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The Huntington News is the independent student-run newspaper of the Northeastern community.

12/31/2024

2024 had its fair share of year-defining social media trends, live events and highly anticipated releases. Through all the highs and lows, contributors to The Huntington News’ Lifestyle section were there to cover them. As always, many of the biggest pop culture moments formed around the year’s most popular and iconic media. To take a look back on 2024, the Lifestyle editors asked The News’ staff to submit their picks for the best film, television show and album of the year.

Here are the staff’s top picks, as well as a personal recommendation in each category from Lifestyle editors Darin, Claudie and Christina.

Read the full story here: bit.ly/4a6Ocoj

Story by Darin Zullo, Claudie Bellanger and Christina McCabe
Photo by Ian Dartley / Photos courtesy Searchlight Pictures, Universal Pictures, Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios, Warner Bros. Pictures and Netflix
Designs by Catherine Gore, Liza Sheehy and Emma Liu

12/30/2024

In 2023, the United States Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in college admissions, fueling feelings of frustration and isolation in Black students at Northeastern. Though Northeastern is still reckoning with a 35% drop in Black student enrollment seen in the Class of 2028, the university made notable leaps in the late 1960s to appeal to Black students, The Huntington News found through a review of archives from Asa S. Knowles’ presidency.

Knowles, Northeastern’s third president from 1959 to 1975, encouraged Black students to advocate for changes at the university that would benefit them and Northeastern’s educational mission. During his tenure, Knowles oversaw the implementation of a Black studies program at Northeastern, the establishment of the African American Institute and an increase in Black student enrollment.

This post is part of The Huntington News' new weekly "From the Archives" series, a collection of stories exploring how Northeastern became Northeastern through a review of hundreds of documents from the past century.

Read the full story here: bit.ly/3DClvUd

Story by Sarah Mesdjian
Photos courtesy Northeastern University Library, Archives and Special Collections
Design by Catherine Gore

12/27/2024

When it was first established in 2011, the New College of the Humanities — now Northeastern University London — operated out of a small townhouse in the heart of Bloomsbury, London.

The New College of the Humanities, or NCH, which merged with Northeastern in 2019, was established at a time when the humanities fields were under threat in higher education. The college’s founder, British philosopher Anthony Clifford Grayling, assembled prominent academics in the United Kingdom and decided to build an institution that would focus exclusively on preserving the humanities.

While NCH’s acclaimed faculty and desirable location made it promising, building an institution from scratch proved to be a challenge. Owned by a for-profit company without degree-granting powers the college generated a negative stir in U.K. higher education. By 2018, the small London school was struggling to meet financial goals and looking for a silver bullet.

When Northeastern — a university with a student body nearly a thousand times NCH’s size — stepped in to acquire the ailing college in 2018, some of NCH’s stated goals were set aside. Now, NU London is trying to weave the humanities throughout its new programs, attempting to reconcile its original mission with the STEM focus that Northeastern often prioritizes at satellite campuses.

Read the full story here: bit.ly/4gv10Hn

Story by Frances Klemm
Photos courtesy Ahana Sinha

12/16/2024

“The story of Jews over the past century is one of deep pain and tragedy, yet also resilience and defiance, and their shared story relates to all humans more than most realize,” writes reviewer Daniel Patchen. “In his sophomore directorial outing ‘A Real Pain,’ Jesse Eisenberg explores modern Jewish history to craft a poignant exploration of inner, prolonged pain rooted through the complexity of the Jewish experience.”

“The film follows cousins David (Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin) Kaplan, who travel to Poland to learn about their Jewish heritage following the death of their grandmother, a Holocaust survivor. As he bears witness to painful remnants of the Holocaust, David also struggles to accept Benji’s overly extroverted yet deeply troubled personality.”

Click the link in our bio () to read the full review.

Review and graphic by Daniel Patchen

12/15/2024

Filip Nadratowski doesn’t know what Swipe2Care, Northeastern’s meal swipe donation program, is. Jacob Berman recalls getting emails about the program but is unclear on how to donate swipes. Kate O’Mahoney has donated meals several times but often forgets to go through the process.

Swipe2Care, established at Northeastern in 2018 through a collaboration by the Student Government Association, Dining Services and Student Life, allows students to donate leftover meal swipes to other students in need, according to Northeastern’s website. Students can donate up to three swipes per week using the Student Hub, and students in need can request up to two meals per week after filling out a form asking them to “briefly explain [their] circumstances.”

Though the program has been around for years, many students say they don’t know about meal swipe donations or wish the process was better advertised. Nadratowski, Berman and O’Mahoney all said they would donate more of their leftover meal swipes — or donate more consistently — if the process was simpler, automated and better advertised.

Read the full story here: bit.ly/3VG7Z7U

Story by Emily Spatz, Kate Armanini and Sofia Garrett
Photos by Sofia Garrett

12/13/2024

Are you looking for a gift to brighten someone’s holiday season, but you’re unsure what to get them? How do you know what to get your older brother and his girlfriend who live far away from you? What about your best friend, who you can’t live without? Maybe even your long-distance boyfriend? Save your questions and look no further; this gift guide will help you find gifts for (almost) everyone in your life.

Read the full column here: bit.ly/3Zyjlfp

Column by Caroline Baker Dimock
Design by Catherine Gore
Graphic by Harrison Zuritsky

12/09/2024

Previously, students struggling with their calculus homework would have to rely on class notes, scour the internet for solutions or wait until the next office hours. However, with the advent of “Ada,” this drawn-out confusion may become a thing of the past at Northeastern.

Artificial intelligence bots designed by Northeastern’s mathematics department are being rolled out in calculus classes. Through the College of Engineering, researchers and professors are crafting and refining Ada, an AI bot to help students with their calculus work.

Ada, named after famous mathematician Ada Lovelace, is in its pilot phase in calculus classrooms. Ada is specifically designed for Calculus 1 for Science and Engineering, according to Abby Williams, a professor in the mathematics department. Williams said Ada’s creators uploaded the course textbook to Ada, so the AI is able to recognize problems from specific sections.

Read the full story here: bit.ly/3OM0wQX

Story by Lawrence Brown
Design by Catherine Gore

12/07/2024

"What’s better than meeting Timothée Chalamet?" writes news correspondent Grace Phillips. "If the recent fascination with celebrity look-alike contests is any indication, it’s finding 50 of his doppelgängers in one place — and some lucky attendees left having interacted with both."

"A much-anticipated Chalamet look-alike contest took place in New York City at Washington Square Park Oct. 27, and it didn’t disappoint. Superfans and fascinated onlookers thronged to judge the competitors — along with Chalamet himself. What started with the 'Dune' and 'Wonka' star in New York snowballed into a global trend. More than normalizing fan behavior and raising questions about beauty standards for men, the recent obsession with celebrity look-alike contests reflects communities in need of distractions from political realities and gender-based tensions."

Read the full column here: bit.ly/3P5vyUl

Column by Grace Phillips
Photos by Jessica Xing

12/06/2024

"After eight years of production, a change of director and multiple delayed releases, 'Wicked' has finally made its way to the silver screen, proving that good things come to those who wait," writes reviewer Laura Emde. "The film has made $372.9 million worldwide at the box office since its Nov. 22 release and is expected to receive multiple nominations at next year’s Academy Awards."

"The film is directed by Jon M. Chu, the creative mind behind 'Crazy Rich Asians' and the film adaptation of the Tony-winning 'In the Heights.' 'Wicked,' which is based on the 2003 Broadway musical, depicts the backstory behind the classic 1939 film 'The Wizard of Oz' and how the film’s villain became the Wicked Witch of the West. It follows Elphaba Thropp (Cynthia Erivo), the eldest — and greenest — daughter of the governor of Munchkinland during her first year at S**z University, where she rooms with the pink-loving, perky Galinda Upland (Ariana Grande-Butera) as she tries to explore her magic abilities and uncover the secrets behind the oppression of animals in Oz."

Read the full review here: bit.ly/3VsQNT

Review by Laura Emde
Photos courtesy Universal Pictures

12/05/2024

On Dec. 4, Chase Strangio, a Northeastern School of Law class of 2010 alum, became the first openly transgender lawyer to argue a case before the Supreme Court.

Strangio, who grew up in Newton and came out as transgender while a student at Northeastern School of Law, is representing the plaintiffs in L.W. v. Skrmetti, a case that challenges a law banning minors from accessing gender-affirming care. The case was filed in April 2023 against the state of Tennessee by the parents of a transgender teenager, identified in court documents as L.W., who was 15 years old at the time of the case being filed.

Read the full story here: bit.ly/41kFBfx

Story by Paloma Welch
Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons

12/03/2024

On the evening of Nov. 25, the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center was alive with holiday cheer as 30 volunteers and program coordinators formed a well-oiled pie-prepping machine for the annual Pie in the Sky fundraiser.

Held each Thanksgiving season by Community Servings, a Jamaica Plain-based nonprofit, over the course of two hours, more than 2,000 pies were prepped for distribution across Massachusetts. Volunteers maneuvered between tables with impressive stacks of pies ready to be sorted and inspected.

“We receive pies that are baked by restaurants, caterers and other businesses … and we take a look at them, make sure that they’re up to snuff,” said Deva Djaafar, a volunteer and logistics coordinator for onsite volunteering.

Read the full story here: bit.ly/3CZLDYQ

Story by Cassandra Kromer
Photos courtesy Community Servings

12/01/2024

In spring 2024, nearly 95% of participating Northeastern undergraduate students voted to increase the transparency of the Student Government Association’s budget allocation process for student organizations.

On Nov. 8, the Student Government Association, or SGA, which oversees how much money clubs receive from the university, published student organization funding reports for the first time in over a decade — a pivotal moment in a years-long push for increased transparency into the budget process. The reports, which SGA leaders say are part of a multi-pronged approach to make the funding allocation process more accessible, provide a generalized overview of how SGA allocated annual budgets during fiscal years, or FY, 2024 and 2025.

Read the full story here: bit.ly/49gi5lA

Story by Eli Curwin
Design by Emma Liu

11/29/2024

Eighteen counterprotesters, including the daughter of a U.S. representative, were arrested Nov. 16 as they tried to prevent the anti-abortion Men’s March from proceeding to Boston Common. The Men’s March, which also took place in 2022 and 2023, convened at the Planned Parenthood on Commonwealth Avenue at 11 a.m. for speeches, then set off on a three-mile march down to the Common.

Over one hundred pro-choice protesters converged on the intersection of Beacon Street and Commonwealth Avenue to block the road and keep the Men’s March from passing. A few protesters carried reinforced banners or flags, and nearly everyone in the crowd was masked. Another contingent of counterprotesters wearing clown costumes and makeup as part of a “clownterprotest” followed the Men’s March from the Planned Parenthood location, accompanied by a brass band that played songs like Star Wars’ “The Imperial March” to mock the anti-abortion activists.

Read the full photo story here: bit.ly/49a1tMp

Photo story by Yaakov Aldrich

11/26/2024

"On Nov. 5, former President Donald Trump won the keys to the White House yet again," writes contributor Lily Cooper. "His first term in office was characterized by welfare cuts, tariffs and disastrous policies relating to the 'hoax' that most of the world calls climate change. As for the contents of his second term? Anyone’s guess."

"As the United States braces for Trump’s return to power, we now face threats of abortion bans, mass deportations and uncertainty about the future of our democracy. But the impact of who the American people elect stretches far beyond U.S. borders, and the shockwaves of Trump’s second term will be felt across the world."

Read the full op-ed here: bit.ly/3Zos05e

Op-ed by Lily Cooper
Photo courtesy Trump White House Archived, flickr

11/21/2024

Over the summer, a Northeastern University Police Department, or NUPD, operation led to the arrest of a 61-year-old man for lewd and lascivious behavior in a first-floor men’s bathroom of Mugar Life Sciences Building June 6, a police report obtained by The News shows.

The operation, conducted by the NUPD Investigations and Special Operations, or ISO, unit, was in response to “several recent complaints and incidents involving lewd activity” occurring in men’s bathrooms in Mugar and several of the buildings connected via the campus tunnel system, which include Dodge Hall, Ell Hall and Curry Student Center. Lewdness, a term meaning the deliberate exposure of buttocks, genitalia or female breasts, is a felony in Massachusetts and carries up to three years in a state prison.

Read the full story here: bit.ly/3B0JtHy

Story by Zoe MacDiarmid
Photos by Jessica Xing and Kristina DaPonte
Graphic by Annika Sunkara

11/19/2024

The Boston Transportation Department officially opened the Edgerly Plaza, a pedestrian walkway, in front of Whole Foods on Westland Avenue Oct. 30. The plaza was designed as a space for community enjoyment, with several tables scattered across the strip of pavement for people to sit and dine at, as well as recreational activities like hopscotch for children to play.

The City of Boston, in partnership with the Boston Transportation Department and the Fenway Civic Association, celebrated the unveiling of the new walkway with a launch party Nov. 1. Food, live music and dancing got residents of Fenway and nearby neighborhoods engaged with the occasion.

“It’s been a really joyous event,” said Maya Mudgal, a transit planner for the City of Boston. “People are really excited that the space is here and that we came out.”

Read the full story here: bit.ly/4hRFME

Story by Yashavi Upasani
Photos by Jessica Xing

11/18/2024

Northeastern Dining says it offers a “wide assortment” of healthy and sustainable meal options, including accommodations for those with vegan, vegetarian, halal and kosher diets and foods free from the top nine allergens. But many students say a lack of assurance of allergen-free options has caused them to question the safety of the dining halls.

Many of Northeastern’s documents outlining allergen information in dining halls have disclaimers that the school cannot guarantee safety for those with dietary restrictions, The News found. For example, the Northeastern Navigating Food Allergies and Special Diets on Campus guide says that “Northeastern Dining uses manufacturer-provided ingredient information, and we do not confirm the presence or lack of an allergen.”

For students with severe food allergies and dietary restrictions, finding safe food in the dining halls can be a trying task — and an isolating one.

Read the full story here: bit.ly/4hXrwKW

Story by Antaine Anhalt
Photos by Darin Zullo
Graphic by Liam Saven

11/17/2024

When Student Body President Matthew Coughlin and Executive Vice President Cassidy Donoghue decided to join the Northeastern Student Government Association and later run for leadership roles in its executive office, they had two things in mind: a love for the university, but also a desire to make change.

“I think it was kind of a combination for me, at least, of really liking Northeastern and having a lot of pride in our school … but with the other side of that being that I think that Northeastern can do a lot better, especially for how much we’re paying to be here,” said Donoghue, a third-year political science major. “I think that there’s a lot the school can be doing to improve the student experience, and I just want to be a part of a student organization that is working to help fix that.”

In an interview with The News, Coughlin, a fourth-year mechanical engineering major, agreed with Donoghue and cited three angles that motivated him to run for president, including planning more engaging events for the student body, improving club funding and enhancing students’ lives.

Read the full story here: bit.ly/3OcTd4x

Story by Lily Webber
Photos by Jessica Xing

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