March 2o, 2026
The independent student newspaper of the Northeastern community
@HuntNewsNU
OPINION President Aoun, we need to talk Read the Editorial Board’s appeal for transparency.
Photo by Margot Murphy
CAMPUS Students share views on campus safety Read about the results of a Huntington News survey.
A graphic featuring a clock design accompanied by photos of the John D. O’Bryant African American Institute Dec. 3, 2025. Students expressed frustration about the institute’s new hours. Photos by Margot Murphy. Graphic by Catherine Gore.
Graphic by Margot Murphy
‘It’s a second home’: Black students speak out against new limited hours at JDOAAI MADISON EVANGELIST Deputy Campus Editor Northeastern implemented new operating hours for the university’s cultural and spiritual life, or CSL, centers on the Boston campus, including the John D. O’Bryant African American Institute, prompting backlash from Black student leaders. The changes were made to strengthen building safety meas-
ures, Chief Belonging Officer Richard O’Bryant and Dean of Cultural Life Robert Jose told The Huntington News March 18. The institute, previously accessible to students 24 hours a day, will now be open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. “I’ve been at Northeastern now for more than 23 years, and as time has gone on, we have seen security concerns continue to grow over time,” O’Bryant said. “The accessibility of
our facilities is fairly well-known.” O’Bryant said conversations about changing the institute’s operating hours have gone on for years, but the shooting at Brown University last December “raised everybody’s level of concern and attention to the issue of security.” Jose said there are exceptions to the hours and the institute’s administration is willing to work with students on a case-by-case basis. Colloquially referred to as “the
Tute,” the John D. O’Bryant African American Institute, or JDOAAI, is the heart of Northeastern’s Black community, serving as a center of support and belonging on the Boston campus. The Tute acts as a study spot, an event space for the university’s more than 35 Black student organizations, or BSOs, a resource hub and a refuge from Northeastern’s fast-paced, somtimes-demanding culture. JDOAAI, on Page 2
CROSSWORD Solve The News’ March crossword! Answers will be revealed in the next print issue.
Graphic by Rhea Lamba
Trump attacked their universities. These students reported on it. ZOE MACDIARMID Senior Reporter
Photo by Ray Huang The exterior of Two Saints Tavern March 14. The local bar and restaurant permanently closed March 9.
Northeastern staple Two Saints Tavern closes ELISE PEFFER News Staff
Boston residents, Northeastern students and regulars gathered at Two Saints Tavern March 8 to celebrate one final night at the bar, which announced the day prior it would be closing after over 10 years. “[There were] a lot of emotions. Finally saying my farewells and
goodbyes that night, it was definitely tough, but it felt like a sense of accomplishment and success,” said Jonathan Donley, the head of promotions and booking manager for Two Saints. The news of the bar’s closure surprised employees just as much as neighbors, who were frequent and enthusiastic patrons. Chuck Hitchcock, the bar’s man-
aging partner, said the staff went “above and beyond” every night. “It’s a disappointment you have to end that,” Hitchcock said. “It’s the best feeling in the world — when you get to make it just the most amazing night for somebody.” Hitchcock said insurance costs were the main reason behind Two Saints’ closing. TWO SAINTS, on Page 3
In late March 2025, Adri Pray, then editor-in-chief of Emerson College’s student newspaper, The Berkeley Beacon, stood in front of a room of more than 40 staffers. Immigration agents had just detained Rümeysa Öztürk, a Tufts University graduate student, in Medford after she co-wrote an op-ed for the university’s student-led newspaper. The heightened anxiety among the staff, particularly international students, was palpable. Addressing the group, Pray directed anyone concerned about stories they had published to talk to her if they were worried about their legal status. In meetings, she told her editors to press on with their work, which often openly criticized the federal government as well as university administrators. Privately, she was terrified. “I am the leader here, like holy God,” Pray recalled thinking last spring. “I have to remember that people are looking to me to be the example as to how to be a journalist
through these unprecedented times, and I barely know what I’m doing because I’m 22, 21 at that time.” Since the start of U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term, student journalists have been on the front lines, covering high-stakes issues including international student visa revocations, massive research funding cuts and university affiliates appearing in the Jeffrey Epstein files. Throughout the year, pressure mounted on young journalists as the Trump administration put universities under a spotlight. A few miles away from Pray that same week, in Medford, Josué Pérez of The Tufts Daily was in the throes of reporting on Öztürk’s unprecedented detention, which millions decried as an abuse of her First Amendment rights. Pérez, a thirdyear sociology major who is now editor-in-chief, said he’d stay at The Tufts Daily’s office until midnight each day when the story first broke. On March 25, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, agents detained Öztürk. TRUMP, on Page 6