Archives - Sampan

Queer Voices Festival Makes a Show of Joy, Defiance & Pride

Amid a political push back against diversity and the rights of transgender people, the Queer Voices Festival at the Boston Center for the Arts Plaza Theater in late March brought together a diverse group of performances of pride, joy, grief – and defiance. “Gay, gay, gay!” is how opening performer Peter Mill described his evening’s song and dance show. Indeed, during his time on stage, Mill commanded the space with powerful vocals and a magnetic stage presence, performing a mix […]

Health April 25, 2025 0

Autism Symposium Focuses on Inclusion, Tech and Arts

by Sampan Staff

“We must learn to see not only the differences, but also the talents and admirable qualities that reside within them.” Those words, spoken by Dr. Xue-Jun June Kong, summed up the theme of this year’s Autism Awareness Symposium at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center on April 5-6. The event – held during the globally recognized Autism Awareness Month – touched on a variety of topics related to the neurological condition including uses of technology, inclusion, arts and education. More than […]

Health April 25, 2025 0

Tufts Surgeon: Catching Colon Cancer Via Regular Screenings Can Save Lives

by Sampan Staff

March was colon cancer awareness month. But the reality is that this often silent killer can strike any time and doctors are discovering it affects more and more younger adults. To learn more about colorectal cancer and how to spot it early – and have a good chance to stop its progression – we spoke with Tufts Medical Center’s Chief of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Dr. Lilian Chen, MD. Sampan: What are some typical early warning signs that a person […]

Double Exposure: Photographer Lisa Tang Liu explores what it means to be ‘American’

by Adam Smith

Photographer Lisa Tang Liu made a career out of taking other people’s portraits. But she was never interested in taking her own photo — not even selfies on her phone. Then Covid hit, and some old, bad feelings from her childhood began to return. Having grown up in a predominantly white suburb in New Jersey as a child, she said, she felt “a sense of shame” for being Chinese. She wanted those around her to embrace that she was as […]

Demonstrators rally in support of Rumeysa Ozturk in Somerville in late March. Photo by Harmony Witte

Front Page April 11, 2025 0

Citizens’ Role in Defending Rights on Display in Öztürk Rally: Legal Experts, Activists

by Harmony Witte

“Who keeps us safe? We keep us safe.” This line was among the chants shouted by the thousands of people gathered in Somerville to support Tufts graduate student Rümeysa Öztürk in late March after she was abducted and set for deportation at the direction of the U.S. Secretary of State in what has by now become an international drama. The call from the protesters may have been more than a simple rallying chant, however, and more likely one of the […]

‘We Don’t Want to Repeat History’: State Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven Discusses Activist Fred Korematsu, Öztürk, and Trump

by Adam Smith

The day before the Sampan had a scheduled interview with State Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven, her district was suddenly under an international spotlight. Thousands of people had come out to rally in the city of Somerville, part of Massachusetts’ 27th Middlesex District, for Rümeysa Öztürk. Öztürk is the Tufts University doctoral student who was detained by the Department of Homeland Security and was set for deportation back to Turkey — apparently, because she co-wrote an Op-Ed in her university newspaper a […]

Uncategorized April 11, 2025 0

As Some See a Taller Chinatown With New Zoning, Let’s Focus on Getting to the Right Heights

by Mingjia Chen

In the black box theater inside Chinatown’s Josiah Quincy School last month, hundreds of people reached into their little gift bags and pulled out small bottles of soap. As Dr. Heang Leung Rubin led the room in a collective wish, her voice was gentle: “Close your eyes and imagine — what could Chinatown look like in ten years?” Kids, young families, seniors, city officials and others all held their wishes in silence. Then, as bubbles filled the room, they caught […]

Front Page April 11, 2025 0

Knowing About Birthright Citizenship’s Past Critical to Ensuring Its Future, Say Experts

by Darren Liu

“I had always hoped that this land might become a safe and agreeable asylum to the virtuous and persecuted part of mankind, to whatever nation they might belong.” That quote, from the first U.S. president, George Washington in a letter penned in 1788, kicked off a panel discussion last month on the future and history birthright citizenship and Trump administration’s attempts to reinterpret the 14th Amendment. As clear-cut as Washington’s quote sounds, history tells a different story. That was a […]

Front Page April 11, 2025 0

REVIEW: ‘White Poverty’ Exposes Myths of Race, Class and Democracy

by Christopher John Stephens

The triple threat Venn Diagram bubbles of race, class, and social identity have conspired to define us as a nation since our founding. As we sit on the eve of our Bisesquicentennial in 2026, Americans are more divided and disturbed than ever before. Who are we? What have we become? Is this the legacy we really want to leave behind for our children? The much discussed (but never fully owned) “Project 2025” has planted seeds and borne fruit in the […]

Arts April 11, 2025 0

‘SenStory’ Breaks Mental Health Taboos With Performing Arts

by Virginia Sun

Elderly Chinatown residents took the stage at the Pao Arts Center last month – some sang karaoke to their favorite classic Chinese songs, a couple of them showed off their jianzi (birdie foot game) skills to the rest of their crowd, while others watched bilingual improv theater sketches in Mandarin and Cantonese. But behind the music, crafts and performing arts enjoyed by the nearly 200 participants, the March 8 event, “SenStory: Home as a Verb” contained a central theme: How […]

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