Verner said they felt this to be especially true for Black undergraduates, so they joined forces with Darcy Rodriguez Ovalles ’26 to establish the Yale Undergraduate Black Pre-Law Association in the fall. 

“The YBPLA was formed to bridge the gap between students and the wealth of resources provided by Yale College as well as Yale Law School,” Verner explained.

Despite being young, YBPLA has hit the ground running, hosting workshops and informational events, including a session with the Marshall Motley Scholars Program at the Legal Defense Fund, an organization that aims to provide Black students with full rides to the top law schools in the country. 

As an affiliated group of the Afro-American Cultural Center, YBPLA assisted them in sponsoring a panel on “Black Yalies in Law,” earlier this year and has already partnered with other Black pre-professional groups like the National Society of Black Engineers.

“YBPLA occupies an important space on campus because there is still so much work to do to increase the representation of Black attorneys,” Farrah Muhammad ’27, the group’s first-year liaison, told the News. “YBPLA breaks down some of these barriers by creating a community where Black pre-law students are at the forefront. This space allows us to address relevant issues such as navigating the legal field as a minority.”

The organization’s first general meeting was held in December. The meeting was held for club members to discuss their overarching goals and to “connect and exchange ideas with new members to create a supportive network for aspiring Black legal professionals,” according to YBPLA’s official website, which launched on Jan. 31.

The YBPLA board is currently made up of nine members ranging from first years to juniors, all of whom have a variety of backgrounds, legal interests and majors. Something they all share, YBPLA members told the News, is the desire to build true community and camaraderie between Black pre-law students. 

On Jan. 29, the group hosted an event on legal career advice in collaboration with the Office of Career Strategies and is continuing to create opportunities for minority pre-law students to immerse themselves in the field, according to YBPLA leaders.

The organization is not Yale’s first attempt at a Black Pre-Law Association. In March 2015, the Afro-American Cultural Center announced the founding of the YBPLA’s first iteration, though there is little record of the events the original group hosted online. The News was not able to confirm when the original group dismantled. 

This time around, Michaell Santos Paulino ’26, the group’s communication chair, told the News that YBPLA’s biggest goal is to “get our name around campus.” Paulino also said the group is hoping to have every Black pre-law student attend one of their events.

YBPLA can be found on Instagram at @ybpla.

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is typically celebrated in mid-winter because it is believed that by this time of year, the majority of the annual rainfall has already fallen in Israel. This rainfall nurtures a fertile, water-logged soil that helps produce healthy trees. 

The celebration holds a particularly special meaning to Jewish students passionate about climate activism and sustainability, such as Jordan Akers ’25. Akers used the seder, held from 6:30-7:30 p.m., to introduce Yale’s chapter of Dayenu, an organization founded by American Jews that seeks to take action against climate change from a Jewish perspective.

“I’m someone very involved in sustainability efforts on campus and don’t a lot of the time get to have that intersect[ion] with being in Jewish spaces. This is a nice time to have both of those things,” Akers said.

Apart from being a time for celebration, Jewish student leaders are particularly interested in using the message of Tu BiShvat to educate the Yale community on sustainability and what the Jewish faith has to say about these efforts.

“For me, it’s really special to have something so directly in Judaism that is for environmental efforts and renewal. It teaches me to be appreciative of all God gives me and all the agriculture in life as well as to work to make the world a better and more sustainable place,” Eytan Israel ’26 shared with the News.

In the spirit of Tu BiShvat, the Slifka Center will be hosting a Parsley Planting activity on Jan. 25 from 12-5 p.m., open to all students. Parsley is commonly used in Passover seders, and the two months between Tu BiShvat and Passover gives the plant ample time to grow and be used in the celebration.

Amelia Stefanovics ’27 noted that she felt particularly excited about this activity and shared, “I’m really glad that Slifka exists for upholding Jewish life and celebrating so many holidays. I think this event will be really fun.”

The Jewish Law Students Association — a religious, cultural and social affinity group at Yale Law School — also celebrated Tu BiShvat with a seder yesterday evening at the Slifka Center from 7-9 p.m.

The Joseph Slifka Center for Jewish Life at Yale is located at 80 Wall St.

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As they waited for the ceremony to start, students of the Yeshivas Beis Dovid Shlomo gathered in a circle to dance the horah, a traditional circle dance with lively music. The students also gave out donuts,filled with jelly and custard, which are traditionally eaten on Hanukkah; the fried pastry symbolizes the miracle of the oil that burned for eight days. Along with the donuts, refreshments and do-it-yourself menorah kits were distributed to the public as part of the celebration. 

Rabbi Shua Slavin, the program director of the Yeshiva, shared the message of the holiday with the assembled crowd.

“We’re celebrating the first night of Hanukkah, and really Hanukkah is the message of light,” Slavin said. “At a time in our world where there seems to be a lot of darkness, it’s imperative that each one of us finds the light and spreads it.” 

This was the 42nd annual lighting of the menorah on the Green, and some residents told the News that the ceremony is an important celebration of Jewish life in New Haven. 

“I’m happy we’re represented,” said Ben Hoffman, a Stamford native who recently relocated to the Elm City with his family. 

Mayor Justin Elicker did the honors of lighting the shamash, or “helper” candle, which is in the center of the menorah and is used to light the other candles. Elicker had assistance from the New Haven Department of Parks and Recreation, which provided a lift to the top of the 30-foot menorah.

Given the recent surge of antisemitic incidents in the United States, Elicker said that there was a heightened police presence at the ceremony to ensure safety.

“The symbolism of Hanukkah is important in particular at this time because the story is one in which a miracle happens, and it gives us inspiration that in these very difficult times, we’re hoping for peace,” Elicker told the News.

The bright lights illuminating downtown New Haven will shine for eight days as Hanukkah progresses. 

Yeshivas Beis Dovid Shlomo is located at 342 Ellsworth Ave.

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Ay! Arepa, once a well-known food truck, opened its first physical location on July 7 of this year. The restaurant is located beside the Shops at Yale, at the former site of Bulldog Hotdogs. Owner Ernesto Garcia — who also owns the Latin American fusion restaurant Rubamba — told the News that he had his eyes set on the highly coveted strip of land in the middle of the city since he opened his first food truck 11 years ago.  

“We used to have a food truck on Broadway between 2012 and 2016,” Garcia said. “Since we were there, the cart was pretty popular and students were very excited. The city made some changes in 2016 which forced us to move. Now, after seven years, we are coming back to Broadway.”

In 2016, New Haven raised the licensing fee for food trucks from $450 to $5,100 a year.

Although Garcia had been in the food industry since 2008 and had owned several food trucks, his businesses took a hit during the pandemic, leaving the chef and entrepreneur with just one food truck, Ay! Arepa, in front of the Yale School of Medicine. 

But the pandemic did not stop Garcia from pursuing his dreams of opening an Ay! Arepa storefront location in addition to the food truck, which still operates today.

“So far, so good,” Garcia said of the move onto Broadway. “The area is great. The location is great. The store is great. The community is great. I can’t complain.” 

Arepas are a staple street food in South America, particularly in Colombia and Venezuela. The cornmeal cakes are often stuffed and topped with meats, cheeses, vegetables, and a variety of sauces. Ay! Arepa is not just cooking up this staple, though — the location offers a wide variety of Latin American foods, such as burritos, quesadillas, empanadas and even fresh churros. Yale students can receive a 10 percent discount on meals by showing their school-issued identification card. 

Taina Hilario, a New Haven resident, was holding a bag of fresh churros as she shared her excitement about the opening of Ay! Arepa. Hilario said she is “a big fan” of the truck on Cedar Street. 

“I’m definitely going to come back and try more food,” Hilario said. 

Prior to Ay! Arepa’s arrival on Broadway, Bulldog Hotdogs occupied the same kiosk. The popular hot dog joint abruptly closed its doors after just two years in business, leaving some in the Yale community devastated.

Ava Saylor ’24, a former WKND editor for the News, told the News that she felt the weight of Bulldog Hotdog’s departure.

“The day I saw that Bulldog Hotdogs was not there anymore, it was the worst day of my life,” Saylor said.

Saylor’s love for hotdogs left her questioning where she would be able to satisfy her cravings without breaking the bank. 

Garcia said that he got a good deal on the rent. He also reported having a good conversation with the owners of Bulldogs Hotdogs about the transition. He told the News that Bulldog Hotdogs wanted to leave, making the swap mutually beneficial, per Garcia.

Bulldog Hotdogs did not respond to a request for comment. 

Garcia, known informally as the “Arepa Master,” is also the owner of Rubamaba, a popular Latin American restaurant at 25 High St. that opened in 2012. He often splits his time between Ay! Arepa and Rubamba and enjoys being able to share both his talent and culture with Yalies and the residents of New Haven. 

Ay! Arepa is located at 56 Broadway and is open seven days a week, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

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At the eighth annual Apizza Feast, students and locals alike had free access to the closed-off section of College Street adjacent to Old Campus, where food trucks and vendors gathered to serve all things pizza, local foods, beers, crafts, clothes and more. The Apizza Feast — set directly beside the simultaneous New Haven Grand Prix bike race — was sponsored by Taste of New Haven, a popular food tour establishment in the city. 

The Feast attracted more than 3,000 visitors from across the state. 

“This Feast really symbolizes food and culture,” Brianna Brathwaite, a tour guide for Taste of New Haven, said. “A lot of cities all around the world communicate over food, and this is our way of making our place in New England. You have Maine clam chowder, you have New Haven pizza.”

Although cities throughout the country have developed their own variations of pizza, the New Haven style is unique even in name. New Haven pizza is known as “apizza,” pronounced “ah-beetz,” a Neapolitan pronunciation that has fallen out of fashion in other metropolitan pizza hubs, including New York, Boston and Philadelphia. 

Apizza is typically served as a whole pie rather than a slice, and it has a dense crust because it is cooked directly on the floor of a brick oven. The edges of an Elm City slice are thin, flat and crispy, starkly contrasting the puffy rings of their New York counterparts. Some apizza vendors at the festival included Frank Pepe’s, Dough Girls, Big Green Pizza Truck and Zuppardi’s Apizza, among many others.

“This is just a great event to come out with all the other pizzerias and celebrate,” Kevin Gaglio, director of operations for Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, said. “It’s like a local event here — fall, everyone’s back to their routine, come out, try pizza. It’s a great way to put the community together.”

Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, located on Wooster Street, opened its doors in 1925, making it one of the country’s oldest continuously operating pizzerias. 

For old and new pizzerias alike, the Apizza Feast proved an opportunity for joining the Grand Prix fun and forging long-lasting bonds within the New Haven community. 

“I love meeting everybody that comes for pizza,” said Cheryl Maselli, a spokesperson for Michelina’s Apizza Ristorante, which opened in 2020. “Some people don’t know about us, so they learn about us here and then we see them down at the restaurant.” 

Although most people were there for the apizza, local vendors used the opportunity to share their products with the hundreds of people that flocked up and down College Street on Friday evening. 

Napoli Foods, an Italian food importer and distributing specialist, sells their products to a number of pizzerias and food trucks at the feast. Like other small businesses, Napoli Foods hoped to be able to network with other businesses and attract potential customers. 

The Elm City Big Band, a 17-piece jazz band, and the Hawkins Jazz Collective played in the evening as spectators sat on the green to listen to the music and eat apizza.

Lucy LaRocca, DIV ’08, attended the event with her daughter, Amy LaRocca Fuller, who was visiting from New Hampshire.

“This was a great way to come back to New Haven and get some real good pizza and hang out,” said LaRocca.

That sentiment resonated with others who attended the Apizza Feast, but the aspect of bringing the community together was especially appealing to Alyssa Jhingree ’27, who enjoyed the community-bonding aspect of the feast and how a plethora of people were able to come together and try new foods.

Michelina’s Apizza Ristorante is located at 858 State St.

The post Long-anticipated Apizza Feast returns to the Elm City appeared first on Yale Daily News.

Enter the Yale Undergraduate Law Journal, the University’s first undergraduate law journal, which held its first information session of the school year Sept. 6 at Linsly-Chittenden Hall. The session attracted first years interested in exploring the many opportunities the club has to offer.

“I lacked a sense of community among other undergraduates interested in studying or going on to practice law,” Jennings explained of his decision to create the group. 

Jennings was initially unaware that others also sought a space like YULJ: Rayyan Valaydon ’24 submitted an application for approval for the same kind of club at the same time as Jennings, though neither had conferred about it beforehand.

Upon discovering their mutual goal, Jennings and Valaydon decided to join forces and formally founded YULJ, of which they serve as co-editors in chief. 

YULJ is entirely student-written and student-run and, per its mission statement, aims to reach a wide interdisciplinary audience as the only pre-law publication on campus. Jennings and Valaydon hope that as the club expands, members will be able to learn more about a number of areas of the law they find interesting and relevant while also being able to explore diverse legal careers, strengthen alumni relationships and foster connections with leaders in the field through a number of educational opportunities. 

“I am particularly committed to building a diverse community — one where, irrespective of your academic interests, we can come together to wrestle with the most pressing legal issues of our generation,” Valaydon said, noting that he hoped to foster a nurturing environment for undergraduates to explore the legal field.

YULJ operates under three branches: a law journal featuring long-form papers, published in print and digital forms, whose first edition will be published this fall; a digital blog featuring shorter-form articles on legal issues; and a podcast where legal scholars and students can come together in discussion about relevant legal topics. 

Aside from the formal publication of the law journal, YULJ has an opportunity for high schoolers across the globe to participate in an essay contest, which is coming formally this fall, per Sarah Shapiro ’25, YULJ director of community engagement. 

Shapiro told the News that the group is looking for “impassioned, original essays about a topic in current affairs.” Entries are being accepted from students both in the United States and abroad, with both a New Haven and international prize being awarded to “highlight students in the local community and abroad.”

Applications to join the YULJ are due Sept. 16 before midnight, and they are currently looking for editors and staff writers to join the journal. A role as a staff writer is open to all class years, and, if accepted, students must write two 1500-word articles per semester and work with a team of editors on rolling deadlines. The role of a print or digital editor is open to sophomores, juniors and seniors. Both staff writers and editors, like Elizabeth Dejanikus ’25, have access to all YULJ events and resources.

“I’m looking forward to seeing where this publication goes — although none of us have law degrees, there are a lot of undergrads on campus who are interested in reading and writing about the law, and we’re excited to create a space to publish their work,” Dejanikus said.

The first student-edited law periodical in the United States, the Albany Law School Journal, was founded in 1875.

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