Latest news with #BerkleeCollege
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
How Massachusetts is training campus police to handle hate crimes in 2025
Last year, a student at Berklee College of Music told a Jewish classmate that 'Jews belong in the oven.' And at Smith College, a spray-painted Israeli flag with a swastika replacing the Star of David was found on campus. The incidents were both part of an increase in antisemitic incidents across Massachusetts, a rise that included college campuses. As campuses work to better address antisemitism and other hate crimes, college administrators and police chiefs from across Massachusetts got a crash course in understanding trauma and how to confront hate through a program designed in part by Massachusetts State Police. The program spanned two days at the state police headquarters in Framingham last week, and comes as college campuses across the state prepare to welcome students back amid crackdowns on higher education from the Trump administration and lingering tension over the war in Gaza. For Massachusetts Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators, or MACLEA, President Kerry Ramsdell, the chief of the Endicott College police department, the training couldn't have come at a better time. 'We've seen a lot here in Massachusetts on our campuses, and thankfully, we've done a lot of training and investigating and collaboration already, but it's just sort of continuing to learn and broaden that as we come back,' she said in an interview following the first of 10 modules the program will cover. State police designed the program with experts from the Rutgers University Miller Center on Policing and Community Resilience and the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators. On the first day of the program, numerous officials from the agencies responsible for setting it up spoke to participants, including state police Col. Geoff Noble and Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan. 'We are here to provide any resources that we can, that we have,' Noble told the crowd. 'There are challenging days ahead,' Ryan said, adding that antisemitic incidents surpassed race-based hate crimes in Massachusetts last year. 'But you have the privilege of working in some place where people are there to learn, where they bring really great minds together.' 'You, as part of that institution, can address these problems,' Ryan added. The state's Executive Office of Public Safety and Security documented 466 hate crimes in Massachusetts last year, down from 561 the year before. But incidents of religious bias went up, with 153 documented in 2024. Of the 153 incidents involving religious bias, 85% reflected anti-Jewish bias, according to the state's data. The Anti-Defamation League gave multiple Massachusetts colleges a failing grade for their handling of antisemitic incidents in 2023. In 2024, the organization bumped up the institutions' grades, but indicated more work needed to be done. On Thursday, much of the first module, led by Robert Czepiel Jr., a former prosecutor in New Jersey, and Brian Christensen, a former hate crimes investigator there, focused on defining trauma and hate crimes for the roughly 100 participants. Christensen and Czepiel emphasized that not all hate incidents rise to the level of a crime, particularly given freedom of speech. 'When you're dealing with hate crimes, you gotta go that extra step,' Christensen said. 'To prove a hate crime is very difficult. You would have to prove that person did it because of one of the protected characteristics.' As an investigator, Christensen preached being proactive, trying to step in before incidents of hate rise to the level of a crime. He also stressed the importance of creating relationships in the community, which Ramsdell, the Endicott chief, said was one of the key lessons her department learned amid student protests in the spring of 2024 over the war between Israel and Hamas. There is a lot of work any department can do before reacting to an incident, she explained. 'Building those trust factors and building those relationships on our campuses and outside ... to help support that if we did react or have something, it would all be about that sort of collaboration is a lesson learned,' Ramsdell said. While Ramsdell acknowledged it can be difficult to get students to the table, she said engaging directly with them is a major part of the job. Campus law enforcement officers are trained to go meet and interact with students from the first year they're on campus, rather than waiting for them to come to the department, she explained. 'That's the unique part of our campus law enforcement culture, is that we sort of do that, but I think it's still evolving. It's not perfect and I don't think anyone has the perfect answer to it,' she said. Tufts University Police Capt. Mark Roche, the organization's vice president, said simply, the standard is to be a human first. 'Establish those relationships before the crisis, so that you're not working to establish those relationships and try to build that trust while there's an ongoing crisis,' he said. 'We're all just lifelong learners.' More Higher Ed Did the Defense Dept. cancel a grant to Harvard, then pay it anyway? Harvard extends hiring freeze, says Trump actions could cost school $1B a year Trump admin halted Harvard grant, but Defense Dept. still paid it, court docs say Student loans just got riskier and more expensive. Here's how A reckoning: Trump's attacks are inspiring self-reflection in higher ed Read the original article on MassLive.
CBS News
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Berklee College of Music graduates create Boston's theme song for FIFA World Cup
Two recent Berklee College of Music graduates created Boston's Sonic ID, ahead of next year's FIFA World Cup. FIFA invited each of the 16 World Cup host cities in North America to create their own sound, before the eyes of the soccer world turned to them. But Boston was the only city to partner with a college to create its soundscape. Boston's FIFA theme song for World Cup Roommates Deven Kamra Lyons and Ben Zakharenko didn't know exactly what they were in for when their professor told them about an opportunity that could potentially change their lives. "The project was initially introduced to us as a remix competition that Berklee was holding," says Kamra Lyons. Zakharenko adds, "We both were like, OK let's try and apply for this opportunity and just see what happens. We both end up getting in and hearing the initial brief, and then we're like, whoa, this is a really big thing." Kareem Clarke, a member of the professor advisor team says, "From the beginning, Deven and Ben really stood out," Clarke said. "I believe they were the number one from all the options that we had picked." Another member of the advisory team, Professor Jason Petrin, agrees. "Theirs really captured everything we were looking for," Petrin said. "It had the Boston elements that FIFA put forth in the brief. The quality was there, so you know one of the big things is just the quality of the production, the quality of the writing. And theirs really stood out as sounding professional." FIFA wanted each host city to remix its official theme, adding distinct cultural aspects of the region. "There were a couple of things that we saw that they wanted that we really dialed in on," says Kamra Lyons. "One was the Celtic music influence, one was the more rock influence, and one was just getting the city of Boston to be communicated in the work." Zakharenko explains, "I focused a lot more on the acoustic elements, because a lot of our ideas for the remix involved recording flutes, recording guitars, things like that which are instruments that I play." An opportunity to change their lives For the roommates, the decision to work together was an easy one. Kamra Lyons says, "I realized that I wasn't going to be able to do everything by myself." "We were like, well, if we're going to hear what each other are working on anyway, why not just combine our efforts and do something better than either of us could do individually?" adds Zakharenko. A combined 20 to 30 hours of work went into the final winning product. Hundreds of tracks combined to create a distinctive sound. Kamra Lyons tells us, "The true nature and the true scale of this opportunity doesn't really dawn on me yet." Clarke says, "It's really a great opportunity to just see them, their music and their ideas blossom in a nice way, and being given a prompt and being able to execute on a high level is something that's really, really important." "This is why we teach here," explains Petrin. "Students get these amazing opportunities, and they get to share their music with millions of people." Zakharenko adds, "It will open a lot of doors. It already has. And I also just think it's pretty cool to say that we work with FIFA." Gillette Stadium will host seven matches, including one quarter-final, during next year's FIFA World Cup. Deven and Ben's sonic sound will be played at all of them. Click here to listen to Deven and Ben's sonic sound.
Free Malaysia Today
03-06-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
‘My greatest dream': Taylor Swift buys back rights to old music
Singer-songwriter Taylor Swift tells fans that buying back rights to her own music is her 'greatest dream come true'. (AFP pic) NEW YORK : Pop sensation Taylor Swift, who was locked in a feud with record executives since 2019 over ownership of her music, has bought back the rights to her entire back catalogue, she said Friday. 'All of the music I've ever made … now belongs … to me,' she wrote on her website, after years of disputes over her first six albums, a number of which she rerecorded to create copies she owns herself. 'To say this is my greatest dream come true is actually being pretty reserved about it,' she wrote in the letter to her devoted followers. 'To my fans, you know how important this has been to me – so much so that I meticulously re-recorded and released four of my albums, calling them Taylor's Version.' Swift bought back the masters to her first six albums from Shamrock Capital, an LA investment firm, for an undisclosed amount. The re-recording power move came in the wake of public sparring with industry mogul Scooter Braun, her one-time manager whose company had purchased her previous label and gained a majority stake in her early work. He later sold Swift's master rights to the private equity company. 'This fight' The situation left Swift publicly incensed: 'I just feel that artists should own their work,' she said in 2019. 'She's a vocal advocate for artists' rights,' Ralph Jaccodine, a professor at the Berklee College of Music, told AFP previously. 'She's built her own brand.' Before her public efforts to regain control of her work, Prince, George Michael, Jay-Z and Kanye West all also fought for control of their masters – one-of-a-kind source material that dictate how songs are reproduced and sold – but none had gone so far as to re-record them completely. The queen of pop, whose recent nearly two-year-long, US$2 billion Eras tour shattered records, said that she was 'heartened by the conversations this saga has reignited within my industry.' Swift's lucrative tour which wrapped last year was a showbusiness sensation, and will have helped offset the costs of buying back her catalogue. The 149 shows across the world typically clocked in at more than three hours long each. Tour tickets sold for sometimes exorbitant prices and drew in millions of fans, along with many more who didn't get in and were willing to simply sing along from the parking lot. 'Every time a new artist tells me they negotiated to own their master recordings in their record contract because of this fight, I'm reminded of how important it was for all this to happen,' Swift said in her letter.
Forbes
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Attending Boston Calling? Enjoy Some Late-Night Fun In Harvard Square
Let's be honest – Boston has never been known as a late-night city. Last call remains at 2 a.m. – the same as when I was in college, which didn't really matter because I had to catch the MBTA, which ceases service around 1 a.m. (This was the dark ages before ride-share services.) But that doesn't mean we don't know how to party – we just start early. It's a short walk from the Boston Calling Festival to late-night eats in Harvard Square. Boston Calling At 1 p.m., to be precise. That's when the gates open at Boston Calling, the three-day Memorial Day weekend music festival that attracts more than 100,000 people to the city's biggest party. This year, organizers tell me that a redesign of the main stage should alleviate the crowd-crunch that happened last year after Chappell Roan (I squeezed behind pop-up tents to escape the fray). This year, I'm looking forward to sets by Sheryl Crow, Remi Wolf, and Vampire Weekend – and the legendary food line-up includes Boston's best, from Summer Shack and Flour Bakery to Dumpling Daughters and Moyzilla. Not to mention Dunks dishing out free samples of ice cream-flavored coffee drinks. Also new this year, you can escape what may be a rainy weekend by heading to the new Arena Stage, a covered and air-conditioned space featuring music from up-and-coming Berklee College jazz musicians. Let the crowds streaming to the T stand shoulder to shoulder while you chill with a burger in a beer garden. Bill Manley But when you are spilling out of the gates at 11 p.m., you don't have to head straight home. In fact, don't even try. While the ride share lot at the festival is actually pretty well-organized chaos, you don't want to do battle with that demand pricing. And the walk to Harvard Square, which doesn't actually disappear after midnight, is not that much longer than the walk to the ride share lot. So chill for a while – grab a drink or a snack. Here are some prime options for late-night eats. Enjoy a late-night menu from charcuterie specialist Kured in the Garden Bar at the Charles Hotel. Charles Hotel The Charles Hotel: It's about a 10-minute walk from the gates to this property, making it a great home-base for the weekend. Rooms are nearly fully booked – at press time there were only five king-bed rooms remaining, at $745 a night. A much gentler option cost-wise is to park in the garage under the hotel, which maxes out at $50 for 24 hours. The hotel's One Reason Garden Bar is hosting a block party until midnight with music, social media friendly photo ops, specialty cocktails and a late-night menu from Kured. Or cozy up at the hotel's Noir Bar, open until 1 a.m. with French-inspired cocktails El Jefe's Taqueria: Whether the line was too long at this local favorite's booth inside the festival, or you just need one more burrito heaping with Al Pastor and Mexican rice, the Harvard Square location is open until 4 a.m. Charlie's Kitchen: Relax in the beer garden over one of their famous double cheeseburgers until midnight at this 76-year-old spot. Grendel's Den: The kitchen closes at 11:30 pm, but you can drink at this snug —and historic—underground bistro until 1 a.m. Pinocchio's Pizza : Craving an old-school pizza? The big decision is Sicilian or thin-crust at this spot that has been slinging pies for fans (including Ben Affleck and Mark Zuckerberg) since 1966. Seating is only at a couple of small tables, but they serve until 2 a.m. Van Leeuwen Ice Cream: Does a scoop of Brown Sugar Cookie Dough Brownie ice cream sound like just the right ending to your day? The Harvard Square location of this booming chain is open until midnight.
BBC News
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
How to win the Eurovision Song Contest, according to the experts
The Eurovision Song Contest was watched by around 163 million people last year – meaning there are potentially 163 million different opinions on what makes a perfect you go for a soulful ballad, guaranteed to leave Europe misty-eyed and full of love and peace?Or do you opt for a cheesy extravaganza, complete with saucy takes on regional costumes and eye-popping staging that will have the entire continent (and Australia) raving in their living rooms? The perfect song Forensic musicologist at Boston's Berklee College of Music Joe Bennett has analysed hundreds of Eurovision finalists, identifying two dominant musical is the "Euro-banger" - high-energy, 120+ BPM songs with kick drums and synth-heavy production, like Sweden's winning entries Euphoria (Loreen, 2012) and Heroes (Måns Zelmerlöw, 2015).The other is the slow-burning ballad - typically around 70 BPM, such as Portugal's Amar Pelos Dois (Salvador Sobral, 2017) and the Netherlands' Arcade (Duncan Laurence, 2019).There is a cliché that Eurovision songs are only about love and peace – reinforced by a song performed during the 2016 contest's interval about writing a perfect Eurovision song, called Love Love Peace Peace. According to Bennett, there is some validity to this, with every Eurovision song falling under six broad lyrical themes: "love, unity, self-assertion, partying, history and songs about making music".He adds that "songs of self-assertion or lyrical self-empowerment do very well" - as seen with Austria's 2014 winner Rise Like a Phoenix (Conchita Wurst). Keep staging simple and effective Acts might be tempted to go over the top on staging, but this may not be the way to secure victory, according to our Thomas Stengaard co-wrote Denmark's 2013 winner Only Teardrops (as well as this year's UK entry What the Hell Just Happened by Remember Monday). He puts his success down, in part, to its simple staging, which he says made it easy to remember."If you asked a kid to draw that staging, they could. It was a girl with no shoes on, two guys playing the drums and a flute guy. Very simple, but it worked." Vocal coach Carrie Grant, who led the UK's jury in 2014 and came sixth in the contest as part of Sweet Dreams in 1983, agrees."There is nothing worse than having an artist whose stage has lots of money but their performance doesn't warrant it," she says. "It makes that performance seem worse."The 2014 winner (and Carrie's personal favourite) was Conchita Wurst – the first act to win the contest without backing singers or dancers on stage since made Conchita stand out was that she was a bearded drag queen. Carrie believes Eurovision fans love things that are quirky and that "embrace the LGBT community". But she adds that Conchita wasn't a gimmick but instead "a brilliant singer who could deliver what we call in vocal coaching 'money moments'". The key is key Minor-key songs increasingly dominate debunks the idea that "major equals happy, minor equals sad", adding that "minor keys are more a shorthand for emotional depth".In 2023, 85% of finalists performed in minor keys, according to the Press Association. In the last 20 years, only two major-key songs have won - 2011's Running Scared (for Azerbaijan) and 2017's Amar Pelos Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis, a researcher in music cognition at Princeton, highlights source sensitivity – our instinct to associate a song's sound with its intended context. A few bars of a techno song, for example, and we have a mental image of a dark nightclub, and of the sort of DJ who might perform there. This means certain minor keys now immediately signal "Eurovision-ness" to Monday's What the Hell Just Happened was written at a songwriting camp, with multiple songwriters working together at a countryside retreat to write the perfect song for this year's UK song was intentionally written in a major key to stand out in a sea of minor-key songs - similar to the UK's 2022 second-place entry, Spaceman by Sam Ryder (B Major). Have a surprise up your sleeve Repetition is important to make a song stick in the mind, says Margulis. But songs should avoid being too repetitive. Margulis says that what particularly makes a song catchy is "not only when they are heard repeatedly, but also when they throw in some kind of surprise twist".Bucks Fizz's 1981 winner for the UK, Making Your Mind Up, is a classic example. First, the song changes key, quickly followed by a memorable costume change in which the female singers' skirts were ripped off to reveal shorter skirts – a joint visual and musical twist. Earlier Eurovision winners were often mocked for their nonsense lyrics, like Sweden's 1984 winner Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley, but Bennett argues this highlights Eurovision's strong focus on melody."Eurovision really needs big melodic hooks. You want people across Europe to be singing that melody. The need for a very accessible, catchy chorus is essential."Key changes have long been a way to introduce novelty into Eurovision songs. The 2000s saw multiple winners follow this formula, including Olsen Brothers' Fly on the Wings of Love for Norway (2000), and Serbia's Molitva in as Bennett points out, though they are still present in around a fifth of finalists, no song with a final chorus key change has won since Molitva almost 20 years song for this year's UK act Remember Monday is certainly full of surprises. BBC music correspondent Mark Savage said the song featured "a dizzying array of key changes and tempo shifts".The song is the songwriter's answer to the question he asks himself whenever he writes for Eurovision: "How do you stand out in a contest where everyone wants to stand out?"
