“I wish it wasn’t happening. I don’t know what they’re doing with that funding, especially ending late night service,” says Taylor, a 28-year-old Bostonian who works in the archival department at Harvard Library. “Where is that [money] going, you know? I’m not happy about it.”
With the price of a CharlieCard increasing from $2.10 to $2.25 and a CharlieTicket from $2.65 to $2.75, the MBTA is set to collect nearly $43 million in revenue this year. There will also be an increase in monthly pass costs, including a $1 increase for seniors and $4 for students. While the MBTA will be making bank on these changes, it seems the public are going to be breaking the bank.
Charry Hughes, a teacher at Leominster High School, feels the changes are going to be particularly hard on students. “That’s way too high for students,” she says. “Just way too much for kids.”
Meredith Munn, a 28-year-old health care advocacy worker, agrees. “[The city] should cut students a break. They’re going to have to start taking out student loans just to pay their transportation passes. That’s really sad!”
Munn takes the T many times every day and feels for those who will be most affected by the changes. She says, “I work [at a place where] everyone takes the train or the bus to get to where they need to go. I technically can afford a fare increase, but I know a lot of other people can’t. I think if it continues to go up like this, it’s going to become unaffordable really fast.”
While talk of the changes has been circulating, many of the specifics are unknown by the public. For many, this fare increase came without warning. “For me, it’s kind of like once you go and buy your ticket you find out,” says Jessica Sanieoff, a 26-year-old optometric technician who takes the T at least three times per week. “There’s been no advanced warning or anything when they raise the prices.”
For those that do know about the changes, they certainly haven’t been welcomed. “I actually did the math: Commuting five days a week every month is something like $125, and that’s not even going anywhere on the weekends,” says twenty five-year-old Taylor of her daily commute from Mission Hill to Harvard Square for work. “That’s already so much.”
Whether the grievances of the public will affect future decisions made by the MBTA is unknown. For now, riders can expect to see these changes put in place on July 1 of this year.
[Originally posted to the EC Reporter on March 6, 2016]
For Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the results of this past Tuesday’s primary elections were certainly “Super.” Clinton took 1,121 of the delegates’ votes over Sander’s 479, while Trump earned 378 compared to Cruz’s 295 and Rubio’s 123. These numbers place Clinton and Trump comfortably in the lead against their opponents. However, if you look at the age breakdown of these results, a lot more can be said about their perspective wins.
In Massachusetts in particular, exit polls show interesting results in relation to the age of voters. On the Democratic side, Clinton was more popular among voters age 30 and above, particularly in the 65 and older crowd where she took 59% of the vote. On the Republican side, Trump commanded the vote of the 45 and older crowd, with 53% voting in his favor. Where Clinton and Trump both failed to succeed was within the youth vote.
Felicia Sullivan, a Senior Researcher for The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement at Tufts University, focuses on the importance of the youth vote in her research. She said, “The youth are the most diverse group of young people in the U.S., maybe in history.” She also noted that the 18- to 24-year-old age bracket is one of the most powerful groups in demographic history and has been gaining strength at the polls in recent years. She’s not wrong.
Some 1.8 million youth voters turned up at the polls this Super Tuesday, but surprisingly, did not back the front-runners. Trump did not see much support from youth voters, especially in states such as Arkansas, Virginia, and Texas, who chose Cruz or Rubio instead. Similarly, Sanders dominated the 18-24 crowd over Clinton, earning 80% of the youth vote in Vermont and Oklahoma (two states he won) and 71% of the vote in Massachusetts.
While this did not seem to have too much of an effect on the overall outcome of Super Tuesday, the trends of youth voters are certainly something to be watched. Sullivan and her fellow researchers at CIRCLE are trying to counter the misconception that millennials are “slackers, entitled, and not really involved in elections.” She believes that with proper education and information, the youth could have an extremely powerful impact on future elections.
As more primaries happen across the country in the coming weeks, it will be interesting to see how the candidates continue to fair within the youth demographic. Had even more 18- to 24-year-old voters shown up at the polls on Tuesday, the current results of this race may have looked vastly different.
[Originally posted to the EC Reporter on February 22, 2016]
After two back-to-back primary wins in New Hampshire and South Carolina, the possibility of Donald Trump receiving the Republican nomination in the 2016 Presidential Election is becoming more of a reality. The GOP should be terrified.
“After Trump has won in New Hampshire and South Carolina, Republicans are crazy and about to blow the White House if we don’t rally to stop him,” Mr. Barbour said. “It’s certainly time that we have to consolidate the race.”
It is hard to believe that Trump prevailed in South Carolina after a week of set backs and downright horrific comments. In the days before the primary, Trump was booed during a Republican debate and publicly criticized by Pope Francis. He also praised Saddam Hussein because he “killed terrorists“ and declared that he feels torture “works”.
Statements like these have not been uncommon during Trump’s campaign. A favorite remark of anti-Trump campaigners, and one that certainly calls into question Trump’s sanity, is his comment from an Iowa campaign rally earlier this month about his ability to murder someone and still be liked. “I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters,” he said.
What’s baffling is that there might be a shred of truth behind that statement. Many Americans seem to be blindly following this man who, frankly, talks more about himself and his reputation than about what he can truly do for the country. “People are not going to die on the streets of any city or of any place if I’m president,” Trump has said. “And every time I say it, I get standing ovations from Republicans. … We have to take care of people.” That sounds great, but what does Trump actually intend to do to prevent people from dying on the streets? And how is he going to take care of them? These are the questions the GOP should be asking as they stand by, barely doing a thing to stop him.
Luckily, someone is actually attempting to do something. Marlene Ricketts, wife of billionaire T.D. Ameritrade founder J. Joe Rickets, has contributed money to a political action committee geared toward tearing down trump. New campaign-finance reports show that she has invested $3 million into Our Principles PAC, a super PAC that targeted Trump with negative ads, voter guides, and mailers before the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire and South Carolina primaries.
The GOP should be taking note. If they want to have any chance at minimizing Trump’s ability to take the nomination, they have to develop a stronger strategy. As Stuart Stevens, top political strategist to Mitt Romney in 2012, said, “No one is running a modern, focused, coordinated campaign against the front-runner as if they want to win.”
This needs to change or the country might be stuck with a president who likes the word “I” more than he likes America.
[Originally posted to the EC Reporter on January 31, 2016]
The room fell silent during the State of the Commonwealth Address on Jan. 21, as Governor Charlie Baker began to discuss the growing epidemic of opioid and heroin abuse in the state of Massachusetts. In an outwardly more solemn tone than the rest of his speech, Gov. Baker described the situation unfolding throughout the state with great emotion.
“This is a real human tragedy. Moms, dads, brothers, sisters and friends all tell hauntingly similar stories. It starts small, fill this prescription or try this pill. But once someone gets too close to the flame, everything changes. It becomes the only thing that matters… Prescribers in Massachusetts – and across this country – are far too casual about the addictive consequences of these medications.”
Getting your hands on these opioids is far too easy as well. As stated in a story inWBUR’s CommonHealth, heroin can cost less than a pack of cigarettes in some cases. One overdose patient at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston even described her access to heroin on the streets as “ridiculously easy.”
Reportedly ending the lives of four people per day in the state of Massachusetts, the issue of opioid abuse is one that Gov. Baker hopes to make significant progress on in the coming months.
The governor looks to propose legislation that will establish better abuse prevention and education resources, hoping to protect children, especially, from this problem.
“Parents, teachers and coaches don’t know enough about opioids to protect their kids. And kids are mostly completely in the dark about what’s at stake when someone says: try this. We’re close on legislation to enhance prevention and education efforts, to build on our intervention work, and to strengthen our treatment and recovery programs.”
This legislation would also reportedly strengthen a prescription monitoring programthat would limit practitioners from prescribing more than a 72-hour supply of opioids to first-time patients.
While some members of the medical community are concerned about this proposal, Gov. Baker remains steadfast and passionate about following through with this legislation.
“Breaking the back of this beast will take time, creativity and a willingness to be disruptive. We must be thoughtful. We must be bold. Let’s get this done, and let’s not rest until we do.”
When U.S. Army Reserve Staff Sergeant Sarada Kalpee enlisted, she envisioned doing only one round of service.
“When I first joined, I originally thought, I’m going to do my 6 years, I’m going to get out, it’s just a temporary thing. When I was in and I met such amazing people, I fell in love with it. I fell in love with my job, with the humor, with the people, just the since of pride. I fell in love with all of it, so here I am 13 years later still in.”
Kalpee enlisted in October 2002 after her cousin was trapped in one of the Twin Towers on 9/11. Her sister enlisted exactly a year to the date after. Ever since, she has had a strong since of dedication to the job and to her fellow veterans.
Along with being an active member of the Reserves, Kalpee has been working as a Veterans Service Officer at Boston Veterans’ Services for the past 14 months. The job came to her through a friend who knew she was struggling to find work. As it turned out, the position was the perfect fit.
“I know me, and I cannot work for civilians. I have to take care of my own, that’s where my heart is. So I applied for the job. I love it. I need it.”
Kalpee in her office at Boston Veterans’ Service
Her time in the Army Reserves has been equally rewarding, allowing her to serve in many different positions throughout her years of service.
“My rank right now is Staff Sergeant. For the past 13 years, I’ve been either a Platoon Sergeant, or a Motor Sergeant, Senior Mechanic… My job in the Army is an All-Wheel Mechanic. Right now, [in] my current unit, I am an instructor. That’s my M.O.S. [Military Occupation Specialty].”
Kalpee has traveled to many different states throughout the country, mostly to schools to fulfill her instructor duties. She has also been oversees for a deployment to Afghanistan that ended up being an extremely challenging yet influential experience for her.
“I deployed with a Combat Engineer unit from Idaho. I was 1 of 3 females out of 130 people. So it was a little rough. I experienced sexism. I experienced racism because, [with] a group of guys from Idaho, they definitely weren’t ready for having a colored female in their ranks. On top of that, out of 130, I think I out-ranked 110 of them. So it was difficult emotionally, but you learn, you overcome.”
Her overall passion for the job allowed her to move past this discrimination. Despite 12 hour night shifts, she felt satisfied with the work she was doing oversees and would be willing to do it all again.
“As far as my job was concerned, the extent of what I learned was amazing. Sleep deprivation was [also] amazing, but I think the adrenaline from learning something new, meeting new people kept me going. A year went by really fast. I am one of those people, out of many, that say I would go back to Afghanistan in a heartbeat. I loved it.”
What also kept her going during her deployment was the thought of her family back home. As a mother of two, Kalpee says her number one priority is caring for her children.
“No matter what I went through, it was always: maintain focus on raising my children. I’m here for a job [and] I’m going home to my children; I’m not going home with these soldiers.”
Skype was the main form of communication Kalpee would use to stay in touch with her children. While the time difference and her long shifts made staying awake challenging, she took advantage of every interaction with her kids.
“I think the best memory I have was when I would Skype the kids and I would tell my daughter [who was 7 at the time], ‘Mommy is so tired. I just got off a 12 hour shift. I’m laying in bed.’ I told [her], ‘Read me a story until I fall asleep. And if I fall asleep, just shut your computer and it automatically shuts my computer off.’ So she literally read me stories until I fell asleep and then I would message her the next day.”
Kalpee was so excited to be reunited with her family after returning home. However, things weren’t entirely smooth sailing. Anger issues from her time oversees made adjusting back into her everyday life a bit more of a challenge.
“My little sister was in Iraq before I went to Afghanistan, and when she came home, she had massive anger issues. So my mother told me, when you come home, you’re moving into my house with the kids. She said, I saw what your sister went through and you’re not going to take your issues out on the children. A month into me coming home, my son [who had just turned 5], said you curse a lot. It takes strength for my children to tell me that, so I got it in check. It took some time, but you learn to put your anger on the back burner, especially when you’re dealing with it with people that don’t deserve it.”
Now, as an employee of Boston Veterans’ Services, Kalpee spends her days helping to recognize the service and sacrifice of our military veterans and their families.
“[This organization] is a blessing. I have seen veterans that would otherwise commit suicide or be homeless and living on the street. I’ve seen so much help from this department. And then, I’ve also seen the opposite where I want to punch [some people] in the face because they’re being lazy and they don’t want to help themselves. This is a handout to them. So there’s opposite sides of it, but overall, I’m glad this department is here.”
With the 2016 presidential election campaign fully underway, many Americans have begun to pick favorites. This is certainly true at Emmanuel College, where the results of a recent poll show a clear front-runner among this year’s candidates.
Of the 117 people surveyed, 58.1% are backing Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
Sanders, former mayor & sole congressperson in the House of Representatives for the state of Vermont, is currently serving his second term as U.S. Senator.
“The reason I’m rooting for Bernie is because I would automatically lean toward someone with socially liberal ideas,” said one respondent. “I feel like he has that by the people, for the people mentality… I also just like rooting for the underdog.”
Said to be the “perfect fit for Millennials”, it is not surprising that Bernie is so popular at Emmanuel. His views on independence from two-party politics, climate change policies, job creation, and student debt reform are popular among college-age students around the country.
And with 96.6% of the people polled falling within the 18-24 age range, it’s almost to be expected that Sanders would come out on top.
“The fact that we have a candidate who leans towards socialism is exciting to me,” said a 20-year-old female respondent. “Also, his stance on financing college and college loans is obviously important to me as a college student.”
His Democratic contender, Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, definitely seems to be less popular. At Emmanuel, only 16% of respondents identified Clinton as the candidate they intend to vote for.
This falls in line with a recent poll conducted by the college textbook company Chegg. Their survey showed that only 18% of students enrolled at two- or four-year universities nationwide select the former Secretary of State and First Lady of the United States as their Democratic candidate of choice.
As for the Republican candidates, most fall low on Emmanuel College respondents’ totem poll.
Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson seems to be the “favorite”, with 6.1% of respondents’ support. While Sanders considers Carson’s views “absurd”, at Emmanuel, he seems to be the lesser of other extremes found within the Republican party.
Real estate developer Donald Trump is one of these extremes, coming in with just 3.4% of respondent’s support. This percentage makes it clear that Trump’s views, on issues such as Second Amendment rights and immigration reform, simply don’t resonate with students at Emmanuel College.
Above all, while these results are important for predicting who might win the election, whether or not students will actually vote is another story.
According to the poll, 92% of respondents do ‘intend’ to vote. With a mere 3% who said ‘maybe’ and 5% who flat out said ‘no’, this is a promising number.
Come election day, we’ll have to see whether their ‘intention’ becomes a reality.
Before starting at Boston Magazine, Kyle worked as a reporter for the Lowell Sun, covering the small town of Billerica. “It was a blast because something was always going on. Someone was always willing to call me up and tattle about someone else.”
Transitioning into Boston brought a lot more competition into Clauss’s work. “You have literally 100 reporters [in Boston] all going after the same person, all trying to get the same access. That forces you to change your approach.”
Still, he was able to make his mark with his coverage of the controversial Boston 2024 Olympic bid.
The CEO of Boston 2024 swore that he wouldn’t be using any taxpayer funds or public funding for the games. Able to “smell the blood in the water”, Clauss decided to dig deeper into the story to find out the truth. “I tried to look for any point where the bid came in contact with a public institution because that’s where I could get the documents through a FOIA.”
Clauss ended up getting his hands on the bid book for Boston 2024 and publishing an article for Boston Magazine on the discrepancies of what wasn’t in the version of the book passed along to the public. “I think that was the biggest flaw of Boston 2024:
they never really thought engaged with the public meaningfully. They never really took the press seriously.”
Despite being the first person to break this story, the Boston Globe gave credit to the Boston Business Journal, who published three hours after Clauss. “That was the worst part of it… I had the scoop. I wanted it to be known that I had the scoop. The Globe gave it to the other guy… [It] kind of hurt.”
Despite this, Kyle has been credited with writing a lot of exciting stories.
One such example is his coverage of the Boston Bruins. He was given the opportunity to cover the 2013 Stanley Cup after creatively using an app to post about the Bruin’s going-away rally that year. From that connection, he was able to continue covering the Bruins, including the season when they won the President’s Cup.
Perhaps one of his most intriguing stories surrounds the somewhat infamous “Lowell Goat”. During his time at the Lowell Sun, Kyle followed the rampant goat’s trek around town. “It took on this mythical quality to it because no one could capture this goat… Exactly a month later, it was caught.”
When finally captured, Clauss was able to capture a selfie with the goat. His overall coverage of the story has landed him the nickname, “the Goat Guy”. But Kyle doesn’t mind.
“I owe that goat a lot… I might just go have a glass of scotch with the goat in a field one day.”
Housing safety is a concern for students across America. Overcrowding, safety violations, and poor conditions affect students living both on and off-campus. This issue seems overwhelming present within the city of Boston, where a reported 250,000 students attend colleges and universities.
One particularly tragic case of housing safety occurred on April 28, 2013 in a house on 87 Linden St. in Allston, MA. According to a Globe Spotlight series, the house was illegally filled with 14 people living in 12 bedrooms, with only six of those bedrooms listed in building plans. Early on the morning of April 28, a fire broke out that consumed the upper floors of the house, trapping and killing Boston University senior Binland Lee in her attic bedroom.
The incident is just one of many terrifying and unfortunate occurrences related to housing safety in the Boston area. Despite a city zoning rule that prohibits more than four full-time undergraduates from sharing a house or apartment, a Globe survey found that nearly one-third of students questioned were living with at least five undergraduate students.
Health and safety issues further plague undergraduate living. The Globe’s analysis of records concluded that reports of mold and mice infestations, as well as broken carbon monoxide detectors and overcrowding, are all too common student-rich areas in Boston.
These problems are often a result of absent or neglectful landlords. Landlord giant Anwar Faisal is one of the most complained about landlords in the city of Boston. According to the Globe’s findings, he and his companies have at least 22 lawsuits and 11 criminal reports filed against them at Boston Housing Court. Yet, he continues to mistreat tenants and skirt around the law.
Students at Emmanuel College seem to have it easy. With four on-campus residence halls and three off-campus satellite housing options, many students will never experience the overcrowding and terrible conditions students experience living on their own throughout the city.
“We had one broken cabinet door [when we moved in]. I was actually surprised, because people talk mad crap about City View. They say it’s the worst place ever. But I got there and I was pleasantly surprised… It’s very spacious,” said Gina Gallagher (’17), a resident at City View Apartments, one of Emmanuel’s satellite options.
Elisabeth Staal (’16) also had rave reviews about her apartment in Trilogy, a new off-campus option for Emmanuel Students. “Oh, beautiful,” she said when asked about the condition of the apartment. “We are the first ones to live there. They’re brand new. So any damages, they’ll definitely know it’s us!”
Despite the quality conditions of Emmanuel’s housing options, students certainly have strong opinions on the issues happening elsewhere in the city, often drawing from what they know from friends.
“I know that a few of my friends were living in an apartment at the beginning of the summer and they were kicked out because, apparently, the landlord overcrowded the house,” said Joseph Deauna (’16). “[That’s] definitely a healthy and safety problem.”
“I’ve yet to be in an unsafe apartment—I’ve lived in three apartments so far, some in really terrible condition, but not in unsafe condition,” said Jordan Lindley (’16), who lives in a four bedroom apartment with friends in East Boston. “[But] there are a lot of landlords that are taking advantage of students which sucks and is terrible to see. I just wish there was more legal repercussions for that.”
Staal (’16) agrees. “I think it’s an easy thing to fall into. One of my friends showed up to his house in Alston and it was condemned and they didn’t know it was… I don’t know if it’s a matter of the owners deceiving the buyers or if people don’t look as closely as they should because they don’t know the ins and outs of buying a house because we’re 21, 22 years old and [have] never done it before. There has to be some way to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
On-campus resident Alexa Albanese (’16) isn’t sure who to blame in situations like Binland Lee’s. “Not that the victim was in the wrong, but to willingly live in an attic needs to be on your own conscious there. How safe do you feel?”, she asked. “I think that there are regulations and clearly, they were very easily broken. It’s the job of law enforcement to oversee all those things, but it’s also the job of the city to provide housing that is reasonable.”
Every time I go to the Fenway Triangle Trilogy Starbucks, I see the same guy. He has dark hair and a nice smile. The name on his apron reads “Jon” and he can usually be seen doing laps back and forth behind the counter as soon, working quickly to prepare everyone’s order. He’s always been so friendly toward me when I order my grande Strawberries & Creme Frappuchino, but beyond that, I knew nothing about him. I was able to catch him for a quick interview between drinks to try to change that. Here’s what I found out:
How long have you been working at Starbucks?
JC: About a year and one month, I would say.
Do you like it?
JC; I do, yeah.
What’s your official title at Starbucks?
JC: I’m one of the shift managers here.
Did you start off in that position?
JC: Nope, I started out as a barista and got promoted about 6 months ago.
What’s your favorite drink at Starbucks?
JC: One of my favorite drinks, actually, is a Cool Lime Refresher with half lemonade, half water.
Are you a student or did you graduate?
JC: I graduated.
Where did you go to school?
JC: UMass Amherest.
What did you study there?
JC: I studied Sociology and education.
Do you have any other jobs?
JC: I actually tutor high schools. I tutor them in SAT prep and AP courses that they’re taking.
We didn’t have much time to get into anything of substance, but it’s a start. Next time I go to Starbucks, maybe I’ll give the Cool Lime Refresher a try…
As both a senior reporter for Us Weekly and managing editor of Her Campus, you’d think Cara Sprunk has had her sights on the business of journalism since the beginning. “ I toyed with being a doctor for a short time, same with being a lawyer,” she says. “However, journalism was always a passion of mine – I wrote a ‘newspaper’ with my friends for our neighborhood, always loved writing, and adored reading. I should have known journalism was my fate.”
After deciding to put her pre-med plans aside, Cara started working for the Cornell Daily Sun in college. This experience truly shaped her as journalist, giving her “a foundation in journalism, a love of ‘breaking news’ and a passion for writing.”
The summer after her sophomore year at Cornell, she applied for an internship at Life & Style and “fell in love”. She says, “I loved the weekly pace and the excitement of the celebrity journalism world.” From there, she completed two more internships, one at OK! Magazine, the other at Star Magazine. Her internship at Star led to a temp job and, soon after, an editorial assistant position.
It was her experience at Star that got her where she is today. “I never would have gotten my foot in the door with Star for a real job, had the intern coordinator/editorial assistant not liked me and started to groom me as her replacement.”
She now had the dream job, but not exactly in her dream location. “I greatly disliked NYC and wasn’t sure how I could possibly get out,” she explains. “I worked up the courage a year after graduation to tell my boss I would love to move… It pays to speak up! By the end of the day he had my move approved by HR and a few months later I made the switch [to LA]! I would not be able to the kind of reporting I’m doing now if I stayed in New York.”
A few short months after she had packed up and moved to LA, Cara was presented with an opportunity to work for Us Weekly, where she now writes as a senior reporter. Cara writes about everything from celebrity news to gossip to style. Her favorite subject? “I don’t write about them often, but I would read anything and everything on The Olsen Twins.” You can check out her archive at Us Weekly here.
Meanwhile, since November 2009, Sprunk has also served as the managing editor of Her Campus. “Being the managing editor for Her Campus has helped me be organized, have a greater vision for the brand, and inspires me to continue doing great things when I see the impact we have on our girls.”
Most recently, Cara was given the opportunity to help edit the Her Campus co-founders’ first book, The Her Campus Guide to College Life. “The book was something I had dreamed of us doing for a long time at HC,” she says. “We did it on a quick turn around – it was a lot of working to kind of meld articles our writers had written before with new content on things we hadn’t covered as much. It all happened so fast! There were a lot of long nights and weekends in the process, but it was all totally worth it. “
Juggling two different positions at two hard-working publications would be difficult for most, but for Cara, it’s no hard thing. “I like to stay busy,” she explains. “I never stopped doing Her Campus after college, so the concept of coming home from work [at Us Weekly] and doing nothing was never really something I got used to. I just like working.”
Luckily, she has a bunch of people she can turn to for help, her bosses being her biggest source of inspiration. “Both of my bosses are incredibly hard-working women who are phenomenal at their jobs.”
From running around covering events to doing phone interviews with celebrities to meeting with sources, there is never a dull moment in Sprunk’s life. She feels that the best part of the job is working with so many different people. “In both positions I am relying on other people – my sources as a reporter and my writers as an editor. Maintaining good working relationships with both keep things running smoothly.”
With so much experience under her belt, those looking to break into the business would be wise to follow her advice. Her biggest tip? “Get as much as experience as you can! The more you write, report and meet people – the better off you’ll be. People don’t forget people they like – so always make a good impression!”
Seen/Said/Read 