January 24, 2019

The Huntington News January 24, 2019

The independent student newspaper of the Northeastern community

@HuntNewsNU

Boston Police estimated between 8,000-10,000 people gathered at Boston Common on Saturday to participate in the third annual Boston Women’s March.

New message at Women’s March

By Laura Rodriguez | News Correspondent

At 10 a.m. Saturday, Boston Common could have been a scene from any ordinary weekend. People ice skated on the pond, children filled the playground, guides led visitors on tours along the paths. Two years ago, the park could hardly contain the

massive crowd that gathered.

Between 8,000 and 10,000 “pussyhat” wearers, students, children and people of various ideologies and backgrounds gathered on the Common for the third annual Boston Women’s March.

Photo by Charlie Wolfson

The 2017 Women’s March directly followed the inauguration of President Donald J. Trump, and filled the Common with a crowd of 175,000.

Last year, just 10,000 gathered in the Cambridge Common to protest. The

INTERSECTIONAL, on Page 6

Record government shutdown impacts NU

By Yunkyo Kim News Staff The partial government shutdown is now the longest in American history, lasting 32 days as of Jan. 23. Roughly 800,000 furloughed federal employees have been working without pay, leading to devastating consequences for families, surrounding communities and public institutions. And while the Northeastern administration is minimally affected, some students feel more vulnerable to the shutdown.

Research facilities are impacted, but they will not suffer any short-term damage. According to Senior Vice Provost for Research David Luzzi, approximately 80 percent of research at Northeastern is funded by federal agencies and only one — The National Science Foundation (NSF) — is financially impacted by the shutdown. And Northeastern University Research Enterprise Services (NU-RES) announced that it will self-fund affected projects to continue until the government reopens.

“We are confident that the government will be providing those funds once it reopens, so that is something that we could use to greatly ameliorate any impact on ongoing research programs,” Luzzi said.

In addition, Luzzi and Vice President for Government Relations Tim Leshan assured that students with financial difficulties due to the shutdown will not be penalized for delayed tuition payment. However, some students in the community are already noticing the increasing financial strains and limitations of mobility.

Grace Pattarini, a first-year environmental engineering major, is one such student. Pattarini’s father is a public affairs officer who works for the state department in Luxembourg, and he has now missed several paychecks from the government. “[The shutdown] makes it really stressful on my family, just because we live overseas and so that adds a whole other financial stress on us,” Pattarini said. “I talked to [my parents] about it and our first priorities are the mortgage and my tuition … it’s just frustrating because my dad actually has to go to work, even though he is not being paid, so he’s still working every day without pay until the government reopens.”

The shutdown may also impact students whose parents do not work for the government. Jenn Hong, an international first-year student who is majoring in sociology, noted an understaffed Logan Airport when she arrived in Boston on Jan. 3. While her flight was the first of the day, it took Hong two hours to get processed at customs.

Even though Hong is more concerned about the difficulties for unpaid families, she

Photo by Samantha Barry Maria Henriquez returns to campus after a co-op at the University of London in the Music, Mind and Brain Group.

LGBTQ+ students struggle with decision to come out on co-op Photo by Riley Robinson First-year Jenn Hong worries about her status as an international student due to the prolonged government shutdown. is worried about her status as an international student, as President Trump warned that the shutdown could continue for “months or even years.”

“I think it’s easier to leave America than it is to come in, so I don’t think going outside is going to be an issue. The issue is coming back in,” Hong said.

Overall, a prolonged shutdown will greatly increase grievances for both the Northeastern research programs and the students.

“Initially, we were like this is okay because my mom works … if it goes on for a really long time, it could be a problem,” Pattarini said.

If the shutdown lasts past the fiscal year, the university will not have received the necessary award from the NSF, impacting research projects for the next year.

“The longer the shutdown lasts, the bigger the impact will be, but for now, we are saying that the impact is minimal on the university,” Leshan said.

By Phil Zminda News Correspondent For Maria Henriquez, the chance to go on co-op in a progressive place like London was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

When it came to determining how to let her colleagues know she was a lesbian, though, the city’s liberal leanings didn’t ease her worries.

“I never felt unwelcome or unaccepted, I just felt slightly odd about trying to be obviously queer in a very grown-up, academic environment,” said the thirdyear psychology and linguistics combined major. “Everyone there was very private about their personal lives, so there wasn’t really opportunity for that. It just wasn’t the culture there.”

For some LGBTQ+-identifying students like Henriquez, being out on co-op is more than just being open about their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Their interests, styles of dress, hobbies and weekend plans revolve around their LGBTQ+ identity which, when left unsaid, leaves them unable to truly be themselves in their six-month placement.

“We haven’t had conversations about it [with students],” said Megan Richmond, an associate co-op coordinator in the D’Amore-McKim School of Business.

“Which could mean one of two things: either that students are not feeling an additional pressure or challenge in their [job] search due to their sexuality or gender identity, or that they are facing that challenge and, for whatever reason, don’t feel comfortable expressing it.”

Henriquez, who just finished her co-op at Goldsmiths, University of London as a research assistant in the Music, Mind and Brain Group, originally came to Northeastern from Cincinnati, Ohio.

There, she said it wasn’t safe to express her sexual orientation. So now that Henriquez spends her time in the liberal city of Boston and has more LGBTQ+ friends, being easily read as an LGBTQ+ woman is important to her — even in the workplace.

“My ideal goal for myself is to be able to walk into a room and for everyone to go, ‘she’s gay,’” she said. “I always look at Pinterest, like, ‘lesbian fashion for work,’ IDENTITY, on Page 2

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January 24, 2019

Embracing LGBTQ+ identity on the job

Photo courtesy Maria Henriquez Maria Henriquez wears pins supporting LGBTQ+ identities the week of London Pride in July while on co-op at Goldsmiths, University of London.

IDENTITY, from front because I don’t see a lot of queer people around.”

For Henriquez, this lack of visibility is part of the problem.

“When you don’t see enough queer people around you, it makes it really hard to present yourself as queer, because you don’t know how other people do it or what else is involved in it,” she said. “Every person is starting from scratch.”

Compared to other marginalized identities, someone’s LGBTQ+ identity is typically invisible unless they choose to disclose it. For Henriquez, that means she wants her clothing, haircut, personal style and mannerisms to tell others she is LGBTQ+.

Considering how innocuous many of these signals are, cisgender and heterosexual colleagues may not pick up on them, forcing students to explain their sexuality or gender.

Many students may avoid verbalizing it simply to protect themselves.

“You immediately retreat because it’s a risk, even if it’s not really a risk in that situation,” Henriquez said.

“I’ve been trained for it to be a risk.”

The risk

That sense of risk isn’t unfounded.

The FBI reported that 1,130 hate crimes based on sexual orientation bias and 119 hate crimes based on gender identity bias occurred in 2017. Employers are also legally allowed to fire people in 29 states

for being lesbian, gay or bisexual, or transgender, according to the Human Rights Campaign.

While it’s not likely an LGBTQ+ person would experience physical violence in the workplace, many worry that choosing to be out would evoke latent homophobia or transphobia from their colleagues, hindering their ability to progress or succeed in the workplace.

“You don’t really want to be put at a disadvantage when you’re going to be assessed in comparison to your peers,” said Emily Kuo, a 26-year-old queer woman and marketing manager at Amazon in Seattle. “You never really know where someone’s views lie, especially when the people in power are of a different generation.”

Conor Mahon, who is pursuing a doctorate in psychology at Dublin City University in Ireland, studies this exacerbated sense of social anxiety in LGBTQ+ people.

“They’re dealing with excess stresses that a heterosexual person wouldn’t deal with, such as actual experiences of discrimination or internal processes like internalized homophobia,” said Mahon, 26.

Mahon’s research on social anxiety in sexual minorities finds that, across the board, LGBTQ+ people are significantly more likely to experience social anxiety than their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts. This heightened anxiety makes them more sensitive to the possibility of

rejection and can hinder their occupational function, he said.

Jace Ritchey, a fifth-year justice, rhetoric and society studies major who identifies as genderqueer, didn’t feel comfortable coming out as nonbinary on their first two co-ops — the first at Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s press office and the second at a small nonprofit.

“I’ve always been conscientious of the way my identities and my queerness are visible in places of employment,” Ritchey said. “For my first two [co-ops] I felt comfortable being out in my sexuality, but due to not really having the words to understand my gender orientation and feeling uncomfortable with navigating that, I did not disclose my gender identity at my first two co-ops.”

On the first day of Ritchey’s third co-op as an events coordinator at the Boston Globe, they came out as genderqueer. Ritchey didn’t feel prepared to have that conversation.

They described the frustrating realization that explaining their identity depended entirely on self-advocacy — there was a lack of institutional resources to lean on for support.

“At no point was I made to feel immediately unsafe. But at the same time, I was not fully embraced [at the Globe],” Ritchey said. “I was tepidly respected.”

Ritchey said they decided to come out on their third co-op, unlike the previous two, to avoid downplaying their identity and, consequently, parts of their personality.

“The determining factor was that I recognized how much of myself I had to compromise when I wasn’t able to bring my full self to work,” Ritchey said. “Having that much weight on me is distracting and inhibiting and I could no longer justify my silence.”

Although many may think of an LGBTQ+ person as in or out of the closet, Mahon said research is starting to describe coming out as an endless, lifelong process. For example, someone might be out to their manager, but not to someone they’re working with on a project. As such, they may feel the need to act differently around that project partner. Mahon refers to this decision to act “less queer” as concealment or covering.

“Concealment isn’t just the act of coming out, but it’s in your every-

day life,” Mahon said. For example, an LGBTQ+ person might change mannerisms around different people or deepen their voice at work.

That said, the question of how much of one’s self to bring to the workplace isn’t necessarily unique to LGBTQ+ students.

“I think every student is assessing how much of themselves they want to bring to work,” said Heather Hauck, the associate director of the finance and accounting co-op group at Northeastern. “There are some people in life that bring their professional selves to work, and don’t feel comfortable disclosing anything about themselves.”

Self-advocates

At the Globe, Ritchey lobbied management to provide gender-neutral bathrooms for employees. The company’s HR department was preoccupied with payroll and health care matters, Ritchey said, and the momentum to support this marginalized community just wasn’t there.

Ritchey took up the matter with senior leadership. One manager made it a priority, but it was a long process and the new bathrooms weren’t completed until Ritchey’s final week of co-op.

“My gratitude for it having happened at all means more than anything else, regardless of how difficult the situation was for me,” they said. “The reception to the changing of [bathroom] signs was hugely positive. It was hugely inspiring to me to hear from others that they had recognized what work had gone into it.”

Many large workplaces have worked to create work environments more welcoming to LGBTQ+ employees by establishing employee resource groups and diversity councils dedicated to the LGBTQ+ community. According to the Human Rights Campaign, 89 percent of the 947 employers ranked in its 2018 Corporate Equality Index have resource groups or councils for LGBTQ+ employees.

However, with little available information about the rate of adoption in the other 18,752 U.S.-based firms employing more than 500 people in 2016, it’s unclear how common — or effective — these initiatives are in the majority of workplaces.

In many cases, an employee resource group or diversity council is not an antidote to LGBTQ+

2017 Hate Crime Incidents

News illustration by Paxtyn Merten Approximately 17 percent of hate crime incidents tracked by the FBI in 2017 were motivated by sexual orientation and gender identity combined.

workplace anxiety. Kuo is a few years into her time at Amazon, which has a LGBTQ+ resource group, yet she still faces the daily question of whether or not to come out.

“Not wanting to risk relationships is always something at the back of LGBTQ+ people’s minds,” Kuo said.

“When you’re hiding that part of your life, it comes up on almost a weekly or daily basis, when you have the opportunity to share who you are, or flat-out lie.”

In addition to her work at Amazon, Kuo is the director of Out for Undergrad’s marketing conference.

Out for Undergrad, or O4U, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the careers of high-achieving LGBTQ+ undergraduates. The company coordinates four annual conferences where students can hear from employers who are supportive of the LGBTQ+ community and network with other LGBTQ+ students.

Photo courtesy Emily Kuo Emily Kuo sits in Amazon’s Seattle headquarters in January.

“O4U and similar events are so powerful because you can connect to people with similar struggles as you,” Kuo said. “You get insight into other people that may look like you or may embody a piece of your identity that’s really important to you.”

An integral component of the conference is linking students to mentors who understand their unique experiences and can support them in their careers. For day-to-day life, though, Kuo said it’s imperative that students find colleagues who have their best interest at heart.

Mahon’s research supports this search for allies. Social support satisfaction “continually emerged as being negatively correlated with social anxiety — that is, it buffers against it,” he said.

Henriquez felt comfortable enough to come out because she found support in the other intern on her team at Goldsmiths.

“Even if it wasn’t everyone, the support of someone there was really nice,” she said.

Ultimately, Richmond and Hauck believe the decision to be out on the job is up to the student and their goals, priorities and preferences.

“Sometimes students are listening to everyone else in their world, and I think it’s so important to help a student get a sense of who they are and what they’re comfortable with,” Hauck said. “Students should be empowered to have the choice to be who they are, and sometimes, that means taking a risk.”

Charlie Wolfson contributed to this story.

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January 24, 2019

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NUPD CRIME LOG Compiled by Sully Barrett, News Staff

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File photo by Dylan Shen Northeastern released three new proposals to expand the Marine Science Center in Nahant.

Nahant center expansion proposal faces backlash

By Lukas Illion News Correspondent

Northeastern unveiled three revised proposals for expansion at the Marine Science Center, or MSC, in Nahant during a Nahant town meeting Dec. 11. Despite Northeastern’s best efforts, many residents are not welcoming the new design proposal.

The designs are meant to minimize the intrusiveness of the approximately 60,000-square-foot expansion.

Northeastern originally proposed a design in February that was sharply criticized by the residents of Nahant, which is roughly 17 miles north of NU’s main campus.

“Over the intervening 9 months, the university met with many Nahant citizens and community groups and held several individual meetings with members of the board of selectmen to solicit feedback,” said Michael Ferrari, the assistant vice president for external affairs.

The university channeled this feedback into three redesigned plans for the expansion that residents could choose from.

Ferrari emphasized that each proposed alternative is designed to blend into the surrounding landscape, especially when the vegetation is at its fullest in the spring and summer.

However, the visual aspect of the expansion is not the main concern for many residents. For Christoph Wald, a Nahant resident since 1998, the scale of the project is more disconcerting.

“Eastpoint is a 23-acre open space in this town. It’s the largest open space,” Wald said. “Why would you want to put that size of a building, in which science is done that could be done somewhere else, in the only open space in a small town … other than the fact that it has a nice view of Boston?”

Lifelong resident Michelle Capano pointed to the original transaction agreement between Nahant and NU. “We only have so much open space and we need to preserve it.”

Capano said. “They acquired the property to be a natural resource area and they are not fulfilling that. I have a moral compass issue with that.”

Spatial issues are also a concern for residents. According to Keep Nahant Wild, a volunteer group dedicated to the conservation of Nahant’s wildlife habitats and open space, the MSC already holds the

record for the largest ratio of facility area to town area on the East Coast.

The new addition would add 60,000 square feet on top of that.

How the school plans to use the MSC’s new facilities is important to Nahant residents as well. Peter Rogal, a Nahant resident since 2004, said Northeastern stated at a town meeting in February that the new expansion would consist of “dry buildings,” which are buildings that don’t need water from the ocean. It is unclear if the new designs will draw sea water, but Rogal said if they do not, Northeastern should not expand the facility at Nahant and instead should build a facility in nearby Lynn or Salem. This suggestion has been supported by Rep. Seth Moulton.

Residents in opposition to the project are both disappointed in and worried about Northeastern’s transparency towards the expansion.

“The history of Northeastern in Nahant has not been discussions with the public. There may be closeddoor discussions that we don’t know about,” Rogal said.

Since the December town meeting, some Nahant residents, including atmospheric scientist Susan Solomon, have submitted a long list of incisive questions about the proposed expansion to Northeastern. The residents are still awaiting responses from the university.

Residents are worried that Northeastern will mislead them based on negative reactions to the university’s expansions in Burlington and Roxbury. Rogal said Northeastern has used “mission creep” in these scenarios, and is attempting to do the same thing in Nahant.

“What if Northeastern comes back in five years and says they wanna build 25,000 more square feet?,” he said.

Ferrari said this expansion is an “isolated initiative.”

“It’s really about enhancing [the MSC’s] capacity and bringing additional expertise to bear on some of these most pressing challenges around the coastal communities,” Ferrari said.

Perhaps most significantly, expansion opponents feel a deep symbolic connection to Nahant that they feel would be threatened if Northeastern’s project proceeds, Rogal said.

“When we have a threat like this it becomes a very visceral thing … It’s a game-changer for most residents,” Rogal said.

The Nahant Historical Society, or NHS, highlights this point on its website’s homepage: “We must keep the essential being of our town … our history, our scenic beauty, our sense of community … We strongly believe any further expansion of the Marine Science Center will irrevocably change not only the scenic beauty of East Point but also the essential being of our small town.”

Despite the stalemate, the university remains optimistic “that working with town officials and with community groups, that a sort of shared consensus can be reached that’ll be a win-win for both [their] teaching and research mission and also the town,” Ferrari said.

The residents in opposition to the expansion are also confident.

“It’s a David and Goliath story,” Rogal said. “Sometimes if your adversary is small and tenacious, it’s a tougher fight than you expect.”

Indeed, the close-knit town is swinging above its weight class. And with neither side showing signs of backing down any time soon, the deciding factor in the conflict may be financial.

“There may be things that we can’t control such as litigation that could be initiated by the town or by property abutters. But … It’s hard to know what sort of impact prolonged legal entanglement would have on the resources of the town. We certainly would prefer to figure out a way for us to reach an agreement that would benefit all parties and allow us to continue to be a strong supporter of the Nahant community going forward,” Ferrari said.

While Northeastern respects residents’ concerns, the university said the research being conducted at the MSC is valuable to Nahant.

“Nahant is not unique in that it is facing challenges from sea level rise, from storm surge, from warming ocean temperatures, and the work that we are doing right there has the potential to benefit the community directly,” Ferrari said.

Nahant residents, though, feel that it is not really up to the university to decide what’s best for the community. While the residents admire Northeastern’s current research, they feel no obligation to let Northeastern build more on their land.

“We are not talking about kicking Northeastern out of this town,” Rogal said. “We’re talking about no expansion.”

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11:33 a.m.

An NU staff member reported eight camera kits were missing from Shillman Hall. A report was filed.

12:51 p.m.

An NUPD detective reported observing an individual acting suspiciously outside of Ruggles. NUPD confiscated a class A substance and reported the individual will be summoned to court for distribution of a class A substance.

A report was filed.

1:43 p.m.

An RA reported finding drug paraphernalia and empty alcohol containers during a health and safety inspection in International Village (IV). NUPD responded and confiscated a glass bowl and pipe from the room. A report was filed.

2:49 p.m.

NU staff reported a man engaging in drug activity in the basement bathroom of IV. The man reported to NUPD officers that he had injected a class A substance and was transported to Boston Medical Center. A report was filed.

11:50 p.m.

An NU student reported her cell phone was stolen from a bathroom in Curry Student Center. A report was filed.

12:48 a.m.

NUPD officers reported locating an individual unaffiliated with NU hiding behind a partition during a patrol of Curry Student Center. A report was filed.

6:07 a.m.

Northeast Security reported a homeless woman in the basement bathroom of IV. NUPD officers reported she was cooperative and was escorted from the building. A report was filed.

2:38 p.m.

Multiple NU students reported being approached and threatened by a man in Curry Student Center. One student reported being nudged while the man stated he was banned from campus. NUPD officers responded and escorted the man off campus. A report was filed.

3:21 p.m.

An NU student reported her backpack was stolen from the Shillman Hall lobby. A report was filed.

1:52 a.m.

An RA reported a suspected odor from possible drug and alcohol use in a room in West Village A. NUPD reported speaking with the residents who admitted to using a class D substance. A report was filed.

9:28 p.m.

A proctor reported an odor of marijuana coming from the third floor of West Village E. Officers reported being unable to contact the residents. A report was filed.

3:21 p.m.

Boston Police reported three individuals engaging in an unarmed robbery in Ruggles Station. The suspects stole the victim’s backpack and fled on Tremont Street toward Massachusetts Avenue. Officers reported checking the area and found no sign of the suspects. A report was filed.

4:58 p.m.

An NU student reported being robbed by three individuals at the intersection of Camden Street and Columbus Avenue. NUPD reported tracking the suspects fleeing down Gainsborough Street and checked the area with no sign of the suspects. A report was filed.

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January 24, 2019

NEWS BRIEFS

Jake Grondin elected SGA Executive VP

By Maria Lovato Campus Editor During the Student Government Association, or SGA, Senate meeting on Monday, Jake Grondin was elected as the new executive vice president, or EVP. Grondin is filling the role left by Student Body President Dylan Balcom who moved to that role after Nathan Hostert’s resignation in November.

“I am really excited for this new opportunity,” Balcom said. “There’s a lot of potential with [Grondin] serving in this role.”

Grondin was elected through an internal election, meaning that only members of the SGA Senate voted, as opposed to the student body. He ran against Karl Salvatore, who is an SGA senator representing the Northeastern Hyperloop Club, and Carolyn McFadden. All candidates had to be nominated and receive a second from someone in the Senate.

Grondin’s platform includes increasing SGA’s transparency with the student body and using the SGA as a “pipeline to the highest university administrators,” according to an announcement posted on SGA’s website Tuesday. Grondin said one way he will do this is by inviting speakers from the administration to come to SGA Senate meetings.

“I want to provide that connection.

It is important for administrators to get a voice in SGA and for senators to get to ask questions,” Grondin said, adding that he wanted to invite President Joseph E. Aoun to come to a meeting.

Grondin also wants to increase communication with the student body by bringing back a monthly email newsletter.

“I want to relay most of the information as much as possible with the student body,” he said. “We are a body supposed to represent the students at [Northeastern].”

Balcom said the executive team will work to continue projects from last semester, including work for gender neutral housing and to improve University Health and Counseling Services.

“Jake and I are going to hit the ground running,” Balcom said. “We will also be making sure other members of the eboard are supported in their initiatives and everything goes smoothly.”

Currently studying biology with minors in physics and math, Grondin is in his fourth year at Northeastern. His previous involvement with SGA includes experience as a senator during his first two years, and as a deputy chief of staff his first year.

Grondin previously ran for EVP in 2017 with Alex Bender.

NU admin moves up at Grand Valley State

Photo courtesy Grand Valley State University NU Senior Vice President and CEO of Lifelong Learning Philomena Mantella was appointed president of Grand Valley State University.

By Maria Lovato Campus Editor Philomena Mantella, a senior vice president at Northeastern, was appointed as the fifth president of

Grand Valley State University, or GVSU. The school’s board of trustees voted unanimously to appoint her Tuesday, making Mantella the first female president at GVSU, which is located in Allendale, Michigan.

“I’m thrilled,” Mantella said.

“Grand Valley is an exciting institution with an inspirational history.

It’s only 60 years old with 25,000 students.”

Mantella has been at Northeastern for 18 years, and is the chief executive officer of Lifelong Learning, a program focused on building global campuses and digital infrastructure, as well as reaching both undergraduate and graduate students and creating a network system for alumni, she said.

“Moving forward, our students are going to make learning a lifelong endeavor,” she said. “My department is enabling that model that students can come back to their home institution.”

Mantella was chosen by the 18-person board for her skills in global market expansion and strategic planning, according to a press release. Mantella will officially make the move from NU and start at GVSU on July 1. She will replace outgoing president Thomas Haas.

“This is very special,” Mantella said. “I’m proud to be the first female president, and I’m excited to bring my style. It’s always good to have diversity. It will be a nice opportunity for me and [GVSU].”

Burst pipes cause flooding in IV

By Nick Swindell Deputy Campus Editor Students living in International Village, or IV, woke up to the sound of fire alarms at 5:30 a.m. on Jan. 22 after a burst pipe wreaked havoc in the building. After heading to the lobby, students were transferred to Renaissance Park where they sat waiting before class or co-op.

“Mostly everyone was in their pajamas, had their retainer in, no makeup,” said Danielle Fiebke, a first-year international business ma-

jor. “We had to get out and we had no idea why.”

Blake Minchoff, a Northeastern area coordinator of residential life, sent an email to students at 6:45 a.m. stating that water in the west tower of IV was shut off due to a burst pipe.

Student observations in the building included flooded stairwells and floors, leaking ceilings, dirty water and shut off elevators. Floors 10-14 were most affected by the flooding, but the first three floors were, too.

The News observed signs of water

and fans running in the lobby.

A second email from Jordan Moncivaiz, the residential director for IV, sent at 6:30 p.m. stated that water was restored and a single elevator was working in the west tower.

Estelle De Zan, a third-year journalism and international affairs combined major, lives in IV and added that a couple days earlier, floors in the building flooded and fans were placed in students’ rooms.

Corey Dockser contributed to this story.

CITY

January 24, 2019

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Photo by Aidan McGovern

Establishments like The Mission Bar and Grill in Roxbury have had to adapt to rising costs in order to keep their doors open.

Boston restaurants face rising cost pressures

By Aidan McGovern Deputy City Editor After nearly 200 years of service, Faneuil Hall’s iconic Durgin-Park restaurant closed its doors for good Jan. 12 after management announced the decision just a week earlier.

The news is the latest in a string of citywide restaurant closings, one of five in the past month, including spots from Back Bay to Cambridge.

Not all of the recent closings include establishments with the same lifespan as Durgin-Park, however, as restaurants like Cultivar closed after just over a year in business.

Durgin-Park, known for its traditional New England- style food and surly service, closed in light of what restaurant manager Kenneth Thimothee said were “financial reasons including an increased minimum wage,” as reported by the Boston Globe.

The current discussion of the factors that are ultimately responsible for a restaurant’s demise or its success has yet to lead to any one particular business model for the future of Boston’s dining industry.

What is clear, however, is that some of the challenges Durgin-Park and others faced in their last days are also ongoing problems for local restaurants.

In the face of an ever-changing cultural landscape accompanied by skyrocketing rent, rising food costs and growing competition, how do local establishments plan to survive and prosper in the industry?

“I think as a restaurateur you need to know the demographic you’re going into before you even open up the place,” said Zach Semeta, a 32-year-old restaurant manager at The Mission Bar and Grill, a spot wedged on the corner of Huntington Avenue and Tremont Street. “You really have to know your price

points … It’s really important to be aware of all the things that go into a restaurant: your costs [and] your labor.”

High rent costs, something Semeta said may have been the final nail in the coffin for Durgin-Park, seem to be a concern shared by others in the business.

“It’s the rent,” said John O’Brien, a bartender of seven years at The Mission, regarding what he says is the driving force behind many of the closures. “It’s expensive … even around here … I have a son who lives nearby, it’s not cheap,” O’Brien said.

Mission Hill is no stranger to closures. Grub, the sister restaurant to Huntington Avenue’s Penguin Pizza, closed in October 2017.

The conversation surrounding Boston’s restaurant scene also involves the minimum wage, a piece of the puzzle Semeta said could be problematic for restaurants come 2023, when Massachusetts is set to raise the standard minimum wage to $15 an hour, and to $6.75 for the tipped minimum wage.

“It’s tough … As a restaurant, you lock yourself into leases with the landlord for 10 to 15 years, so [when] 15 years expires, [the landlord’s] going to hike it up by 15 to 20 percent, plus your minimum wage has just gone up,” Semeta said.

Richard Guthria, a manager of 23 years at Woody’s Grill and Tap, voiced similar concerns about the industry in the Fenway neighborhood. Woody’s, located on Hemenway Street, has witnessed a shift in its demographic of both guests and workers.

Guthria said some of his guests and workers have come and gone as a result of the rising property value in the area. “I pay three times the amount for the same square footage [as] across the street, because I’m commercially zoned,” he said.

Not only is it becoming more expensive to pay the rent as a manager of a restaurant, Guthria said, but it is also becoming too expensive for potential customers to move into the neighborhood, which he believes is detrimental to a neighborhood’s self-sustainability.

“You need affordable housing for clients and labor, and I’d go as far as to say a tax abatement [from the city] for small businesses,” Guthria said.

Guthria said he doesn’t think minimum wage is a driving force of closures, but there should be some degree of distinction in pay for long-time staff members as opposed to new, entry-level workers. Guthria said the $15 minimum wage is a “very fair starting point” for “quality workers” who carry out their duties.

Another industry change is the advent of mobile delivery services like Uber Eats and Grubhub. Those who work on the delivery side of the operation can take as much as 25 to 30 percent of the meal’s sale, something both Semeta and Guthria noted as a hurdle for profit.

While establishments like The Mission and Woody’s have adapted to the change by becoming more involved in takeout services,

“

every Tuesday, I go out to a different restaurant,” Semata said. “I definitely think there’s still that niche that people want to experience, to go

As a restaurant, you lock yourself into leases with the landlord for 10 to 15 years, so [when] 15 years expires, [the landlord’s] going to hike it up by 15 to 20 percent.

”

– Zach Semeta, The Mission Bar and Grill restaurant manager restaurateurs said it’s harmful to opt for delivery in place of the sit-down experience due to a smaller profit on the restaurant’s end and a degraded food product on the customer’s end.

To ensure that favorite restaurants and cafés survive the coming years in the face of a constantly-changing service economy, Semeta and Guthria encourage people to return to places they enjoy.

“I myself, I go out once a week,

out to celebrate, or just a date, or whatever.”

Similarly, Guthria spoke fondly of the shared experiences he witnessed in Woody’s over the course of his two decades there.

“It was a rite of passage, to become a part of the community,” he said. “Northeastern kids have been coming in now for more than 20 years, we’ve had a crowd for the Beanpot every year.”

Photo courtesy Creative Commons After nearly 200 years, Faneuil Hall’s iconic Durgin-Park restaurant closed its doors Jan. 12.

CITY

Page 6

January 24, 2019

In 3rd annual Women’s March, smal INTERSECTIONAL, from front decreased attendance begs the question, what has changed in the last three years?

The same message is prevalent: a voice ringing, “We have had enough.”

But now there is a different agenda, one of speaking out about intersectionality in all issues amid the controversy of anti-Semitic alliances within the leadership of the national Women’s March movement.

What has been consistent?

Demands for women’s rights in all aspects of life remained at the forefront of the protest, inclusive of all identifying women, regardless of color and race. Strength in numbers and hope are still staples of the movement.

Natasha Gonzalez, a sophomore education major at Lesley University, attended the march for reasons that percolated in years past — unity and hope.

“It’s good to feel a sense of camaraderie and people surrounding you that feel the same way,” Gonzalez said. “Having tons of people behind you and in front of you in the crowd, it makes you feel like you’re part of something bigger.”

As a young woman at the march, the idea of fighting for women’s rights on a platform that does not discriminate based on age, gender identity or race is encouraging to her.

“Women’s rights are human rights,” Gonzalez said.

Esther Anastasia, a protester whose husband is a federal worker at the Federal Aviation Administration a department deeply affected by the largest government shutdown in U.S. history, held a sign protesting the lack of government initiative.

“People have gotten more used to

2017

the things that infuriated us during the first march, but now there’s a more mature reaction,” Anastasia said.

Northeastern alum Jackie Rothmeier had similar reasons for attending this march. A member of Strong Women Strong Girls, a mentoring organization based in Massachusetts for young girls, Rothmeier participated in the conversation about women’s rights.

“I attended the first Women’s March in Washington, D.C. with my mentor sisters,” Rothmeier said, “as part of the resistance movement against the inauguration of Donald J. Trump and in support of women, people of color, LGBTQ and all communities we knew would be adversely affected by his presidency.”

Her sentiments have not changed since January 2017.

“I’m still deeply frustrated and angry about the decisions being made in the White House, namely the current discussion on immigration reform and border security,” Rothmeier said.

Resentment of people in power acting for their voters rather than the greater good of the nation is strong, and this reality is becoming more sobering as the current administration presses on.

Ariel Jones, a demonstrator Saturday and history teacher from Ohio, argued with the few Trump supporters present, particularly with one individual wearing a Trump hat and a No. 20 Trump U.S.A. mock football jersey.

“This country has never empowered women fully and that has become in itself empowered through Donald Trump’s election and through the people that he has allowed to make policy,” Jones said.

She donned a “pussyhat” and held up a bright pink sign as she stood defiantly next to the Trump supporters and counter-protesters surrounded by a ring of Boston Police officers with neon vests and large black bicycles.

has only cultivated a larger connection to younger audiences.

“Like Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Elizabeth Warren keeping in touch through their Instagram stories, it’s so resourceful and easy for us to feel

Women’s March Attendance (est.)

2017 . . . . . . . 175,000 2018 . . . . . . . 10,000 2019 . . . . . . . 8-10,000 Source: Boston Police Department News illustration by Corey Dockser

“I don’t want that for myself, I don’t want that for my children, and it has to stop,” Jones said.

Consistency in the movement has been rooted year after year in women’s autonomy to make decisions for themselves, Jones said. “[Our representatives in Congress] are not wavering no matter what kind of funding pressure or federal pressure they’re facing,” she said. “They’re standing firm and they’re saying they’re going to protect the women of Massachusetts and hope that this has a rippling effect throughout the country.”

What has changed?

Amid the positivity of an inclusive message, leaders and organizers still

File photo by Dylan Shen The 2017 march was held at Boston Common, and last year’s smaller march was held at Cambridge Common. The event moved back to Boston Common this year, though the crowd was similar in size to last year’s.

Photo by Charlie Wolfson Mahtowin Munro, of the United American Indians of New England, reminded the crowd that the land on which the march was held was once stolen from Native Americans.

had something to prove in terms of forged alliances.

When the co-chair of the national Women’s March, Tamika Mallory, refused to denounce the Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan after his anti-Semitic rhetoric at a rally

during which he warned listeners of “Satanic Jews,” the march lost much of the backing of the center-left.

Many local marches nationwide chose to separate from the organization, as the group’s leaders struggled to deal with the gravity of these accusations.

There was certainly a dip in attendance on the Common this Saturday.

Some wonder if the digital aspect of organizing mass movements, as New York Times opinion columnist Michelle Goldberg pointed out, contributes to this.

As movements get bigger online, the less need there is for strong and capable leaders, Goldberg wrote.

But people like Rothmeier believe the digitalization of the movement

2019

connected when they use the same tools we do,” Rothmeier said. “Social media is democratizing and can act as an equalizer in an ideal state, so it’s awesome having power there.”

One thing that stood out this year was the presence of Trump supporters and anti-protesters, huddled in the safe pocket the Boston Police officers provided near the stage as they shouted chants like “babies’ lives matter,” and “build the wall,” as speakers talked of their experience with abortion and advocated for reproductive rights, and derided Trump’s efforts to build a wall on the southern border.

As Rep. Ayanna Pressley, the honorary chair of the march, came on stage to speak and commemo-

Photo by Charlie Wolfson Around 10,000 people gathered in the Boston Common on Saturday as numerous civil rights activists spoke, headlined by Rep. Ayanna Pressley.

Photo by Charlie Wolfson Temperatures dipped far below freezing, and it was overcast with wind as thousands listened to fiery speakers cut through the air.

Photo by Charlie Wolfson Demonstrators carried a display mocking President Trump’s efforts to build a wall on the southern border.

CITY

January 24, 2019

Page 7

ller crowds stress intersectionality

Some signs were overt condemnations of President Trump, and others were more positive encouragements toward women and minorities. rate Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the anti-protesters shouted “build the wall,” and “all lives matter,” inciting the crowd around them.

According to Boston Police Captain Kelley McCormick, groups in collaboration with the police force such as the EMS, the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Lawyers Guild helped keep the peace.

“There are some counter protesters here, but everyone’s pretty respectful of each other’s rights,” McCormick said. “If not getting along, they’re respecting each other’s rights which is all we ever ask of anybody.”

Hidden behind a circle of police bicycles, David Cain, who identified as a Ted Cruz voter and blogger, explained his reasons for being at the march.

“I love the Constitution, it gives us the right to free speech and I want to preserve the right to disagree,” Cain said. “A lot of people want to move to America because of what we offer them, the Constitution gives everyone protection.”

This year, the Boston Women’s March showcased a variety of speakers from many marginalized communities, ranging from Indigenous rights activists in the United American Indians of New England, to the executive director of the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action, Cindy Rowe.

“Our mission is the pursuit of social, economic, environmental and racial justice,” Rowe said from the stage. “I am proud to be here today with my friend Tamisha Sullivan, president of the Boston chapter of the NAACP, as we come together to create a new collective voice for the future.”

Rowe talked about focusing on the message against hate, rather than the separating factors that have clouded

the image of the movement in recent weeks.

“Today we are here to unequivocally denounce racism, anti-Semitism, xenophobia, bigotry, misogyny, homophobia, ableism and transphobia,” Rowe said. “We are here by the thousands to reject all forms of hate, and speak out against the forces that seek to tear us apart.”

Sullivan also spoke about the collective goals for women in the movement, and silenced claims of non-inclusion in her speech.

“We recognize that hate is hate, and there is no room for hate of any kind,” Sullivan said. “We’re moving forward and as you’ll see today, our inclusion is expansive.”

The first march in 2017 was largely reactionary, and relatively new. It was a platform on which to express the need for change, without emphasis on organization. Nevertheless, it was a catalyst for future organizational change in the realm of intersectionality and women’s rights.

Two years ago, the march was held on the Boston Common, but last year ‘s march was held in Cambridge.

According to Karen Cosmas, the executive director of the Women’s March movement in Boston, the issue was not about the number of attendees.

“2017 was held at this site and in 2018 the March Forward was supporting a range of women leaders locally to take the march into 23 different communities. Cambridge just happened to have the largest of these communities,” Cosmas said.

Last year, the Cambridge Police Department estimated 10,000 people attended the rally, which filled the city’s Common. According to the January Coalition website, the event didn’t take place in the Boston Common because organizers knew they would not be able to fill the space.

Photo by Charlie Wolfson

The January Coalition is the organization that planned the 2018 march.

A plea for intersectionality When asked about the alleged anti-Semitism within the leadership of the national movement, Cosmas pointed to Saturday’s events rather than address the issue head-on.

“I think our program this year speaks for itself,” Cosmas said. “It is more important now to demonstrate that we are united across all identities, to empower women to run for office and help them win, to grow into activism together more united than ever.”

Protesters also had things to say about the serious allegations in the leadership of the march.

“Any kind of anti-Semitism is dangerous and frightening, and I can’t say that I know all of the details in the regard of the organization’s leadership,” Rothmeier said, “but I will say that all marginalized communities are stronger when we support and listen to each other, and spotlighting the Jewish Women of Color coalition in D.C. was very encouraging to see.”

Indeed, the march had a variety of speakers all touching on the notion of intersectionality in their messages.

One such group was the YW Boston’s Youth Leadership Initiative, a social justice program for young students around Boston, whose speakers were Isabella Brooke, Ikraam Mohamud and Miranda Graves.

“This country has unfinished business,” Mohamud recited in poetic verse. “By third grade I knew there was something wrong with how our country cuts off minorities with a razor edge.”

Sullivan of the NAACP also brought in messages of cross-cutting change initiatives, and getting congressional action to back these goals.

Photo by Charlie Wolfson A small group of counter-protestors were encircled by Boston Police near the stage. They could be heard faintly chanting “build the wall!” when they weren’t drowned out by the massive surrounding crowd.

Photo by Charlie Wolfson The keynote speaker was Rep. Ayanna Pressley, who in November was elected Massachusetts’ first black congresswoman. She said, “Today we march. Tomorrow we run.”

“We have a vision and a hook for economic equality and affordable housing,” she said. “We believe that our neighborhoods can be healthy, free from criminal justice and that criminal justice reform is smart on crime.”

Sullivan, who spoke early in the program, made intersectionality the focus of this year’s march, bringing up the intolerance of any anti-Se-

mitic sentiment and framing the movement forward as a collaborative effort.

“This movement is not about agreement on every issue,” she said.

“It’s about redefining how we engage, how we use our voices and supporting commonality in our values.”

Paxtyn Merten contributed to this story.

OPINION

Page 8

January 24, 2019

Editorial: Accountability starts here

M

ore than 50 years after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., America still strives to fulfill what is left of the dream. We aspire to live up to the example King set in his transformative work for justice, empowerment and inclusion through love and nonviolence.

And it is on the third Monday of every January since 1983 that Americans honor his legacy and, in their own way, ask themselves what King believed was “life’s most persistent and urgent question … What are you doing for others?”

That question asks us to hold ourselves accountable to do more for one another, to better the world around us however we are capable and conquer today’s problems with “unarmed truth and unconditional

love.”

Civil Rights Era journalism is a testament to the power today’s media possesses to answer that question, the power that accompanies our responsibility to deliver the truth to our respective communities.

So, as The News reflects on 2018, we would like to commit this new year to our own accountability.

We are an entity in constant pursuit of the truth, and our responsibility is to tell stories with the highest level of objectivity and efficacy.

That responsibility is defined by the audience we serve: the Northeastern community.

Accountability means The News will fulfill its commitment to inclusion by actively increasing diversity rather than reiterating a promise

frequently followed by inaction. Furthermore, that commitment requires our editorial board to reflect on the privilege that comes with having a white majority on staff.

The News should emulate the increasingly diverse student body of Northeastern and strive for this goal within our organization — not only in how we report, but what content we publish.

Accountability is the only way to ensure our newsroom fosters an open environment to people of different races, ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, ideologies and so on.

We strive to live up to Northeastern’s motto, “Lux, Veritas, Virtus.”

Local, community-focused journalism exists to illuminate the stories

Photo by Brian Bae The News staff commits to accountability through increasing diversity in its coverage in 2019.

of the people it serves. We want to be the publication students turn to for their community’s truth, where they see their interests reflected in our content. To work toward these high-minded goals, to grow into these aspirations, we must acknowledge where we have failed.

One of our objectives is to connect and improve our relationships with student organizations on campus to enhance the diversity of our coverage. Tell us about your student organizations and the passionate people who make them happen. We want to know what is important to you, whether it’s through a story suggestion or a submission.

We believe the best way to hold ourselves accountable to you, the Northeastern community, is to ask for your feedback. We are still students, after all, and we learn best from one another. Help The News be the best representation of Northeastern and what students are capable of doing in the content we create and share.

King’s words carry a power that continues to resonate with activists, journalists and many other Americans, but this quote seems appropriate as it relates to the power of journalism and the value of what we aim to do to progress: “All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.”

Do you have feedback for The News? Would you like to respond to this editorial? Email comments@ huntnewsnu.com.

Column: You keep Macbeth, I’ll take Beloved

Riley Robinson

S

ometimes I wish people would stop writing wonderful words. At least for a short while. I need time to sit on the floor with a cup of coffee and try to catch up with all of — or at least a teaspoon of — the sentences humans have already crafted. This probably sounds quaint.

Frankly, I just need the time to come to terms with a few things.

It’s now much more difficult to be “well-read” than it was when many of the so-called classics were written, or a group of old men in tweed with funny mustaches sat around and decided what it meant to be “educated.”

It was easier to expect people had read “The Odyssey” because there were far fewer works to choose from.

People read Kant and Sartre and Shakespeare because they didn’t have the option of Toni Morrison or Joan Didion or Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. You’re probably thinking, “But I’ve read Shakespeare!” For most of us, it was really one or two works in 11th grade, and it was probably the SparkNotes.

I am just as guilty of this as anyone else. I often come across references to

a passage about delightfully nostalgic madeleine cookies that some writer assumes I have read. I haven’t. I saw how large the book was and I put it right back down.

In the unstoppable deluge of news headlines and Twitter wars and Pulitzer Prize winners and glorious debut novels, I may never get to Proust. I may never be the truly well-educated ideal some now decorate with the word “humanics.” I may not catch up that far back. The Library of Congress registered more than 450,000 new works just in 2017.

College has taught me how ignorant I am to the sheer vastness of the human creative product. I have the sense that there’s this looming, wonderful mass of prose out there — like an artistic fatberg, but less nauseating.

A part of me knows I shouldn’t care about being “well-read.” That phrase looks for external validation.

It smells of Ivy League, argyle, the boat club, Chanel No. 5 and thick oak doors still closed to deserving people who knock at halls of power.

And yet another part of me still sees that elitism as what I’m taught to aspire to, and I’m not quite sure how to shake it.

I think I’ll start with my reading list. I’m taking suggestions. If we read from less Shakespeare and instead from an ever-widening range of voices, that’s not a loss.

I have faith that some literature student somewhere will have read those anointed figures of antiquity

and still carry their bloodline of thought. I hope they do, because The Greats gave us so many ideas to leap from. Because a rose by any other name will forever be called a Shakespeare spin-off. I hope they can carry these works with care, like a small egg.

I’m sure some would call this lazy, but I’m ready to leave the classics for passionate scholars to bear. In a

world of art which multiplies and time that only seems to shrink, I’m ready to burn the traditional parameters of “well-read.” Or maybe I’ll reach them when I’m 95 with nothing better to do. Regardless, it’s the writers of today who excite me most, who give me new eyes to see the world as weird and wonderful again. Writers who don’t make me want to jump for the SparkNotes.

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LIFESTYLE

January 24, 2019

NU a cappella groups perform together

Page 9

Hunt News

Event

Calendar

Calendar compiled by Ali Dusinberre, deputy lifestyle editor Graphics by Alaine Bennett

Thursday, Jan. 24

The Resident Student Association will hold their annual semi-formal ball this week. The night will be filled with music and food at a unique venue, and a cash bar will be available for those who are 21 and above. Tickets are available now on myNortheastern. 8 p.m.- 11 p.m.; Museum of Science; $8.

Friday, Jan. 25

Photo courtesy Lauren Scornavacca, Nor’easters Distilled Harmony performs at the 2019 AllCappella concert in Blackman Auditorium.

By Christopher Kelly News Correspondent Northeastern’s six a cappella groups came together at Blackman Auditorium Friday for the collaborative event, AllCappella. The event was hosted by Distilled Harmony and performed in front of a packed and excited audience. The lines to enter stretched out of Ell Hall and into Krentzman Quad.

The event began with a former Distilled Harmony member, Alejandro Clark, warming up the crowd.

He introduced Distilled Harmony, and they kicked off the event with Rachel Platten’s “Perfect For You.” Distilled Harmony was followed by the original all-female group on campus, Treble on Huntington.

They impressed the crowd with their striking choreography that set them apart. Their performance stood out amongst the other groups by incorporating staggered line formations and movements throughout the whole stage rather than condensing into a circle around a soloist.

The Downbeats were next to take the stage, and their setlist surprised and hyped up the crowd. After performing an original song and

introducing three new members of their group, they finished their set with Queen’s “Somebody to Love.”

The excitement continued when Northeastern’s only all-male group, The Unisons, took the stage. Their set brought applause from the audience as they grew more excited with each song, especially with their rendition of Rudimental’s “Sun Comes Up.” They closed their set with Clark returning to the stage to entertain the crowd before intermission.

The event resumed with national a cappella champions and multiple album producers, the Nor’easters.

They welcomed five new members to their group as they finished their set with Ariana Grande’s “Breathin.”

Founded in 2012 and still the newest of Northeastern’s all-female groups, Pitch, Please! took the stage after the Nor’easters, and they wasted no time in engaging the crowd with an emotional and uplifting set. Many of their song choices involved mental health, and the crowd responded positively at the end of their set with Phantogram’s “Same Old Blues.”

Finally, Distilled Harmony retook the stage and was applauded throughout their performance. Their

Photo courtesy Lauren Scornavacca, Nor’easters Treble on Huntington excites the crowd with their performance at AllCappella.

performance continued with Shawn Mendes’ “In My Blood” and finished out the evening with Sigala and Ella Eyre’s “Came Here For Love.”

Olivia Triplett, the leader of Pitch, Please!, said all the groups were enthusiastic about the event. She had been unable to perform in the previous year’s event, so this served as an opportunity for one of the few female groups on campus to “show how much they have improved from previous years.”

Triplett described the work that she and her group put into their song selection and the practice they did for this event.

“They say we’re too ‘emo’ a lot, but we’re trying to bend what music and a cappella show to people,” Triplett said. “Things that really exemplify being human.”

Many of their songs now focus on mental health and personal feelings which were on display at Friday’s event with their rendition of Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me.” “We just have this huge desire to prove to both Northeastern and Boston that all-female a cappella is competitive, and we’re doing amazing things that people think that only co-ed groups can do,” Triplett said.

Triplett went on to mention her excitement to share a stage and perform alongside the other groups.

“Northeastern a capella is really special because there is not one bad group amongst all of us, and you know that they will all showcase such amazing talent at the event,” she said.

Distilled Harmony president Ryan Drew also expressed how thrilled he was with the event’s outcome. He was “pleased with how the evening went and how all of the groups got this chance to get together.”

“I was glad that this event gets to take place as it is a chance for all the groups to come together and build their community. I also admit that the event was stressful with a full audience, but I am incredibly happy with the end result,” Drew said.

He was grateful that every member who had performed that night had been putting work into this particular event for a very long time.

“I would like to thank the entire Blackman staff,” Drew said.

African student organizations from across Massachusetts will perform in this cultural dance competition.

The event honors the importance of dance in African cultures, showcasing a variety of dance found throughout the continent.

The winning group of last year’s competition, BU Afrithms, will also make an appearance. 6 p.m.- 10 p.m.; Blackman Auditorium; Free for students.

Saturday, Jan. 26 NU Barkada will host its 2019 annual spring benefit concert in support of Books for the Barrios, an organization that provides education and books for underprivileged youth in the Philippines and around the world. The concert will feature artists and musicians from the Northeastern community and the Greater Boston area. 7 p.m.- 9:30 p.m.; AfterHours; $5 donation.

Sunday, Jan. 27

Join the Jewish Studies Program on International Holocaust Remembrance Day as they screen “Who Will Write Our History.”

The documentary tells the story of a group of people who risked their lives in the Warsaw Ghetto to archive Holocaust testimony as it was happening. 5-30 p.m.- 7:30 p.m.; West Village F 020; Free.

Monday, Jan. 28

Enjoy some comic relief with Story Club Boston, whose goal is to promote the art of storytelling and writing within the Boston literary scene. Listen to storytellers share their stories surrounding this month’s theme of snow, or bring your own five-minute anecdote to share during the open mic. 10 a.m.- 5 p.m.; Bella Luna & the Milky Way; $5 donation.

Tuesday, Jan. 29 Michael Jackson fans won’t want to miss this opportunity to see student performers from Berklee College of Music and the Boston Conservatory at Berklee pay tribute to one of history’s most influential entertainers. Student singers, musicians and dancers will perform “Man in the Mirror,” “Smooth Criminal,” “Thriller” and other hits. 8 p.m.- 10 p.m.; Berklee Performance Center; $10.

Wednesday, Jan. 30 Wednesday will mark the launch of Dance in the Galleries, a series of performances exploring the Museum of Fine Arts’ “Ansel Adams in Our Time” exhibition.

Choreographer-in-residence Jenny Oliver and the Connections Dance Theater will collaborate to address the environmental and social themes presented in the exhibition through visceral dance. 6 p.m.- 8 p.m.; Museum of Fine Arts; Free for students.

SPORTS

Page 10

January 24, 2019

Women’s hoops chases record

By Vincent van Oorschot News Staff

Photo courtesy Brian Bae, Red and Black Junior Megan Clark, two-time CAA swimmer of the week, dives off the board during a competition.

Clark leads the way for women’s swim and dive

By Riana Buchman News Correspondent

When junior Megan Clark’s soccer career ended in second grade because an opposing player kicked dirt in her eye, she left the field for the swimming pool.

“I, like every single kid, played soccer growing up,” Clark said. “I just hated it, so the last straw was some game where a girl kicked dirt in my eye, and I cried.”

This year, Clark racked up her second CAA weekly award of the season at the Drexel tri-meet against Drexel and Delaware on Jan. 5.

She achieved a personal best in the 200-yard freestyle, clocking in at 1:51.14. Additionally, she earned a 23.26 in the 50-yard free, and her start in the 400-yard free relay totaled 24.35 seconds. In all three races, Clark and her teammates finished first.

“To me, it just means that I’m competing well,” Clark said. “Dual meets don’t matter as much as the end meet at the end of the season, but it is important to still get up and race and compete.”

Clark started swimming in second grade. Her parents required her to always play a sport, so once she quit soccer, she found herself at the pool.

She remembered seeing a swim team when she visited the pool with her friend, and became intrigued. She loved the water, so decided to give competitive swimming a try.

She began considering collegiate swimming during high school.

However, she suffered several injuries in her teenage years, one of which required knee surgery, which jeopardized her future swimming career.

“It was hard getting back into it, so I went on my recruiting trips not even sure that I was going to swim,” Clark said. “But I fell in love with Northeastern and the team, and I’m really glad I decided to stick with it.”

The Northeastern women’s swimming and diving team currently holds a record of 6-3 and a conference record of 1-1.

Head coach Roy Coates recalled

Clark’s training difficulties when she initially joined the team.

“She muddled, kind of, through the first year,” Coates said. “But to her credit, whatever happened in the beginning of sophomore year on, she became a different athlete who trained with the best people on the team going from freshman year where we just tried to keep her together to keep going.”

Clark has made vast improvements from freshman year to junior year, Coates said. Over the past season particularly, Clark has improved in maintaining her strength.

“Her overall endurance and the experience she’s had from last year just adds to her confidence and knowing what she needs to do to prepare herself,” Coates said.

Junior Sarah Schlesinger, Clark’s roommate and teammate, praised Clark for her goal-oriented mindset and overall determination.

“She’s really good at setting a goal and knowing that she wants to go after it,” Schlesinger said.

Currently, Clark is striving for continuous improvement, as she is aware of how much time remains in her collegiate swim career.

“I only have one sole season left really, so it’s like I’m trying to do the most that I can in the short amount of time that I have,” Clark said. “I don’t really have time to slack off because I want to see how far I can go.

It’s kind of sad, but that’s what it is.”

The women’s swim season, which started on Labor Day, is almost three-quarters complete. Coates referred to the Terrier Invitational, a three-day meet that mimics the format of championships, as a high point of the season. Northeastern earned third in the invitational with 695.5 points.

In December, the Huskies went on a training trip the first week of winter break, followed by another week of rest before heading back for the Drexel meet Jan. 4.

Now, the team is focusing their attention on championships in four weeks. This weekend, Northeastern

faces off against Central Connecticut State. Schlesinger said January is a big swim month for the team, and often one of the most difficult.

“CAAs is just in reach of us, and we just got through really four hard months of swimming,” Schlesinger said. “We got back from training trip at the end of December, and January is just either straight classes or straight co-ops with mornings and afternoons, so it’s just four weeks of a rigorous routine.”

Clark said the team dynamic is strong and everyone leans on each other for support. She considers her swim team her second family.

“If one of us is tired, you’re guaranteed to find someone else who is equally as tired if not more so,” Clark said. “We all have a mutual understanding of each other. When we’re all tired we’re like, ‘Alright this kind of sucks, but this is what we signed up for, and we have to look at the bigger picture and the end goal.’”

At the Drexel tri-meet, the Huskies lost 156.6-143.5 to Drexel, but overcame Delaware 186-114, in which Clark’s performance contributed to the victory. Overall, Coates said he thinks her biggest accomplishment is her qualification for the NCAA meet, citing her versatility as a swimmer as a factor for her success. NCAA accepts both national and international swimmers, which Coates said makes qualifying extremely difficult.

“If Megan was in a different country, she would be on the Olympic team,” Coates said. “She’s in the United States, so she’s like 40th or 50th in the event, but in some countries she would be easily the fastest swimmer in the country.”

With only a few months left in the season, Clark is focusing on challenging herself with her next season in mind.

“I want to see if I can make it to NCAAs again next year, and if I do, maybe I’ll place better,” Clark said.

“It’s all about seeing how far you can go, and if I go farther each season, then hopefully by my senior year I’ll end it on a really good note.”

The hounds of Huntington Avenue — all four winter teams — are in top form this season, and Northeastern’s women’s basketball squad is chasing the best single-season record (22-7) in program history, which is currently held by the team of 1984-85.

They currently sit at 13-4 with a CAA record of 3-3, and they’re on pace to match that record with 12 games remaining in the season, including five at home in Cabot Center.

At the forefront of the women’s success so far this season has been their ability to score in high volumes. Likewise, their prolific tenacity on the boards, both at the defensive and offensive ends of the court, has contributed to their strong start.

The Huskies, who have scored 69.5 points per game so far this season, are led by marquee shooter Jess Genco, who is in her senior year and is leading by example. The guard is averaging 19.4 points per game, while hitting at a 43.3 percent clip from the floor.

On Jan. 4, Genco knocked down her 246th career 3-pointer against Elon to break Northeastern’s all-time career record for most three-pointers by a single player.

But she’s not the only reason for the team’s success.

The rebounding aspect of Northeastern’s game has proven strong.

The Huskies currently average close to 39.5 boards per game, which is five more than their opponents average per game this season.

Their rebounding leaders are their two starting forwards. Senior Gabby Giacone and junior Ayanna Dublin are averaging 6.2 and 5.9 boards, respectively.

But it’s not just about the statistics when it comes to this team. The chemistry between the players is through the roof.

“We agreed on a saying before the season started, ‘1:14’,” head coach Kelly Cole said. “There are 14 girls on this team, and we require each player to bring their piece, and that’s what we’ve done up to this point this season.”

At 13-4, the team has matched the program’s best start in 36 years.

Giacone, who said she feels blessed to be a part of this team, is hopeful for this season, and she thinks this team is only scratching the surface of their full potential.

“We need to show our opponents that we’re a force to be reckoned with, and we know what we’re capable of,” Giacone said.

Cole said a major goal for the squad has been to limit teams to scoring under 60 points in each game. Though the team is conceding 64.2 points per game, they are not far off their goal. But Cole is convinced the players can achieve this goal if they stick to what they’re good at.

“In terms of defense we need to take a stand,” Cole said. “The girls enjoy pushing each other and this team really has a top-to-bottom culture.”

They took a trip to Spain back in August, where they competed against a couple of local teams in Valencia and Barcelona, winning both games. The visit proved fruitful as they were able to start training a whole month before other teams.

“Travelling the world and playing basketball are two of the things that I am most passionate about,” Dublin said. “Having the opportunity to go to Spain with our basketball team means the absolute world to me.”

One of the Huskies’ apparent weaknesses so far this season has been the squad’s record against CAA opponents (3-3). This included three consecutive losses, all coming at the hands of NU’s company near the top of the standings: James Madison, Towson and Drexel.

Junior guard Shannon Todd said the team has to focus to put themselves in a good position for March.

“We gotta keep moving forward, we can’t get complacent,” Todd said.

“We’re really competitive and we’re gonna verse teams that are also going to be very competitive.”

The Huskies head into a twoweek road stint for three games, first against Hofstra, then in Charleston, then rounding out the trip against North Carolina Wilmington before heading back to Boston.

Photo by Riley Robinson Senior guard Te’Erica Eason grapples for a rebound.

Photo by Riley Robinson Sophomore Stella Clark fends off University of Delaware Blue Hens defenders Jan. 20 in Matthews Arena.

SPORTS

January 24, 2019

Page 11

Tomas Murphy goes for a layup against two defenders in a home game against the University of North Carolina Wilmington Jan. 19.

Photo by Riley Robinson

Men’s basketball is heating up in CAA

By Seamus McAvoy News Staff Although recent injuries to key contributors hampered the Huskies’ game for what feels like the whole season thus far, the pre-season favorites are hitting their stride at the right time.

Stumbling out of the gates

While a 3-4 record was hardly the start Northeastern (11-8, 5-2 CAA) hoped for, there are numerous caveats to consider. Until the Huskies took on Oakland in early December, the squad lacked last year’s starter and CAA Defensive Player of the Year, Shawn Occeus. Northeastern opened the season with a disappointing loss on its home court to cross-town rival Boston University in a back-and-forth game that came down to the final shot, but bounced back with a 81-71 victory over Harvard in game two.

The Huskies then traveled south to participate in the Gildan Charleston Classic, in which they got off to an auspicious start by defeating Ala-

bama 68-52 to mark the program’s first ever win over an SEC team.

Despite the signature victory, senior guard and leading scorer Vasa Pusica (15.5 points per game) picked up an injury to his left wrist that would force him to miss six games.

Missing their star guard and having played just one game at home through seven total, the Huskies finally returned to Matthews Arena on Dec. 1 to take on Eastern Michigan, adding a win to their tally. They’re 7-4 since.

Stepping up

In the periodic absences of Occeus and Pusica, perhaps no other player has shined quite like junior guard Jordan Roland. Though Pusica maintains an edge in points per game over Roland (16.3 and 14.6, respectively), it is Roland who leads the team in total points with 257, including six games with 20 or more points. Even more impressively, Roland has been critical to Northeastern’s 3-point-oriented offense, shooting an efficient 41.3 percent from beyond the arc this season.

Photo by Riley Robinson Myles Franklin prepares to shoot a free throw.

Senior center Anthony Green has been pivotal to the defensive effort, anchoring things down low and racking up 13 blocks and nine steals on the season. Green has consistently made himself available for easy layups and dunks, averaging 9.5 points on a remarkable 68.2 shooting percentage, plus 5.1 rebounds per game.

Junior guard Bolden Brace has also been a consistent presence for the Huskies. Brace is averaging a modest 9.2 points thus far, but is doing so on an impressive 50.8 percent from the field and 41.1 percent from 3-point range. With four games in double-digit scoring in his last six outings, things are trending upward on the offensive end for Brace.

Around the conference

The pre-season CAA favorites currently find themselves second in the conference with an 11-8 overall record and a 5-2 record in conference play. Those conference losses include an 82-80 home defeat to Delaware that took two overtime periods and a 75-72 loss at league-lead-

ing Hofstra who benefited from a 42-point explosion from their star Justin Wright-Foreman.

Northeastern also ranks fourth in the conference in offense with an average of 75.6 points per game.

Though they rank sixth in defense, conceding an average of 72.7 points, the Huskies remain one of the more balanced teams in the conference.

They hold the third-best scoring margin in the conference at plus-2.8.

Though the Huskies aren’t breaking any records with their offensive output, their efficiency is something to note as they sit atop the conference (tied with Hofstra) in field goal percentage at 48.7. Northeastern’s season-long reliance on the 3-pointer makes this mark all the more impressive, as a higher volume of difficult shots would theoretically keep overall field goal percentage low. However, the Huskies rank third in the conference in 3-point percentage at 37.6, and second in 3-pointers made per game with 9.1.

Head coach Bill Coen finally has a healthy roster on his hands and seems to have settled into a reliable

Photo by Riley Robinson Shawn Occeus motions to pass to Jeremy Miller.

rotation. The 2018-19 Huskies have already proved themselves to be one of the deepest rosters in the league, and they now have formidable talents such as Roland, sophomore forward Tomas Murphy and senior forward Jeremy Miller available off the bench. It should be no surprise that Northeastern is one of the hottest teams in the conference as they look toward their matchup with Towson on Thursday riding a four game win streak.

Looking ahead

Still remaining are home and away games against Towson University and James Madison University, with the away legs of both series coming later this week. Northeastern will have an opportunity to get revenge against Hofstra University on Feb. 2 in a game that will be crucial in their bid for the first seed in the CAA tournament.

The Huskies will face Drexel University on March 2 in their final game of the regular season, with the CAA tournament beginning March 9.

Photo by Riley Robinson Vasa Pusica dribbles around a defender.

SPORTS

Page 12

January 24, 2019

Dynamic duo drives women’s defense

By Mike Puzzanghera | Sports Editor

Photo by Brian Bae Skylar Fontaine accumulated 32 blocks this season which ties her for first on the team. The sophomore defender’s contribution to the team has been useful in improving the team’s record.

C

ommunication can be the be-all and end-all for defensive partners; even the most talented players can get blown away by swift attacks if they are not communicating. Luckily for Northeastern, Brooke Hobson and Skylar Fontaine do not have that problem.

“Every time we step on the ice, we communicate well with each other,” Hobson said. “But especially when we’re off the ice, we don’t let each other get down and we don’t let each other get too wound up. I think the communication between the two of us on the bench brings the energy positively.”

Hobson and Fontaine, both sophomore defenders, have been a shutdown pair for the Huskies this season, accumulating 32 blocks apiece, enough to tie the two for first on the team.

“I know that everybody I pass to I can trust with the puck, and I think that’s a big thing that our team has this year,” Hobson said. “Whoever has the puck, there’s going to be players supporting and players calling for the puck, and I think that’s what’s led to everybody’s success this season and the team’s success.”

Head coach Dave Flint trusts the two sophomores, putting them out on the ice together for long stretches of time, but he feels that his faith has paid off.

Strength at both ends

The two have each scored four goals this year, and both have one game-winner. Hobson’s came in NU’s 3-0 win over Maine Oct. 19, a game in which she also had an assist. Fontaine struck with her winner on Oct. 21, adding an assist to go with her goal in a 3-1 win at New Hampshire.

“Hobson’s playing with a lot more confidence this year,” Flint said.

“Her shot is harder, she’s getting it on net, she’s creating a lot more.

Obviously Skylar creates with her speed, and I think if you look, she’s got more shots on net than most of our forwards.”

Fontaine said a large part of their success can be credited to Hobson’s skills on and off the ice.

“She’s always moving the puck, always very upbeat with me, always supportive,” Fontaine said of Hobson. “We just always go out there together and we’re like ‘All right, let’s do this.’ If we make a mistake, she’s like, ‘Let’s put it behind us’ and we shift, and I think that’s a big part of her and how we play together.”

Fontaine has only had two penalties called on her all year. This mark is incredibly low considering her relatively high ice time.

“I’ll use my speed

instead of using my stick a lot,” Fontaine said. “But honestly I think I just move my feet and keep ahead of the puck, not the player. Or it’s just luck. Who knows?”

That speed is a defining part of Fontaine’s game, and it was on display during a recent game against Connecticut. Fontaine latched onto a loose puck and took it down the wing herself, beating the entire defense and finishing off a fantastic unassisted goal.

“She’s deceptively fast,” Flint said of Fontaine. “I don’t think people realize it because her legs aren’t going 100 miles an hour, but she’s so powerful and so smooth she can just sneak by defenders.

“But it’s also probably more important that when she makes a rush, that she can get back. There have been times this year where there’s been 2-on-1s and all of a sudden I just see her come sprinting back through the neutral zone and then

she gets back and all of a sudden the 2-on-1 becomes a 2-on-2.”

Hockey background

Hobson, from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, has felt comfortable in the sport for a long time.

“As I was growing up, I felt that the rink’s kind of been my second home,” Hobson said. “Whether or not I had a great day in classes or at school or anything, I could always come to the rink. I’ve always had teams that I’ve bonded really well with, and just knowing that each day I get to spend a few hours at the rink kind of drives why I play the game.”

Fontaine, who is from East Greenwich, Rhode Island, credits part of her drive toward success to her family.

“For me, it might have been my older sister, because she also went to college and played ice hockey at Union [College], so I think seeing her and seeing that I can go further with it too kind of pushed me,” Fontaine said.

On a team that is full of raw natural talent, it’s the two defenders’ work ethics that set them apart.

“Hobson, if we didn’t have days off, she would never take a day off,” Flint said. “There have been a couple of times this year when I’ve had to tell her, ‘You’re taking tomorrow off, you need to dial it back a little bit.’

Skylar has the same mentality.”

The Huskies find themselves in a tie for first in the conference in penalty kill percentage with an impressive .905 clip. They have also scored four short-handed goals, which is tied for first in the conference as well.

The team is firing on all cylinders at this point in the season, holding the third spot in the national rankings.

“No matter who we’re playing, we focus on the game that’s ahead of us, not the next game or the game after that or the game before,” Hobson said. “We have to come and play, and when we come and play, our team has success.”

Photo by Dylan Shen Sophomore defender Brooke Hobson has 14 assists on the season, which is tied for second on the team. This record is also tied for fifth in Hockey East and second amongst defenders.