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a police car parked beside the crime scene

February 12, 2023 0

The Death of Tyre Nichols: Consequences Continue for Memphis Police and America

Following the firing and charging of five Memphis police officers for their role in the death of Tyre Nichols last month, a sixth officer involved has also been fired for violating multiple department policies. Internal police investigations are ongoing to determine further culpability in Nichols’ death, which has tragically resumed a national conversation about the relationships between police officers and the communities they work in. Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, was stopped by the Memphis police on the night of […]

February 12, 2023 0

Interview with Playwright Wang Chong

by Aili Liu

Intro to Wang Chong Wang Chong is a writer/translator, one of Beijing’s most renowned contemporary theater directors. Intent on refreshing the stagnant Chinese theater scene by combining genres such as political, physical, documentary, multimedia, and cross-cultural, Wang Chong founded the Beijing based performance group Théâtre du Rêve Expérimental in 2008. It has performed over 30 shows in more than 20 countries. Wang Chong’s work has received much positive critical and popular response. “The Warfare of Landmine 2.0” won 2013’s Festival/Tokyo […]

February 11, 2023 0

“We Are All Searching For Meaning”: A Conversation with Professor Alan Lightman

by Christopher John Stephens

“How do our complex human experiences arise from the atoms and molecules we are made of?” Professor Alan Lightman is an MIT theoretical physicist in search of purpose and answers to questions such as this. Lightman is one of the first at MIT to receive a joint appointment in both the sciences and the humanities, Lightman’s made significant contributions to both fields within scientific academia and creative literature. Themes from his 25 books, and contributions to The New Yorker, Harper’s, […]

February 11, 2023 0

Lunar New Year Celebrations Marred by Mass Shootings in California

by Jeff Millman

Late on the eve of Lunar New Year in Monterey Park, California, 72-year-old Huu Can Tran shot and killed 11 people and injured 9 others at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio. Just two days later, on the afternoon of January 23, 66-year-old Chunli Zhao shot and killed 7 people and wounded 1 other person at two farms in Half Moon Bay, California. Though they occurred nearly 400 miles from each other, the shootings were strangely similar: both were committed by […]

February 11, 2023 0

Groups Gather to Mourn the Recent Acts of Violence in California Asian Communities

by Sampan Staff

On Jan. 21, 11 people were killed and nine wounded in a massacre during Lunar New Year celebrations in Monterey Park, California. The mass shooting is now the worst in Los Angeles County’s history. Two days later, four people were killed and one other was seriously wounded in a shooting at the Mountain Mushroom Farm in Half Moon Bay. The gunman in that shooting then drove to a different farm that was nearby and killed another three people. Multiple Asian […]

February 10, 2023 0

Lunar New Year Celebrations Across Massachusetts

by Sampan Staff

Colorful Lion dancers, fireworks, and joyful noises were in abundance at Boston’s Chinatown Lunar New Year Celebration on January 29, with city and community speakers addressing the assembled crowd and a procession making its way through the streets. The celebratory sounds of drums, gongs, and cymbals followed troupes of lion dancers as they went door-to-door offering blessings to the neighborhood’s businesses and restaurants. Similar celebrations were held in Malden, Quincy, and (for the first time in its history) Lowell. Custom […]

February 10, 2023 0

“The Embrace”: A Figurative Abstraction of Love Between Two People Who Loved the World

by Christopher John Stephens

Boston played host to national media on Friday January 13th as the city unveiled “The Embrace” at the 1965 Freedom Plaza on Boston Common. This marked the start of 2023’s Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Day weekend. While the holiday itself is a testament to the life and works of the slain civil rights leader, “The Embrace” is something special, something distinct from the many statues to King that have surfaced in the nearly 55 years since his death. It’s […]

January 21, 2023 0

Charting the Course for the Future of Boston Public Schools: Mary Skipper on the Road Already Traveled and the Roads Ahead

by Christopher John Stephens

Mary Skipper became Boston’s new School Superintendent in September 2022. She is the 6th person to assume this critical role in the past ten years. Currently, the Boston Public School system teaches 49,000 students. Skipper had most recently successfully led Somerville’s schools as its Superintendent. Among other accomplishments in her career, including nine years as a Boston Public Schools Latin and Classics teacher, she helped found Boston Tech Academy which scores today in the top percentile on state testing and […]

January 21, 2023 0

Women Holding the Keys to Power in Massachusetts State Government

by DongDong Yang

For the first time in our state’s history, Massachusetts will boast an all-female executive team, including Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, (first woman and first person of color to be elected as Boston’s mayor), State Governor Maura Healey, (first woman and first openly gay elected governor), Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll, Attorney General-elect Andrea J. Campbell, (first black woman to hold this constitutional office), State Auditor Diana DiZoglio (only the second woman ever to hold this position) and Treasurer of Massachusetts Deborah […]

January 21, 2023 0

New “MA Climate Change Assessment” Reveals Need for Action and Adaptation

by Bolin Shen

Amidst rising concerns for unprecedented heat waves and extreme cold alike throughout the last year, the Massachusetts Baker-Polito Administration released at the end of 2022 the “MA Climate Change Assessment.” It is the first data-driven state-wide projection report of the effects climate change will have on the region’s communities, environments, and industries through the end of the 21st century. “The Assessment draws on the best available climate and impact assessment science, active stakeholder engagement, and broad state agency perspectives and […]

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