3-29-2024 Print Edition

NEWS, 2

Mayor Wu announces new affordable housing developments

Stacy Traub encourages students to ‘have stories to tell’

CE LE B RATIN G

FRIDAY, MARCH 29, 2024

FEATURES, 4

OVE R

50

YE A RS

O F

OPINION, 8

Our perception of the economy is too partisan I N DE PE N DE N T

STU D E NT

LIFESTYLE, 10

Let’s reevaluate American dining culture J O U R NA LI S M

THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY

YEAR LV. VOLUME A. ISSUE III

MARCH MADNESS: TD Garden to host Illinois vs. UConn Elite 8 game on Saturday.

Boston University faculty, staff create successful petition against Provost’s strike pay policies

BY ABIGAIL HASSAN Associate City Editor

Boston University faculty and staff successfully petitioned this week in support of the Boston University Graduate Workers Union after administration required departments to report striking students.

After 14 failed negotiation meetings with BU administration, BUGWU began their strike on March 25, advocating for living wages and sustainable benefits.

Kenneth Lutchen, University Provost and Chief Academic Officer, sent an email to BU faculty and staff on March 26, announcing the decision that the university will not be paying students who are striking. The office would also require university departments to report any graduate workers on strike to the Provost office.

“Those who work will be paid, and those who withhold their labor in support of a labor strike will not be,” he wrote. “Refusing to account for payroll during this time is not ‘supporting our graduate students’ — it is making the choice to pay out University tuition … or federal grant money to graduate workers who are exercising a right to

COM writing professor on paid leave, under investigation

BY MATTHEW EADIE AND CRYSTAL YORMICK Senior Writer and Associate Campus Editor

MOLLY POTTER | DFP PHOTOGRAPHER

Members of the Boston University Graduate Workers Union march during a rally at Marsh Plaza on Monday. BUGWU is on strike for better wages and benefits, with more than 150 Boston University faculty and staff signing a petition of support for the union this week.

not work.”

In a petition, faculty and staff wrote that BU “remains committed to financially punishing non-compliant departments,” and that the policy will damage relationships with graduate workers.

“We see asking this question and then reporting it to the central administration as both a moral and political

breach of our obligations to students,” the petition wrote.

“Please do not coerce us into jeopardizing the core of Boston University’s graduate educational mission.”

The petition, which went live this week, was signed by over 160 faculty and staff.

Faculty and staff also wrote that they were “intentionally” left out of the bargaining process and were unaware of

negotiations with BUGWU. “Student-facing faculty were excluded from union negotiations,” said Boston University staff in their petition to the Provost’s office.

“For months, we were even intentionally kept ignorant of the University’s bargaining position.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

After allegations of discriminatory comments, Boston University College of Communication writing professor Tinker Ready is under investigation, according to several documents and emails obtained by The Daily Free Press.

Ready was recently placed on paid administrative leave, although The Daily Free Press was unable to verify if this is directly connected to the investigation.

A complaint was filed with BU’s Equal Opportunity Office

by COM freshman Shelby Rose Long who was a student in Ready’s COM CO 201, Introduction to COM Writing class this semester, until late February. In the complaint, Long alleged that Ready made insensitive comments regarding students who don’t speak English as a first language, and accused them of likely using AI to write their papers.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

engineering club ‘A historic day’: Coolidge Women’s basketball reflects on adversity, BU to raise money for Corner Theatre debuts clean water project in expanded space insights gained from past season Kenya

BY CHLOE CRAMUTOLA Associate Sports Editor

season.

“It’s very important, from freshman year to the time you graduate, that you’re growing your game and putting in work to be better,” junior guard Alex Giannaros said.

“If everybody buys into that, we’ll get to where we were this year and hopefully put ourselves in an even better position to win.”

A few of the team’s top dogs went down with injuries, but that encouraged younger players to step up and take the reins.

It started with sophomore forward Anete Adler, who suffered an injury in December. “[Adler] was a huge key for us in the nonconference,” Graves said.

While the team fell short of its ultimate goal of a conference championship, the Boston University women’s basketball team overcame adversity and saw success with the cards they were dealt.

“Key players went down with injuries,” head coach Melissa Graves said. “Had they been healthy, maybe there would have been a different result, but I thought to get to this point amongst all that… I was very proud of the season we had.”

The Terriers, who finished 20-12 overall and 10-8 in the Patriot League, fell short in the PL championship game, but they finished the regular season tied for second. Goals CONTINUED ON PAGE 11 are set even higher for next

BY BRENDA GONZALEZ Associate Features Editor

ZACH SCHWARTZ | DFP PHOTOGRAPHER

Freshman guard Aina Grane Torres (8) celebrates with her teammates in a game against Lehigh in February.

Despite a loss in the Patriot League Finals to Holy Cross, the 20-12 Terriers finished tied for second in the regular season.

During the struggle for global sustainability, BU’s chapter of Engineers Without Borders has worked with the Ogiek people in Kenya to provide clean drinking water for their community after being displaced by the Kenyan government.

Since 2018, Engineers Without Borders, EWB, has partnered with the Ogiek people of Tinet, Kenya on a mission to provide clean and accessible drinking water, according to their website.

EWB is a non-profit organization with 228 active chapters in the United States and Puerto Rico, according to the EWB USA website.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

BY JOSH ROSENTHAL AND CAMILLE BUGAYONG DFP Writers

The Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline officially opened the doors to its brand-new expanded space, allowing longtime patrons and cinephiles to explore the new renovations on Wednesday.

Designed by Boston architecture firm Höweler + Yoon, the 14,000 square-foot expansion features an expanded lobby, two new screens and a community engagement center with a view of Brookline.

“This is, of course, a historic day in the life of the Coolidge,” said Katherine Tallman, executive director and CEO of the theater, during the ceremony. “We’re opening a space that has been in the making for over ten years.

Now [it’s] complete and full of possibility.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

2 NEWS

New funding for affordable housing will help development in Allston-Brighton

BY GEORGE LEHMAN Senior Writer

New housing developments on 95 Everett Street in Allston-Brighton will receive government funding after Mayor Wu announced $69 million for affordable housing developments throughout Boston on Friday.

“These developments are designed to offer residents stable and economically viable housing options,” the city’s Chief of Housing Sheila Dillion said in a press release.

“These funding awards will support the creation of rental, homeownership and supportive housing developments, catering to the diverse needs of the community.”

The development on 95 Everett Street is part of the 119 Braintree Street project.

It consists of two new buildings, including a 12-story commercial building and a residential building including 88 units, 74 of which will be income-restricted, according to a press release. from the Boston Planning & Development Agency.

According to plans from 2023, the project will create an elevated walkway connecting the development at 119 Braintree Street to the Everett Street Bridge, connecting

Braintree Street to Lower Allston. The development is also slated to provide new pedestrian connections to the Boston Landing Station, along with creating wider sidewalks and new street trees.

Charlie Adams, the regional vice president for Pennrose LLC, the project developer, said the 88 units of affordable and workforce housing will make it easier for residents to use public transportation.

Adams said the development will bring affordable housing to a location where the residents can access public transportation, highlighting the housing is “a 30-second walk from the development to the train station right there in Allston-Brighton.”

Adams also said the city council has been supportive of the development, and requested the construction of townhomes.

“We’ve incorporated … six three-bedroom townhomes directly on the ground level, with their own separate entrances,” Adams said, adding that there will also be four three-bedrooms throughout the development. “It will be family housing for folks.”

Anthony D’Isidoro, the president of the Allston Civic Association, said the city of Boston has been working to diminish “the wealth gap,

especially in low income communities” through home ownership.

“Allston-Brighton can’t do it by themselves,” D’Isidoro said. “At some point … there’s a finite amount of development that you can do and still maintain a quality of life for community residents.”

The Allston Civic Association has been striving to get as many affordable units as possible to “not only attract especially young people, but more importantly, to be able to retain residents and allow them to stay in our community,” D’Isidoro said.

D’Isidoro said he is happy to see funding that will provide a “high percentage of affordable housing and deeply affordable housing, which is [a] dire need” for the Allston-Brighton community.

“This is the kind of housing that people in our community hopefully can afford, as opposed to the market rate stuff that’s being built,” he said.

Allston residents echoed the need for affordable housing.

“I actually just had a roommate move to Arlington, because housing was too expensive here,” Ashley Dyer, an Allston resident, said. “It means a lot that [the city] is trying to make housing more affordable.”

MATTHEW EADIE | DFP PHOTOGRAPHER

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu speaks to reporters in January. Mayor Wu pledged $69 million towards building affordable housing throughout Boston on Friday.

However, other residents raised concerns regarding how the new development will impact the community.

Kerri Bonney, an Allston resident who has lived in low income housing her entire life, said she does not feel the new development will help her.

“Even though they’re putting a new building up on Everett street … I doubt that it’s going to help AllstonBrighton residents,” Bonney said. “They’re going to house people that are outside of Allston-Brighton, when they should start with people that

live here first.”

Bonney also mentioned the community’s shifting demographics, such as the increase in students and young business professionals, are pushing families out of the area.

“Now, I find that families are leaving the Allston-Brighton area because they can’t afford the rent,” Bonney said. “Rent just skyrockets, and no one can afford it.”

Adams said the project now awaits additional funding from the state.

Coolidge Corner Theatre expansion debuts to the public Continued from page 1 Coolidge board members, theatre patrons and local politicians attended the ribbon cutting ceremony, including Massachusetts state Rep. Tommy Vitolo.

“All 200 legislators voted for [the expansion],” Vitolo said during the ceremony.

“Every single state Rep. and state senator in this state loves this theater.”

Vitolo stressed the economic importance the theater holds in Brookline.

“Nobody just comes to the Coolidge Corner Theater,” Vitolo said. “They go to dinner or get a drink or buy a book or something else, and at the very least, they put money into the parking meter.

Everyone who comes to this theater is also supporting the economic center of this town.”

Michael Bobbitt, executive director of the Massachusetts Cultural Council, shared enthusiasm over the impact of the new Education and Community Engagement Center.

“We all know that film has an ability to reach across culture and reach so many people,” Bobbitt said during the ceremony. “Now that we have this education center

here, we can do that in such a profound and deep way.”

Construction on the expansion began in November 2021. At the ceremony, Eric Höweler, the co-founding principal of Höweler + Yoon, emphasized the importance of maintaining the historic Art Deco architecture when it came to designing the expansion.

“Art Deco is an attitude about the future,” Höweler said. “It’s about optimism.

It’s about progress. It’s about technology … It celebrates electricity, communication, radio, film [and] television.”

Höweler said the Art Deco design — which stems from the 1920s and 30s — gave the team “a whole language of architecture.” He described the eight-year collaborative effort of the project as a “fantastic process.”

“Looking at it today, I do see the community here and beyond here,” Höweler said. “The theatre built this community, and that’s really pretty special.”

This sense of community extended to the funding for the expansion as well, with the “Campaign for the Coolidge” receiving over 1,000 donors, raising $12.5 million, over 90% of its campaign goal.

“The community is really why we are here and why we have the future that we have ahead of us,” Tallman said.

To commemorate the public opening, the Coolidge held screenings of “2001: A Space Odyssey” and “The Wizard of Oz” in the new theatres. Both of these films inspired Höweler + Yoon when designing the expansion, according to a press release.

Alexis Martin, a patron attending the first screening of “The Wizard of Oz,” said she favors the experience of

XIAOYA SHAO | DFP PHOTOGRAPHER

attending a community theater as opposed to a theater chain where she knows what to expect.

“It’s just a fun experience [at the Coolidge],” Martin said.

“It’s always different every time you come here.”

Martin said she enjoyed the modern design of the expansion, but is still appreciative of how the Coolidge kept its original rooms so as to not lose its historical feel.

Lily Hutchins, another patron at the opening

screenings, highlighted the theater’s student discount and uniqueness.

“It’s not like AMC or other bigger theaters where it’s kind of the same everywhere,” Hutchins said. “It’s a better vibe, and for less.”

Hutchins appreciates that the theater decided on an expansion rather than a whole revamp of the building.

“I like that they added a chic, more modern design but then also kept some of their original stuff,” Hutchins said.

The expanded section of Coolidge Corner theater in Brookline. The renovated space featuring new screens and community spaces was unveiled during a ribbon ceremony on Wednesday.

NEWS 3

BU faculty, staff sign petition to change Provost’s strike pay policies Continued from page 1

Kimberly Arkin, an associate professor and director of graduate studies in theAnthropology Department at Boston University, said administrators began only deducting pay from faculty and staff who did not report strikers.

“They were going to find out who is not working and retroactively deduct from our budget,” Arkin said. “But at the beginning, they threatened to do that to our budget and to the students.”

Arkin also said faculty were “panicked” about the complicated financial “choice” she had to make because of the strike policy.

“I certainly was losing sleep over the idea that … I had to make a choice between the department and my students,” Arkin said.

Merry White, a professor of

anthropology, said reporting her graduate students “didn’t feel like the right thing to do” because professors would be “turning them in.”

“We are deeply tied to our graduate students, we are their link to their current work and their future careers,” White said. “It’s problematic to be guided by the Provost office, in how to work with our graduate students over the strike, when we really want to maintain our close relationship with our students.”

Avani Sudhakar, an administrator in the Political Science Department, said the provost was “pushing their dirty work” onto the faculty and staff by changing the policy.

“There’s the concern about the undergrads getting caught in the crossfire of all of this,” Sudhakar said. “Emotions are running high, but I feel like,

ZACH SCHWARTZ | DFP PHOTOGRAPHER

Members of the BUGWU strike gather outside CDS on Monday.

at least in my department, there’s a general sense that we’re very much on the grad students side.”

Nikunj Khetan, a student pursuing a doctorate at

BU, said having the wide support of many faculty and staff is “reflective” of their movement.

“If we were standing, then a rising tide lifts all boats,”

Khetan said. “This is going to be beneficial to all members of the university, regardless of what their position is.”

Several former, current students allege professor made insensitive comments

KATE KOTLYAR | DFP PHOTOGRAPHER

Empty chairs in the College of Arts and Sciences, where professor Tinker Ready taught a class until recently. Ready has been placed on administrative leave amidst an investigation into comments made to students.

Continued from page 1 The report detailed alleged interactions between Long and Ready, where Ready allegedly made “disparaging” comments to Long about Asian students.

The Daily Free Press has not been able to independently verify these interactions beyond the complaint.

The report stated that Ready handed Long a roster of the class and said, “‘The class is half Asian. They didn’t tell me how to teach that kind of student.’”

On Feb. 20, after a disagreement in class over an assignment, Ready called Long into the hallway where they spoke for several minutes. At the end of their conversation, Long alleged Ready said to her, “Can you not be a f—ing b—tch this whole semester?” This event

and exchange were outlined in the EOO report as well.

Long left the class shortly after the interaction and filed the complaint with the EOO the same day. She was immediately moved to a new section of COM 201 with a different professor.

The EOO issued a no-contact order on Feb. 22, prohibiting Ready from contacting Long in any way during the investigation.

The investigation was formally opened on March 4.

The EOO declined to comment, stating that the office does not comment on reports or investigations.

Ready violated her no-contact order, commenting on a YouTube video Long posted on March 6.

The comment critiqued Long’s grammar halfway through the video. Upon noticing, Long

immediately reported the violation to the EOO. “Please assist. She has broken the no contact order. I feel very uncomfortable,” Long wrote in an email sent on March 12 to the EOO investigator assigned to the case.

The EOO told Long that it would consult Human Resources and COM Dean Mariette DiChristina to “address the violation of the No Contact Order, as well as prevent any further communication from Prof. Ready to [Long].”

In an email, Ready wrote she was “barred from campus.”

She also wrote she was asked to have no contact with students and could not answer questions at this time.

On March 23, students in Ready’s current COM 201 class, received an email from Michael

Dowding, master lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication, Advertising and Public Relations and director of the COM writing program, in which he wrote that he would be “leading [the] class … on an interim/substitute basis.”

In an email on March 27, Dowding wrote to The Daily Free Press that he is “quite excited” to act as an interim substitute instructor for as long as he is needed but did not share additional details.

An international student, who asked to remain anonymous because she is currently in Ready’s COM 201 class, expressed a positive opinion about Ready, saying they felt like she paid “special attention to the Chinese students” in the class.

“When I [went] to her office hours, she gave thoughtful advice, so I still don’t know why she’s being removed,” the student said. “But I really appreciate her during the class.”

Long and another student in this semester’s class recalled Ready specifically misremembering Asian students’ names throughout classes. In interviews, several of Ready’s former students recalled similar instances dating back to Spring 2022.

Lianna Vaughan, a senior in COM who took Ready’s class in Spring 2023, recalled similar comments regarding Asian students’ names.

“She even asked someone if they have an easier name that she could call them,” Vaughan said.

Tatum Hennessy, a student who took Ready’s class in Spring 2023, said she had a neutral experience in the professor’s class and that “nothing horrible” happened to her during the class. However, she recalls Ready made several comments regarding Asian

students.

“She openly admitted to the class that she has difficulty distinguishing between Asian students because either their names are hard [to pronounce] or because they somehow look the same to her,” Hennessy said.

She also added that the comments seemed to stem from a lack of awareness rather than malice toward students.

BU policy maintains a “Presumption of NonResponsibility,” during investigations that the “Respondent is presumed ‘not responsible’ for violating BU’s Equal Opportunity/ Affirmative Action Policy,” until a determination is reached by investigators.

DiChristina did not comment on the investigation but reaffirmed COM’s “commitment to providing a supportive environment” for students.

Ready remains on BU’s summer registry for COM 201, but does not appear on the registration page for the Fall 2024 semester.

Tatum Hennessy wrote for The Daily Free Press from September to December 2022.

She was not involved in the reporting, writing or editing of this article.

Managing Co-Editors Jennifer Lambert and Daisy Levine and Campus Co-Editor Kiera McDonald are employed

by COM. They were not involved in the reporting, writing or editing of this article.

This is a developing story and will be updated. If you had an experience you’d like to share — or know of someone who might have — please reach out to The Daily Free Press at investigations@dailyfreepress. com.

4 FEATURES

EWB fundraises for clean drinking water for Ogiek community Continued from page 1 Each chapter of EWB partners “with underserved communities at home and internationally to build a more sustainable world,” according to the EWB website, and works with a different community on an application basis, said Chaney Finkeldei, the club’s vice president, a sophomore studying biomedical engineering.

The Ogiek are a huntergatherer community indigenous to the Mau Forest of central Kenya, according to BBC. The Kenyan government first ordered the eviction of the Ogiek from their ancestral land in October 2009, according to Amnesty International.

The government says the evictions were to “protect the environment,” a result of the growth of the global carbon credit market, BBC reports.

After years of legal struggle, the Ogiek were recognized as a protected indigenous community by the Kenyan government in a landmark decision in 2017, according to BBC. However the Ogiek continue to face violent evictions as recently as Nov. 2023, according to the BBC. Since 2018, EWB has installed a borehole well,

COURTESY OF VITTORIA SAMA, CHANEY FINKELDEI AND URVI CHAKRAVARTHY

Engineers Without Borders President Vittoria Sama, left, Vice President Chaney Finkeldei, center, and International Projects and Fundraising Chair Urvi Chakravarthy, right. EWB is crowdfunding to provide clean drinking water for a displaced community in Kenya.

water distribution system and a rainwater catchment system at different primary schools in Tinet, all powered by solar energy.

EBW’s goal is to raise around $8,000 for travel costs, and $20,000 to implement the borehole project in Tinet this summer, Finkeldei said.

But because of the intense wet and dry seasons in Kenya, the community was not able to rely on solar power, said Urvi Chakravarthy, EWB’s international and fundraising lead and a sophomore in ENG. “This was definitely a learning experience for our club because with future

projects, we’d ideally want to look at other methods of powering our systems so that we don’t have to rely on, hopefully, an electric grid because electricity is hard to come by and also expensive,” Chakravarthy said.

Electricity prices in Kenya are relatively higher than those in other countries, and are continuing to increase, according to the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis, KIPPRA. In 2022, the Kenyan government issued a 15% subsidy to address the high cost of electricity, but following the removal of that subsidy and the addition of

new tariffs in 2023, energy bills have increased by 77%, according to KIPPRA. With this project, EWB’s goal is to adapt to the Ogiek community’s needs and collect data in person about soil nutrients and water content, Chakravarthy said.

“It would be very, almost unethical for me to make these decisions on behalf of them if the final product is for them,” Chakravarthy said.

In Boston, EWB is also prioritizing student engagement in its fundraising efforts, Chakravarthy said.

The club plans to host a dodgeball tournament and a gala to spread the word about EWB to the rest of the BU

community, Chakravarthy said.

EWB’s domestic team is also working on a children’s book “that would easily explain how good access to clean water is important,” said Vittoria Sama, president of EWG, a junior in the College of Engineering.

Sama said she hopes to bring the book to Kenya.

“That would be an amazing way to interconnect the whole club, both international and domestic,” she said.

While the fundraising teams are working on fundraising events, they are also applying for EWB’s funding grants to fund the project, Finkeldei said.

“I’m hoping to be able to build a well that is electrified, but also has a manual option,” Finkeldei said. “One thing we talked about was having a bike-powered pump.”

Sama said she believes their project will help the Ogiek people, which means the fundraising challenges will have been worth it.

The end goal motivates her to continue seeking the necessary funds.

“As long as you have that, then you’re actually believing your project and you actually want to accomplish it, it’s worth it,” Sama said.

Writer, producer Stacy Traub ‘has stories to tell’ as COM’s second writer in residence

BY ANNA ALBRECHT DFP Writer

Most college students share one looming anxiety: their future jobs. But Stacy Traub, a screenwriter and executive producer, wants to diminish that fear and replace it with inspiration.

Traub, the College of Communication’s second ever writer in residence, visited 15 different COM writing classes from March 25 to 29 to speak about writing in Hollywood. She also hosted a “Writers’ Room” workshop and delivered an open lecture at Tsai Performance Center Tuesday evening.

“I am a very hopeful person, and I want to give students hope and encourage them to go after what they want to go after,” Traub said. “There’s no penalty for trying.”

The COM Writer in Residence program is in its second year, with a plan to continue years into the future, said Professor Michael Dowding, director of the program and a master lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication, Advertising and Public Relations.

Last year, the inaugural writer in residence was Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist John Archibald.

Now, Traub represents the Film and Television Department, offering insight from her “very long and storied career,” Dowding said.

Traub has worked as a writer and producer on a number of television series since the early 2000s. She was nominated for Emmy awards for her work on “Daisy Jones & The Six” and “black-ish” and has executive producer credits for other notable series including “The Real O’Neals” and “Glee.”

Despite her many accolades and long list of credits, Traub explained in her lecture Tuesday that her success was not instant — and by no means was it easy.

Traub attended film school at York University in Toronto, then studied cinematography at the American Film Institute.

“I discovered pretty quickly I did not want to be a cinematographer at all,” Traub said during the lecture.

“I wanted to be a director.”

Traub said her takeaway from this realization was to “be ready to pivot.” This advice was just the beginning of her hour-long talk, during which she explained lessons learned and experiences gained throughout her time in the television industry.

“I didn’t want to see what was around the corner. I wanted my life to be a surprise and mystery, a challenge,” Traub said. “I’m so grateful now that I took the chances I took and made sure that my path was not straight.”

The Writer in Residence program demonstrates the

success students can find by pursuing a writing career, Dowding said.

Mariette DiChristina, the dean of COM and a professor of the practice in journalism, said that when she speaks with COM alumni, they say their most valuable takeaway from the college is strong writing skills.

“The ability to write clearly, concisely, inspiringly, expressively, authentically,” DiChristina said. “All of that is really valuable in any career and not just a COM career.”

DiChristina said that hearing from a writer in residence can inspire and reassure students while teaching them foundational skills for the professional world.

Tuesday afternoon, Traub visited students in COM 101, the introductory lecture course required for all COM students, where students were finishing up the class’s film and television unit.

Robbie Blumenthal, a freshman in the College of General Studies, said Traub’s talk inspired him to feel more confident about screenwriting in the future.

“She went to grad school and then she moved to LA, and still all of that time she didn’t know she wanted to be a TV writer,” Blumenthal said. “It wasn’t until a couple years in that she got there, and that made me realize it’s

COURTESY OF MICHAEL DOWDING

The College of Communication 2024 Writer in Residence Stacy Traub speaks to students during an open lecture on Tuesday. Traub is an Emmy-nominated writer known for her work on popular TV shows such as “Glee” and “black-ish.”

okay to take my time to get to that point.”

Traub drew rooms full of students to hear about her success in the television industry, but she said she wanted to equally emphasize a subject less dazzling: failure.

There were some scripts Traub wrote that never saw the light of day, higher-up producers who told her to keep quiet and jobs she didn’t get simply because she was pregnant. But, to her, these setbacks and failures turned out to be steps in the right direction.

“Everybody has an incredible story in them that’s theirs and theirs alone,” Traub said.

Loryn Charbonnier, a sophomore in COM, said that she appreciated Traub’s

honesty, especially about how the television industry is not always glamorous and “not going to be everything you dream of at first.”

“You almost forget that the names you see on the screen are people, and they do have lives, and they have ups and downs in their career and personal life,” Charbonnier said. “It was cool to hear her owning that.”

At the heart of both her career and her life, Traub said she embraces uncertainties and finds excitement in the unknown.

“Have stories to tell,” Traub advised the audience at the lecture. “Experience as many different things that you can, and remember it or write it all down.”

FEATURES 5

Allegrettos sing their hearts out at ICCA Semifinals

BY TRUMAN DICKERSON Senior Writer

“It either all ends today, or we go to New York.”

Bryant Kessie, a junior in the College of Fine Arts and the Allegrettos’ performance director, knew the stakes were high for the Allegrettos Saturday at the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella Northeast Semifinals.

The Allegrettos, one of Boston University’s 13 a cappella groups, were the only BU group in the competition, which took place at Berklee College of Music. Of ten groups at the semifinals — including several NYU, Hofstra and Berklee groups — only one would proceed to the ICCA Finals in New York City next month.

For the Allegrettos, this particular show held special significance. The competition was possibly the last one for five seniors out of the 12-person team that competed at Berklee — five seniors who led the group out of Covid-19 and worked for years to make the night possible.

“This group of seniors has been part of a really exciting set of years for the Grettos,” said Evan Denenberg, a junior in Wheelock College of Education and Human Development and the Allegrettos’ social media director. “We’ve been really building as a group. I hope [the competition] feels like going out with a bang for them.”

The day began at 1:00 p.m. in the Berklee Performance Center.

As buckets of rain poured down outside, 10 different acapella groups cheered and whooped as the program manager announced their names.

Numbers were then picked out

of a bag to decide the performance order, an important ritual in the a capella world. “[I prefer] going before intermission.

Obviously, the judges have seen so many groups, they’re a little hangry,” said Ocean Bruinius, a freshman in the College of Communication.

The Allegrettos drew number three.

On March 2, the Allegrettos placed second in the ICCA Quarterfinals at Northeastern University, which allowed them to compete in the regional semifinals.

Their victory in the quarterfinals resulted from years of improvement and hours of rehearsal, said Jonathan Ran, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences.

“Two years ago, we wouldn’t have thought we could make it this far,” said Clara Haymon, a senior in CAS and the president of the Allegrettos. “We’ve worked hard to get here, and we’re proud of ourselves. We think that we deserve it.”

The group holds rehearsal three times a week for a total of seven hours, adding an extra hour of practice prior to the ICCAs. The Allegrettos have been perfecting their three-song setlist and accompanying choreography for the past five months: “Through Me (The Flood)” by Hozier, “Envy” by Ogi and “Slow Burn”

by Daley.

“Visual performance” comprises 50 of the 155 points available to groups. “Vocal performance” and “subjective rank” make up the remaining difference. Five judges presided over Saturday’s competition, all of them highly accredited a capella experts.

After a soundcheck and a lunch break, the Allegrettos milled about their designated classroom,

painting each other’s nails black and donning black outfits ahead of the show. Some poured honey down their throats and others held water vaporizes to their faces in an effort to humidify their vocal chords.

As time dwindled before one of their last performances together, group members reminisced about positive memories they shared over the years. At Allegretto retreats, for example, each member sings the song they auditioned for the group with.

Joseph Chung, a junior in Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, recalled watching the movie “tick, tick…

BOOM!” at a retreat, a moment

he described as when the “noobs really got to know each other.”

“We’ve gotten to go through this process together and spend all this time together,” Haymon said. “The fact that we can all be here, and not be sick of each other, I think that shows our friendship.”

Finally, after much anticipation, an usher escorted the Allegrettos to the green room to prepare for the performance. Just before they took the stage, Kessie brought the team together in a huddle and told everyone on the team how much he loves them.

“This might be the last time we do our set,” Kessie said. “Go big or go home.”

Then, as they had done countless

COURTESY OF KATHRYN JORDAN

Members of the Boston University a cappella group the Allegrettos pose with their awards at the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella Northeast Quarterfinals on March 2. The Allegrettos ended their competition season at the semifinals at Berklee College of Music on Saturday.

times over the course of five months, the Allegrettos performed their set. Except, this time, they did so before a sold-out auditorium, with the 28th annual ICCA Finals in New York on the line.

Ten minutes later, the Allegrettos walked offstage. They all headed back to the classroom — everyone except Kessie. He had hooked a left and gone through an unknown door while everyone else continued straight.

“I just sat in that room for 30 minutes. I needed to decompress,” he said. “I just like to think, you know. Pray.”

Kessie grew up attending a Black church, an experience he said strongly influenced his a capella performances later on in his life.

“Getting up and dancing and singing, that’s a huge part of the Black church specifically,” he said.

“That likeness and personality and that attitude is something I try to bring to my performances.”

Decisions came out later that night. Upper Structure, a group from Berklee, won first place and will compete in New York on April 27.

With their competition season over, next for the Allegrettos is their spring show in April.

Still, competing at the semifinals was far from a waste, Denenberg said.

“Just spending the day in the room with them, sitting here while we wait for the competition,” Denenberg said. “It’s just [a] good time with people that I enjoy being with and I’m gonna miss.”

Saturday’s competition was one of the last shows for a number of members who’d been in the group for years — a group Kessie said “feels like a family.”

How the CEO of Black Tech Pipelines fosters inclusivity in tech

BY AKSHUN GOGIA Contributing Writer

Pariss Chandler, founder and CEO of Black Tech Pipeline, a diversity, equity and inclusion-focused job board, newsletter and recruiting platform, is no stranger to feeling like an outsider, she said.

During her first job as a software engineer — where she was the company’s only Black employee — Chandler said she attended a baby shower for her coworker.

At the shower, guests were encouraged to bring baby photos of themselves to use in a guessing game, she said.

“I would have been the only Black baby, and it would have been, obviously, very easy to guess who I am,” Chandler said. “But what ended up happening was they actually didn’t put my picture in the game at all, and I still don’t know why.”

At her previous job, an internship at the Bostonbased advertising service Hill Holliday, Chandler said she was the only woman and Black person on the tech team.

At a talk held on March 22 as part of Spark!’s DEI in Tech Speaker Series,

SARAH CRUZ | DFP PHOTOGRAPHER

BU Spark! in the Center for Computing and Data Sciences. CEO of Black Tech Pipeline Pariss Chandler emphasized the value of Black representation in the tech industry during Spark!’s DEI in Tech Speaker Series on March 22.

Chandler discussed how she drew upon these experiences as her career progressed.

“There’s racism, sexism, there’s prejudice and all sorts of discrimination,” she said in an interview. “Us as individuals, we have our own perspectives, our own beliefs, and our own practices, and we project those things on to other human beings every day.”

Chandler said it was difficult for her to “assimilate” into a new culture when she began working as an intern at

Hill Holiday because of the lack of Black representation.

“When you’re used to being within a community that talks and acts a certain way and is welcoming in a different way, and then you remove yourself from that community to enter this new space where it’s just not the same … it’s just hard to adapt,” Chandler said.

Black Tech Pipeline also partners with companies and organizations, nationally and internationally, to help employees find the

right employers.

Chandler said she vets the companies and their DEI policies, asking them about their diversity and their plans to improve equity and inclusion, all to inform potential candidates.

But companies are unable to retain Black technologists because they don’t have proper DEI policies, she said at the event.

Black Tech Pipeline has employees from across the world including South America, Africa and Asia, Chandler said.

Gustavo Ramdohr,

an MBA student and first-year management science major, said the event was eye-opening.

DEI initiatives, by improving the company environment, can also lead to growth in productivity, he said.

Attendee Evan Denenberg, a junior majoring in educational design in Wheelock College said he appreciated the changes Chandler made and the impact she had on individuals’ lives.

“I’m not the target audience, but I can relate to, in some ways, the feeling of the outside as a queer person in tech,” Derenberg said. “I think oftentimes, there are issues that we face in the space in terms of belonging.”

Denenberg said he appreciated Chandler’s emphasis on building community through mentorships and partnerships. “[DEI] is really a human problem, and technology is not ever going to solve that,” Chandler said. “And I don’t know if it will ever be solved.”

6 PHOTO

GALLERY

First week of graduate workers strike commences

By Sarah Cruz, Brenda Gonzalez, Holly Gustavsen, Kate Kotlyar, Molly Potter, Sydney Roth and Zach Schwartz

The Boston University Graduate Workers Union (BUGWU) began striking on Monday for better wages and improved healthcare benefits. The union began the strike with a rally on Marsh Plaza at noon on Monday, and the union plans to continue the strike every weekday until its demands are met.

Some names have been omitted at the request of the striking workers.

LEFT: A member of SEIU Local 509 holds up a “Honk to Support Workers” sign at the strike on Monday.

RIGHT: People gather and walk around Marsh Plaza on the first day of the strike.

ZACH SCHWARTZ | DFP PHOTOGRAPHER

LEFT: Graduate workers march from Marsh Plaza to CDS on Monday to continue the strike in East Campus.

RIGHT: A strike member holds up a sign calling for better wages outside CDS on Monday.

SYDNEY ROTH | DFP PHOTOGRAPHER

MOLLY POTTER | DFP PHOTOGRAPHER

ZACH SCHWARTZ | DFP PHOTOGRAPHER

KATE KOTLYAR | DFP PHOTOGRAPHER

RIGHT: Meiya Sparks Lin, a member of the Boston University Graduate Workers Union’s bargaining team, speaks to the crowd at a rally at Marsh Plaza on Monday.

MOLLY POTTER | DFP PHOTOGRAPHER

LEFT: A graduate student makes a sign in protest of BU’s treatment of graduate workers on the first day of the strike.

RIGHT: A member from Service Employees International (SEIU) Union Local 509 shouts chants on Marsh Plaza before the rally on Monday.

KATE KOTLYAR | DFP PHOTOGRAPHER

LEFT:Senator Elizabeth Warren hands out donuts to protesters at Marsh Plaza on Monday.

KATE KOTLYAR | DFP PHOTOGRAPHER

7 LEFT: Three strike members hold a sign demanding a cost-of-living adjustment from BU administration Monday.

RIGHT: Former Boston University Graduate Workers Union organizer Max speaks to the crowd at the rally on Monday.

MOLLY POTTER | DFP PHOTOGRAPHER

BRENDA GONZALEZ | DFP PHOTOGRAPHER

LEFT: On Monday, a member of the graduate workers union shouts call-and-response chants to protesters outside the Center for Computing & Data Sciences.

RIGHT: Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley speaks to the crowd at a rally on Monday.

SYDNEY ROTH | DFP PHOTOGRAPHER

MOLLY POTTER | DFP PHOTOGRAPHER

LEFT: Protesters holding signs that call for better wages and work conditions walk around Marsh Plaza on Monday.

RIGHT: A strike member plays the banjo while walking in a circle around Marsh Plaza on Monday, the first day of the BUGWU strike.

SYDNEY ROTH | DFP PHOTOGRAPHER

KATE KOTLYAR | DFP PHOTOGRAPHER

LEFT: People strike outside on the Boston University Medical Campus on Wednesday while one person uses a bowl and a whisk to make noise during the strike.

RIGHT: Students walk past a BUGWU tent set up in Marsh Plaza on Thursday.

SARAH CRUZ | DFP PHOTOGRAPHER

HOLLY GUSTAVSEN | DFP PHOTOGRAPHER

8 OPINION

COLUMNS ‘Bidenomics’: Bang or bust? | Con-Current Events

BY FRANK YANG Opinion Columnist

It shouldn’t be too controversial to say that the perception of our national economy should be consistent for every citizen. Spending, wages and monetary rates should all be perceptible in the same or similar light.

But politics has changed this notion.

Our individual perceptions of our collective economy have become entrenched alongside our political positions.

Democrat and Republican voters draw different conclusions about the state of the economy despite their groceries being the same price.

This phenomenon has never felt more alive than it has during the Biden administration. Critics of Biden’s economy have resorted to stickers of Biden pointing to gas pumps saying, “I Did That!” to imply Biden being at fault for a hike in prices.

Defenders of Biden’s economy have adopted the once-used-critically term “Bidenomics.”

“Bidenomics” was a term coined by a Republican congress member to describe the failures of the administration’s economic attempts, but the administration has responded by reclaiming the term for themselves.

Bidenomics is a reversal of former President Ronald Reagan’s “Reaganomics,” which sought to remove structures of trickle-down economics, instead promising to expand the economy from the middle class out and the bottom up through employment, technological developments and investments, education and competition.

Biden’s White House has countlessly reiterated how their framework has been successful. There have been consistent reiterations of record national economic growth, record new business creation, record stock

market numbers and record low unemployment.

The White House’s self-endowed list of accomplishments details how they’ve rescued the economy post-COVID-19 pandemic, lowered everyday expenses and provided debt relief.

Despite this, more than one in 10 American families continue to live in poverty. Wealth inequality continues to pervade economics, with 10% of families owning almost 75% of U.S. wealth. Seven in 10 individuals report living paycheck-to-paycheck. More families are forced to shoplift simply to survive.

If the economy is said to be doing so well, why do so many families continue to suffer without any hope of escaping financial burden? Why is wealth growing in concentration among the richest? Why are my socks and deodorant being locked up behind glasses in my local Target?

The punch line of this story?

Naturally, it’s to ask how any of this may have to do with us.

Well, needless to say, economics is an unavoidable part of our lives. How much we spend and how much we make is a direct result of who we elect as our government officials.

This provides another “gotcha” moment to talk about how important the 2024 presidential election will be and why our participation in it is paramount to our own livelihoods.

Sure, I discussed a lot of the misses that the Biden administration has when it comes to today’s economy. But when it comes down to Biden versus his opponent Donald Trump, there is a clear distinction on who can better manage the economy to meet the needs of the average citizen.

Because if there’s anything Trump’s presidency proved, it’s his inability to handle an economic crisis — such as in the case of the unemployment rates and stock market during the

ILLUSTRATION BY ANNIKA MORRIS

COVID-19 pandemic.

By contrast, recent Democrat presidents were forced to pull America out of horrid economic situations.

Barack Obama’s administration had to lead the reigns out of the 2008 recession, while Biden’s administration had to lead us out of the 2020 pandemic-induced recession.

With that added hurdle, Biden has managed to bring us back to normalcy and continues to outperform Trump’s numbers by creating more average jobs, lowering unemployment rates, increasing disposable income, raising the stock market, dipping student loans and more.

It’s undeniable that the Biden administration has many economic crises to address. But the Reaganomics

that led to many of today’s crises are similar to Trump’s economic models.

The economy will always be a feisty topic, and it’s become even more of a political weapon in recent years. But who we choose to affect our economic trajectory is no small matter. And in this coming election between Trump and Biden, the choice seems hard.

Biden’s economy has discord in its reported and perceived numbers. To present itself as the better election choice, the administration has to resolve this discord and make sure our consumer impression of the economy doesn’t continue to be so hotly contested, and present itself as the clear better decision than Trump’s economic policies.

EDITORIAL ‘Quiet on Set’ spoils childhood nostalgia with Nickelodeon’s disturbing history Many of us grew up watching the same television shows: “Drake and Josh,” “iCarly” and “Victorious,” to name a few.

Even today, our late-night conversations with friends often lead to collective recollection of the loveable characters, wacky plot lines and nostalgic nature of the entertainment that raised us.

Dan Schneider is a widely familiar name. It flashes on screen under the words “created by” at the beginning of every episode. Schneider is the mind behind several Nickelodeon shows, but in recent years, we’ve come to know his name for more sinister reasons.

Schneider has been gradually exposed for creating a hostile work environment — and generally being a creep — on the sets of his shows. But this discourse exploded last week when the horrifying docuseries “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” was released.

“Quiet on Set” discusses claims that Schneider and others working at Nickelodeon engaged in inappropriate behavior, particularly towards the women and children in the workplace. The docuseries is incredibly unsettling.

One thing the series placed scrutiny on was the awfully mature jokes that made the air. Actress Alexa Nikolas describes a scene in “Zoey 101” where her co-star Jamie Lynn Spears, then 14, had a “goopop” squirted in her face. Nikolas recalled Schneider laughing and a male teenage castmate saying it looked like a sexual act.

Jokes like this went over our heads as kids and are shocking to watch back. So, what audience were they for?

Other oversexualized content includes young actresses wearing bikinis at Schneider’s request, an apparent obsession he has with feet and a disturbing scene from

“The Amanda Show” in which a 16-yearold Amanda Bynes interviews Schneider in a hot tub.

One of the most vile, devastating acts uncovered by the docuseries, however, was the sexual abuse of child actor Drake Bell by his acting coach Brian Peck when he was 15. Peck was arrested on 11 sexual assault charges in 2003, but the victim remained unnamed.

Bell’s story took the internet by storm.

He rightfully received an influx of support for coming forward — which he did not get at the time of the trial, when 41 character letters in support of Peck were sent to the judge by several celebrities and executives, including James Marsden, Taran Killam and Rider Strong.

It’s downright evil that Bell was silenced when he was young, but it’s gratifying to see him being validated by fans and apologized to by some of those who wronged him today.

Schneider was an executive producer of “The Amanda Show,” which Bell and Peck were working on at the time.

And yet, after all of this, Schneider was widely considered Nickelodeon’s “golden boy,” and he was even given a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2014 Kids’ Choice Awards. That is twisted.

What’s interesting about this docuseries and the horrors it exposes is the conversation we’re able to have about it.

This is the first time allegations of this alarming magnitude have been revealed regarding our generation’s childhood.

As a generation living in a post-#MeToo world, we have zero tolerance for cases of sexual misconduct and assault. This is only amplified by the fact that “Quiet on Set” uncovers how this happened to children.

We are also a generation that will talk

about this on the internet, continue to call out individuals like Schneider and Peck and hold them accountable. This loud of a conversation may not be possible for allegations on the sets of shows our parents watched.

“Quiet on Set” speaks to the greater record of corruption in Hollywood and in the film and TV industry.

The conversation around it is just one part of a historic marker in which our generation will begin to hold the film and TV industry accountable. This was seen last year with the Writers Guild of America strike, in which Hollywood writers succeeded in demanding better pay.

ILLUSTRATION BY ANNIKA MORRIS

It’s disappointing that our childhood nostalgia is muddled, but we hope this continues to be a larger conversation and that inappropriate behavior towards women and children on set continues to be exposed.

We need to know about what is happening behind the scenes of these shows so that we can hold heinous people and institutions accountable and create a safer environment for women and children in the industry.

This Editorial was written by Opinion Co-Editor Lauren Albano.

GAMES 9 Andrew Burke-Stevenson, Editor-in-Chief

Editorial Board T HE I N D EPE N D E N T STUDE NT NEWSPAPE R AT B O STON UN IVER SI TY

The Daily Free Press is published Sunday through Thursday during the academic year except during vacation and exam periods by Back Bay Publishing Co., Inc., a nonprofit corporation operated by Boston University Students. Copyright © 2024 Back Bay Publishing Co., Inc. All right reserved.

Jennifer Lambert, Managing Co-Editor

Andrew DiBiasio, Lifestyle Editor

Kayla Baltazar, Multimedia Editor

Daisy Levine, Managing Co-Editor

Macie Parker, Features Co-Editor

Augie Oppenheimer, Layout Editor

Kiera McDonald, Campus Co-Editor

Siena Griffin, Features Co-Editor

Annika Morris, Graphics Editor

Maya Mitchell, Campus Co-Editor

Lauren Albano, Opinion Co-Editor

Anna Rubenstein, City Editor

Lea Rivel, Opinion Co-Editor

Mara Mellits, Investigative Editor

Kate Kotlyar, Photo Co-Editor

Brendan Galvin, Sports Editor

Molly Potter, Photo Co-Editor

CROSSWORD

BY GRACIE ROHDE

10 LIFESTYLE

Tantrums to teenage years: Navigating birthdays

BY ISABELLA PANICHI DFP Writer

One of my favorite birthdays was when I turned six. It was two of my best friends at the time in true playdate fashion. In fact, one of the special attendees is still one of my best friends today.

When they came over after school, we donned ourselves with elegant, lacy skirts and did a bunch of crafts and baking activities. What came after was what every child dreamed of hearing when a playdate was nearing its end: they got to sleep over after.

I was ecstatic. I never had a sleepover before that night, and to be honest, I felt as though it was my rite of passage to becoming a “big girl.” It was my time to become a teenager like the ones I saw in the J-14 magazines.

In hindsight, I realize that it’s not the sleepover you have with your two friends at the age of six that makes you big, but at the same time, I’m not sure it’s your age itself that makes you older either.

If anything, I feel like I have regressed to the whiny sixteen-year-old girl who I used to be. Is it possible to hate who you were at sixteen when you are nineteen, but become her at twenty?

ILLUSTRATION BY CHLOE PATEL

I feel like a lot of people can relate when I make this melodramatic statement: birthdays can be some of the loneliest days you can experience.

Now, I say this with the total acknowledgment that I am incredibly privileged in my life. I have a loving family, the sweetest cousins and some extremely amazing people to call my friends.

That, however, doesn’t stop me from getting that melancholy feeling each year on my birthday. Maybe it’s a symptom of growing up. Maybe it’s a symptom of only retaining the people closest to you and feeling

less significant than you do when you wave to ten, twenty or even fifty acquaintances passing by in one day. Maybe it’s just my narcissism that shines through when I write this out.

Each year, when March first rolls around, I feel a small sense of dread. I know that when the month is over, I’ll be left to deal with the repercussions of another year and a new age to grow comfortable with.

I dislike the concept of counting time, even though I try to immerse myself in the positive rhetoric. Even when I was small, it felt like another year gained was another year

lost. You grow and you take, and there is no way to get those years back.

Growing older is a privilege, but there is some twisted part of me that feels like with each passing year, I am only losing more and more of myself. I find myself comparing this year to last year with factors like my appearance, emotional state and who wished me a happy birthday back then versus now.

This might be a display of a massive ego, but I can’t help it. I do, however, realize the logical realization that people have their lives to live. People are busy and have all different types of things going on in their lives.

So, if I know all this, I ask myself: how can I be so self-absorbed? Then, I began to think: Would I have reached out to them on their birthdays? No doubt. This leaves me with the thought “I guess we aren’t as close as I thought we were.”

Each year, I tell myself not to get excited. I try my best to manage my expectations and remain grounded, convincing myself that it truly is nothing more than just another day.

However, against my better judgment and my usual disposition of remaining easygoing, I get so wrapped up

in myself. I get so emotional and revert to a child, throwing a tantrum because my little sister blew out my birthday candles.

I get so caught up in my emotions that I don’t even realize that my mother could just relight the candles and have everyone sing to me again.

This year, my little sister visited me on my birthday. It fell on a Monday, so it wasn’t the most convenient, but my excitement for her arrival made me forget about all of the negatives.

My sister, roommate and I went out to dinner to celebrate, and at that moment, I became content. As I reflect on that day with this piece, I can say that I’m so appreciative of those around me.

Maybe my birthday offers a fleeting, alternate universe where I can slide from childhood to adulthood in a matter of hours. Who knows?

My last year of being a teenager is over, so maybe it’s only right that I indulge myself with these bruting, angsty type of emotions one last time.

Maybe, in my true fashion, I will feel differently next year. Only difference? I might not feel so bad about it.

Turning the tables on American table-turning food culture

BY AMANDA BRECHER DFP Writer

Everyone travels for different reasons. It could be to visit the city’s greatest museums and landmarks or for adventure if you’re someone with a hunger for an adrenaline rush. I like to travel for the food and the immersion in history and culture.

I spent a week in Madrid earlier this month. Despite leaving with a full stomach, I was left with a lingering feeling of disappointment when returning to the American style of dining.

Mission accomplished on my trip — but now I’m hungry for more.

“Later” and “longer” are words that I would use to describe the timing of the dining scene in Madrid. Mealtimes aren’t just about the food itself.

It’s also about the experience.

The food is better — though that’s an opinion research can’t exactly support.

Even without the emphasis on service and hospitality, I found that European servers were kinder and more attentive, even after I butchered the name of nearly every item on the menu.

The major difference between European and American dining cultures is table-turning habits.

Table Turnover Rate (TTR) is a metric used in the restaurant industry to measure how many parties occupy a single table during a serving period. TTR is typically measured by operating shift or by day.

A higher turnover rate means

the restaurant was able to accommodate a greater number of customers, and further, bring in more business. That is the heart of American dining, where restaurants consider zeroes on checks more than customer complaints.

I would know. I worked in a sports bar — that’s about as American as it gets. “Fly, Eagles, Fly” found its home on our bar stools in our Philly suburb, where not a single game day passes without a packed house.

A packed house, though, lengthens wait times and hands us an ever-growing, impatient crowd awaiting their seating.

This is undoubtedly great for business, but for customer experience? Not so hot.

When I was training to be a server, one of the first pieces of advice my manager ever gave me was that if I truly wanted to make good money and be successful, quickly turning over my tables was key. There wasn’t a note in there about hospitality, teamwork or attention to detail.

Sure, it’s fairly implied, but not many servers place priority on hospitable behavior. Anyone who has dined out can attest to at least one negative experience they’ve had with a server, whether it’s because they play the disappearing act as soon as they’ve taken your order or simply because they’re just downright rude.

Now, staff in Europe may still play the disappearing act in the eyes of an American, but it’s truly just in the culture. They

are in no hurry to bring you your check and get your table cleared for the incoming party.

Our group found ourselves flagging down our server for another round of drinks or the check, almost as if we were doing something prematurely, but that’s just not the way in Europe. They adopt a more leisurely way of dining.

Perhaps it’s because tipping isn’t as customary in Europe as it is in America. I know as well as any other server in the US that the more tables you serve, the more tips you make — and God knows we need it with how low our hourly wages are.

Even though my morals clashed with the general advice that I got in my server training, my managers were right.

Meal times are prioritized and elongated in Europe, and

ILLUSTRATION BY ANNIKA MORRIS

in Madrid, they lacked the traditional courses that you typically find in restaurants in the United States. There were no starters, entrees or desserts — it was simply tapas.

More restaurants in the U.S. seem to be adopting this style of dining, and they’re certainly better off with it. I find that tapas allows for a more interactive experience, where a bunch of small plates are passed around the table rather than each person individually ordering their meal.

The experience becomes shared, and in turn, more special.

Yet, even with tapas becoming a consumer favorite in the US, we are still overlooking our chance to adopt European-style dining.

Of course, we have Boston favorites like Barcelona Wine Bar with locations in Brookline

and the South End, as well as Toro in the South End, both serving up Spanish classics.

However, even these restaurants, which can attract a full house on any given evening, can’t give you the experience that accompanies tapas in Spain.

A packed entryway puts pressure on seated parties and a return to table-turning forfeits Spanish authenticity for an American dining experience more catered to capitalism and the crowd.

The European lunch break becomes a social hour, and never with a quick hurry to return to work. My American lunch breaks are 20 minutes to house a sandwich before I’m back to work or headed to my next class.

If I can barely make time to eat as a teenager, I’d hate to think what my break will be like when I dive headfirst into the dark depths of our workaholiccultured real world — and that’s coming from someone who derives their happiness from food. More time for meals makes me happier and thus allows me to forgo unnecessary hanger (hungry anger). I think you know which style of dining I’d prefer.

Maybe I’d appreciate it less if it were a norm, but for now, my preferred dining experience remains a commodity to me. Until my next European rendezvous, I’ll allow my experience to fuel my wanderlust, even if it diminishes my appreciation for the booming Boston food scene.

SPORTS

11

SPORTS

Women’s basketball season in review Continued from page 1

Graves explained that Adler had stepped up her game, as she didn’t play a lot at her former school. The team lifted her confidence, and as Adler weaved her way into the starting lineup, finding a rhythm with senior forward Caitlin Weimar. “[Her injury] affected us in such a way that other people really had to figure out how to step up rebounding-wise,” Graves said. “We didn’t have another big post presence in there to help with Cait … [who] is getting all the attention back to the basket.”

Then, senior guard Kelsi Mingo started five games before getting hurt in early March. As BU’s fourth-best scorer, Mingo was also a solid defender and understood the system and expectations of the team.

Despite being down a senior, Graves applauded sophomore forward Anastasiia Semenova’s initiative and growth. A year ago, she tallied 36 points, played 22 games, and did not start a single game.

This season, she appeared

on the court 28 times with 18 starts, totaling 224 points.

Graves praised the team’s freshmen like guard Audrey Ericksen, who averaged almost 30 minutes per game this season. She appeared in and started 32 games.

“I love talking about our freshmen, especially Audrey, Aoibhe and Inéz, who really had to step up and play a lot of minutes … It’s a lot of pressure,” Graves said. “But I’m happy for the experience because it’s going to help pay off in the future.”

Even with all the injuries, the Terriers scrapped their way into a conference championship game.

“They lost a lot of pieces from the team last year, so we were young,” freshman guard Aoibhe Gormley added. “But, hopefully we can build on that next year in the winter.”

Giannaros agreed.

Throughout the season, the team had to figure out who they were, she said. But people stepped up when it mattered.

“You can’t be anything but proud of what these girls did,” she said.

Giannaros, a captain

KATE KOTLYAR | DFP PHOTOGRAPHER

Junior guard Alex Giannaros (10) dribbles the ball down the court in a game against Army in February. Giannaros averaged 14.2 points per game, fifth in the Patriot League.

alongside Weimar, was the team’s 1-2 punch.

The duo was recognized in the All-Patriot League postseason awards, with both being named on the First Team All-Patriot League. Weimar was selected as the Patriot League Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, and she earned a spot on the All-Defensive Team.

“It’s cool to finally see that what we’re doing is positive for our group of girls and that

we can be good leaders for them,” Giannaros said. “So it’s really not even about us.

It’s a reflection of our entire team and how well we pushed through adversity this whole season.”

By the end of the regular season, Weimar played 28 games and led the League with 18.7 points per game, 10.6 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game.

As Weimar graduates from BU and heads into the transfer

pool, she also passes the ball to Giannaros. As a captain and leader, the junior will take on an even bigger role without Weimar by her side.

“Something I’ve had to really work on this season… [is] being a leader,” Giannaros said. “I have a different way of leading and sometimes it can come across as intense, so [it’s] just making sure I can support all my teammates in ways that work for them and help them produce.”

Giannaros wrapped up her regular season with 14.2 points per game, which ranks her fifth in the PL. She started 31 of 32 games, averaging around 36 minutes per game this season.

BU will welcome at least six more newcomers next winter, according to Graves.

For now, this year’s freshmen are dribbling in rhythm with upperclassmen.

“Having a year under your belt is really big … I think it’s going to be really key to keep working and making those jumps,” Gormley said.

“Because next year, the mindset is already there. You have more confidence. You’re not a freshman anymore.”

Women’s lacrosse drops fifth straight game to Army

BY CHLOE PATEL Senior Writer

In its first home game since Feb. 17, the Boston University’s women’s lacrosse team lost 17-7 to Army West Point on Wednesday evening, headlined by a ten-answeredgoal run from the Black Knights.

“We showed up. I think we needed to finish some of our shots and just take care of the ball better,” head coach Lauren Morton said.

The Terriers (4-5, 0-3 Patriot League) have lost their last five games, despite winning their first four. During that five-game losing stretch, BU played a string of nationally ranked opponents — No. 3 Boston College, No. 25 Brown University and No. 18 Navy — all while traveling for the month of March.

On BU’s first shot on its first possession of the game, Terrier sophomore midfielder Elle Stevenson’s shot got past sophomore goalkeeper Lindsey Serafine.

With that, BU took the initial lead but could not

maintain that momentum once Army (4-6, 2-1 PL) picked up the pace offensively and got more shots off on freshman goalkeeper Natalie Aiosa.

The Terriers and the Black Knights traded a pair each before the Black Knights tacked on three more to end the first quarter ahead 5-2.

“We had some of the looks we wanted and we were making stops. I think we needed to finish and limit their opportunities,” Morton said.

Army team leaders in goals and assists — defending Patriot League Rookie of the Year sophomore midfield Brigid Duffy and sophomore attack Allison Reilly — scored a hat trick each to pad the Army lead. Duffy ultimately had five goals and three assists, and Reilly finished with four goals and five assists.

The Black Knights were ranked second in the PL preseason poll, after competing in their first NCAA Tournament appearance last season.

Even though the Black

Knights scored five goals in the last five minutes of the first half, the Terriers, and goalkeeper Aiosa in particular, kept the game relatively close, going into the half down 11-3.

On BU’s end, freshman midfielder Tessa Geddes scored four goals — her career high — alongside Stevenson’s pair of goals.

Freshman midfielder Reilly Walsh tacked on BU’s sole assist on Stevenson’s second goal.

“Our freshmen and sophomores have really stepped up,” Morton said. “It’s great having [Stevenson] back, and Tessa Reilly certainly has been a force all over the field.

They’re continuing to just get game experience. We have to put them in the best positions to be able to be successful.”

The Terriers made a final stand and outscored Army 3-1 in the final frame, but their efforts were too little too late.

“Ultimately for us, we kept fighting, which I was happy with. We were able

to stick our shots a little bit more than we had early in the game,” Morton said about the fourth quarter efforts.

The Terriers’ Achilles’ heel was their penalty trouble, totaling four to Army’s two. Army capitalized on senior midfielder Olivia Kingsborough’s red card, as they scored three goals during the five-minute woman-up advantage.

“We kind of put ourselves in a tough situation with a bunch of the penalties, which

was really tough to dig out of,” Morton said. “They got a lot of man-up opportunities and a lot of man-up goals, which was tough for us to rebound from.”

BU will face PL foe Lafayette College on Saturday, who has also dropped their first three conference games. The two will face off at Nickerson Field on Saturday at 12 p.m., when one team will win their first in-conference matchup of the season.

KATE KOTLYAR | DFP PHOTOGRAPHER

Sophomore midfielder Elle Stevenson (43) goes for the ball in a game against Iona in February. The Terriers dropped their fifth-straight game against Army 7-17 on Wednesday.

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