Northeastern acceptance rate rises for Class of 2029 after four-year decline
Northeastern recorded a 5.6% acceptance rate for the Class of 2029, up from last year’s record low of 5.2%, a university spokesperson told The Huntington News Aug. 26.
The 5.6% only reflects students admitted to the university’s flagship Boston campus for the fall semester and does not factor in students enrolled through alternate admissions programs like N.U.in or Global Scholars. This semester was also the first time the university admitted “NYC Scholars,” a group of students who will spend their first year in New York following Northeastern’s merger with Marymount Manhattan College in 2024.
“Consistent with federal reporting guidelines — and the practice of other universities with alternative
entry programs — the 5.6% admit rate is determined by dividing the number of students admitted to the Boston campus by the total number of applicants. This is standard across higher education,” Vice President for Communications Renata Nyul wrote in an email statement to The News.
Northeastern reached a record-high 105,092 applications for the 2025-26 academic year, up from 98,373 the previous year. There were a total of 22,695 undergraduates enrolled across all campuses for the 2024-25 school year.
This is the first year the acceptance rate has increased since fall 2020, when it was 20.5%. Despite some fluctuations, the university has seen a consistent downward trend in its acceptance rate as it evolved from a commuter school to a “global network” with 14 campuses. This year’s acceptance rate breaks a four-
year streak of decreasing rates.
For the Class of 2028, Northeastern received 98,373 applications, and around 5,115 students were offered admission to the Boston campus. The year before, the university reported 96,631 applicants.
But Northeastern has not always been this selective. In 2010, Northeastern’s acceptance rate sat around 37.9%, according to National Center for Education Statistics data. During President Joseph E. Aoun’s 19-year tenure, the acceptance rate has fallen as the number of applications has skyrocketed.
In an April 2024 interview with The News, Northeastern Chancellor and Senior Vice President for Learning Ken Henderson discussed how Northeastern approaches admissions.
“It’s about ensuring that we choose the right student who is going to make the most of the opportunities
Photo by Brian Daniels
before a
University
Community reflects on 115 years of Matthews Arena
FRANCES KLEMM, SIERA QOSAJ
AND ISABELLE WARREN News Staff, Deputy Sports Editor and News Correspondent
have hosted everything from
the Boston Bruins to Beanpot finals, concerts by legendary musicians and addresses by prominent politicians.
After 115 years, Northeastern will tear down the building — formerly known as the Boston Arena — and replace it with a new state-of-theart athletic facility at the end of this year. The decision was made
as a result of the facility’s increasing structural issues, including an unsturdy foundation.
Beyond hosting both the Northeastern men’s and women’s hockey programs, along with men’s basketball games, the arena is steeped in Boston history.
CITY
New building coming to Huntington Avenue
Read more about this 34-story multi-use apartment complex.
LIFESTYLE
Dorm room essentials: Advice from second-years
Read about what students should bring for move-in.
that Northeastern offers,” Henderson said. “We have multiple entryways into the university, which goes into: What’s the right way for you to enter and have your first experience at Northeastern? It could be that you come to Boston in the fall. It could be that you enroll in Oakland. It could be that you’re in London.”
In fall 2021, Northeastern reported an acceptance rate of 18.4%. The next year, it fell to single digits, sitting around 6.7%. In fall 2023 and 2024, it dropped to 5.6% and 5.2%, respectively.
“We provide a lot of different experiences of different routes into the university, depending on what’s the right fit for that student,” he added. “Our job in admissions is ensuring that it’s the right student who’s going to make the most of Northeastern that comes here.”
Solve The News’ September crossword!
Answers will be revealed in the next print issue.
Several Office of Belonging employees leave NU
Six months after rebranding the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to the Office of Belonging and Engagement, at least four Office of Belonging staff members no longer work at the university, according to internal emails obtained by The Huntington News.
The university declined to confirm whether the positions had been eliminated. When asked whether new positions would be added, the university directed The News to a September 2024 memo sent following Richard O’Bryant’s appointment as chief inclusion and belonging officer, now chief belonging officer.
“In accordance with longstanding university policy, we do not comment on specific personnel matters,” Vice President for Communications Renata Nyul wrote in a statement to The News. “More broadly, as communicated in our September 2024 announcement of Richard O’Bryant as Chief
Inclusion and Belonging Officer, we are committed to cultivating a climate of belonging at Northeastern. We’ve implemented a more decentralized approach, which places more responsibility within the colleges and at our 13 campus locations.”
People in at least four positions at the Office of Belonging appear to have left the university. They include Cecilia Akuffo, the director of communications for the Office of Belonging; Christine McDade, the executive assistant to the chief of belonging; Rosa Rodriguez Williams, the executive director of the Office of Belonging; and Lisa Susser, the manager of belonging. Melissa Berry-Woods, the director of belonging, has also had her staff page removed from the College of Social Sciences and Humanities website, which had been live as recently as July 22.
When The News attempted to contact the staff members’ Northeastern email addresses, an identical automated response was received, with the exception of Berry-Woods.
on Page 2
Photo by Margot Murphy
Photo by Margot Murphy
Graphic by Emma Liu
ZOE MACDIARMID Campus Editor
Junior forward Cam Lund high-fives excited fans
game against
of Massachusetts Lowell Feb. 17, 2024. Matthews Arena has hosted iconic Husky events such as the Beanpot semifinals and Broomball.
Everywhere Lindsay Berman goes, she hears another story about Matthews Arena. After all, its storied rafters
ZOE MACDIARMID AND BOWEN RIVERA Campus Editor and News Staff
BELONGING,
MATTHEWS, on Page 2
Graphic by Catherine Gore
‘This
& SPORTS
building
means so much to so many’:
Community remembers 115 years of Matthews Arena
MATTHEWS, from Front
Matthews was where the first NHL game and the first Celtics games were played. Athletics programs at nearby schools like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Boston College and Boston University have all called the arena home at some point, and stars such as Billie Holiday, Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash have performed on its stage.
Now, generations of Northeastern athletes and students are grappling with the loss of a place they consider a second home.
“I remember the first time I skated there, just looking up at the wooden roof and feeling like I couldn’t believe that that’s where I was going to be playing hockey every day,” said Berman, an assistant coach and former forward on the women’s hockey team. “And I was just so excited to show it off to friends and family who came to visit me while I was playing.”
Built in 1910, the arena went through several owners before Northeastern purchased it in 1979. It was officially named Matthews Arena in 1982 after former Chairman of the Board of Trustees George Matthews and his wife Hope Matthews, benefactors of the athletics program. It’s the world’s oldest multipurpose athletic building still in use, and is the oldest arena in use for ice hockey.
When Berman was just 16 years old on a scouting visit to Northeastern, a university she knew hardly anything about, it was Matthews that sealed the deal. It was there she saw crowds at women’s games, notched her first collegiate goal and later heard countless stories from Bostonians about its long history.
Years later, Matthews is also where her 2-year-old daughter skated for the first time. From her freshman year in 2007 to her return as a coach in 2018, Matthews has felt like a home away from home to Berman.
“The building means so much to so many people across so many different walks of life, whether they’re in the Northeastern hockey community or the Boston community,” Berman said.
“My first day [as a coach], I walked into the hockey offices on the other side feeling like, ‘I can’t believe this is where I’m going to work every day.’”
Vinny Borgesi, a senior defender on the men’s hockey team, started at Northeastern in 2022 and is now captain for the 2025-26 season. He knows that many spectators attend games just to see the historic building.
“I was lucky enough and fortunate enough to step into this building every day and play games and hang out with my best buddies in this rink every day,” Borgesi said. “I can say for the rest of my life that I played at Matthews Arena.”
He got a taste of the building’s history when the Bruins’ centennial anniversary in 2025 brought legends Brad Marchand and Willie O’Ree into the locker room.
“To see that kind of person walk through our doors and come into our locker room and talk to our group of guys — that’s what’s special about this place,” Borgesi said.
When Borgesi tells Bostonians he plays for Northeastern hockey, he is used to hearing stories and questions about the arena. Those interactions make him feel more grateful to play there.
“It’s a building that every time you walk into it, you feel lucky to be a part of it. It’s such a historic place to the point where, you know, it’s talked about a lot,” he said.
The DogHouse, Northeastern’s student fan section, has cheered from the second floor of the arena for years, screaming official chants. From spectators taking their shirts off in overtime to thanking the announcer in unison, the section is renowned for its dedication to tradition.
“The first game I ever saw at Matthews went to overtime. I think I was probably scared, like, ‘Why is everyone taking their shirts off?’ That whole experience of really being thrust into it — that has a special moment in my heart,” said DogHouse leader Misha Ankudovych, a fourth-year data science and economics combined major.
Two years later, Ankudovych is part of the effort to make the final season in Matthews feel special, including putting up vintage DogHouse posters.
“We want to make good memories. It is an honor to be leading the DogHouse in the last era of Matthews,” Ankudovych said.
After 27 years as an official organization, the DogHouse is used to going on the road — cheering the Huskies as they play across the country — and it’s not planning on dying out once Matthews is gone.
“We always try to be the loudest in the building wherever we are, and I think that culture will continue and expand,” Ankudovych said.
When Northeastern’s Athletic Director Jim Madigan first visited the university as a freshman on the men’s hockey team in 1982, Matthews was the first building he walked into. Now, after nearly three decades at Northeastern as a player, coach and administrator, he knows every inch of it.
“I know all the nooks and crannies of the building and took pride in learning about all the history of the building going back to 1910,” Madigan said.
He still remembers punching his ticket to the Frozen Four at Matthews against Bowling Green State University in 1982. After an overtime win on home ice, the crowd erupted in what Madigan described as a “magical moment.”
“It was ice storming. People were coming over the glass. They were coming down, opening gates and
coming on the ice and celebrating with us,” he said.
Now, Madigan is overseeing the demolition of the arena he’s always loved, a moment that’s bittersweet for Berman as well. Unlike many of the players she has coached, she’ll stay to see the new facility come to life.
“There’s just so much momentum for us and so much to be excited about, and I think a new building is going to bring more people to it,” Berman said. “Everybody’s going to want to see it. Everyone’s going to
want to be a part of it. And hopefully we can put the product on the ice to keep people coming back.”
Northeastern is increasing the number of home hockey games at Matthews by two for the women’s team and four for the men’s team in the upcoming semester to give the teams one last chance to admire the arena’s brick walls and wooden rafters.
“The building goes away, but the moments and memories stay with us,” Madigan said. “That’s part of us. That’s our soul. We’ve experienced that. So that stays forever.”
Several Office of Belonging employees leave Northeastern months after DEI rebrand
BELONGING, from Front
“Thank you for contacting the Office of Belonging, we look forward to connecting with you. The employee you have contacted is no longer with Northeastern University,” the email reads. “Please direct all inquiries for the Office of Belonging to Richard O’Bryant, Chief Belonging Officer.”
O’Bryant did not respond to a request for comment.
Northeastern’s changing belonging landscape has reached individual colleges, which have their own full-time Belonging leads. In June, the College of Science, or COS, eliminated its associate director of belonging and engagement, a position held by Marya Mahmood for the past two years.
“This is not an easy goodbye,” Mahmood wrote of their role’s elimination in an Aug. 1 COS Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Justice newsletter. “Over the past two years, I’ve had the privilege of working alongside so many of you! Students, staff and faculty who care deeply about creating a more inclusive and equitable campus culture.”
In response to request for comment, Mahmood directed The News to their newsletter.
Before the Aug. 1 newsletter was sent to the COS students and staff, university community members pushed back on the position being cut. The Northeastern Justice Coalition, which describes itself as a “students, staff and faculty coalition dedicated to justice at Northeastern,” authored a letter imploring Northeastern to retain Mahmood and collected testimonials from community members about them, which were published in an open letter in July.
“During their two year tenure at the College of Science, Marya piloted an astounding one hundred programs and initiatives, spanning eight colleges, institutes and centers at Northeastern, as well as dozens of other partnerships,” the open letter reads, which the coalition sent to several university leaders, including Northeastern President Joseph E. Aoun. “These programs were attended by more than 1400 people — students, staff
and faculty. Marya’s work on equity and inclusion has transformed the COS landscape as they have mentored scholars, partnered with numerous external organizations and provided over one hundred 1:1 [equity, diversity, inclusion and justice] consultations.”
When asked why Mahmood’s position was eliminated, a Northeastern spokesperson wrote that “in accordance with longstanding university policy, we do not comment on personnel matters.”
Changes to what was formerly the university’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion came soon after President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January that ordered universities dismantle DEI programs or face funding cuts and federal investigations. By Jan. 28, Northeastern began removing mentions of DEI on its websites and social media accounts, replacing it with language centered around “belonging.”
But the changes to the structure of the office had been underway before Trump won the White House, Northeastern Senior Vice President
for External Affairs Mike Armini told The News in a May interview.
“So the organization changed, there’s no doubt about that,” Armini said of the rebranded Office of Belonging. “And obviously the name changed. And again, those were things that we were thinking about for a long time. And I think, in general, the principles remain. The one thing I would say is we have to comply with the law, and that has changed a little bit.”
The September 2024 memo about O’Bryant’s appointment, signed by Chancellor Ken Henderson and then-Provost David Madigan, described part of O’Bryant’s job as “develop[ing] a vision and plan for inclusion and belonging.” (When he assumed the position, the role was titled “chief inclusion and belonging officer.”) Before O’Bryant took his post, Karl Reid was Northeastern’s first-ever chief inclusion officer. Reid held the role for three years before taking a similar job at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which he has since stepped down from.
In January, the language change from DEI to “belonging” swiftly caught the attention of the Northeastern community and sparked intense debate among community members. Since the university published its Belonging webpage in late January, the content has remained largely unchanged.
On Jan. 30, Northeastern published its “Navigating a New Political Landscape” FAQ page, which became its central means for communicating during a semester marked by uncertainty. The same day, Northeastern addressed the heated debate surrounding belonging.
“Northeastern’s commitment to embracing our entire global community remains steadfast. While internal structures and approaches may be adjusted to ensure continued compliance with the law, the university’s core values don’t change,” the university wrote in the FAQ Jan. 30. (The university does not attribute updates to a university official or spokesperson.) “We believe that embracing our differences — and building a community of belonging — makes Northeastern stronger.”
Huskies watch the Northeastern 2025 Women’s Beanpot Champion banner rise Jan. 21 (top) and DogHouse members cheer on the men’s hockey team Oct. 12, 2024. Matthews Arena housed not only university sporting events, but also Bruins and Celtics games.
Top: File Photo by Jessica Xing, Bottom: Photo by Sydney Ciardi
New building coming to Huntington Avenue to offer housing, retail
YASHAVI UPASANI Deputy City Editor
Throughout the past year, construction disrupted commuters on Huntington Avenue. In the next several years, the project, which recently started taking shape as a towering building, will open to renters and visitors.
QMG Huntington, LLC, an affiliate of Toll Brothers Apartment Living, is redeveloping 252-264 Huntington Ave. into a mixed-use 34-story building that includes housing, retail opportunities and designated shared spaces with the next-door Huntington Theatre. The project, known as Huntington Tower, will span over 472,000 square feet and feature more than 400 dwelling units.
“It’s basically in the heart of Fenway, Back Bay and South End,” said Cassie Malatesta, senior development and contstruction manager on the project. “We definitely see a pulse of students, we see some empty nesters, we see some millennials [living in the area]. We really find it important that we’re developing right in the heart of those neighborhoods and basically conjoining and bringing them all together at Huntington Tower.”
The building, which replaced some of The Huntington Theatre’s
facilities, will offer studios, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartment layouts. Thirteen percent of the building will be affordable housing, and all units will be open to student renters.
Despite the advertised affordability, students are skeptical about the true cost.
“I think the apartments are probably going to be expensive,” said Grady Cothran, a second-year political science and international affairs combined major. “But I think, looking around at the amount of money that a lot of Northeastern students have, I think that people that want to rent there probably will be able to.”
Huntington Tower will feature several amenities, including a gym with individual fitness rooms for activities such as yoga and pilates, as well as designated areas for gaming and studying. There will be spaces for parking in the basement garage — although they will not be guaranteed to each resident — an in-unit washer and dryer in all units and a pet spa where residents can wash their furry friends. The building will also have 24/7 security, including a concierge, cameras surrounding the building and fob access, a device that serves as a technological key to access doors in the building.
Residents will also have access to a sky deck, a rooftop area on the 34th floor equipped with outdoor fire pits for grilling and an indoor kitchen and bar area.
Additionally, a two-story retail space, totalling around 5,500 square feet, will stand at the opposite side of The Huntington Theatre. While there are no tenants for this space yet, Malatesta believes it could be a restaurant or store.
“I don’t necessarily know what stores we don’t already have in the city, but I think it would be nice to have more food options,” Cothran said. “If we could have a Chipotle or something that everybody likes.”
Around 14,000 square feet of the building is dedicated to The Huntington Theatre. This includes rehearsal and tech rooms, a separate black box theatre and a catering and bar area.
“Where we think that we’re a little different is that you get that extra level of security and safety knowing that you’re coming home to a safe place at night,” Malatesta said.
For many, Boston’s architectural style calls to mind red brick walls and Georgian columns lining cobblestoned streets. But the modern Huntington Tower will be an outlier. Though Malatesta understands the
appeal of the classic Boston brownstone, she finds it important to note the perks of contemporary style.
“I can’t say it will hamper the looks of the aesthetics of [Huntington Avenue], but it’ll definitely be an eye-catching thing … the building is definitely different than the normal architecture around the area,” said Kirtipal Singh, a second-year graduate student studying cybersecurity. “Boston is facing a real estate crisis and, being a student myself, it’s been tough to find apartments or anything like that, so adding some housing is always good.”
Construction of the 34-story building officially began in May 2022 and is projected to end in winter 2026. Interested parties can begin pre-leasing and touring the space in spring 2026 and can move in during the winter.
Malatesta has received positive feedback from the community, specifically that the project may help alleviate housing shortages in the area.
“The city definitely needs more housing, so we’re excited to bring that to the community,” Malatesta said. “During the permitting phase, there were a lot of requests for more housing … we’re looking forward to delivering that.”
Crispy Dough brings a slice of flavor and family to the Mission Hill community
is,” Gramiak said. “Everybody knows where it is. Everyone knows how to get there. Everybody has an order.”
After a late night out, there tends to be one place on students’ minds for a quick but satisfactory bite: Crispy Dough. Well-known by students from universities all across the city, the iconic Crispy Dough Pizzeria located on Tremont Street in the heart of Mission Hill has served students for over 10 years with a taste of international pizza.
Carter Gramiak, a political science master’s student at Northeastern University, moved to Mission Hill, affectionately known as “The Hill,” at the beginning of his third year of undergraduate studies and has been a resident for the past two years.
“I’d never thought of it as like an important cultural or social part of living on The Hill. But it absolutely
Yousef Irziqat, owner of Crispy Dough Pizzeria, grew up in Hebron, Palestine in the West Bank.
After receiving a law degree from Applied Science Private University in Amman, Jordan, he moved back to Palestine, where he found it difficult to implement his studies.
Striving for better opportunities, Irziqat moved to the United States in November 2006, and started working for his brother’s pizza shop, Il Mondo Pizzeria, on Huntington Avenue. He found himself managing the shop just after six months, and within a year, daily sales at Il Mondo had increased by 6%.
Witnessing this success, Irziqat decided to start a pizzeria of his own, opening Crispy Dough’s doors March 15, 2011.
“I know the area, it has potential. It’s growing with the students, because there are colleges around, and they will never shut down,” Irziqat said. “We’ll stay for hundreds of years, and [so will the] universit[ies] and college[s].”
After just five years of business, Irziqat received a license from the city to stay open until 2 a.m., solidifying Crispy Dough as the nighttime hot spot it is today.
“I think [Crispy Dough] draws a crowd, just because everyone knows it. It’s made a name for itself. It’s a great place to meet up, at the end of an evening, and you can see everyone and kind of just calm down and chill before going home,” said Tumi Mosiah, a fifth-year journalism major.
Although he is the boss, Irziqat often works behind the counter just like his employees. He goes into Crispy Dough almost every day to do anything from maintenance to cooking and customer service.
“Equality is very important. [I] treat [my employees] as a family. I do work like them. You know, I clean the corners. I clean the trash. No problem with me,” he said.
As a devout Muslim himself, Irziqat is dedicated to sharing his culture through his menu, hoping to give the Muslim community in Mission Hill a taste of home.
All of his menu items are halal, a specific preparation of meat and animal slaughter that adheres to Islamic law. In 2015, the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center recognized Crispy Dough Pizza in its annual report for the restaurant’s commitment to the community.
QUICK READS
NU student turned DOGE engineer assaulted in D.C., National Guard deployed Edward Coristine, the 19-yearold who was at one point enrolled at Northeastern and gained notoriety as an employee of the Department of Government Efficiency earlier this year, was assaulted Aug. 3, prompting President Donald Trump to deploy National Guard troops to Washington, D.C.
In a photo taken of Coristine after the incident, which Trump posted on Truth Social, he sat on the street with what appeared to be blood splattered on his body and clothes. Trump used the incident as evidence to continue his push to federalize Washington. In the days following the incident, Trump deployed the National Guard throughout the city.
Metropolitan police arrested two 15-year-olds as they attempted to flee the scene of Coristine’s alleged assault, according to a press release. A black iPhone 16 valued at $1,000 was also reported stolen during the incident, according to POLITICO. Coristine could not be reached for comment.
Coristine initially gained media attention in February after being identified as a key player in Elon Musk’s group of DOGE engineers by WIRED magazine. Coristine now works in the Social Security Administration, according to POLITICO.
Beyond the Crispy Dough kitchen, Irziqat continues to bring Islamic food to the Mission Hill community. In March 2024, he opened Hebron Market just two doors down from Crispy Dough, filling the shelves with food items from all over the world.
Lillian Rafidi, a third-year psychology major, is a loyal customer of Hebron Market. Growing up Palestinian and halal, it was important to find the food and spices familiar to her.
“It’s really amazing because it’s the inclusivity, especially [during] this time, Palestinian culture is really important to have right there,” Rafidi said. “I go in there and I speak Arabic to these people and they know me, but it’s just really great to have that community in an essentially foreign place to a lot of Palestinian or Arab people. So for that to be right there, readily available, and everybody in there [is] so nice, it’s just really welcoming.”
As one of seven brothers and six sisters, family has always been important to Irziqat in keeping his business alive.
“Family is very important to have in a business like this, because you need a family who cares about the business,” he said. And for many Crispy Dough customers, they are a part of the family, too.
“It’s [a] place you meet people at after [a] night out. It’s [a] place you plan to go before your night out, or a place you want to go to for dinner,” Gramiak said. “In 10 years from now… I am going to remember Crispy Dough.”
Northeastern adds $100 fee for all lab, studio courses
Starting in the fall 2025 semester, students enrolled in lab and studio courses will be required to pay an extra $100 fee, a Northeastern spokesperson confirmed in an email to The Huntington News Aug. 22.
The fee is listed on the Tuition and Fees page of the Student Financial Services website as “Lab/ Studio Fee (per course; Boston and Oakland).” The page explains that the fee applies to all lab and studio courses, but does not list which courses the fee applies to.
Northeastern is known for its high cost of attendance, with many students paying upward of $90,000 a year in tuition and fees.
While the university did not tell The News exactly which classes the new fee will apply to, many science courses require one-credit labs, and many art courses require one-credit studios. The new fee may also impact students in the Khoury College of Computer Sciences, with computer science majors taking six or more labs, and College of Engineering students, such as mechanical engineering majors, who take eight labs at a minimum.
Depending on their course of study, some CAMD students are also required to take eight or more studio courses throughout their undergraduate degree. In addition, the fee will also be charged to students who participate in music ensembles.
ELISE PEFFER News Correspondent
A customer eats a slice of halal pizza in front of Crispy Dough on 1514 Tremont St. Aug. 20. The store gained popularity because of its delicious pizza and late-night hours.
Photo by Curtis DeSmith
Mills College Children’s School to close its doors
FRANCES KLEMM News Staff
After 100 years of educating children in the San Francisco Bay Area, Mills College Children’s School will close after the 2025-26 school year.
Besides its college campus — acquired by Northeastern in 2022 — Mills College, now Northeastern Oakland, is also home to Mills College Children’s School, a laboratory school that has taught thousands of students since opening in 1926. The Oakland-based private school’s focus on diversity and experimental learning, as well as its close link to Mills’ early childhood education master’s program, has made it a stand-out in early education and beloved among parents.
After months of uncertainty, officials announced in June that the school would shut down, frustrating parents and raising concerns about whether Northeastern will carry on programs some see as core to Mills’ identity.
When Northeastern bought Mills College in 2022, tensions flared over the merger’s impact on Mills’ legacy as a historically women’s college. While some hoped the merger would resurrect the financially struggling institution, many students and faculty expressed concerns that Northeastern would scrap programs central to the historic college and erase its culture.
Parents have long feared that Mills College Children’s School, or MCCS, would become a casualty of the merger. Now, that fear is becoming reality. On June 20, Dean of Mills College at Northeastern University Beth Kochly announced MCCS will close after the 2025-26 school year, according to an email obtained by The Huntington News.
“I feel heartbroken,” said MCCS parent Maha Ibrahim. “And not just that it’s happening, but the way [Northeastern administrators] have treated us since they came.”
Before Kochly announced the
closure, the school limited tours to prospective students and decreased enrollment, according to two parent-volunteers involved with recruiting new families. Parents also reported that the number of available classrooms decreased. When one parent drafted a letter explaining her concerns and requesting a meeting with Northeastern administrators, it garnered close to 100 signatures from parents and staff. Administrators did not respond to the request to meet, according to Christopher Lee, an MCCS parent.
On its website, MCCS is described as “a progressive independent school with a constructivist model of education.” Because of its link to the Mills College School of Education, MCCS says it pays unique attention to children’s early years. Many of the teachers have degrees in early education and some educators are student-teachers from the college’s early childhood education master’s program.
“It is a place where all kinds of kids can be successful,” said Ainka Fulani, who was formerly an MCCS student-teacher during her time as a graduate student in the early childhood education master’s program. “People have decided to send their children there for a reason.”
Last year, Ibrahim had one child in the “blue room,” one of the school’s three classrooms where two grades are combined. The rooms are filled with toys, drawings and wooden chairs, and their doors open to an outdoor classroom, nature trails and a eucalyptus forest.
“It is phenomenally beautiful,” said Lee, who attended the school as a child. The school “checked every box” for his family. MCCS is known for its diversity, something multiple parents pointed to as unique charcteristic among Oakland private schools. The school also emphasizes social justice-centered learning.
When Northeastern first merged with Mills College, Fulani said that from a parent’s perspective, there
weren’t many noticeable changes. Ibrahim was “excited” about the new students on campus.
But, in 2023, Northeastern gave multiple tours to prospective MCCS families. Then, it suddenly canceled all future tours that season, two parent volunteers said.
For the 2024-25 academic year, the same pattern repeated. Tours began in November 2024 and were meant to continue until February, but Interim Head of School Jennifer Bond emailed parent volunteers Jan. 28 informing them that all subsequent tours were canceled. She also announced that MCCS would not be accepting new students for the 2025-26 school year, with exceptions for siblings of current students, according to an email obtained by The News.
The notice spread quickly and raised alarms for parents.
On Feb. 10, 93 parents and staff signed onto an email written by MCCS parent Elizabeth Dwoskin. The email urged Northeastern to preserve MCCS and share any “anticipated timeline” for MCCS’ future so as to minimize disruption for families and staff.
Tuition varies from $22,036 to $28,087 for full-time care, depending on a child’s age and hours spent at the school, according to the MCCS website. The university did not specify the amount of financial aid the school gave out for the 2025-26 school year.
When Kochly responded to the letter in a Feb. 12 email, she did not acknowledge the request to meet but assured Dwoskin that Northeastern had “no plans for closure in 2025.”
As time drew on without a clear direction for the school, parents became increasingly frustrated and nervous.
“I’ve worked for universities before,” Fulani said of the ignored meeting request. “You at least pretend that you respect people when they ask you for a meeting, and you take it. Even if you’ve already made up your mind about whatever the decisions are that you’re going to make, you at least have a dialogue.”
for a final year. Roger Rohrbach, a software engineer and MCCS parent, plans for his son to attend MCCS next year for third grade. Still, he is concerned that there will be a drop in the quality of education in the final year. Kochly told families this would not be the case in her statement announcing the closure.
The school has also been used for research purposes, including “formal studies” and “helping children investigate their own ideas and hypotheses,” according to its website. Mills professors and college students have collaborated with MCCS kids to develop prototypes for engineering classes and improve basic skills in first-year writing classes. Northeastern also told faculty that their children would be promised a spot at the school, serving as a recruitment incentive, according to a faculty member who was granted anonymity due to fear of retaliation from the university.
Even if you’ve already made up your mind about whatever the decisions are that you’re going to make, you at least have a dialogue, Fulani said of the meeting request ignored by administration.
The email gave its recipients — Kochly, Senior Vice President for Global Network and Strategic Initiatives Mary Ludden and Dean of Northeastern University in Oakland Daniel Sachs — a 10-day deadline to meet with representatives from the group.
“We also understand that Northeastern has put Mills in an untenable position by requiring the school to be more profitable, cutting financial aid while also blocking it from enrolling kids,” the email reads. “But why are we, the constituents who spend tens of thousands of dollars for our children to attend this special private school, being left guessing as to Northeastern’s plans?”
On June 20, parents received an update from Kochly that the school would cease operations after the 202526 school year. The email, obtained by The News, did not give a reason for the school’s closure. The same week, Northeastern Oakland announced it would discontinue its early childhood education graduate studies program.
Kochly redirected The News to the university’s media relations team, which also did not specify why the school was closing.
The announcement has left parents scrambling to find other childcare options in Oakland and has forced them to decide whether or not to keep their children at MCCS
“It could be such a jewel in the Northeastern crown if President [Joseph E.] Aoun came and spent a day and really looked at it and noticed it and was able to understand the value, not just for the children, but for Oakland and for the college students,” said the Northeastern Oakland faculty member.
And, as MCCS begins its last school year, parents have begun to break the news to their kids that their school will be closing soon.
“There’s been a lot of tears. Everybody’s figuring out how to tell their children,” Ibrahim said. “The children are really confused. The ones that do know are, right now, the older ones. In their world, all grown-ups want kids to go to school and love school. So, the idea that a grown-up would shut down their school is really hard to explain.”
Top Northeastern official explains university’s approach to second Trump administration
and Campus Editor
In May, Class of 2025 graduates turned their tassels at Fenway Park, a tradition five years in the running. But despite the clear skies and beaming sun, last year’s commencement was a bookend to a semester marked by political unrest, confusion and fear.
Northeastern’s Senior Vice President for External Affairs Mike Armini sat down for two interviews with The Huntington News, May 15 and 23. He discussed the university’s response to President Donald Trump’s rapid policy changes regarding higher education — Northeastern’s role in responding to Trump, how it is communicating its response and his thoughts on how effective that response has been.
While Trump has taken particular aim at several high-profile institutions, including Columbia University, the University of Penn-
sylvania and Harvard University, Armini pointed out that Northeastern has yet to be singled out to the same extent.
“There are no federal investigations of Northeastern, and we have received no congressional subpoenas,” Armini said. “Now, I think that’s a sign of the university doing a good job. But there may be others who would see a federal investigation as a badge of honor.”
Armini has served as senior vice president for external affairs at Northeastern for nearly 17 years. Over the past decade, he has helped manage and execute the university’s rebrand from a commuter school to an elite global university. That experience and consistency among the university’s leadership, Armini said, have helped the university weather storms that have significantly impacted other institutions.
As Armini puts it, the university’s communication strategy focuses on informing the Northeastern community and reaching its various stakeholders — including more than 350,000 living alumni, parents, the
Board of Trustees, donors, faculty, staff members and more than 40,000 students. A central part of Northeastern’s strategy lies in communication that can be updated in real time, namely its “Navigating a New Political Landscape” FAQ page.
Part of how the university decides to communicate its response to the federal administration is by thinking through the scope of its audience, he said. This diversity in viewpoints means Northeastern is often selective in its words and actions when it comes to the Trump administration.
As of publication, President Joseph E. Aoun has authored only one statement — released Feb. 12 and titled “Reaffirming our Mission Together,” which received polarized responses from university community members. (Aoun has also signed on to two open letters: “A Call for Constructive Engagement” April 23 and “A Renewed Call to Action” May 22.)
“The first reply we got to [Aoun’s] email was from the parent of a student who said, ‘I don’t like this email
because I don’t know why you’re sending it. We think Trump is fantastic,’” he said.
Shortly after his inauguration, Trump issued multiple executive orders against diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, programs. Days later, Northeastern quietly changed its own messaging and the structure of its DEI initiatives. And, as part of Trump’s crackdown on immigration, the State Department initially terminated over 1,800 student visas, and more than 40 Northeastern students and recent graduates were impacted, the university said.
Moreover, Trump’s attacks on academic freedom and free speech, and the fallout of the 2023-24 academic year’s on-campus pro-Palestine encampments, have put the spotlight on university policies nationwide.
“I think it is true that we have to pick our battles,” Armini said of how Northeastern’s administration is responding to Trump.
One of those battles is research funding, which supports a key tenet
of the university’s identity. Moves to massively cut research funding further the Trump administration’s priorities to eliminate what it considers wasteful bureaucratic spending and combat higher education’s so-called “woke” agenda. The two leading scientific research funders in the U.S. — the National Science Foundation, or NSF, and the National Institutes of Health, or NIH — have faced proposed budget cuts that would devastate research nationwide. In fiscal year 2024, Northeastern received $67.6 million from the NSF and $88.3 million from the NIH.
But the chaos of the second Trump administration’s early days, which has spurred university leaders to meet at least three times a day, is something Armini says might slow down.
“I do think the volatility of the first hundred days is largely over,” he said. “Let’s see what happens. It’s risky to make those predictions, but I think we’re well positioned for what’s coming.”
ELI CURWIN AND ZOE MACDIARMID News Correspondent
Column: The ultimate guide to a stress-free Fall Fest
EMILY RODRIGUEZ News Correspondent
Fall Fest marks the beginning of a new school year and semester at Northeastern, and for many students, it’s their first time being introduced to all that Northeastern has to offer. Scheduled for Sept. 2 this year, the entire campus will be filled with tables, flyers and signup sheets for the various clubs on campus and enthusiastic upperclassmen to lure you in. There are over 600 student clubs and organizations that range from cultural groups and academic clubs to fun clubs you never knew existed. As exciting as it is, Fall Fest can quickly become overwhelming and hard to navigate. Here’s your stress-free guide to a successful Fall Fest at Northeastern. Do your homework!
On Northeastern’s official Fall Fest page, you’ll find a list of student-run organizations and clubs hosting a table for the day. Take some time before the event to look over and research the clubs that you’d be interested in learning more about or signing up for. Whether you’re looking for something related to your major, your hobbies or something new entirely, preparing in advance will help you make better use of your time. You’ll know
what to expect, what to look for and feel less overwhelmed.
Pick a time and grab a friend
This year, Fall Fest runs from noon to 4 p.m. Arrange a time to go, considering how long you’d like to spend exploring. Most students wander around for about an hour or two, but it’s completely up to you depending on what you’d like to see. Also, take into consideration the hoards of students that might be present, as everyone else on campus is attempting to visit the Cheese Club’s table, too. If big crowds make you nervous, take advantage of the opportunity to meet someone new or bring a friend you haven’t seen all summer to catch up with.
Take note
With hundreds of tables and sign-up sheets, it’s easy to lose track of all the clubs that stood out to you. Have your phone ready with a notes page of different clubs you’re interested in and their information. Write down important things you’d like to remember, such as meeting times, upcoming events or try-outs, and don’t forget to follow their social media accounts to stay up to date with the latest information. Or, simply take a picture of anything you’d like to remember. Trust me, you’ll thank yourself later.
Freebies!
Some of Fall Fest’s biggest highlights are the free items galore. From stickers and t-shirts to snacks and drinks, there’s enough to go around for everyone. Mark these spots on your map so you don’t miss out. For food, Centennial Common is your place to go. If you’re looking for specific free giveaway points, head over to the West Village Quad and Sculpture Park, behind Curry Student Center. For a photo-op, Krentzman Quad has you covered.
Remember it’s not too late
Fall Fest isn’t just for new students. Whether you’re a first-year or an incoming third-year, it’s never too late to explore new clubs and meet new people. College is about exploring and experimenting, which could lead you to discover new passions, hobbies and communities. Clubs are a great way to meet new people and find friends that share similar interests and identities as you.
Whether you leave with 100 new stickers or a new friend, Fall Fest is a Northeastern tradition you definitely don’t want to miss. And with the right preparation and game plan, it can be a meaningful experience that gives you the opportunity to better acquaint yourself with Northeastern.
Column: Fun AND affordable? Take advantage of these student discounts
them entirely. Just make sure to bring your ID for admittance.
Boston Ballet
Looking for something fun and cheap to do during syllabus week before classes get too serious? Take a peek at this short list of the best student discounts in and around Boston. Whether it is food or apparel, there are plenty of discounts available that are sure to have you covered throughout your first weeks here.
If you’re looking for more art, the Boston Ballet — home of the famous Nutcracker — offers $20 rush tickets for shows that are not sold out. Tickets have to be picked up the day of the show and paid for in cash, but it’s a great outing to enjoy a beautiful performance, snag pictures with friends and experience what the
while on a budget
Red Sox Game
If you are more of a sports fan, the Red Sox offer a Student9s program where university students using a valid “.edu” email address can sign up for a game-day text blast to get $9 seats for games that aren’t sold out. Although day-of plans can be hard to make, a Fenway Frank and a good game of baseball is hard to turn down.
Corepower
Corepower Yoga offers 20% off for students with a valid student ID, which makes it an excellent way to try a new workout. With locations all over Boston, including in Fenway, Seaport, Back Bay and Charlestown, it’s also a chance to explore the city. As an added bonus, most of the studios are just a train ride away, and public transit is another thing you can save on with
Madewell
If you are looking for slightly fancier clothes — or an excuse to go to Newbury Street — stop by Madewell, which offers 15% off to students with an ID. Refresh your wardrobe and get ready for co-op at a cheaper price using your student discount. If you are too busy to stop in, the Madewell student discount also works online.
Domino’s Pizza
CAROLINE BAKER DIMOCK News Staff
A cosplaying student (top) and Greek Life members draw onlookers to their respective tables during Fall Fest Sept. 4, 2018. Fall Fest celebrates Northeastern’s multitude of clubs, sports and community service opportunities across the Boston campus. File photos by Riley Robins.
The exterior of the Museum of Fine Arts advertises its Van Gogh and Kehinde Wiley exhibits Feb. 9, 2022. File photo by Jimena Marquez.
Dorm Room Essentials: Advice from second-year Huskies
JENNIE KOH
As the summer ends, rising second-years are unpacking more than just textbooks and suitcases — they are carrying with them a year’s worth of memories.
Over the past year, students have discovered what really makes a residence feel like home and mastered the dos and don’ts of packing. Some took the time to reminisce about the extensive research they conducted as then-high schoolers worried about starting university.
“I did a lot of research before I moved,” said Michael Song, a rising second-year computer science and biology combined major. “It was mostly websites — just looking up what to bring to Northeastern, what to bring to college, 10 items that every student forgets to bring, stuff like that. I looked on a lot of forums, like Reddit, just to find
venient extras like shower caddies, mattress toppers, fans and lamps. They also recommended appliances like a microwave and a mini fridge.
“My mom was the one who was like, ‘You should definitely get a mattress topper,’” said Madison Kim, a rising second-year architecture major. “My roommate actually has this huge sunset lamp, which I think you’re not supposed to have, but [I] recommend because that’s the light that we use the most. The fan was super useful in the beginning of the year because there’s no air conditioning in the building.”
Still, the biggest challenge for students was turning their dorm into a welcoming, livable space that they actually want to return to after a long day of classes.
Photos of their loved ones seemed to be essential for students, serving as a comforting reminder that whether they were 15 minutes or 15 hours away, they always had
“I brought a picture of my family, a picture of some friends to remind me of who loves me and who cares for me,” said Jorden Gyurmey, a rising second-year mechanical engineering major.
These photos only grow in number as students collect them from their university life as well.
“I think one thing that really made my
room feel like my room was just photos from my high school life,” Song said. “For example, Polaroids with friends or just a picture of my family. I think that continued to evolve over time because I would get Polaroids and other photos in my college life as well, and as those continued to be in my room, it felt more personal.”
Students also suggested bringing lots of memorabilia, such as favorite posters, figurines, CDs and other keepsakes, to make their rooms feel just like their ones back home.
“I brought a Celtics poster because I was a pretty big Celtics fan,” said Tobey Yuen, a first-year economics and business administration combined major. “I brought some action figures, one Smiski, some of my K-pop CDs that I like to collect — like aespa, NewJeans.”
“I have two posters,” said Owen Ching, a rising second year mechanical engineering major. “One of ‘Igor’ by Tyler, The Creator — the album cover — and then another one is the movie poster for ‘Princess Mononoke.’ It’s one of my favorite movies. I brought my Amazon Alexa from home too, and that really has been a life changer. I use it almost every day.”
Other recommended items included fairy lights, pillows and blankets, which create a warm, cozy environment.
“My roommate and I decorated a lot,” Kim said. “We both have like a million throw pillows, so I think that helped a lot. I have a lot of books and stuff that I keep on my shelf and Funko Pops. Besides that, nice, cute sheets.”
of blankets, so I brought two of mine, and I have a pillow that I usually use back at home,” said Emily Lim, a rising second-year business ad ministration and law major. “One of my roommates has fairy lights, so we put [those] up. It feels a little bit more homey.”
years not to bring items difficult to transport that will only make it harder when they inevitably have to move out.
a whole year, but it’s kind of a temporary space,” Yuen said. “You don’t want to buy anything that you can’t really bring back or any thing that’s too long-term.”
are already furnished, students are also advised not to bring extra dorm furnishings, though hangers and storage bins are encouraged.
don’t really use it that often,” Gyur mey said. “The school provides you with enough drawers, so I guess you don’t need any extra storage places.”
rising second-years are confident that incoming students have noth ing to worry about.
that you know that you will definite ly need and use,” Ching said. “After that, if you’re missing something, you can go out and buy it.”
Husky parents pack car trunks, and students carry additional items during spring move-out April 25. Students utilized carts from locations such as West Village and Speare Hall to move out efficiently.
Photos by Margot Murphy and Brian Daniels
Dorm Sweet Dorm: Where to find affordable decorations
News Correspondent
A fully decorated dorm can help any college student feel more at home and relaxed after a day of long lectures. When you’re moving into college for the first time, picking out furniture and decor while staying within budget can be a challenge — especially if you’re not willing to spend countless hours surfing the web or browsing decoration aisles. Take a peek at this easy guide to achieving the perfect dorm decor without going over budget. Get inspired on Pinterest Pinterest is a great place to find inspiration. By simply typing “college dorm” in the search bar, you’ll find tons of examples, but the more specific you are with your search, the faster you’ll find your match. Once you find a few pictures that represent what you’re looking for, create a Pinterest board to serve as a guide when purchasing items. Pinterest also sells products through advertisements, so make sure to take a look at those as well.
Amazon If you prefer shopping online, Amazon is a great choice. It has almost every item available, from kitchenware to decorative accessories. The platform allows you to choose from different companies and providers through its rating system, which helps you decide what item would work best for you. Amazon’s quick delivery can come in handy for last-minute purchases. Unfortunately, it is not the most ideal when shopping for items you might want to touch before
determining whether it’s the one for you. Nonetheless, Amazon is perfect if you’ve decided what aesthetic you want — with tools that let you decide the color, price and themes, you’re guaranteed to find what you’re looking for.
T.J. Maxx
T.J. Maxx offers both in-store and online shopping options, and the closest store is just a 10-minute walk from campus. On its website, there is a section offering “Back to Campus” products like bedding, bathroom rugs, storage options and more, and in the physical store, you can feel the texture and material of items before purchasing them. Though many products tend to be out of stock during move-in season, if you’re looking for statement pieces, T.J. Maxx is the place for you.
IKEA
Since the closest store is about a 30-minute car ride from campus, you can also shop through IKEA’s online website, which includes a “College Essentials” section for every budget and a general 15% discount for students. It even offers a discount if you purchase 10 or more items from that section.
IKEA’s goods range from apartment furniture and bedding to storage and organization. Known for providing affordable, sustainable and high-quality items, IKEA is also recognized for its minimalistic and simple designs — perfect for anyone who prioritizes practicality. However, some furniture can be hard to put together, especially on your own — so make sure to ask your friends to help you out.
Target Like IKEA, Target also offers an online platform for shopping, while the closest store from campus is a 15-minute walk. If you’re looking for a place to purchase anything and everything, Target is your best friend. Not only does it offer deals on dorm essentials, but you can also stock up on self-care products and groceries. If you still feel uninspired, Target’s website provides dorm room ideas with products for a “maximalist” dorm to a “varsity hall” one. There is also a feature on the website that lets you create a wish list so you can start crafting your aesthetic before purchasing.
Facebook Marketplace
Facebook Marketplace has products ranging from vintage to modern, with the largest variety of decoration and prices on this list. Unlike traditional retail, it allows you to chat with a seller and negotiate the price of an item, which can be convenient for those on a budget. Facebook Marketplace also allows you to purchase locally, so you can pick up the item directly from the seller or get quicker shipping. Keep in mind that finding the right product might take longer, especially during move-in season when everything is in high demand, so this platform requires extra dedication. Moreover, make sure to keep your eye out for potential overpayment scams and fake listings.
Move-in can be chaotic and overwhelming, but dorm shopping doesn’t have to be, and decorating your dorm on a budget does not mean sacrificing style or comfort. With a bit of planning and smart spending, you can create a place that feels like home.
MORA PEUSNER DACHARRY
Graphic by Catherine Gore
Comic by Sree Kandula
Comic by Quinn Pasmantier
EVENT CALENDAR
TUESDAY, SEPT. 2
Fall Fest
12 p.m. - 4 p.m. across campus
Admission: Free
SATURDAY, SEPT. 6
Men’s soccer vs. Hofstra
6 p.m. at Parsons Field
Admission: Free with Husky Card
SEPT. 6-7
Boston Arts Festival
11 a.m. - 6 p.m. at Christopher Columbus Park
Admission: Free
SUNDAY, SEPT. 14
Boston Local Food Festival
11 a.m. - 5 p.m. at Rose Kennedy Greenway
Admission: Free
TUESDAY, SEPT. 16
Fall Volunteer Fair
11 a.m. - 2 p.m. on Centennial Common Admission: Free
THURSDAY, SEPT. 18
Women’s soccer vs. UNCW
6 p.m. at Parsons Field
Admission: Free with Husky Card
THURSDAY, SEPT. 18
Off Campus Fest
3 p.m. - 5 p.m. in Krentzman Quad
Admission: Free
SUNDAY, SEPT. 21
Field hockey vs. Harvard
12 p.m. at Dedham Field
Admission: Free with Husky Card
TUESDAY, SEPT. 23
Annual Celebration by the NU Center for International Affairs and World Cultures
12 p.m. at Ded ham Field
Admission: Free with Husky Card
It’s getting hot in here: How Bostonians are beating this summer’s extreme heat
SAMANTHA DENECOUR News Staff
It’s “the summer I turned sweaty.” Over the past few months, Boston has faced record-high temperatures — with Aug. 11 to Aug. 13 marking the city’s third heat emergency just this year.
Boston isn’t alone. Cities across the country are experiencing a pattern of hotter summers and greater heat stress due to climate change. Like many urban communities, the entire city of Boston is a heat island, reaching higher temperatures than surrounding areas due to an abundance of heat sinks such as dense buildings and pavement.
As summer temperatures rise, Bostonians are reshaping their daily routines, from changing their workout habits to scouting out public pools and coastal getaways.
Julia French, a fifth-year business administration and political science combined major and president of NEU Women’s Run Club, is racking up miles amid scorching temperatures as she trains for her first marathon.
Because the sun shines directly on running paths like the Esplanade, French often changes course to ensure that her runners stay safe.
“On days where it’s really hot, I’ll redirect us to a new route like the Emerald Necklace in the Fens,” she said.
Though the summer heat can be relentless, there’s one thing that makes all the difference: air conditioning, or AC. French, who is currently on a co-op, does not have AC in her apartment.
“I try to never be home,” she said. “If there’s a really hot day, I’ll move my in-office day to that day. A lot of times I’ll do work on campus.”
Without the relief of air conditioning, French has had to add extra steps to her sleep routine. “I’ll have my fan directly on me or an ice pack on me,” she said. “I’m also a fan of a cold shower in the middle of the night, when I really need it to lower my core body temperature.”
Even with these adjustments in place, some are still finding this summer’s heat difficult to withstand. Rich Johnson, a Mission Hill resident, often visits Provincetown on the weekends to escape the urban heat. “To beat the heat, the only real way is to leave the city,” he said. “I mean, it’s too hot in the city — every summer is hotter.”
However, not everyone can escape the city. And — particularly for those living in the heat-vulnerable communities of Chinatown, Dorchester, East Boston, Mattapan, and Roxbury — not everyone experiences the same levels of heat at home.
During a heat wave, historically redlined areas can be up to 7.5 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than the rest of Boston. Such discrepancies are clearly laid out in the Boston Heat Map Explorer, as well as the Museum of Science’s “Wicked Hot Boston,” a 2019 study using citizen science to show air temperatures experienced by residents across Boston.
“When you do a heat index and look at different neighborhoods, it’s really quite striking how different neighborhoods are
hotter than others,” said Professor Joan Fitzgerald, a Northeastern professor of public policy and urban affairs. “If you look at patterns of redlining historically, where neighborhoods were declared dangerous and they couldn’t do housing loans — which were often Black neighborhoods — those neighborhoods now tend to be hotter.”
One of the reasons for this, she says, is that these areas have fewer trees and more pavement.
For some, this summer’s temperatures are ironically nothing to sweat about. “This isn’t heat – this is fun,” said Jeffrey Sánchez, a Mission Hill resident of Puerto Rican descent. “This is a reminder of where we came from, those of us Caribbean people.”
What Bostonians are experiencing right now, Sánchez believes, is a phenomenon he calls the “New England conundrum.”
“We’re very entertained about everybody complaining all the time about all the heat, you know, and then it’s going to be chilly and
they go, ‘Oh, my God, it’s so cold,’” he said. Plus, he added, “Mayor Wu has cooling centers and air conditioning all over the place. People just need to enjoy it before it goes.”
Boston has set up pools and splash pads throughout the city, resources that work in tandem with Boston Public Library buildings and Boston Centers for Youth & Families, or BCYF, community cooling centers to relieve residents from the heat outside.
In the meantime, some Bostonians are trying to “stay cool” outside of the literal sense: by remembering that summer doesn’t last forever. “I definitely am excited for fall,” French said. “But I know winter comes after that — I don’t even want to think about that.”
Relaxing with his family outside of Mission Hill staple Mike’s Donuts, Sánchez has been finding enjoyment in the summer heat: “We’re here, and we love it, right? Cause it’s Boston.”
Beloved local art center faces possible closure as lease deadline looms ahead
After only a year and a half in business, the Boston Figure Art Center, or BFAC, in Somerville is teetering on the edge of closure — but many community members are hoping to keep it alive.
In December 2023, Damon Lehrer, founder of the BFAC, invested all his financial resources to open a roughly 4,000 square foot community-based art studio in Union Square. Despite its packed event schedule and monthly membership programs, Lehrer has been spending thousands of dollars out of pocket to keep the business afloat in the high-rent area, he told The Huntington News. With
University, Massachusetts College of Art and Design and Rhode Island School of Design, imagined the BFAC as a space for non-creative professionals and art specialists alike.
“[Non-creative professionals] are making a living, but they need some art in their lives. [Artists] are not making a living, but we have tons of art in our lives,” Lehrer said. “So if we could just bring these two classes of people together, we could benefit [from] each other enormously.”
Having worked toward his goal of bringing people together for nearly two years, Lehrer still believes in what artists can provide, especially at the BFAC.
“I would prefer to think of the arts as a resource for the community and for the world, which people really, really need,” Lehrer said. “I wanted to see if we could prove that an arts business like this could survive and thrive in a market-rate situation, just like a lawyer or a biotech company could.”
Keara Flynn, the managing director and only full-time employee of the BFAC, works constantlyat the BFAC, and she works constantly to help promote, facilitate and run the center.
“I just want to keep the pattern going as it
is— people getting involved, feeling passionate about it, finding purpose in this place and contributing toward it,” Flynn said. “We’ve become part of people’s everyday lives, almost like a home.”
While the BFAC is gaining members, the center still isn’t making enough to keep up with Somerville’s rising rent. A 2025 credit survey by the Federal Reserve System discovered many small businesses, like the BFAC, are struggling with the increased cost of living. Of 295 responses from small businesses in Boston, Cambridge and Newton, 59% said “paying operational expenses,” such as rent, was a financial challenge in 2024.
However, even in the digital age, one of the biggest challenges for the BFAC and other small businesses is customer outreach. While the BFAC has over 8,500+ followers on Instagram and posts almost every day, the center still struggles with recruiting enough paying members to stay open.
“It’s taken us a year and a half to get to 200-ish members. If we could get another 100 this summer, we would absolutely sign the lease,” Lehrer said. “We have created the thing. We need people to know about it.”
Despite the possibility of the center’s closure, the BFAC community shows no signs of abandoning it. In recent months, it has hosted everything from art markets to musical festivals and international art retreats.
For many members, the BFAC fills a hole in their lives that nowhere else does: it’s a space for connection and art.
“Creativity and connection and community are vital. You have to make space for it. You have to make time for it,” Flynn said. “It’s literally like water or food or working out or taking care of your body. You need to practice the mind like that and have those social interactions that feel good.”
Rosie Bailey, the associate director for services at Craftsman Technology Group, has only recently incorporated art into her routine. Before becoming a BFAC member and volunteer, Bailey had no creative outlet and often invested more time into work than anything else.
“I’m in my late 30s now, [and] I was like, ‘When did I stop having fun?’” Bailey said. “I stopped having curiosity in my life, [stopped] doing things that don’t really have a purpose necessarily, but are there because they’re beautiful and they’re interesting and enriching in that way.”
Now, after joining the BFAC, she notices that people are becoming disconnected from each other and their surroundings in an increasingly digital world.
“I think that we all need people and creativity so much more than we realize we do,” Bailey said. “I think that we’re going to find out, over time, that we are really missing something vital to have healthy, fulfilled lives. And [BFAC] is a space that is doing that.”
A young girl holding a bucket walks along Revere Beach July 20, 2024. Residents sought relief from this summer’s heat by going swimming, escaping to air-conditioned spaces or leaving the city altogether. File photo by Jessica Xing.
SYDNEY WOOGERD News Correspondent
An artist uses their finger to smudge the outline of a sketch. The BFAC has offered activities such as live drawing sessions and international trips. Photo courtesy Eve Holzman.
Photo by Cassandra Joyce
Photo by Sydney Ciardi
Photo by Sydney Ciardi
Parquet Report: The WNBA should appreciate the purchase and relocation of the Connecticut Sun to Boston
AIDEN BARKER News Staff
Women’s professional basketball may finally be coming to Boston, and it’s about time.
Steve Pagliuca, a Celtics minority owner, has purchased the Connecticut Sun for $325 million, the highest price ever paid for a women’s professional sports franchise.
Pagliuca may be familiar to Celtics fans and those who have read my previous columns. I, among many other Celtics fans, believed he would be the best fit to purchase the Celtics before it was sold to William Chisholm March 20 for $6.1 billion.
With all of the money that Pagliuca saved from being denied Celtics ownership, he was able to buy the Sun for what I think will have a better return on investment than if he bought the Celtics. The Sun currently plays at Mohegan Sun Arena in the Uncasville area of Montville, Conn. The arena seats 10,000 fans, whereas TD Garden seats almost 20,000.
Moving to Boston will allow the Sun to attract more fans, tap into the city’s market and continue the trend of bringing professional women’s sports teams to the Bay State. With all of these positives, the WNBA is
certainly going to approve of this purchase, right?
In a statement given to The Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn, the WNBA explained that “relocation
but Pagliuca’s purchase shouldn’t surprise the league. Fans have long waited for a WNBA team to come to Beantown.
Boston recently hosted the Sun
loved it and Jen Rizzotti, president of the Sun, loved it.
“The energy and enthusiasm from the New England market last season was phenomenal, and we’re proud
other cities shuffle in before it.
Sure, it makes sense for the WNBA to play it fair and force Boston to wait its turn to expand,
and Indiana Fever July 15 in front of a sold-out crowd at TD
The players loved it, the 19,156 fans
The Golden State Valkyries are the latest WNBA expansion team, and this current season is their debut. Already, it’s proving to be a
success. The franchise is currently averaging a league-leading 18,064 fans per game and selling out Chase Center each night. It makes sense to expand to where the fans are going to show up and ship the Sun up to Boston.
But the league wouldn’t be expanding to Boston; it’d be relocating the Sun from Connecticut. Pagliuca is taking care of the finances and even putting another $100 million toward a designated practice facility for the team.
“Hopefully, maybe they can advocate for us to, you know, maybe even relocate,” said Sun rookie guard Saniya Rivers before her game at TD Garden. “I love Connecticut, it’s fine, but I think the marketing here itself is just going to be better for a women’s basketball program. I think we can make a lot of noise here starting tonight, so I’m just excited to be a part of it.”
For a league that is currently trying to expand, growing significantly in viewership and attendance and increasing tension with its own players, the WNBA should sigh in relief and embrace the opportunity to grow its market.
WNBA, give Pagliuca a pat on the back if you run into him.
Season Preview: Northeastern women’s soccer looks to improve record after a mixed 2024
midfielders Bri Jablonowski and Jesse Hunt, and defenders Addison Davis, Faith Rosenblatt, Natalie Olsen and Katherine Marchesseault.
Hunt signed her first professional contract with Sporting Club Jacksonville in June ahead of the 2025-26 season.
The Northeastern women’s soccer team kicked off its 2025 season Aug. 8 with an exhibition game against the UMass Lowell River Hawks at Parsons Field. Following a frustrating 2024 season, the Huskies are looking to turn the standings around this fall.
Women’s soccer ended its 2024 season with a 2-9-7 record — the result of multiple narrow, low-scoring ties and losses, as well as an overar ching struggle to execute on offen sive opportunities. Many games were defined by a single lapse in defense or missed chance on goal, and six games were goalless for the Huskies. Northeastern will need to focus on tightening the defensive line and finding the net up top in order to tally more wins this season.
Team strengths from 2024 in cluded a solid back line, creative through-balls toward the attack ing third and promising passing sequences cutting through the midfield. Continued discipline in these areas of success will be critical as the team looks to build on its offense.
This season, the Huskies have lost key starters but will be bring ing on some new talent that will help shake up the routine. At the conclusion of last season, Northeastern said goodbye to forwards Avery LeVangie, Megan Putvinski, Rose Kaefer, Sofie Fox,
Rosenblatt was a defensive powerhouse for the team, so preserving that strength in her absence will be a key focus. Davis and Olsen were substantial contributors to the back line as well. LeVangie, Jablonowski, and Fox were influential in the offensive third, so their speed and reliability around the box will be missed. Former captain Hunt was a
Four new freshman defenders will be joining the Huskies this season: Nicole Bartlett, Lexi Arnott, Jannah Pierce and Ava Gialanella. New midfielders include freshmen Hayden Sumner and Olivia Penn. On offense, graduate student Bridget Gleason and freshman Claire Murray will be joining as forwards for Northeastern. Finally,
team alongside three existing keepers: junior Eliza Teplow, graduate student Sophie Theresia Augustin and sophomore Federica Gavelli.
Despite the Huskies’ record, Teplow had an impressive 2024 season. Given the team’s struggle to convert offensively, Northeastern’s goalkeepers were put under pressure last year. Many of the Huskies’ ties were a result of the consistently strong goaltending by Teplow seen throughout the season. Augustin also contributed some key saves,
the College of Charleston Oct. 3, 2024, when she tallied seven saves to end the game at 0-0.
Ashley Phillips will lead the team into 2025 for her 10th season as head coach alongside new assistant coach Abby Carchio, who is joining from Roger Williams University. Northeastern stands at a 0-2-1 record, with losses to Rhode Island and Providence and a draw against Holy Cross. The Huskies take on the Brown University Bears Sept. 4.
Garden.
AOIFE JEFFRIES News Staff
Players smile during a match against the University of Delaware Oct. 27, 2024. The women’s soccer team ended last season with a 2-9-7 record.
Photo by Elli Einset
Graphic by Katie Mulcahy
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Northeastern’s Disability Access Services is another obstacle for disabled students
ANTAINE ANHALT AND GIANNA DEMONICO Columnist and Contributor
Every Northeastern student is familiar with the stress of housing selection: With your housing lottery number in hand, you eagerly wait for your selection slot only to watch all the best options get booked up.
This stress is tenfold for students registered with a disability. As students who are registered and have gone through the housing process, we know this stress first-hand.
It’s no secret among Northeastern’s disabled community that Disability Access Services, or DAS, provides little support and often adds unnecessary obstacles, from housing accommodations to academic and mental health support. As a whole, the department tends to be largely ineffective, causing more stress for students instead of alleviating it.
If your disability accommodation qualifies you for housing pre-selection — which allows certain students to select housing from a limited pool before everyone else — you can’t see available housing options until scheduling a meeting. In our experience, this 20-minute appointment is usually held with a random staff member, someone who is often unfamiliar with our needs. Following this meeting, we are often left aggravated and with more questions than answers.
While the regular housing process offers a wealth of links, resources and clear steps for students to follow, Northeastern offers little transparency about the DAS process — we’re practically left in the dark right up until our 20-minute meeting. Adding insult to injury, we often find out that our non-DAS peers ended up with better housing options, even if their housing lottery numbers were worse than ours.
Beyond DAS being hard to work with, it is also hard to find. In July 2024, the department changed its name from the Disability Resource Center, or DRC, to the DAS, stating, “This new name better reflects our commitment to providing accessible resources and supports to the Northeastern students and community” — but they didn’t seem to add any significant new resources. Worse, the portal is still listed as “DRC Services” on the Student Hub as of Aug. 28. For students unaware of the name change, such negligence hinders their ability to find the resources they need.
Instead of offering individualized solutions, DAS tends to rely on a one-size-fits-all approach.
When students register with DAS, they are first assigned a case manager to help them through the process. But the quality of each case manager isn’t consistent; as students registered with disabilities, we have both faced rude, short-tempered managers who
have shut down legitimate questions in invalidating ways. These case managers don’t have the same understanding of our experiences as we do, leading us to tirelessly justify the requests we make.
Based on our experiences, it feels like DAS comes up with arbitrary “guidelines” for accommodation approvals or denials. Constantly being talked down to feels patronizing and unproductive; we are reduced to our diagnoses on paper without much empathy for who we are as people or what our needs may be.
Furthermore, DAS requires lengthy, invasive paperwork from psychiatrists, doctors and therapists. After your paperwork is submitted, you sometimes have to wait weeks to see which accommodations you qualify for, a process that makes us feel like the DAS review board is analyzing whether or not we fit their definition of “disabled enough.”
Recently, one of us made a request with the DAS for additional excused absences. Despite the request being fully relevant to their disability, they were told that such accommodations were typically only available to students with physical disabilities that flare up. The request was denied without further explanation or follow-up.
The other made a request that would require professors to notify them of high stress or high sensory activities. Despite the request being
specifically made to address an anxiety disorder, it was denied on the basis of there being “no disability-related barrier to access identified that would be ameliorated by the request.”
The arbitrary nature of DAS’ decision-making becomes more clear when you look at its inconsistent application. One of our friends had this experience when requesting a single on-campus dorm room. Even though they cited the same diagnosis and reasons as we did, their housing request was denied, while ours was approved.
Ableism exists enough in the world as it is. DAS is supposed to alleviate concerns and support Northeastern’s disabled community; instead, it has become just another barrier. Northeastern has the resources, funding and the infrastructure to provide better support, so why are we left facing unnecessary obstacles and indifference? We fail to see a world in which that is acceptable.
Antaine Anhalt is a second-year communication studies major and columnist for The News. He can be reached at anhalt.a@northeastern.edu.
Gianna DeMonico is a third-year business and design combined major. She can be reached at demonico.g@ northeastern.edu.
If you would like to submit a letter to the editor in response to this piece, email comments@huntnewsnu.com with your idea.
Why AI does not belong in academia
The views expressed in this piece are the personal views of the author, a faculty member at Northeastern, and do not reflect those of his department or the institution.
On the first day of class each semester, instead of students asking, “What will be on our exams?” their new opening question has become, “Can we use AI?”
Artificial intelligence, or AI, is oxymoronic. Intelligence solely rests in a sentient being. Meanwhile, the definition of “artificial” connotes that which is made or produced by human skill; not occurring naturally.
Yet, many students and educators remain oblivious to this intrinsic contradiction, with one Digital Education Council survey finding that 86% of students and 61% of faculty use AI in their courses. Swimming against the current push for AI, I have specifically prohibited AI use within my courses. I do not use it, and students may not use it. End of story.
Students, overwhelmed with their other commitments and responsibilities, often use AI to look for a shortcut or as a way to save time on classwork.
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Students wanting to cut corners is not a new phenomenon. Thinking back to my primary and secondary school education, I remember many of my classmates lamenting, “Why do I need to learn math if I will never use it after I am out of school?”
of learning itself. To paraphrase astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, it is not the subject itself, but the methods, tools and tactics you develop through learning it that will help you solve problems throughout your lifetime.
Without this process, how can students make their educational journey their own? I strongly believe in author and inspirational speaker Simon Sinek’s assertion that, “As you gain experience, you lose fear.” By relying on AI, are students just trading away this everlasting benefit for immediate gratification?
College courses build the foundation for a lifetime of learning, especially for students who are studying a discipline for the first time. It is critical that professors impart knowledge by encouraging students to work through complex problems — problems which do not include deciding on the best AI prompt to use.
Given that many of us have more than 120 students each semester, how much time will each professor end up investing in this? Even if only 15 students are suspected of using AI to cheat on an assignment, there will be a logistical nightmare of meetings and follow-ups with each of them, easily becoming dozens of hours between all the students. I would rather be assisting students who need it as opposed to becoming an AI policeman.
the movie “The Matrix,” the science fiction genre has already warned us about the dangers of machines wielding unrestrained power. If I’ve taken anything from this genre, it is this: Once we outsource our ability to think critically, it is just a matter of when, not if, we humans will become obsolete.
My concerns may seem hyperbolic, but the stakes of using AI in education are incredibly high. I would much rather err on the side of developing critical thinkers as opposed to creating a society tempted by flashy technology, mired in groupthink. We owe it to ourselves but more importantly, we must do it for posterity.
Ronald C. Zullo is a senior lecturer of accounting and taxation. He can be reached at r.zullo@northeastern.edu.
If you would like to submit a letter to the editor in response to this piece, email comments@huntnewsnu.com with your idea.
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Students may not understand that the value lies in the process
As experts in our field, our own use of AI raises the possibility that our course materials may not be up to our own rigorous standards. In an internal document made available to faculty in August 2023, Northeastern acknowledged the issues that AI may pose for its faculty. The university first recognized that AI may “create new questions about what constitutes academic integrity.” Northeastern then advised faculty that, in cases where we suspect inappropriate use of AI, we should “collect more information by talking with the student about their process in creating the work.”
AI use in higher education may have pervasive societal implications. Once students leave college and enter the workforce, they will encounter unusual problems that require creative solutions. For students to become future leaders, they must know how to reason and think. Technology is already encouraging students to act reflexively and without thought, as demonstrated when I ask a class what 10% of 100 is, and the majority of students pull out a smartphone or calculator. In almost every context, students are terrified not to have their “comfort tool” at hand. When given a writing assignment, students should not need a ready-made “AI prompt” just to get started and generate ideas.
As professors, we owe it to our students to teach them to think, not search the internet. We owe them the respect of providing error-free course materials and the human element at their graduation ceremony.
I remind and challenge my peers to be mindful of the future that we are helping shape. From Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World” to
RONALD ZULLO Contributor
Graphic by Katie Mulcahy
Reaching out to your professors matters
KRIISH HATE Contributor
Stepping into college marks not just a change of classroom, but a whole new world of independence, exploration and uncertainty.
Starting my master’s degree in mechanical engineering at Northeastern, I vividly remember spending my first day lost in the maze of Ryder Hall and overwhelmed by the differential equations in my control systems class. It all felt like a leap into the unknown.
Now, two semesters in and halfway through my research project, I’ve found my way in the classrooms that once felt so intimidating. I couldn’t have done this without leaning on an overlooked resource that can make all the difference: my professors.
Oftentimes, students just view professors as people who grade them. The conversation between students after an exam in class is typically, “Do you know what grade you got on the final project? What feedback did you get from the professor?”
But professors aren’t just here to grade you — they can be mentors, collaborators and door-openers.
Reaching out to my professors profoundly shaped my path, ultimately reconnecting me with my passion for engineering. I had always wanted to use engineering as a tool to solve environmental problems, but after being
burned out by a rigid, compartmentalized curriculum in India — lost in the world of physics and unable to make connections to the environment — I decided to leave my engineering interests behind. Everything changed after I transferred to the U.S. to pursue environmental science at Rowan University; it was there that I met Dr. B., an engineering professor. Dr. B. was at one of the Rowan Motorsports Club events to give his all-time favorite lecture on key design failures in the automotive history. As a car enthusiast, I instantly connected with the models he mentioned and the personal anecdotes he shared — especially
connect with a professor is within the classroom. Often, it begins with taking a course that sparks your interest. When a topic resonates, ask follow-up questions after class or for resources on the topic like I did in my fluid mechanics course.
For those who aim to make the most of what their professor can offer during the course, visiting professors during office hours is one of the best ways to build a personal connection. Statistics from the National Survey of Student Engagement show that student-faculty interaction is one of the strongest predictors of student engagement, academic success and satisfaction. Also, studies consistently show that
help. The Showcase of Opportunities for Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavor is a university-wide research showcase that features over 100 professors each year and attracts more than 1,600 students. Alternatively, Northeastern’s mentorship directory helps you find faculty across disciplines who are actively looking to work with undergraduates, and the Undergraduate Research and Fellowships portal provides research listings, email templates and step-by-step guides for reaching out to faculty.
Opportunities extend beyond these resources. There are also plenty of co-op mentor networks and student clubs where professors serve
in ways I never imagined possible. I now conduct research in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, working in Amy Mueller’s lab with the Environmental Sensors Group.
This opportunity grew directly out of conversations I initiated with professors, where I shared how my undergraduate research and work at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution overlapped with my current interests. Professors were the catalysts for my growth, but only because I chose to take the first step.
Taking the initiative to reach out to professors isn’t always easy, but it’s one of the most valuable opportunities that can shape your life in meaningful ways. Whether it’s that one class that clicks, a fruitful conversation during office hours or a simple email expressing genuine interest in someone’s work — it can make all the difference.
Don’t wait for opportunities to come to you. Go out and seek them from those who can empower your
Kriish Hate is a master’s student in mechanical engineering with a concentration in mechatronics. He can be reached at hate.k@northeastern.edu. If you would like to submit a letter to the editor in response to this piece, email comments@huntnewsnu.com with your idea.
Graphic by Catherine Gore
Hustle culture is procrastination in disguise
There I was — at 11:01 p.m. — with 59 minutes on the clock left to write a five-page essay due at midnight. Was I hunched over my keyboard, typing away at the pages, formatting my bibliography and perfecting each topic sentence? Of course not. Instead, my eyes were glued to the LinkedIn search bar as I desperately tried to reach 500+ connections in the name of building my “brand.”
This story might seem eerily familiar to Northeastern students, as I was but one more victim falling for the false allure of hustle culture.
Hustle culture, the “grindset,” or whatever the kids are calling it these days, often masquerades as productivity. But for many students like myself, this ideal acts as a socially acceptable form of procrastination. This endless cycle — doing every single task you can think of except what really matters — is how real work gets delayed. By the looks of students running around campus, everyone’s schedule seems insane — but what are we truly getting done? Across the internet, influencers promote the idea that constant motion without pause is directly correlated with progress. But how meaningful is this “progress” when it requires ignoring the items at the very top of our
to-do lists? Why must we glamorize overcommitment without any breaks, like feeling that joining 17 clubs, having four co-op interviews and one mental breakdown in a week is necessary? It’s obvious we would rather appear busy than actually be busy.
Many students want to feel productive, but they lack the energy or discipline to do the actual work. It might be because procrastination often looks “productive” when the alternative is cognitively heavier work, like completing a difficult assignment due the same night or crafting a personalized cover letter for a job application. It seems we often avoid the struggle of real work in favor of mindless tasks because they are so
much easier to complete and give us that satisfying, yet false, feeling of accomplishment. We yearn for packed schedules because they distract us from our goals, and in an ever-evolving society where busyness is easily quantified, distraction feels a lot like progress. Hustle culture gives us a way to constantly keep moving forward, even if we end up going in circles.
There’s also the lure of social validation. Being busy looks good, and hustle culture feeds off that image. It is much easier to tell everyone, “I’ve been so overloaded with work” than it is to say, “I need to take a break.”
And at Northeastern? Don’t even get me started on how difficult it is to say, “I have no clue what I’m doing.” As students at an extremely pre-professional and competitive university, we’re constantly fighting the feeling that we are falling behind. It is this very fear that perpetuates an endless cycle: constantly “working” but getting nowhere.
At Northeastern, success is now measured by “hustling,” which is then displayed by exhaustion. Since when did we start glorifying the grind — fueling ourselves with three coffees, two Red Bulls and a Wollaton’s sandwich to make it through an all-nighter at Snell Library?
The ultimate enabler in this never-ending battle is one of our most-used social media apps: LinkedIn. While a great tool for staying connected, finding post-graduate employment opportunities and congratulating peers on their achievements, it is, in reality, a curated anxiety machine with cute marketing. LinkedIn rewards the performance
of effort and not the substance, encouraging users to spend hours tacking accomplishments onto their profiles without regard to the actual quality of their work.
To combat the fallacy brought on by the “grindset mentality,” I urge you to think about the true difference between busy work and “work work.” The latter involves intentional effort and strategic planning. It requires you to focus on fewer things — often less visible ones — and execute them right.
And, because you’re a human being who inevitably won’t always be able to do this “work work,” use these moments to indulge in some intentional laziness. Take a nap, turn on a movie and catch up on some much-needed sleep. So long as you end up completing the task you rested from or are resting up for, rest is a productive choice.
Truth is, buying into hustle culture will not help you achieve success — just the optics of it. It lures us in with the comfort of structure and repetitiveness while simultaneously letting us avoid the discomfort of focus.
So if you are reading this article instead of emailing your professor back, I see you! Just kidding, I really can’t, but please email them back.
Honor Seares is a fifth-year economics and history combined major. She can be reached at seares.h@ northeastern.edu.
If you would like to submit a letter to the editor in response to this piece, email comments@huntnewsnu.com with your idea.
HONOR SEARES
Contributor
A visibly stressed man works on his laptop in a study booth. Many Huskies have felt pressured by Northeastern’s hustle culture, overpacking schedules and constantly checking LinkedIn. Photo courtesy Tim Gouw, Unsplash.
Northeastern volleyball hopes to make a comeback with additions to roster, coaching staff
CASSANDRA JOYCE Deputy Sports Editor
Northeastern women’s volleyball
with a completely different roster. Northeastern acquired seven freshmen, one redshirt freshman and one graduate student after six players
Meirelles appeared in five matches for the University of California San Diego before missing the rest of the season due to injury. However, she showed
At Fairfield, Rodenbüsch averaged 1.78 kills and 1.27 digs per set, as well as 53 blocks last season. In the first round of the NCAA playoffs for
Crossword
Edited by Arielle Rabinovich
Reeves ranked fifth in digs,
fourth in assists with 72 and third in service aces with 18. Smith was fourth on the team in kills and fifth on the team in aces, with 168 and 13, respectively.
The Huskies begin conference play Sept. 19 at Stony Brook University and have their first home game Sept. 26 against Towson University at Cabot Center.
ACROSS
1. Arrogant
5. Roast on a skewer 9. __ Seltzer
13. Misplaces 15. M*A*S*H star Alan 16. Emblem
17. Matthews, e.g. 18. Solve with a TI-84 20. Most docile
22. Brooklyn basketball team 23. Confuse
24. Poker players’ accessories
26. __/Her
28. An ___ for an ___
29. Objects that distort and deflect colors
32. Shapewear brand owned by Kim
Kardashian
36. Clock feature
39. Winnie the ___
40. Kendrick or Wintour
41. North or South, perhaps
42. Unmixed, clean
43. It’s lit
44. What might be in a red solo cup
45. Adored
46. Hardens, like for a challenge
48. Exist
50. Lady, in Buenos Aires
51. Paper aids for lecturegoers
57. Outdoor gear retailer, for short 59. __ in the face
61. Brimmed beachwear (2 wds.)
62. Pullovers
65. Pageant winner accessory
66. Lion feature 67. Like Central or Washington Square
68. Ping-based location technology 69. Picnic pests
70. Exceptional, slangily
71. Washington MLB team (abbr.)
DOWN
1. Moving might give you a clean one
2. __ Eel
3. Instruction on library computer (2 wds.)
4. Sydney Sweeney has good ones, according to ad
5. Pouch
6. Geometry surface
7. Collects dust, say 8. Diplomacy skill
9. Hand communication
10. Omits (2 wds.)
11. Upton or Hudson
12. Trebek
14. Alternatives to 65 across
19. Nation dissolved in 1991
21. Swift, of “Our Song,” to fans, perhaps
25. Daniel __, author of Robinson Crusoe
27. Large river animal, for short 29. Each
30. Seconds, perhaps
31. Excretes, as tears
32. Woodshop tools
33. Make a scarf, say
34. Constant, like chatter
35. “Get ready to meet your __”
37. Draft pick
38. French philosophist
41. “Viewers like you” channel facing budget cuts
45. Premieres
47. Partner to lad
49. Request on OpenTable, for short
51. Winner of 22 Grand Slams
52. Puccini work
53. Contains layers
54. It means family
55. Measure of gold
56. Celebrities
57. Bombeck, newspaper columnist
58. Audible expression of discomfort
60. “__ of an Angel”, Hinder song
63. __ Moines
64. Chicago WNBA team
Northeastern women’s volleyball players raise their arms in celebration Oct. 25, 2024. The team acquired nine new players this offseason when six players graduated last spring.
Photo by Sydney Ciardi
Freshman setter Gabby Reeves prepares to spike the ball Oct. 25, 2024. The team announced a new head coach and roster for the upcoming season.
Photo by Sydney Ciardi