(Patrick D. Rosso/Boston.com/2012)

In Video: Students, families, and faculty talk about the future at the UMass Boston commencement Friday.

By Patrick D. Rosso, Town Correspondent

Anwarul Karim Chowdhury, the former president of the UN Security Council, encouraged UMasss Boston graduates Friday to embrace the differences that surround them and use that diversity and understanding to their advantage.

“You should be proud that your alma mater values and provides a learning environment that not just respects differences but excites curiosity and embodies civility,” Chowdhury told the nearly 4,000 graduates under sunny skies on the university's waterfront campus.

“You have been particularly privileged as your learning has prepared you to be independent, creative, and compassionate citizens and leaders who will shape the quality of the individual and social life with the global perspective of today’s interdependent world," said Chowdhury, a Bangladeshi diplomat renowned for his work on behalf of women’s rights and advocacy for the poor worldwide.

Chowdhury also urged students to look into themselves, in a world where material possessions are too often the be-all and end-all, and find a space for spirituality.

“I’m confident you will make every effort to rid yourselves and your fellow men and women of the evils of intolerance and prejudice, ignorance and selfishness that compel us to repeat the cycle of violence," he said. "Your positive goals should not be achieved at the cost of others. Recognize the positive in others and value others.”

(Jeremy C. Fox for Boston.com)

Are all these people unhappy? Maybe.

By Jeremy C. Fox, Town Correspondent

The MBTA - not much to tweet home about

Storified by Jeremy C. Fox · Fri, Jun 01 2012 15:47:06

Email Jeremy C. Fox at jeremycfox@gmail.com.
Follow Jeremy C. Fox on Twitter: @jeremycfox.
Follow Downtown on Twitter: @YTDowntown.

(Patrick D. Rosso/Boston.com/2012)

In Video: Jenu Berry, a junior at Madison Park also found his voice with his project “Smoking Affects Everyone” and is one of the four students who were chosen to represent BPS in the international Adobe Aspire Awards Competition.

By Patrick D. Rosso, Town Correspondent

More than 100 multi-media projects were on display Friday at the Jeremiah E. Burke High School in Dorchester as local students celebrated the projects they made for the Adobe Youth Voices program.

The program, sponsored by Adobe, works to cultivate the students' voices and gives them the tools needed to push a message in a 21st century setting.

This year, more than 900 Boston Public School students from 15 schools took part in the program that encouraged students to, using Adobe products, tackle issues important to them, such as “coming out,” quitting smoking, and healthy eating.

By Patrick D. Rosso, Town Correspondent

Seniors in Dorchester and Mattapan will be dancing the night away Friday night at the Annual Senior Ball.

From 6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m., June 1, seniors will enjoy free dinner and dancing provided by the Boston Police Department’s District B-3 Office.

The event will be held at the Unity Sports Club at 10 Dunbar Ave.

By Patrick D. Rosso, Town Correspondent

Nature advocates will be hiking along the Neponset River this weekend as they eagerly wait for the U.S. Department of Transportation to announce the recipients of a Tiger grant, which could provide money to complete portions of the trail.

The federal money matched with local funds would be a big boost for the Neponset River Greenway, which is widely used among residents, although portions of the trail in Hyde Park, Dorchester, and Mattapan/Milton are not yet completed.

With the application the Department of Conservation and Recreation and Massachusetts Department of Transportation, a partner with DCR on the project along with the Boston Natural Areas Network, hope to get the funding to complete the trail that connects a network stretching from the Boston Harbor to Hyde Park.

(Patrick D. Rosso/Boston.com/2012)

Dorchester Day Parade chief marshal, Ralph Browne.

By Patrick D. Rosso, Town Correspondent

Good weather and big crowds are expected for the 108th Dorchester Day Parade on Sunday.

This year, Uphams Corner resident Ralph Browne will be leading the parade as the chief marshal.

By Patrick D. Rosso, Town Correspondent

More than 150 student artists from Boston public schools will gather Thursday in Dorchester to display their multimedia projects created through the Adobe Foundation.

Students will come together at the Jeremiah E. Burke High School at 11:00 a.m. to display works on such topics as bullying and healthy eating as part of the global “Adobe Youth Voices” program.

Funded by Adobe, the maker of Adobe Photoshop a popular photo-editing software, the program aims to empower youth in underserved communities by giving them the tools they need to communicate their ideas.

Participating schools include:

Boston Arts Academy, Boston Latin Academy, Boston Latin School, Brighton High School, Jeremiah E. Burke High School, Charlestown High School, East Boston High School, The English High School, Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Jackson/Mann K-8 School, Mary Lyon High School, Madison Park Technical Vocational High School, TechBoston Academy, Maurice J. Tobin K-8, and West Roxbury Academy.

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Email Patrick D. Rosso, patrick.d.rosso@gmail.com. Follow him @PDRosso, or friend him on Facebook.

By Justin A. Rice, Globe Correspondent

The Boston City League baseball all-star game will return to Fenway Park next month after a short hiatus at Harvard’s O’Donnell Field.

The annual City of Boston All-City Baseball Classic will be at 5:30 p.m. on June 10 at Fenway Park.

The game is organized by the Boston Center for Youth & Families and held in partnership with the Boston Scholar Athlete Program and sponsored by the Boston Red Sox.

The game was held at Harvard the last two years. Three years ago it was scheduled to be played at Fenway but had to be moved to Harvard due to inclement weather. It was last played at the iconic ballpark in 2008.

In the last three years the all-star game has struggled to garner full participation due to a lack of interest, lack of transportation to Harvard or conflicts with graduations and proms.

Boston schools Athletic Director Ken Still said Fenway Park should help remedy participation issues.

“Fenway Park is a lure because it’s Fenway park, you have people coming from all over the world to sit in Fenway Park,” Still said during a telephone interview on Tuesday morning. “To have a chance to play there as a youngster and baseball person, that’s overwhelming.”

Still announced that the game will be back at Fenway during the Boston City League championship baseball game on Monday morning at Boston English High.

On Tuesday morning, he said he hopes the weather cooperates this year.

“[Fenway is] very tough to get but when we’re able to I say take advantage and let’s do it,” he said. “I hope they are able to get on the field and represent."

The BSA’s new Athletic Director, Chris Rooks, said “It’s an amazing opportunity for the kids.”

Justin A. Rice covers Boston Public school athletics. He can be reached at jrice.globe@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeJustinRice or @BPSspts.

(Jeremy C. Fox for Boston.com)

Will these unsuspecting passengers be greeted by waves of heat once they board their bus? Many commuters were this week.

By Jeremy C. Fox, Town Correspondent

A hot week on the MBTA

Storified by Jeremy C. Fox · Fri, May 25 2012 17:36:58

Email Jeremy C. Fox at jeremycfox@gmail.com.
Follow Jeremy C. Fox on Twitter: @jeremycfox.
Follow Downtown on Twitter: @YTDowntown.

By Matt Goisman, Globe Correspondent

Latin Academy sophomore DiAndrea Galloway beat Somerville sophomore Kheyla Orrival, 6-0, 6-0, in first singles, and Galloway’s team finished its season with a 4-1 victory Thursday afternoon at Sportsmen’s Tennis & Enrichment Center in Dorchester.

The Dragons also won in second and third singles and first doubles, while the Highlanders won second doubles.

Galloway, 29th in the New England USTA Under 16 rankings, got the Dragons off to a terrific start, winning 12 consecutive games against Orrival. Helped out by a powerful serve, Galloway put her team up before several other matches had finished their first set.

“I try to move around my serve,” Galloway said. “Not keep the same thing so that my opponent knows where I’m going. Try to switch it up every time.”

Playing in their final tennis match for Latin Academy, seniors Terri Voong and Mina Le extended the lead to 2-0 with a two-set victory over Loveleen Saini and Tenzin Chokki in first doubles. The two teams held serve through the first seven games, but the Dragon duo then broke the Highlanders twice en route to a 6-3 victory in the first set. Despite going down a break to start the second set, Voong and Le won the next five and the second set, 6-2.

“I’m better at backhands and forehands, and [Le is] better at volleys and overheads,” said Voong. Both players credited their victory to how they complement each other.

The Highlanders, meanwhile, stayed in the match thanks to a two-set win over Dragon sophomores Hang Phan and My Tran in second doubles. Seniors Michelle Mei and Sweta Lama dominated their first set, winning 6-1, then staged an impressive comeback in the second set.

Down 5-4 and with Latin Academy serving, Mei and Lama tied the set with a break, then went up, 6-5, by holding serve.

The Highlanders won the match in the 12th game when the Dragons’ serve fell just inside the right sideline.Somerville returned the serve, but Latin Academy thought the serve had gone out of bounds, letting its guard down and allowing the crossing shot to bounce away unplayed. Somerville won the second set, 7-5.

“Today we were able to communicate well,” said Lama. “Hit when it came to me, and then she hit when it came to her.”

Between a second doubles victory and senior Tenzin Lama’s first-set win in third singles, the Highlanders still had a chance at an overall win. The burden fell on junior Zoe Iocavino, who in her first set of second singles had lost, 6-4, to Dragon sophomore Genesis Perez.

Iocavino pulled off two impressive comebacks in the second set against Perez. Down 4-1, Iocavino won her next three matches to tie the set. And down 5-4 with Perez serving, Iocavino broke Perez and then held serve to take a 6-5 lead. Perez held serve to re-tie the set 6-6, setting up a first-to-seven tiebreaker.

“It’s nerve-wracking,” Perez said.

Iocavino struggled in the tiebreaker, not scoring until already down, 6-0, and ultimately losing, 7-1. Perez won both the second set and the match, clinching the victory for Boston Latin.

“I saw that [Iocavino’s] serves were low, and that her forehand would always go to my left side,” said Perez. “If I hit the ball really deep, it’s really hard for her to get it.”

Tenzin Lama and Latin Academy eighth-grader Amari Harrison finished their match after the second singles finished. The third singles traded double-breaks in the second set before Harrison won, 6-4. Harrison then closed out the third set with a 4-0 run to win, 6-3.

“The biggest thing we have trouble with is consistency,” said Somerville coach Mark Kirwin. “Like today, in general we got a very good effort out of the singles players. … Tenzin [Lama] played a good match, but [Harrison] had a few more shots than she did.”

With the win, Latin Academy finished its season 3-7. Among seven varsity players, only first doubles duo Voong and Le are seniors.

“They’re willing to work,” said Latin Academy coach Calvin Carter of his underclassmen. “Their enthusiasm to learn and be competitive, all the way down to the JV – that’s a good sign.”

Somerville fell to 4-10. The Highlanders have three games left this season.