November 14, 2025

November 14, 2025

Northeastern overhauled its DEI office.

Here’s

what we know about the shift.

In January, Northeastern quietly rebranded its Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to the “Office of Belonging.” The rebrand, and subsequent scrubbing of all DEI-related language, came just days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order stating that private companies and large non-profits would be subject to investigation by the U.S. attorney general if they were found to have “egregious and discriminatory” DEI programs.

The rebrand caused an uproar among faculty and students. The day

after The Huntington News reported on the change, more than 430 people attended a Jan. 29 faculty senate meeting, and several expressed concerns about the changes.

“Northeastern’s commitment to embracing our entire global community remains steadfast,” Vice President for Communications Renata Nyul wrote in a statement to The News Jan. 29. “While internal structures and approaches may need to be adjusted, the university’s core values don’t change. We believe that embracing our differences — and building a community of belonging — makes Northeastern stronger.”

Months after the rebrand, the Northeastern community is still left

with more questions than answers about the revised office, its structure and what gave rise to the change.

The News reached out multiple times to each of the 44 faculty members and university leaders listed as members of the “Presidential Council on Belonging.” The council “acts as an advisory body to the university’s leadership,” according to its website.

Several members declined to comment or redirected The News to the university’s media team. Richard O’Bryant, the university’s chief belonging officer, who sets the agenda for the office, did not respond to interview requests.

Some individuals listed on the

Former Husky Cam Schlittler makes history in MLB playoffs

SASHA CHARLES

Former Northeastern baseball pitcher Cam Schlittler recently faced the biggest moment of his athletic career thus far. The 24-year-old starting pitcher for the New York

series-clinching Game 3 of the American League Wildcard Series against the Boston Red Sox Oct. 2, making MLB postseason history as the first pitcher to throw eight shutout innings with 12 strikeouts and no walks allowed.

Since being called up July 9, Schlittler has been nothing but dominant.

The Walpole native posted a regular season ERA of 2.96 over 73 innings pitched while rotating between the five pitches in his arsenal. In his very first start, Schlittler threw nine out of 10 fastest pitches by a Yankee in the 2025 season up to that point and only continued to improve.

SCHLITTLER, on Page 9

CITY

Is Boston the city that sleeps?

Read about what’s holding Boston’s nightlife back.

CAMPUS

Meet the Lorax of Northeastern

Read about how NU earned its arboretum status.

website responded to The News saying they weren’t a part of the office at all. “I am not affiliated with the Office of Belonging and have never been affiliated with that office,” Margaret Burnham, a professor of law who is listed on the website, wrote in an email.

“The website should be mostly up to date, and unless they are marked ‘ex-officio,’ those are the current members of the council. James Hackney is no longer chair and that will be updated,” a Northeastern spokesperson wrote in an email to The News Nov. 12. (As of publication, Hackney’s title appears as co-chair.)

Solve The News’ November crossword!

Answers will be revealed in the next print issue.

by

Northeastern must condemn Trump’s compact

In its latest attempt to control academic institutions, the Trump administration recently sent nine universities the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.” President Donald Trump promised universities multiple benefits, including federal grants, in exchange for their adherence to demands that benefit his agenda.

This compact has instilled anger and uncertainty in many students across the nation. The lack of transparency regarding why these nine universities were chosen — and what universities may be chosen next — has made the future of higher education even more unstable. It represents an escalation of brazen government overreach, one characterized by the suffocation of conflicting viewpoints and targeting of minority groups.

The Huntington News Editorial Board views this compact as an attempt to divide higher education institutions and coerce universities to adhere to this administration’s ideologies.

At best, the compact is a thinly veiled bribe. At worst, it represents a pivotal attempt from the Trump administration to manipulate institutions of higher education — creating a landscape that prioritizes the current administration’s ideological framework over genuine intellectual diversity.

The compact would stifle student protests, requiring universities to commit to using “lawful force” and disciplinary measures on demonstrations that disrupt classrooms and study areas. It puts specific protections in place for students with conservative ideas, requiring universities to “transform or abolish institutional units that purposefully punish, belittle, and even spark violence against” them, but fails to extend these protections to students with other viewpoints.

What qualifies as a unit that “belittles” conservative ideas? Could it begin to include political organizations that loudly condemn or offend them?

FIle photo by Jessica Xing

Photo by Margot Murphy

Graphic

Rhea Lamba

ELIZABETH CHALMERS AND DECLAN LANE News Staff

Cam Schittler rejoins teammates after a game. Schlittler made MLB postseason history as the first pitcher to throw eight shutout innings with 12 strikeouts and no walks allowed. Photo courtesy Jim Pierce, Northeastern Athletics.

Yankees took the mound in the

News Correspondent

EDITORIAL BOARD

TRUMP, on Page 10

A collage featuring Joseph E. Aoun, EXP, the John D. O’Bryant African-American Institute, the American flag and the LGBTQ+ flag. Northeastern rebranded its DEI office to the new “Office of Belonging.” Collage by Lily Cooper. File photos by Jessica Xing and Miles Mu. Documents from The White House.

DEI, on Page 2

Northeastern’s rebranded Office of Belonging spurs confusion following DEI overhaul

Only two members agreed to be interviewed: Ted Landsmark, professor of public policy and urban affairs and ex-officio for the Office of Belonging, and Patricia Davis, an associate professor of communication studies.

In their interviews with The News, Davis and Landsmark said the new mission of the office is not yet determined, and it may take a while before the structure is finalized.

A change in structure

In a May interview with The News, Senior Vice President for External Affairs Mike Armini said that the university had been reviewing its DEI policy since the departure of former Chief Inclusion Officer Karl Reid more than a year prior.

“Though we had decided to center our efforts on Belonging while I was there, rebranding the office happened after I left,” Reid wrote in an email to The News.

The “Belonging” section of the university’s “Federal Landscape” FAQ page was last updated Sept. 24, when the university wrote that its “commitment to embracing our entire global community remains

steadfast.” During the second Trump administration, the university has continued to highlight its network of 14 campuses, including three non-U.S. campuses. Armini told The News in May that these global campuses “give us what we call a level of resiliency that others don’t have.”

“Given that we are already diverse in a global sense, but somewhat less diverse in terms of our admissions of diverse American students, a number of faculty have quietly asked what the meaning of the reorganization is in terms of the university’s stated intention of serving a wider range of students and research subjects,” Landsmark said. Information scrubbed

Before the rebrand, Northeastern’s DEI website offered various resources, databases, events, newsletters and a message expressing Northeastern’s commitment to “creating a welcoming and inclusive community.” As of publication, the Office of Belonging website includes the Presidential Council on Belonging staff directory, affinity groups and campus accessibility spaces. Resources, events, newsletters and data regarding diversity statistics are no longer listed, though diversity

data is available under the website’s Fact and Figures tab.

The university did not comment on the removal of resources, events and data from the website.

In August, Nyul said the university is implementing the “decentralized approach” that places more responsibility within individual colleges and campuses.

Landsmark said the new mission of the Office of Belonging is “still being shaped and defined.”

“That process is moving forward, even as anti-diversity directives are emerging from Washington,” Landsmark said. “We may not see a resolution for some time [as] the administration assesses what has been happening in the dialogue between administrators in Washington and various campuses around the country.”

The lifespan of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Landsmark confirmed that the rebranding initiative had been in progress since O’Bryant became the chief belonging officer in 2024. He attributed the university’s past diversity efforts to Reid, “an engineer with considerable experience working with diverse students and

with efforts to get them into a wide range of elite colleges.”

Reid left to take the role of vice president for equity and inclusion at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2024, a position he stepped down from in February. According to a letter from MIT President Sally Kornbluth, he did this to “dedicate himself to the broader project of building pathways for opportunity in STEM education across the United States.”

Davis recalled what the meetings were like with Reid before the rebrand.

“I remember the last meeting that I attended was when [Reid] was here, and this was a while ago, and I do remember just numbers being thrown out … most of the meetings that I went to, I remember the discussions involving a lot of numbers and less subjective qualitative information,” Davis said.

Since the executive order and rebranding of the office, at least four staff members have left the Office of Belonging. When asked in August, the university did not confirm whether job positions were eliminated, and directed The News to a September 2024 memo announcing

O’Bryant as chief inclusion and belonging officer, now chief belonging officer.

“I wasn’t surprised to hear [about the layoffs],” Davis said. “When I first heard that the office name was being changed and that it was being reordered … I figured there would probably be layoffs, because those types of reorderings almost always involve layoffs.”

Although the Office of Belonging website reads, “Members of the council regularly serve on working groups for specific projects,” Davis said it had been over a year since the office’s last meeting. Landsmark did not specify when the last meeting was.

Both Landsmark and Davis expressed that they would like students to weight in during the rebrand process.

“Faculty and administrators can look at diversity in one particular way, but the way we look at it would be much different from the way students would look at it,” Davis said. “I think [students] could probably offer more qualitative factors as to why it would be important to them, whereas as faculty and staff members, we’re going to be looking at it mostly from quantitative.”

The Lorax of Northeastern: Under Stephen Schneider, campus arboretum blossoms

predecessor, Chuck Doughty. Along with the job, Schneider was passed down the responsibility of maintaining Northeastern’s arboretum.

Steve Schneider has taken on a vital role at Northeastern: he speaks for the trees.

“My goal is not to be the Lorax, per se, but to inspire as many people, here and abroad, to be like the Lorax,” said Schneider, the director of horticulture and grounds at Northeastern, whose students have granted him the comical, yet suitable, “Lorax” nickname.

In 2019, Northeastern acquired level II arboretum status, making it the first and only university in Boston to establish an accredited arboretum on its main campus. To qualify for level II accreditation, an arboretum must have over 100 woody plant species, a strategic plan, an organizational body, public programs and an employed staff.

“I decided that, as I saw tours

recorder for the Northeastern Arboretum and a 2023 Northeastern alumna.

While at Northeastern, Doughty was well-known for his storytelling abilities. Once, while walking on campus, Doughty encountered President Joseph E. Aoun, and they talked about a specific plant, the Cedrus libani.

“Chuck loves to tell stories,” Schneider said. “And so, you know, he would be taking people on tours and telling them stories about these interesting plants. And one of those people that he had told an interesting story to was President Aoun, and this particular plant was Cedrus libani, the cedar of Lebanon.”

With the backing of Aoun, Doughty worked to develop plant records and implement campus programs, such as Arbor Day, an annual celebration dedicated to planting trees. Since 2022, an Arbor Day event has also been held annually at Kevin W. Fitzgerald Park in Mission Hill, where student volunteers help plant trees to preserve the park’s landscape.

“[It was] one of the best Arbor Day celebrations locally that I’ve ever really seen,” Schneider said of the first Arbor Day celebration at Fitzgerald Park in 2022. “They’ve developed it into something [that] Northeastern students play a pivotal role in … and many of them live on [Mission Hill], so it’s a really nice way to turn things

With support from the Northeastern Arboretum, Fitzgerald Park became a level I accredited arboretum in 2024, which differs from

level II status in that it requires only 25 species of woody plants, one or a few paid or unpaid staff members, an organizational body and a strategic plan to maintain accreditation.

“For quite a few years, Mission Hill had some serious problems with Northeastern. We weren’t really respected there. So when we went there to just do some minor weed cleanup, I felt that it was a good idea to mention [Northeastern’s] arboretum to [Fitzgerald Park] and how their park could be the first city of Boston park, in my knowledge, that would become an accredited arboretum,” Doughty said.

Northeastern’s partnership with Fitzgerald Park helped the university gain credibility with the Mission Hill community.

Thoreau Path in the West End and the Southwest Corridor Park are other green spaces that have earned level I arboretum status with Schneider’s help. North eastern’s arboretum staff made the process easier by provid ing the hardware necessary to create plant re cord labels.

Northeastern’s arboretum, which includes trees from across the university’s campuses, makes up 11.5 of the Boston

campus’ total 72 acres. The university’s Oakland campus is developing an additional part of the arboretum, and Schneider also plans to expand to the Portland, Maine, campus in future years.

“I’m interested in there being a part of the collections for everybody,” Schneider said of the opportunity Northeastern’s arboretums offer to unite students. “Not only is the arboretum something that should speak to you, but it should also be a conduit for [any] architecture major to connect and work with an environmental science major on something important.”

Northeastern’s status as an arboretum opens up a range of opportunities for the university, including access to specialized resources and funding through the professional, international network of arboreta.

“[It is] a big part of an arbore gravitates towards the plants, but it’s

KAYLA GOLDMAN AND PALOMA WELCH News Staff

Stephen Schneider gestures to a plant Oct. 3. Schneider studied biology at Northeastern before becoming the university’s director of horticulture and grounds.

Photo by Margot Murphy

DEI, from Front

A yellow hybrid rose soaks in the sun near Stetson West Oct. 3. Northeastern’s Horticulture and Grounds department launched an interactive map that allows visitors to explore the foliage around them.

Photo by Margot Murphy

Is Boston the city that sleeps?

JANIRA SKRBKOVA News Staff

Boston, on the surface, has all the makings of a thriving nightlife scene. The city serves as the metropolitan center of New England and boasts a collegiate population of over 250,000.

“It’d be really cool if Boston was another one of those nightlife hubs,” said Ryan Wright, a fourth-year business administration and design combined major at Northeastern.

But it’s not.

Wright has DJed throughout the city for the past three years. He got his start playing for a group called Baker Street Radio, which held underground house parties. Wright found his niche playing techno and house music for experimental event collectives in Boston, decentralized from the mainstream club and bar scene.

“These events are real places where culture is shared in Boston and where you’re going to get an active pulse on what’s really going on … and the city just doesn’t promote that,” Wright said.

Massachusetts law prohibits the sale of alcohol past 2 a.m., so Boston shuts down accordingly.

“It feels like the night’s almost getting cut short, especially in the underground scene,” Wright said. “It’s traditional to have really long sets, sometimes three, four hours. But where Boston’s nightlife rules lay, it kind of creates an atmosphere where you only have a window from 10 to 2 that you’re able to hold an event.”

Adding insult to injury, those who are inclined to start the night off earlier don’t reap the typical benefits. Happy hours were banned in

photo by Jessica Xing

Massachusetts in a 1984 regulation to combat drunk driving fatalities, so forget early evening discounts.

“A lot of the reasons I say no to going out when I want to is because it’s too expensive, and Boston in general is so expensive,” said Ava Knight, a fifth-year data science and biology combined major at Northeastern. “I think not having happy hour is one of those things that you’re just like, ‘I have to pay $17 for a drink any time of the day?’ Cut me some slack like some of these other big cities with a high cost of living.”

Knight has two going-out routines. Post-shift, she’ll go out with her restaurant coworkers to the dive bar around the corner. Other nights, she likes to dance salsa and bachata with friends, but still thinks Boston nightlife seems to be missing a certain je ne sais quoi.

“Even at some of the clubs that have a designated dance floor, people are just kind of on their phones or standing around,” Knight said. “I wish there was more of a dancing culture here. I feel like that’s something that’s lacking when compared to other cities.”

Amanda Ito, a third-year business administration major at Northeast-

ern, agreed on the atmosphere front.

“Honestly, I think people don’t know how to party here,” Ito said. “I notice in some clubs there will be people literally just standing there. Or, for example, at specific DJ events, people are just recording the DJ, and it doesn’t look like anyone’s having fun.”

Knight spent her first year of college at Fordham University before transferring to Northeastern. She observed that in New York City, rules were a lot more lax, and attributed part of the problem to young people having especially limited options in Boston.

“The nightlife is definitely very different. Don’t tell my mom I said this, but when you’re 18 and you’re wearing a little itty bitty dress, you can get into a club in Manhattan no problem,” Knight said.

Boston also holds a limited number of active liquor licenses — approximately 1,200 as of July 2024 as compared to New York City’s 24,870 as of 2023 — so liquor authorization is a hot commodity, and permit resale prices soar on the private market. Larger companies, having more capital, monopolize what’s available.

From Wright’s perspective, that monopolization translates to homogenous nights out.

“The clubs are very focused on trying to sell as many drinks as possible, as many tickets as possible, getting as many people in and out of the door as they can. They’re not really focused on creating an experience,” he said.

The city isn’t blind to these grievances. In February 2023, Mayor Michelle Wu appointed Corean Reynolds as Boston’s first director of nightlife economy.

“Past administrations have launched late-night-related pilot initiatives, but there was not a dedicated effort made to understand the nightlife economy landscape and deliver solutions,” Reynolds said in a statement to The Huntington News. “I serve as a vital link between City Hall and the stakeholders within Boston’s nightlife ecosystem.”

In May 2024, Wu established the Nightlife Initiative for a Thriving Economy, or NITE. The committee meets every other month to assess policies that affect the nightlife economy and culture of the city.

In September 2024, Gov. Maura Healey signed legislation proposed by city councilor Brian Worrell to bring 225 new liquor licenses to the city. Reynolds told The News that the Boston City Councilor of Boston Licensing Board has approved more than 60 of those across 13 neighborhoods as of publication.

This August, the MBTA extended service an hour later on Fridays and Saturdays.

“I am excited that the MBTA — a state-run agency — is listening to the wants and needs of both patrons and nighttime workers,” Reynolds said. “In the next year, I will continue working on policy initiatives to enhance the vibrancy of Boston while also prioritizing safety for nightlife workers and patrons.”

Still, “The big issue is definitely the closing at 2 a.m. and then the no happy hour,” Ito said.

Fenway’s Victory Gardens find new purpose but keep their meaning

While strolling around the Emerald Necklace this cozy fall season, many walkers stumble across this hidden Boston gem.

Founded in 1942, the Richard D. Parker Memorial Victory Gardens in Fenway initially supported American citizens during World War II by providing fresh food, while canned goods went to troops to aid the war effort. At the peak of their popularity, about 20 million Victory Gardens spanned across the United States, providing civilians with an estimated 40% of the fresh fruits and vegetables consumed.

The Fenway garden remains one of only two fully operational victory gardens in the United States still open in the same location since the war. Today, the Fenway Victory Gardens stand as a reminder of community efforts past and present.

The Fenway Victory Gardens — spanning 7.5 acres across the Emerald Necklace, a chain of parks in Boston — is broken up into more than 500 plots available for member use. The plots are tended by more than 475 fellows of the Fenway Garden Society, or FGS.

FGS holds several Community Participation Days every year to maintain membership. Sarah Zettek, a resident of Dorchester, has been working in her garden for over 20 years now.

“They’ve got a whole list of different things, like trash pick up, compost and work in the Accessible Garden and all sorts of different tasks,” Zettek said, “That’s how you pretty much meet other gardeners. You make friends.”

Ann LaFrance, a resident of Back Bay, has been enjoying her plot for over three years. She noted the serenity of the gardens provide an escape from the busy city.

“When there’s a nice sunny day, I pop down, pull out my chair, read my book, look out over the flowers and wave to the people as they walk by,” LaFrance said. “It’s just really beautiful ... Here you’ve got the view of the city, you’ve also got the view of all of these beautiful trees that make you feel like you’re kind of in the countryside. It’s kind of a wonderful experience.”

Most importantly, LaFrance has found a sense of community in the gardens.

“Around us are people from all different cultures and languages,” LaFrance said. “There’s so many things that you learn, and you get together with people young and old. Sometimes you have music here, people playing their violins in the middle of the garden. So, it’s just a magical place.”

Both LaFrance and Zettek said the sense of solidarity isn’t just present among plot neighbors but the community as a whole. Many

FGS members participate in a variety of festivals and feasts, including September’s FensFest.

FensFest is open to all Bostonians who want to enjoy the bounty of the gardens. But the September harvest is just the tip of the iceberg. FGS holds a variety of “open garden days” throughout the year, featuring garden tours by members on their plots.

Zettek noted her garden neighbors provided tomatoes to her at FensFest after a particularly low-yielding year on her patch. Though there is no American war effort to support today, about 25% of the plots continue to grow vegetables, including popular crops like tomatoes and salad greens. Gardeners are encouraged to plant local varieties and avoid invasive species in order to preserve the Victory Gardens’ unique microclimate.

Between the busy hands in the garden beds and the curious visitors walking the acre paths, the Fenway Victory Gardens continue to provide a relaxing space away for all those who visit.

Even non-members find respite in the garden’s charm. Ziyi Zhu, a third-year music therapy major at Berklee College of Music, said the gardens provide an excellent break from her busy college life.

QUICK READS

NU adds two new members to board of trustees, removes four Northeastern added two new members to its Board of Trustees in the fall, while four others are no longer listed under the university’s board of directors’ website. Alice Chinebuah and Greg Waters were appointed in September, according to the website. Trustees are elected “from time to time” and are selected to “best advance the university’s mission and vision,” according to the relevant bylaw of the university. Currently, the board has 30 members located in 11 states and seven countries.

None of the members who appear to have left could be reached for comment.

Waters became involved with Northeastern when he co-founded MatrixSpace in 2020. He is also the director of onsemi, which hires Northeastern co-ops. He graduated from Northeastern in 1989 with a master’s degree in computer science and, in 2022, was made a Khoury College 40 for 40 honoree.

Chinebuah, based in Ghana, is currently the Dean’s Strategy Council member in Northeastern’s College of Social Sciences and Humanities. She is a managing partner of the law firm Reynolds, C & Co. She also serves as a notary public for the Republic of Ghana and is a “board member with international institutions engaged in higher education.”

Bostonians head to the polls Nov. 4 for mayoral and local elections

Boston residents headed to the polls Nov. 4 to cast their vote in the city’s most consequential races.

Green foliage frames a bridge over a channel of the Charles River on the edge of Fenway’s Victory Gardens Sept. 12. More than 475 members maintain the community gardens in Fenway.

“I find it really interesting how it’s changed into an area of relaxation and zen,” Zhu said. “It’s been very peaceful walking around. Compared with different American cities I have seen, [the gardens] are so full of inclusiveness and diversity. It feels like a break from the city in a way, which is nice. It’s a quiet area to relax.”

Zettek said that though the purpose of the gardens has changed, the community ties that sustain them hasn’t.

“No matter what disability or age, you can still garden,” she said. “No matter if people dedicated their gardens to feeding their soldiers, whether they knew somebody, or whether they had a father, a grandfather [in the war], something like that … It all goes back to community, it all clicks.”

The mayoral, councilor at-large and district councilor elections were on the ballot. Mayor Michelle Wu won her second term as mayor, and there was little turnover on the city council. Wu won unopposed after Josh Kraft, president of the New England Patriots Foundation and former CEO of the Boston chapter of the Boys and Girls Club, dropped out Sept. 12. Many residents praised Wu on her policies since her initial election in 2021, especially her recent clashes with President Donald Trump over issues like mass deportations.

The councilor-at-large election had no turnover, with all four incumbents winning reelection. All of Boston’s districts had an incumbent and a challenger, with the exception of districts 3 and 8, which only had an incumbent running.

District 7 had two challengers: Said Ahmed and Miniard Culpepper. The district has been without a representative since December 2024, when former councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson was arrested on federal corruption charges. Culpepper won the race, making him the only new councilor.

The Bell in Hand Tavern bar interior Sept. 14, 2024. Massachusetts banned happy hour in 1984. FIle

ANNALISE KARAMAS News Staff

Photo by Annie Jones

Your professor’s grades matter too: How TRACE evaluations impact instructors

CARSON LYLE News Staff

Final grades are due for Jude Mathews, a professor of chemistry and chemical biology, but her students aren’t the only ones being graded.

Toward the end of each semester, Northeastern students receive an email notifying them that the Teacher Rating and Course Evaluation, or TRACE, form is available to complete. TRACE is an online survey designed by the Student Government Association and the Faculty Senate, which allows students to provide anonymous feedback for their course professors.

The TRACE evaluation system was introduced in 2008 and is accessible through the Student Hub under the Academics, Classes and Registration tab. According to Northeastern’s website, TRACE evaluations “are important in the process of course design and improvement, as well as in the process of faculty evaluation.”

But for some professors, TRACE feedback can sometimes feel more destructive than constructive.

Fielding personal attacks

Every semester, Mathews says she braces for negative feedback on her TRACE evaluation.

“You tend to get personal attacks, which are just hard for anybody, and nobody likes to read those,” said Mathews, who has been teaching at the university for 14 years. Professors are given a 10-day window to submit a request to remove any comments that are deemed “personal attacks,” Mathews said.

Kelley Danahy, a professor of chemistry and chemical biology, joined Northeastern’s faculty in 2022. After her first semester teaching, Danahy said she was eager to receive TRACE feedback.

“I had in total 250 students, and most of [the evaluations] were fine,” Danahy said. “Not everyone is going to enjoy the class, but they’ll say what they do or do not like, and that’s totally fair and valid.”

But there was one comment Danahy received that has made her “terrified” of TRACE ever since.

“One of [the reviews] began with, ‘You were never available outside of class. This class was ridiculously hard,’ which doesn’t bother me,” Danahy said. “But then it went on to, ‘You clearly look down on students.’”

teaching professor in the chemistry and chemical biology department, said that “essentially there is no accountability” due to the anonymous nature of TRACE reviews. He received a particularly negative review after the spring 2025 semester, allegedly calling him a “cunt,” which prompted Murga to contact the Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution, or OSCCR. Murga said OSCCR replied that no recourse could be taken against the student.

harassment and discrimination, may be redacted and referred to other university authorities for further investigation.

“Faculty can review their own evaluation reports after grades are due, including student comments, before they are published to the university community,” a Northeastern spokesperson wrote in an email to The Huntington News.

“After reviewing student feedback from TRACE, faculty may request redaction of any comments that meet the criteria below. The Provost’s Office reviews these requests.”

The student had found Danahy’s private Instagram account and tried to use a post she made of a blobfish as proof of this claim. Danahy said the Instagram post was misinterpreted.

“I made a joke comparing myself to a blobfish because I thought I gave my students an easy question on [an] exam, and it did not go well. The joke was about me, like, I feel like [the] jerk,” Danahy said.

The comment that included her Instagram account was redacted by the university. Now, when Danahy sees the TRACE email in her inbox, she has her sister read the reviews first.

Sometimes the reviews cut even deeper. Leonel Murga, an assistant

Murga was able to get the review containing expletives redacted. However, he thinks the university should take further steps.

“There should be a … possibility of identifying the people. But at some point, either [OSCCR] or the police should be able to access the identity of a person when this kind of stuff happens,” Murga said.

There is a redaction system available for faculty, with criteria including reviews which appear to evaluate instructors “on criteria not related to her/his teaching performance and/or on a discriminatory basis.” Moreover, reviews that allege professors of professional impropriety, including

Impact on tenure

Although TRACE reviews may be useful for students in deciding which professors to take during registration, they also factor into decisions when a professor applies for tenure or a promotion.

Dan Kennedy has been a professor at Northeastern’s School of Journalism since 2005, three years before Northeastern made the switch to online teacher evaluations. When Kennedy was up for tenure, he had to find his past paper-conducted reviews and include them in his tenure dossier.

“TRACE evaluations are submitted by faculty when they are applying for tenure and/or promotion. They make up one part of the teaching materials that are reviewed by the department, college committee, dean, and provost in making decisions,” a university spokesperson wrote in an email.

Uncovering potential biases

Professor Patricia Mabrouk has been teaching chemistry and chemical biology at Northeastern for more than 30 years while also conducting science education research. Mabrouk believes that within the TRACE evaluation system, there are “strong biases.”

“Black faculty are often viewed as being less competent than white and Asian faculty,” Mabrouk said. “They are also viewed as having inferior interpersonal skills.”

The university did not comment on alleged gender and racial biases in data. On its “Criteria for Redaction” webpage, the university outlines its “Equal Opportunity” policy and links to the Office of Belonging webpage.

Mabrouk went on to say that even things like age, attractiveness or the discipline a professor teaches can impact an evaluation. TRACE evaluations also impact a professor’s merit raises, which can enable them to conduct research or even help their promotion eligibility. She feels that the anonymous nature of the survey opens the door for issues and thinks in-person feedback would help mitigate false evaluations.

“I know why [in-person feedback] does not occur, because it’s a lot of work,” Mabrouk said. “But they should be trained and should go in the classroom and literally evaluate the quality of the education the students are receiving and provide constructive, specific and actionable feedback so that faculty can learn and grow.”

Northeastern students report concern surrounding ICE on campus at YDSA town hall

In an Oct. 28 town hall held by Northeastern’s chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America, a group of more than 20 students raised concerns about the university’s policies in the event immigration officials were to come on campus.

The Northeastern University Young Democratic Socialists of America, or NEU YDSA, advocates for a “sanctuary campus,” which is a campus that doesn’t cooperate or offers limited cooperation with federal immigration enforcement to protect international students or community members who might be undocumented.

The meeting opened with a statement from Lokesh, the chair of NEU YDSA, who provided only their first name out of privacy concerns. Lokesh, a third-year computer science and neuroscience combined major, said the meeting’s purpose was to call upon Northeastern to listen to student voices and concerns about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, in Boston and potentially on campus.

“Northeastern has completely kept silent in the face of this massive encroachment from the federal government and has refused to be transparent about its policies to protect international students and relevant communities from unjust persecution,” Lokesh said in their

opening statement to the students.

Several Northeastern administrators and staff with the Office of the General Council at Northeastern were invited by NEU YDSA to attend the town hall. Two invitees from the office told The Huntington News the email went to their junk folder.

Since his return to office, President Donald Trump has cracked down on immigration, sending ICE to major cities including New York, Boston and Chicago. Boston is considered a “sanctuary city,” but since the initiation of widespread ICE raids, the Trump administration has challenged the existence of sanctuary cities, including Boston.

Many attendees, including members of NEU YDSA, said Northeastern needed to be clearer about its plan of action if ICE ever were present on campus.

this does inevitably occur, Northeastern needs to be a part of a broader Boston pushback against ICE. We cannot allow them to get onto campus unless they have the correct warrants, and even then, we should make it as difficult as possible for ICE to do their duty in removing our students that are beloved parts of our community.”

Koai Solano Ortiz, a second-year political science major, NEU YDSA

In an interview with The News after the event, Solano Ortiz expanded more on their personal fear of ICE.

“I couldn’t invite some of my family members [on campus] because of the lack of policy in place,” they said.

“That’s one of the reasons I know me and my friends haven’t brought some of our family members on campus. We’re scared something is going to happen to them, and I’m angry. I am very disappointed in Northeastern’s administration.”

The university didn’t respond to requests for comment on what its policies are regarding federal immigration officials on campus or what resources are available to students who might be at risk of deportation.

“[ICE] is something that we need to expect, and it is not just an idea of something that might happen,” said Simon Braun, a second-year environmental and sustainability sciences and chemistry combined major. “When

member and event attendee, raised concerns during the meeting about dining hall workers on campus who might be immigrants.

“I am a kid of immigrants, and the fear that has plagued our communities is expansive,” Solano Ortiz said during the meeting. “I can’t imagine a kid back at home, waiting for one of our dining hall workers, and they don’t see them.”

In late January, Northeastern published an FAQ page titled “Federal Landscape,” which is updated with information about changes impacting higher education but is not signed by university leaders.

The FAQ’s “Immigration and International Issues” section directs community members with questions or concerns to the Office of Global Services and the Office of the General Counsel.

“I don’t think any international student wants to bet all of their safety on a policy that may or may not exist,” Lokesh said during the meeting.

“If [Northeastern is] not willing to publicly say that ‘Yes, we are not going to allow any federal agents without

proper warrants,’ then we need them to directly say that they will actively fight against illegal entry into dormitories and residence halls, things of that nature.”

Gabriel Besecker, communications director for NEU YDSA, explained the concerns raised during the meeting will be incorporated in the future campaigns and events of the chapter.

“Trump’s crackdown on immigration isn’t going to stop this semester,” said Besecker, who is a third-year economics and psychology combined major. “It’s going to continue on for the next couple years, and I think it’s important that we build an infrastructure for students to feel safe and a voice for them to be heard.”

Toward the end of the meeting, attendees raised concerns about the Northeastern administration’s lack of interest in directly opposing the Trump administration. Evan Caldwell, a representative from the national organization of Democratic Socialists of America, addressed the room in response.

“Most of these concerns can be directly addressed without a single financial cost,” Caldwell said to the group. “Your job as students and as members of this community is to show the rest of your community that you have power together … and the institution that you’re all paying unfathomable amounts of money to can use the resources you’re giving it to keep you safe while you learn.”

ELIZABETH CHALMERS News Staff

A student holds a flyer at the Northeastern Young Democratic Socialists of America town hall Oct. 28. The YDSA chapter at Northeastern was founded in April 2020.

Photo by Curtis DeSmith

Graphic by Bianca Windemuth

Tame Impala’s ‘Deadbeat’ lives up to its name

CHRISTINA MCCABE Lifestyle Editor

After five years of anticipation, Tame Impala’s fifth studio album, “Deadbeat,” is a 12-song compilation of low-effort, unpolished tracks leaving listeners wanting more.

Tame Impala, the psychedelic music project of Australian singer-songwriter Kevin Parker, dropped its fifth studio album Oct. 17. While many hoped it would live up to the expectations set by “The Slow Rush” in 2020, Parker failed to deliver. The album is used as a means of self-exploration, filled with personal experiences and grappling with feelings of being inadequate. While the messaging is prevalent, the execution is poor, and the album lacks the instrumental substance that fans have come to expect from Tame Impala.

The album kicks off with “My Old Ways,” which starts with Parker’s raw vocals before layering in the drums and synths. While the song suggests Parker is falling into the same mold he inhabits with past music, it provides the listener with false hope, as the album takes on a more pop route instead of his traditional psychedelic rock.

Transitioning into “No Reply,” Parker’s vocals truly shine, but the beat differs from his traditional discography and clashes with his lyrics. An upbeat pop track is mixed with Parker’s self-criticism and doubt as he sings: “Was I impolite? Was that joke alright? / I just want to seem like

a normal guy.” Despite his remarkable vocals, the production is subpar, transitioning from a pop beat to a piano ballad that seemingly looks to be something different but does not quite get there.

The epitome of a pop anthem, “Dracula” stands out as one of the top tracks on the album. Hoppy and upbeat, the song is perfect going into the fall season, with the melodic bells and deep cackles on the backtrack reminiscent of something that would be played at a Halloween party.

Originally released Sept. 3, “Loser” embodies Parker’s self-pity and lonerism with harmonic vocals alongside alternative indie singer Djo. The song reflects on one of Parker’s past relationships he cannot reconcile, something that was ultimately his fault. While the song’s production does lean more into pop, the message and lyricism hammers home the overall theme of the album without getting lost, making it one of the best tracks.

Following “Loser” are “Oblivion” and “Not My World,” both of which are forgettable house mixes strewn together with careless synths and beats. The musical interlude in “Not My World” is pitiful in comparison to the rest of his discography. The stark beats jar the flow of the album, which up until “Oblivion” was similar to what one might expect from a Tame Impala album. While the effort for stepping outside of his comfort zone with these tracks was there, Parker was unable to deliver anything truly noteworthy.

On the next track, “Piece of Heaven,” Parker finds his way back to his messaging, with meaningful lyricism and impeccable production. The lines, “This room is in shambles / But I think it’s fine / To you, it’s untidy, maybe / To me, it’s divine,” almost hint at the album itself, as Parker is known for being obsessive with his music, and “Deadbeat” is an attempt at him taking a step back from that.

In a dramatic shift, the next track “Obsolete” out shines the entire album with its tropical house beats as Parker begs his partner to be honest and upfront with him while he verges on the edge of breaking down. The outro of the song is immaculate, with Parker showcasing his musical talent through a funky guitar riff.

Toward the end of the album, “Ethereal Connection” and “See You On Monday (You’re Lost)” can be described by track 11: an after thought. Starting off with “Ethereal Connection,” the psychedelic house track does not sound like it belongs on this album, and the seven-min ute run time is a drag. With synths and pieces sounding like something from “Lonerism” — his fan-favorite second studio album — Parker found a way to make “See You On Monday (You’re Lost)” unenjoya ble. With its reused melodies and unpolished lyrics, the song is all over the place, making it unlistenable.

On track 11, Parker seems to have finally figured out how to step out of his comfort zone with “Afterthought,” as this song is anything but. His upbeat synths and smooth harmonies sound like Tame Impala while still providing something new

In a disappointing fashion, the 12th and final track, “End of Summer,” is a weak closer to an already struggling album. The one-dimensional house beat provides nothing new, and the slow build leads to a weak bass drop, leaving listeners unsatisfied when the album is over.

highs and lows, the album as

Heating up Harvard Square: Sun Room and West 22nd make waves at The Sinclair

ABBEY CONLEY News Correspondent

Cambridge experienced a musical heat wave Oct. 23 as Southern California surf rock band Sun Room brought the sounds of the West Coast to a cold Boston night. The group delivered an electric setlist at The Sinclair in the middle of its North American tour.

Opening for Sun Room was West 22nd, an Austin-based indie rock band touring for its debut album

“Nowhere To Be.” From the moment the band stepped out on stage, the mood was set for the night, and fans could not have been more elated.

The hour-long set perfectly show cased its discography while still getting fans excited for Sun Room.

Walking on stage, the boys of West 22nd looked like five iterations of Dylan Minnette circa 2019, and the band brought its signature indie rock sound. The setlist of songs off “Nowhere To Be” cer tainly made fans glad they found somewhere to be.

In an interview with The Huntington News, the band de scribed its tour in three words: “Fun, fun, fun,” said lead singer Logan Madsen.

“Grateful, fun and exciting,” said Jeremy Ancheta, West 22nd’s lead guitarist. The band’s overarch ing description of touring with Sun Room and on its own was “fun,” and its show clearly did that justice. Both the band and the fans looked to

Sun Room finally took the stage to roaring cheers, heading right into “Just Yesterday,” a catchy surf rock

A bit later on in the gig, Asgian grabbed the mic to announce, “This song is called ‘Don’t Cause a

Feel free to cause a riot.” The crowd took those instructions to heart, keeping the mood high and the atmosphere loud.

The tracks that followed, “Outta Their Minds,” “Sol Del Sur” and “She’ll Move to London,” were all consistent with the band’s kinetic surf rock sound. The band then moved on to a cover of Mazzy Star’s “Fade Into You,” a slow, melodic ballad that they turned into an amped-up

Throughout the night, the connection between the artists and the crowd was undeniable. It felt less like a performance and more like a meeting between longtime friends,

with Asgian and the band making everyone feel as if they were sitting together on the California coast.

To end the gig, Sun Room brought it home with “Fun” and “Oslo, Paris, LA,” two of its most vibrant, and as the name of the former suggests, fun tracks. As the band played out the last two songs, the mosh pit was resurrected, somehow even bigger than the first time. It was apparent that even after the group had left the stage, Sun Room’s stop in Boston was a can’t-miss show.

Heading into another cold New England winter, Sun Room and West 22nd gave Harvard Square a last taste of summer and a night fans won’t forget.

Riot.’

Comic by Quinn Pasmantier

Cooking Column: Tips to bake a perfect apple pie

Choose the right apples and pre-cook the filling

I still think about an apple pie I ate three years ago. It was a windy day in November, and my friends and I were celebrating Friendsgiving.

It was cold outside — the kind of cold that makes you want nothing more than to be inside a cozy apartment eating a warm slice of pie.

A good apple pie is like a comforting hug. To me, it’s much more than just the quintessential fall dessert, but something to be enjoyed with company. If you’re planning on bringing an apple pie to your Friendsgiving potluck this year, here are some tips to make it great.

Keep your ingredients cold

Pastries don’t do well in warm environments. A great pie crust is flaky and crisp. To get that texture, you need to have pockets of cold butter dotted throughout your dough. As you bake your pie, the butter will melt, leaving a perfect, flaky consistency. Try sticking the butter in the freezer for half an hour before you start baking and use a cheese grater to get little bits of cold butter to mix into the dough. As you mix, try to work as quickly as possible in order for the ingredients to remain cold.

Use vodka Pie dough consists of three main components: flour, fat and liquid. If you struggle with your pie crust always turning out too soggy or dense, try substituting the liquid in your dough with vodka. Vodka is about 60% water and 40% ethanol, meaning that only 60% of it is actually aiding the crust’s gluten development. By using vodka instead of water, you have the freedom to add more liquid to your dough without making the consistency tough. As the pie bakes, most of the ethanol will evaporate, leaving a tender crust.

For a good pie, you want to go with a firm and tart apple, since you don’t want to end up with a mushy filling. Granny Smith apples are my favorite to bake with — their bright flavor balances out the sweetness of the sugar. Pre-cooking the filling for a few minutes in a saucepan before cooling it and adding it into the pie dough will help the flavors develop and deepen.

Use a baking stone

A trick I use to ensure the bottom of the crust gets as crispy as the top is to flip a baking sheet upside down and place it in the oven before preheating. The sheet acts as a baking stone, helping to distribute heat directly to the bottom of the dish and create a beautiful golden crust. It will also help catch any overflow from the filling and prevent your pie from burning at the bottom of the oven!

Cover the crust

Keep a close eye on your pie in the oven. As soon as you see the top start to brown, cover it entirely with a sheet of tinfoil to prevent burning. The edges of the pie will cook more quickly than the filling since they are thin and more exposed to the heat. The last thing you want is an undercooked filing and an overcooked crust. By using the foil as a shield, you can control the level of browning on your pie.

Rest the pie Sometimes when I follow a recipe, I take the resting time as more of a suggestion than a requirement. But with pies, the resting time can make or break the consistency. You want to leave the pie to cool completely before serving so that the filling has time to set and doesn’t become a soupy mess.

Make sure to allot time for this — it can sometimes take as long as four hours!

APPLE PIE RECIPE

Ingredients:

For

2

For apple filling:

(or

plus more if needed

10 cups apple slices (about 8 apples)

for sprinkling

Instructions:

Prepare the pie dough:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar and salt. Grate in the chilled butter. With a fork or pastry cutter, cut into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse meal. The butter should not be fully mixed in; there should still be small pieces throughout.

Assemble the pie:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees with a flipped baking tray on the middle rack.

2. Slowly add the cold water over the mixture one spoonful at a time just until the dough begins to form a ball and sticks together.

3. Divide the dough in half and form each half into a disc shape. Wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours before rolling.

4. On a floured surface, roll out one of the pie dough halves until you have a circle about a foot in diameter. Place the dough in a 9-inch pie dish.

5. Place the shell in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.

Make the filling:

1. In a large bowl, combine the apple slices, sugar, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg.

2. Add the filling into a large saucepan or skillet over medium-low heat. Stir gently for three to five minutes until the apples begin to soften. Remove from heat and set aside to cool completely.

2. Add the filling into the pie crust shell, packing it in as tightly as possible.

3. Remove the other pie dough disk from the refrigerator and roll it out into a circle until it is about a foot in diameter. Cut strips of dough about an inch wide. Weave the strips of dough over the pie to create a lattice pattern. Cut the excess pie dough around the dish and fold the remaining overhang over the center of the pie, pinching the edges to seal the top and bottom crusts together. If desired, flute or crimp the edges.

4. Lightly brush the top of the pie crust with the egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar.

5. Bake the pie for 25 minutes. Keeping the pie in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Add a pie crust tinfoil shield to prevent the edges from burning. Bake for another 40 to 50 minutes until the filling is bubbling and the crust is golden brown.

6. Remove the pie from the oven and cool for at least three hours before serving.

Column: 7 shops around Boston to find the most authentic Vietnamese coffee

Phin Coffee House

Phinista Cafe Drink: Phin Sua

Taste: 8/10

Price: 8.5/10

When in doubt at a coffee shop, pick up a Vietnamese coffee. The drink is both a great boost of energy for your study session and a journey for your taste buds.

Although many menus refer to it as “Vietnamese coffee,” the drink is just one of many ways Vietnamese people consume their coffee. The specific beverage name is “cà phê sữa đá” — “cà phê” means coffee; “sữa” means milk; and “đá” means ice. It’s nothing too fancy, with the ingredients embodied in the name: coffee, milk and ice. Unlike the classic vanilla latte or the ever-trending matcha latte with oatmilk, the drink uses condensed milk. The stab-andstir mixing technique makes the taste of condensed milk blend harmoniously with the coffee phin — a traditional Vietnamese coffee filtering instrument that produces a strong taste and dense consistency.

Growing up with the cà phê sữa đá on street-food stalls’ plastic stools, I am constantly looking for a cup of coffee that tastes closest to the ones I have at home. Rich coffee, sweetness from the condensed milk and crushed ice, all making up a slightly thick consistency — these are the elements that I look for a proper cà phê sữa đá.

Banh Mi Ba Le & Bakery

Drink: Cà Phê Sữa Đá (drip coffee with condensed milk served on ice)

Taste: 8.75/10

Price: 9/10

With locations in Fenway and Cambridge, Phinista Coffee has an assorted menu of Vietnamese brunch dishes and beverages. If you are on a Target run, heading to Blick or a Red Sox game, stop by Phinista if you are looking for a coffee that is not your usual from Tatte Cafe & Bakery or Pavement Coffeehouse. The drink’s portion of coffee is perfect, and its fragrant taste spreads with every sip. The drink is a great blend of creamy condensed milk and bitter coffee. However, the ice cubes are not big enough to preserve the drink’s thick consistency. This washes away the milk’s sweetness and leaves only the slight bitterness of the coffee. With a price of $4.89, Phinista’s Phin Sua is worth a try.

Drink: Ca Phe Phin

Taste: 9/10

Price: 8.5/10

A popular office lunch spot in the Boston Financial District, Phin Coffee House serves an array of grab-and-go dishes from the classic avocado toast to fusion bites like their pho burrito. Its beverage menu offers options for every kind of caffeine craving, even energy drinks.

Right at the door, at the barista counter, a line of traditional coffee phin filter coffee in front of your eyes; that is how you know the coffee taste will turn out clear and memorable. The condensed milk lies at the bottom of the drink, so stir as you drink.

The aftertaste particularly stands out as the comforting bitterness and sweetness intertwines. However, the drink would be better served with crushed-up ice instead of cubes for a better consistency — the ice quickly waters down the drink.

For $5.75, this is a must-try drink if you want to experience the coffee produced from coffee phin that is very similar to what you would be able to find on the streets of Vietnam.

Cafe Darq

Drink: Vietnamese Coffee

Taste: 8.75/10

Price: 8.5/10

Unlike many coffee shops where Vietnamese coffee is a single menu entry among the classic espresso beverages, Cafe Darq offers a selection of six ways to enjoy Vietnamese coffee in two different sizes. The coffee shop is located in Chinatown with both indoor and outdoor seating.

Cafe Darq did not fail the test, offering rich coffee taste and fragrance, creamy condensed milk and decently sized ice. Despite spending an hour at the coffee shop, the drink’s taste does not severely water down with the ice. The aftertaste of both the coffee and the milk lingers until your next sip, which sits nicely in the back of your palette. However, the sweet condensed milk could be lessened a bit to preserve the bitterness from the coffee. Given the authentic flavor for $5.95, it is worth giving the drink a try.

mì,” a Vietnamese sandwich with various fillings inside a baguette. And what comes with your bánh mì is the Vietnamese coffee, a common breakfast combination that I usually have at home. Seeing a row of coffee bags displayed at the counter labeled Trung Nguyen, a famous coffee production company that harvests and exports roasted and ground coffee beans, ensued high hopes for the coffee. The drink has all of the components of milk, coffee and ice, and its serving size is relatively generous. Though the cafe listed condensed milk as a component in the drink, the main flavor of the drink is whole milk. There is only the aroma of coffee in the drink rather than the taste of it.

The Sipping Room By Breeze Drink: Vietnamese Coffee Taste: 7.5/10

Price: 7.5/10

Right across from the Fens, The Sipping Room By Breeze is not only a coffee shop with various unique drinks like Hong Kong milk tea or Wintermelon Oolong Tea but also a creative space that displays art pieces from Asian artists. Its minimalistic interior and a gallery nested inside make the space a great place to study.

If you are looking to try Vietnamese coffee for cheaper than $6, you can get a more accurate taste of cà phê sữa

Baguette Cafe

Drink: Vietnamese Ice Coffee “Cà Phê Sữa Đá” Taste: 5/10

Price: 7/10

Green Haus Cafe

Drink: Iced Hanoi Creme Coffee Taste: 7/10

Price: 8/10

Tucked in the lower-level row of restaurants on Newbury Street, Baguette Cafe mainly sells “bánh

Known for its assorted bakery and sandwich selection, Banh Mi Ba Le & Bakery’s Vietnamese coffee tastes authentic. The store is located in Dorchester, a nine-minute walk from the Red Line’s Savin Hill Station. Poured over a bed of assorted-size ice, the coffee tastes stronger with every sip. There is a nice balance of condensed milk and coffee, and it maintains a moderate sweetness and strong coffee aroma. Every stab into the ice elevates the coffee and milk combination.

However, the coffee lacks the comforting bitter aftertaste of true phin coffee, and the sweetness from the condensed milk stays throughout.

Costing $4 for a large-sized drink, this is a good investment to your coffee intake.

The Sipping Room By Breeze’s menu lists the coffee bean that’s used in the drink — Đắk Lắk, a city located in the central region of Vietnam. This is the “coffee capital” of the country.

The drink satisfies every required ingredient for a decent cup of cà phê sữa đá with the fragrance of coffee and condensed milk.

However, the drink does not bring out the bitter, nutty and chocolatey taste of their high-quality coffee beans because it’s watered down with its ice to milk ratio.

If you are looking for a coffee drink that is milky to quench your thirst or something to sip on when doing homework, the Sipping Room By Breeze’s Vietnamese coffee is $6. However, if you are looking to taste the authentic cà phê sữa đá with that coffee punch, maybe this drink is not for you.

Mission Hill residents are familiar with Green Haus Cafe, a coffee and brunch shop on Tremont Street. The coffee shop stands out from its surroundings with dark green walls, and the entire store is packed with plants.

The drink is closer to another way that Vietnamese people consume coffee: “bạc xỉu,” a drink with more milk than coffee. Some people refer to this as coffee-flavored milk. But with the way coffee is filtered through the coffee phin, the fragrance of the bean lingers throughout your sip. Even though I am not a big fan of bạc xỉu, I really enjoyed Green Haus Cafe’s Iced Hanoi Creme Coffee for its blend of creamy milk and the classic coffee with a sweet cream top. For $5.99, if you have a sweet tooth and a soft spot for coffee-flavored dessert, this is the beverage to order.

JENNY TRAN News Staff

Customers wait and chat in line at the Banh Mi Ba Le & Bakery.

Photo by Nia Calais

Customers and employees share the Phinista Cafe space.

Photo by Aya Al-Zehhawi

The exterior of The Sipping Room.

Photo by Aya Al-Zehhawi

customer waits while employees

their order at the Phin Coffee House.

Photo by Nia Calais

A customer enters The Green Haus.

Photo by Carys Popat

Pedestrians wander in and past Cafe Darq in Chinatown.

Photo by Nia Calais The exterior of Baguette Cafe located on Newbury Street.

Photo by Carys Popat

A graphic featuring the Phinista Cafe (left), Cafe Darq menu and Phin Coffee House (right) interiors. Photos by Aya Al-Zehhawi and Nia Calais.

Graphic by Margot Murphy

Comic by Sree Kandula

EVENT CALENDAR

FRIDAY, NOV. 14

Women’s ice hockey vs. Merrimack

6 p.m. at Matthews Arena

Admission: Free with Husky Card

SATURDAY, NOV. 15

Cambridge Record Fair

9 a.m. - 5 p.m. at 2 Education Circle in Cambridge

Admission: $10 early admission, $5 general admission

FRIDAY, NOV. 21

Men’s ice hockey vs. Boston University

7 p.m. at Matthews Arena

Admission: Free with Husky Card

SATURDAY, NOV. 22

Women’s basketball vs. Sacred Heart

1 p.m. at Matthews Arena

Admission: Free with Husky Card

MONDAY, NOV. 24

2025 Annual Trellis Lighting

5 p.m. - 6 p.m. at Christopher Columbus Park

Admission: Free

TUESDAY, DEC. 2

Women’s ice hockey vs. New Hampshire

6 p.m. at Matthews Arena

Admission: Free with Husky Card

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 3

Figure Skating Club

Holiday Show 2025

7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. at Matthews Arena

Admission: $8 for online ticket, $10 at the door

THURSDAY, DEC. 4

Boston Common Tree Lighting

6 p.m. at Boston Common Visitors Center

Admission: Free

President Jonathan Jefferson discusses his first year at Roxbury Community College

GITANA SAVAGE City Editor

On July 1, 2024, Jonathan Jefferson joined Roxbury Community College, or RCC, as the institution’s 18th president. Throughout his career, Jefferson has worked across four continents, serving as everything from a college dean to a partner at a consulting firm. The Huntington News sat down with Jefferson Oct. 17 to ask him about his first year as president, RCC’s relationship with Northeastern and his goals as he looks ahead.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

HN: Can you talk a bit about some of the partnerships you have with Northeastern, and is there anything that you think would make them stronger?

Jefferson: Well, first and foremost, I want to thank Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley. It’s because of the work she did that enabled some congressional director spending to be available for a partnership between Roxbury and Northeastern. That partnership has materialized into what we call the A2M program, the Associates to Master’s Program, which is a very popular program here on campus. There are probably about 35 students in the program right now. Initially, it was in STEM, and now it’s being expanded to just about every area within the College of Professional Studies. I believe the agreement is about ready to be

signed, allowing a student at Roxbury to be simultaneously accepted at RCC and at Northeastern in the College of Professional Studies. So there’ll be future Huskies, and a lot of students are very happy about that, with Northeastern right down the street.

HN: It’s a very volatile time in the federal government. Has that impacted your immigrant and international student populations?

Jefferson: We don’t have a large F1 student visa population. We have fewer than than 40 students in that category, but we do have a significant number of students who did not complete high school in the United States, and we also have a significant population of people who came to the United States through various programs. And so our students are concerned. They have been concerned because we have such a large population of certain ethnic groups. But they’re still coming to class. They’re still pursuing their degrees. I think students want to get in, get finished

and move on with their lives.

HN: What’s RCC’s relationship with the greater Roxbury community? Are there any partnerships you have and how do you see institutions being perceived by the community?

Jefferson: The community perceives RCC as their college. I mean, as you know, this college was born out of activism. Many of the people who were involved in that — several of those people are still alive — see this as their institution. We do a lot of work with the community, whether that’s the Boys and Girls Club or it’s any of the other groups that are within the community. The Reggie [Lewis Track and Athletic Center], which is also managed by the college, puts on over 700 events a year. We here at the college put on probably 200 to 300 events a year very easily. So we want to do things with the community.

HN: A frequent complaint against Northeastern is the impact that the university is having on gentrification in Roxbury, displacement in Roxbury. Do you share those concerns about Northeastern? And, if anything, what do you think the university could do better to mitigate that?

Jefferson: I think that Northeastern, so far, has been a good partner to Roxbury. I think that we should continue that partnership. We should look at ways to grow together. I laugh and joke that we can be a junior Northeastern and that our students have a starting point at Roxbury,

but they have a continuation point at Northeastern. We’re looking at other areas within Northeastern now to develop partnerships, and I think that as long as Northeastern remains a partner for economic and social mobility, that is the best that they can do. I recognize that a large university like Northeastern has lots of ambition. All I’m saying is, don’t forget about the partners who are here. There is no group that’s too small or no group that is too large that Northeastern, with its power and finances, cannot help or partner with to make it better for everyone and not just Northeastern.

HN: Has there been one or a couple lessons that you’ve taken away from your time being president so far?

Jefferson: Take time for yourself, because if you don’t take time for yourself, no one’s going to give it to you. Be humble. A president is still a human being. I tell people, I put my pants on one leg at a time. People have a tendency to want what they want when they want it, and they don’t always take into consideration who you are or where you’re coming from, or all the things that you have to do. But just take the time to be civil to one another. I think that if we can learn to do that, people will have an opportunity to express who they are and what they want and their issues and concerns. We will be receptive to those and we will figure out what’s in the realm of the possible.

At Boston Fiber Company, the common thread is community building

Collins said. “This is the first time I’ve ever had any friends who knit.”

Company’s yarn collection and calls it the “epitome of ‘shop local.’”

Sara Ingle knit her first sweater in 2018. Five years later, she became the owner of Boston Fiber Company, a knitting supplies store in the South End that prides itself on cultivating an inclusive community of knitters.

When Bead and Fiber, the store Ingle previously worked at, shut down in February 2023, she decided to rent the space and buy out the store’s yarn inventory to start her own business. For a while, she and former Bead and Fiber coworker Genevieve Montante were the only employees of the Boston Fiber Company. It now has five employees, two of whom work part-time.

“It’s really come a long way, and we’ve turned into a whole different place,” Montante said.

One of the team’s priorities is making the store a welcoming third space for customers to build relationships. At a seating area in the back — which features colorful couches and a self-serve coffee station — employees teach free knitting lessons and host Sip and Stitch, a bimonthly knitting circle. They also run field trips, book clubs and trunk shows.

Sierra Collins, a scientist at a biotech company, visits the store twice a week and said the knitting circles are a great way to make friends with fellow knitters, especially younger ones. Knitting circles at other stores tend to skew older, but Collins said Boston Fiber Company’s customers are a wider range of ages.

“It’s just a lot of fun to bond over something that everyone likes to do,”

Boston Fiber Company moved into its current storefront in October 2023 after eight months of subletting the old location. Longtime customers helped them carry trash bags full of yarn into the new location at 61 Thayer St., which is nestled in the corner of a strip of art galleries, photography studios and another craft store. A cluster of potted plants sits outside the door, and a pride flag hangs from the facade.

To get the new storefront ready, Ingle’s dad installed pegboards to hold yarn, and Montante’s friends painted a mural of wavy patterns on a wall inside. Ingle enjoys updating decorations and reorganizing the inventory, though she said some customers get playfully annoyed at the changing layout. Knitted projects from employees and customers stand on several mannequins throughout the store.

“We have such a strong community,” Ingle said, adding that the three other employees besides Montante were all “friends of the store” before she hired them, and sometimes, frequent customers will “babysit” the store when no employees are available to work the checkout counter.

Boston Fiber Company prioritizes yarn made in Massachusetts and New England. They also sell yarn made from New England sheep’s wool because many knitters traveling to Boston like to take home skeins from local sheep breeds as souvenirs.

Jordyn Hanover, a clinical project manager, is a customer who frequently attends Sip and Stitch and the store’s yarn crawls. She loves Boston Fiber

The store’s variety of yarn attracts a diverse range of people, from passionate long-time knitters interested in hand-spun local yarn to beginners looking for the cheapest string available.

Collins said non-knitters typically only know about the most popular yarns that are available at large retailers like Michaels, but there is a “whole other world of higher quality yarn.”

Boston Fiber Company and its suppliers are “preserving the artisan stuff, stuff that is not mass produced,” Collins said.

Hanover jokes that knitting and collecting yarn are two different hobbies, and Boston Fiber Company conveniently facilitates both. She likes to know who dyed each skein and where it came from because “it’s not just a skein of yarn — it’s a memory.”

She has made plenty of memories thanks to Boston Fiber Company. She and a group of women who met at the knitting circle took a trip to Iceland in early 2025 — and wore matching hats that Hanover knitted to look like the northern lights.

While Montante said the store prioritizes providing a range of different prices, it does not compromise sustainability for price. Acrylic yarn is the cheapest kind because it is a synthetic, plastic-based fiber, and Boston Fiber Company only sells skeins made from recycled acrylic. The store turns to secondhand yarn for the cheaper end of its inventory.

Since Ingle took over from an established business, she already had a cli-

entele and suppliers. But becoming the owner still came with a huge learning curve, as Ingle did not attend business school and needed to learn how to manage inventory and lead a team.

“I love neons, so that’s what I bought when we opened. It turns out what sells well is neutrals,” she said. “It’s been a learning process, when to buy things, what to buy, colors to pick out — having more of a vision, less chaos.”

Over the years, she and Montante have cultivated close relationships with their local suppliers. After years of sourcing from hand-dyer McKenna Clement, who owns dying company Honey & Quill, Ingle hired her as an in-house dyer. She and Ingle collaborate to create collections of yarn unique to Boston Fiber Company.

The store also features other suppliers at the annual Boston Fiber Festival, which Ingle and Montante started after noticing a lack of yarn-related events in the city. The festival had 10 vendors when it was founded three years ago. In 2025, it had almost 40, making it one of the largest yarn-vending events in Boston.

“I’m very thankful for the community of people that have found us,” Montante said. “We’re happy to be here.”

File photo by Sofia Sawchuk

ANNIE JONES News Staff

A lounge area with couches and bookshelves at Boston Fiber Company Oct. 1. The store built relationships with customers through free knitting lessons, book clubs and field trips.

Photo by Annie Jones

Jonathan Jefferson poses and gazes out a window in his Roxbury Community College office Oct. 17. Jefferson was unanimously nominated by RCC’s Board of Trustees for the president position.

Photo by Margot Murphy

Photo by Will Holloway

Photo by Isaac Pedersen

Northeastern Cycling Team’s hard work, versatility pay off at nationals

ALEX PAYÁ News Staff

The wheels of Northeastern’s Cycling Team, or NUCT, power through the rocky surfaces and muddy conditions of New England’s trails. This past season, the team ended with a ninth-place finish at the USA Cycling, or USAC, National Championships, held Oct. 9 to 12 in Grand Junction, Colo. It marked a historic milestone for a club that is coachless and self-managed.

NUCT flew to Colorado on its own dime, determined to perform at the highest level and represent Northeastern with pride.

Across all mountain biking disciplines, the team tallied 242 points, competing against club teams with greater funding, coaching and staff support.

Stronger opponents, like Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo., and Milligan University in Elizabethton, Tenn., amass seven-figure budgets. But that didn’t affect Northeastern’s unifying team spirit, which is core to the club’s values.

Much of that bonding is forged during weekend camps that bring together students from different universities who share a love for bikes and cycling. Every weekend from the start of September until the middle of October, riders from all over New England pack their bikes and drive to a campsite near the USAC’s race location.

For two races this season, cyclers camped at Bolton Valley Resort in Vermont and Holiday Brook Farm in Dalton, Mass. At the camp, they practice and race against each other in the fall’s misty mornings and crisp afternoons.

“The racing part is good, but I think very few people are there exclusively for the race,” said Michael Mehall, a third-year data science and economics combined major and captain of the team. The bigger moti-

vating factor is building community. During the evenings, teams cook dinner, relax and get to know each other around a bonfire.

“The bonfire is, hands down, the best part of every weekend,” Mehall said. “That’s what makes all the planning and the logistics and the paperwork, which there is a ton that we do in the back end, worth it.”

Riders don’t attend the camp just to win races, but to form long-last ing friendships.

“At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what school you go to, what jersey you have on, what place you got in the race or what races you race,” Mehall said. “Everyone is there for the love of bikes and for the love of being outside.”

Beryn Value, a fourthyear civil engineering major, has been riding bikes with her mother and siblings since high school and quickly realized she was the most talented rider on her high school team. Value feared she would quickly burn out if she joined the university team — a common concern — but instead discovered a supportive community.

but to get back on track during the week.

“There’s a lot of catching up during the week,” McCarthy said. “This is the first week back from nationals that I feel that I’m finally caught up back in school, like taking math tests that I missed and doing assignments and homework.”

Value changed her approach to homework when she joined the

not overly technical,” Value said of the short track races.

Gravity racing differs from endurance racing because it requires greater skill and more delicate attention to details. It’s also broken into two disciplines: dual slalom and downhill.

Dual slalom is a 30-second course where two riders race head-to-head simultaneously. After the first run, riders switch sides and face off again.

pounds because there was so much mud on it from the rain,” Value said.

Not all courses are soggy and slippery, though.

“There is really awesome, beautiful weather in the prime fall conditions,” Value said.

Different terrain conditions have devoted fans and ardent haters.

“If you want to get kitted up and go ride in the mud, it’s pretty fun,” McCarthy said. “I love a good mud ride, just to go out and ride around and not care about how dirty you get.”

Even though collegiate cycling doesn’t have an official winter season, some riders embrace the cold and snow, taking what they can get.

“People say there’s no season in the winter, but there’s kind of a vibe of getting a fat bike, like a bike with crazy wide tires, and going riding in the snow,” Mehall said.

features rocky sections that

“There are so many friends that we’ve made on different teams, and all my core memories come from [the camp],” she said.

Weekends are rigorous, filled with intense races that demand a calm, focused mind free from thoughts of schoolwork.

Riders plan their study schedules in advance. Occasionally during emergencies, they “roll up the windows and close the car’s door” to complete homework assignments while at the camp, said Alden McCarthy, a second-year industrial engineering major.

When unable to fulfill school requirements, there is no other option

different racing categories: endurance and gravity.

Within endurance racing, there are two main disciplines: short track and cross country. Cross country races span 16 to 20 miles and follow a first-come, first-serve format — the first rider to cross the finish line wins. Short track races, on the other hand, are fixed, time-based competitions on shorter courses that demand speed and multiple laps around the track. Riders complete as many laps as possible within the time limit.

“They’re very pedally courses and

Each race is broken into skill categories ranging from A to C, ensuring riders compete against opponents with similar abilities.

Mehall and McCarthy are placed into the A category in endurance racing and the C category in gravity racing. Value is in the A category in both disciplines, making her an omnium rider. She finished sixth at nationals in the female individual club omnium category.

Races are held during myriad weather conditions, varying between states and seasons.

“Our first race [in Vermont] was downpouring and super muddy. At nationals, for the downhill [in Colorado], my bike weighed 60 extra

Graduation is approaching for Mehall and Value, while McCarthy still has two more years to compete. They all want to pursue their cycling hobby wherever life takes them after graduation.

In the meantime, McCarthy will compete this summer at the Sea Otter Classic, a race in California, and hopes to bring some riders from the team alongside him.

“That’s my favorite race ever, and they have every discipline … it’s an amazing time,” he said. “I’m trying to convince some of the cycling people to come out to that.”

Value will tackle some other national competitions, like the Enduro Nationals and the U.S. Open.

Mehall wants to compete in races beyond the collegiate level, which feature longer trails and require high endurance.

“I love races that are 40 to 50 miles because they’re brutal,” he said. “You’re just sitting back, and you’re just kind of powering through. Those are five hour races, and there’s something particularly miserable that I love.”

Former Northeastern baseball star Cam Schlittler pitches his way to MLB playoffs

For most, it may be difficult to imagine that a 2022 seventh-round draft pick would become one of the Yankees’ most reliable arms, but in the opinion of Northeastern baseball’s pitching coach Kevin Cobb, Schlittler is right where he belongs.

“He always threw strikes, and he always had a good feel for the baseball,” Cobb said, discussing Schlittler’s time at Northeastern.

“The velocity was fluctuating a lot because he was young and weak, but you kind of knew that the best years were ahead of him at that time.”

The Northeastern baseball recruiting staff had its eye on Schlittler going back to his sophomore year of high school — an early investment with clear payoff. At the time of his recruitment, the right-hander stood at a towering 6-feet, 6-inches and weighed just 175 pounds, leading to some growing pains that he and his coaches worked through during his time at Northeastern.

“He was always really tall, even at

that age,” Cobb said. “And the stuff was good. I wouldn’t say he was awesome, but you could see the potential and growth when he started to add weight and learn how to use his body a little bit more and develop.”

Through this period of growth, Schlittler continued to show incredible promise — not only with his physical ability but his attitude toward the game. Greg Bozzo, former catcher for the Huskies and recent Yankees signee, recalled what made Schlittler stand out as a teammate.

“I think the biggest difference was just his mindset and how he took the mound every time,” Bozzo said. “When he took the mound, we knew we weren’t worried. We had full confidence in him because he was giving it his all, every single pitch.”

Even now, three years removed from Northeastern baseball, Schlittler cites his time with the Huskies as a key influence on his on-themound mindset.

“The Yankees are a winning organization, and they expect you to

win games,” Schlittler said. “So for me, it was kind of like every game was kind of high leverage, and just being able to go off the experience I’ve had in college … I’m definitely comfortable getting the ball and starting in those critical games.”

The rookie reflected on his experience helping bring home Northeastern’s first CAA championship title in 2021. After a shortened freshman season due to COVID-19, the 2021 Northeastern baseball team ended the regular season with a 20-3 record, ending at the top of the CAA North Division. Schlittler started in the season’s final game against the University of North Carolina Wilmington, which ended with a walk-off home run by Northeastern’s then-freshman Max Viera. It was the Huskies’ first CAA championship since joining the conference in 2004 and a major moment that cemented Northeastern baseball as a winning team for years to come.

“That moment, specifically for me, is probably the biggest one that

I’ve always taken pride of while I was a part of Northeastern baseball,” Schlittler said.

A high-stakes, series-deciding game like that second matchup against UNCW in 2021 is the exact kind of circumstance that prepared Schlittler for his historic appearance in Game 3 of the 2025 Wild Card series. The Massachusetts native pitched eight shutout innings against his childhood team, the Boston Red Sox. Prior to his start, tensions were high — not only between the Boston and New York crowds, but with Schlittler and his hometown friends.

“Practcally everyone I am close with is from Boston or [are] Red Sox fans. We lost that Tuesday game, they started kind of giving me some crap about it, just kind of like, that they’re going to win and all,” Schlittler said. “So as a competitor, it made me frustrated. But, I kind of just stayed off my phone for two days, and I kind of knew that we were going to win the second game, and I was very prepared for the

third game. And I think my attitude was good.”

Schlittler understood the magnitude of the moment and put his best foot — and arm — forward. The right-hander dominated through the first seven innings and was surprised that his manager, Aaron Boone, chose to send him back on the field for the eighth.

“You know, he might cut me loose,” Schlittler said. “I was very surprised that he didn’t, so when I was going back out for the eighth, it kind of gave me that extra confidence boost I was looking for.”

While the Yankees postseason was cut short by a Game 4 loss against the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Division Series, Northeastern students, Yankees fans and Bostonians alike are eager to see Schlittler continue to grow and succeed as a major league pitcher.

“I’m really proud of him,” Cobb said. “He’s come very far, matured a lot. I always believed he would pitch in the big leagues.”

Northeastern Cycling Team poses for a photo. The team placed ninth at USA Cycling National Championship Oct. 9-12. Photo courtesy Northeastern Cycling Team.

SCHLITTLER, from Front

10 OPINION

EDITORIAL BOARD

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Northeastern must condemn Trump’s higher education compact

True academic excellence emerges from environments where all ideas — whether conservative, liberal, radical or another — can be rigorously challenged and debated on their merits. By providing favors like federal funding to universities that favor Trump’s ideologies, this compact undermines the very promise of higher education: to provide students with a rich intellectual environment that welcomes individuality, diversity of thought and free expression of all kinds.

This compact aims to limit not only diversity of thought — but diversity, period.

One of Trump’s demands is that universities display “equality in admissions,” a request dictating that no factors, including sex, ethnicity or race, be considered in admissions or financial support. While this might seem like the natural extension of the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision striking down affirmative action, the compact goes even further — transforming restrictions on affirmative action into a sweeping elimination of nearly all forms of equity-based consideration.

While the compact asks universities to act “equitably,” it simultaneously focuses on targeting marginalized communities — including transgender people, people of color and international students.

In a move that promotes discrimination against non-cisgender students, the compact would require

institutions to equate sex and gender, recognizing only the two binary genders. Transgender students would be barred from entering spaces aligning with their gender identity, including bathrooms, locker rooms and athletic teams.

Students would no longer be able to receive what the compact dictates as “unequal treatment” on the basis of race. This would include “access to buildings, spaces, scholarships, programming and other university resources.” Effectively, this would mean dismantling cultural and identity-based spaces that serve as critical hubs of support, belonging and advocacy for students of color. The diversity in student nationalities would also be limited by the block on international student admissions, which would be capped at 15% of the total student body. Institutions that have already exceeded these limits, including New York University, Carnegie Mellon University and even Northeastern, would also be forced to slash class counts to comply with this requirement.

We would like to believe that Northeastern would immediately reject the compact if it were presented to us. However, the university’s administration has continued to prove that it will act in its own self-interest at the expense of its student body. From the very beginning of the Trump administration, Northeastern’s actions have been characterized by a high level of complacency to federal pressure.

In January, this complacency was evident in its abrupt elimination of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, remodeling it as the Office of Belonging. While this was a technical requirement under law for universities with an endowment over $1 billion, Northeastern drew criticism for its careless and secretive handling of the change. In August, several Office of Belonging staff members were fired with little word from the university, and students have been receiving little-to-no transparency on university matters and decisions.

The Huntington News Editorial Board previously condemned Trump’s efforts to jeopardize academic freedom and our First Amendment rights. Months later, we find ourselves raising the same concern, as we have yet to see a strong administrative stance taken from our university. This compact isn’t just another measure that can be pushed under the rug — it’s an escalation of the ongoing assault on higher educa tion, and it will not be the end of it. We urge the university to defend all its students, no matter their

background or identity.

Northeastern claims its core values are integrity, diversity and opportunity. If this compact comes to our doorstep, those core values will be at risk. The compact must be rejected without a second thought.

The Huntington News Editorial Board demands that Northeastern University practices what it preaches.

The Editorial Board reflects the official voice of The Huntington News’ opinion section and consists of the Opinion Editor, the Deputy Opinion Editor and The News’ opinion columnists. Each editorial is the product of unanimous agreement from the Board. The Editorial Board operates independently from the newsroom of The Huntington News.

The Huntington News Editorial Board urges all readers, both those who support the stance laid out within this piece and those who do not, to make their voices

Dear Hunting for Answers: How do I stop getting stuck in situationships?

DISCLAIMER:

Before you dig into all the truly wonderful, sage and [insert other positive adjectives here] advice, I would like to emphasize that I am not a professional — I’m just a girl! A girl with a decent amount of life experience in the college ecosystem, but a girl nonetheless! Do keep this in mind, and read at your own risk (just kidding … kind of).

How do I stop getting stuck in terrible situationships? I can’t seem to find the red flags until it’s too late. I’m sick and tired of this!

Sincerely, Stuck

The good ol’ college situationship, a dark place unfortunately a lot of us have happened to pass through during our time at Northeastern.

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Liam Saven, Emily Chung, Keira Weitz, Catie Nippins

BUSINESS STAFF

Maggie Nahas, Isaac Pedersen

The best place to start is by asking yourself why the “situationships” you end up in are terrible in the first

who aren’t ready to commit, who live somewhere else or are too busy? Or, do you gravitate toward people who are emotionally unavailable from the start?

To avoid messy situationships, be honest about your intentions. Maybe not within the first 30-second introduction, but once things start to feel more defined, like when you are nearing date number four, leaving a toothbrush at their place or texting every day.

I know, I know, this is not what most people at Northeastern are doing. Everyone loves to act “chill,” even when they’re secretly overanalyzing every text. But being up-front cuts through that gray area.

The “so, what are we?” conversation actually works, though maybe not in the way you might initially think. Even people in healthy relationships often have some version; the difference is that they’re willing to risk the discomfort. And that’s where most of us get stuck.

But if someone responds poorly to you broaching this subject, then it worked — it still gives you clarity! It shows they aren’t the right person, because the right person would take the question seriously.

There’s a misconception that calling out red flags or asking “what are we?” automatically kills the fun, like you’re suddenly the buzzkill — but it doesn’t need to be that serious!

If you take any one thing away, let it be this: Don’t be afraid to walk away. Seriously, if your situationship is as bad as you say, leaving is the best thing you can do! I think it’s tempting to glorify the drama of situationships, the constant complaining about them to your friends or swapping horror stories for shock value, but at a certain point, the cycle can start to feel more draining than entertaining.

Can I have your advice on making time for myself in college? Even as a freshman, I already find it hard to balance my classes, homework/coop and my social life. [I] feel super drained sometimes because I don’t have time to do what personally really makes me happy. How do [I] tell my friends I need personal time without offending them?

Sincerely, Balancing Act

I have a few rudimentary tips that you might have heard before, but it doesn’t hurt to reiterate! If you feel like your alone time is always getting eaten up by social plans or homework, block off some time — maybe half an hour every day — to go on a walk, bake a sweet treat or talk to your mom. If you are an avid online calendar user, put those Microsoft Office skills to use and schedule in some official “you time” — just like you would a class or club meeting.

Secondly, combine responsibilities with hobbies whenever you can. If you are commuting to work or walking to class, make it something you can look forward to by incorporating some aspects of personal interest. If you don’t feel like you have enough time to read your next Goodreads shelved book, download it as an audiobook and listen to it on your commute to work.

The last tip that falls into “basic things you have already heard” is changing your mindset around breaks. Breaks are essential for actually getting things done — but only when they’re real. If your “downtime” just means scrolling through TikTok or LinkedIn, that’s not rest; it just keeps your brain in the same busy mode you were trying to escape. If your daily screen time is three hours, that’s three hours you could have spent truly recharging and making time for yourself.

Managing your time is only half the battle. The other half is learning how to communicate your need for space. True friends will understand when you prioritize yourself and won’t take it personally if you slow down or say no. And a little tough love to top it all off — your friends don’t need you to be there all the time to value you. They’ll survive a night without you if you can’t make it — in fact, they will miss you even more! Be the kind of person whose presence adds something, not someone who’s always around but too drained to enjoy it.

TRUMP, from Front

HONOR SEARES Columnist

Graphic by Catherine Gore

Northeastern signage on the West Village A residence hall May 28. The Trump administration’s proposed contract for universities targets international students, people of color and transgender people.

Photo by Margot Murphy

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Nia Calais, Molly McAlevey, Hana Dada, Will Holloway, Annie Jones, Naseem Mohideen, Evelynn Lin, Alana Udell, Ian Dickerman, Michael Chang, Elise Peffer, Niaz Alasti

OPINION

Northeastern’s rise reflects strategy, not substance, as university climbs rankings

ALI ABDELAL Contributor

Every fall, universities wait anxiously for the newest U.S. News & World Report college rankings to be released. This year, Northeastern continued to be spotlighted its growth, ranking in the top 50 nationally in the 2026 U.S. News & World Report rankings and in the 201–250 range globally in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.

For a school that prides itself on rapid growth and a global network, that might seem like proof of success, but many students are beginning to wonder whether this rise reflects genuine progress or strategic maneuvering.

Administrators have played a key role in shaping the university’s reputation among employers and ranking agencies. In recent years, Northeastern has expanded its global presence and emphasized its signature co-op model, which the university promotes as a hands-on learning experience that is distinct from traditional internships. These accomplishments have shaped how employers and ranking agencies perceive the university.

It’s easy to see why many believe the school’s standing is a well-earned reflection of ambition and innovation.

Yet rankings can be deceiving. Critics, including campus voices and education commentators, argue that Northeastern’s success isn’t solely due to academic excellence. Some suggest it’s the result of Northeastern “playing the rankings game,” focusing on manipulating measurable metrics rather than improving the educational experience itself.

Factors such as co-op participation rates, graduation timelines and peer reputation can be improved through data and metrics, though not always through genuine academic growth.

In other words, the numbers might look good, but they might not tell the whole story.

The methodology behind the U.S. News rankings has also faced widespread criticism. Northeastern recently noted that the publication increased its emphasis on post-graduation outcomes, debt and salary data — while warning that some third-party data about the university can be misleading. These methodological shifts can benefit schools with strong employment outcomes,

like Northeastern, but they also create opportunities for institutions skilled at reporting certain metrics to gain an edge, even if their academic or social environments haven’t meaningfully improved.

Students often feel this discrepancy firsthand. While Northeastern’s co-op program is widely praised, and many students do gain valuable experience, internal critiques suggest that not all placements are equal. Some students report that the structure pressures them into extending their time in school or accepting unpaid or low-paid roles. A higher ranking or impressive placement rate doesn’t erase concerns about affordability, advising quality or student well-being. Numbers can obscure these realities, making them easier to overlook.

Still, it would be unfair to say Northeastern hasn’t earned some of its success. Its co-op model, global network and employment outcomes remain strong selling-points. The university itself reports that co-op students are typically paid, don’t pay tuition while working and gain meaningful full-time roles after graduation. For many, the co-op model truly sets Northeastern

apart — providing students with real-world experience that opens doors.

But if Northeastern’s leaders want the university to continue rising in both rank and reputation, they should focus on substance over statistics. Rankings should be a by-product of excellence, not the definition of it.

Instead of chasing another numerical jump next year, the university must continue improving student life, including focusing on afforda-

bility, transparency, advising and equitable access to high-quality coop placements. Prestige means little if the students behind the numbers don’t feel they themselves progress.

Ali Abdelal is a second-year economics and international business major. He can be reached at abdelal.a@northeastern.edu

If you would like to submit a letter to the editor in response to this piece, email comments@huntnewsnu.com

You aren’t becoming more apathetic, there’s just too much news at

But it shouldn’t be this way.

once

care less about the legality of the strikes either.

Since September, the Trump administration has struck 15 vessels in international waters, killing all aboard. The administration said that these boats were carrying dangerous drugs from Venezuela. The men on board were not identified. The coast guard did not attempt to intercept them, and the 64 men aboard the vessels were executed by bomb without a trial.

Since the strikes, President Donald Trump authorized the CIA to advance covert operations in Venezuela for the presumed purpose of regime change.

Trump frames these as acts of a war against “narcoterrorism” to obfuscate the legal and moral complications of killing people in international waters. He also said that the men killed are part of the Tren de Aragua gang is controlled by the president of Venezuela.

The strikes are filmed and published for the entire United States to watch: Aerial views of exploding ships give off the impression of an act of war in a foreign country. The government benefits from falsely presenting the strikes this way — it dehumanizes the people on board and stops us from looking at the morality and legality of their deaths.

As Americans, we accept that if someone is accused of a crime, they should be given a fair trial to determine their guilt. If these same men had made it into Boston, would we feel any differently if the United States government had bombed the Sheraton Hotel? Do they become people only after they cross the border or cross out of international waters? Does it matter whether they are killed by a bomb or a gun?

There is nothing legal about these strikes, internationally or domestically. Striking without any sort of provocation in international waters violates the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and the United States government has also not published evidence that these boats carried narcotics in the first place. This makes their designation as military targets instead of civilians legally fraught.

The president did not obtain congressional approval for war or notify Congress that the strikes were happening. He is completely ignoring the constraints placed on the president by the War Powers Act of 1973. Trump, answering to why he hasn’t asked Congress for a declaration of war, said, “Okay. We’re going to kill them. They’re going to be, like, dead.” His own attorney general couldn’t

Despite all of this, most people don’t seem to truly care. This isn’t dominating the news cycle. Members of Congress aren’t being shoved with cameras and microphones and asked to defend their positions on the strikes.

However, the United States was not always this apathetic. In 2010, when WikiLeaks published videos of U.S. Troops in Iraq indiscriminately killing over 20 men, it was one of the biggest scandals since the Iraq War started.

The videos were shocking, and people treated them as such. After their publication, the editor of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange, became a champion of free speech and a free press.

The government responded by clamping down on security, and many government officials, including Hillary Clinton, emphasized the dire consequences of releasing classified videos. The Obama administration charged a record number of reporters and journalists with releasing similarly classified information under the Espionage Act.

In just over 15 years, summarily executing people went from one of the largest political scandals of an administration — one that required a crackdown on our First Amendment rights — to a blip in the news cycle. The videos released by the Trump administration are arguably worse: These bombings did not take place during an actual war, no victim was identified and there was absolutely zero congressional oversight.

But how did this happen? Why have the American people given up their sense of morality? For any other administration, summarily bombing people in international waters would

be career-ending for those involved, or at the bare minimum, a stain on their governance.

For many people, including myself, it’s impossible to manage every Trump administration-related piece of information. On the international front, there are the Venezuelan boat strikes, Trump cozying up to Russia, Israeli strikes on Doha, the Israel-Gaza ceasefire that didn’t actually fully cease fire and student visa revocations.

Then, domestically, don’t forget the Epstein files, National Guard deployments, the government shutdown, weaponization of the Justice Department and the IRS, mass deportations, Trump meme coin, executive orders against law firms, pentagon forcing out reporters with unreasonable demands, commutation of George Santos (the man who once claimed he was “Jew-ish”), Charlie Kirk’s death, Trump trying to fire a member of the Federal Reserve and the video our president posted of a King Trump AI plane defecating on protesters (yes, this is real).

Furthermore, try not to forget the circus performers who are high-ranking Trump officials: Stephen Miller practically quoting Joseph Goebbels, House Speaker Mike Johnson refusing to swear in an elected congresswoman, Department of Labor posting Nazi-like propaganda (also somehow real), Epstein files again, Pam Bondi stonewalling Congress, the Eric Trump Indonesia conflict of interest, corruption with tariffs, Kristi Noem shooting her dog, Karoline Leavitt throwing a temper tantrum and Pete Hegseth giving a fascist speech (real to a worrying extent).

Now, please put those events and news in order of personal importance. Even as someone involved with

politics and seeking a career in the field, I cannot. I don’t even know where to start. Trump’s media blitz, his administration’s strategy of exploding the news cycle, stops us from getting a grip on the newest issue or topic. It’s hard to properly allocate any level of moral outrage. Before you can properly form an opinion, another morally and, quite often, legally reprehensible act is carried out.

No singular person can solve this problem, but there are still ways to combat this media barrage — the most effective one being focus. Democratic lawmakers and personalities need to be aggressive in focusing on stories that damage the administration, and so do we as individuals.

While you might not be able to rank the issues above, you might be able to pick out a single one that speaks to you. Take a moment and consider what makes you upset, angry, scared or confused. For me, it’s the Venezuelan boat strikes, but for you, it could be anything else. Be the reason people don’t forget about what you care about.

This doesn’t mean bringing up the most controversial topic to your tinfoil hat uncle at Thanksgiving, but it could mean being active in discussions and finding outlets for whatever issue you choose. This administration relies on people being hit with whiplash by every new story. The president’s approval rating, as of Nov. 4, is 39% — don’t let them dominate the discussion.

Neil Olsson is an international affairs and economics combined major. He can be reached at olsson.n@ northeastern.edu.

If you would like to submit a letter to the editor in response to this piece, email comments@huntnewsnu.com

Photo by Aya Al-Zehhawi

The 2026 U.S. News & World Report ranking for Northeastern University appears on a phone screen Oct. 28. Northeastern ranked 46th in the 2026 national college rankings, up from 54th in 2025.

NEIL OLSSON Contributor

The exterior of the U.S. Department of State building Mar. 2, 2024. The U.S. Department of Justice defines narcoterrorism as the “involvement of terrorist organizations and insurgent groups in drug trafficking.” Photo courtesy State Department, Wikimedia Commons

Brigitte Aube becomes second-ever club player to walk onto Northeastern women’s hockey team

FRANCES KLEMM News Staff

Brigitte Aube might love hockey more than anyone. Despite devastating injuries that pulled her out of the game for four years, she always believed playing Division I hockey was possible. Now, she’s one of the only club hockey players to ever walk onto the Northeastern women’s hockey team.

“Even your craziest possible dreams can possibly come true,” Aube said. “I still pinch myself to this day, because I can’t believe that this is really happening to me because it was that unrealistic.”

Raised in Avon, Conn., Aube was born into the sport. “Once I put skates on, [hockey] just became the love of my life,” she said.

She made the women’s hockey team at the prestigious Loomis Chaffee School out of middle school and was perfectly positioned to achieve her lifelong dream of playing Division I hockey.

But her coach didn’t get to see her play for years. A devastating ACL injury before her freshman year and two other knee surgeries took her out of the game.

Many parents on her high school team told her: “‘If any other kid I knew went through what you went through … they would have quit by now,’” Aube said.

She spent her four years as a stu-

dent coach because the only times she was healthy enough to play were during the off-season.

In the end, Aube only played two games in high school. It left her with no tape to show a Division I coach, no way to prove she could play. She sent emails to coaches all over the country, begging them to take her seriously. She now describes it as delusional, but she never believed she wouldn’t play Division I hockey. She enrolled at Northeastern and joined the club hockey team, but the dream didn’t die. She reached out to people to ask what the odds were for moving from club to Division I, but they said, “That really doesn’t happen.” Nevertheless, she didn’t waste any time

Crossword

Edited by Arielle Rabinovich

making her mark on the club team, head coach Ryan Schneider said. In her freshman season, she had 10 goals and 10 assists.

“That first game, the [referee] came up to me after and was like this girl, No. 10, is going to be the top player in the league,” Schneider said.

Aube might not have been on Northeastern’s women’s hockey team, but she practiced like she was.

“The only way I could reconcile with the fact that I was on [the club team] and not really living out the dream that I wanted was to pretend that I was a DI player,”

Aube said.

Aube became close with the Matthews Arena staff, who let her use the rink early and stay late and encouraged her. Anytime she could, she was shooting pucks and running the arena’s stairs.

“I always saw [the women’s hockey team], but they had no idea who I was,” she said.

She was wrong.

“We had noticed her quite a bit, actually.

She definitely caught our attention with her work ethic,” assistant coach Melissa Piacentini said.

Aube had been emailing the Northeastern coaches for months, and an email she sent off to head coach Dave Flint one fateful late September morning was normal routine for her. But this time, everything was different.

Within minutes, she got a text from associate head coach Nick Carpenito to meet him at Matthews Arena. The roster had an opening. They offered the spot to Aube that day.

“I could not explain to you how starstruck I was and unable to speak,” Aube said.

“My mom was crying, my dad was crying, everyone was crying …They know how much this has been just encapsulating my mind for however long I’ve been here, for however long before.”

At the next club practice, she pulled Schneider and the captains aside to tell them the news.

“We were just first taken aback, and second, obviously, super proud. There’s no one who deserves [the spot] more than her,” Schneider said.

Now, Aube is getting acclimated to the varsity team. While she hasn’t suited up yet, she’s ready to work hard until she does.

“She’s just got a great foundation, and since she’s joined our team, she’s developed a lot on the ice,” Piacentini said. “She’s always asking ques-

ACROSS

1. Yellow rides

5. Public univ. with its flagship campus in Amherst

10. Commonly torn knee stabilizers

14. Many (2 words)

15. A cent, in London

16. Haiku or limerick (e.g.)

17. Teardrop shaped fruit

18. Cousin to a weasel

19. ___ stick, bouncy children’s toy

20. Assignment for an English class, perhaps

22. With bow, Cupid’s accessory

24. To manipulate, as a game

25. Originally called, born as

27. Can pay for, say

29. Mayor-elect of NYC

33. Thrashes about

35. Stuck __ __ rut (2 words)

36. Acts

39. Last exam in a class

40. Location of the Taj Mahal

42. Mopes

44. Defense alliance since 1949

45. __ and conditions

47. Tarnish, dirty

48. Little one

49. Extraterrestrials

51. Degree after undergraduate, perhaps

54. Titles again

57. Disfigure

58. Twin, queen, e.g.

59. “Liar liar, ___ on fire”

61. Beiges and taupes

65. Sample track

67. Muscle contraction

69. Alternative to “here,” for a food order

70. Right now!

71. Country divided at the 38th parallel

72. Foot, for a horse

73. Longs for

74. Derisive smile

75. Young lady, for short, in Mexico

tions, and she wants to get better, so it’s something that is good for all the players to see.”

Captain and senior forward Lily Shannon said everyone on the team was “so happy” when Aube was introduced and, after getting the playbook, Aube fit right in.

“She was able to get right into the systems that we have. She’s one of the hardest-working people on the team. She’s out there grinding, and she’s competing right with us. And I think that shows a lot the type of person she is,” Shannon said.

Aube reached a seemingly unachievable milestone by making the Division I team. She’s not resting until she can wear her jersey on game day.

“One day, I would dream to wear that jersey on the ice and play for the school. To do that in any capacity, that would be probably the highlight of my life,” Aube said. “Having that goal in mind just so excites me, it keeps me going, wakes me up in the morning.”

After holding onto the dream for so long, Aube is convinced that anything is possible.

“People did not even think I was gonna play hockey again,” Aube said. “The amount of training that I did to get to where I am now, that can only be fueled by a dream like that. That’s what I would tell [my younger self], ‘Don’t give up and keep being delusional.’”

DOWN

1. Accessory for a superhero

2. Light brews

3. Feathered scarves

4. Lock of hair

5. ___and downs

6. Instagram parent company

7. 2025 “Best Picture” winner

8. To eat rapidly

9. To trigger (2 words)

10. Spotify or Snapchat, e.g.

11. Plan

12. Lawmaker

13. Air pollution haze

21. “Sure”

23. Fairytale animal who ate grandma

26. Stops

28. It never does this in Southern California, according to an Albert Hammond song

29. Mazda sports car model

30. Chicago Sky player (2 words)

31. Taken guy, perhaps (2 words)

32. Debts

34. Casino machines with a lever

37. “Last Train to London” band, for short

38. Glance over

41. “So true”

43. Grand __, baseball phenom

46. Break suddenly

50. Slaps

52. __ Diego

53. Two __ and a lie

55. Company behind a 2001 financial fraud

56. Ogle

58. Cakes-and-candles reason, shortly

60. Captain Hook’s sidekick

62. Don’t let this hit you on the way out

63. Major awards combo 64. Couch

66. Business tasks, briefly 68. Golf standard

Brigitte Aube points her stick at the camera. Aube walked onto the women’s hockey team earlier this year after previously playing for Northeastern’s club team. Photo courtesy Northeastern Athletics.