Boston

Managing change on site

Kira LaFosse-Baker Features , , , , , , , ,

BOSTON — “It didn’t take long before he wanted to come home with me,” said Kelly Furtado, site manager for Jumpstart at Suffolk University, who met four-year-old Kevin in Rochester, N.Y. “He would cling to my legs and I would try to explain, ‘I live in a dorm, I don’t have any toys.’ He said he didn’t care. He told me he would sleep in my bathtub.” It was then that Furtado realized the rest of her life would be spent helping children, and trying to make a change.

Furtado, now 27, was majoring in English at the University of Rochester in N.Y. when she began working as a corps member for Jumpstart, a national early childhood education organization for at-risk preschool students. Here, she began working with Kevin, who had been taken away from his abusive mother. “He needed someone that he could trust,” said Furtado. “It took awhile but eventually I became that someone for Kevin.” Continue reading →

Suffolk students get ready for November 4

Kira LaFosse-Baker Politics , , , , , , ,

BOSTON — As the calendar inches closer to Nov. 4, American citizens are preparing themselves for a historical presidential election. With such diversity amongst the candidates and their running mates, college students are getting more involved than ever. In Boston, Mass., students at Suffolk University are finding new and unique ways to participate in this year’s campaigns and elections.

Suffolk University’s government department offers students several opportunities to become involved with the presidential election. One opportunity in particular is the University Pollworkers Project (UPP) directed by Rachael Cobb, professor of government. The UPP has teamed up with MassVote and Boston area schools to recruit students to serve as poll workers for the upcoming election. Continue reading →

Students, Bruins, fans raise money for kids

Kira LaFosse-Baker Community , , , , , ,

BOSTON­ — While many Boston-area college students likely spent Nov. 1 supporting the Boston Bruins as they faced the Dallas Stars at TD Banknorth Garden, one group decided to support a different kind of cause. Throughout that night’s game, 20 student volunteers raised money and awareness for Jumpstart, a national early childhood education organization that helps at-risk preschool students gain language, literacy and social skills to succeed in future schooling.

“The Boston Bruins Foundation has been a supporter of Jumpstart and Jumpstart’s Read for the Record for the past three years,” said Mark Green, director of development for Jumpstart’s northeast region. “We are in constant contact with them about ways that we can partner to support their work as well as our work. Because of their recent participation in Read for the Record on Oct. 2, 2008, they wanted to do something with us.” Continue reading →

Men’s fall fashion 2008

Elise Palmieri Fashion, Art & Culture , , , ,

BOSTON–The transition from bathing suits and board shorts to wool pants and fall jackets has come with a bang. This fall season is where men’s fashion surprises us all. The ever-changing industry established men’s fall fashion to be up-to-the-minute with women’s fashion. It’s no longer just about the ladies. Men and women share the same approach when it comes to what they wear. Everyone wants to look good!

Fall “must haves” for men this season include pin-striped pants, striped shirts, and blazer’s/sport jackets with jeans.

There are numerous fabrics associated with these fall “must haves.” The most dominant ones are tweed, wool, and cashmere. Continue reading →

Young women pay attention to surroundings

Brooke Faber Community , ,

BOSTON — Sara Smith, a 19-year-old sophomore at University of Massachusetts Amherst had just transferred to the University’s Boston location. Excited to come to the city, she quickly picked up some necessities for her first apartment and moved in with a friend from her home state of Connecticut, Sherry Johnson.

Smith immediately felt safe and at home, but that soon changed. Continue reading →

Tuition increase does not go unnoticed

Ted Karczewski Opinion , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

BOSTON — Suffolk University recently increased its tuition and dorm rates in order to compete with other Boston institutions. Students were notified on Feb. 14, 2008 via e-mail by the university’s president David J. Sargent. The increase will be instituted for the 2008-2009 school year.

Undergraduate students will pay $25,850 a year due to the 7% increase in tuition, according to an e-mail sent out by Sargent, Suffolk’s president. Law students’ tuition also inflated from the 7% increase in tuition. Students who attend the law school during the day will be charged $38,070, and night students will be charged $28,552. Continue reading →

Fashion designer Christina Defalco puts Boston in her designs

Amber Owens Fashion, Art & Culture , ,

BOSTON — Local fashion designer Christina Defalco is known for taking her love of Boston and including it in her unique clothing designs. Many people associate the name Christina Defalco with the cute hand- studded Swarovski crystal T-shirts clad with pictures of Fenway stadium and other Boston trademarks, seen on many women after they have purchased an original Christina Defalco design.

Christina Defalco won The Improper Bostonian’s Boston’s Best Award for Fashion: Urban Chic Boutique for 2005, along with many other fashion awards and mentions. The Christina Defalco boutique, located on 343 Hanover Street in Boston’s North End, had been the longest standing boutique in the North End until the boutique’s recent closing. Defalco felt her designs would flourish more online and possibly on Newbury Street in Boston. Continue reading →

Oh rats!

Ted Karczewski Community , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

istock_000005350490xsmall.jpgBOSTON — The overabundance of rats in the North End of Boston is creating a community-wide disturbance. The rats have repeatedly spread garbage around the community by taking advantage of the penetrable white plastic bags left out on trash nights.

The rat population has not gone without notice. On Dec. 11, 2007, author Brian R. Ballou reported via The Boston Globe that a national rodent control company, d-CON, “rated Boston as the third most likely city to experience a surge in the rat population.” However, no solution to the surge has been ultimately successful. Continue reading →

Students gain valuable experience from studying abroad

Amber Owens Fashion, Art & Culture , ,

BOSTON — Students at universities all over the United States are choosing to study in other countries across the globe. Most students who have studied abroad view it as a unique learning opportunity that they benefited from greatly.

“It is a constant learning experience,” said Suffolk University sophomore Ashley Parisa Sadrnoori, about her current studies in Madrid, Spain. Sadrnoori says she is having a more “hands on experience” learning in Madrid verses learning in Boston. “We have traveled to so many different places around Spain for different classes and it has been so exciting.” Continue reading →

Mining your obsessions

Jess Huckins Fashion, Art & Culture , , , , , ,

BOSTON — “Write what you know,” the old adage goes. Finding connections between what you’re writing and what you care about can sometimes be a challenge for writers, no matter what format or genre you write in.

This was one of the many topics covered at Boskone, a regional science fiction and fantasy convention held at Boston’s Westin Waterfront Hotel every February. Genre writers from all over the country fly in to lead panels and discussions about all aspects of the genre and writing within it. Every writer, whether he or she is an author or a poet or a reporter, should learn to use his or her obsessions to craft well-thought out and interesting stories. One of the most interesting panels of the convention was on that very subject. Continue reading →