Molly Callahan - News @ Northeastern

New challenges–and opportunities–for American Sign Language users during COVID-19

Using American Sign Language while wearing an opaque mask is like “listening to a muffled message,” says Lori Whynot, the new director of Northeastern University’s American Sign Language Program. And for Whynot, who is also part of a team that interprets Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker’s COVID-19 press conferences, it’s important that the message be totally clear.

by Molly Callahan May 28, 2020

A majority in the US supports making mail-in voting easier, new study shows

The results, which come as states across the country are planning for what could be a drastically different election in November, show that 60 percent of U.S. residents support making it easier to vote by mail.

by Molly Callahan and Laura Castañón May 28, 2020

New survey shows growing partisan divide in support for reopening the US

Even as states begin to reopen, a majority of U.S. residents oppose immediate measures. But that opposition is beginning to wane among Republicans, according to new results of a national survey led by researchers from Northeastern, Harvard, Rutgers, and Northwestern universities.

by Molly Callahan May 22, 2020

How will the pandemic change cities?

BERLIN—Pop-up bike lanes and grassroots efforts to turn mostly empty parking lots and residential streets into playgrounds have appeared as this city begins to reopen after the COVID-19 outbreak. Sara Jensen Carr, who studies how epidemics have changed cities, says this may only be the beginning.

by Andrew Curry - contributor May 20, 2020

‘We couldn’t have imagined a better partner’

When Boston city officials got news early this week that a donor was sending an 18-wheeler full of art supplies for families, there was only one problem: Where would they unload and sort the supplies? Northeastern’s Matthews Arena, that’s where.

by Molly Callahan May 13, 2020

‘Zoom fatigue’ is real. Here’s why you’re feeling it, and what you can do about it.

Video calls have become a crucial way to stay in touch from afar, but they can be exhausting. That’s because we're missing many of the nonverbal cues that we typically rely on during in-person conversations, says behavior analyst Laura Dudley.

by Molly Callahan May 11, 2020

Homeless populations have been hit hard by COVID-19. She’s stepping in to help.

Four days a week, Sarah Calnan, a nursing student at Northeastern, works at the Boston Hope Medical Center, a shelter for people who are experiencing homelessness and recovering from COVID-19. Calnan says she finds a sense of humanity in the quiet moments of an otherwise bustling makeshift field hospital.

by Molly Callahan May 11, 2020

Northeastern awards grants to 6 universities to help increase the number of women in computer sciences

Northeastern’s Center for Inclusive Computing will provide the institutions with the funding and collaboration that will allow them to recruit and retain more women in the field of computing.

by Molly Callahan May 4, 2020

The Supreme Court is opening up the phone lines. Here’s what to listen for.

The court will hear arguments by telephone to comply with public health guidelines in response to COVID-19. For the first time, the public can listen live, and we might see that the justices are “human, just like us,” says legal scholar Dan Urman.

by Molly Callahan May 1, 2020

How will the economy bounce back?

How well, and how quickly, state and federal economies recover from the COVID-19 crisis has everything to do with the choices that officials make now, says economist Alicia Sasser Modestino. “The sky is falling, but we might have some ways to put the pieces back together.”

by Molly Callahan May 1, 2020

Posts by Molly Callahan