All posts by Tristan Taylor, Features Editor

Sports

NECC reacts to Dodgers World Series win

 
Clayton Kershaw with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2015 throws a pitch.
Clayton Kershaw with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2015. Photo courtesy of wikipedia

The 2025 Major League Baseball season wrapped up on Nov. 1 when the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays in the seventh and final game of the World Series.  The Dodgers, managed by former player Dave Roberts, were able to end the series in extra innings when, with a runner on base, Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk grounded into a double play by Dodgers infielders Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.

Students at Northern Essex Community College, as well as alumni, have made their opinions clear.  One student, Jake Axford, stated that “I rooted for the Toronto Blue Jays, who were the underdogs, only because I didn’t want the Dodgers to repeat”.  Axford further went on to state “I wasn’t sure if the Toronto Blue Jays were going to win, but the Los Angeles Dodgers won.  It’s also a rarity to see a team like the Dodgers repeat as World Series champions.”

As Axford stated, the Dodgers became the first team to achieve back to back championships since the New York Yankees won in 1999 and 2000.  While this was more common decades ago, league expansions and changes to the playoff format have made this feat increasingly rare.

Addison Barger with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2024 stands at the plate and wins at a baseball with his bat.
Addison Barger with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2024. Photo courtesy of wikipedia

Others expressed disappointment with the outcome, with one student, Aidan Lohan, saying “I think the Blue Jays should’ve won.  They beat a strong Yankees team in the Wild Card.”  However, Lohan did give Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto credit for his remarkable pitching, stating “It was great for the most part.”

Yamamoto’s extraordinary pitching became a hot topic during the series, recording a 1.02 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 17.2 innings.  His 3-0 win record is also groundbreaking, as it was the first time a pitcher recorded three road wins in a single World Series, with one of these wins coming in the form of a complete Game 2.  Yamamoto, a native of Bizen, Japan, won the World Series MVP award and was listed as a member of the All-MLB First Team this year, some noteworthy accomplishments to add to his already historic career that began in 2017 with the Orix Buffaloes in Japan’s professional baseball league, Nippon Professional Baseball.

Yamamoto was one of three Japanese players on the Dodgers’ World Series roster, joined by superstar Shohei Ohtani and rookie Roki Sasaki.  Ohtani’s lackluster World Series performance was a stark difference from his regular season statistics that earned him numerous awards this season, including his fourth Silver Slugger Award.  Meanwhile, Sasaki, who struggled in the beginning of the regular season, had a breakout performance in the World Series, showing more of the promise he had coming into the season after a stellar start to his career in NPB.

This was also the final World Series appearance for pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who called it a career after 18 seasons in the majors, all of which came with the Dodgers.  Widely regarded as one of the greatest pitchers in history, Kershaw ended his historic career with a record of 223 wins and 96 losses, and a career 2.53 ERA.  The Dodgers legend, who is just one of 20 pitchers to strike out over 3,000 batters, will first be eligible to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2031, and is considered by many to be a future first-ballot inductee.

While the Dodgers had great defense in the World Series, the Blue Jays had an offense that attempted to bring the championship back to Toronto for the first time since 1993.  Addison Barger, in particular, became a clutch bat, slashing 12 hits in the series, including a home run and two doubles.  The home run, in particular, was historic, as it was the first time a pinch hitter hit a grand slam in World Series history.  Barger’s .480 batting average in the series got him recognized on a national level.

The Blue Jays, despite losing, carried an incredible roster, including pitcher Trey Yesavage.  The Blue Jays’ 2024 first round draft pick made his professional debut this year with the team’s Low Single-A affiliate, the Dunedin Blue Jays, and quickly worked his way up to the majors.  Yesavage’s climb is noteworthy, as he reached the major leagues a little over a year, whereas most drafted pitchers take four to six years to reach the majors if they do at all.

NECC alum and diehard baseball fan Cheryl Cantara called Yesavage’s journey “inspiring”, going on to state “He is a phenomenal player and someone we (baseball fans) will be watching a lot going forward.”

The 2025 World Series was one for the history books, with quite a few historic firsts, numerous player breakouts, and incredible plays that will live on in the memories of those who witnessed it either in person or through a screen.  

While sports, like anything else, can be a dividing topic, baseball fans at NECC can agree that this was a World Series for the history books.

Features, Slider

The banned book discussion

 
The library building on the Haverhill Campus of NECC
The library building on the Haverhill campus. Photo by Tristan Taylor

Books are a primary form of media and educational material.  

They contain stories or historical information, some of which have influenced modern society as it is known today.  However, in the United States, book censorship is becoming increasingly common.  During the 2023-24 school year, over 6,500 books were banned in 23 states.

At Northern Essex Community College, book bans have become a big topic.  

One student, Adriel Santos, said “I don’t believe there is a type of book that nobody should be allowed to read.”

Many students and faculty on the campus of Northern Essex say they feel a similar way.  

Another student, Matt Branscombe, described banning books as “dumb,” further stating “unless a book’s active purpose is to spread hate, it shouldn’t be banned.”

Other students have expressed concern on how banning books affects education, with Jake Axford stating “I think banning books is a problem as it negatively affects learning.”  

Axford went on to argue another point, as he felt concerned about the consequences of banning books, stating “I think books are a part of education and banning them is erasing history.”

It is also important to take a look at the history behind these bans.  

Books are protected under the First Amendment, and book bans are widely considered a violation of freedom of speech.  Furthermore, the Supreme Court case Board of Education v. Pico established that school boards could not, under any circumstances, ban a book simply because they disliked ideas and topics promoted in said book.

In the United States, most books that have been banned contain at least one of three main topics, those being sexuality, race, or gender.  Free speech advocates say this is a key piece of Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s proposed plan to reshape the federal government and to consolidate power in favor of right-wing political policies and ideologies.

There are organizations dedicated to stopping book bans, including the American Library Association and Amnesty International, which have jointly hosted “Banned Book Week” since 1982, aiming to celebrate and draw attention to the freedom to read and the requirement to keep all materials public in order for individuals to form their own opinions.

For now, books are being banned, and some may argue that it’s a violation of the freedom of speech and the freedom to read.  

However, at Northern Essex Community College, banned and challenged books are still accessible, and many students are making it known that they disagree with the practice of banning these materials.

Features, Home Page News Bytes

Political divisions drive discussion: The continued quest to find unity and dialogue

 

In the United States, political divisiveness is often covered in the media.  Whether it’s President Donald Trump’s policies or speculation regarding the 2028 Democratic Party primaries, it’s become an inescapable topic for the average American.

Since the 2016 election, the nation has shifted away from moderate and bipartisan politics and towards more extreme affairs of state. 

Some people think the Republican Party has rearranged its main ideologies, backing away from the moderate stances of John McCain and Mitt Romney, and instead moving further right on the political spectrum to build a strong foundation around President Donald Trump.  

Meanwhile, others would say the Democratic Party has made a series of moves to appeal to politically moderate Americans, unsuccessfully attempting to build their new foundation around former Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 election, causing some voters to instead back the Green Party’s nominee, perennial candidate Jill Stein.

According to NPR, 70% of Americans feel as if they are on edge or afraid because of the current political state in the country.  

When asked if he considered himself part of the 70%, Northern Essex Community College student Grey Smolar said “Yes, because if you look at what’s happening currently with our president, where he’s stating frivolous stuff like ‘Tylenol causes autism,’ that’s gonna cause people to be on edge.”

  He further stated “It stresses me out a lot, because we don’t know what’s coming next.”

Smolar’s thoughts are echoed by many other Americans, who feel as if political divisiveness is not only growing, but starting to trickle down into other aspects of everyday life.

One prominent example of the divisiveness spreading is the suspension of the ABC late night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live!  

Kimmel has been a strong opponent of the second Trump administration, and has publicly called out many conservatives, including President Trump, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and White House Deputy Policy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. During the opening monologue of his Sept. 15 show, Kimmel criticized these figures over the finger pointing and blaming of the fatal shooting of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk on the “radical left.”

After backlash from may prominent conservative figures, the show was placed under indefinite suspension, which lasted from Sept. 17 to Sept. 23, shocking many and causing backlash from more liberal viewers.  Despite the suspension ending on Sept, 23, ABC affiliates owned by Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group continued to boycott the show until Sept. 26.  

One Northern Essex Community College student, Rowan Rockwell, felt that it was a violation of free speech and stated “I’m glad this gripped people, because it’s important that free speech be taken seriously, and I don’t think it has been for a while now.”

Now, amidst a government shutdown, many feel as if the political state of the country is only going to get worse.  

University of New Hampshire student and Northern Essex Community College alum Jasmine Dionne says she’s afraid of the current division because “no one can have a civil conversation about it without there being an argument.”

 Dionne also says that she feels frustrated regarding the political climate.

Right now, America is divided, but on the campus of Northern Essex Community College, students say they wish for a sense of unity.

Arts and Entertainment

First North Koreans set to debut in K-Pop

 

Defectors will get chance to share their artistry

Korean pop music, or K-Pop, has taken the world by storm in the last half decade or so, with South Korean artists, called “idols”, dominating global charts as of late. In 2012, Psy’s “Gangnam Style” became the first K-Pop song to reach the t

A man looking at the camera and saluting
Hak Seong (BE BOYS) Photo courtesy of Kpop Wiki

op spot on the Billboard Hot 100. 

In 2018, BTS became the first K-Pop act to debut at the top of the Billboard 200, with the album Love Yourself: Tear.  However, 2025 will bring something new to the table, as for the first time in history, three North Korean idols are expected to debut as members of two different groups.

A man lying down holding his head with his hands
Hyuk (1Verse) Photo courtesy of Kpop Wiki

K-Pop, while extremely popular in South Korea, is actually banned in North Korea, which claims that the genre undermines the country’s socialist ideology and strengthens the democratic influences of the southern half of the Korean peninsula, which is seen as a threat.  Additionally, the government believes that the genre could diminish support for the Kim dynasty.

1Verse, a group under the record label Singing Beetle, initially made headlines in October of 2023, when the company announced that North Korean defectors Hyuk and Seok would be joining the group, at the time known as a pre-debut trainee team called SB Boyz. 

The two were scouted by Singing Beetle founder Michelle Cho, who had heard of the two through friends.

Man leans on his arm and looks at the camera
Seok (1Verse) Photo courtesy of Kpop Wiki

Hyuk, from Kyongsong County in the North Hamgyong province of North Korea, has spoken publicly about his defection, recalling that he was doing farm work and hauling cement shipments by the age of 10, also stealing to provide food for his struggling family.

In 2013, at just the age of 13, Hyuk made the choice to defect so he could live with his mother, who had defected when he was younger. 

Seok, on the other hand, came from a family that was much more financially stable. 

Through his older sister, he listened to K-Pop at a young age, later buying videos of South Korean artists that were smuggled into the country illegally.  In 2019, Seok made the choice to defect at the age of 19.

The upcoming group had already gained attention due to one trainee, Kenny, having appeared on Asia Super Young.  Since the addition of Hyuk and Seok, the group has also announced that new trainees Aito and Nathan have joined.  1Verse is currently slated to debut in the latter half of 2025.

In April of 2025, OAK Company announced their new boy group BE BOYS would debut later in the year.  Among the members is Hak Seong, a North Korean defector who previously competed on Make Mate 1, making it to the final episode but finishing in 13th place, meaning he wouldn’t make his debut in the show’s resulting group, NouerA, which consists of the show’s top seven contestants.

Hak Seong has largely kept the details of his life in North Korea private.  In fact, he revealed that he was a North Korean defector during his time on Make Mate 1, and the only detail he has made public is when he defected, which was in 2017, when Hak Seong was just 13 years old.

BE BOYS has also announced fellow Make Mate 1 contestants Takuma and Won Cheon as members, alongside Build Up contestant Yun Seo, Fantasy Boys contestant Goo Hyun, and new trainee Min Joon.  They are expected to debut in the latter half of 2025 as well.

The debuts of these groups marks a major milestone in K-Pop, as Hyuk, Seok, and Hak Seong are set to make history as the first North Korean idols, and it is almost certain that more will follow.  Numerous entertainment agencies are openly scouting North Korean defectors as part of K-Pop’s expansion outside of South Korea. 

For now, the three of them serve as a reminder that overcoming extremes is possible.

Sports

Americans dominate World Figure Skating Championships

 
Figure skaters stand on the ice in a line and smile
From left to right: Evan Bates, Madison Chock, Ilia Malinin, Alysa Liu, Riku Miura, and Ryuichi Kihara. Photo by Lindsey Dionne

The 2025 World Figure Skating Championships were held at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts from March 26 through March 30. The event, sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU) determined the entry quotas for the 2026 Championships (in which the location has not been announced) and the 2026 Winter Olympics (to be held in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy).

The event was held in Boston at a time when the sport needed something to focus on.  Just under two months prior, American Airlines Flight 5342 collided with a United States Army helicopter over the Potomac River, leaving no survivors on either aircraft.  Among those on the American Airlines flight were eleven upcoming skaters, some of whom who were considered hopeful competitors for the 2030 Olympics, as well as four coaches.  Two of the coaches (Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov), were the parents of skater Maxim Naumov, who stayed behind in Wichita and missed the flight.  The victims were part of the Skating Club of Boston and had been preparing to land in D.C.

The men’s event was highly contested, with upcoming American superstar Ilia Malinin, known for his backflips on ice, beating 38 other skaters to win his second gold medal, including upcoming skating phenom Mikhail Shaidorov (of Kazakhstan), two time Olympic silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama (of Japan), and reigning bronze medalist Adam Siao Him Fa (of France).  Cha Jun-hwan became the highest placing South Korean skater of all time with a seventh place finish, while two time Olympian Jason Brown finished eighth.

The women’s event was also fierce, with American skater Alysa Liu winning the gold medal, making a dramatic comeback to the sport after two seasons off the ice, unseating reigning gold medalist Kaori Sakamoto (of Japan) while also beating upcoming star Mone Chiba (also of Japan), reigning silver medalist Isabeau Levito (of the United States), and social media favorite Amber Glenn (also of the United States).  Reigning bronze medalist Kim Chae-yeon (of South Korea) placed tenth in the event.

Adam Siao Him Fa.

While the fan favorites Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara (of Japan) won the pair skating event, they had to beat reigning champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps (of Canada) to do so.  A difference of 20.03 points was able to prevent the Canadian pair from taking the gold again, and they ended up in fifth place.  Miura and Kihara narrowly beat out reigning bronze medalists Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin (of Germany) for the gold.

The ice dancing event had two of the three medaling pairs from last year’s championships on the podium again this year, with American pair Madison Chock and Evan Bates retaining the gold medal position, while Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier (of Canada) were able to move up from bronze to silver.  The British pair consisting of Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson took home the bronze, while the reigning silver medalists Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri (of Italy) finished in fourth.

After the competition came the Exhibition event, where notable skaters showed off their talents in a non-competitive situation.  Maxim Naumov, who did not compete in the tournament, participated in the exhibition, earning a standing ovation from the crowd at TD Garden.  Mikhail Shaidorov performed a program inspired by Kung Fu Panda, while Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson performed a Rocky-themed program.  With help from other skaters, Estonian skater Niina Petrokina skated to “Cell Block Tango”, which also earned a standing ovation.  Amber Glenn’s program to “Hot To Go” by Chappell Roan included the viral dance performed many times on the social media platform TikTok, while Ilia Malinin’s program, dedicated to the victims of American Airlines Flight 5342, was filled with emotion.  At the end of the exhibition, Malinin and Adam Siao Him Fa did backflips on the ice at the same time, prompting cheers from the audience.

In all, the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships showcased the stars of the sport.  While the sport’s veterans were able to continue making names for themselves, it allowed newer stars to break into the scene as well.

Editor’s Note: Tristan Taylor attended the Championships in Boston so was able to observe the competition firsthand.

Features, Home Page News Bytes

Astronauts return to Earth: Two were stranded for nine months

 

Astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams have finally returned home after unexpected issues during the test of Boeing’s new Starliner spacecraft forced the two to dock aboard the International Space Station.

The Boeing Crew Flight Test launched on June 5, 2024, and was expected to last eight days, with a scheduled landing on June 14 in the American Southwest.  However, due to a thruster malfunction on the Starliner spacecraft, codnenamed Calypso, the two instead boarded the International Space Station as scheduled, but stayed due to the risks of returning to Earth aboard the Starliner, which was brought back to Earth uncrewed on September 7.  Later in September, Williams and Wilmore were added to the plans for SpaceX Crew-9’s return mission aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft, codenamed Freedom.  

After months of preparation, the two, joined by Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov, the two original members of Crew-9, have finally returned to Earth, landing in the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida, on March 18.

One NECC student, Matt Branscombe, told the Observer, “I’m grateful that we have strong Americans coming home to be with their families and communities”.  Another NECC student, Jasmine Dionne, said “They signed up for it and knew something like this might happen.  I’m glad that they’re home now, and they should be on leave to spend time with family”.

Now, Williams and Wilmore mist battle the hazards that come from such a long stay in space, such as loss of strength, potentially irreversible damage to vision, atrophy of the muscles, a significant risk of radiation sickness, and a higher risk of cancer within their lifetimes.

We at the Observer would like to issue our congratulations to Williams and Wilmore on their successful return, and would also like to wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors.

Arts and Entertainment, Home Page News Bytes

Chuang Asia Season 2 kicks off

 
The logo for the second season of Chuang Asia. Photo courtesy of T-Pop Wiki

Chuang Asia’s second season has started with promise, as 60 trainees took the stage to fight for seven spots in a brand new boy band, one that will likely boost the popularity of the T-Pop scene worldwide. 

The Thai spinoff of the iconic Produce 101 franchise in South Korea is gaining attention for it’s star-studded lineup of mentors and trainees alike.

Fans in Thailand can watch the show live on WeTV, while international fans can watch the full episodes for free on YouTube. 

Chinese rapper The8, known as an established member of K-Pop group Seventeen, and Thai rapper BamBam, a member of K-Pop group GOT7, act as producers of the series, as well as mentors, joined in that role by Thai singer Jeff Satur, Thai actress Yaya Urassaya, and Chinese singer Tia Ray, with a sixth guest mentor present in most episodes.

The first round got off to an electric start, with the 60 trainees dividing themselves up into teams for the Global Audition Stage, a first chance for the mentors and the viewers alike to get to know how each trainee performed. 

Among the notable trainees are many faces who have previously participated in other spinoffs of Produce 101, including Chinese trainee Hu Yetao (from the fourth season of the Chinese adaptation Produce Camp), as well as Japanese trainees Hikari and Koshin (from the first season of Produce 101 Japan), who are joined by fellow Japanese trainees Hikaru, Lyu, and Shoya (from the second season of Produce 101 Japan, who have since debuted in J-Pop group Maison B). 

Other notable trainees include Taiwanese trainee Dong Dong and Chinese trainee Ricky (formerly known as Feng Junlan), who both competed on Boys Planet, as well as Chinese trainee David (who competed on Asia Super Young), and Indonesian trainees Bianura and Ryan Winter, who are part of the rock band Apple Mint.

Representing the broadcasting nation of Thailand are 12 trainees, with the most notable being 4Teen member Ninja, soloist Thi-o, T3N1 member Peanut, and former NOTE7 member Smart. 

Newer trainees who have caught the eyes of many viewers are American trainee Myst, Chinese trainees Omar and Yao Zihao, and South Korean trainee Kohi (who previously participated on the dating show His Man).

While nobody was eliminated after the first round, the second round immediately became challenging, as the trainees were split up into 10 teams of six and were matched up against each other. 

Although which teams won and lost each matchup don’t determine the elimination results, only the Top 35 will make it to the third round, with that number decreasing as the show goes on. 

During the finale, seven trainees will be announced as the members of the debuting group.

All fans can download the WeTV app and vote for their seven favorite trainees every day.  Fans are also encouraged to check out the official Chuang Asia account on TikTok for extra content, camera angles focused on certain trainees, and even more information about the show.

Chuang Asia: Season 2 is a well-run reality competition show, with the vocals, rapping, and dancing creating very entertaining performances that fans of all ages will enjoy.

The first elimination will occur on Sunday, March 9, with 25 trainees leaving the competition.