Category Archives: Features

Village resident talks science, engineering 1

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Irv Gruverman, a Lasell Village resident, is a member of the Lasell College Board of Trustees and has worked in the field of science and engineering.
Photo by Morgan Brittney Austin

By Morgan Brittney Austin — 1851 Staff

“One cannot foreclose large areas of possibilities,” said Irv Gruverman, 78, a Lasell Village resident. Gruverman has encountered many opportunities in the field of science and engineering in his lifetime.

In 1963, Gruverman moved to Boston after growing up in Brooklyn, N Y. As a child, his parents taught him the values of hard work, honesty, and respect. Thanks to those values, Gruverman quickly made his way into the science field. In 1954, he graduated from The Cooper Union with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering, and in 1955, he received his M.S. from MIT in Nuclear Engineering. More…

Flamez talks about the rap game Reply

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Interstate Flamez, or John McNeil, is a rapper and student at UMass Dartmouth. He was chosen as the opening act on Marathon Monday after winning a Lasell College Radio Facebook poll.
Photo by Natalie Kfoury

By Amanda Russo — 1851 Staff

John McNeil smiles warmly as he leans forward in his chair. Calm and friendly, the 22-year-old rapper explains that he has been rapping from the time he was 16. Under his stage name of Interstate Flamez, he has been performing for three years. A full-time student at Umass Dartmouth and student worker, McNeil doesn’t have much free time for music, but he still takes it seriously. “I wouldn’t call it a hobby,” said McNeil, “because it’s more than that.”

McNeil grew up in Dorchester, Mass., and it is his home and his life experience that define his music. His lyrics speak to certain incidents he has been through and he believes that is what makes his music relatable. “Everybody is going to like something different,” he said, “if you’re going through something and I’m rapping about it, that’s going to be your favorite song,” said McNeil. “It’s not going to be that way for everyone though. Her favorite track might be track three, his favorite track might be track four. It’s all about what you like.” More…

Local, student designers take part in fashion show for charity Reply

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Junior Jenna Bogdan models in the Birthday Wishes Fashion Show, where student collections and local Boston designs were shown
Photo by Kristina Kaufmann

By Cait Fitzgerald — 1851 Staff

Lasell hosted a fashion show to raise money for Birthday Wishes, a nonprofit organization, dedicated to giving homeless children memorable birthdays. Collections included creations by some of Lasell’s student designers, as well as donations by local Boston stores and designers.

The fashion show was divided into themed chapters. The first chapter was Leisure to Luxury, which started with Calypso St. Barth of Boston. St. Barth’s collection was made up of flirty tribal prints for spring.
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Village couple circles the globe Reply

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Erik and Antoinette Stapper pose with a tiger cub on one of their trips. The couple has traveled to more than 10 countries and takes two trips per year.
Photo courtesy of Erik and Antoinette Stapper.

By Morgan Brittney Austin — 1851 Staff

Twice per year, Erik and Antoinette Stapper pack several weeks’ worth of clothing into one suitcase and leave their home at Lasell Village. The couple, who has been married for 52 years, has been ticking countries and states off their list of places to go since Erik and Antoinette first went to Washington, D.C., for their honeymoon. More…

Guest Column: Phone is home Reply

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By Zac Vierra — Copy Editor

I recently walked into one of my classes and witnessed something disturb- ing. Moments before class was about to begin, roughly 10 students were looking down at their cell phones. And this was an 8 a.m. class. I thought to myself, “Who are these people texting? Who is awake to receive a text at this hour?” I came to the conclusion that a dog is no longer a man’s best friend: a cell phone is.

You can’t walk across campus without seeing someone on their phone, whether someone is texting, tweeting, or checking Facebook. If you walk by multiple people, you will see someone looking down at a phone, but we don’t even think it’s strange. More…

Student travels to China for spring break Reply

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Junior Sam Awezec traveled to two cities in China over spring break. Awezec experienced sights such as the Forbidden City and walked along part of the Great Wall of China.
Photo courtesy of Sam Awezec

By Zac Vierra — Copy Editor

While most students spend their spring breaks in tropical locations south of Lasell, junior, Sam Awezec went east — far east. During his break, Awezec took a 10-day trip to Beijing and Shanghai to experience Chinese culture.

Awezec began his trip in Beijing, where he visited the Forbidden City. “It was one of the oldest things that was preserved,” said Awezec. “Everything was original, like an old city that hadn’t been touched.”

He then walked from the Forbidden City to Tiananmen Square, the largest square in the world. He desribed it as the size of four football fields.

Awezec said the police presence in China was high, but this wasn’t because of the communist government in China, according to Awezec. “You felt like you were traveling in a secure place with a different culture,” he said. More…

Williams hopes to take talents to Europe Reply

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Senior Javon Williams hopes to travel to Europe at the end of May to play basketball in a showcase for European teams.
Photo courtesy of Javon Williams

By Zac Vierra — Copy Editor

Javon Williams doesn’t care if he’s getting paid $2, $5 or $3 million; it has been his lifelong dream to make a living playing basketball. Williams, the second leading scorer in Lasell basketball history, has taken the first step toward making this a reality. More…