A selection of recent mentions of 乐播传媒 and 乐播传媒 people in the news media.
Alexandria Onuoha 鈥�20
Boston鈥檚 Black women activists walk a historic path and look toward the future 鈥� The Boston Globe
A story by Dasia Moore in The Boston Globe about young female Black activists quotes Alexandria Onuoha 鈥�20, director of political advocacy at Black Boston 2020.
Moore describes Black Boston 2020 as 鈥渁n organization founded by Black college-aged women last spring [that] hosts programming and develops curricula for people of all ages. The group also advocates for policy changes at the city and state levels and has led protests against police brutality.鈥�
Onuoha, who gave the Senior Address last May at the 乐播传媒 Commencement and is now a doctoral student in applied developmental psychology at Suffolk University, said, 鈥淚t鈥檚 very rewarding to know that you鈥檙e part of something bigger and that there are also Black women that share the same values as you.鈥�
鈥淏lack Bostonian women have a history of getting things done,鈥� Moore says, outlining the achievements of Boston activists throughout history.
鈥淐ontemporary activists say they proudly carry on the legacy of these women and countless others like them who may not be as well known today as they ought to be, but who changed the history of this old, obdurate town.鈥�
- Read the story: 鈥�,鈥� The Boston Globe, Dec. 28, 2020
Sue E. Houchins
The complicated racial history of the high school D.C. is renaming 鈥� The Washington Post
Associate Professor of Africana Sue E. Houchins was quoted in a Washington Post story about the ongoing project to rename the district鈥檚 former Woodrow Wilson High School, whose namesake is now recognized as a white supremacist.
One name in the running is that of Edna Burke Jackson, the school鈥檚 first female Black teacher who taught at the school from 1955 to 1976, enduring all manner of racism.
Houchins was a close family friend of Jackson鈥檚. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not that Edna was first 鈥� that鈥檚 important 鈥� it鈥檚 that Edna was an instrument of change, both for white students and for the few Black students who had to negotiate their way through that place,鈥� said Houchins. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 reason enough鈥� to name the school in her memory.
- Read the story: 鈥溾�� The Washington Post, Dec. 28, 2020
Six Alumnae Friends
Trivia Night garners big bucks for scholars 鈥� The Bedford Citizen
Since early in the pandemic, a group of 乐播传媒 alumnae have Zoomed every Thursday night. 鈥淲e鈥檝e celebrated accomplishments, cheered each other on, and kept our spirits up during challenging times,鈥� says Jenn Lemkin Bouchard 鈥�99.
They used their friendship, smarts, and perhaps some experience from WRBC Trivia Night to win a trivia contest to benefit scholarships for graduates of Bedford (Mass.) High School.
On Feb. 6, the friends defeated 23 other trivia teams while raising money for CSF Dollars for Scholars, a volunteer community organization that provides college scholarships to local high school graduates.
- Read the story: 鈥�,鈥� The Bedford Citizen, Feb. 8, 2021
Ther铆 Pickens
Miya Ponsetto鈥檚 apology interview for attacking teen over a lost phone reveals a pattern of behavior 鈥� The Washington Post
On Dec. 26, 2020, in the lobby of Soho鈥檚 Arlo Hotel in New York, Miya Ponsetto assaulted Keyon Harrold Jr., a Black teenager she accused of taking her phone, then falsely accused Harrold鈥檚 father of assaulting her.
In an oped in The Washington Post, Professor of English Ther铆 Pickens looks at the incident and its aftermath, specifically Ponsetto saying, 鈥淚 don’t feel like this one mistake…define[s] me.鈥�
鈥淢iya Ponsetto鈥檚 story follows a pattern we鈥檝e become familiar with when White women are caught on video engaging in racist behavior,鈥� writes Pickens. 鈥淪he denies that she is racist; she apologizes, insisting that this behavior is out of character. Her denial coupled with an apology fuels a narrative of White women鈥檚 racial innocence.鈥�
Ponsetto has tried to capitalize on the one-mistake narrative. Sometimes, invoking that narrative works, giving 鈥減eople who stumble the courage to go out and succeed, conquer their fears.鈥� But beware the person who uses the narrative as a coverup. 鈥溾�淥ne mistake can define you 鈥� especially when it appears to be a pattern,鈥� writes Pickens, who quotes Maya Angelou: 鈥溾�淲hen people show you who they are, believe them the first time.鈥�
- Read the story: 鈥�,鈥� The Washington Post, Jan. 13, 2021
Dan Sanford
The words, terms, and phrases that reflect the events of our times 鈥� Maine Calling
Arriving quickly last winter, COVID-19 forced us to quickly get up to speed with the lexicon of a pandemic.
Dan Sanford, director of Writing at 乐播传媒 and the college鈥檚 Academic Resource Commons, talked to Maine Calling about how language responds to the need to communicate something new.
鈥淲e have three options,鈥� he said. 鈥淏orrow a term from another language. Coin a new term. Or repurpose existing language. The pandemic arrived so fast that I think what we鈥檝e seen is a lot of repurposing existing words and existing language in English to describe it.鈥�
One example is the term 鈥渟ocial distancing.鈥� Sanford says that he 鈥渃an’t think of a better example of a phrase that so quickly became so widespread.鈥�
A second term is 鈥渇latten the curve,鈥� which conveys a highly complex idea involving parabolic functions and probability distribution, but nevertheless 鈥済ives us a shorthand for understanding something that has a lot of nuance.鈥�
- Listen to the story: 鈥�,鈥� Maine Calling, Feb. 5, 2021
Noelle Chaddock
Work happening across Maine to forward greater racial justice 鈥� Maine Calling
Vice President for Equity and Inclusion Noelle Chaddock joined other state leaders on the Maine Public鈥檚 radio program Maine Calling to talk about various efforts focused on racial justice.
At 乐播传媒, an emerging institutional goal 鈥渋s to make sure that our students encounter curricular content that addresses race, racism, power, and privilege鈥� in whatever field of study they choose, Chaddock said.
乐播传媒 is also looking at how it has told its origin story, often highlighting the abolitionist roots of founder Oren Cheney. What鈥檚 less talked about is the college鈥檚 early funding, from industrialist Benjamin 乐播传媒, whose mills used cotton grown by enslaved persons.
鈥淲e have had students on campus work with faculty to go ahead and really antagonize that origin story,鈥� Chaddock said. 鈥淵es, it鈥檚 aspirational, but I also find a lot of evidence that over the years folks have tried to meet that aspiration. I think it鈥檚 really important in the truth, racial healing and transformation work that we鈥檙e doing that we grapple with that truth and that we articulate that truth.
鈥淎nd I鈥檝e waited a long time to work in an organization where the president comes out and says 鈥榃e have not hit this mark yet, this is aspirational.鈥� And President Spencer has invited all of us to come to the table for this heavy lift.鈥�
- Listen to the story: 鈥�,鈥� Maine Calling, Feb. 8, 2021
J.J. Cummings 鈥�89
USS Gerald R. Ford holds change of command ceremony 鈥� WTKR
J.J. Cummings 鈥�89 has concluded his service as commander of the Navy鈥檚 newest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford, reported television station WTKR and other media outlets.
Cummings oversaw a 鈥渕onumental period for the first-in-class aircraft carrier,鈥� said reporter Todd Corillo, in helping the ship prepare for active duty.
With trademark irony, 鈥� 鈥� he and his crew just had to 鈥渢ransition [Ford鈥檚] new technologies into proven, reliable operational capabilities. And with 12 at-sea periods and 200 at-sea days over the last 16 months, we got exactly what we needed.鈥�
Rear Admiral John Meier, commander of Naval Air Force Atlantic who served as the first commanding officer of Gerald R. Ford, said, 鈥淚 can鈥檛 tell you how impressed I am with what you鈥檝e done with the crew and your ability to value this crew and the quality of their work. If it weren鈥檛 for your leadership, your preparation, and qualifying the youth, the future of naval aviation, we wouldn鈥檛 be here, where we are today.鈥�
The change of command ceremony was held aboard the ship at Naval Station Norfolk, Va., on Feb. 12. Cummings is slated to begin his next assignment as Chief of Staff at U.S. Second Fleet in Norfolk.
- Read the story: 鈥溾�� WTKR, Feb. 12, 2021
Nathaniel Boone 鈥�52
Vermont celebrates Nathaniel Boone Day on Feb. 17 鈥� Brattleboro Reformer
Newspaper columnist Don Keelan writes about the achievement of Nathaniel Boone 鈥�52, who endured Marine training in 1946 at Montford Point at Camp Lejeune, where thousands of Black Marines broke the Corps鈥� color barrier in a time and place where desegregation was anything but welcome.
鈥淢ontford Point…was to the Marine Corps what Devil鈥檚 Island must have been to its French inhabitants 鈥� made only worse for the trainees by having only white officers, many of whom would have preferred that the Corps stay all white,鈥� writes Keelan.
Boone once told 乐播传媒 Magazine that nothing would deter him from becoming a Marine, 鈥渂ecause the only way I could go to college was the GI Bill.鈥�
In 2017, Vermont Gov. Governor Phil Scott proclaimed Feb. 17 of that year as Nathaniel Boone Day. 鈥淎s we celebrate Black History Month,鈥� wrote Keelan, 鈥渙ne can only be disappointed that despite the tearing down of segregation and discrimination barriers since Montford Point, we are still dealing with racism and other biases.
- Read the story: 鈥� 鈥� Brattleboro Reformer, Feb. 17, 2021
Whitney Soule 鈥�90
Whitney Soule named vice provost and dean of admissions at Penn 鈥� Penn Today
Whitney Soule 鈥�90 becomes vice provost and dean of admissions at the effective July 1, according to Penn Today. Soule is currently senior vice president and dean of admissions and student aid at Bowdoin College.
鈥淚n our numerous discussions with Whitney, it became very clear that her vision and philosophy for admissions 鈥� along with her proven track record as a leader 鈥� will perfectly position Penn to carry forward our Penn Compact vision of ever-increasing inclusion, innovation and impact,鈥� said Penn President Amy Gutmann and Provost Wendell Pritchett.
Soule began her career at 乐播传媒, becoming associate dean and director of transfer admissions.
- Read the story: 鈥�,鈥� Penn Today
Sekerkhi Anderson 鈥�18
Local Hip-Hop artist Sec. wants more musicians to make it in D.C. 鈥� DCist
鈥淭wenty-four-year-old Seker Anderson cuts an unassuming figure,鈥� writes Madeline Taub in DCist. 鈥淚n person, the D.C. native, who grew up in Brookland, appears quiet behind the yellow-tinted round sunglasses that are a staple in his wardrobe. But on stage, where he performs alternative hip-hop under the name Sec., Anderson is electric.鈥�
Asked about what he often writes about, Anderson said, 鈥淭he daily struggle, just trying to get through the day. I touch on politics, relationships, community problems, police violence, I like it to kind of all be one.鈥�
- Read the story: 鈥�.,鈥� DCist, Feb. 4, 2021
Jason Castro
How the brain responds to beauty 鈥� Scientific American
鈥淲e seek it in nature, art and philosophy but also in our phones and furniture,鈥� writes Associate Professor of Neuroscience Jason Castro in Scientific American.
He鈥檚 writing about beauty, and the various theories that have tried to explain what makes an object aesthetically pleasing. Some scientists have suggested there鈥檚 a 鈥渂eauty center鈥� in the brain that鈥檚 activated when we see something. But recent research suggests no such single region exists, writes Castro.
鈥淚f we take this at face value, then the beauty of a face is not the same as the beauty of a painting. Beauty is plural, diverse, embedded in the particulars of its medium.鈥�
- Read the story: 鈥�,鈥� Scientific American, Feb. 2, 2021
Hoi Ning Ngai
Building belonging across (virtual) borders 鈥� SWE Magazine
A story in SWE Magazine, a publication of the Society of Women Engineers, about the challenges and importance of creating a sense of belonging among employees extensively quotes Hoi Ning Ngai, associate director for employer engagement and business advising at the 乐播传媒 College Center for Purposeful Work.
The story cites a study that says 鈥渉igh belonging was linked to a whopping 56 percent increase in job performance, a 50 percent drop in turnover risk, and a 75 percent reduction in sick days.鈥�
Belonging means that 鈥減eople can bring their full selves to work and not feel they need to act differently between their workplaces and at home.鈥�
A workplace that fosters belonging 鈥渄oesn鈥檛 mean we have to wholeheartedly accept things we don鈥檛 agree with,鈥� Ngai said. 鈥淲e should be able to push back and challenge each other鈥檚 thoughts and ideas.鈥�
Indeed, organizational cultures that 鈥渙penly and consistently recognize individuals and what they have to bring to the table 鈥� and support productive discourse and debate among those individuals 鈥� are ones that will more likely retain them over time. Ultimately, it鈥檚 in those environments that we simultaneously feel heard and experience growth.鈥�
- Read the story: 鈥�,鈥� SWE Magazine
Robert Broudo 鈥�71
Longtime Landmark School leader to retire 鈥� Salem Evening News
Robert Broudo 鈥�71 is retiring after three decades as head of Landmark School.
One of Landmark鈥檚 first faculty members, Broudo joined the school shortly after his graduation from 乐播传媒 as a psychology major. At Landmark, Broudo has served as teacher, supervisor, department head, houseparent, residential coordinator, founding director of the Outreach and Prep Programs, and head of the high school. He was elected president and headmaster in 1990.
Landmark, which specializes in evidence- and research-based teaching for students with dyslexia and other language-based learning disabilities, celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.
鈥淗elping to build this school into the respected institution that it is today has been the greatest honor of my life,鈥� Broudo said.
- Read the story: 鈥�,鈥� Salem Evening News, Jan. 19, 2021
Bill Sweat 鈥�79
To court socially minded millennials, some wineries are investing in more than grapes 鈥� The Washington Post
In 2005, Bill Sweat 鈥�79 and Donna Morris founded Winderlea Vineyard and Winery in Dundee, Ore., with sustainability and social responsibility in mind, writes Dave McIntyre in The Washington Post.
In 2015, the business joined more than 3,000 companies worldwide 鈥� and聽 just the fourth winery 鈥� to achieve Certified B Corporation status, pledging to meet high standards of social and environmental performance.
Their business model is well-suited for the future of the wine industry, as the story reports that the emerging millennial cohort of wine drinkers, a group 鈥渨hich up to now has been more interested in craft beer, spirits and hard seltzer,鈥� is 鈥渂eginning to spend more on wine.鈥�
Millennials are less interested in the 鈥済eeky aspects鈥� of wine such as 鈥済rape blends, pH levels or point scores from critics,鈥� but more about a label鈥檚 social responsibility.
- Read the story: 鈥�,鈥� Name, Jan. 22, 2021
Shayna Waldman 鈥�08
Inspirational Women: Shayna Waldman 鈥� We Are the City
Shayna Waldman 鈥�08 was profiled by We Are the City, a news and networking site for women.
Waldman is a development and production executive with The ATS Team, a production services company for the entertainment industry.
Asked what piece of advice she鈥檇 give to her younger self, Waldman replied:
鈥淚 experienced a lot of bullying in my earlier career, particularly from a very successful top executive producer in Los Angeles…and I wish I stood up for myself. The entire team knew about their behaviour and allowed it. I was not the only victim; it was the environment he created.
鈥淏ut I think you learn with age and experience, so I try really hard not to be so hard on myself about it. Maya Angelou had better advice than I can ever give: 鈥楧o the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.鈥欌��
- Read the story: 鈥�,鈥� We Are the City
Scott Williams 鈥�71
Historically mild January leaves Maine lakes with dangerously thin ice 鈥� Lewiston Sun Journal
Scott Williams 鈥�71 was quoted about the mild January that led to historically thin ice on southern Maine ponds and lakes.
Williams, executive director of the nonprofit Lake Stewards of Maine, had checked in with his group鈥檚 40 鈥渃itizen lake scientists鈥� about ice-in dates, when a lake or water body first freezes over. It鈥檚 been a highly unusual year, not just for thin ice but for how 鈥渢he ice has gone in and then come out, it鈥檚 come in, and then gone out again,鈥� said Williams.
- Read the story: 鈥�,鈥� Lewiston Sun Journal, Jan. 22, 2021
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