, or nearly every day, for a very long this fall, you might as well have been time before needing to replace them. wearing a garbage bag, according to If those jeans were $100, that was okay, some of these New York Instagrambecause you were going to get your mers. money’s worth. These days, however, paying more than $50 for jeans is seen as overpriced, mainly because we know we may only wear them a handful of times.

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“But these microtrends can be damaging for our self worth in the long run.”

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Sure, sometimes a trend is truly horrendous, and it has no place in your closet if you’re not going to wear it anymore. We’ve all probably impulse bought a top that we swore we would wear every day, and it continues to collect dust in the back of the drawers. A friend of mine once gave me the advice that if you can’t see yourself wearing something 50 times, don’t buy it. That one tip has saved me from wasting a lot of cash on a shirt that probably wasn’t worth more than a couple of dollars.

“Mend or reuse the clothes you already have instead of throwing them away or donating, and try only buying new garments a few times a year, if needed,” she stated in one video. Of course, if you know of a local thrift store in need of donations, or a family in your neighborhood in need of hand-me-downs, giving away your extra garments won’t hurt. But a large number of donated clothes can end up in a landfill, according to Green America and The Washington Post.

So try avoiding “if TikTok star Madethose bigyou can’t line Pendleton, who name thrift has amassed over stores, if see yourself 800,000 followers you can. If wearing and is the ownyou can’t something fifty donate loer and designer of her own clothcally, can’t times, don’t ing company, Tunsew to save buy it” nel Vision, claims your life and the only true way to be the clothes are sustainable is to stop buyreally worse for ing new clothes altogether. wear, you can also use them

as rags for cleaning or as pillow stuffings. Reduce, reuse and recycle. Giving your clothes second and third chances at life is one of the best ways to do your part.

All this to say, if you still love that shirt from five years ago, wear it. If skinny jeans are still your thing, embrace them. Feeling like you have to follow every single trend in order to fit in is more damaging than you’d think.

This isn’t middle school, after all. You don’t have to drag your mom to Hollister to try and guess what the popular kids will be wearing this year. Love your cheugy clothes from seasons past, and don’t be afraid to rock something from 2010. With this trend cycle, chances are it’ll be back on the rack in Forever 21 in a few years, anyway.

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revolutionary leftism in fashion F

ashion is a catalyst for self-expression, to advocate for change and for beliefs. In today’s capitalist economy, shopping for clothes can be a political issue. We vote with our dollars now, and students living in Boston are wildly passionate and creative with how they express themselves through fashion. I spoke with some students at Emerson College about the intersection of their leftist beliefs with their style.

By Karenna Umscheid fast fashion, to be more environmentally friendly and to prevent supporting sweatshop labor.

“I don’t have any capital in anything.

I can be as radical as I want,” says Glickel.

She says “capitalism is very hegemonic,” and describes hegemony in fashion as the common, widely acceptable trends. By not dressing to this standard of normal, they subvert the capitalist system that they “It’s like a poison dart frog,” seek to destroy. They think says Xiara Glickel. boldly and actively, work“They thrift Freshman Glickel dising to undermine the opto avoid fast cusses their thrifted pressive, capitalist hefashion, to be more style as a “signal to othgemony in the United environmentally er queer kids.” They adStates. friendly and to vocate for the deconSophomore and meprevent supporting struction of the power dia arts production masweatshop labor.” structures in the United jor Anastasia Bekis leans States, and want to fight more toward a “humanist, against injustices. “Destroy socialist, leftist” political identhe whole system,” they say. She dresses “thrifted, ill-fitting, ugly some- tity. They broke out of the homophotimes but tastefully ugly.” She says bic ideals they grew up around, and she shops primarily from Goodwill and learned leftist ideals from YouTube.

Salvation Army, but currently wears a She dresses on what she describes as pair of pants from their brother and the “alternative punk side,” a shirt from Tilly’s. They thrift to avoid

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often adorned in black, but if she wears a color it would be white or red. She’s a fan of chains, accessories, bracelets Astuto describes their style as “drag, a little bit.” They shop at mall stores for afand earrings. fordability but enjoy being able to thrift “Death-oriented, for lack of a better as well. To be more sustainable, they term,” says Bekis. began “upcycling things, finding pieces they liked and doing things with them Bekis advocates for “getting clothes to make them into outfits that they enfrom thrift stores you may not exactly joyed more.” They criticize fast fashwant, and then altering them, and add- ion because of how the products won’t ing accessories like safety pins.” When last, both in quality and in how they are shopping, they ask themselves ques- “based on microtrends that go out of tions like “Do I need those clothes? Or do fashion so quickly.”

I have something like that already?”

In a tour of Astuto’s closet I’m shown When asked about whether leftist fash- a pair of acid wash jeans, a retro Coion could propel a social movement, ca-Cola shirt and an ‘80s style windBekis says “potentially, but you’d have to breaker. They say “a lot of people with organize a group for that to be accom- leftist ideals in their fashion are drawn plished.” to retro fashion, because the ‘80s was a big time of change for many social “Who am I today, and how does that movements, so people are drawn to show in my outfit?” says Izzy Astuto. the passion of that time.” They’re a big Astuto, a freshman and political com- fan of “period pieces and specific aesmunications major, isn’t a big fan of la- thetics.” I’m shown a white button down, bels. They became invested in politics paired with a black skirt that Astuto dethrough local campaigns where they scribes as having a “semi-steampunk saw “problems actual people have,” secretary type of look.” Fashion feels like and they now seek to create solutions a performance to Astuto, and they enjoy for those problems. They are particu- it. larly passionate about “LGBT rights and Gen Z gets a reputation for being lazy mental health awareness.” They critiand phone-addicted, with ideologies on cize U.S. democratic socialist politicians, the left but with no means to implement warning of performativity, specifically in any ideas. But these students are inclothing. They discuss Alexandria Occredibly intelligent and passionate. They asio-Cortez’s infamous “Tax the Rich” express themselves proudly, are conMet Gala dress, believing that there are scious of the flaws of the society they “more productive ways to spark dislive in and are extremely fashionable. cussion on clothes, by working toward Aware of the overarching hand of capdressing more sustainably.” italism ever present in their daily lives, “When I dress feminine, it feels like a they dress to destroy it. The revolution performance of gender, a performance has never been so stylish. of femininity and the female form,” she says.

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CAMPUS

PHOTOGRAPHY STELLA DREWS-SHELDON

DESIGN ABBY PRETTYMAN

MODEL LIZ FARIAS

BEAUTY EMMIE AUFFANT

STYLE GLORIA NATIVIDADE STELLA DREWS-SHELDON

EDITORIAL GLORIA NATIVIDADE

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LUNCHBOX: a magazine for asian creatives

By Jess Ferguson

W

hile on a leave of absence from Emerson last fall, junior journalism student Jo Malicdem took an Asian American history class at Pasadena City College. Prior to that, she had never learned about Asian American history in much depth.

One assignment stood out in particular. When researching Asian news coverage and journalists, she discovered an old UCLA magazine called Gidra. Gidra was a student-run, monthly newspaper run by Asian students in the post-Civil Rights era.

Malicdem said she was inspired by the students’ work and reached out to her close friend and quarantine pen pal, junior journalism major Marieska Luzada. Luzada is a member of the Asian Students in Alliance (ASIA) executive board and has been involved since her first semester in fall 2019.

Malicdem asked if ASIA ever had or would consider having a magazine.

“Some of the eboard members men-

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tioned that they wanted to start a magazine at some point, but it never really got initiated. That had always been at the back of my mind. I just never took initiative because I didn’t know where to start,” Luzada said.

So when Malicdem reached out, she was excited to be involved however she could.

The pair expressed their wariness about some on-campus publications because they are predominantly white.

“I never really took initiative on being part of magazines on campus because of that uncomfortability and sharing work that dealt with my Asian identity. Most of my works deal with my identity as Asian and as an Asian at Emerson,” Luzada said.

Being a part of spaces that reflect and understand your identity can be a source of great comfort and validation.

“We took Lunchbox as a way to sort of reclaim that experience as part of our identity.”

“When you’re Asian, you don’t really know how much you need to be in that community until you start going to ASIA meetings and see that it’s a family here and you can meet other Asian people at Emerson,” Luzada said.

These sentiments led the two to officially start a magazine at Emerson for and by Asian creatives. Because Malicdem was freshly returning to campus for the first time since pre-COVID, it was “awkward timing” to begin then, so they got the ball rolling in the summer.

“Marieska and I have dedicated WhatsApp for all of our work matters, so that on iMessage we can just be normal friends. All summer, it was just WhatsApp blowing up all the time,” Malicdem said.

Despite never managing a publication before, the two handled all of the operations independently to get a zine ready for the fall semester, and collected works of poetry, nonfiction and photography that friends submitted. They just needed a name, and so came Lunchbox, a suggestion from Luzada’s friend Ava Sparico.

“Growing up as Asian Americans, we were always being made fun of for our lunches in the cafeteria, and it’s a shared experience by many Asian Americans,” Luzada said, “We took Lunchbox as a way to sort of reclaim that experience as part of our identity.”

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They played off of the Lunchbox name to call their first zine the “sampler” issue, a nod to food samples.

They distributed copies across all major campus locations like 172 Tremont, residence hall lobbies and the journalism department office.

“I think just all ethnic cultures really take a lot of comfort in food, and there’s so much that can come out of it,” Malicdem said.

In September, the Lunchbox creators began hiring to expand their team and create a more known presence on campus. They created five teams: visual media, marketing, communications, design and editorial, with one or two managers in each section. With a full staff, they plan to publish magazines at the end of each semester, expanding works of all kinds, and even trying to find ways to incorporate video elements via QR codes or online. They also hope to amp up their social media platform with help of their marketing team.

Luzada said they plan to collaborate with other cultural organizations for either side projects or the Lunchbox magazine. But above all, their goal is ultimately to create a safe, inclusive, accessible space for Asian students to share their stories.

“It’s really gratifying to see that a lot of people are very passionate about the work that they do and the work that they want to showcase in regards to Asian experiences and Asian identity,” Luzada said.

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STANDING the students who are bringing back live theatre

OVATION: 36

By Kathleen Nolan

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he excited buzz of the audience fills the black box as people find their seats, exchanging memories of the last time they saw a live performance. Pop music plays in the background, setting up the atmosphere for the next 90 minutes. At 8 p.m., the music fades, the chatter dies down, and the lights dim — the play is about to begin. This is a moment when the audience usually claps politely, showing their appreciation for the performers. But this audience erupts into applause, whistling and cheering — the pure joy in the room is palpable.

It is the opening night of The Late Wedding — the first live theatrical production on an Emerson stage since March 2020. Moments of laughter, stillness, sorrow and hope are shared between the audience and the cast, reminding us why we felt the loss of this art so deeply and how lucky we are to finally experience it again.

After a year of Zoom theatre and masked performances, Emerson is welcoming live theatre back to campus. Both Emerson Stage (EmStage) and student org productions will be able to have unmasked actors and fully masked audiences sharing the same spaces and experiencing the same stories for the first time in 18 months. The actors, stage managers, directors and everyone in between are thrilled to be reviving such an important part of our community — with safety precautions in mind, of course.

Carter White, the stage manager of The Late Wedding, recalls the excitement of opening night fondly.

“I called the cue to bring the lights down for everyone to get in their seats and get ready, and the crowd just went nuts for it. Just the lights going down,” he said with a laugh.

White, a senior stage management major, emphasized what an amazing feeling it was to be part of the first live EmStage production since the pandemic began: “We were like ‘Oh, this is real. This is happening. And we’re the people bringing it back.’ It was really special.”

Amaris Rios, a sophomore musical theatre major who played one of the three narrators in The Late Wedding, could feel the energy from the audience onstage.

“It was great to be able to connect with them and make them laugh and make them feel comfortable in a live theatre setting again,” she said.

The magic that the audience gets to see onstage does not come without months of preparation from the entire team, and for now, COVID is still very much part of that preparation. Although all live audiences are required to be masked, actors are permitted to take their masks off onstage as long as they are six feet from the audience.

They must put their masks back on as soon as they are offstage.

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Rios’ fellow narrator Jack Miller, a senior theatre and performance major, explained that navigating the COVID-19 guidelines was one of the biggest challenges of returning to a physical space. “We had to work the logistics so we could have the joy of being able to act unencumbered by masks when we were on the stage,” he said. “Any actor will tell you that being able to see someone’s whole face is a big part of acting.”

COVID challenges were present offstage as well, White noted. “We’re beyond the digital theatre part of the pandemic, but we’re still very much in the pandemic,” he pointed out. “Figuring out and working with the administration of Emerson Stage to make sure things were safe, that presented a lot of challenges.”

However, everyone agreed that after a year of Zoom theatre, tackling those obstacles was well worth it to be back doing what they loved. After all, there are certain things that virtual theatre just can’t emanate. “Recorded theatre is just a movie,” Rios shrugged.

Above all, Miller expressed that their show truly celebrated the magic of live theatre. Watching the set pieces move, the lights change, and the people working to make it all happen was familiar, but suddenly meant so much more. “There were so many things about live theatre that I hadn’t really appreciated before, but then you have all of those things taken away and they suddenly mean something new,” he said. “Each moment of the process was something that couldn’t have been done a year ago, so that really brought a sense of importance to everything.”

Anthony Lafanara, a senior musical theatre major, is one of the many people making the return to the stage possible for student theatre organizations. As the director and choreographer of Big Fish, he is aiming to remind people of how exhilarating live theatre can be.

While the more theatrical elements of the show might seem daunting to others, Lafanara feels ready to take on the challenge. “My motto is ‘go big or go home,’ so starting off with a big show to remind people of the spectacle of live, in-person theatre is really exciting to me.”

For Lafanara, returning to the stage is a refresher: “It’s why a lot of us are here at this school pursuing these majors and opportunities. It was a nice reminder: This is why I’m here and this is what I love to do.”

Kandyce Wittingham, Vice President of Musical Theatre Against the Grain and the Social Justice and Equity Chair for Mercutio, is preparing to bring the unique perspective of Emerson students back to the stage. While the year of virtual performances was taxing for actors, it also gave them the opportunity to bring to light many of the problems within the theatre community.

Both of the shows she is working on this semester are student-written and student-directed, and she believes it is the perfect way to make students’ voices heard.

“I think it’s so appropriate to have student voices and student ideas being brought to life,” she said. “A lot of these stories are BIPOC-centered and they reflect the changes that a lot of young people have been bringing to the theatre community’s attention over the last year and a half.”

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Wittingham noted that this year, more than ever, there has been an emphasis on community care. “It’s something that the theatre industry needs a lot more of — this idea that we are human beings first,’’ she said. “What we do is hard. We love it, but the love for it is not enough. We deserve a place with safety, money and security in what we’re doing.”

Miller echoed these sentiments, saying that the hiatus was a wake up call to make theatre a priority. “It’s a push to fund the arts, donate money to arts orgs, especially ones that are working to tell stories that aren’t being told right now,” he said.

Wittingham made clear that, despite the challenges created by COVID and the still-uncertain future, for now it is enough to be back doing what she loves most with the people she cares about. “It’s about the joy of what we’re doing: a high caliber of theatre, of storytelling, of art,” she said. “Everyone that I’m working with has the willpower and determination to see that through and make it a great process.”

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She is also hopeful that the theatre community will continue to see positive change as more young people move into the world of professional theatre. “The great environment we have here at Emerson doesn’t just naturally show up and it’s not going to naturally happen once I leave here, but I have to be an agent [of] change for that,” she said.

Go see a live show this semester, whether it’s one of your favorites or one that you’ve never heard of before, whether you know someone working on it or you just thought the poster looked cool. Take a step back from reality and immerse yourself in a story far away from classes and the pandemic. Everyone putting on these shows is beyond ready to see us in the audience again — let’s meet them with the same energy.

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what brought you here?

By Ana Luque

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E

merson College is known as a school that harvests the brightest and most creative minds of the future generation of filmmakers, actors, performers, producers, journalists and more. Every year, more students come to Emerson in the hopes of expanding their knowledge on their creative interests and finding people that share their same passions. Many of them come together to create beautiful pieces of work that can be enjoyed by all.

Some students have fostered their talents long before attending Emerson. These students had the drive and opportunity to create their own films, podcasts, music, blog channels and more — thus bringing them where they are today.

Freshman theatre major from Indonesia Taj Dharmadji released her second single with Sony Music, “Loose on the Dancefloor,” a week before classes began at Emerson. Inspired by the club scene back home, along with the overwhelming feeling of anxiousness that stemmed from the pandemic, Dharmadji wrote “Loose on the Dancefloor’’ to represent her wish “to go out and dance right now.”

“I realized that I actually had some sort of passion and drive to keep writing music. And a lot of it was a really good way for me to kind of let out anxieties in a healthy way,”

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“I’ve always loved music, and it has been such a big part of my life. I realized that I actually had some sort of passion and drive to keep writing music. And a lot of it was a really good way for me to kind of let out anxieties in a healthy way,” said Dharmadji.

Although she loves music, she explains that theatre is the reason she pursued Emerson. With both an amazing voice and a charismatic personality, Dharmadji is ready to learn how to perform on stage in all capacities. She has recently released another single called “Permanent Blue” and consistently promotes it on her Instagram account, @tajadair.

Katya Veber, a freshman majoring in visual media arts from Russia, released her album “Welcome to Extinction” last year during the pandemic. She has been successfully promoting her music on her Instagram, @katyaveberherself, as well as hanging up posters all over campus.

As a VMA major, both her music and her future film endeavors are connected — as they both successfully “bring magic to people’s life.”

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“I just want to sing as much as possible, not only to promote my music, but to actually improve myself and my performance skills. If Emerson organizes an open mic again, I’ll definitely go there,” Veber said.

Layla Palmer, a first-year business of creative enterprises major is the host and producer of the podcast Hollywood Hero, where she “interviews the entertainment industry’s most acclaimed personalities.”

Palmer expressed her interest in interviewing people, which has led to her desire to interview more and more personalities. She admits that she has put a lot of effort into her podcast, as she learned everything from editing to promoting by herself. So far, the Emerson community has welcomed her podcast with open arms.

“It was kind of cool when the Emerson Instagram re-posted the first episode of my second season, which came out in September. It was kind of a pinch yourself moment,” Palmer said.

Palmer’s podcast can be found on various streaming platforms.

More information about where to find and support her podcast can be found on her Instagram, @hollywoodheropod.

Another student’s project that has been promoted by the Emerson community is firstyear visual media arts major Seyf Naman’s movie Colorful Peace — a film that focuses on the “idea of finding the beauty in life and seeing that it is all around us.”

Naman is currently going through his “first festival run” with his film and has already won the Spirit Award at the Shawna Shea Film Festival.

“One of the main reasons I came to Emerson was because Emerson kids have this beautiful love for film. They love constantly making films, working on films, outside their projects and classes with whatever they’re working on,” said Naman.

Naman’s movie is currently linked on his Instagram, @seyf. naman. He also consistently keeps updates on the festivals his film is playing at.

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Angie Pham, a junior interdisciplinary studies major, has been working on her YouTube channel Here Comes Angie (@herecomesangie) since freshman year.

She has gone through many highs and lows with handling school, self-confidence and other interests, such as podcasting. She also explained that the idea of curating content based around college came from her own experiences as an international student here at Emerson.

“I think I try to do a lot of things that the younger Angie didn’t have. For example, my own YouTube channel and my TikTok channel,” said Pham, “I’m really happy doing that — helping people — cause I know the struggle, cause I know my struggle.”

Pham also explained that her YouTube channel has helped her find out what she truly wants to study and what she wants to do once she graduates: “I think going far [from home to Boston] helped me learn many things. Eventually, I want to go back home to really contribute to my hometown, to my country [Vietnam].”

Emerson students never fail to run with an idea as soon as that lightbulb goes off in their head, setting them apart from the rest. All over campus, students are overflowing with creative ideas and inspiration, and therefore creating and putting their own projects out there — inspiring their peers to do the same.

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PHOTOGRAPHY & DESIGN Rosamond Chung

MODEL TIFFANY NI CHENYUE YANG KAYLA LEON BLU XU AMY KAMI

BEAUTY EMMIE AUFFANT ANGELEE GONZALEZ MORGAN HOLLY

STYLE ROSAMOND CHUNG KAIT JOYNER

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maintaining our minds in a material world:

the self as a social performance

By Kaitlyn Joyner

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R

emaining in touch with our own minds can feel like an impossible task, especially in a world that is constantly drawing us out of ourselves and into an overwhelming, ever-shifting collective. Our connections to outside influences have undoubtedly had positive effects in terms of achieving social awareness and change, the variety of perspectives and the array of sources at our disposal are invaluable in terms of creating a better world. However, the content we consume has produced a domino effect, leading to an endless cycle of dissatisfaction fueled by constant consumer pressure and aesthetic alienation. As a result, the marketability of the relationship between consumption and selflove has begun to overshadow our concerns with connecting with our own internal worlds.

While all media aims to influence those that consume it in one way or another, the term influencer has risen in popularity to describe a specific type of media presence.

The name in and of itself is quite revealing: the primary goal is to have an influence on followers.

Whereas the term initially was meant to describe those with a large following, the recently-coined term “micro influencer” implies that the size of one’s platform is not relevant in one’s endeavor to influence an audience. However, any individual with a social media presence has the ability to influence viewers when making a post; with platforms such as TikTok, it is increasingly simple for a message to reach strangers across the globe.

Every photograph and video has the ability to promote certain products, styles, media, and mindsets, the question is only whether or not it was crafted with that promotion in mind. The word influencer seems to fall into obscurity as everyone is simultaneously the influenced and the influence itself, a virtual echochamber is created, making it increasingly difficult to trace any of our desires back to their original roots. The self becomes more of a commodity than something we inhabit or experience, creating a constant feeling of performance that sabotages our mental health.

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When scrolling through our feeds, we are often met with an abundance of thoughts. Alongside any judgements or critiques we may have, we encounter thousands of things to desire: vintage clothing, dreamy vacations, luxurious skincare products, flattering makeup, extremely lucky thrift hauls, enchanting window views and perfectly decorated homes. Trying to hold all these desires in our heads becomes nearly impossible; they seem to overflow, constantly refilling. Sorting through genuine desires and fleeting ones prompted by media consumption leads to an even more muddled headspace. To want is a deeply human thing, but how much desire can we possibly contain before it begins to drown out everything else, including our relationships with ourselves? Every time we begin to think we have made a step towards the life we have always dreamed of attaining, social media presents us with a more glamorous, seamless alternate reality, and we begin to wonder if we are moving in the right direction after all. The physical realities depicted on social media are evidently curated yet the mindset that physical reality is the only determinant of happiness and satisfaction has swept across the internet. We begin to process all evaluations of ourselves through aesthetic means rather than learning the language of our own minds.

Many influencers primarily make their incomes through brand deals and partnerships with certain companies. Promoting the product becomes the primary motive, and a genuine passion for what is being presented fades into the background — profit takes precedence when capitalism takes the reins. Products are framed so as to target human inclinations towards desire — they are portrayed as paths to fulfillment and satisfaction with our physical, and thus mental, selves. Alterations to physical appearance through clothing or cosmetics are often portrayed as “resets,” leading many of us to believe that a mental reset is guaranteed by changing our physical selves. However fun or refreshing a change to our bodies can feel, our mental health runs much deeper than hair dye, workouts or flattering leggings. We quickly begin to believe that the next product we buy could be what it takes to feel whole — perhaps the right cosmetics will make us feel pretty, the right shirt will mask any insecurities we have, and the right planner will instantly make us feel more balanced. Money gained by companies and influencers is money lost by common consumers, leaving us with only feelings of emptiness and inadequacy.

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Even when not intending to promote products or make profits using partnerships, our expressions of our lives online always feeds back into the cycle of desire. We all peek into the windows of each other’s lives through our little phone screens, finding bits and pieces to collage into our ever-growing mental vision boards. We can sometimes begin to believe that if it doesn’t look pretty while we are doing it, we must be doing everything wrong. When we are ugly online we are purposefully ugly, and when we are vulnerable, we can never give away too much. Inclined to romanticize our worst and our best moments equally, everything begins to feel like a spectacle. It becomes difficult to separate our own desires from the desires we have been taught to have; we have been taught to try to embody what others would desire.

Though our material realities can certainly impact our mental states, there are many versions of existence that could allow us to feel safe and content. The privilege of living comfortably has been overlooked in the endless pursuit of some perfect existence. There will never be a stopping point to our own des ires. Therefore, it is futile to continuously expect that external change will always manifest an internal change.

The endeavor to express ourselves authentically and cultivate our dream lives is innately tied to our journey towards fulfillment. However, it is important to step away from the constant streams of influence that promote products or modes of existence as antidotes for desire. As we learn to be gentle and forgiving of ourselves for our human desires, we can also be mindful of the ways in which capitalism can turn these desires into deadweight rather than something to delightfully chase after for the rest of our lives.

“The privilege of living comfortably has been overlooked in the endless pursuit of some perfect existence.”

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confronting your twenties

By Lauren Surbey

I

t’s a Thursday night and you hooked up with someone who keeps messaging you weeks later. You’re living with a roommate who puts their recycling in the trash and leaves their Crocs in the shower. You can’t get someone to take your Saturday shift so you can go to a concert that you paid for months in advance. Congratulations, you’ve entered your twenties!

Confrontation in your twenties is hard. We’re still new to living and facing challenges on our own, and we’re developing a confusing, yet independent self. We’re not taught how to handle relationship problems, family issues or roommate disagreements. So when we’re forced to face them, we tend to hide in fear or have a very poorly planned conversation that often results in fed-up anger or washed up tears.

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“When there is conflict between two people, that discomfort just sits inside and leads to feelings of hurt, anger or guilt,” says Dr. Lisa Edlin, a private clinical psychologist from Milford, Massachusetts.

“Confrontation is scary, and it’s not something we’re taught as kids,” she explains. Not knowing how someone will react to our vulnerability adds to that fear, and can trigger a panic reaction, also known as fight-or-flight.

Fight-or-flight triggers hormones in our bodies that alert us of any possible threats. The hormones stimulate our nervous system, causing a rush of adrenaline, according to PsychologyTools, a website that supports psychologists in conducting effective therapy. So it makes sense that when we pass old lovers, roommates or friends on sidewalks — especially when there’s no closure — we quite literally freeze in our footsteps.

As someone who has had her fair share of ex-boyfriends, roommates and friends, confrontation is daunting. If you haven’t caught on already, I tend to flee from my “threats.” I’ve been known to ghost people or hide behind my friends to avoid any possible conflict. Edlin says, “Anyone who has past experiences with a partner who didn’t fight fair is bound to be especially gun-shy when it comes to confrontation.” In past fights with friends, I didn’t respond to their text messages, missed their phone calls and left them on read.

But if I’ve learned anything about handling confrontation by fleeing from my problems, it’s that you are 50% of every encounter and relationship you are in. This means two things: (1) your voice matters and (2) you are accountable for it.

Edlin also recommends listening as a way of handling confrontation healthily. “The important thing is to let them know you heard them,” she says. And if you continue to face the conflict after that, Edlin suggests distancing yourself from that person.

“Why be vulnerable to a potentially hostile environment?” she says. “It’s better to keep things light.”

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What’s misleading about confrontation is that you’re expected to be okay with your decision. That’s not true, you don’t have to be okay. When my two year relationship with my significant other ended, I was expected, by family members and friends, to be okay with the way things ended. Very clearly, however, I was not. That’s because admitting how you feel and addressing a problem to someone is incredibly challenging, and seeing them on the street is even more of a pang to the chest.

What did take me months to realize is that confronting the situation is a way of bettering yourself, whether you realize it in the moment or not. Even if you aren’t okay with the decisions you made, you know you had to make them to help yourself. It’s a complex and critical form of self-care, and you shouldn’t feel scared or embarrassed of that.

So next time you pass an old roommate or hookup on the streets, don’t treat it as a walk of shame. It probably took a lot of effort for you to expose your vulnerability to them.

And if they didn’t react the way you wanted them to, then it was probably for the best to distance yourself from them. Be lighter on yourself — instead of feeling like a burden, applaud yourself for facing confrontation.

Congratulations, you’ve entered your twenties.

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Edlin also recommends listening as a way of handling confrontation healthily. “The important thing is to let them know you heard them,” she says. And if you continue to face the conflict after that, Edlin suggests distancing yourself from that person. “Why be vulnerable to a potentially hostile environment?” she says. “It’s better to keep things light.”

What’s misleading about confrontation is that you’re expected to be okay with your decision. That’s not true, you don’t have to be okay. When my two year relationship with my significant other ended, I was expected, by family members and friends, to be okay with the way things ended. Very clearly, however, I was not. That’s because admitting how you feel and addressing a problem to someone is incredibly challenging, and seeing them on the street is even more of a pang to the chest.

What did take me months to realize is that confronting the situation is a way of bettering yourself, whether you realize it in the moment or not. Even if you aren’t okay with the decisions you made, you know you had to make them to help yourself. It’s a complex and critical form of self-care, and you shouldn’t feel scared or embarrassed of that.

So next time you pass an old roommate or hookup on the streets, don’t treat it as a walk of shame. It probably took a lot of effort for you to expose your vulnerability to them. And if they didn’t react the way you wanted them to, then it was probably for the best to distance yourself from them. Be lighter on yourself — instead of feeling like a burden, applaud yourself for facing confrontation.

Congratulations, you’ve entered your twenties.

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travel sick:

By Mattie Holloway

W

hen I walked into the dining hall on our third Monday at the castle, I was met with the sounds of sniffles and sneezes. Everyone carried around boxes of tissues and a cup of hot tea: the annual Kasteel Well cold. I was one of the ill. It was the week after our first independent travel weekend — we were all able to travel beyond a mandatory academic excursion and explore the rest of the world. Although it felt like the plague, the illness was simply the common cold (not to say that it didn’t force some of us to Zoom into class).

Maintaining your health while traveling is a challenge. Aside from remembering to bring your passport and vaccination card, you also have to keep yourself safe from germs and food poisoning. On my most recent trip, a group of my friends and I traveled to Budapest, Hungary, where hardly anyone wore face masks and hand sanitizer dispensers were scarce. We were in large crowds at the airport, passed around each other’s wine glasses and forgot to wash our faces before bed. It’s easy to get distracted by the splendor of a new place or the stress of travel.

Miraculously though, some people were able to dodge the annual cold. I asked Ariane Ivanier, a junior political science major, how she was able to dodge the illness, to which she responded, “I don’t know if I have yet.”

Ivanier admits that she hasn’t had a different routine from the rest of the sick students. She goes to class, hangs out with friends, and travels on the weekends. Still, I asked her for her best tips for staying healthy while traveling.

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how to prioritize your health According to Ivanier, staying healthy comes down to balancing the mental and the physical: “Being healthy to me looks like getting a regulated schedule so that you’re able to know what you need to do to keep yourself mentally healthy. I think the biggest thing towards physical health is maintaining good mental health … Trying to be physically healthy when you’re not in a good mental health place is never going to work. Those two things work in tandem.”

It’s also important to remain flexible when you’re traveling — come prepared for the unexpected. For long trips, bring ibuprofen for when you get a headache, bandaids in case your new loafers give you blisters and a water bottle for when you spend your days hiking or going through a big city. It’s important to prepare yourself for potential changes in your schedule or health. When I was sick from the annual castle cold, for example, I had to adjust my sleep schedule to speed up my recovery. I went to bed earlier and drank more water and hot liquids.

Others powered through and lost their sniffles in a few days.

The best advice I could give about staying healthy while traveling is to listen to what your body and mind need. While it may look different from the person next to you, being in tune with yourself is the only surefire way to keep yourself safe and healthy around the world.

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CI T Y

PHOTOGRAPHY THALER BISHOP

DESIGN RIFKA HANDELMAN

MODELS MELANIE SHEPARD SPENCER GARNOWSKI

BEAUTY ANGELEE GONZALEZ EMMIE AUFFANT

STYLE JAX GROSS

EDITORIAL MYA DIGGS

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growing gentrification

By Grace Rispoli

O

ff of the Stony Brook Orange Line MBTA station, one can walk straight through the community greenway and shortly reach Ula Café or Sam Adams Brewery, a path which Beth Santos, new co-owner of Ula Café, said is a large cause of how people stumble into the Café. This same greenway is where Jamaica Plain, or JP, residents rallied to stop developmental expansion of Interstate 95, inducing the Wake Up the Earth Festival that began in 1979.

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ful about the decisions we make, ... we can end up being a very homogeneous place. I think that’s always the case. In every company, in every school, in every organization, there has to be a thoughtful inclusion of everybody’s opinion, and I think that’s why sometimes gentrification does happen, because those opinions are not at the table, the decision-making table. And so yeah, I think not only is it in danger of [happening], but it’s already happening.”

Santos referenced this greenway, and the reminder it serves, when speaking about the current development in JP. Their first year in Boston, Santos and her husband, an interracial couple, lived in South Boston. Santos said diversity was a large reason for their relocation, and that Jamaica Plain was the first place where they saw other interracial couples.

Boston is one of the most gentrified cities in America. Based on a Boston Globe report from 2020, it is ranked third, just behind the San Francisco-Oakland metro area and Denver. The Globe detailed Mission Hill, Jamaica Plain, Fenway-Kenmore, Roxbury, East Boston, Hyde Park and parts of South Boston and Dorchester as being the most affected by gentrification.

When asked if she thought that diversity was threatened, Santos responded, “Yeah, absolutely, I mean I think the desire for diversity [is] being threatened. I think if we’re not care-

Santos and her husband and co-owner of Ula Café, Marvin Mathelier, had the vision of opening a coffee shop prior to taking over Ula Café with their third partner, Kelly

Fernandes. Santos explained that her vision for a café was not necessarily because she had a desire to make coffee, but to create a community space in Jamaica Plain.

“And so, when I was looking at this place, I was looking at it as a kind of a haven for people to be safe in a lot of ways in this neighborhood where, right now, there’s a lot of gentrification happening,” said Santos. “There’s a lot of change happening, I think, in Boston overall, but it’s felt really strongly here.”

The Urban Displacement Project outlines gentrification as a “process of neighborhood change that includes economic change in a historically disinvested neighborhood — by means of real estate investment and new higher-income residents moving in, as well as demographic change — not only in terms of income level, but also in terms of changes in the education level or racial make-up of residents.”

Beatriz Alvarez, a Columbian native and East Boston resident for 20 years, said in a phone interview that the biggest changes she has seen have been to the infrastructure and economics of the area, as well as the culture and ethnic makeup.

When she first arrived, she noted

that there were many Italians, who later dispersed. According to Global Boston, a site by the Boston College Department of History, many Italians moved out of the North End into East Boston because it was less expensive for more space. This later led to Italians directly immigrating to East Boston, creating a largely Italian American community by the mid-twentieth century. The whitening of Italian Americans and their upward mobility after the war allowed Italian Americans to move out of East Boston and into other parts of Massachusetts.

The source details the new Latin American immigrants arriving around the 1980s, and in 2015, less than 15% of documented residents self-reported being of Italian descent.

Alvarez moved to the area in 2000 and watched this cultural shift and others that have followed. As residents are pushed out, businesses that support new residents’ interests move in.

“Before, we see a little more Latin and Hispanic restaurants. So now, there is another type of restaurant for the new community,” said Alvarez. “So yes, [it] definitely has impacted the culture.”

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In Jamaica Plain, Santos used an example of an opening bubble tea store, illustrating two hands of gentrification.

“I see our neighborhood really kind of fundamentally struggling with that, with on the one hand, you know, ‘Wow, it’s so neat [that] there’s cute little restaurants popping up,” said Santos. “But on the other side, it’s like you’re seeing the community get whiter, you’re seeing it get more affluent, you’re seeing people who have had homes be forced to either leave those homes or, you know, break them into three apartments and just live in the sole apartment, and I think COVID has been even worse in that way to our neighborhood.”

Santos also noted part of this fundamental struggle is the benefit of watching the neighborhood get cleaner, in contrast with the displacement.

She said she has watched some move out and some move in, and that all who love JP love it for the diversity, the same reason that is fleeting due to development. Santos made a point of being active about protecting and creating spaces “where everyone can thrive.” Mathelier is on the neighborhood counsel, and hears from brazen developers within the neighborhood. Santos spoke of a meeting she attended where a six-bedroom, zero-living space development was brought up.

“To me, that sounds like students, which is very relevant to Emerson, but what happens when you appeal to students is you can kind of charge a higher premium per person, because it’s not a family,” Santos said. “You know? And so we’re kind of looking at this, and they said, ‘Oh no, it’s going to be like a multigenerational family,’ and we’re like, ‘What kind of multigenerational family would want to live in a six-bedroom house with no living room? That doesn’t make sense. That’s what I mean when I say brazen.The level of development is just skyrocketing, and the concern for the community from that side is low, and I think people are really worried about it here.”

According to a Boston governmental report of student addresses in Boston for the 2018 to 2019 academic year, 25% of students were living in properties that were three units or less, excluding condos; 20% of students were living in condos; 29% in apartments; 20% in multi-use properties and 7% in other properties. Based on this data, most graduate and undergraduate students live in the Fenway/Kenmore area, Longwood/Mission Hill/Fenway, Mission Hill, Brighton,

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“I was looking at it as a kind of a haven for people to be safe in a lot of ways in this neighborhood where, right now, there’s a lot of gentrification happening,”

South End, Upham’s Corner - Columbia Point, Jamaica Plain, Roxbury and Chinatown, respectively.

While East Boston is not included in this data, Alvarez detailed the changing infrastructure and influx of students being a large change in her time in East Boston. She arrived in East Boston from Colombia in 1996, and attests that Italian Americans have dispersed more so into East Boston and the area once being more of a Latino neighborhood. Now, she says it’s more of a mix, including young professionals.

“East Boston is very close to the city, so that is very convenient for some people to move here,” said Alvarez. “So around here, there is new construction, but I think the cost of the rent for these people is cheaper ... so they are moving. So we understand that, so the area has been changing, new people are coming here, of course it is impacting the community.”

Oliveros detailed that, while it is expensive, she is embracing the newcomers and working to get them involved with the community.

“I’m working hard to keep my place and yes, face it, I’m trying right now to know the newcomers, the new neighbors that are coming, and yeah, I

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started doing a relationship with them, knowing them, working with them, and getting them involved with their community. And I don’t see [them] like enemies [or] something negative.”

Santos spoke of many aspects of gentrification, and how choices are made on multiple levels of businesses, government and consumers. Conscious decisions must be made about stores that are being frequented, and about how when condos and expensive buildings are created, affordable housing units do not have to be within that building or even that neighborhood.

“Boston is expensive already. When I have people who move to Boston, you know, talk to me about places to live, … I want to recommend JP because I think it’s one of the more liveable places,” said Santos. “But even for a lot of people, JP is way out of their financial scope, and even knowing that if you want to move here, you have

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to have a good amount of money to do it. If you want to buy, forget it. But, so if you are lower-income, it has to be that you have been here. You can’t be new to the neighborhood and be low-income. That hits me a lot, you know, of like, ‘Well, how are we going to create a neighborhood that includes everyone when not everyone can even afford to live here?’ And that’s not even just rent, that’s access to everything. That’s cost of living in general.”

As East Boston changes, Alvarez noted that the traffic has gotten increasingly worse, there is not enough parking space or room for community spaces.

“The new culture is coming, it is — everything around here is coming. We have to accept all of the changes,” said Alvarez. “So, another aspect is, I don’t know if we can stay living here because it is higher to live in this area than 20 years ago, [and] it is more expensive to live now. So that is another thing.”

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a guide for new bostonians

By Erin Norton

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nly two weeks after moving into college, I witnessed a man snorting cocaine in a T station. I remember thinking to myself, in my small town centered brain: “I never thought I would witness this happen outside of Pulp Fiction.” Oh God, did I have so many things to learn. Coming from rural Vermont to Boston was a massive transition. If that transition wasn’t already disorienting enough, I’d only ever visited Boston once before. I was in completely new territory. For weeks, I yearned for someone to hand me a guide about how to navigate this city, but sadly, there was none. Now, don’t get me wrong — I am still completely new, and I have so much more to learn about living in an urban environment. But for anyone who experienced, or is currently experiencing, the same feelings of culture shock as I did, here are some tips and tricks based on my experience so far that I learned the hard way.

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you will get lost attempting to navigate the T

Public transportation is something that is extremely helpful, but is also something that’s nonexistent in small towns. Figuring out the correct routes and also making sure you’re at the right station can be stressful to someone who is new to it. It took me a solid week to figure out that there are usually different stations for inbound and outbound trains, and I found myself going to the wrong ones often! A way to avoid that issue is to download any apps where you can have a portable map of the routes. Even though it’s just a map, it’s incredibly useful and helps mitigate a considerable amount of stress.

Google Maps also has an option where you can find out which trains to take to get to your location! One more major tip is try to avoid taking the trains alone after you’ve just arrived. First of all, it could potentially be unsafe. And second, it’s always better to have a friend with you to double check directions.

If you’re from a small town like me, you know that it’s common courtesy to smile and wave at those you happen to share the sidewalk with. I cannot stress this enough: Do not do this in the city. You will not receive smiles in return, you’ll most likely get a glare of disgust or confusion.

Within my first week, I found myself walking through the Common and complimenting many people’s pets. This was not met with the same enthusiasm that I would have received if I was back in Vermont. It’s best to let them have their space. In my own personal experience, ending this habit made me feel a considerable amount of guilt because I like to be kind to everyone. But letting another person, a complete stranger, have their space, is actually a sign of kindness while in an urban setting.

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not everyone is friendly

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We are all so accustomed to the layout of our hometowns. Trying to figure out where to do something as simple as grocery shopping is a whole new experience. Baking is one of my favorite comfort hobbies and I needed to find a place to pick up groceries.

Since no one I knew had to go anywhere but the dining hall or CVS at this point in time, I had no idea where to get ingredients to bake something. Of course there’s Whole Foods, but it’s expensive and out of the way. I eventually figured out where to go, but it was deceptively time consuming. No one would ever think that it would take an hour of researching to find the right grocery store, but it did. A quick and easy way to fix this issue is to take the time to make a list of places and stores that would be of aid to you and add their addresses. After I did this, it was so helpful and it assisted me in cutting down the time it took to figure out where to go. Keep it in your notes app so you can simply tap the address and it will take you straight to Google Maps!

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there are actually things to do!

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3

figuring out how to do normal things is difficult

Moving from a place that has nothing to an area where there is an abundance of things that could be done, is overwhelming to say the least. When I say that the town I came from had nothing to do, I truly mean it. The nearest movie theatre was nearly an hour away, and the nearest city was out of state and three hours away. But here in Boston, everything is within walking distance and there is so much to do! So go out there and do it!

But keep in mind, of course, that money and time are not infinite! That’s definitely something most everyone struggles with, but small town kids specifically can feel overwhelmed by opportunity. Activities and events are addicting if you’ve never been surrounded by anything similar. Be sure to take advantage of the opportunities at hand, but take them in moderation and assess your priorities as a student!

The transition from a small town to a big city is not simple at all. It is confusing and stressful, especially due to the fact that nothing could ever prepare a person for this particular change. Although lots of skills can only be learned through experience.

the esplanade

It’s certainly overwhelming, but it’s also what makes living in a completely different environment such an amazing experience! But if you find yourself looking for places to decompress and escape the hecticness of Boston, here are a few places to visit:

Going for walks is an amazing way to clear your mind, especially if you choose to walk across the Esplanade. It offers a lovely view of nature, which is something that is difficult to come by in cities sometimes. The Charles River is so peaceful and beautiful during all parts of the day, especially during the sunset or sunrise!

Yes, I am well aware that this library is a popular tourist destination, but there are so many places there where quietness is required. This is also a great place to get work done without being distracted by everything that comes with living in a dorm building or with roommates. In addition to that, you are also surrounded by stunning works of art!

the public garden

the boston public library

This is an amazing location for you if you came from more of a rural town surrounded by nature. The gardens offer an amazing display of nature. Even though there are lots of people and musicians there, the Garden offers a really calming environment all year round!

Use these places as a place to focus, de-stress, and relax! And let the stress of new experiences turn into excitement. This is a new beginning after all, and everyone needs to start somewhere! So good luck on your

journey, it will be a long one — one, I know for a fact, that won’t end for me anytime soon! Enjoy everything that Boston has to offer and live each day to the fullest!

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GLOBE

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PHOTOGRAPHY KAIT JOYNER

DESIGN CHLOE WILLIAMS

MODELS JILLIAN TOWNSON CHLOE NANIAN

BEAUTY ANGELEE GONZALEZ

STYLE ROBIN VAN IMPE

EDITORIAL BRYNN O’CONNOR

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tiktok: a worldwide revolution

By Elisa Davidson

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magine you’re waking up late on a weekend morning.

What do you do? Get up and have a productive start to your day? If you’re anything like most of Gen Z, you grab your phone and go on TikTok. All sorts of trends fill your feed: crazy dancing videos, funny joke videos, makeup and fashion TikToks and of course, the ever famous thirst trap. So why is TikTok so popular? The app has made a big impact on the lives of those who have downloaded it. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, this impact has only grown into something more palpable and societally important. The app altered the way our generation looks at the world and the way we look at ourselves in only two years, and as a result, Gen Z is collectively different post-pandemic.

A recent TikTok trend shows the personal growth Gen Z went through since the popularization of TikTok. One will follow the sound that says, “It was only two weeks,” only to find a short, nerdy looking boy replaced by a tall, athletic guy who is well-dressed, pretty and he knows it. When did we all get so hot?

“I think I started to wear what I wanted to wear and try new things after looking at all of those creators on TikTok showing all of these unique outfits,” said Emerson College sophomore journalism major Hannah Flayhan. Leaving social settings in one’s community where there was pressure to conform had a great deal to do with the change.

Students leaving their school environments — whether it be high school or college — gave them time to experiment with personal style, humor and exploring femininity and masculinity in nontraditional ways.

Recently, creators on TikTok have been stressing the importance of personal style and expressing individuality through clothing. Thrifting has become a popular trend and being able to express yourself through unique styles has played an integral part in this new desire for individuality among Gen Z while coming out of quarantine. “I’ve had so much fun expressing myself after having made some TikToks, and even seeing the cool ones with makeup stuff to try out,” says Jasmine Gelfer, an Emerson sophomore musical theatre major.

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“Activism has still been at the forefront on Tiktok as well as in news coverage.”

But with this individualistic rise comes an interesting contrast: the unification of our generation in terms of politics. “I know people on TikTok rallied together and spread information on how to prevent people from going to Trump rallies. And that was something where with a video, [...] they were able to give detailed tutorials on how to sign up and say that you’re going.

That, I think is really cool,” says Emerson sophomore visual and media arts major Caitlin Farrell. Since those events, activism has still been at the forefront on Tiktok as well as in news coverage. In the past year, creators representing news companies such as The Washington Post and The New York Times have made accounts dedicated to encouraging the intake of news.

Similarly, there have been accounts created for reporting unbiased news created by investigative journalists, such as @underthedesknews directed by creator Vitus Spehar, who focuses on U.S. current events.

Being able to access news on a social media platform from trusted sources is a huge change from the issues students were presented with on other social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook. “I don’t usually look at politics posts on Instagram or Facebook anymore,” says Emerson sophomore writing, literature and publishing major Charlize Triozzi. “I kept seeing things in the news about them being really unreliable sources because anyone could post an infographic with the incorrect information.” But TikTok isn’t like other girls, and she’s already on her way to being a news source of her own. Learning about world politics in a three minute video has suddenly made current events more accessible to more people, including every piece of useful information in a short snippet with links to more data and ways to get involved.

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Just like that, users leave the platform after watching just a couple of videos feeling enlightened. In a pandemic where people were struggling to learn about the world, this social media platform adapted to produce international news in a way that is accessible to the greater public.

Then came the phenomenon of TikTok music, as some creators on the app began to develop music and gain enough popularity on the app to release it on streaming services. As TikTok views went up, so did the number of listeners on music platforms, allowing this music to take off. Some singers — like @bryemusic, who released her song “Lemons” in 2020 — released singles that landed them brand deals and allowed them to play their music on the radio for the first time. Eurovision Song Contest 2021 winners Måneskin did a great deal of song promotion on TikTok. Many K-pop songs went viral on the app and gained a lot of traction. K-pop groups like STAYC and solo art-

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ists like Lisa have climbed music charts because of their growing global audience coming from TikTok. “I haven’t been a huge fan of Korean music before, but I kept hearing that one song ‘Money’ on TikTok, and it’s just really catchy so I’ve been playing it a lot on Spotify,” said Emerson sophomore visual and media arts major Zachary LaVoie.

Without anything to watch but the same old shows, users also turned to TikTok to provide entertainment.

As creators exchanged dancing, singing and humorous videos, an important element got added to the mix: culture. People adding their own cultural styles of dancing, singing and even cooking in posts has started to go on the rise, and bit by bit, the world has been noticing. A dance using traditional styles from Nigeria gained a great following after a song named “Love Nwantiti” went viral worldwide.

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Even in things like cosplay, recreating the costumes of characters from anime has become extremely popular, allowing many viewers to become more educated on shows that originated in other countries as well.

“Cosplaying is like an extension of my main career choice, theatre, except I get full control over the characters I portray and how I get to portray them. I’m really passionate about anime and manga, which makes it fun, and TikTok is the best place to get noticed as a new cosplayer in the community,” says Emerson sophomore musical theatre major and TikTok creator Elyza Guzman. However, there are still hang ups when it comes to culture. As much as it seems like we’re getting better at learning and sharing cultural differences, one’s country has a great deal to do with their content.

“When I was living in the Philippines, I would see more Filipino TikToks, but still western TikToks were pushed more than Filipino ones.

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Getting a worldwide following is much easier if you’re based in America.” says sophomore marketing major Ianna Chongbian, discussing the nature of the algorithm. Especially in foreign countries, there is still a big western presence throughout social media in terms of cultural norms, beauty standards and acceptable media. And while that is changing, it will take some time to reach the level of awareness that we all aim for.

The world has evolved since the pandemic, and TikTok users have adapted to become more proud, aware and curious versions of themselves. No longer is Gen Z going to ignore efforts to educate themselves and grow as individuals, and a big part of that is one small video sharing app.

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the art of growing young

By Marianna Reyes

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ime is the uncontrollable, inevitable part of life that leads us down the road to growth. Whether that be spiritually, mentally, in school or in your career, it just happens. Right in front of us. We go through dark moments where we think our life is over and everything is about to end, but the truth is, the rest of our lives are just getting started. All we know is that we go through 12 years of education, for some maybe more, but then what? What do you do after you have your hands on that one piece of paper that tells you you’ve accomplished what society told you to?

Your mind will tell you, you’ll never make it in an industry where the creatives are built from strength, courage, empowerment and other tools that you don’t learn from the books. How do you stand out from the other millions of people chasing after the same dream day after day? The only thing that can make you become the best and can push you to strive to be at the top is you. You build what your goals, dreams and future looks like. You are the architect of your life and even though there’s other people building around you, you’ll always be special, because you are you.

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One of the biggest challenges I faced in life was discovering who I was and holding on to it so tightly in a world that’s constantly trying to shift you in another direction. You hear things like “you’re young,” “you’ll never make it,” “it’s too difficult,” “publishing is a large industry” and “I just don’t think you can do it.” Take those words and shift them, the same way life was previously trying to shift who you are. Nothing is too difficult if your heart is truly in it.

There will always be challenges, things we don’t understand, but these obstacles are temporary. When we experience disappointment and small breaks we think our life is over, but when you put yourself back together, you will be more valuable than you were before.

Sing your song, live your life, become the best version of yourself and don’t let anyone else tell you that you can’t do it. Manifest your destiny. Wake up each morning, look at the sun and yell out “I am prosperous, I am unique, I am talented, I am creative, I am confident, I am determined, I am qualified. I am not mediocre, I am not average and I will become everything I was created to be.”

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behind the scenes PHOTO BY: DAMIANO BASCHIERA

06 | RUNWAY

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Atlas Magazine Fall 2021

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