Hailey Pitcher

Articles

The Daily Free Press •

Rocking out has gotten out of hand | Mad Women – The Daily Free Press

Last week, I attended a Nessa Barrett concert at Roadrunner. As I walked to the end of the line, I saw a gallery of young girls in high heeled boots, baby tees and a notable lack of winter coats. The group laughed to themselves and passed flasks back and forth, asking each other if anyone knew how to sneak them into the venue. 
Once the concert began, someone in the crowd fainted. 
Barrett stopped her set, asked the audience member if she was okay and got her a water bottle. A song and a half la...
The Daily Free Press •

‘Winter boots’ are seasonal — they won’t save America | Mad Women – The Daily Free Press

After President Donald Trump signed multiple executive orders following his inauguration, people took to social media to share their concerns and hopes for change. 
Some called for revolution. 
Some were just hoping to see a boost in their likes. 
Performative activism, according to Boston Medical Center, is defined as activism used to increase social reputation rather than because of one’s devotion to a particular cause. Users engaging in this type of activism let it be known that they are not...
The Daily Free Press •

Media polarization is a threat to democracy – The Daily Free Press

Earlier in October, The Washington Post refused to endorse a candidate in the 2024 Presidential Election. The public was outraged that the paper, whose motto is “Democracy dies in darkness,” would not stand up for it in the wake of one of the most crucial elections. 
Politically passionate readers may see the lack of endorsement as a betrayal to all The Post has done for journalistic integrity, but the underlying truth is that refusing to endorse a candidate protects that integrity — an integrit...
The Daily Free Press •

Generation Z is struggling in the job market — but it’s not entirely our fault | Editorial – The Daily Free Press

From an outside and older perspective, Generation Z is looked down upon as immature. The screenagers of today are presumed to have no social skills beyond typing on a cell phone and no professional skills beyond styling a vintage blazer.
These popular notions amongst our elders are mostly easy to brush off — doesn’t everyone have a silly side and a cell phone? While these assumptions may be in good fun and faith, they’re seeping into the minds of hiring managers — just as Gen Z is reaching hirin...
The Daily Free Press •

Tough love: How mainstream media romanticizes domestic abuse | Mad Women – The Daily Free Press

In 2016, breakout romance author Colleen Hoover published what would prove to be known as her  magnum opus. “It Ends With Us,” a novel-turned-film derived from Hoover’s own life experience follows florist Lily Bloom and her neurosurgeon partner, Ryle, from the beginning to the eventual disintegration of their relationship. 
The relationship between Ryle and Lily explores an epidemic that is much too familiar for many people — domestic violence. While their relationship begins as respectful and l...
The Daily Free Press •

Student journalism is a valuable resource — the on-campus protests prove why | Editorial – The Daily Free Press

Since April, pro-Palestine protests and encampments have cropped up at multiple universities nationwide. These encampments consist of hundreds, if not thousands, of students leading pro-Palestinian chants, sit-ins and other methods of protest, calling for their institutions to divest from Israeli support and urge the United States government to advocate for a ceasefire. 
Students at Columbia University screamed outside of their president’s house to protest. Meanwhile, in Boston, students at univ...
The Daily Free Press •

‘Lucky girl syndrome’: The gentrification of manifestation | Mad Women – The Daily Free Press

TikTok has recently erupted with advice on achieving your goals and desires. It isn’t through hard work, connections or good grades. It doesn’t depend on whether you’re valedictorian or employee of the month either. It’s simply provoked by positive thinking. 
This phenomenon is called “lucky girl syndrome.” If you believe you are lucky, the luck will come to you. 
This new wave of thinking isn’t anything new. It’s known in simpler terms as manifestation and has been a part of the trend cycle for...
The Daily Free Press •

Tradwife and happy life: Nara Smith, food politics and feminism | Mad Women – The Daily Free Press

The scents of our childhood stay ingrained in our memories. Maybe it’s the smell of the rain on your swing set or the lavender-scented teddy bear your aunt gave you for your third birthday. 
Sometimes, it’s the scent of the morning: bacon grilling, cinnamon rolls rising in the oven, mom’s coffee brewing and pancakes on the skillet.
Food can not only provide nourishment, but it can also evoke memories. Cooking and baking can be a large source of connection for families, and such is the case for m...
The Daily Free Press •

Rex or Regina: The future of women in the monarchy | Mad Women – The Daily Free Press

Buckingham Palace announced last Monday that King Charles III was diagnosed with cancer and will be taking a step back from public-facing royal obligations. The unexpected diagnosis comes less than two years after Charles III ascended to the throne after the death of Queen Elizabeth II — his mother and the United Kingdom’s longest-reigning monarch. 
The diagnosis has also left the world wondering what will happen next in the monarchy’s rapidly changing tradition.

After Elizabeth II defined the...
The Daily Free Press •

Feeling frazzled: Bridget Jones and the dreaded ’30’ | Mad Women – The Daily Free Press

When people think of the romantic comedy character Bridget Jones, the “All by Myself” scene from “Bridget Jones’s Diary” may pop into their heads. 
A lowly Bridget sits on her couch alone, smoking a cigarette as “Frasier” plays on the television. She checks her phone for messages and is met with an empty voicemail. As she sips a glass of wine, she works her way up to belting pop song “All by Myself.”
Earlier, Bridget made an appearance at her family’s Christmas party only to be humiliated. She m...
The Daily Free Press •

Answered prayers: the gospel of Ethel Cain | Mad Women – The Daily Free Press

“HERE LIES ETHEL CAIN” a website banner shouts on the Google search results. Another article further down states: “Since this interview was conducted, we have been informed that Ethel Cain has been reported missing.” By these broad yet telling headlines, anyone would first think Ethel Cain was a real woman who went missing and was later found dead.
However, Ethel Cain is not a real woman, but rather the Western gothic alter ego of singer songwriter, Hayden Anhedönia. Anhedönia released her debut...
The Daily Free Press •

Pretty isn’t pretty: behind ‘natural beauty’ | Mad Women – The Daily Free Press

Natural beauty is all the rage. We’re rocking the bare skinned look. Goodbye full coverage foundation and false eyelashes, and hello skin tints and lash extensions. Goodbye dramatic eye shadows and deep contour, introducing under eye creams and facial filler. We’ve made a dramatic shift in our beauty standards since the 2010s, but is au natural all the better or are we just exhausting ourselves more than ever to achieve picture perfect beauty?
The last major beauty standards shift happened after...
The Daily Free Press •

Fine tunings: crafting Amy Dunne | Mad Women – The Daily Free Press

Amy Elliott Dunne is a cool girl. She’s tall, beautiful and slender. She’s sophisticated and highly educated from a successful and wealthy family. She’s in a happy and stable marriage with her husband of five years, Nick Dunne. 
This is how Amy Elliott Dunne appears to those around her. However, something wicked lies underneath all the glitter and glory. Underneath lies the maddest of women, a woman who is calculated, irrational and unpredictable. A woman who has embraced madness.
“Gone Girl” wa...
The Daily Free Press •

What she was made for: Greta Gerwig’s revival of girlhood | Mad Women – The Daily Free Press

There’s an element of feminine melancholy within Greta Gerwig’s work. With films primarily featuring female protagonists, Gerwig has a way of perfectly encapsulating the trials, tribulations and celebrations of what it means to identify as a woman. With the most recent release of her blockbuster hit “Barbie,” Gerwig has reignited a call back to girlhood and a healing retreat for the inner child.
Gerwig first appeared on the film scene with a minor role in the 2006 rom-com “LOL.” Six years later,...
The Daily Free Press •

The low-down on ‘Lolita’: how pop culture rewrote Nabokov’s brilliance | Mad Women – The Daily Free Press

“Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth.” 
These three opening lines are from Russian author Vladimir Nabokov’s 1955 magnum opus, “Lolita.” The novel is told from the point of view of the protagonist, Humbert Humbert, a middle-aged literature professor, and follows his ongoing sexual obsession with the 12-year-old daughter of his housemate and later wife, Dolores Hay...
Strike Magazines •

Digital Detox: The return of Heroin chic — Strike Magazines

CW: This article contains discussion of eating disorders, substance abuse, and body image.The Y2K resurgence has swept the fashion industry with the return of former staple pieces, like UGGs, low rise jeans, and even the renaissance of the tramp stamp. As Y2K works its way through the trend cycle, heroin chic makes its way back to the top of the fashion ranks. Defined by grunge rock, waif-like supermodels, and excessive partying, the era fueling a chaotic lifestyle and fashion sense has now retu...
The Daily Free Press •

BU students spearhead public relations campaign for medical apparel brand – The Daily Free Press

Students at Boston University’s student-staffed public relations agency are partnering with VERDE, a clothing brand specializing in scrub tops, pants, accessories and lab and utility jackets for healthcare professionals.
Account Supervisor for VERDE’s PRLab team Yadira Cabrera said the team is working on a promotional video featuring BU pre-health students wearing the scrubs to be posted on their client’s Instagram account @verdescrubs. The photographers were BU students as well, Cabrera said.
“...
The Daily Free Press •

MBTA, Logan Airport lifts mask mandate

Masks will no longer be required on the MBTA or at Logan Airport, state officials announced Tuesday.
The decision comes after a federal judge struck down a nationwide mask mandate for public transportation, such as airplanes, trains and rideshare services, and one week after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended the mandate until May 3. 
Following the judge’s decision on Monday, the TSA released a statement stating it “will no longer enforce its Security Directives and Emergenc...
The Daily Free Press •

BU alum releases memoir of life as a bustling adjunct professor in New York City – The Daily Free Press

From an adjunct professor to a theater director, Boston University alum Laurence Schwartz has seen it all and published it in his new self-published book, “Teaching on Borrowed Time: An Adjunct’s Memoir.”
Released last February, Schwartz’s book chronicles his three decades as a part-time lecturer at over twenty different universities. Schwartz, who was once a student at BU’s College of Fine Arts, began his career in the New York theater scene.
“I began my career as an actor. I was lining some ro...
The Daily Free Press •

New paper from BU Speech Neuroscience Lab explains science behind stuttering

The Guenther Lab, a neuroscience lab researching speech movement at Boston University, published a scientific paper late last semester connecting stutters with a malfunction in the brain’s initiation circuit.
The paper, called “A neurocomputational view of developmental stuttering,” was published in Nov. 2021 and discusses the lab’s prior research on stuttering, said Frank Guenther, moderator of the lab and a professor of speech, language and hearing sciences and biomedical engineering.
Guenther...
The Daily Free Press •

Violinists featured in College of Fine Arts concert highlighting Bach competition winners

The College of Fine Arts School of Music held a concert Dec. 2 for the winners of the 2021 Bach competition. The winners include undergraduate prize winner Sofia Janssen, grand prize winner Yingchen Zhang and co-winners of the graduate violin prize Yeonji Shim, Cheng-Yeh Tsou and Molly Tucker.
The competition took place on Nov. 18 and students auditioned live on the concert hall stage in the CFA. The judges were all faculty members. Students auditioning played unaccompanied suites and partitas b...
The Daily Free Press •

Wu extends outdoor dining program for Boston restaurants until late December – The Daily Free Press

To benefit more than 400 small businesses licensed to operate in Boston, Mayor Michelle Wu announced Nov. 24 the extension of the outdoor dining season from the original deadline, this Wednesday, to Dec. 31.
With the new extension in place, all authorized establishments, excluding those in the North End,  are permitted to allow outdoor dining on public streets and private patios. 
“Activating public spaces to expand outdoor dining helps bolster our local businesses during pandemic recovery and c...
The Daily Free Press •

CineMAfriq hosts film discussion on the film ‘Nabantwa Bam’,’ Apartheid in South Africa – The Daily Free Press

The CineMAfriq program from the Boston University Pardee School of Global Studies African Studies Center held their final film discussion of the semester on Nov. 17 about the Zulu film, “Nabantwa Bam’.” The documentary film follows a family in South Africa, portraying themes of class, ambition, inequality and the lasting effects of Apartheid.
The CineMAfriq program is from the mind of Gabeyehu Adugna, the liaison librarian for the African Studies department at BU. The films were also selected ba...
The Daily Free Press •

Mayor Janey vows to contest 2020 Boston Census

Acting Mayor Kim Janey posed a challenge to the 2020 U.S. Census count for the city of Boston over concerns of underrepresentation of college student, foreign-born and inmate residents via an Oct. 21 letter to the U.S. Census Bureau. 
Research from the Boston Planning and Development Agency showed that the Census’s given population count of 675,647 people underreports significant portions of Boston’s university students, foreign-born residents, and those living in correctional facilities, accord...