2-25-2021

MBTA CONSTRUCTION, 2

INDEPENDENT FILM, 3

RECYCLING, 5

RISE IN HATE CRIMES, 6

Students react to T stop consolidations on campus.

COM seniors discuss mental health, art in new film.

Corporations are to blame for recycling failures.

Violence against Asian Americans reveals larger racist structures.

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THURSDAY, FEB. 25, 2021

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THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY

YEAR LI. VOLUME C. ISSUE V

BU proceeds with Phase Two vaccinations, faces limited supply

Aaron Velasco Daily Free Press Staff

Boston University is currently moving forward with COVID-19 vaccinations of students with two or more medical conditions, but the process is experiencing setbacks from a limited supply, said a BU Medical Advisory Group member.

Professor of global health and medicine Davidson Hamer said institutions such as BU are not receiving their requested number of vaccine doses from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts because some hospitals have been “overly ambitious.”

“We don’t want to give away too many doses, as we have a tight supply,” he said.“When somebody has over-ordered, that hurts everybody else, I think, until there’s an abundance of supply.”

Hamer said BU has not received the full allotment it needs to vaccinate the entire student body, and students who currently qualify for the vaccine — those with comorbidities that fit the Phase Two requirements — are a small group.

“Both Pfizer and Moderna are really trying to scale up production and provide a greater number of doses to the U.S. as a whole,” Hamer said. “That should trickle down to our state.”

Hamer said the timing of the vaccine rollout depends on how long it will take companies to produce the ample number of vaccines necessary for the entirety of Massachusetts.

Hamer said the BU Medical Advisory Group is “cautiously optimistic” concerning the vaccine rollout going forward.

“My hope is that the state’s supply will improve,” he said, “so that they will be able to provide sufficient vaccine.”

BU spokesperson Colin Riley wrote in an email BU depends on the Commonwealth for vaccine doses, and not all individuals who qualify for vaccination may be able to receive a vaccine right now.

He added the opportunity to schedule a vaccination was “firstcome, first served.”

“It is one thing to be eligible and another to have sufficient doses available,” Riley wrote.

College of Communication sophomore Nicole Geary said despite being a student eligible for the Phase Two vaccination, she has not been able to get vaccinated due to the unavailability of appointments.

“Every time I went to go check, all the appointment slots are filled,” she said.

Geary said BU could improve its vaccine rollout.

“Obviously, it’s completely depen-

HANNAH YOSHINAGA | DAILY FREE PRESS PHOTO EDITOR

Vaccination site at Boston University’s Fitness and Recreation Center. Boston University Medical Advisory Group member David Hamer said BU may not receive enough COVID-19 vaccine doses for all students on campus this Spring.

dent on the government and how much of the vaccine they actually give us,” Geary said. “In terms of how BU is doing compared to the state, I think they’re falling behind a little bit.”

She said it was understandable that medical institutions take vaccination precedence over academic institutions.

“I guess at this point, BU is not as much of a priority as a hospital,” she said.

Geary said she hopes that as vaccines become more available, BU will become capable of vaccinating more students.

“I know a lot of people who are considered essential workers and who are going to be needing the vaccine within the next month or so,” she said. “When that happens, we’re going

to need a lot more of the vaccine than we currently have.”

Questrom School of Business freshman Victoria Molina said as an essential worker in food service, she is eager to get vaccinated soon, but would understand if that is not possible.

“There’s not the biggest supply of vaccines,” Molina said, “especially for the whole country and the state of Massachusetts.”

Molina said it is not realistic to expect vaccines to be ready for all BU students by the end of the Spring semester, but she hopes they will be readily available in the summer and fall.

“If BU is given vaccines from the state, I think they definitely should be obligated to provide the vaccine to

essential workers and students in the high-risk category,” Molina said.

She said BU could have done more to reach out to students and ensure everyone was aware of Phase Two vaccinations.

Students were notified through email to complete a survey and appropriate attestation of their health conditions through Patient Connect to be eligible for a Phase Two vaccination.

“Some people might have not seen the email,” Molina said. “Maybe they could have been more open about the survey, making sure that everyone really fills it out and maybe making it a requirement.”

College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Daniel Reis said he believes the vaccine rollout should gradually include more and more of the student body.

“They do have to prioritize the people who need it the most first,” Reis said. “In the coming weeks and months, there should be a little bit more progressive movement towards more students.”

Reis said while he recognizes the vaccine will probably be unavailable until the Fall, he would still like for it to be widely accessible by April.

“If a school were to have the duty to immunize its students,” he said, “BU should be one of the top schools to do it.”

Community Preservation Committee recommends new projects for funding Taylor Brokesh Daily Free Press Staff Boston’s Community Preservation Committee recommended 67 new projects Monday that aim to create and preserve affordable housing, historically significant sites and public spaces throughout the city.

The Boston City Council will vote to approve funding, which totals more than $25 million in grants from

the Community Preservation Fund.

The fund — created in 2016 with the passage of the Community Preservation Act — draws from a one percent surcharge on city property taxes.

Applicants who wish to receive funds fill out an eligibility form and are selected by the Community Preservation Committee.

“The CPC chose projects that were going to be transformative in neighborhoods, help enhance the lives of residents and preserve historic resources,” city officials wrote in an

HANNAH YOSHINAGA | DAILY FREE PRESS PHOTO EDITOR

Chandler Pond in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Boston’s Community Preservation Committee proposed 67 projects Monday that would improve historic and public sites.

email.

Alison Frazee, assistant director of the Boston Preservation Alliance and the co-chair of Yes for a Better Boston, said she believes historic preservation should receive as much money from the fund as possible compared to affordable housing and public spaces.

“The other two categories have capital funding through the city already,” she said. “They do have other sources of funding, unlike historic preservation, which has very, very few places to go to ask for money for brick and mortar work.”

Since the first recommendations were made in 2018, all 131 projects recommended by the committee went on to receive funding, according to city officials.

Frazee added that applications are usually greater than what the City can fund in a given year. Among those that are not fully funded, some receive partial funding while others are encouraged to apply again if needed.

The Boston Preservation Alliance and Yes for a Better Boston advocated for the passing of the act in 2016, Frazee said. She added that previous versions of the bill were rejected by voters, as it was considered an addi-

tional tax.

“There’s been some bumps in the road as we figure this out,” she said.

“But we are super pleased that it was embraced by voters, that it passed and it seems to be celebrated, and not hated as another thing you have to pay for.”

Elliot Laffer, chair of the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay, spoke about the history of the Back Bay neighborhood — which was recommended for $730,000 of funding to restore antique churches, the Ayer Mansion and the Guild of Boston Artists’ building.

“It was built as an upscale neighborhood, it was designed to be one … in the middle to latter part of the 19th century,” Laffer said. “And so, the buildings that go back there reflect that kind of exciting architectural quality.”

The 1872 First Baptist Church, for example, is one of the projects receiving funding. The church has angels on its bell tower that were created by the same sculptor of the Statue of Liberty, Laffer said.

The Church, because of the funding from the Community Preservation Act, will be able to repair the

roof, the belfry and the western transept — which is, in a church with a cross-shaped interior, part of the “arms” of the cross.

“The fact that it’s getting fixed, and getting fixed the right way, in a way that preserves the amazing architecture and the history of it, is really a very strong thing,” Laffer said.

He added that these historical places on the City’s list are landmarks “that help define the Back Bay.” The preservation of old buildings, especially in Boston, is crucial, Frazee said.

More than 50 percent of Boston’s residential units were built before World War II, according to a report published by the City.

“A lot of people think of ‘historic’ as being places like the Paul Revere House,” Frazee said. “We think of ‘historic’ as any old place that has meaning to the people that live in and around it.”

Frazee said historic buildings are “the heart and soul” of the city’s neighborhoods and they make the city unique.

“It’s how you know you’re home,” Frazee said. “[It’s] how you know you’re in Boston.”

2 NEWS

Recreational dispensary proposed for Newbury Street Sam Trottenberg Daily Free Press Staff

The Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services held a meeting Tuesday to discuss the proposed establishment of a new recreational cannabis dispensary at 331-335A Newbury St. in the Back Bay. The proposal comes from Rooted in Roxbury, a local minority-owned cannabis company that was formed in March 2019. Although Newbury Street hosts tobacco and pipe retailers, there are currently no dispensaries on the strip.

“About five years ago, as we realized that legal cannabis was on its way to Massachusetts and the city of Boston, we came together to develop a plan that could prevent Big Pharma and out of state corporations from coming into our neighborhoods to profit from legalization,” said Brian Keith, co-founder and co-owner of Rooted in Roxbury, during his presentation.

He added that the company was founded with the goal of giving people of color “a seat at the table” in the cannabis industry.

Keith said capital investments in the business were offered starting at $1,200, and the company capped the investment level at $62,000 to prevent wealthy investors from buying disproportionately high numbers of shares.

VIVIAN MYRON | DAILY FREE PRESS FILE

Boston residents discussed Rooted in Roxbury’s proposed Newbury Street cannabis establishment in a virtual community meeting Tuesday.

“I think the toughest part about this industry, especially when you’re a small company like us,” Keith said, “is putting together the finances to actually purchase your own property that can control yourself.”

Despite that investment cap, Rooted in Roxbury has raised $700,000 entirely from Boston investors of color, according to the company’s website.

He added that the company met several times with the Back Bay community before Tuesday’s formal, public meeting.

Keith said during the public meeting the company plans to donate three percent of its revenue to a citydirected fund and create a separate community benefit fund that will

be overseen by a resident advisory board.

Joanne Keith, a co-owner, said they plan to create a profit-sharing program, in which employees are rewarded monetarily for the location’s financial success. She added the company plans to hire a workforce that is at least 80 percent Boston residents, 51 percent people of color and 51 percent women.

Brian Keith said the next step for Rooted in Roxbury is to go before the Boston Cannabis Board before requesting zoning approval from the City.

He added that the company hopes to open its Newbury Street location in 12-18 months.

Speaking at Tuesday’s meeting,

Meg Mainzer-Cohen, president of the Back Bay Association, said the Keiths’ proposal was the “strongest Newbury Street proposal that I’ve seen.”

“I love the interactive nature of how you want to be involved in the community but also bring in a lot of different people into your business,” she said. “You guys are the real deal.”

Another community leader, Chair of the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay Elliott Laffer, also spoke at the meeting.

Laffer said he was concerned about the potential influx of dispensaries in the area — another proposal down Newbury Street was considered at a January meeting of the Boston Cannabis Board. But, he said the company made a strong pitch and he

hopes there can be a solution.

“You are clearly the people that this process was meant to help,” Laffer said.

William Swearengin, a 44-year-old North End resident, said he approved of the new dispensary, citing the safety of marijuana over harder drugs.

“Marijuana don’t have you nodding out on the streets,” Swearengin said, “it don’t get you addicted to nothing but food.”

Swearengin said he did not mind the prospect of adding even more dispensaries on Newbury Street.

“They got two liquor stores right next to each other,” Swearengin said.

“Why can’t they have two marijuana stores?”

On-campus MBTA construction receives mixed reactions from students Juncheng Quan Daily Free Press Staff

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority began the consolidation of four Green Line B Branch stations on Boston University’s campus earlier this month.

The Saint Paul Street and BU West Stations will be consolidated into the Amory Street Station, and the Babcock Street and Pleasant Street will be combined into the Babcock Street Station.

The new stations will be longer, with accessible boarding and exiting, as well as upgraded reliability and security for both stations and trains.

“The consolidated stations will improve safety and save time for riders traveling on Commonwealth Ave,” according to an MBTA press release.

For the duration of construction, the MBTA will operate shuttle busses in place of typical train services, with an expected completion time of 12 months.

Leah Yim, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, said she welcomes the introduction of the new stations.

“I think that it’s a nicer option because I heard that they are going to make actual platforms and it is going to be a better waiting area,” Yim said.

“Before, it used to be if there was rain or severe weather, it wasn’t a good place to wait.”

Yim said she was a frequent user of public transportation on campus and the construction would benefit students.

“Even if it might be a little more

distance,” she said, “I think that it would be a better option for us.”

Questrom School of Business junior Victor Cadaoas said he would prefer having more MBTA stations on campus and dislikes the inconvenience caused by construction.

“I am not a fan,” Cadaoas said. “It happened my sophomore year and it caused so much congestion like a bottleneck.”

Cadaoas added the operation of shuttle busses as temporary replacements to trains isn’t ideal for commuting students.

“It doesn’t seem like that positive of a deal,” he added. “The buses could always be stuck in traffic but with the

CAROLYN MOONEY | DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

T, you could reasonably expect it to come up.”

Ronald Freeman-Carter, a freshman in the College of General Studies, said shuttles are a less predictable mode of transportation compared to the train.

“It’s kind of hard to tell when the shuttle is going to arrive,” he said. “It’s not like the T when that information is available online, you can just go on the MBTA website.”

Freeman-Carter said he understands the construction may have differing impacts on students compared to commuters outside of the BU community.

“Sometimes it can be inconve-

nient and you have to stop multiple times,” Freeman-Carter said, “especially if you don’t go to BU, obviously that’s kind of superfluous.”

He said the previous stops were beneficial to students, especially in the winter months.

“As a BU student, it is really useful having multiple stops,” Freeman-Carter said. “You don’t have to walk in the cold.”

College of Engineering junior Nicholas West said he was concerned over the new construction because as an off-campus student, he uses public transportation every day to commute to classes.

“Public transportation’s a big part

of just getting around Boston,” West said. “I mean, who wants to navigate this traffic?”

He said having more stops was convenient for students getting across campus because they allow flexibility for when you get off of the train.

“It might be beneficial in terms of time,” West said. “But personally, I prefer the four stops because you can get out at any point in time.”

The difference between stops, he added, could mean the difference in getting to class late or on time.

“In my best interest,” West said, “I would find that this is kind of a pain, honestly.”

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority began consolidating stops in Boston University’s West Campus last week, prompting varied reactions from BU students.

FEATURES 3

ARTS

BU seniors create independent short film ‘Wonderland’ on art, burnout, mental illness

that what we had learned was already being used,” Mikaniewicz said, “and being so successful with that.”

Their campaign was completed when their professor, Amy Geller, Boston University students are donated the last $55 of their goal hoping to bring their creative vision — a “sentimental” moment for to life with a new, daring short film.

Walavalkar, she said.

BU College of Communication Avgen said she used simplicity in seniors banded together to create her work — something she learned in “Wonderland” — a short film her classes. highlighting themes such as mental “One thing we learned from BU is illness, self-doubt and art — this the basics of storytelling,” she said. winter, after the “You don’t need project was initially those crazy drones interrupted last or steady cams or spring. stuff like that to tell The film a good story.” came about in a Wa l a v a l k a r Production II class said the film’s a year ago, where theme of mental writer, director and health specifically COM senior Dilara took on a new Avgen’s movie idea meaning during the about a girl who pandemic, which “couldn’t tell from made working on reality and dreams” the film particularly was selected to be important to her. made into a final “Mental health project after Spring took a tank for so Recess. many people during “Last March this pandemic,” when we were all at Walavalkar said. home, I’m like ‘this “Engaging with project is dead,’” themes like this Avgen said. “I’m and working with really happy that a group of people we’re at this stage who are on the same right now.” page about creating Avgen said something during a the group wasn’t pandemic was … ready to abandon really powerful.” the project — nor Avgen said she the opportunity to hopes the film’s create something exploration of meaningful before COURTESY OF DORAN KIM burnout and selfProduction on the set of “Wonderland.” Seniors in the College of Communication created the film this winter, exploring themes of mental health, art and burngraduation — once out. doubt can strike the class ended. a chord with the Limited by BU’s production path, “As artists ourselves, we question said. “You have this mental illness, us,” she said. “We were able to audience when it is released — Avgen said the group chose to make ourselves a lot like, if our work but you also want to be this great independently employ all the skills especially with other young adults. the project their own and produce matters, if it’s good.” artist, and how far are you willing to that we’ve been taught.”

“Even if you’re not an artist, this “Wonderland” by themselves.

“Wonderland” follows “Alice,” go to be that special person.”

For instance, Walavalkar said she feeling of burning out, the feeling “I was not ready to let go of this a self-critical artist who has been BU seniors made up about 90 and the associate producer, COM of not feeling that you’re special, project,” Avgen said. “After we painting the white rabbit for an percent of Wonderland’s crew, with senior Devon Mikaniewicz, used the the feeling like you’re not going to graduate … probably we’re not going exhibition, played by College of CFA students as actors. “Dr. Kim,” skills they gained in a crowdfunding matter,” she said, “watching this film, to be directors or producers right Fine Arts student Emma Kuhlman. played by Kimberley Fogelgren class to launch Wonderland’s $5,000 maybe it helps you understand … just away, so we all kind of needed this.”

The film centers around a therapist — an actress based in Beverly, campaign. you being there makes you special.”

The film was made independently session Alice is forced to attend, Massachusetts — was a notable “It was really just rewarding to see

Lily Kepner Daily Free Press Staff

of BU, meaning all equipment and money was outsourced using a crowdfunding campaign. This gave the group more freedom creatively, while still being COVID-19 conscious.

Making the film come to life quickly became a kind of “senior thesis” for the group — one that tested their skills, but solidified their artistic journeys forward, Avgen said.

“We rely on this project a lot to see what we are capable of,” Avgen said.

with flashbacks and hallucinations throughout “as if it was a glitch in her reality,” Avgen said.

The film, in name and character, references the classic Walt Disney animated film, “Alice in Wonderland” — Avgen said the group tried to use elements from the 1951 classic sparingly, but creatively. She also said she drew inspiration from Vincent van Gogh.

“I like to think about it as a modern telling of the Van Gogh story,” she

exception.

Hours of work and meetings — including on Christmas Day — finally culminated into shooting during Presidents’ Day weekend, when the group wrapped production.

Head producer and COM senior Mallika Walavalkar said the group hopes to complete post-production within three weeks, and is considering film festivals they can submit their work to.

“This is just the first step for

On fire alarms and adventure Katherine Write Daily Free Press Staff There’s nothing more relaxing than a weekend wake-up call at 6 a.m. to the sound of blaring fire alarms.

D-VU VIA PIXABAY

We’ve had an issue in our apartment where the alarms erupt spontaneously, without any sort of trigger. The alarms must think it’s funny, laughing at one another from each room, a conversation between a screeching banshee and blaring nails on a chalkboard.

I would say this experience has become something of a routine, but “routine” implies predictable timing.

Unfortunately, my fire alarms don’t have any consistency other than being a consistent inconvenience.

On that note, they’re always right on schedule.

One of the first times was at 1 a.m. Then, 3 a.m. Then, 4 a.m. Most recently, 6 a.m. Now that I think about it, I guess we’re slowly moving toward the waking hours of the day.

So that’s something. Perhaps the alarms are sleep training infants or are suffering from jet lag. I guess I can’t blame them, then.

My favorite part of the experience is climbing up chairs in the middle of the night to rip the alarms off the wall — the only way to provide momentary relief from their smokeless, shrieking cries of agony. When we finally succeed in removing the batteries, silencing the piercing, synchronous howling, one remains stuck to the wall, chirping.

The chirping lasts the rest of the night, no matter how many times we push the button to reset it or replace the battery. It always takes a different solution to finally get rid of its persistent, slow chirps, and therefore haunts the apartment for hours on end.

After the middle-of-the-night wake-up call, those chirps mock my prospect of sleep, laughing every 60 seconds when their sound returns. In

between chirps, I sit awake, waiting for its call, dreading its noise. And just when I’m about to fall asleep again and temporarily forget about the melodrama of the fire alarms, the chirping happens — this time, right on schedule.

We thought the problem was fixed last semester. It wasn’t. But I guess that’s part of the alarms’ charm: they go off completely randomly, on their own accord. They wait for no one and do not care about timeliness or comfort. “Oh, were you sleeping?

My bad. Anyway, surprise! We’re back!”

On radically optimistic days, I guess you could call it an adventure.

Staying in near-constant contact with the property manager, shopping for new batteries, pushing the fire alarm button, climbing up ladders, desperately searching the internet for any kind of saving knowledge and living in a constant state of anticipation. It’s an adventure.

I wouldn’t recommend it, though.

I’d maybe give it one out of five stars on Yelp. You might have better luck adventuring to Hawaii or Florida or the tundra of Antarctica.

4 FEATURES

BUSINESS Massachusetts LGBT Chamber of Commerce reflects on work throughout pandemic Emily Pauls Daily Free Press Staff When the country shut down nearly a year ago due to COVID-19, LGBT-owned businesses joined others in closing their doors. In response, the Massachusetts LGBT Chamber of Commerce continues its support for those businesses as they have for the past three years.

The Massachusetts LGBT Chamber of Commerce is a nonprofit composed of hundreds of LGBT-owned businesses and large, innovative corporate partners. Its mission is to cultivate relationships between these businesses to increase economic impact.

Grace Moreno, the executive director of the organization, said the nonprofit aims to support LGBTQ business owners in pursuing financial opportunities.

“Our main goal is to put more money in the pockets of the LGBTQ community,” she said.

Moreno said its founding was made possible when Gov. Charlie Baker signed the 2015 Executive Order 565 — which said the state would take “groundbreaking measures” to ensure its businesses were as diverse as its citizens, and expand the Massachusetts Supplier Diversity Program to include LGBT-owned business enterprises.

“That gave us an opportunity to re-

ally look at why it would be advanta“Our biggest accomplishment to cifically working to do more training geous now for an LGBT-owned busi- date was when coronavirus started,” at other chambers in the state, helping ness to certify,” Moreno said. “In the she said. “We really honed down with the second round of Paycheck past, it hasn’t been advantageous be- and became resource navigators and Protection Program loans and supcause homophobia means that if you helped one on one most of our mem- porting businesses as they continue come out as an LGBT-owned busi- bers to get through the process of how to adjust to the pandemic. ness, some “Now p e opl e it’s been a might not year since do business corona with you s t a r t e d ,” … even in she said.

Massachu“ S o m e setts.” businesses Morehave done no said the great to Massachukeep their setts LGBT businessChamber es alive, of Combut other m e r c e business now has HANNAH YOSHINAGA | DAILY FREE PRESS PHOTO EDITOR has really Massachusetts LGBT Chamber of Commerce continues to assist and support its member around 45 The struggled.” businesses throughout the pandemic. c or p or ate Despite sponsors and 200 members. The are they going to stay sustainable.” the setbacks, she said the group is chamber also has a job board of When it became clear the pandem- now working to expand across the LGBTQ-friendly businesses, a news- ic wasn’t going to end within a few state. letter and an event calendar. months, the chamber found more it “It’s very easy to be a statewide When COVID-19 hit, she said, the could do to support its members, she organization that gets stuck on this chamber adjusted and moved to a vir- said. side of the state because Boston is so tual model.

“We doubled down and really dense,” Moreno said. “What we have The pandemic has been a “huge looked for other ways to help our realized from our previous work is struggle” for the organization to over- members,” she said. “We started a that people down at the Cape need come, Moreno said. It has affected the 501(c)(3) with the help of some part- us, people out in Western Mass. need chamber’s ability to expand across ners and raised 250,000 dollars to give us and people in Worcester need us.” the state and slowed momentum on out small grants to those companies Susu Wong is the founder of other work. Nonetheless, she said the that did not qualify for anything else.” Tomo360 — a marketing firm in chamber has persevered.

Now, she said the chamber is spe- Lowell, Massachusetts — and a board

member of the chamber.

“We want to be a chamber that wants to help connect small businesses, LGBT businesses, with companies through procurement,” Wong said.

“We didn’t want to be just a networking group.”

Wong said she has found value in the camaraderie and support the chamber provides, especially during the challenges of the pandemic.

“Having a community of LGBT owners is really nice, we help each other out,” Wong said. “For example last year during COVID, I gave some workshops [and] they were … trying to help other businesses to get funding for PPP.” In terms of future action, Moreno said the chamber is working to push the City of Boston to be inclusive of LGBTQ businesses, which are currently excluded from Mayor Marty Walsh’s executive order promoting equity.

“I’ve been patient,” she said, “but I think it’s time for our organization to get really loud about exclusion.”

Moreno said the organization is determined to create change and create an impact on the LGBTQ community.

“We are not a traditional chamber, we are more of an incubator, think tank, doer,” she said. “We want to get things done, we want to see change … we want to push the envelope where the envelope needs to be pushed.”

SCIENCE

BU STEM majors express difficulty with COVID-19 restrictions on labs, learning Connor Allen Daily Free Press Staff It’s no secret that students of all backgrounds have been facing difficulties with remote learning. STEM majors, with limited hands-on practice in laboratories, are no exception.

James Bird, an associate professor in Boston University’s College of Engineering, said although professors are doing the best they can, it is still crucial they teach students the tools necessary for them to advance to higher-level classes.

“I’m, as I think the rest of my colleagues are, doing our absolute best to make sure that overall expectations are the same,” Bird said. “The classes are a prerequisite for follow on classes, and it’s important for the students to have that same material and the same level of understanding that they can.”

One difference in teaching during the pandemic has been navigating hybrid learning while students are in different time zones, he added, and trying to accommodate all of his learners is a logistical challenge.

“Most of [the students] are not in person, and some of them are halfway around the world,” Bird said. “There’s a bit more onus on them to be able to keep up with the material, even if

their internet connections aren’t as good.”

Since the Learn from Anywhere model took effect, Bird said students now usually complete labs and projects alone because coordinating groups can be difficult.

“I encourage students to collaborate together, but each student has to do the experiment on their own,” he said. “For those that don’t know someone in the classroom or aren’t able to collaborate in this way, I think it’s more isolating and I’m definitely aware of that.”

Leon Zhou, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences studying computer science, said the lack of direct access to professors and classmates has made for a stressful learning environment.

“We used to have office hours really easy to access,” Zhou said. “Now it’s just impossible.”

In past semesters, Zhou said he could walk right into the computer science lab and ask the teaching assistants for help easily, but Zoom does not offer the same convenience.

“It’s very, very scattered, it’s very unorganized,” Zhou said. “You go into the Zoom, and then you have to wait for like an hour for an actual person to talk to you because people are so occupied … we’re just waiting in breakout rooms.”

Zhou also said the remote learning model has made it almost impossible

to find other students to collaborate with.

“When you’re in office hours, when everything’s in person, you can meet a lot of friends, and then you can discuss the problem, even when the TA is not available,” Zhou said. “Now, it’s just really hard. All you have is a group chat.”

These impacts, Zhou said, not only affected his experience in the class, but his grades and overall work ethic.

“Last semester was pretty bad,” Zhou said. “Especially in STEM, when everything is online, the learning experience is impacted.”

For Abby Hagen, a CAS sophomore studying marine science, the remote learning experience simply makes the coursework more difficult because she must conduct all of her experiments alone.

“When we went remote last Spring, all of our labs transitioned online and it was kind of frustrating because everything was virtual,” Hagen said.

“We were just being given datasets and being told to write lab reports on things that we never actually did.”

Hagen also said the workload, if anything, has increased due to the remote learning.

“The bottom line is we were doing just the same amount of work, if not more work, to compensate for not being in the labs while not gaining any practical, hands-on experience,” Hagen said.

LIBBY MCCLELLAND | DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Student laboratory in the Metcalf Science Building. Some Boston University STEM students have found remote learning is not entirely suitable for their major courses.

Right now, Hagen’s chemistry course assigns more work, mostly around interpreting data sets, she said.

“We need to learn those practical skills,” she said, “but we’re not getting any hands-on experience, so I don’t really know how that stuff will translate post graduation.”

While she doesn’t have more coursework now than she has in semesters past, Hagen said work is distributed less in class, meaning it’s up to students to complete it independently.

“While we’re in class, it’s more like our professors or our TAs giving us brief overviews of things and then us, on our free time, doing more work,” she said. “It’s kind of unfortunate.”

To combat these issues, Zhou said professors and teaching assistants could make themselves more available to students over Zoom.

“Definitely offer more help,” he said. “If in-person office hours is possible, I’d really prefer that, but if not, then increase more time, seriously, increase more time and more help in office hours.”

FEATURES 5

COMMUNITY

Boston Public Library event highlights book on empowering Black mothers in Civil Rights history Caroline Bowden Daily Free Press Staff Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and James Baldwin were trailblazers of the civil rights movement. But are there changemakers America is forgetting?

A book by Anna Malaika Tubbs, an activist, educator and current Ph.D. candidate at the University of Cambridge, introduces three Black women who were crucial in shaping these leaders, but erased in history: their mothers.

Her book, “The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation,” highlights Alberta King, Louise Little and Berdis Baldwin: the women who raised the leaders.

It was published Feb. 2 — at the beginning of Black History Month.

Tubbs joined the Boston Public Library for an hour-long virtual talk Tuesday to discuss the historical figures as part of the Central Library Author Talk Series. The event also is part of BPL’s Repairing America series — a 2021 focus on addressing divisive issues within the country, including racism and the politicization of public health crises.

In an interview, Tubbs said her debut work connects back to starting her Ph.D. She was in-

spired to “shatter” the erasure of Black women’s stories.

“We just reproduce these narratives where it was just these men who stood alone, as if they were these unicorn figures that … had no background or family behind them,” she said in an interview. “We reduce our history and Black history to only speak about them.”

Tubbs said she has seen the nature of erasure firsthand — media coverage of her husband Michael Tubbs, who was the mayor of Stockton, California from 2017 to 2021, consistently left herself and his mother out of the coverage — which inspired her work too.

“I realized people just take what mothers do, especially Black mothers, for granted,” Tubbs said, “and they don’t consider all the different factors that are in place that make it so difficult to accomplish these really incredible things for ourselves and for our children.”

L’Merchie Frazier, the director of education and interpretation at Boston’s Museum of African American History, moderated the BPL event. She said in an interview Tubbs’ personal connection to her subject comes across in her writing.

“That’s the majesty of her writing,” Frazier said. “Her writing is very infectious, and she is infectious in her personnage. This is authentic.”

The event — held in partnership with the MAAH, American Ancestors by New England Historic Genealogical Society and the State Li-

brary of Massachusetts — featured discussions on why Tubbs chose her subjects, how she put the book together and what she thought about revolutionary movements built on one another.

Tubbs said in an interview learning about these women involved a lot of in-depth research, because many of their life details were difficult to ascertain from one source.

“Anytime you take on a project where you’re trying to correct erasure, it’s going to be difficult,” she said, “because their lives had been scattered, pieces of the puzzle that were all over the place.”

Tubbs began researching any time the three leaders had mentioned their mothers — whether written or verbal — and made a “master timeline of their lives” with Post-it Notes, posters and color coordination.

With the help of local historians from each woman’s hometown, she pieced together the rest of their history using birth certificates, death certificates, school papers and land deeds, bringing their stories to life.

Tubbs said she also worked with the women’s family members to understand what physical documentation can’t express: their spirit.

“It was crucial to me that people understand that whether these women had ever had these sons, they were already giving life in other ways,” Tubbs said in an interview. “They were activists, they were artists, they were writers, singers. There was so much that they were do-

ing that was creative and giving new breath to their community members.”

Frazier said Tubbs’ book illustrates the true impact of these mothers on their sons, which made them the grand figures they would later become.

“The fact that she’s unearthed these women who are their mothers gives us an understanding of their support system,” she said, “that made them who they are.”

In the final chapter of her book — which Tubbs described as her “Black feminist manifesto” at the event — addresses action that needs to be taken today.

She said she hopes the book inspires people to fight the generational tragedy Black mothers face losing their children to violence and restructure the criminal “injustice” system to help prevent these deaths.

“Don’t only celebrate Alberta, Berdis, Louise and Mamie [Emmett Till’s mother] because of what they were able to endure,” she said.

“Instead say ‘How do we fix the issues that are still in place that are creating circumstances that allow our children to die more often than others?’”

Tubbs added at the event she hopes people remember these women as changemakers and continue their fight forward.

“There’s so much left to do and so much work left to do,” she said, “but it’s tangible.”

EDITORIAL

The onus of recycling should not fall on the consumer, but rather governments, corporations This year, the town of Wellesley is celebrating its 50th anniversary of a local recycling program: a transfer station where residents would normally drop off recycling and used items, then browse their neighbor’s hand-me-downs.

In a time when recycling has become increasingly expensive, suburban and affluent communities such as Wellesley may be more willing or able to afford these waste programs.

Wellesley’s case is particularly unique: It started as a communityled initiative and has now grown into a large and innovative Recycling and Disposal Facility under the town’s Department of Public Works.

Yet if they are able to — or in fact do — put more funding into sustainability than loweri n c o m e communities, why are some wealthy towns still producing a

concerning amount of waste?

A 2019 Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection “How Much Trash Did We Throw Out?” map shows no pattern between capita income and pounds of waste per household.

Households in Carlisle, Lexington and Winchester — in the top 10 wealthiest towns in Massachusetts — are producing some of the most waste. Other towns from the same top 10 such as Wellesley, Manchester-by-the-Sea and Sudbury are producing significantly less.

For one, the data from the map includes both recycling and solid waste, so it could be that most of the household waste is being diverted to recycling plants.

Another likely possibility is that most of the waste is food waste. In 2018, more than a quarter of Massachusetts trash was food waste, which was sent to landfills rather than diverted to composting facilities.

And guess what? Opting in for the composting program often costs an additional fee, which residents may not be able or willing to shell out.

The issues for recycling and composting boil down to the same: time, energy, education and resources. Take Boston University as a case study — if educated and mostly progressive college students can’t be bothered to throw

their waste in the right bins, why should we expect residents to go out of their way to pay for additional waste services or use them correctly?

In low-income areas especially, priorities won’t be on sustainability. The most pressing issues in these communities are housing, rent, groceries, health care, education and systemic racism. When your access to the essentials is consistently endangered or at risk of being taken away, an expensive and complicated process of being environmentally friendly is the last thing you need.

This is why we need to put the responsibility on our elected officials, local governments and waste management. There needs to be more widely accessible and distributed information on how the programs work and how to properly recycle or compost, so we don’t throw pizza boxes into our recyclables and taint the entire batch.

The whole feat of reducing, reusing and recycling must be made less intimidating and insurmountable — particularly for everyday people who have more imminent concerns to stress over.

Furthermore, even if these towns and households significantly divert and reduce their waste, the institutional issues remain.

Landfills and incinerators — toxic, leaky and huffy — are located in places such as Southbridge

and Saugus and are, unsurprisingly, terrible for the community’s health.

Recycling plants that rely on people recycling correctly — which is not always the case in the United States — don’t always process waste. If residents are not properly educated on how to recycle or what to recycle, their contributions may not be used. Most people don’t realize this because they don’t think to look behind the curtain.

Food waste from restaurants, businesses and colleges continue to add up. In 2014, Massachusetts banned the disposal of more than one ton of commercial organic waste per week. We need to keep expanding on this and promoting food donations and reducing food waste — apps such as Too Good To Go and Food for All are a good start.

And on a national and international level, large companies produce the most waste and largest carbon footprints.

In the end, the individual can and should be accountable for their own waste whenever possible — taking shorter showers, reducing consumption, learning more about recycling, etc.

But the brunt of the work has to be done by the government and by large corporations because they’re the ones who have the power to actualize real, immediate and impactful change.

ILLUSTRATION BY ALEXIA NIZHNY

EDITORIAL BOARD Colbi Edmonds, Editor-in-Chief Nick Kolev, Campus Editor Charles Moore, Sports Editor Hannah Yoshinaga, Photo Editor

Cameron Morsberger, Managing Editor Daniel Kool, City Editor

Jackson Machesky, Podcast Editor

Alexia Nizhny, Layout & Graphics Editor Emma Sanchez, Blog Editor

Abbigale Shi, Opinion Editor

Lily Kepner, Features Editor

GRAPHIC BY ALEXIA NIZHNY Andrew Harwood, Multimedia Editor

OPINION 6

COLUMNS Minority Report:

Rise in anti-Asian hate crimes reveals a deeper prejudice

Lincoln Currie Columnist Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, anti-Asian hate crimes and violence have spiked in across the United States.

Those who follow Asian-American news outlets have been aware of this trend for months now. Reports of Asians being verbally harassed, spit on, beaten and killed have become routine reading since the summer.

While the perpetrators of the crimes are individually responsible for their actions, the more interesting question is: Where is the impetus to

commit such transgressions coming from?

Some blame politicians — namely, former President Donald Trump — for hate-mongering and using phrases such as “Chinese virus” and “kung flu.”

This is not the first time Trump has made racist comments toward Asians. During his 2016 campaign, he impersonated Asian negotiators by saying “we want deal” in an Asian accent.

Racism never got old for Trump, and apparently the trope of blaming foreigners for bringing diseases has not gotten old for many Americans either. The only problem is that Asian Americans are just that: Americans.

The current situation proves the prevalence of the idea that Asians are perpetual foreigners in the U.S. Whether we are born here or not, we are more foreign than our white counterparts.

However, the trouble with talking about discrimination against Asian Americans is many see examples of anti-Asian racism as blips on the radar rather than products of decades and centuries of systemic racism.

Anti-Asian immigration laws that were on the books until the mid-1960s are not relics of the past. Those laws have an impact on people today, the same way Jim Crow laws do —

though to differing degrees. The passage of time does not automatically eliminate the pernicious effects of racist laws, even if some members of a community are able to overcome racism and achieve financial success.

Part of the reason some might think Asians do not experience tangible racism is because Asians, on average, earn higher incomes than every other racial group in the U.S., including white people.

But this statistic doesn’t match up to reality. A higher average household income covers up the fact that Asian seniors are more likely to live in poverty than the average senior American.

This fact makes attacks on elderly Asians, who are less able to defend themselves, even more troubling and disturbing. The last thing an old, impoverished person needs is an injury that requires them to pay a large health insurance deductible.

However, these vicious attacks — which include elderly people being shoved to the pavement — have brought about solutions that do not involve increased policing. In parts of the U.S., people are volunteering to escort elderly Asians to protect them from harm.

I expect that elders with an escort will be

safe, seeing as the cowards who perpetrate these crimes seem to prefer attacking the vulnerable.

I will not demand people become one of these escorts. I realize people have different priorities, and volunteering to be someone’s protection, especially when that person is a target, can pose a threat to one’s own safety.

However, I ask for people to open their minds. I ask for people to question why Asians are seen as perpetual foreigners in this country and ask themselves if they see an Asian person born in the U.S. as less American than a white person born in America.

I ask for people to think of anti-Asian discrimination not as an anomaly but as a pattern.

This spike in hate crimes cannot be solved until the root — anti-Asian racism — is recognized for the systemic problem that it is. These crimes start from prejudice, and prejudice cannot entirely be pinned on the hateful rhetoric of irresponsible politicians.

The same prejudice that limits an Asian person’s ability to buy a home in this country also causes someone to give an elderly Asian a wound that requires stitches. The two forms of racism are not coincidental — they are connected.

ILLUSTRATION BY ALEXIA NIZHNY

Fair or Foul:

Which MLB teams are most likely to overshoot and undershoot their projected records

Daniel Multz Columnist Pitchers and catchers reported last week, and Spring Training games will kick off in a few days. This is the time of year when every outlet puts out projected records for all 30 teams. Some teams’ projections seem to make perfect sense, while other projections are sure to be surpassed or completely unmet. Let’s examine these latter teams and evaluate what their records will look like in 2021.

Tampa Bay Rays (Fail to Meet): Projected 83 wins (FanGraphs), 86 wins (PECOTA) As reigning American League Champions, the Rays’ offseason move makes no sense. They designated outfielder Hunter Renfroe for assignment, let veteran pitcher Charlie Morton walk and traded lefty pitcher Blake Snell. All they added was the washed-up Michael Wacha and Chris Archer — the fact that he is back in Tampa Bay after the 2018 trade is hilarious —

and a 40-year-old Rich Hill. They also still only have one talented right-handed hitter in Randy Arozarena. All told, the Rays seem to want to rebuild, albeit quickly, and that does not bode well for reaching either projected record.

Los Angeles Angels (Fail to Meet): Projected 84 wins (FanGraphs), 87 wins (PECOTA) Aside from the depressing notion that — in my opinion — Mike Trout’s career is destined for zero playoff success, the fact remains that the Angels missed out on every big free agent of the offseason. No Bauer, Realmuto, Springer, Lemahieu or elite relief pitching was added.

Expecting pitcher Andrew Heaney to stay healthy and asking fellow pitcher Dylan Bundy to play like he did last year are tall tasks. Another challenge is getting José Quintana, their biggest offseason add, to play like a No. 3. The Angels are still stuck with Albert Pujols, no bullpen and a Trout/Anthony Rendon duo that has very little support. There is no way the Angels have a winning record in 2021.

Chicago White Sox (Will Exceed): Projected 87 wins (FanGraphs), 83 wins (PECOTA) The White Sox have a young core, combined with the perfect group of veterans. Not to mention they made several significant additions to the roster in the offseason. Bringing back Adam Eaton, trading for innings-eater Lance Lynn and signing star-closer Liam Hendriks headline Chicago’s transactions. In order to win, Luis Robert and Yoán Moncada need to find more consistency. Dylan Cease should stay healthy and show off his arm talent. Lucas Giolito, Tim Anderson and Eloy Jiménez need to keep up the good work. And Nick Madrigal and Michael

Kopech need to get their chance. Losing James McCann stings, but these White Sox should exceed the projections and win the American League Central this year.

New York Mets (Fail to Meet): Projected 93 wins (FanGraphs), 96 wins (PECOTA) The Mets made many moves in the offseason to try and put together a division-winning, championship-caliber team. Adding defensive stud McCann, along with Lindor — who I see as the league’s best shortstop — plus Trevor May, Carlos Carrasco, Joey Lucchesi, Taijuan Walker and more all add up to a net-positive gain by the team this offseason. However, there are still issues here. The Jared Porter scandal will loom over the organization heading into 2021. McCann has a history of struggling at the plate and will now make $10 million per year.

Lucchesi played horribly last season and has never been great. Walker’s FIP was over four last season, and has a 4.24 FIP for his whole career, making him an average pitcher. Noah Syndergaard is set to return from Tommy John surgery, which always carries risk, and Marcus Stroman has not pitched since 2019. These rotation

concerns all loom behind the league’s top starter in Jacob deGrom. All of these factors considered, there’s no way the Mets will reach 90 wins this season.

San Diego Padres (Will Exceed): Projected 95 wins (FanGraphs), 96 wins (PECOTA) Yes, the Padres already have sky-high expectations. Yes, they play in the same division as the Los Angeles Dodgers, who will end up with more than 100 wins next season. However, what this team did in the offseason secures an over 90-win season ahead. They added strikeout machines Yu Darvish and Snell, along with steady mid-rotation righty Joe Musgrove. On top of this, the team added veteran relievers Keone Kela and Mark Melancon and brought in infielder Ha-seong Kim. The bullpen may raise some concerns, but this rotation has great depth and this lineup has to rank in the top five in the league. Finally, the Padres still have top-ranked prospects such as CJ Abrams and MacKenzie Gore on the way. The Padres should reach for 100 wins in 2021, despite the Dodgers’ presence.

ILLUSTRATION BY ALEXIA NIZHNY GRAPHIC BY ALEXIA NIZHNY