Author: Lauren Albano

Karen Jacobsen, a Brookline resident of almost 30 years, said she has “one of the best jobs in the world.”

At 67, the author and professor at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University has dedicated her life’s work to studying forced migration. Her latest book, “Host Cities: How Refugees Are Transforming the World’s Urban Settings,” published Nov. 18, explores what happens to cities that receive large influxes of refugees. 

“I’ve always been really interested in why people leave, why people move, what happens to people when they move,” Jacobsen said.

After spending her early years living and traveling abroad, Jacobsen now shares Brookline’s wonders with her friends from around the globe. 

From apartheid to academia

Jacobsen grew up in South Africa during a period known as “the struggle” against apartheid, the system of racial segregation and discrimination that pervaded the country from 1948 to 1994.

Her earliest experience of becoming politicized was during her first year of undergraduate studies at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, she said. Jacobsen worked on the student newspaper during the 1976 Soweto Uprising, a series of demonstrations and protests led by Black students.

Until then, Jacobsen said she hadn’t yet developed an understanding of the brutalities of apartheid, being a white South African. She realized she lived in a country that flourished for white people “on the backs of Black people,” she said.

“That event was a real turning point for me and just opened my eyes as to what was really going on in South Africa,” she said. “After that, I became more involved in university politics, which are also national politics, and then decided to leave the country as things were getting increasingly problematic.”

Jacobsen left South Africa in 1979 and traveled to different parts of the world. While working on a book in London, she decided she wanted to move to the United States after reading “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues” by Tim Robbins.

She came to the U.S. in 1981 on a tourist visa and took a Greyhound bus to Pinedale, Wyoming, where she had connected with a cattle rancher and spent the summer living with him.

“It was one of those amazing, serendipitous events that happen when you’re young and lucky and just taking risks and being a crazy young person,” she said. “I was a cowgirl for the summer of 1981.”

The ranch had to close for the winter, so Jacobsen moved to Boston to begin a fellowship at Northeastern University and landed on the academia track “forevermore.” She later studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, taught at Regis College and has been at the Fletcher School since 2000.

Jacobsen tells her students about her experience living in an authoritarian society and how the U.S. was a “beacon of the best of everything,” influencing her decision to come to the country. She urges them, when recent federal changes in the U.S. feel overwhelming, to focus their efforts locally. 

“The best way to act, certainly when it comes to issues around immigration in this country, is to help people and to engage with organizations that are close to you,” she said. “You need to get out of your head and stop panicking and worrying and focus on other people or other animals.”

A neighbor to all

Jacobsen moved to Brookline in 1996 and lives there with her son. Like many other Brookliners, Jacobsen has made several friends while walking their dogs in Fisher Hill Reservoir Park or Emerson Garden. 

Olivia Fischer Fox, a 61-year-old portrait artist, is a friend of Jacobsen’s of 20 years and connected with her over a shared passion for environmentalism.

Fischer Fox is a leader of the tree team for Brookline Mothers Out Front, part of a national organization focused on climate activism, and said Jacobsen has come to BMOF events to advocate for their front yard tree planting program and for planting mini forests in Brookline.

“She’s got a big heart and [is] very caring,” Fischer Fox said.

Jacobsen’s friend and neighbor of 10 years, Abby Swaine, a 65-year-old federal government employee, said she enjoys discussing current events with Jacobsen, which she described as “kind of like reading The Economist magazine.”

Swaine said Jacobsen is “friends to the young, the old, the U.S. born, the far-from-us born,” recalling game nights at Jacobsen’s home in Brookline Hills that feel like “mini [United Nations] gatherings.” One time, former Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado Quesada made an appearance, as he and Jacobsen were collaborating on a project called the Leadership in Migration Initiative .

Jacobsen said she meets a lot of international people and students at the Fletcher School whom she shows around Brookline, hoping they “see and understand Brookline as a piece of America.” 

She has seen some of her guests “take away the message” of the town, she said, recalling a recent visit with a student’s parents from India. She showed around the student’s father, an author, and he later wrote to her saying that Brookline appears in his upcoming book — including descriptions of the inside of her home and her dog, Junie.

Another time, a Tibetan monk named Khenpo Kalsang stayed in Jacobsen’s home for a year and a half, his first time away from home. On his second day in Brookline, Jacobsen said, Kalsang came across a flock of turkeys on a walk and took a video of them on his phone. Jacobsen said she could hear Kalsang giving the turkeys a Tibetan greeting in the video.

“He’s like my second son now,” she said. “I bet there’s never been anybody who’s talked to turkeys in Tibetan.”

Looking back at her life and work, Jacobsen said she wouldn’t change a thing, reminiscing on the perspectives she has gained and people she has helped.

“Working and trying to understand what happens to refugees and other forced migrants has been one of the most fascinating aspects of my life,” she said. “If I had to write my dream job description, it would be this, doing what I do, so I’m an extremely fortunate person.”

This story is part of a partnership between Brookline.News and the Boston University Department of Journalism.

Two Brookline housing organizations are banding together for the third time to bring holiday cheer to children of families in need.

The Brookline Housing Authority and the Brookline Community Development Corporation organized their annual Brookline Holiday Toy Drive to provide toys to low-income families.

“This is the time of the year where it’s just beautiful when people can come together and have something to celebrate,” said Danielle Mendola, the BHA’s resident services program director. “[It’s great] to see your kid’s face light up when they get something fun, and not just the basic needs.”

Donations are being accepted through Dec. 15 at five drop boxes: at the Brookline Police Department, United Parish and the three Public Library of Brookline branches. The BCDC also accepts online donations  to go toward buying gift cards for families so they can shop for gifts themselves.

The organizations host holiday parties to distribute the donated toys to parents, who can choose which toys to give to their children. The BCDC is hosting a holiday party for BHA residents Dec. 22 at United Parish.

BCDC Board President Deborah Brown said the organizations aim to create a “party atmosphere” for families to forget what’s going on in their lives for a short time. 

She said the toy drive is more important now than ever, and she wants more residents in Brookline to know what their donations are helping.

“I’ve talked to some people, and they get it. They get that kids should have Christmas,” Brown said. “What they don’t get is that we’re doing this because people are housing insecure. They’re now food insecure. They’re going to be weather insecure and mental health stressed.”

Brown discussed various factors that make the holidays challenging for families, such as the inclement weather and the juggling of utilities payments as a result. She said this year, food and housing insecurity have become larger problems, given the delay on SNAP payments last month and threats to funding for Section 8, the rental assistance program.

The BHA and BCDC are both members of the Brookline Community Foundation-led coalition to combat the SNAP delays in Brookline.

BHA Executive Director Ben Stone said with challenges to the social safety net, the toy drive is a way to bring people joy when they are under strain.

“Brookline is, overall, an affluent community, and we want to make sure that our residents can also participate alongside their classmates in the holiday season,” Stone said.

The Brookline Police Department, Public Library of Brookline and AFSCME Local 1358, the union representing various Town of Brookline employees, are also partners on the toy drive.

Jessica Steytler, a librarian at the Brookline Village library and a member of AFSCME, said the drive is an important way to help those who are struggling from “falling deeper into dark places,” especially during the holiday season when there are expectations around gift giving. 

She said it’s been “really gratifying” to see the library’s donation box fill up quickly after she empties donations to make room.

“As a union member, it is really important to me to provide assistance because as a collective unit, we can do more together than an individual can,” Steytler said. “That’s the spirit of the union, and so it’s really important to show what good the union can do.”

David Hill, a lieutenant in community relations for BPD, said this is the department’s second year doing the housing organizations’ toy drive after collaborating with Toys for Tots for several years. He said the department wanted to focus its efforts more on the Brookline community as opposed to working with a regional partner.

“We did want to make sure that our efforts were going to help people in our communities, people that we already have a relationship with, people that might be in need in times around the holidays,” Hill said.

Brown said the drive is a way to make those who are struggling feel like they’re part of the community. What reminds her why she does the drive each year is the father who arrives to pick up toys five minutes after closing because he just got off work, or the parents eating holiday cookies at the party, enjoying a much-needed moment of rest.

“We just want people to have some sense of hope and know that their neighbors care,” Brown said. “It’s not just a toy drive. It’s saying, ‘Your neighbors see you. Your neighbors care about you.’”

This story is part of a partnership between Brookline.News and the Boston University Department of Journalism.

The Coolidge Corner Theatre Union held a rally Wednesday night to demand improved wages and working conditions as contract negotiations with theater management persist. 

Around 30 demonstrators, some members of the union, held signs and chanted by the theater entrance, hours before actor Ethan Hawke received the 2025 Coolidge Award there.

Speakers discussed ongoing contract negotiations, but they all reiterated the staff’s love for the theater and hope to be able to continue to work there. 

“We’re losing our third spaces in society,” said Cheyenne Harvey, a projectionist at the theater for six years. “Our job means a lot more than just checking people in and getting people to their seats. It’s being a part of the experience of sharing a story with this community.”

The rally follows headway in negotiations between the union and theater, with management announcing short-term raises of $1 and $1.50 an hour for floor staff and projectionists, respectively. The rally was planned before the interim raises were announced, but union member Ginny Hamlin said the development motivated them to come out Wednesday.

“That gave us a second wind,” said Hamlin, 29, who has been a floor staff supervisor for seven years. “We love that what we’re doing is having an impact, or starting to have an impact, and I think, if anything, it just added more fuel to the fire for us.”

Speakers discussed the union’s demands. While higher wages are at the top of the list, other issues include sick leave, paid time off and staff shortages.

The Coolidge Corner Theatre voluntarily recognized the union, said Deputy Director Beth Gilligan. She added the Coolidge is one of the highest-paying cinemas in the nation.

“If anyone wants to patronize any other cinema in the area, those employees are going to be earning less than Coolidge employees are,” Gilligan said. “With these further wage increases, that moves the needle even further, and I think that shows our commitment to our staff.”

Gilligan said she hopes the parties can reach an agreement. “We all want what’s best for the Coolidge,” she said.

Oliver Bryan, a Coolidge employee of two years and one of the union’s founding members, said during the rally that in the year and a half since the union was formed, its “members are still struggling.” 

While employees earn tips, Bryan said, these tips should not compensate for wages. 

“The theater has made it very clear that they think that that should stand in place of us being paid more, but it is not [patrons’] job to pay us a living wage,” Bryan said. “It’s the theater’s job to do that, and they are not doing that.”

Adam Conway, a substitute on the floor staff who has worked at the theater for seven years, said he believes the short staffing is a means by the theater to weaken the union and further drag out negotiations.

“I believe it’s because, through attrition and through people leaving, they are trying to drain the lifeblood out of our union, trying to drain our bargaining committee, trying to keep us at [bay] so that our union is weak, and we can’t fight for what we deserve,” Conway said.

Erica Hill, 36, a projectionist who has worked at the Coolidge for 16 years, is referred to by fellow staff as the “mayor of the Coolidge.” Hill said theater staff were not kept in the loop when the theater underwent its $14 million expansion.

Hill said there was no training or new equipment testing before the expansion opened to the public.

“I’ve wanted open communication since I started working here,” Hill said. “When the expansion happened, it just feels like we didn’t get any say or [were] consulted at all.”

Rally speakers promoted the union’s “Drop the Donation” campaign, which urges supporters to wait to renew memberships and to opt out of donations to the theater, including the $1.50 “preservation donation” applied to tickets purchased in-person, until the end of the year or when a contract is signed. The union suggests donating instead to the Brookline Food Pantry or Food not Bombs in light of recent SNAP benefit uncertainty.

Bob Miller, a 71-year-old retired educator who participated in the rally, is still involved with the Brookline Educators Union and Massachusetts Teachers Association, which informed his motivation to stand with the theater union Wednesday night. During the demonstration, Miller proposed that the union ask supporters to pledge donations to the theater in exchange for getting a contract signed.

He said he believes the contingent donations would receive wide support, as the community has united to save the Coolidge before .

“This community has shown that they’re willing to support this theater, and the theater almost went away 20, 30 years ago” Miller said. “The community rallied around to say, ‘No, we want to keep this theater,’ and now it’s obviously doing well … but that success has to be shared with the people who work here.”

This story is part of a partnership between Brookline.News and the Boston University Department of Journalism.

Actor and filmmaker Ethan Hawke was honored Wednesday night as with the 2025 Coolidge Award, a recognition of outstanding and original contributions to cinema. 

Hawke is a four-time Academy Award-nominated actor famous for critically acclaimed films including “Dead Poets Society,” the “Before” trilogy, “Boyhood” and “Training Day.” He is also a producer, director, writer and novelist with a body of work spanning film, television and theater. 

Beth Gilligan, the Coolidge Corner Theatre’s deputy director, said with Hawke’s latest film, “Blue Moon,” making waves on the festival circuit, it was the perfect moment to honor him for his “remarkable career” of four decades.

“We find him to be just such an incredible, inspiring artist who’s always willing to take risks, push boundaries,” Gilligan said. “He’s truly a Renaissance man.”

Hawke sat down with Jared Bowen, executive arts editor for WGBH, in front of a packed audience at the Coolidge to discuss his career. A montage of Hawke’s most famous roles played beforehand, and Hawke said it was moving to see his work that was recognized. 

“We all have this idea that there’s this void out there, and our actions are kind of lost to this great void of nothingness,” he said. “That’s not really true. People do notice.”

Hawke discussed his approach to building a character. When asked which of his characters is most like him, he said it’s impossible to say because he embraces the Stanislavski Method, which emphasizes emotional truth and immersing oneself in the circumstances faced by the character.

“What if I were placed in the same situation that Macbeth is placed in?” Hawke suggested. “The game for me is to make each one of [my characters] me, and that’s the fun of it.”

He went on to talk about acting alongside Denzel Washington in “Training Day,” being a “perpetual student” since his child actor beginnings and the translation of theater experience into his film work. Along the way, Hawke made the crowd laugh with several anecdotes, including the time he brought a six-pack of beer to see “Dazed and Confused” and left the theater angry that he wasn’t in it.

“This is not a just God,” Hawke recalled thinking on his way out of the theater. Director Richard Linklater’s film had come out before he and Hawke met and began their collaborative relationship.

Cameron Wagner and Gabriella Boyle, sophomore film students at Emerson College, attended the event and said they were inspired by Hawke’s commitment to his artistry.

Wagner said she enjoyed hearing about the collaboration between Hawke and Linklater, which she called “one of the best in cinematic history.” The two have worked together on several films including “Boyhood,” the “Before” trilogy and “Blue Moon.”

“It’s up there with Scorsese and De Niro,” Wagner said. “[They] reminded me why I’m studying what I study and what you can do with film. There’s so many possibilities, and I think the two of them together really like to explore that.”

Jack Lilburn, a 46-year-old filmmaking teacher at Minuteman High School in Lexington, attended the event and said Hawke grew from an actor he “didn’t necessarily think twice about into someone who I’ve actually found to be rather profound.”

He recalls seeing “First Reformed” at the Coolidge, and that film is what got Lilburn to pay more attention to Hawke.

“I remember when that movie ended, they had to ask me to leave,” Lilburn said. “I was like a human paperweight because I just was so leveled by it.” 

During the talk, Hawke said he was inspired by legendary college baseball coach Augie Garrido, whose philosophy focused not on winning, but on “developing young people” and using the game as a positive learning experience, which Lilburn said he found inspiring.

“As a teacher, I certainly connected with that,” Lilburn said. “It’s going to be nice to teach kids who will go on to have success, but I’m more interested in developing young people who can reflect on the world and articulate points of view.”

Boyle said she is a fan of Hawke’s work from the 1990s and appreciated what he had to say about committing to the craft and balancing self acceptance with an openness to criticism.

“He was such an influential actor throughout that decade, and still to this day, he lives up to his title,” Boyle said. “He really leaves his mark on the films that he makes, and that’s why they’re so memorable.”

This story is part of a partnership between Brookline.News and the Boston University Department of Journalism.

Legendary Brookline High School football coach Ed Schluntz, who influenced thousands of student athletes’ lives across his decades-long career, died on Thanksgiving Day.

The namesake of the high school’s gymnasium was 99.

A star athlete at Franklin High School and Tufts University, Schluntz joined the BHS community in 1953 as a coach and English teacher. He served as head football coach from 1960 to 1982 and retired as athletic director in 1990 after 20 years in the role, according to The Boston Globe .

After his retirement, he served as Harvard University’s freshman football coach from 1990 to 1994.

Schluntz was honored in 1968 with The Boston Globe’s High School Football Coach of the Year Award and in 1980 as the Massachusetts Athletic Director of the Year, according to the National Football Foundation . He received in 1978 the Contribution to Amateur Football Award from the Eastern Massachusetts chapter of the NFF and Hall of Fame.

Schluntz also coached JV baseball and varsity basketball at BHS. He is an inductee of the BHS and Massachusetts High School Football Coaches Halls of Fame.

Joe Campagna, celebrated Brookline baseball coach and a former BHS Hall of Fame committee member with Schluntz, said Thanksgiving was Schluntz’s favorite holiday because of the annual rivalry games between Brookline and Newton North.

Campagna said Schluntz’s wife, Gloria, who died Nov. 4, once told him that in the 1960s the couple would drive to the Thanksgiving games, and they “had seven great rides down there, and three rides where not a word was broken.”

“I said, ‘That means Brookline won seven and lost three.’ She said, ‘Exactly,’” Campagna said with a laugh.

Schluntz was vice president of the Massachusetts High School Football Coaches Association in 1970 and chairman of the organization’s committee that collaborated with the former Massachusetts Secondary School Principals Association to establish the Massachusetts high school Super Bowl in 1972 .

“We are who we are, where we are, now because of him,” said MHSFCA executive board member Tom Lopez, who added that Schluntz would be on the “Mount Rushmore” of Massachusetts high school football.

For a time, Schluntz was the only high school coach in the United States to serve on the National Collegiate Athletic Association rules committee, Campagna said, adding it was a testament to how “highly respected” he was as a coach.

Joe Davis (BHS class of 1960), a former Northeastern football captain whose induction into the BHS Hall of Fame Schluntz sponsored, and other former BHS athletes worked with the Brookline Community Foundation to establish the Edward Schluntz Scholarship Fund  in May, which Davis said will provide an annual scholarship to a BHS student athlete to “carry on his name.” 

“He’s got a new legacy,” Davis said. 

The first day Schluntz joined BHS football, Steve Forman (BHS ’59) was surprised the new assistant coach handling the linemen was doing the players’ calisthenic drills with them — and doing them better. 

“He was someone you didn’t dare let up [in front of], because he was doing it at the same time,” Forman said. 

Bob Hillson (BHS ’62) had a 71-year relationship with Schluntz — starting with a sixth-grade Hillson coached by Schluntz in baseball at the Edith C. Baker School and evolving into lunches every few months over the last 10 years. Hillson said one of Schluntz’s favorite sayings was, “Whatever you decide to do, be the best at it.”

“That kind of embodies Mr. Schluntz,” Hillson said, beginning to reminisce on his years playing football and basketball for Schluntz at BHS. “He was ruthlessly fair with every single one of his players. He did not have favorites, and he expected your best, whatever it was, in practice and in a game.”

Ahead of Schluntz’s 90th birthday in 2016, Hillson recalled some BHS alums beginning to plan a celebration consisting of 12 people. His reaction was, “Twelve? Are you serious?”

The celebration became a blowout tribute at the Newton Marriott hotel with 150 former BHS athletes  in attendance. 

A common thread among Schluntz’s former players is the self-confidence and discipline he instilled that allowed them to achieve on and off of Harry Downes Field and Schluntz Gym.

Michael Forbes (BHS ’68) said he and his teammates shared a “reverence” for Schluntz. Forbes added he is unsure whether he would have gone to college had it not been for the BHS athletic program and Schluntz’s coaching. He ended up playing football for four years at the University of Rhode Island.

“I was not someone who’s full of confidence, but he instilled that in me,” Forbes said. His voice breaking, he repeated what Schluntz had told him: “Mike, you can do this.”

Thomas Mahon (BHS ’70), a former baseball and football player who went on to play minor league baseball after graduation, called Schluntz a “class guy” who would do anything to help his players get into college and ensure “he was able to help you move on.”

During Forman’s junior year, he said, he wrecked his knee, and by his senior year the injury had worsened. However, Schluntz pushed Forman to take a few games off and garner his strength to play in the annual Thanksgiving Day game.

“It would happen to be the best game I ever played,” said Forman, who credits that game for securing him a football scholarship to the University of Massachusetts. “And if it wasn’t for Ed Schluntz, I wouldn’t have come back.”

A celebration of life for Ed and Gloria Schluntz is planned for May 28, according to the Globe. This date would have marked Schluntz’s 100th birthday.

This story is part of a partnership between Brookline.News and the Boston University Department of Journalism.

About a mile from his college stomping grounds, director Josh Safdie came to Brookline and encouraged young film students to never take “no” for an answer and do everything they can to create. 

The Coolidge Corner Theatre’s main moviehouse packed Friday night for an advance screening of Safdie’s “Marty Supreme,” which is set to release Dec. 25. Starring Timothée Chalamet as the titular Marty Mauser, a shoe salesman in 1950s New York who will do anything to make it in the world of international table tennis, the film marks Safdie’s solo directorial debut. 

Sean Hucknall and Roy Gentes, two seniors at Emerson College studying film, attended the screening at the Coolidge and said they enjoyed Safdie’s new film.

“I thought it was this really interesting take on an epic, and the way it interweaves storylines was amazingly edited,” Hucknall said.

Safdie and his brother, Benny, are Boston University alums known for critically acclaimed films including “Uncut Gems” and “Good Time.” Immediately following the screening was a Q&A between Safdie and Charles Merzbacher, his former film professor at BU. 

Merzbacher said Safdie reached out to him to organize Friday’s screening and Q&A. He was the chair of BU’s Film and Television Department during Safdie’s time at the university, and he said Safdie approached him to be his adviser as he produced four films over one semester. Students typically spend a semester creating one to two films, Merzbacher said, but that didn’t stop Safdie from achieving his goal.

“He’s got this creative motor that doesn’t stop,” Merzbacher said. “His life is a creative act. I think every minute, even right now, he’s probably thinking of ideas or people he just met that could be turned into stories.”

Lauren De Geus, a junior at BU studying film and public relations who attended Friday’s screening, said she feels the Safdie brothers are a “source of pride for BU.” She added she admires Safdie’s determination to create as an undergraduate film student. 

“Him being able to make four [films] and actually make it happen just shows incredible work ethic and the ability to keep going,” De Geus said.

During the Q&A, Safdie highlighted the elements of his life that made their way into “Marty Supreme.” Safdie has played table tennis since he was a kid, he said, and in 2018 his wife found a book by American table tennis champion Marty Reisman at a thrift store — which catalyzed Safdie’s 10-year journey bringing “Marty Supreme” to life.

He said he was inspired by the “misfits” of the American table tennis scene, who “believed in something that nobody believed in.”

“Their dream was a joke to people, and that hardened them, and it made them feel more urgent,” Safdie told Merzbacher. “Every day that passed that they couldn’t see that dream through was another day of embarrassment.”

Safdie said Chalamet was perfect for the role of Marty Mauser, and he wrote it for the actor. He told the story of when he first met Chalamet at a party, shortly after his film “Call Me By Your Name” came out, and unbeknownst to Safdie, Chalamet and his friend were “pretending to be on acid.”

“I saw a kid who had a very supreme vision of himself,” Safdie said. “He was ‘Timmy Supreme.’”

Students expressed admiration for Safdie’s persistence when making his student films. Many cited one story in which Safdie was at a red light and asked the driver stopped next to him if he could borrow his car for a film — to which the driver said yes.

Hucknall said this quality pervades through Safdie’s work, including in his films “The Pleasure of Being Robbed,” “Heaven Knows What” and “Good Time.” 

“You get a sense of, someone could do it on the street, and it feels like I could make a film like that,” Hucknall said.

Gentes said he’s been “obsessed” with Safdie’s work since “Good Time” came out, and he has even “directly copied” Safdie’s cinematography style when making his own student films. Gentes said he and Hucknall have watched Safdie’s early shorts and student films, and they are inspired by his grit when pursuing projects.

“You have to have the determination to finish it,” Gentes said.

Merzbacher echoed Gentes’ takeaway, adding he wants film students at the screening to learn from Safdie’s persistence.

“He evinces this unstoppable confidence,” Merzbacher said. “Nothing will stop him from making things, and I think that’s very infectious … I hope that rubs off on people here.”

This story is part of a partnership between Brookline.News and the Boston University Department of Journalism.