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THE HEIGHTS

Vol. XCI, No. 9

Thompson fills Irish Room despite delay

BY MOLLY LAPOINT Heights Staff

Fred Thompson, former Republican senator and 2008 presidential candidate, spoke to students Tuesday in Gasson Hall. At the event, sponsored by the Boston College Republicans, he spoke about federalism, the Obama administration, and the future of the Republican Party.

Despite an almost two hour delay due to snow conditions, Thompson drew a full crowd to the Irish Room.

Thompson opened the speech by applauding Massachusetts’s recent election of Scott Brown to the Senate. “You shook the world here,” he said.

Thompson was critical of President Barack Obama’s actions thus far in his presidency. “Democrats are in turmoil in Washington,” he said. “No news there.

Obama made a classic mistake, a mistake that a lot of politicians make, and that is misjudging his mandate.”

The conditions were right for the Democrats to win the 2008 election, Thompson said. “The bottom dropped out of the economy right before the last election. The Republicans had been in

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2010

www.bcheights.com

Alumni giving decreases

for two terms, George Bush was very unpopular. It all came together, and Obama had a nice victory.”

Despite the Democratic victory, “[America] is still a right-centered country,” Thompson said. Obama’s poll numbers have been falling, and the Republicans are close to regaining more power in the Senate. “Republicans are within shooting distance of control of the Senate.”

He supported Democratic Senator Harry Reid’s cut on the jobs bill from $85 billion to $15 billion. “That made both sides mad, but Harry finally did something right because it wasn’t going to create jobs anyway.”

Thompson also spoke briefly about the attempted terrorist attacks on Christmas Day and his belief that it is more important to find out information about terrorists’ plans than to prosecute the terrorists. “In terms of initially getting intelligence, that’s key, much more important than prosecution of the guy, especially if he’s committed his offense in front of two million people,” he said.

See Thompson, A4

University sees 15 percent fall in donations

BY MORGAN HEALEY Heights Staff

lenge will be finding professor support – professors willing to teach these courses.”

Gasseling added that students, faculty, and administrators alike will have to support their objective. “It will need to be a collaborative effort,” she said.

BC’s background as a Jesuit Catholic university presents a different kind of obstacle. “One of the main roadblocks we may encounter would be the administration’s view on our GLBTQ Resource Center,” Gasseling said. “They may see it as advocating this sort of lifestyle, but we want to stress that it’s a student need. It’s important that the University responds to our [proposal] in a compassionate manner.”

During their presentation, Gasseling and Belcic said that their discussion was not meant to address the morality of homosexuality or homosexual unions. They spoke to the idea that Jesuit Catholic values should not be looked upon as a roadblock, but as motivation, and that Catholic teaching calls for respect and reverence of the dignity and worth of each person, including GLBTQ individuals.

With respect to their meeting next week, Gasseling said, “We want

Boston College and many of the other top institutions in the country have seen a decline in alumni donations due to the troubled economy.

In 2009, the University saw donations fall 15 percent, but it is expected that numbers are again on the rise. According to a survey by the Council for Aid to Education, giving is expected to increase by roughly 2 percent nationwide in the 2010 fiscal year, and Thom Lockerby, vice president for development, said he is confident that the University will far exceed this national growth average.

“Because of the cohesive alumni body and high level of attachment people feel for BC, I am not too concerned about continuing to grow philanthropy and getting our numbers up,” Lockerby said.

Alumni giving has rebounded 18 percent since last year, Lockerby said. These gifts are projected to continue increasing in the upcoming 2010 and 2011 fiscal years. He said that these projections are due, in large part, to the success of BC’s “Light the World” campaign.

Launched in October 2008, the campaign aims to increase alumni participation to 35 percent from the current level of 27 percent.

About 50 percent of all donations to the University come from alumni, yet this is not the only source of gift giving. “In addition to gifts from alumni, about 15 percent of the money we receive comes from the parents of alumni, and the other 15 percent are corporate donations,” Lockerby said. Last year, Liberty Mutual Insurance gave over $3 million to the BC Law School for a professorship.

John Feudo, associate vice president of alumni relations, said that the success of universities like BC is “greatly influenced by alumni giving.” He said that although the dollar amounts in alumni donating have decreased in the past few years, participation, on any level, is what truly makes the difference. The participation is far more important than people realize,” Feudo said. “Any gift to BC is welcomed and appreciated, regardless of the amount.”

Although the state of the economy has caused many universities to struggle with meeting their fiscal goals, Feudo said that

See GLC Plan, A4

See Donations, A5

BEN KIMERLE / HEIGHTS STAFF

Former Senator and U.S. presidential candidate Fred Thompson spoke on Federalism Tues.

GLC reveals plan for campus support

KEVIN HOU / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Keley Gasseling, president of the GLC and A&S ’11, presented her organization’s plans.

BY TAYLOUR KUMPF Asst. News Editor In an open forum last night, Kelsey Gasseling, president of the GLBTQ Leadership Council (GLC) and A&S ’11, along with Larissa Belcic, vice president of GLC and A&S ’10, presented

INSIDE SPORTS

the GLC’s “State of the Heights,” including a 10-year plan that will be presented to the administration next week.

The plan, which underlined the GLC’s short and long-term proposals, is aimed at achieving full University support. Both Gasseling and Belcic commented on their hopes for next week’s administrative engagement.

“Our object is not to get into a debate with them,” said Gasseling. “We are looking for reasonable feedback and the administration to tell us what they can feasibly do.”

“We are trying to avoid seeming like we’re angry and complaining,” said Belcic. “We are going to approach the discussion from a constructive, open-minded point of view, and we are hoping the administration responds in the same way.”

The plan seeks the institutionalization of the Queer Peers and GLBTQ Mentorship Programs. “[The programs] are all student run,” Belcic said. “We want the University to take ownership of these programs because of the instability of student-led programs.”

Another short-term goal of the plan is to spur an increase in public support for GLC initiatives. Other Jesuit schools face similar issues and receive more positive feedback from admin-

istrators, Gasseling said. “Why is BC different? Why [is the administration] resistant?”

The establishment of a physical GLBTQ Resource Center where students could meet is a first priority for the GLC. When asked what a physical space would mean to them, Gasseling said, “First of all, a physical space would symbolize security – security for non-heterosexuals. And then knowing that the University dedicated a specific space for a GLBTQ Resource Center would symbolize support and acceptance. It would be a good show of progress.”

“It would be both practical and symbolic,” Belcic said. “[A physical space] would be a place where those students could go and feel supported – a small oasis on campus. Along with the resource center, the 10-year proposal calls for the creation of a full time staff position related to GLBTQ issues.

Gasseling and Belcic said that the establishment of a GLBTQ student scholarship fund and a Queer Studies minor are two of their long-term objectives.

Regarding a possible Queer Studies minor, Belcic said, “We would work with what we have, looking at what is already offered that would fit into the queer studies minor. The biggest chal-

UGBC to bring Girl Talk to Plex in March

The baseball team opens its season Friday at Tulane, A10

UGBC brings ‘high energy’ DJ to campus as precursor to Spring Concert; Plex to allow more dance room for students

THE SCENE

BY MATTHEW DELUCA

The Scene picks out the best music collaborations B1

MARKETPLACE

Mass. Govenor had a good year, but low approval ratings, B14 Classifieds, B7 Crossword, B7 Editorials, A6 Editors’ Picks, A9 Forecast on Washington, B11 On the Flip Side, B10 Police Blotter, A2 Thumbs Up / Thumbs Down, A7 Videos on the Verge, B2 Weather, A2

Editor-in-Chief

Girl Talk is coming to Boston College.

The Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC) has announced that the popular mashup artist, known for his highenergy performances, will be performing in the Plex on Saturday, March 13, at 11 p.m.

The UGBC has had difficulty in the past finding spaces to accommodate large concerts. Generally, when planning concerts for the spring and fall, the UGBC has struggled to secure dates in Conte Forum. In 2008, as an alternative, the UGBC hosted RJD2 in the Rat. This year, the Plex presented another option. “We have been working with Plex administrators since the summer to secure the use of the Plex,” said James D’Ambra, executive director of campus entertainment for the UGBC and A&S ’10.

He and Maureen Keegan, assistant director and A&S ’10, coordinated the event. “We had to first confirm with the Plex administration that the space would be appropriate for accommodating this artist,” D’Ambra said. In the past, students have also voiced concerns that there is little room to dance during concerts in Conte.

“The Plex can accommodate more students than the Rat, but provides more intimacy than Conte; It is the perfect venue for this type of event which includes open dancing,” D’Ambra said. “We hope that students

will be excited to enjoy a slightly different concert experience where they can openly dance.”

When Harvard hosted Girl Talk in November 2008, the show was cut short after neither the police nor the performer were able to control an unruly crowd. D’Ambra said that his department has been working with the BC Police Department (BCPD) and Plex administrators to ensure that the event is a safe and successful one. “Certainly, Girl Talk concerts, by their very nature, are high energy. However, based on the student body’s behavior at previous events, we hope and expect that the students will have a great time while being sensible, and above all else, safe,” D’Ambra said.

Last fall, the UGBC Fall Concert featuring Akon abruptly ended when Akon urged fans to rush the foor, causing a flood of students to run toward the stage.

“We want the student body to enjoy the show while taking the necessary measures to ensure their safety in accordancewith the artist’s requirements,” D’Ambra said.

The show will be open to BC students only. Tickets will be on sale at the Robsham Theater box office for $15, with a maximum of two tickets per student ID. More ticketing information will become available at a time closer to the event. The UGBC is also planning a separate spring concert for an unannounced time in April, according to a press release. 

A BC HISTORY OF DRINKING

KEVIN HOU / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Drinking policies at BC have evolved in the face of changing state laws and social attitudes. See more on the history of drinking at BC on Page A3.

TopFive

Thursday, February 18, 2010

THE HEIGHTS

things to do on campus this week

H(AID)I Benefit Concert

BC Symphony Orchestra

Men’s BBall vs. North Carolina

Vietnam Unwrapped

Ice Hockey vs. Northeastern

Today Time: 8:30 p.m.

Location: The Rat The Sharps, Voices of Imani, My Mother’s Fleabag, and more will perform at tonight’s concert, with proceeds going to the Catholic Relief Services. Admission is $5 at the door.

Friday Time: 8 p.m.

Location: Gasson 100 The performance by the symphony orchestra will showcase music by Schubert and Haydn, and will feature the BC Cello Ensemble with Jean Danton.

Saturday Time: 12 p.m.

Location: Conte Forum Come cheer on the men’s basketball team as it takes on the UNC Tar Heels in a must-win ACC match-up as the Eagles look to finish on a high note.

Saturday Time: 5 p.m.

Location: Gasson 100 The Vietnamese Students’ Association presents its second annual culture show, “Paris by Night,” featuring dancing, skits, and other performances.

Sunday Time: 3 p.m.

Location: Conte Forum As regular-season play nears its end, the men’s ice hockey team hosts the Northeastern Huskies at Conte Forum in a Hockey East league matchup.

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IntheNews

FEATURED ON CAMPUS

TOMS Shoes gives back

Next year, a number of public schools will initiate a program allowing high school sophomores, who pass a series of tests, to get a diploma early and enroll in community college, said a recent report by the New York Times. This program’s structure permits students who pass the tests, but aspire to attend more selective colleges, to take college prep courses as juniors and seniors. According to the report, the goal is to reduce the number of high school graduates who need remedial courses in college.

Local News Boston Public Library announces plan to close branches amid deficit

SANG LEE / HEIGHTS STAFF

Blake Mycoskie, founder and CEO of TOMS Shoes, shared his experiences with students at an event last Monday. a shoe drive in which he went to TOMS Shoes. The larger purBY GUSSIE BRYAN Blake Mycoskie, the founder and CEO of TOMS Shoes, visited Boston College on Monday night to talk about “The New Rules for Tomorrow’s Business: A Student’s Guide to Making A Difference in the World,” and to share the story of his growing for profit” business that gives a pair of shoes to a child in need with every pair purchased.

During his presentation, Mycoskie discussed the background and business strategy of TOMS Shoes to a full audience of BC students. He started his business in May 2006 with only 250 pairs of his “very simple canvas slip-on shoes,” and has since sold over 400,000 pairs. Beginning the shoe donations in Argentina, TOMS Shoes now travels predominantly to Ethiopia, along with 20 other countries, to deliver their shoes to children in need.

Alex Hirs, vice president of the Undergraduate Government of Boston College and A&S ’10, welcomed him with a brief introduction and a short video on his company. Mycoskie began his presentation with an overview of his journey to found TOMs Shoes. Mycoskie began his career as a producer of an online driver’s education company in Los Angeles, California. After working 90hour weeks, Mycoskie planned a month-long trip to Argentina, one of the many destinations he went to during his Amazing Race experience in 2002. While in Argentina, he participated in

wealthy communities, collected slightly used shoes, and brought them to children who needed them. He later decided to create a for-profit business based on his experience that could “keep selling, keep giving month after month, year after year.”

With no experience in retail or fashion, Mycoskie said he found it very frustrating to promote his shoes in the competitive fashion industry. After visiting numerous stores, his shoes debuted in a clothing store in L.A. When his company and its story appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Vogue, and an AT&T commercial, sales increased tremendously around the world. “We received more press that led to more sales, then something crazy happened - celebrities were wearing our shoes,” he said. Mycoskie said he quickly realized that the story behind his shoes was a vital part of advertising them to stores and customers.

After explaining the beginnings of his company, Mycoskie stressed three lessons he has learned about business that he thought were relevant to students. Mycoskie said he focuses on the ability of a successful company to sustain itself while also bringing justice to others.

After he saw a stranger wearing his shoes and sharing his story for the first time, he learned his second lesson. “Giving doesn’t just feel good, it’s also really good for business,” he said. “Customers become marketers.”

He deemed his third and final lesson to be the silver lining of

pose of his company is to amaze the people it attracts, he said.

“If you incorporate giving into your business, it feels great and is good for your business,” he said. “And there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Before he began his question and answer session, Mycoskie posed two questions for himself that he anticipated from the audience. His first question was, “Who is Tom?” Well, Tom does not exist. The point of the company is to sell a pair of shoes today, so they can give a pair away tomorrow, he said.

The word “tomorrow” did not fit on the back of his shoes, so he had to abbreviate it. The second question was, “How do you get involved?” Mycoskie said students could first buy a pair of TOMS and then apply for an internship with the company online.

Some students said they found Mycoskie’s message on entrepreneurship to be original, insightful, and relatable to college students. “I thought his strategy of combining business and social justice was inspiring,” said Samantha Reynolds, A&S ’12.

Other students said they appreciated Mycoskie’s guidelines for success in business but had a different take on his personal story. “I thought Blake had some great pointers on how to create a sustainable business for a good cause, but his story seemed a little pretentious,” said Christopher Ferguson, A&S ’12. 

Police Blotter 2/12/10 – 2/14/10 Friday, Feb. 12

to a medical facility.

1:18 p.m. – A report was filed regarding assistance provided to a student who had questions about a University stay away order.

1:09 a.m. – A report was filed regarding the odor of a controlled substance emanating from a motor vehicle on Upper Campus. The occupants of the vehicle were identified and a non-BC party was issued a civil citation.

The party was written a trespass warning and escorted off BC property. A controlled substance was confiscated.

6:27 p.m. – A report was filed regarding a fire alarm activation in O’Neill Library. The cause of the alarm was due to an unknown party who activated a pull station alarm.

7:04 p.m. – A report was filed regarding a party who complained that several dogs were running astray without leashes on the Brighton campus fields. The owners of the dogs were identified and given a warning.

Saturday, Feb. 13 12:03 a.m. – A report was filed regarding the arrest of two males in the Commonwealth garage. Andre Svistunov of West Roxbury, MA, was placed under arrest for unlawful possesion of ammunition and trespassing.

Antonino Saladino of Brighton, MA, was placed under arrest for a minor in possesion of alcohol and possesion of a false I.D. Both parties were booked at BCPD headquarters.

The ammunition was taken as evidence. No firearms were located.

12:44 a.m. – A report was filed regarding an underage intoxicated party who injured himself. The party was transported by ambulance

The Boston Public Library system said yesterday that eight to 10 neighborhood libraries may be shut down in an effort to close a $3.6 million budget deficit that has resulted from a decrease in state funding. The move, which would eliminate up to 35 staff positions overall, would aim at strengthening the remaining 16 to 18 branches by adding staff, computers, books and other resources. An alternate plan calls for all branches to remain open, but to reduce the hours of 18 locations by 50 to 85 percent.

On Campus Irish Film Series celebrates 9th year with “sneak preview” of The Eclipse Boston College’s Irish Film Series presents The Eclipse, featuring Conor McPherson and Ciaran Hinds, in conjunction with the Irish Film Festival Boston and BC’s Irish Studies Program. Tickets to the special “sneak preview” on Monday at 7 p.m. at the Stuart Street Playhouse in Boston are free with advanced reservations. Reservations can be made through Brown Paper Tickets at 1-800-838-3006. The Irish Film Series, now in its 9th year, has presented more than 90 films, from features to documentaries, since its founding.

National North Carolina man freed by panel after 16 years in prison RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A man convicted of murdering a prostitute was exonerated and set free Wednesday in the first win for North Carolina’s innocence commission, the only panel of its kind in the nation.

Greg Taylor’s family and supporters broke into cheers when the decision was announced by a three-judge panel that heard six days of arguments about the evidence used to convict him more than 16 years ago.

Taylor, 47, always insisted he did not kill prostitute Jacquetta Thomas in 1991.

5:44 p.m. – A report was filed regarding a party who received several harassing phone calls and text messages. A detective is investigating.

Voices from the Dustbowl “Are you giving up anything for Lent?”

“I’m not Catholic, but I try to do some kind of service.”

—Grace Little, A&S ’10

“What we really need to give up is privilege.”

—Rev. Ray Helmick, S.J., professor, Theology Dept.

Sunday, Feb. 14 4:08 a.m. – A report was filed regarding a party who was disoriented and confused near St. Ignatius Gate. The party was identified and transported back to their residence.

—Source: The Boston College Police Department

43° Flurries 26°

FRIDAY

40° Partly Cloudy 26°

SATURDAY

42° Partly Cloudy 26°

SUNDAY

41° Partly Cloudy 26°

SOURCE: NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE

A Guide to Your Newspaper The Heights Boston College – McElroy 113 140 Commonwealth Ave. Chestnut Hill, Mass. 02467 Editor-in-Chief (617) 552-2223 Editorial General (617) 552-2221 Managing Editor (617) 552-4286 News Desk (617) 552-0172 Sports Desk (617) 552-0189 Marketplace Desk (617) 552-3548 Features Desk (617) 552-3548 Arts Desk (617) 552-0515 Photo (617) 552-1022 Fax (617) 552-4823 Business and Operations General Manager (617) 552-0169 Advertising (617) 552-2220 Business and Circulation (617) 552-0547 Classifieds and Collections (617) 552-0364 Fax (617) 552-1753 EDITORIAL RESOURCES News Tips Have a news tip or a good idea for a story? Call Michael Caprio, News Editor, at (617) 552-0172, or e-mail news@bcheights.com. For future events, e-mail, fax, or mail a detailed description of the event and contact information to the News Desk.

Sports Scores Want to report the results of a game? Call Zach Wielgus, Sports Editor, at (617) 552-0189, or e-mail sports@bcheights.com.

Arts Events The Heights covers a multitude of events both on and off campus – including concerts, movies, theatrical performances, and more. Call Kristen House, Arts and Review Editor, at (617) 552-0515, or e-mail review@ bcheights.com. For future events, e-mail, fax, or mail a detailed description of the event and contact information to the Arts Desk.

Clarifications / Corrections The Heights strives to provide its readers with complete, accurate, and balanced information. If you believe we have made a reporting error, have information that requires a clarification or correction, or questions about The Heights standards and practices, you may contact Matthew DeLuca, Editor-in-Chief, at (617) 552-2223, or e-mail editor@ bcheights.com.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

2:31 a.m. – A report was filed regarding a party

who was issued a written trepass warning earlier in the night and was later observed on campus in Walsh Hall. Upon seeing the officer who had originally issued him the order, the party fled the area. A criminal complaint has been filed against the party for trespassing and resisting arrest.

TODAY

University Plan will allow for high school sophomores to start college early

For The Heights

FOUR DAY WEATHER FORECAST

“Skittles.”

—Chris Finan,

A&S ’13

Delivery To have The Heights delivered to your home each week or to report distribution problems on campus, contact John O’Reilly, General Manager at (617) 552-0547.

Advertising The Heights is one of the most effective ways to reach the BC community. To submit a classified, display, or online advertisement, call our advertising office at (617) 552-2220 Monday through Friday.

The Heights is produced by BC undergraduates and is published on Mondays and Thursdays during the academic year by The Heights, Inc. (c) 2010. All rights reserved.

CORRECTIONS Please send corrections to editor@bcheights.com with ‘correction’ in the subject line.

A3

The Heights

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Kevin Hou / Heights editor

The evolution of BC’s drinking culture has been documented over the years by The Heights, from the opening of the Rathskeller in the basement of Lyons Hall in 1973 to the changing of the drinking age from 18 to 21 in 1985.

Debate over alcohol policy rooted in University’s history

By Ana Lopez

Special Projects Editor It is an average Saturday night at Boston College. Experienced juniors and seniors flock to Mary Anne’s, Cityside, and Joshua Tree; sophomores look to showcase their breadth of social connections by prowling Walsh Hall, and eager freshmen play musical Mods until the 1:50 a.m. Newton bus leaves Lower Campus. A significant number of them will choose to drink. If these thousands of BC students that choose to go out on the weekend can be considered a small representation of nationwide trends, then 62.5 percent of them will drink to the point that they wake up with a hangover, 54.1 percent may vomit, and 30.2 percent may miss a class. Roughly 10 percent will be taken advantage of sexually.

These are statistics that have been closely monitored by the University with increasing intensity over the past few decades, as administrators have sought to curb the drinking culture. But while a member of the current graduating class may complain that the drinking policies at BC are harsh and sometimes unreasonable, those graduating from the same institution in the 1970s, 1980s, and even the 1990s would assert they were anything but.

Though BC is celebrating its sesquicentennial anniversary this year, the changes it has undergone in just the past 50 years are significant – particularly in regards to student life. The class of 2013 has the lowest number of commuter students to date – a testament to the fact that BC’s residential landscape, the structure that has been the defining force in its collective drinking habits, has undergone considerable changes.

“Not a weekend goes by that alcohol poisoning is not a problem,” said Robyn Priest, assistant dean for student development.

“Campus is quiet on Friday and Saturday in terms of viable social options, and, couple that with the prevalence of alcohol on campus and poor enforcement, and it’s not hard to understand why binge drinking is so prevalent,” she said.

“It’s a combination of all of these factors that makes the environment how it is.”

The University has an official stance as a “dry,” or alcohol-free, campus, and because of this, a series of policies, ranging from a simple warning to suspension from the University, remain as popular punishments for drinking-related violations.

Administrators hold that, first and foremost, the integrity of the law dictating the national drinking age should be upheld. Even so, student safety is also hailed as a critical concern for the administration, officials said.

Discussions have arisen lately regarding the implementation of an amnesty policy that would serve as a stopgap to ensure that students feel comfortable taking themselves or another person to seek medical attention without fear of serious reprimand, should they need help.

The debate regarding the specific nature of this amnesty policy is ongoing, mainly due to the fact that administrators hold reservations that implementing such a policy could possibly exacerbate alcohol abuse on campus.

“My main concern is student safety,” said Paul Chebator, senior associate dean for student development. “We always try to give students the benefit of the doubt and take their needs into consideration, but one of the is-

sues is how many time should we allow that?”

The culture around drinking as it exists on campus today has evolved with the University and the student body. Years of changes in the physical layout of the campus, the student body, and alterations in the drinking age have all contributed to shaping the drinking culture that prevails on and off campus today.

Though the University currently offers housing to the entirety of the freshman, sophomore, and senior classes, as well as 50 percent of the junior class, this has not always been the case.

The foundation for BC’s residential campus was laid in 1907, when former University President Rev. Thomas I. Gasson, S.J., moved the campus from its original cramped quarters in the

pub in the space currently occupied by the Rat. The Rathskeller was open on Thursday through Saturday nights for all students or faculty members who purchased a membership card, priced at $1 per semester. Administrators, including Dick Collins, the housing administrator, and Rev. Edward Hanrahan, the former dean of students, acted as faculty advisers for programming, The Rathskeller was a completely student-run organization.

Students from the UGBC and the Commuter’s Council came together with BC Dining Services to offer their peers 12 oz. draft beers and 5 oz. glasses of wine priced at 30 cents each. The pub had a capacity of 550 and was consistently well attended on weekends and game days.

“The Rathskeller, Thursday,

Kevin Hou / Heights editor

South End of Boston to farmland Friday, or Saturday night was an he acquired on the outskirts of the alternative,” Deskins said. “It was city. Following the construction of the University’s way of controlling Gasson Hall and subsequent fi- the party scene. The beer was nancial pitfalls, BC grew at a slow pretty watered down.” pace until the early 1970s, when Deskins said that, because Rev. J. Donald Monan, S.J., a drinking was legal and therefore pivotal character in BC’s develop- so prevalent, it served as a means ment, assumed the for students to inrole of University tegrate into the president. campus social life “Alcohol was a Under the plan given the lack of that Monan estabphysical Facebook. social media at lished for the Unithe time. versity, a campus It was simply a way “Today, most that was formerly s t u d e n t s h ave for people to get a collection of priand in touch with each smartphones marily commuter they can connect students became that way – none of other.” overwhelmingly that existed when residential. It was I was there,” he — Duane Deskins, with the addition sa i d . “A l c o h o l BC `76 of these housing was a physical units – including Facebook. It was Walsh Hall, Edsimply a way for mond’s Hall, and the Mods – as people to get in touch with each well as the University becoming other. The way that you would find co-educational in 1970, that the people holding onto a cellphone drinking culture began to change at a party today, you would find significantly on campus. people holding onto a beer back Drinking was legal at the age then – there were no computers, of 18 in 1970, making the imple- and people were meeting for the mentation of drinking sanctions first time.” a somewhat moot point.

Even in this Facebook-less “There was a universal draft era of basement pubs and watery for the war in Vietnam,” said brew, the administration and stuDuane Deskins, former president dents became increasingly aware of the UGBC and BC `76. “It’s of the need for alcohol safety kind of hard to say you can die measures. for [your] country but you can’t This awareness was even supdrink for it.” ported in The Heights in their Not only was drinking allowed series, “The Heights Guide to on campus, but also the University Drinking Do’s and Dont’s,” which capitalized on students’ habits. ran in 1973 and offered tidbits like, “At one time, there were kegs at “Uncontrolled behavior because tailgates and at the Rat,” Cheba- of intoxication is the major hazard tor said. for young people.”

In September 1973, BC opened Sanctions for acting inapthe “Rathskeller,” an underground propriately due to alcohol or

drug consumption, though not explicitly codified, were not completely non-existent. “You could lose housing, receive fines, or get community service – but it was all discretionary by the dean of students,” Deskins said.

The change in the national drinking age was the impetus for significant changes in BC’s drinking policy – or lack thereof. In a matter of a few years, the constructs and rules of the drinking culture students were accustomed to drastically changed.

In establishing new restrictions on drinking, it was up to the University to create a new drinking culture and establish a new norm with regards to alcohol. Administrators said that they did not want sanctions to be punitive, but that the legal drinking age must be upheld in addition to a safe, sound

An exposè lambasting BC as a party school and a drinking enclave was published shortly thereafter in the Boston Globe.

This issue coincided with a plan developed by the University to raze McElroy Commons and build three new buildings on Middle Campus.

The City of Newton, acting against the University, banned BC from proceeding with its building project, as it claimed the University was far too permissive in its treatment of students’ actions, and a new student center would only afford BC students another venue for parties.

Because of community reactions, the University reevaluated its understanding of off-campus drinking habits and became far more cognizant about patrolling this area.

Kevin Hou / Heights editor

campus environment.

“I don’t think it changed poli“We have to follow the state cy, I think it made us more aware law,” Chebator said. “The change of some of the issues off-campus in the drinking age from 18 to 21 in the student population,” Cheis the biggest change that has bator said. occurred.”

Chebator said that, because Throughout the 1980s and of the extremely public nature 1990s, BC had a well-founded of the Marathon party incident, reputation in Boston as a party even drawing state police on school. Because a majority of horseback, the University saw that students could no longer attend it needed to foster responsibility programs at the Rathskeller, the among students. impracticality and a lack of funds “It made us focus a little bit pushed the University to close the more and helped us strategize pub in the mid-1980s. about how we could better eduBC’s effective dry status cate students and hold them acpushed hundreds of students countable.” into surrounding neighborhoods Though the increased focus on weekend nights. The presence on drinking gave students the of rambunctious, impression that and now underpolicies had beage, coeds in the come harsher, it “I’m looking at neighborhoods was still not the began to strain comprehensiveness. aim of the adminthe community’s istration to put already precarious If I can get a student the student body relations with the under the rule of to go down from University. To proa set of draconian seven beers to five policies. tect BC’s interests in expanding and BC decided in a night, that’s a developing in the to sue the City of success story.”

Newton and BrighNewton over its ton communities, assertion that the stricter drinking — Patrick Rombalski, University could policies had to be not build on its Vice President of enforced. own land, and, Student Affairs On April 15, after years spent 1996, a turning battling appeals, point in the Unit h e Un ive rs i ty versity’s treatment of student won. However, Bob Sherwood, alcohol use occurred. That day, former dean for student develthe 100th anniversary of the opment, said by that time it was Boston Marathon, a group of beyond the point at which the BC students living off-campus construction would have been in Newton hosted a party that considered feasible, and the Uniquickly got out of control, and versity had already moved on. neighbors suspected that alcohol Now, on the brink of beginning abuse was to blame. The Boston construction on the Master Plan Police were involved. that is slated to redevelop and ex-

pand the landscape of BC’s Chestnut Hill and Brighton campuses, the University is facing similar opposition and apprehension from the neighborhood due to fears over the drinking culture.

“For those that are dissenters of the [current] Master Plan, we offer them the experience of persons living on the Newton Campus,” Chebator said. “There has been little complaints there. The staff on the Brighton Campus would keep an eye on things.”

During the time that negotiations to perfect the Master Plan were taking place with the City of Boston and the Brighton Residents Association, Patrick Rombalski was hired as the vice president of student affairs for the University.

One of Rombalski’s first moves as an administrator was to clarify the drinking policy and sanctions for violations under a system aptly named by students, the “Matrix.”

“The policy did not change, the sanctions were just clarified,” Rombalski said. “Students were always receiving sanctions, they are just codified now. When I arrived here, we were under responding to policy violations and not acting as a prohibitor.”

Rombalski said that his aim in introducing any new drinking sanction is to create an environment on campus that is tolerant and respectful of all lifestyles – sober and otherwise.

“The policies are not meant to be a silver bullet,” he said. “There’s no such thing as a silver bullet in alcohol prevention – they’re supposed to be more environmental than anything. The number of students coming to BC that don’t drink is going up every year. We need to allow these students to exist in a reality that doesn’t include alcohol.”

Rombalski said that he understands underage drinking has become an expected activity in college.

“We’re human,” he said. “But, because drinking has become so engrained in college life, there’s a real permissiveness. I’m looking at comprehensiveness. If I can get a student to go down from seven beers to five in a night, that’s a success story.

“Any sanction that you put in front of a student is going to be unpopular. But so many alcoholrelated [incidents] occur every weekend, if it was something else that was effecting that many students, like a gas leak in the Plex or food poisoning in McElroy, we would shut down the University and solve the problem. It should be the same with drinking.”

The alcohol-counseling program, a “menu item” on the Matrix that is required of students who violate policy multiple times in hopes that they can reevaluate their relationship with alcohol, is aimed at opening the eyes of students to the huge effects of binge drinking. “Drinking is the biggest barrier to learning at BC,” Rombalski said.

Though students that violate the Matrix are put through counseling and rehabilitation programs, the only alcohol education program required of all students is the AlcoholEdu series.

“Our efforts have not drastically changed behaviors,” Priest said.

“There are pockets of influence, but there is still the heavy influence that college is a time for high alcohol use. Some students would argue that this is a hard school in terms of drinking policies, but the ability to drink here is prevalent.

Students’ perception is that the policies are intense, but my perception is that it is easy to drink on campus, and there is not a high level of fear of getting caught.” n

A4

Thursday, February 18, 2010

The Heights

On the Candidates address AHANA, GLBTQ issues culture of drink

By Ana Lopez

and their personal identities, as well,” said Raab.

Witmer and Dower emphasized the need Candidates campaigning for the roles for stronger campus traditions through of the next president and vice president of their proposal of a campus weekend, which the Undergraduate Government of Boston they promised was feasible and already had College (UGBC) debated in an uncharacter- the support of administrators. “One thing that we were talking about istically dark lecture hall in was creating a Superfan of Fulton, tackling questions of the month tradition,” said AHANA and GLBTQ advoWitmer and Dower Whitmer. “[Director of cacy, adjusting to the closing Athletics] Gene DeFilippo of Gasson, and questioning emphasized the talking about riding what the ethical standards need for stronger was around campus on a golf of a leader should entail. campus traditions cart or something, handing Both the Micaela Maout t-shirts.” bida, CSOM ’11, and Pat through their When asked about the Raab, A&S ’11, and the Charlie Witmer, CSOM ’11, proposal of a campus plight of transfer students and what they planned to and Courtney Dower, A&S weekend, which do to make their transi’11, teams were asked about they promised was tion to BC smoother, both their plans for curbing the severely low attendance feasible and already teams conceded that they had overlooked the transrates for on-campus sporthad the support of fer population in crafting ing events. Mabida and their platforms. “One of Raab proposed establishadministrators. our greatest weaknesses is ing a buddy system between the fact that we couldn’t student athletes and the get anything specific on general student body that would address the disconnect that they our platform related to transfer students,” perceive athletes feel between themselves Witmer said. Dower said that they felt that and their peers. “We need to look at them the current transfer orientation program was as people that are developing themselves well-executed and that they would work to Special Projects Editor

Joseph Pasquinelli Boston College has a social culture that centers on the consumption of alcohol. It is not often that students do not pregame before a party or other event where they are not expected or required to be sober. Many students “go hard” Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, consuming large amounts of alcohol in a very short amount of time. The behavior is far from the request, “Please Drink Responsibly,” found at the end of liquor advertisements.

Whether the above statements are true is irrelevant because this is the way drinking at BC is perceived. The perception of drinking on campus creates a Pygmalion effect.

If we think this is the way we are supposed to drink or the way everyone else is drinking, then we drink in that manner so we can be full members of the community.

The drinking culture here is not safe, responsible, or mature. Weekend warriors are sent to the infirmary with alcohol poisoning. Others are ripping one too many shots and shot-gunning one too many beers. This usually results in our warrior, bent over a toilet or doing something he or she will regret. It is not often that mature adults partake in this sort of behavior. We are not adults yet, but college is our last chance to learn how to drink and party in a way that will not result in sickness or stupidity.

Why is the way that students at BC drink not safe, responsible, or mature? It is most likely due to alcohol’s status as a banned substance for people under the age of 21.

If drinking were not illegal or a violation of policy for those under 21, there would be less instances of students becoming sick and behaving irresponsibly while under the influence. If drinking were legal, we could teach people from a younger age how to drink in a manner that is safe and mature.

There are fewer juniors and seniors who are obligated to participate in programs like CHOICES because it is not “against the rules” for them to consume alcohol. They are able to drink responsibly because they do not have to sneak their drinks and consume large amounts in a short period of time so they are not “caught” violating policy.

There should not be such a stigma placed on such a beautiful thing. Having some drinks, when done responsibly, can be wonderful. It is a communal activity that brings people closer and can make them happy. There is not much in this world that is better or healthier (those who have two drinks a day live longer than those who abstain) than coming back to the room after a long, stressful day of working hard at scholarly and extracurricular activities and having a beer or cocktail with friends.

Getting slammed out of one’s mind loses its appeal when it is not against policy to have a drink or two to end the day.

So, what is to be done?

Unfortunately, there is not much that can be done in the way of policy. BC’s hands are tied because the drinking age is 21. Students, on the other hand, can do something. They can begin to learn how to drink and appreciate the beauty of booze by behaving in a safe, responsible, and adult manner. Next time you have a drink, remember to not behave like a buffoon, respect booze and yourself, and when you raise your can, bottle, or glass, do not forget to toast, “For Boston.”

Joseph Pasquinelli is a columnist for The Heights. He welcomes comments at editor@bcheights.com

bolster that.

Raab, a former orientation leader, disagreed. “I think transfer student orientation doesn’t do the best job of making students feel incorporated,” he said. “You’ve already had a hard enough experience.”

Advocacy for AHANA and GLBTQ issues was addressed as the teams were asked if they had “concrete plans” as to how they would better these minority communities into campus culture. “We know a lot of events on campus are seen as white events or AHANA events,” Witmer said. “I know specifically the ALC Ball and Homecoming can be seen this way.”

Witmer said he wished to open the lines of communication between the ALC and the general UGBC, particularly with regards to event planning. “Jimmy D’Ambra [executive director of campus entertainment] talked to us about how he had reached out to the leadership of ALC this year to make sure that the ALC had input into the events and also to make sure, per se, that white students realized that ALC events weren’t just for AHANA students.”

Mabida and Raab, when asked where they envisioned a space for the currently non-existent GLC and AHANA resource centers, answered that space in 21 Campanella Way could potentially be utilized. “But Pat and I believe it’s not just about space,

it’s about recognition,” said Mabida. “There is funding here on campus and sometimes these [groups’] events get overlooked.

The pivotal moments of the debate occurred when the teams were asked to comment not only on the weaknesses of their own platforms, but of the opposing team, as well.

When the candidate teams were given the chance to question one another’s platforms and campaigns, the debate, which had been particularly amicable, became heated. Raab questioned the legitimacy of Dower’s stance that she would bring an outside perspective to the UGBC, as she claimed she had never gotten involved in the organization. “I don’t understand why you’re saying you haven’t been a part of UGBC,” he said. “You’re on the advising committee right now and you partook in two campaigns. In my mind, that’s taking part in UGBC.” Witmer and Dower criticized Raab and Mabida for having a platform that was, in essence, uncreative and based on several initiatives that were already in place, and implemented by the current UGBC administration. “We’re going to build off the progress that’s already been made, not just replicate it,” Raab said. “I think if you read our platform more carefully it’s not about replication, it’s about [continuing] to support the efforts.” n

Thompson advocates for limited government Thompson, from A1

“They didn’t need to worry about the prosecution.”

Although he is optimistic that the Republicans can regain control of the Senate, he cautioned them to be careful about overreaching. “The Republicans are in danger of misreading the same tea leaves that Obama misread,” he said. “Republicans have to understand that, just as they, to a certain extent, didn’t deserve to bear the full brunt of the economy, they’re not going to be able to take credit for every good that happens.”

Thompson addressed the belief of many Americans that partisanship is becoming worse. He attributes part of this to classic cable and radio shows. “I think about that a lot,” he said. “I think technology has something to do with that.”

People have been concerned recently about the increasing dependence on the government, he said. “Ask yourself whether or not the people have a right to be concerned, and if these people here should be that dependent on a government that cannot keep the obligations that they have made.”

Politicians focus too much on issues, Thompson said, instead of on the underlying principles of these issues. “I try not to deal with too many issues, but to think in terms of principles on which issues are based,” he said.

“If you have those principles, they can be your lodestar. For me, it gets back to first principles.”

First principles, for Thompson, mean limited government and a return to the ideals of the Founding Fathers. They wrote the Constitution based on their knowledge of history and human nature. “Human beings are capable of wonderful things when properly inspired and given their freedom,” he said. “They are also capable on occasion of doing terrible things.”

The power of the federal gov- from Wisconsin, and Mitch Danernment should be decreased, iels, the governor of Indiana. “It allowing the states more rights, doesn’t matter what I think,” he Thompson said. When the states said. “It doesn’t matter what have more rights, new policies so-called leaders think. These can be tried out at the state things have a way of working level, like the welfare bill that themselves out.” was implemented in the 1990s, The Republican candidate he said. Prior to the federal is traditionally someone “who’s legislation, state governments earned their stripes,” Thompson tried out different ways to solve said. “Odds are, it’s someone the welfare problem. “States are you already know.” supposed to be laboratories,” Although Sarah Palin has he said been discussed often as a canThompson also spoke briefly didate, Thompson is skeptical about his own youth. “I grew up about how she would fare. “I in a little town in Tennessee, it’s have no idea what’s going to about 5,000,” he said. “I barely happen with her,” he said. “I got out of high school, had no don’t know how she’d fare in the ambition. I was the first guy in rough and tumble. You can’t go my family to go to high school, all the way on negativity and so it was a pretty big deal when anger.”

I became a freshman.”

Thompson said he supports Eventually, Thompson began Obama’s moves in regard to to study, and Afghanistan, h e d e c i d e d “I try not to deal with too a s w e l l a s he had higher many issues, but to think Obama’s apcareer ambipointment of in terms of principles on Robert Gates tions than to work on his which issues are based.” as secretary father’s used o f d e fe n s e . car lot. “One “He might not —Fred Thompson, night at the have been my Former U.S. Presidential factory, about first choice if 3:00 a.m., I it had been Candidate was working me, but I the graveyard shift, I decided I think all things considered, it was really cut out to be a star. I was a good move,” he said. “I had the opportunity to go back think that he’s held to the timeto college and get a new start.” table and held steady as far as Thompson’s parents were Iraq is concerned.”

Democrats, and while he was in Thompson, who has acted in college, Tennessee’s politicians numerous movies and TV shows, were primarily Democrats. “[My feels that there is not a strong family] thought I was hurrying connection between acting and aboard the Titanic,” he said. politics, because politicians are However, he said this was not the sincere to an extent. “Politicians issue. “It was about me running usually are sincere to the extent for office, it wasn’t about win- that they believe that they ought ning office, it was about doing to prevail or get elected or help what I thought was right. There’s the poor or whatever it is that no feeling more liberating than they’re talking about, so they’re that one. And I still feel like I not really acting when they do made the right decision.” that,” he said. “Reagan, for There are many possible example, wasn’t so good in his candidates for the Republican communication because he was presidential candidate in 2012, an actor. He was good because Thompson said. Among them he believed so strongly in what are Paul Ryan, a Congressman he was saying.”n

Ben Kimmerle / Heights staff

Plan sets GLC goals for next ten years

Event mirrors annual ‘State of The Heights’ event, addresses issues arising in the GLBTQ community at the University “There are no real overt actions of homophobia [on to have a good, honest discus- campus], but its more of a hidsion as to how our goals do den homophobia,” Gasseling said. “You just not conflict with Jesuit Catholic “The larger part of kind of sense it.

I get stares when ideals.” me says that, no I wa l k a ro u n d Keeping with the open atmo- matter how angry I c a m p u s w i t h my g i r l f r i e n d , s p h e re o f t h e evening, Gassel- get, I need to tone it a n d t h e s t a r ing and Belcic down and be clear- ing and points me asked the crowd headed in order to ifenegl mexatke re m e ly how it would describe BC’s cli- be as constructive as uncomfortable.

More overarchmate for GLBTQ possible.” ing, there’s this issues. assumption that Th ey t h e m —Larissa Belcic, everyone around selves responded you is straight, about how they Vice President, GLC and that it’s the felt. “Part of me gets very angry, but only a norm to be heterosexual.”

On a closing note, Belcic small part,” Belcic said. “The larger part of me says that, said, “We are students, we’re no matter how angry I get, I not administrators. These are need to tone it down and be our suggestions, and we want to clear-headed in order to be as bring these ideas to the attention of the administration.” n constructive as possible.”

GLC Plan, from A1

Ben Kimmerle / Heights staff

Larissa Belcic, vice president of the GLC and A&S ’11, said the organization does not look to address morality issues.

THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, February 18, 2010

A5

Sportcasters talk Boston, media industry

BY ALBERT VONTZ For The Heights

On Thursday, Jan. 11, students and sports fans alike gathered to attend a conversation by sports journalists Michael Holley and Steve Buckley as they arrived to sign books, answer questions, and discuss the past, present, and future of Boston sports.

“I grew up in Ohio, an Indians and Steelers fan, and I was never a fan of Boston’s sports teams,” said Holley, who has since written books on the Red Sox and Bill Belichick entitled Red Sox Rule: Terry Francona and Boston’s Rise to Dominance and Patriot Reign: Bill Belichick, the Coaches, and the Players Who Built a Champion.

The discussion was moderated by Christine Caswell, a professor in the

communication department. Holley offered a caveat to student respondees.

“I’m gonna wear you guys out,” he said.

“You can’t just show up and not ask questions if you are gonna make it.”

Buckley had previously worked as a freelance writer, in Maine, Seattle, and New York, and also worked as a personality on ESPN and other programs.

He is currently working as a columnist for the Boston Herald, a regular on WEEI’s “The Big Show,” and a panel member on Comcast’s “Baseball Show.”

He said that one of the greatest parts of covering Boston’s sports scene is being able to fuse the present and the past with teams that have had such great heritage and history.

Holley said that, while working on Patriot Reign, he developed a connection with the coach whom he had first

criticized at the start of his tenure with the Patriots in 2000. “Belichick will leave the team looking like the ruins of Rome when he’s done,” he said. Holley said he was able to learn about one of the most successful coaches in league history, he described as “a weird guy, but in a completely admiring way.”

Holley described the 2004 Red Sox championship as the most meaningful title in the city’s history. “It all started with Bucky Dent, and it just kept growing from there,” he said.

“Usually, in the press box, people aren’t supposed to cheer. But so many people were born, had lived, and died without ever seeing the Sox taking home the title. It meant so much to everybody.”

Buckley said the attitude following the Red Sox’s 2004 win demonstrated

the pride the city had in its team.

“History made the championship more meaningful,” he said. “There was Red Sox gear, hats, flags all over the cemetery … it was mind-boggling.”

Buckley’s book, Wicked Good Year, was originally based on the hope that in 2007, the Red Sox, Patriots, and Celtics all would win championships in one of the most exciting years in Boston sports history. Holley said that it all seemed hopeless when a heave downfield to New York Giants wide receiver David Tyree resulted in one of the most miraculous catches of all time, dooming the Patriots to a loss in Super Bowl XLII. “Drop the ball you b—d!” Holley said as he reflected on the loss.

One audience member asked the duo whether Boston College football

will ever reach the same level of excitement as was seen during the tenure of former quarterback Doug Flutie. “It will need a story with mass appeal,” Buckley said. “When it happens, the media will need to reach out to BC football once again, like they did for Flutie.”

“It needs to be a big story, a story with mass appeal that will draw attention to the school,” Holley said.

“The media will need to embrace the story, something they didn’t do for Matt Ryan.”

Throughout the night, Holley and Buckley stressed a key point – Boston is a haven for anyone who wants to work in sports. “It’s just such a great market to be in, we couldn’t be here writing books without it,” Holley said. 

A walk through the buildings of the Master Plan

DAVID GIVLER / HEIGHTS EDITOR

ALEX TRAUTWIG / HEIGHTS EDITOR

For a virtual tour of all Master Plan sites, visit www. bcheights. com/news.

DAVID GIVLER / HEIGHTS EDITOR

ALEX TRAUTWIG / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Presidential scholar program gets new director

BY MICHAEL CAPRIO

based on academic achievements, leadership skills, and community involvement.

Garza praised Sardella’s Rev. James Keenan, S.J., a professor in the theology depart- work, pointing to advancements ment, has been appointed the made by the University during new director of the Presiden- his time as Scholars director. tial Scholars Program. Dennis “Professor Sardella’s tenure Sardella, current director and has been marked by remarkprofessor in the chemistry de- able successes on the part of partment, will be stepping down the Presidential Scholars of the from the position at the end of last two decades, including two Rhodes Scholarships, two Marthe summer.

“The Presidential Scholars shall Scholarships, 17 Fulbright Program is one of Boston Col- grants, three National Science lege’s most successful initiatives Foundation Graduate Research fellowships, two for undergraduTruman Scholate academic and two excellence,” said The Presidential arships, Goldwater ScholCutberto Garza, Scholars Program, arships,” Garza provost and dean of faculties, in a founded in 1991, said. “I am grateful to Professor recent statement. strives to offer Sardella for his “I am confident f o r m a t i ve a n d t h a t u n d e r Fr. participants pivotal role in Keenan, Boston C o l l ege Pre s i - leadership experience developing the dential Scholars during their time at program.” said will continue BC through speaker hisSardella experience as to f lourish and bring distinction series and workshops. founding director has been both t o t h e m s e l ve s challenging and and the University, much as they have under exciting. “It has afforded me the Professor Sardella’s direc- chance to create a complex and multifaceted program essentialtion.”

The Presidential Schol- ly from scratch, something not ars Program, founded in 1991, given to many faculty,” he said. strives to offer participants “I have also had the privilege leadership experience dur- of guiding, and helping to form, ing their time at BC through students of the highest intellecspeaker series and workshops. tual caliber over the entire span The Scholars, who receive full of their undergraduate years, tuition scholarships, are chosen at a breadth and depth that News Editor

went far beyond what I would have been able to do through coursework alone.”

Previous presidential scholars include Ari Daniel Shapiro, BC ’01, an independent science radio producer; Marisa (Cochrane) Sullivan, BC ’07, who recently served as command historian of Multi-National Force-Iraq in Baghdad; Brett Huneycutt, BC ’03, a Rhodes Scholar now working internationally for McKinsey & Company; Gary Gabor, BC ’02 a doctoral student at Fordham University and recipient of a 2009 Fulbright grant for study in Belgium; Kathleen Day, BC ’96, vice president of Citigroup; and Nicole Estvanik Taylor, BC ’01, managing editor for American Theatre Magazine.

“I look forward to directing the Presidential Scholars Program,” Keenan said in a statement. “At Boston College, we know that the Presidential Scholars are among our most talented and gifted students.

They excel not only in their academic achievements, but in the multitudinous leadership roles that they assume across the University. I know that Dennis Sardella has founded, inspired, and led a landmark program here for 17 years. As I take over for the next generation, I hope that my own tenure is marked by a measure of dedication, vision, and success similar to Professor Sardella’s known and recognized legacy.” 

More Hall (bottom left) will be the first building to be razed as part of the Institutional Master Plan (IMP). The University will make use of space on Brighton Campus, while addressing issues such as the disinternment of Bishop O’Connell (top right).

“There is a direct correlation between the passion people feel for their alma mater and the way in which they give back. It is all about the way our alumni make a reinvestment into the school they love so much.”

—John Feudo, Associate Vice President, Alumni Relations

Alumni involvement crucial, admins say Donations, from A1

the dollar amount of donations is not the only thing that propels the University toward its financial goals. Participation itself can make a difference, he said.

Feudo said that with a higher number of donors comes a higher ranking overall among other top universities. An increase in rank-

ing benefits universities because it provides more potential for federal funding, as well as greater exposure to attract high level candidates for admission.

Institutions of higher education owe their success to the allegiance of proud alumni and the generous donations of faithful supporters, Feudo said.

“People just love this school,” he

said. “There is a direct correlation between the passion people feel for their alma mater and the way in which they give back. It is all about the way our alumni make a reinvestment into the school they love so much. In doing this, they help preserve the caliber of Boston College they have known for generations to come.” 

A6

Thursday, February 18, 2010

The Heights

Editorials

Campus Pub

A 21-plus bar on campus would provide a place for students and faculty to mingle and connect outside of the classroom.

Students did not discover alcohol with the opening of Roggie’s and Reservoir Liquors. In fact, it is sort of astounding to trace the relationship between scholars and their libation of choice. Plato’s Symposium is a series of speeches around the subject of Love given during a night of drinking. The Goliards, medieval scholars, and clerics, wandered from university to university singing about wine and women and enjoying both. “Malt does more than Milton can to justify God’s ways to man,” A.E. Housman observed soberly.

One would think that, over a couple of thousand years, student drinking would have either disappeared or evolved into some sort of dignified, sophisticated cultural experience. Now, the Mods may be many things, but only infrequently does the host of a tailgate or party stop the music, clamber atop a table groaning under empty Natty cans, and deliver a speech in praise of Eros.

It is time for Boston College’s campus to align itself with a thousand years of scholastic tradition, and for the University to address a glaring absence – it is time for a campus pub. Actually, BC has had such an establishment before.

The Rat’s name once made sense, when it was the Rathskeller, a generic term used to designate a bar below street level. Up until the 1980s, students raised their glasses in the basement of Lyons. We do not recommend that BC reconvert the Rat to its former purpose, but that the University find a new location for a purposefully designed and designated place where students could gather and drink on campus.

The benefits to BC would be many.

The campus is in sore need of space for students, spaces that would foster the sort of collegiate environment BC would like to build. Barring the construction of a student center, a campus pub would be the next best thing – though it would not be a bad idea to integrate one into the proposed student center, either. Students who are of age would be able to gather on campus and share a drink. The room could have pool tables and dart boards, the accoutrements of a place that makes one want to grab a stool and sit for a while. It would be a

place where faculty and administrators could go with students. The University could read this as a kind of alcohol education, if they so chose – there is no better way to teach responsible consumption than to provide models for precisely that sort of behavior.

The space could be used to host student bands. Though the current Chocolate Bar model seems to be working for the underclassmen, we’re sure that acts would draw more juniors and seniors on a Friday night if something was on tap. Students do not always want to go off campus, and the University does not want them stumbling home from the bars at 3 a.m., and the Allston-Brighton neighbors would never be upset by a cut down on foot traffic. A campus pub would draw students together in an environment where they, and the University, could feel safe.

The University should ask itself, seriously, what kind of culture it wants to build, how drinking fits into that vision, and what action it should take.

The Heights feels that a campus pub is the logical next step. It would certainly be popular among the student body.

Like with all new things, attendance would at first swell and then possibly drop off a bit before finding an equilibrium, but if the pub was well-planned and hosted events that students would want to attend, there is no reason for it not to be a success. Also, the University’s concern should not be immediate commercial viability. A pub would be a step toward building a campus that has more social options than packed parties or stone cold sobriety. It would be a step toward treating students who are over 21 as adults when it comes to drinking.

Some University expenses are explicit, such as hiring professors and enriching departments, but others are less so. The common line of thought may be that a campus pub falls into this second category. It should not.

Education does not always take place in a classroom. Providing spaces like a pub is necessary to prevent students from becoming glassy-eyed drudges.

“Ale, man, ale’s the stuff to drink for the chap it hurts to think.”

Healthy options

Otherwise health conscious students have a lack of choices past 8 p.m. on weekdays, which should be remedied by Dining Services.

It is no secret that Boston College is one of the most health conscious campuses in the United States. Having a reputation of being, on the whole, “remarkably attractive,” students are frequently seen heading to and from the Flynn Recreational Complex or taking personalized jogging routes both on and around campus. If a student desires to live a healthy lifestyle, he or she should not only be able to, but should also be able to expect the University to provide the proper resources to aid in their decision.

The BC administration clearly supports making healthy choices by presenting students with a number of healthy food options, offering nutritional counseling, and making sure that the Plex is constantly supplied with state-of-the-art fitness equipment. Despite its visible progress in encouraging students to form hearty diet and fitness habits, BC can still make the effort to do more for its population, mainly in the area of late night dining.

In BC’s dining halls, dinner officially ends at 8 p.m, and “late night” dining begins at 8:30 p.m. The selection of food served during late night is notorious for being very unhealthy, with large

servings of French fries, buffalo chicken sandwiches, and fried chicken tenders making up about half of the menu from which students can choose. This creates an unfortunate dilemma for a number of students, who may not have been able to get dinner during the time that it’s served or simply aren’t used to eating dinner at an earlier time. Now, when students seek freshly made food, that which isn’t wrapped or presented in a container, they are forced to either consume cuisine oversaturated in calories, fat, and carbohydrates, or go out of their way to obtain a meal in a manner that inconveniences them and may not be as nutritionally substantial as a dish served during dinner.

The Heights believes that, for the sake of those students who don’t find their schedules matching up with that of the dining halls, BC should encourage Dining Services to offer alternative healthier dishes during late night dining hours. Not only would this make healthier eating more convenient for those currently finding it the contrary, but it also would reinforce the fact that BC does indeed care about the well being of its student population.

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The Heights reserves the right to edit for clarity, brevity, accuracy, and to prevent libel. The Heights also reserves the right to write headlines and choose illustrations to accompany pieces submitted to the newspaper.

Submissions must be signed and should include the author’s connection to Boston College, address, and phone number. Letters and columns can be submitted online at www. bcheights.com, by e-mail to editor@bcheights. com, in person, or by mail to Editor, The Heights, 113 McElroy Commons, Chestnut Hill, Mass. 02467.

The Heights The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College Established 1919 Matthew DeLuca, Editor-in-Chief John O’Reilly, General Manager Darren Ranck, Managing Editor

Matthew Laud/ Heights Illustration

Letters to the Editor Kris and Talal offer thoughts on remaining candidates First of all, thank you so much for all your support during this campaign. It was an honor to have received your support, and it was a blast to have danced in the Quad and done dorm walks with many of you.

While the results of last week’s primary election were not favorable, we must continue to fight for the issues we believe in and further our energy and passion for our University.

Today, Talal and I met with Micaela and Pat, and Charlie and Courtney to discuss our platforms, our campaigns, and our vision for Boston College and the UGBC. We believe that both teams present admirable visions for our University and the UGBC, and have run good campaigns thus far.

Making an endorsement is a major and difficult decision. Talal and I have spent quite some time reflecting on which team to endorse.

Throughout our campaign, we focused on two major aspects: our passion for the issues, and our passion for our campaign. We believe that a successful combination of these two respects is critical to any successful bid for UGBC president and vice president.

Unfortunately, we do not believe that either team successfully marries these two important components.

Thus, we have decided not to endorse either team.

Micaela and Pat have a very strong platform. Indeed, there are several similarities to our own. During our conversation with them this afternoon, it was clear that we share similar viewpoints on what the important issues that affect our University are, in addition to the role that the UGBC should play in addressing them.

On the other hand, we have found that their cam-

paign lacks the energy to successfully rouse the entire student body. While we agree that there is a line to be drawn in terms of high energy campaigns, it is imperative that a team is visible and engaging with the entire student body – this is something that Micaela and Pat have not done. We believe that a campaign is a reflection of how an administration might be run and the reflection we see in Micaela and Pat’s campaign is discouraging to us.

Charlie and Courtney have run a very successful campaign in terms of exciting the student body and being visible and engaging. Without a doubt, they have a passion for what they believe in and the electoral process. This reflects positively on how their UGBC administration might be run. These are very admirable traits, and something that we shared during last week’s primary campaign season.

That said, while their platform has an exciting vision for student life, it neglects to address some of the more serious student issues that Talal and I are passionate about. Even though Charlie and Courtney will have an open and accessible UGBC administration that might accomplish great things in terms of student life, we still desire a stronger assertion of the role that the UGBC can play on key issues.

We wish both teams the best of luck moving through this final campaign season, and we are excited to work with them regardless of the election’s outcome.

Kris Munden A&S ’11 Talal Rojas CSOM ’11

ALC president speaks out regarding UGBC elections The Heights’ editorial endorsing Witmer and Dower produced last Monday had sets of fictitious implications regarding the AHANA Leadership Council. I felt it necessary to clear them up, since readers could easily associate the opinions of this editorial with the true sentiments of ALC. First, I should state that no one speaks on behalf of ALC, for ALC is made up of over 50 individuals. I, Earl Edwards, can only express my personal opinions regarding ALC and the two campaigns. The editorial last Monday said that, “Micaela Mabida and Patrick Raab have designed a platform in which the UGBC will become overly involved in the affairs of the ALC and the GLC” – this is a statement that I do not agree with at all. Mabida and Raab’s platform is by far the most AHANA-friendly platform and better addresses the issues in the AHANA community. As president of ALC, I want to see a more cooperative relationship with the UGBC, and I believe that is the intent of Micaela and Pat. The relationship

between ALC and the UGBC has improved over time and has become more cooperative; however, it is not where it should be quite yet. Mabida and Raab offer strong ideas in their platform that will improve this relationship, and actually help ALC, as opposed to being overbearing, as The Heights’ editorial implied. Both Mabida and Raab have attended several ALC meetings. Charlie Witmer has attended one and Courtney Dower has attended none.

Charlie Witmer has made an effort to reach out to ALC somewhat; however, neither I nor my vice president have ever spoken with Courtney. I was highly disappointed that The Heights’ editorial would speak on behalf of ALC without consulting us, and I felt it necessary that the truth be printed so that the Boston College community is not mislead.

Thanks, Earl Edwards AHANA Leadership Council President, A&S ’10

Reilly–Kaz: looks at candidates’ platforms Here at Boston College we participate in democracy everyday: “Where should we go for lunch? What movie do we want to watch tonight? Eagle’s Nest or Hillside? Mods, Cityside, or Mary Anne’s?” We reach these group decisions through compromise. By discussing potential options, weighing pros and cons, and considering the desires of the group, we make choices and act. This is the democratic process in action sitting down and figuring out solutions to problems.

This is why I dislike election season on the Heights – the shouting, holding doors at the top of libraries, and synchronized dancing in the Quad are all things we find ridiculous.

I did not employ these tactics in our Reilly-Kaz campaign last season. These charades are annoying, juvenile, and worst of all, in no way further democracy. To this day, I do not understand how these marketing gimmicks help win elections.

I appreciate the need for gimmicks, slander, and extensive marketing in “real-world” political campaigns, where countless members of the population are ignorant. But we live in the hyper-educated society of Boston College, where every Eagle citizen is intelligent (the Admissions office would consider them so). Yet less than 1/2 the population will vote, and countless Eagles won’t read the platforms. I have no doubts that if every Eagle read the platforms last election season, the results would have been different.

Today I am voting for Courtney Dower and Charlie Witmer, because Courtney Dower is one of the most loyal people I have ever met. Loyalty means friendship and friendship means trust. I trust Courtney Dower to lead as Vice President because I’ve seen her in action. I witnessed Courtney

Dower work hard and be a huge support as my Campaign Manager last year. She was invaluable to our efforts. I know how much she cares about this school and am proud to endorse Courtney and Charlie in today’s election.

While I will be casting my vote for Courtney, Pat Raab from the Vote for Growth team is also a great guy who I’ve known for a long time. I have no doubts that he would make a wonderful Vice President. He and Micaela would do a good job leading the student body. I feel that my campaign was aimed towards growing the student government into something new, so I can relate.

Vote for whom you think will be the best leaders of this school, the people you trust and are educated about. Skim thru their web sites: www.talktocc.com and www.voteforgrowth.com. Take five minutes to know each campaign – do it while you’re sitting in class and playing on the computer. You know you’ll be wasting time online today anyways. Look past the color-coordinated heckling in the quad and read the platforms: see what ideas are best, feasible, and exciting. Encourage your friends and roommates to do the same. Meet the candidates today and tomorrow. Ask them questions. I promise, the 10 minutes of investigation and 10 seconds of voting on Portal make UGBC elections the easiest democracy you will ever take part in.

Reilly F. Dinius A&S ’10 Nick Kazmiroff A&S ’11 Business and Operations

Editorial Kaleigh Polimeno, Copy Editor Michael Caprio, News Editor Zach Wielgus, Sports Editor Jacquelyn Herder, Features Editor Kristen House, Arts & Review Editor Daniel Martinez, Marketplace Editor Hilary Chassé, Opinions Editor Ana Lopez, Special Projects Editor Alex Trautwig, Photo Editor Karolina Cyburt, Layout Editor

Contributors: Molly Lapointe, Mollie Kolosky, Amanda Huang, Matt Palazzolo, Keith Van Kuller

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Zachary Jason, Assoc. Arts & Review Editor Allison Therrien, Asst. Arts & Review Editor Patricia Harris, Asst. Marketplace Editor Kevin Hou, Asst. Photo Editor Margaret Tseng, Asst. Layout Editor Rachel Gregorio, Asst. Graphics Carrie McMahon, Editorial Assistant Zachary Halpern, Executive Assistant

Joelle Formato, Business Manager David Givler, Advertising Manager Brynne Lee, Outreach Coordinator Brendan Quinn, Systems Manager Madeline Demoulas, Local Sales Manager Daniel Ottaunick, Collections Manager James Gu, Asst. Ads Manager Dara Fang, Business Assistant

THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, February 18, 2010

A7

OPINIONS

Thumbs Up Girl Talk – BCPD are already preparing for the Saturday night debut of Mod party favorite DJ Girl Talk.

The event will be held in the Plex in an effort to minimize wayward elbows to the face and encourage excessively drunk students to dance provocatively at a dark concert.

Prediction: Plug pulled by 11:30 or the next TU/TD will be dedicated to extolling the brilliance of the BU hockey program.

Guilt Trip – Breezing past the tables in the McElroy lobby became even more awkward this week (yeah, you just always happen to get a text the second the tables enter earshot) because now, instead of dutifully ignoring this or that annoying club, you’re breaking the hearts of adorable Girl Scouts hawking cookies. TU/TD wonders if there’s a badge for ingenious marketing strategy. Well played, ladies, well played.

RHA – The aforementioned people who avoid donation tables like the plague may have been relieved to see that the station set up on Monday advertising the Mr. BC show had a prominent sign promising to not attack the student’s meal plan or try to extract funds in any way. One night without dodging a bullet on the way into the dining hall.

Mardi Gras – Where the Super Bowl party ended and Mardi Gras began in New Orleans is nearly impossible to tell, especially since Saints quarterback Drew Brees was the King of Bacchus in the annual parade. After a difficult few years, the Big Easy earned a big break with the double whammy celebration.

Lent – For those who forgot that yesterday was Ash Wednesday, the sight of hundreds of students strolling through the Quad, apparently oblivious to the giant smear of black on their foreheads, quickly reminded them that the sneakiest 40 days had arrived. Giving up sweets, smoking, or swearing? Good luck. Deciding to go the “extra” actions route? See how well that goes for you. Decide to not make any false promises during this holy time, it’s the only safe bet.

Thumbs Down Insensitivity – Monday, this column, under the category of Olympics, grievously offended our neighbors to the north by confusing two of their major cities, Toronto and Vancouver. Not only are these cities over 2,000 miles apart (3,000 km. metric system, eh?) but how TU/TD could have so simply dismissed the second largest country in the world is deeply shameful. To all BC Canucks: Your contribution of maple syrup, moose (meese?), and lumberjack chic will never again go overlooked.

Impediments – Now that one door has been added to the first floor O’Neill landing, the other one has apparently taken offense and gone on strike. The already nearly impossible to open glass doors have been blocked off, creating a backup in the constant stream coming from the fourth floor elevators.

Whatever Goliath ripped the door off its hinges should be assigned to holding it open for everyone else. Fair is fair.

The beauty of the Olympics

ALC ball intends to connect

JANINE HANRAHAN Every two years, my faith in humanity is restored for a two-week period.

During this time frame, the world seems to be a wonderful place, filled with good people doing good things. Hard work matters more than privilege. Unlikely success stories come true. People of various nations set aside their differences and cheer each other on.

The Olympics showcase some of the greatest things people are capable of – courage, bravery, dedication, resilience, humility in triumph, and grace in defeat. Thus far, the athletes of the 2010 Vancouver Games have not disappointed.

Initially, these games seemed destined to be marred by the tragic death of Nodar Kumaritashvili, the Georgian luger. There was speculation that the Georgian delegation would withdraw from the games entirely. But Olympic athletes are nothing if not resilient, and so the Georgians paraded solemnly into the opening ceremony, receiving a full standing ovation (the only other nation to get one was Canada). The raucous crowd later honored the athlete with a minute of silence. It was a touching tribute to a young man who wanted to make his parents proud.

Although Kumaritashvili’s death is not far from anyone’s mind, there have been plenty of triumphant moments, especially for the host nation. Alexandre Bilodeau won Canada its first gold medal at a home Olympics in men’s moguls freestyle skiing. Bilodeau’s athletic career first began as a hockey player, but his mother encouraged him to switch to skiing because it would make it easier for her to care for his brother, Frederic.

Frederic has cerebral palsy and was told by doctors that he would be unable to walk after age 10. Eighteen years later, Frederic still walks, and is the inspiration for his younger brother. As Bilodeau completed the run of his life,

POOJA SHAH

MICHAEL SALDARRIAGA / HEIGHTS ILLUSTRATION

Frederic was cheering him on. A more inspiring story is hard to imagine.

And then there is the Chinese figureskating pair, Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo. The duo has been skating together for 18 years and received their second bronze medal at the 2006 Turin games after Zhao managed to come back from a ruptured Achilles tendon. But they were not content with bronze, so they came out of retirement with the intent of winning gold at the Vancouver games.

Zhao kissed the ice at the end of their routine as the crowd cheered wildly for the favorites. Although their free-skate was not perfect, the couple, who still live in athletic dormitories and eat at the cafeteria despite being married, claimed the ultimate prize. It was vindication not only for them, but also for their coach, Yao Bin, who saw his own Olympic dreams shattered by mistakes.

Bin not only guided China to gold, but also to silver, ending Russia’s 46-year streak of dominance in the event.

Even Bode Miller, the villain of the 2006 Turin Games as a result of his poor attitude and even worse performance, managed to redeem himself with a bronze medal in Vancouver. He has the chance to medal in four more events and

further prove himself as one of America’s greatest alpine skiers.

All of these stories, and many more, prove what is so great about the Olympics. Although I always would like to see Americans take home the gold, it is not difficult to get behind any of the athletes. They all work extremely hard to get where they are, and many of them have compelling stories like Shen and Zhao and Alexandre Bilodeau. The dedication it takes to reach the highest levels of some of the world’s most challenging sports requires a special type of individual. They compete through injuries, tragedies, and all the other ailments life throws at a person.

For as long as the Olympics remain largely untouched by politics, doping, and all the other influences that serve to corrupt everything, I will look forward to the figure-skater’s salchows, the snowboarder’s air, and the skier’s jumps.

And, of course, the opening ceremonies (even if they consist of Canadians in indescribable outfits, skipping around while playing the fiddle).

Janine Harahan is a staff columnist for The Heights. She welcomes comments at opinions@bcheights.com.

Lonely hearts club online

CHRIS DEWEY Ah, Valentine’s Day. Time to do the same thing I have done for the past 22 years on Feb. 14 – namely, nothing. Being dateless and having no desire to chip away at the mountain of schoolwork lying before me, I decide to investigate Chatroulette.com, the newest Web site that allows for social interaction with complete strangers. This site gives users a chance to video chat with a vast array of characters, many of whom have both a webcam and a microphone. I have neither of these devices, so I figure that I can explore the Web site fairly anonymously. Cracking open a cold Bud Light to accompany a plate of cookies given to me by my dear mother, I’m ready to let the good times roll. Let’s see how many predators we can find.

8:00 p.m.: Currently, there are 24,426 users online. My first official Chatroulette.com interaction consists of a brief exchange with a grape-eating high school boy, most likely no older than 16. His mastery of toilet language and assorted obscenities is impressive.

Though the conversation is fleeting, I have a suspicion that this precocious boy will make someone very proud in the future.

8:12 p.m.: I receive my first exposure to a male chatter displaying his self-love habits to the rest of the world.

While initially shocked by this performance, it becomes commonplace as I continue to scan over the Web site.

Perhaps this isn’t how I want to spend Valentine’s Day. 8:30 p.m.: Even though no one can actually see me on the other end, I still find myself taking it personally each time someone decides to move on to the next available chatter. Rejection hasn’t stung this much since high school dances or possibly the Newton Prom. Sadly, a great personality can only take you so far, even in the Chatroulette world. Time for Bud Light number two.

8:42 p.m.: Two young teenage boys appear on my screen. They ask me if I have a camera because they would like to see what my mammary glands look like. This request catches me off guard, and I begin to feel uncomfortable.

What makes this more troubling is that they have not even taken the time to enquire about my gender. I swiftly click the “Next” button in hopes of finding something a little tamer.

9:03 p.m.: An Asian chatter who is my age appears on screen. He doesn’t immediately skip over me, so I attempt to engage him in mild discourse. Unfortunately, he does not speak English. It occurs to me that people from all over the globe are logging onto this central hub.

This conversation was dead on arrival.

9:22 p.m.: I am growing frustrated with the number of users who do not have a camera enabled. I did not log onto this site to interact with faceless cyber-beings. That sort of technology has been around for ages. I want to put a face to these people who I will never talk to again. I laugh at my own hypocrisy and continue to seek out visual chatters.

9:44 p.m.: I gain a window into the bedroom of a middle-aged couple making love. Despite the fact that these people clearly don’t mind who is

FROM HERE TO RESERVOIR

BY SAL CIPRIANO

viewing their acts, I immediately feel both shocked and guilty. I hit “Next” before I have the chance to potentially recognize this dynamic duo.

9:50 p.m.: The visual stereotype of a child abductor enters the chat.

Middle-aged, sloppily dressed, and poorly shaven, this unkempt man wastes no time initiating the conversation. Though he says nothing particularly concerning, I cannot help but feel that most parents would be uneasy if their youngsters were interacting with such figures.

9:59 p.m.: I glance over to the left of my desk and notice an intriguing red envelope. I totally forgot that I just received Zombieland from Netflix.

Chatroulette is going to have to take a backseat. A good zombie flick is just what I need on this dreary holiday.

Random strangers will never top the appeal of Woody Harrelson.

All in all, Valentine’s Day 2010 was certainly an eye-opening experience.

Though I cannot say I made any new friends, I certainly got an abundant dose of nudity, foul language, and Internet anarchy. There has not been another time in my life when I have been granted access to such a wide spectrum of people in such a short duration of time. Just when I think my generation has reached the zenith of impersonal social interaction, a new, dumfounding invention slaps me across the face and puts me in my place. For all of you who have grown bored with phone calls, text messaging, instant messaging, faxing, e-mail, pagers, Google chat, Facebook chat, and letter writing, there is still hope – Chatroulette!

Chris Dewey is a staff columnist for The Heights. He welcomes comments at opinions@bcheights.com.

The crystal chandelier dazzled over the couple as they elegantly made their way to the center of the dance floor, the girl holding her turquoise-blue gown in her hands and the boy escorting her, standing tall in his fresh, black suit.

Dozens of heels clicked on the glossy dance floor, Sean Kingston boomed from surrounding speakers, and the smell of the buffet lingered in the air.

The venue was illuminated by an endless, bright radiance, and bouquets of blooming roses decorated each dinner table. Sounds like déjà vu from your prom night or a clip right out of a Taylor Swift music video, right? Think again.

Each year, the AHANA Leadership Council (ALC) presents Boston College students the opportunity to attend the ALC Ball. This year, it will be held Friday, Feb. 19, at Copley Plaza, one of downtown Boston’s most grandiose hotels, where about 800 students can enjoy an unforgettable night of food and great music. If you thought prom was the shizz, why not relive it in college? This event welcomes students of all backgrounds to attend one of the most integrated and diverse social activities at BC. This year’s ball celebrates the 30th anniversary of the AHANA acronym. In commemoration, the event will be honoring the strength of AHANA women who have contributed to our society, commending and appreciating their efforts.

Besides allowing students to break into the “Soulja Boy” whenever they please, the ball focuses on making a statement about the power and magnitude of women who overcame cultural and / or racial struggles to be successful. Wintanna Abai, an organizer of the event, said that a slideshow containing quotations from and descriptions of, and pictures of an array of women will be presented to exemplify a small sample of successful women. Among the women honored and depicted will be Liya Kebede, the first Ethiopian supermodel and maternal health advocate, and Fe del Mundo, the first Filipino pediatrician to start her own pediatric hospital in the Philippines.

Additionally, Elaine Chao, the 24th U.S. Secretary, who served under George H.W. Bush’s administration, will be noted for her accomplishments.

These women are most important because they often go unrecognized, but that should not be the case. As people who challenged themselves, they are excellent role models. These women empower and encourage us by stating that we are not limited to achieve what we desire by any aspects of life.

For those of you who may not know, AHANA is the acronym coined to celebrate the culture differences of those persons of African-American, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American descent.

One common misunderstanding within the BC community is that the social events thrown by AHANA are only for those who fit into one of these categories – not true. Though AHANA serves as a comfortable outlet for persons of these descents to interact with those similar to them, the ALC Ball promotes fusion of all races and backgrounds. Attending such an event can only be beneficial to the BC community because each individual can each learn something new from someone else. Not only does the ball bring to light women who have had an impact in the past and continue to do so in the present, it shines insight into cultures that one may not have any knowledge about. The ALC extends its invitation to all the culture groups and individuals to participate in a night dedicated to difference.

So, what are you sitting here reading this for? Whip out those 25 bucks, run to the box office, and purchase two tickets now – one for you and one for your date if you have one (you can bring someone from off campus!).

Pooja Shah is a staff columnist for The Heights. She welcomes comments at opinions@bcheights.com.

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Contact us at editor@bcheights.com

A8

Thursday, February 18, 2010

The Heights

Baseball ready to contend with elite of ACC Baseball Preview, from A10

the team.

Stepping in for Belfiore is last season’s set-up man, junior Kevin Moran. After compiling a 5-2 record with 37 strikeouts and a 2.75 ERA over 52.1 innings of work last season, he was named to this year’s initial watch list for the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Stopper of the Year Award. But the NCBWA is not the only organization that has confidence in Moran’s abilities to seamlessly transition from set-up man to closer.

“All of us, the players and coaches, have an inordinate amount of confidence in Kevin Moran,” Aoki said. “He’s got really great ability, he’s got a really good

mindset, and he’s one of the hardest working kids on the team, and one of the most well-respected kids on the team. So I don’t think we’re going to skip a beat as far as [the closer role] goes.”

In terms of starting pitching, with the loss of mainstay JB MacDonald, the bulk of innings will go to Dean. He is no stranger to tossing a lot of innings, however, as he pitched only one less inning than MacDonald last year. Dean compiled a 6-4 record with a 3.30 ERA and a team-leading 90 strikeouts.

“We have a ton of confidence in Pat and his abilities,” Aoki asid.

Sophomore Mike Dennhardt and junior John Leonard will flesh out the rest of the top half of the rotation for the Eagles.

Dennhardt completed 52.2 innings of

alex trautwig / heights editor

New closer Kevin Moran was named to this year’s NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award watch list.

work in which he fanned 44 batters, and earned a 5-2 record. As for Leonard, he made his way through a tough 66 innings that resulted in a poor 7.09 ERA with a 1-5 record.

“From a pitching standpoint, some of them are young and untested, but I think they have good competitive character,” Aoki said of the five freshman pitchers joining the clubhouse. “We have ACCcaliber arms for sure. Some of them just need to learn how to command the strike zone better.”

Behind the pitchers, defensively, the Eagles field a team that holds a high fielding percentage. Every starter accumulated at least a .920 fielding percentage last year, and the team as a whole committed only 68 errors.

“We’re certainly capable of really good defense,” Aoki said.

The Eagles are also certainly capable of really good offense. They outscored their opponents 416-334 last season, and despite the losses of Belfiore and Sanchez, BC will pack quite an offensive punch.

Senior Robbie Anston and junior Mickey Wiswall serve as the two biggest offensive threats in an Eagle clubhouse that had four hitters finish hitting over .300, as well as two more hovering right around that mark. Anston hit .344, bested only slightly by Sanchez, who hit .346, for the team lead in batting average.

Anston also compiled a team-leading 85 hits and had a .436 on-base percentage, second only to Sanchez.

As for Wiswall, he was named to the Baseball America Preseason All-America Second team, and for good reason.

Wiswall jacked a team-leading 14 homers and drove in a team-leading 63 RBIs. “Mickey [Wiswall] is one of the premiere hitters in all of college baseball this year,” Aoki said.

BC will need all the offense it can get playing in the powerful ACC, the premiere conference in college baseball.

Even amid squads like North Carolina, Florida State, Virginia, and Georgia Tech, Aoki and the Eagles have not lost sight of the importance of every single game, including non-conference contests.

“You better buckle up and be ready to go every single time out, because everybody is good enough to beat anyone else on any given day,” Aoki said. “Every

Heights File Photo

Over 52 games last season, shortstop Brad Zapenas recorded a solid .956 fielding percentage. single game for us is an opportunity to prove to the tournament committee that we deserve to be in the NCAA tournament.”

Fortunately for Aoki and the coaching staff, the players hold themselves accountable for being prepared for each and every game.

“It’s not just the coaching staff having to prod and poke and yell and scream to get them to do the things they need to do,” Aoki said. “I think we’ve been able to foster a culture where the kids work and hold each other accountable.”

That accountability, mixed with the leadership of the senior and junior classes that know what it takes to make the NCAA tournament, forms the nucleus of this year’s clubhouse. While the pitch-

ing might be a slight concern, the Eagles have an impressive defense and an even more impressive batting lineup to make up for it.

With that said, BC is ready to take the field and prove that last year’s tournament berth was not a lucky accident.

“You grow a little bit stir crazy in the bubble for an outdoor sport,” Aoki said.

“You’re just anxious to get outside, and I think that Feb. 19 [BC’s opening day] can’t come fast enough.”

With the first inning against Tulane only 24 hours away, the Eagles can soon begin their mission to show that they are a team that deserves to be considered among the college baseball elite. It’s time to take their foot off the brakes and put the pedal to the metal. n

Wiswall assumes larger role in Eagles’ offense

By Paul Sulzer

Asst. Sports Editor Only one player on the Boston College baseball team was named a preseason All-American by Baseball America. His name is Mickey Wiswall, and BC will lean on him more than ever since fellow power hitters Tony Sanchez and Mike Belfiore turned pro over the summer.

“It feels pretty special to get recognition on a national level, but the big thing everyone tells me is that it’s preseason,” Wiswall said with a laugh. “With that being said, it’s definitely an honor.”

The junior third baseman enters the year as the primary cog in an Eagle offense that was running at optimal efficiency last year. Hitting between Sanchez and Belfiore in the cleanup spot last year, Wiswall had one of the most productive seasons in BC history. He batted .320 with 14 home runs, 63 runs batted in, and 82 hits. His RBI and hit totals rank second in school history for a single season, while his home run total ranks third.

Without Belfiore batting behind him, Wiswall will have to get used to pitchers working around him. He can expect a few fastballs as opponents try to fool him into giving away strikes. Wiswall has developed a reputation as a free swinger, so he’s been working on his patience over the winter.

“We will be able to protect Mickey really well,” said BC head coach Mik Aoki in a statement. “He is obviously the one guy in the lineup that people will game plan around.

“I don’t know that we’ll hit quite as many home runs as we did last year, but we bring more ways to score than we did last year.”

Pitchers won’t be able to avoid Wiswall, though, if first base is always occupied.

That responsibility falls to the top of the order. In particular, Matt Hamlet has been battling in front of Wiswall in practice, and he’s been drawing a lot of walks.

Wiswall said he’s confident that the team is balanced enough to prevent opponents from keying on any one player.

“Every good hitter is going to find a pitch to hit,” Wiswall said. “Hopefully, I’ll find something I can drive and work with.

Coach has done a great job complementing the lineup, one through nine.”

Wiswall credits former captain Harry Darling with helping him reach his potential. Darling and Wiswall struck up a friendship immediately when Wiswall joined the team. Darling wouldn’t accept anything but the best effort from anyone on the team. That work ethic is a huge reason why Wiswall, the team, and the program took such a huge step forward last year.

“I’m in debt forever for his mentor-

Heights File Photo

Junior third baseman Mickey Wiswall totaled 82 hits and 63 RBIs in 2009, good for second in school history in one season. He will be expected to produce at a similar rate this year. ing,” Wiswall said. “His captaincy is what made our team what we were last year, and it’s what’s going to make our team what it is this year, because of what he left behind in the program.”

Although Wiswall isn’t the vocal leader Darling was – he said that responsibility belongs to senior John Spatola – he does offer hitting advice to the underclassmen whenever they want it. For the BC offense to remain as potent as it was last year, another young player will have to make a jump in production, as Wiswall did between 2008 and 2009. As a freshman, his numbers were solid but unspectacular – he hit .306 with four homers and 15 RBI. The biggest adjustment for a hitter facing college pitching for the first time is the tempo of the game. Most Division I pitchers throw in the high 80s or low 90s and can locate their offspeed pitches.

High school pitchers, by comparison, often only reach the high 70s with their fastball.

Still, Wiswall made an impression immediately. He hit well in fall practice of his freshman year, and Aoki said that

his bat could be strong enough to force its way into the lineup. But Wiswall had a poor winter season and began the spring on the bench. He started his first game during the second weekend of his freshman season and went four for six. He’s been in the starting lineup since then.

Wiswall was a highly-recruited player coming out of Stoneham, Mass. BC was always his dream school, he said, but once baseball began to factor in to his decision, Duke and Maryland tried to sign him.

Ultimately, Wiswall was persuaded by Aoki, who was an assistant coach for the Eagles at the time.

“The thing that really sold me with BC was that [Aoki] said he wanted a Northeast crop to help lead BC to the next level,” Wiswall said. “He feels like the best players in New England can help lead BC into the ACC tournament, into a regional, and into [the College World Series in] Omaha. Last year, we did two of those three things. This year, we’re looking to take that one step further to a super regional and to Omaha.”

The Eagles were unable to reach Omaha last year, but they did experience

a similar atmosphere against the No. 1 Texas Longhorns in the NCAA regional tournament.

“There were thousands of fans tailgating, which you don’t see a lot around here,” Wiswall said. “There was kind of an excitement to it before we even stepped out onto the field.”

BC and Texas played the longest game in NCAA history, a 25-inning affair that took over seven hours to complete.

Wiswall had two hits in 10 at-bats, as the Longhorns won, 3-2.

“When the lights turned on and we went through the first nine innings, we were tired,” Wiswall said. “But we thought, ‘Wow, we have a chance to win this thing and set ourselves up nicely for the future – maybe a super regional and Omaha.’

“When we heard the announcer going through all the records we were breaking as we went along, it definitely felt like seven hours.”

Wiswall said that the fans helped make an already remarkable game even more special that night in Austin. Such a culture doesn’t exist at BC, in part because

the team lacks adequate facilities. Boston is baseball crazy, but the crowd at Shea Field never exceeds a couple thousand because of limited seating and viewing angles. BC plans to build a new baseball stadium in the Institutional Master Plan.

A state of the art facility would reaffirm BC’s status as the premier program in the Northeast and could make BC a contender for recruits on a national level.

Until that happens, the Eagles will have to compensate for their inherent disadvantages by outworking teams.

Wiswall did his part by working on his footwork in the field over the offseason.

He said that he’s been trying to get lighter on his feet to make turning quickly to the left or right easier. But, like many of his teammates, he’s tired of playing inside the confined Bubble over Alumni Stadium. He said he wants to showcase his new skills outdoors. His first chance will be this weekend in a three-game set against Tulane.

“Everyone can’t wait to get outside,” Wiswall said. “We’ve worked so hard to be where we are. We’re in great shape.

We’re ready to go.” n

The Heights

Editors’ Picks

Thursday, February 18, 2010 The Week Ahead

Standings

The game we thought we all were waiting for is here, as men’s basketball takes on UNC. The women travel to NC State. Men’s hockey has a homeand-home with Northeastern, while the women play two against UNH. Baseball opens its season in Tulane.

A9

Paul Sulzer

15-5

Maegan O’Rourke

14-6

Zach Wielgus

13-7

Heights staff

12-8

Florida State crushed men’s basketball, and the women’s team fell to a surprising Wake Forest team. Men’s hockey earned a hard-fought split with Lowell, but women’s hockey blitzed Maine for two wins. Man U beat AC Milan, 3-2, in the game of the week.

Guest Editor: Darren Ranck Managing Editor “‘And it all comes down to you’ ... Al Skinner.

Schwin!”

Maegan O’Rourke Assoc. Sports Editor

Paul Sulzer Asst. Sports Editor

Darren Ranck

Managing Editor

Men’s Basketball: North Carolina at Boston College

UNC

UNC

BC

UNC

Women’s Basketball: Boston College at NC State

BC

BC

BC

BC

Men’s Hockey: Boston College vs. Northeastern (series)

BC

BC

BC

BC

UNH

UNH

UNH

UNH

BC

BC

Tulane

Tulane

Women’s Hockey: Boston College vs. UNH (series) Baseball: Boston College at Tulane (series)

Football Four Boston College football players were named to the 2009 ACC All-Academic Football team, the league announced Wednesday.

Senior placekicker Steve Aponavicius, junior offensive tackle Anthony Castonzo, and offensive linemen Nathan Richman and Emmett Clearly all represented BC on the team.

Aponavicius earned the honor for the fourth straight year, becoming only one of 11 players in ACC history to be selected four times.

Players that earned a 3.0 grade point average for the previous semester, maintained a 3.0 average overall, and played in 50 percent of the games were eligible for consideration.

Women’s Hockey Zach Wielgus Sports Editor

This Week’s Games

BCnotes

Recap from Last Week

Allie Thunstrom, a senior on the women’s ice hockey team, has been nominated for the 2010 Patty Kazmaier Award, as announced by USA Hockey.

Thunstrom is one of 45 players from across the country to be nominated for the award, which is given to the top player in women’s hockey. This is the second year in a row that a BC player has been nominated for the award.

She currently leads both the team and the Hockey East in goals scored with 20 and is also tied for fifth in the league in overall scoring, with 27 points. Thunstrom is currently ranked fourth on BC’s all-time scoring list with 136 points.

Eagles poised for success behind veteran roster

By Zach Wielgus Sports Editor

With eight seniors and a lineup that returns nearly all of its starters, the Boston College softball team has one idea in mind: This is the year it all comes together.

“We have a lot of experience coming back, and the senior class has something to prove,” said head coach Jennifer Finley.

“They have the entire team on the same page. They are going to go out there, the way we talked, and get the job done.”

The team, however, has a big leap to make from last year’s finish if it hopes to make the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2003. The Eagles finished 18-33 last year, good for last place in the ACC. They also limped into the ACC tournament, ending the year 4-12 before bowing out of conference play with a 2-0 loss to Florida State.

Preseason predictions do not expect much more out of BC, which has not had a winning season since the 2007-2008 campaign. Finley and the team, though, remain unfazed.

“Polls are polls, and it doesn’t really matter,” Finley said. “It matters what you do on the field. Nobody expects us to do anything, but we have different ideas.

We’re actually excited for them to put us there.”

“I think we are definitely being underestimated,” said third baseman Dani Weir. “I put it up on my wall to use it as motivation. If anything, it just fires us up more to do way better than we’re expected to do.”

Throughout the offseason, the Eagles have been focusing on sturdy defense and strong pitching. Every starting fielder

except one logged a fielding percentage of .938 or above, committing a total of 58 errors in 51 games. Supporting a stellar three-person rotation of Taylor Peyton, Allison Gage, and Morgan Kidd, the Eagle defense often held offensively powerful ACC foes to few runs. In all, BC allowed five or fewer runs in 34 of its games last year and expects that stingy defense to continue.

In order for that to happen, the pitcher taking the mound will need to bring the solid play she showcased last year. Peyton ended the 2009 season with a sterling 2.54 ERA and team-leading 102 strikeouts, while Gage turned in an equally impressive 3.23 ERA and 70 strikeouts.

“The pitching staff is going to be solid,” Finley said. “I feel the experience the staff got last year, with all those onerun games, that will turn around.”

The Eagles will have to adjust for their third starting pitcher, as Kidd is out for the year with a torn ACL. Freshman Nicole D’Argento will try to fill Kidd’s spot, which both Finley and Weir believe she is completely capable of doing.

“She is a great competitor, but not only that, as a freshman, she has a presence and a leadership on the mound,” Finley said.

“As a third baseman, I love seeing her on the mound,” Weir said. “She has the confidence that not your average freshman would have, and seeing that confidence in your pitcher makes you confident as a player. Knowing that she is going to get the job done, knowing that she’s consistent and that she wants to win, just makes you want it that much more.”

High school results also speak volumes for D’Argento, who compiled a 62-0 career record and an astounding 0.23 ERA dur-

ing her senior year.

On the offensive side, it’s no secret the Eagles struggled to help out their pitchers, falling in over a dozen one-run games and often failing to score more than three runs. Even still, BC boasted four players with five or more home runs, including Weir, who led the team with eight.

Where the team struggled was consistency, often going multiple innings without hits and only salvaging a shutout by blasting a solo home run. With another year of experience under the belts of the batting lineup, as well as the loss of only two girls who played in more than 30 games, Finley remains optimistic the offense will take a turn for the better this season.

“All the pressure will be on the defense and pitching,” Finley said. “We’ll score runs, definitely, because we think we’re solid. I won’t say that will be our strongest suit, but if it is, stellar.”

Every hypothesis and optimistic attitude about BC will be put to the test starting today at 2 p.m. when it opens its season against Texas A&M Corpus Christi, and it will play four more games before the weekend is over. If there’s one thing that Finley expects out of her team that will lead to a successful turnaround, it’s that her seniors will be leading the way.

“This team expects to win and will go out there with a fight and something to prove to everybody,” Finley said. “It’s their last year, and they want to have fun doing it, but they have a lot of things to accomplish. They have set the tone for everyone else on the team, so everybody else knows what they have to do.”

What they have to do is make this year their year. n

heights file photo

The softball team will need a group effort if it hopes to rebound from a tough 18-33 season.

Remembering the Eagle who launched a program

By Alex Petrossian

alex trautwig / heights editor

The Eagles have missed Rakim Sanders’ shutdown defense this year. He has not been the same since he injured his ankle.

Tar Heels come to Conte BC-North Carolina, from A10

They have a seemingly decent mixture of experience, featuring three upperclassmen, a freshman, and a sophomore. The UNC bench, on the other hand, consists almost entirely of freshmen. In fact, in the Tar Heels’ past three games, the only players to come off the bench and see playing time have been freshmen. The starters have been forced to play extended minutes to make up for the thin, young bench.

Guard play has been the other failing of what had been, prior to this year, a perennial strength for UNC. The loss of point guard Ty Lawson and shooting guard Wayne Ellington has left the Tar Heels with a shortage of experience at each of the guard positions.

Point guard Larry Drew II has been playing well, averaging nine points per game while maintaining a

1.8 to 1 assist-to-turnover ratio. He has been unable, though, to match the productiveness and impact Lawson had in previous years. The top three scorers for the Tar Heels are all forwards, and not a single guard is averaging double digits this season.

In fact, only Thompson and Ed Davis can boast scoring averages in double digits. Davis also leads the team in rebounding, averaging 9.2 per game.

Given the weak play of Dunn and Southern, the Heels’ advantage down low and on the glass could be enough to turn the game in their favor.

Saturday’s match-up, then, will feature each team trying to play to its strengths: inside dominance for UNC, guard and outside play for BC. While the match might lack the postseason implications that have colored the past meetings of the two teams, Saturday’s game should provide a learning experience each team can build on as they head into the future. n

With the Boston College baseball season only a day away, it’s time to reflect on how far the program has come in the last year.

While BC basketball and football teams have had a smooth transition from the Big East to the ACC, the baseball team has experienced some growing pains. In 2005, its last year in the Big East, BC finished second in the conference with a 17-8 record. Once BC entered the ACC, the team’s fortunes changed. From 2006-2008, the Eagles were consistently found at the bottom of the ACC standings. The talent proved to be overwhelming, as a constant stream of future first-round picks rudely welcomed BC to the conference.

In 2009, however, this all changed. Their newfound success was in large part due to their underappreciated catcher, Tony Sanchez.

Coming out of high school, Sanchez was a modest prospect who was overlooked by several ACC schools. Although college coaches recognized the catcher’s potential, his unpolished skills prevented him from garnering a roster spot on a top-flight program. BC, however, recognized that Sanchez had one intangible that couldn’t be overlooked: his work ethic. Sanchez’s progression as an NCAA baseball player is the direct result of his hard-working mentality.

As a freshman, Sanchez made an impact right away. He started an unprecedented 50 games as a true freshman, including 38 as catcher. He finished third on the team with an impressive .318 batting average. Sanchez also made it apparent early on that he could defend his position as well as anyone by throwing out a staggering 40 percent of wouldbe base stealers.

Catchers typically excel at one of the two, or just perform average at both. In fact, you could make the case that Joe Mauer is the only catcher in the MLB that truly shines on both sides of the ball. Sanchez’s rare ability to excel at both at such an early age grabbed the attention of players and coaches all throughout the conference. Despite

Sanchez’s immediate success, his game was far from perfect.

Although Sanchez amassed numbers impressive for any NCAA player, let alone a freshman, he only hit one home run. Power is one of the first things that major league scouts look for when evaluating a college player. The difference between aluminum bats and wooden bats is monumental. When a baseball comes into contact with a wooden bat, the barrel of the bat compresses, causing the ball to lose over half of its potential energy. Aluminum bats, on the other hand, instead of compressing, act as a springboard. This “trampoline effect” dramatically increases one’s power numbers. Without gaudy power numbers, major league teams will often write the player off for a later round of the draft.

Sanchez worked tirelessly in the offseason with both aluminum and wooden bats to improve bat speed and develop power, and his power surge in the ensuing two years is a testament to his hard work.

In 2008, Sanchez’s home run total increased by eight, while in his final year, Sanchez finished with an impressive 14 home runs. Sanchez’s slugging percentage increased dramatically from year to year, as well. In his first year, his slugging percentage was a meager .425, but, by his last, it was a much-improved .614. To put that into perspective to the non-baseball fan, Barry Bonds – arguably the best hitter of all time* – had a career slugging percentage of .607.

Sanchez’s remarkable progression as a hitter and fielder enabled him to forego his senior year and enter the draft. Major League scouts marveled over his well-rounded repertoire, causing his stock to soar all the way up until draft day. Once the day finally came, Sanchez was drafted fourth overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Although Tony Sanchez is hardly the most talented player in the majors, his hard work and determination distinguish him from most others.

His unmatched desire to excel has led him this far, and it will no doubt take him even farther.

Alex Petrossian is a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences. He can be reached at sports@bcheights.com.

SPORTS The Heights

Thursday, February 18, 2010

A10

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Aoki confident team won’t miss a beat

By Jake Burg Heights Staff

There is no taking their foot off the gas pedal now.

After bursting into the NCAA tournament last season for the first time in 42 years, the Boston College baseball team’s tournament life came to a screeching halt with a loss to Army after a record-setting 25inning game against the University of Texas, ending in a 3-2 loss.

With the start of the 2010 season beginning tomorrow, the Eagles have their sights set on getting back into the tournament and proving that last year’s accomplishments were no fluke.

“Without any question, last year’s success has bred some confidence for our team,” said head coach Mik Aoki. “But now comes the hard part. Now comes doing it on a year in and year out basis.”

In order to achieve that consistency, at least for this season, Aoki will turn to the junior class. Six juniors occupy critical roles for the Eagles, and the team will rely heavily on their successes, especially third baseman/first baseman Mickey Wiswall and workhorse starting pitcher Pat Dean, in order to have a winning season.

“In a lot of ways, the juniors on this club are our heart and soul,” Aoki said.

To even the most casual observer, there is one glaring absence from last year’s team: standout catcher Tony Sanchez, who served as BC’s heart and soul last season. Drafted fourth overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates, the great defensive catcher and potent offensive weapon is no longer there for the Eagles to rely on.

Enter junior Garret Smith. He was the starting shortstop last season, but he will now be filling Sanchez’s shoes as the starting catcher for the Eagles.

Last year, before a broken hand forced Smith to end his season early, he hit .297 with 25 RBIs and eight doubles in 148 at-bats.

“I think Garret converting from shortstop to catcher is certainly no easy task, but he’s got the right set of tools physically, and I think, from a make-up standpoint, it’s a good position for him,” Aoki said.

Over the course of the pitchers’ and catchers workouts, Smith has had an opportunity to work with each of the pitchers in order to build that allimportant chemistry.

“He’s done a good job with [the pitchers],” Aoki said. “He has a really, really good fundamental understanding of how I want things executed in regards to maintaining the pace of play and keeping it high tempo.”

The other main missing piece from last season’s tournament team is Mike Belfiore, who was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks. The big-time closer and first baseman was not only an instrumental part of the bullpen, but he also hit the second most home runs (11) and batted in the second most runs (62) on alex trautwig / heights editor and amanda hwang / heights photo illustration

In Jackson we trust

Eagles hope to trip Heels

Maegan O’Rourke

Without leaders, both teams have struggled

By Joseph DeMaio For The Heights

With North Carolina coming off a national championship in men’s basketball and Boston College returning almost the entire roster from last year’s NCAA tournament team, Saturday’s match-up between the two at Conte Forum looked like an enticing enough game for CBS to snap up the television rights before the season began.

Little did the TV executives know how much the Eagles and the Tar Heels would struggle. Without Tyrese Rice, BC (12-13, 3-8 ACC) fell farther off the map than anyone could have predicted (with the exception of the notoriously prophetic ACC media). UNC (14-12, 3-8 ACC) was ravaged by the NBA draft, losing three first-round picks.

BC has lost eight of its last 10 games and is currently riding a four-game losing streak. UNC hasn’t fared any better.

Neither team will make the NCAA tournament unless it wins the ACC tournament. For UNC, this meeting becomes a game about pride. It’s the Tar Heels’ first chance to avenge last season’s defeat in Chapel Hill. BC, on the other hand, must win Saturday’s match-up just to return to .500 for the season, following what can only be described as an extremely disappointing 2010.

If the Eagles want to win, they are going to have to get both Joe Trapani and Reggie Jackson going early. The two have been wildly inconsistent of late, only

See Baseball Preview, A8

Alex trautwig / heights editor

Joe Trapani needs to get going early if the Eagles are going to beat North Carolina Saturday. scoring double digits together once in the past five games. The Eagles will also need Rakim Sanders to raise his game.

Sanders has struggled since returning from an ankle injury earlier in the season, scoring no higher than 13 points once in the Eagles’ last 10 games.

The Eagles will also need to have sizable contributions from their big men, either Josh Southern or Cortney Dunn.

In Sunday’s loss to Florida State, the two combined for just a single rebound, no points, and six fouls in 22 minutes

i nside S ports this issue

of play. In the previous game against Wake Forest, the two were responsible for a single point and grabbed just three rebounds. It seems that if BC wants to have any measure of success against UNC, the two big men will have to play better than they have been lately, especially given that the Tar Heels’ leading scorer is Deon Thompson, an athletic power forward.

Inexperience has killed the Heels.

See BC-North Carolina, A9

Wiswall steps into new role

The junior third baseman will be relied upon to power the Eagle offense.............A8

For a team that clearly lacks a specific identity, Reggie Jackson is the closest thing to it.

But he’s only a sophomore on a team with eight upperclassmen. He doesn’t even start.

To be arguing anything about the men’s basketball team now seems almost irrelevant, since it’s just hoping for a home game in the NIT at this point. But the situation surrounding Jackson’s importance is too great to ignore.

Jackson has the unique ability to be a game-changer – he’s not a natural point guard, but you want the ball in his hands when it’s a must-score situation.

His transition to playing more minutes at the point has obviously caused some difficulty for Jackson. We’ve heard the criticism all year – he doesn’t always make the best decision every time down, he forces too much, he misses the open man.

But what people, and the team, need to remember is that Reggie isn’t Tyrese Rice – at least not yet. He just hasn’t reached that level. It’s not an acceptable excuse to say he’s just a sophomore, but there’s also a lot more to Reggie’s role on the team this year.

Last season, Jackson was the obvious sixth man, the sparkplug that entered the game just at the right time to start a game-changing run alongside Rice. His role was clear as a freshman: bring intensity off the bench, play good defense, and the offense will work itself out. And Reggie came up huge in big games. He was the heir to replace Tyrese’s scoring prowess and overall swag, ready to take over the driver’s seat.

Remembering Tony Sanchez

With baseball beginning a new season, don’t forget the Eagle who led the team to the NCAAs...............A9

So when this season started, Jackson settled into his role off the bench, as Al sent the veteran-heavy lineup on the floor each night. But the juniors weren’t performing, and everyone depended on Jackson even more. He was supposed to save the team every time he entered the game. And many times he did – in the win over Clemson (that was four losses ago, in case you’re counting), the team was plus-20 with Reggie on the court.

But when things went wrong – and they did, quite frequently – everyone rushed to put the blame on Reggie.

“He should have known Joe was going to be open,” Skinner said about the last play of the Duke game. “We’re not upset, but when teams double-team him, that’s when he needs to find the open man,” said Corey Raji.

Of course the expectations for Reggie changed after his breakout freshman year. But because of the team’s struggles this season, the burden was placed on Jackson to make every play, without making any mistakes.

First of all, it’s not fair to take shots (intended or not, please excuse me if I’m reading too much into it) at Jackson in the press. Skinner and Raji could have just been answering a question, but still.

If you want Reggie to win the game, and then he doesn’t, he should at least not be blamed publicly. Let’s not forget the only reason why BC had a chance to tie Duke with 12 seconds left was because Reggie hit a desperation 3-pointer on the Eagles’ previous possession.

If BC wants Jackson to be the go-to player, the great player this team is currently missing, he needs to be on the court from the tip-off. If that means benching one of the juniors, then so be it. You can’t give Jackson the responsibility of carrying the team if he doesn’t even start.

If Reggie steps up, then the team should, too. If you want him to really take over, Al, just hand him the keys.

Maegan O’Rourke is the associate sports editor of The Heights. She can be reached at sports@bcheights.com.

Editors’ Picks..............................A9 BC Notes.....................................A9

Thursday, February 18, 2010

The Heights

Mike Saldarriaga & Rachel Gregorio / Heights Illustration

Thursday, February 18, 2010

THE HEIGHTS

B2

+Editor’s Corner

Loving parental playlists KRISTEN HOUSE A few years ago, I sat in the passenger seat next to my dad as he fiddled around with the radio to find his current favorite station, Oldies 103.3. As we sat in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the Mass Pike, I tried to reason with him about putting the radio on Mix 98.5, a top 40 station that would undoubtedly be bumping with some Destiny’s Child or Michelle Branch. As appealing as it was to listen to “Paradise by the Dashboard Light,” I was hitting an oldies wall.

Yet, it occurred to me that every child has a catalogue in their head, not only of the music they like, but also one of the music their parents listen to. When I was little, my dad had a tape deck in his Volvo that had a playlist of 12 songs. We would take long drives to the coast of Oregon with Cher’s “Gypsys, Tramps, and Thieves,” and Tony Orlando and Dawn’s “Knock Three Times,” and “Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog” playing at least 20 times each. My brother and I gave (and still give) my dad hell for replaying the same songs.

Yet, to this day, “Knock three times / on the ceiling if you want me / twice on the pipe / if the answer is no,” floods my mind with ethereal rides on sand dunes and picking up pumice stones from Mount St. Helens. I haven’t been to Oregon since we moved away in ’97, but these songs keep these sights and sounds fresh in my mind.

When my dad moved on to another car in 1997 and hence a CD changer rather than a tape deck, there was finally a pressing need for new CDs. We were in Massachusetts now, and two hour drives to see our extended family in Connecticut were surrounded

by Foreigner’s “Double Vision” and “Hot Blooded,” and frequent appearances by the Eagles with “Desperado,” “Hotel California,” “Take it to the Limit,” “Heartache Tonight,” and “Get Over it,” just to name a few. Elton John made many appearances with “Philadelphia Freedom” and “Rocket Man.” The luster of these songs, regardless of their worth as valuable pieces of art, wore off after the first year of my dad owning the car. I would roll my eyes with unbridled distaste when he would play “All she wants to do is Dance” by Don Henley yet again on our car ride to school with my brother. My dad would look in the rearview mirror and say, “Kristen!

This song is about you! Get it? Because you do ballet!” every time.

When I started driving with my brother to school everyday and later just driving alone, the level of times I heard Don Henley croon, “You can’t hide your lyin’ eyes / and your smile is a thin disguise,” went down significantly.

Now that I’ve been in college for a couple years, the car rides with these ubiquitous CDs playing have dropped to next to nothing. But here’s the thing, Dad. I was in a store the other day and I heard, “Rebels been rebels since I don’t know when / but all she wants to do is dance,” and I felt unparalleled brightness because it felt like you were with me. Something that used to make me antagonized beyond belief suddenly held all the warmth and comfort of home in a two-minute span.

Now, it’s 2010 and we’ve just shifted the family cars around so now his old car is my car. When it came time for me to brush the car up into tip-top shape, I left the CDs in the player. It’s not like I’ll stop harrassing my parents for their somewhat questionable music taste and knowledge (no, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” isn’t exactly a new release). But now I look at these childhood annoyoances as mementos rather than banes of my existence. One last thing: Sorry for making fun of you Dad, it turns out I love this catalogue of songs just as much as you do.

Kristen House is the Arts & Review editor for The Heights. She can be reached at arts@bcheights.com.

It’s Winter Olympics time, and although Washington, D.C., is looking like it might have been a better location for natural snow than Vancouver, the relatively obscure sports of the Winter Games are getting their time to shine. Fortunately for NBC, the network is finally getting its time to shine as well, bringing in 97 million viewers for the first two nights of coverage, the best numbers for a Winter Olympics since the scandal-ridden 1994 Games in Lillehammer. With the snow that’s currently coming down on Chestnut Hill, the mood is certainly set to enjoy h some winter sports. Unless, of course, it l w il s you are like me, and can’t plan your W kin days and nights around NBC’s broadcast at schedule. For that reason, this week’s group W of videos, all available on www.nbcolympics. com, provides some of the best Olympic coverage you didn’t see.

1

Men’s SBX Baumgartner’s helmet cam. If a walk across campus in the snow is causing you grief, this video will give you inspiration to make that trek across the Dustbowl more enjoyable.

Nick Baumgartner, a snowboarder on Team USA, wore a helmet cam during one of his runs. He doesn’t do too well in the heat, but it’s still worth watching for the POV shots from the snowboard race course that is filled with jumps and tight curves. It’s the closest most of us will ever get to Olympic athleticism, and provides an exhilarating look at snowboarding.

2

How to: fly. For those looking for more adrenaline, this look at the basics of ski jumping should provide it. Set to classy 1920s jazz music, this two-minute video goes over some of the basic mechanics of ski jumping and includes interviews with the athletes that compete in this daring sport. The brilliantly shot sequences of skiers flying over a white landscape are enough to make even the tamest among us want to try ski jumping as they make the sport look effortless and graceful, and the interviews with competitors shed some insight into the technique.

3

Luge run POV with Tony Benshoof. For most Olympic viewers, everything they know about bobsledding and its close cousin, the luge, came from the Disney smash Cool Runnings. This video provides a slowed-down and narrated glimpse of one of Team USA’s Tony Benshoof’s luge runs. He gives a technical breakdown of each curve and reveals that the sport has a lot more strategy involved than is typically revealed to viewers. The video’s close-up camera angles also allow the viewer to see how a luger steers the sled, another detail that is typically left a mystery on TV. PHOTOS COURTESY OF HULU.COM

ON THE PULSE OF FASHION: The loss of a fashion visionary The world lost one of its most legendary and talented fashion designers Thursday, as Alexander McQueen was found dead in his London apartment from an apparent suicide. McQueen was only 40 years old and had been a crucial fixture in the fashion industry for almost half of his life. The award-winning designer attracted the attention of major fashion players while still in CARRIE MCMAHON school at London’s renowned Central St. Martin’s, then went on to work for the label Givenchy as head designer for five years before starting his own self-titled label as well as a diffusion line entitled McQ. McQ later became the line off which he based his amazingly popular line for Target in 2009. This man, known to those closest to him by his legal first name, Lee, was fearless. Not only was he one of the most artistic designers to show in both New York and London’s fashion weeks for the past decade, but he was also a true craftsman capable of creating some of the most beautiful pieces, from jeans to gowns, with the utmost precision and detail.

What made McQueen truly unforgettable though, was how he showcased his stunning work. He believed in the power of shock value and held shows that were consistently highlights of fashion week. He utilized everything from rings of fire, to live wolves sniffing at the audience’s feet, to cages around his models’ heads in order to awe the few who were lucky enough to be invited to his intimate displays of talent. As unorthodox as McQueen could be, though, his designs changed the course of mainstream fashion regularly. His “bumsters,” known more commonly as low-rise jeans, became a staple of ’90s fashion, and his iconic skull-print scarf was draped around the neck of every celebrity for years. Everyone, from highbrow fashion critics to mainstream stars such as Lady Gaga and Kate Moss, were acclaimed McQueen enthusiasts. In her latest music video for “Bad Romance,” Lady Gaga sported various McQueen creations, including his “armadillo” shoes, which sparked wonder and bewilderment when they hit the runway in his spring 2010 show. Moss, on the other hand, premiered his “bumsters” and was a loyal McQueen follower from there on out, wearing his pieces everywhere from red carpets to London sidewalks. The designer was so renowned that he received the British Designer of the Year award a staggering four times, the International Designer of the Year award from the Council of Fashion Designers, and was honored as a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in 2003.

Of course, no one can say exactly what led McQueen to tragically take his own life.

However, it is known that he was having an extremely difficult time coping with the death of his mother, who died only nine days prior to McQueen. Additionally, the suicide of Isabella Blow, one of McQueen’s longtime mentors and friends, almost three years ago, seemed to have had a lasting effect on him. These deaths undoubtedly took a great toll on McQueen, and it can only be assumed that the pressure to continue his genius work added to the weight he felt. The New York showing of the McQ line, which was scheduled for Thursday afternoon, was promptly canceled once his death was reported, but support for the deceased designer has been coming in from every angle ever since.

Flowers continue to line the outside wall of his New York store where devoted fans and loving friends pay their respects, and every major fashion news source continues to generate articles, blogs, and galleries in honor of the man. Clearly, the death of McQueen is a tragic one, and there are many aspects of this event that will never be fully understood. Yet, two unambiguous facts do shine through — the first being that this man was a legend unlike any other, and the second, that he will be missed as greatly as his legacy will live on.

Carrie McMahon is the editorial assistant of The Heights. She welcomes comments at arts@bcheights.com.

ARTS EVENTS CALENDAR ON CAMPUS

OFF CAMPUS

THURSDAY

THURSDAY

WINTER GALLERY OPENING Bapst Art Gallery, 6 p.m.

EDITORS House of Blues, 7 p.m.

ASIAN JOURNEYS McMullen Museum

NATHAN FAKE Middle East, 8:30 p.m.

FRIDAY

FRIDAY

VAGINA MONOLOGUES McGuinn 121, 7:15 p.m.

FATAL FLAW Middle East, 8:30 p.m.

TRANSLATIONS Robsham Theater, 7:30 p.m.

EL PERRO DEL MAR Cambridge YMCA, 7 p.m.

SATURDAY

SATURDAY

UNIVERSITY CHORALE St. Ignatius, 2:00 p.m.

WANDERING SONS Great Scott, 8:30 p.m.

TRANSLATIONS Robsham Theater, 7:30 p.m.

RICK BERLIN Lizard Lounge, 7 p.m.

SUNDAY

SUNDAY

FIRST HAND, CIVIL WAR McMullen Museum

HELLOGOODBYE House of Blues, 7:30 p.m.

TRANSLATIONS Robsham Theater, 2:00 p.m.

JER COONS Harper’s Ferry, 8:30 p.m.

CHRIS DEWEY’S CURIOUS CHILDHOOD: The demise of VHS, cassettes

CHRIS DEWEY “The times, they are achangin’.” While I often find Bob Dylan’s lyrics to be elusive, pretentious, or obvious, no sentiment better captures my feelings about the shifting formats of my favorite entertainment outlets. No matter how convenient any change to my technological life may be, I will always be the type of person who bittersweetly reminisces about the way things once were. Though it would be a stretch to say I fear change, I am quite hesitant about it and tend to find it cumbersome and unnecessary.

For instance, I love movies.

I make no effort to hide this.

Ever since I can remember, I have been abnormally proactive in my quest to absorb as much celluloid as possible.

When I had money, I would cherish the opportunity to buy a new video. During times of hardship, I would resort to taping movies, complete with commercials that aired on TV. Oversized, requiring rewinding, and lacking any extra features, I loved videos and the accompanying VCR. Music is perhaps the area where the most profound changes have occurred in the past 10 years. Nowadays, most of us have iPods capable of digitally storing our entire music libraries. Only a few years ago, I can remember lugging around an oversized Discman wherever I went with a booklet of about 20 or so CDs. Without a central hub of music, you actually had to plan ahead and consider what kind of music you might want to listen to on that given day. A sudden urge to rediscover that old Smash Mouth album would have to wait until you returned home. The headphones were much larger and intrusive, and they could not be neatly stashed away in

tight quarters like the modern ear bud headphones. Still, this was an improvement over the Walkman, an evil device that consistently destroyed tapes, required you to fast-forward through filler and flip a tape over to “Side B.” Interestingly, as music has moved away from a CD format, the video game industry has embraced it. All three major systems now sell their games on discs, a trend popularized

by PCs over the past two decades. In the golden years (i.e., before I had any significant responsibilities), games came in clunky, square cartridges, occasionally with the protection of a hard, plastic box. It was always naive to assume that a game would work the first time you turned the system on. The construction of the cartridge made it excessively vulnerable to dust, dirt, and any other particles scattered about the room. For any child of the ’80s or ’90s, it was a rite of passage to first have to blow all the crud out of the cartridge, sometimes for a good 10 minutes, before the good times could ensue. Whether or not discs are a smarter option is up for debate. They might take up less space, but once a disc is scratched, it may never play correctly again.

Don’t expect these sorts of changes to subside anytime soon. If you feel like you’ve built up a solid DVD collection, just wait for BluRay to make it obsolete. Worse, with the rise of Netflix and on-demand streaming, movies may not even be sold in hard copy format for much longer. Though you’ve probably already come to terms with it, we live in a digital age. Hard copies may soon be a thing of the past.

I shudder to think of a world where music is only downloaded, newspapers only exist online, and printed literature is replaced by electronic equivalents. Only time will tell …

Chris Dewey is a staff columnist for The Heights. He can be reached at arts@bcheights.com.

By Arts & Review Editors

B3

The Heights

Thursday, February 18, 2010

e m o c e B o w T When

1. Chris Martin and Kanye West – “Homecoming”: Kanye West’s collaboration with Martin’s wispy falsetto might seem incompatible in theory, but, a bumping beat and elegant piano line flow sinuously with West’s reminiscences of his childhood romance with Wendy. “I met this girl when I was three years old / and what I loved most is she had so much soul.” Oddly, Martin and West evoke bursting fireworks around Lake Michigan and powdery funnel cake.

2. MSTRKRFT feat. John Legend – “Heartbreaker”: This song reached a large amount of popularity when it was used for So You Think You Can Dance. Legend’s voice is like velvet over the thumping techno pulse. A tune about a thwarted lover, listening to “Heartbreaker” makes you feel like you could run an aggressive marathon just to get the piles of spite out of your head.

3. Jesse McCartney feat. T-Pain – “Body Language”: Tired of Spanish, Japanese or French? Focus your attention on the way your fellow classmates’ bodies are moving. That, will most certainly make a semblance of sense. McCartney and T-Pain guide us through the new wave of kinesthetics with a tropical backbeat and plenty of Auto-Tune. The result bangs like a speakerbox.

4. David Bowie and Queen – “Under Pressure”: These opening guitar licks are universal, and not just because Vanilla Ice ripped them off to produce his weak “Ice, Ice Baby.” Bowie and Queen produced an anthem for the emotionally oppressed masses. With the pop-rock bent, oppression never felt so exciting.

5. Justin Timberlake and Matt Morris feat. Charlie Sexton – “Hallelujah”: This new cover of the Leonard Cohen ballad was created as a poignant addition to the Hope for Haiti Now benefit. Timberlake, sans booty-shaking-sexy-back swagger, proves that he is just as captivating without the glitz. Morris further infuses the already rich vocals with bluesy soul.

6. Discovery – LP: Like a hot Hollywood romance, two members of today’s most successful indie bands made sweet saucy love last summer on the infectious LP. Vampire Weekend’s playful keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij and Ra Ra Riot’s soulful front man Wes Miles discovered each other to create Discovery. A luscious brew of synthesizer and bass-laden pop songs, their debut album LP is the sonic equivalent of the lightness you feel with your first high school crush.

7. Das Racist & Wallpaper – “Combination Pizza Hut Taco Bell”: Brooklyn goofball rap duo Das Racist crafted one of the most brilliant, profound, zeitgeist-channeling songs in history with the absolutist lines “I’m at the Pizza Hut / I’m at the Taco Bell / I’m at the combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.” In and of itself, we can appreciate the poesy of these lines. But with the dirty sax and baby-making bass courtesy of Wallpaper, this collaboration will have you conceiving you first child at a fast food chain.

8. Beck, Jay-Z, & Pharrell – “Frontin’ On Debra”: “I met you at JC Penney / I saw your nametag / it said Jenny.” Never has a department store seemed more seductive than in this melting mash-up of Beck’s “Debra” – a song about getting with a friend’s sister – and Pharell’s “Frontin’” – a song about getting with anyone. After the intensity of “Pizza Hut Taco Bell,” this number marks the ideal jam to spoon to with your lover.

9. Tupac and Elton John – “Ghetto Gospel”: While “Ghetto Gospel” is arguably one of the most celebrated rap-rock collaborations to date, it is unique in the fact that the two artists did not actually collaborate to write it. It was produced eight years following Tupac’s death by Eminem, who was so moved by Tupac’s unreleased music that he sought Tupac’s mother’s permission to make the posthumous album Lost in the Game in 2004. Mixed into Tupac’s track is a piece of Elton John’s “Indian Sunset,” which becomes the chorus and fits perfectly within the soulful framework of this somber commentary on a flawed world.

10. Justin Timberlake, Madonna, and Timbaland – “4 Minutes”: You’d think that an ex-boy-band lady’s man and a 50-something, female legend wouldn’t be able to achieve the type of chemistry that is a pre-requisite for the type of hit that people can’t get out of their heads, and yet from the looks of the “4 Minutes” music video, these two could be Mr. and Mrs. Smith, dancing leather-clad on top of cars, ready to take over. This unlikely collaboration, though admittedly cliché in subject, proved a catchy, club-filling hit upon its release in 2008, one you want to hate, but still find yourself singing incessantly under your breath.

11. Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown – “No Air”: It’s impossible not to include this undeniably fabulous duet, which everyone our age has wholeheartedly belted on more than one occasion. These two are the ideal picks for a break-up saga, and even watching it now, you forget for a moment that you’re listening to an American Idol and an abusive rap star heading down the tubes. Start singing it at a party and you find that you and the person next to you are suddenly the eyes-closed, hand-pumping subjects of your own hapless love story.

12. Christina Aguilera, Mya, Pink, Lil’ Kim – “Lady Marmalade”: “Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir?” I don’t know about you, but for most of my sixth grade career, this one line was quite the scandal. Few people actually knew the translation, though for several months I pretended I did, and felt exceptionally suave. A cover of a 1970s hit, the song was produced by Missy Elliot to be featured in the equally promiscuous Moulin Rouge. The foursome won a welldeserved Grammy for this flashy, female-stacked hit.

13. T.I. feat. Rihanna – “Live Your Life”: Is it just me, or did this song dominate last year? It’s not surprising, since everything Rihanna touches turns to gold. The two hip-hop megastars come together to unabashedly chant one clear message to all the haters: We’re rich, and hating on us isn’t going to change that. You’d think that the world would get sick of these self-obsessed, “we rule the world” commentaries, and yet the end is nowhere in sight. Even if you can’t keep up with T.I.’s rapping, you’re bound to tune in for the chorus of, “So live your life, e-hey, e-hey, e-hey…”

Mike Saldarriaga & Rachel Gregorio / Heights Illustration

B4

THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Bite of Boston

PHOTO COURTESY OF MRBARTLEY.COM

The curious case of New Shanghai

BY KARA KAMINSKI Heights Senior Staff One depressing reality for restaurant goers who love authentic ethnic cuisine is the Americanization of foreign foods. Mexican restaurants have the urge to sell burritos, when it is in fact Tex-Mex, and you will rarely find menudo, a traditional Mexican dish, in any of these establishments. Indian restaurants will tone down the spice and add cream. Menus will always have something fried. You leave a restaurant feeling cheated because you aren’t getting the “real thing.” Or, when you do, it is hidden on the menu as something to prove the restaurant’s authenticity, but it is never something the chef expects to be ordered, and when it is, it tastes horrible. This dilemma is one I frequently encounter, to the point where I don’t even expect “authentic Chinese” to really be very authentic.

Last weekend, I was delightfully surprised.

Spontaneously, I decided to raid the closest card-accepting restaurant in Chinatown. New Shanghai was the winner. I had been here before

on my earlier xio long bao, or soup dumpling, search (which is still ongoing), but had only tasted these dumplings. They were on the sweeter side, which is what dumplings of Shanghai taste like, prior to Americanization, so I was hopeful, but still not too confident.

The delight of this trip was the roasted duck with taro. Taro is a root with similar uses to ginger as it is a root that can be part of a sweet or savory dish. The root is toxic until it is cooked, and it has an oddly unexplainable flavor.

The root itself adopts the flavor of the dish it is in and adds to the dish a flavor I have heard being described as buttered popcorn. The flavor addition is slight, but significant. The dish had the well known chili pepper symbol next to its name, telling the diner that it would be spicy. I am usually let down by what restaurants claim to be spicy, but this duck was exquisite. I could feel my lips tingle with spice as I ate my rice, soaked in the accompanying sauce. This wasn’t spicy from just adding copious amounts of chili powder, which kills flavor, but it perfectly complemented the duck, which soaked in the

heat, and was slightly offset by that the buttery taro. The meat was slow cooked so it fell off the bone as I tried to pick it up with your chopsticks.

My dining partner ordered boneless spare ribs, which came out in a sauce that contained honey, giving it a surprisingly sweet flavor. Never being a fan of Chinese ribs, I quite enjoyed New Shanghai’s take. Giving into that guilty American need, I also ordered Peking ravioli. While ravioli usually come with an odd meat mixture I suspect has a higher chance of being the squirrel you saw roaming around the back dumpster than being pork, these were a new form of delicious, what you think Peking ravioli should actually taste like outside of your New Hong Kong 3 a.m. takeout. The difference is comparable to seeing through dirty or clean eyeglasses. The Chinese takeout we have become accustomed to is a greasy mass of flavor, while the ravioli of New Shanghai had a crisp, direct taste.

One American tradition New Shanghai fell victim to was the free pre-meal treat, but who can complain about that? When I first sat at the table, the obligatory green tea arrived, but with

it were small chips of fried dough with a sweet glaze topped with toasted sesame seeds. This was a tempting treat that I was not expecting.

It seems it would have been more appropriate at the end of the meal, but how could anything defeat the place of the fortune cookie?

The surprise of the roasted duck with taro will bring me back to New Shanghai to explore the other interesting dish combinations that incite my curiosity, such as Szechuan-style frog or braised sea cucumber. With their moderate prices, I urge you to take the trip to Chinatown and be adventurous with your dinner – you won’t be disappointed.

Getting to the point...

New Shanghai Transit: Boylston Travel Time: 45 minutes Affordability: Cheap Atmosphere: Casual

Getting to the point...

Ken’s Ramen House Transit: Packard’s Corner (B Line) Travel Time: 10 minutes Affordability: Cheap Atmosphere: Casual Food Quality: Poor Men Tei Transit: Hynes Convention Ctr. Travel Time: 30 minutes Affordability: Cheap Atmosphere: Casual Food Quality: Great

THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, February 18, 2010

B5

+Music

Wu Tang Clan puts out C-grade B-sides For The Heights

“I know why you’re here,” boasts a sampled kung fu master at the beginning of “It’s What It Is,” the third track on the Wu-Tang Clan’s compilation of unreleased rarities. However, throughout the 16 tracks of this mix by longtime Wu-Tang collaborator Mathematics, it often seems that the once-great Clan is clueless as to how it fits into today’s mainstream rap scene, which is considerably less hardcore than the mid-’90s scene in which the Clan once thrived. This release is likely to disappoint longtime fans of arguably the greatest rap group of all time, and will be easily forgotten in the broad scope of the Wu-Tang Clan’s illustrious career.

The first two tracks of Return of the Wu and Friends, the newly recorded songs entitled “Clap 2010” and “Respect 2010,” are the highlights of the album. The legendary emcees that make up the Wu-Tang Clan, including Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, and Method Man, fully display their lyrical abilities on these two tracks. However, the differences in production between Mathematics and Wu-Tang cornerstone RZA are apparent from the moment one hears the upbeat tempo and heavy sampling of “Clap 2010.”

Gone are the atmospheric soundscapes of RZA, who created sonic masterpieces of grit and violence with his work on early Wu-Tang Clan group and solo albums. Mathematics instead focuses on horn-heavy loops, which may seem innovative as many of the tracks begin, but soon become Wu-Tang Clan, formerly annoyingly repetitive by rap’s ruling family the end of the song. Such during their 1990’s redundancy makes for a hey-day, put out a weak monotonous middle of collection of B-sides the compilation and also that falls far short of results in few standout their previous work. moments. Mathematics often relies on DJ tricks, creating a feeling of style

sans substance. Without RZA’s experimental beats anchoring the tracks, the rhymes lose much of their punch.

Unfortunately, on many tracks there is not much punch to begin with. Take “Strawberries and Out of a rating Cream,” a song which comes of 10, this across almost as a slow jam album scores and features the rather painful stanza, “Eyes like a reindeer / Lost / Innocent Bambi.” Lyrics such as this should not exist on any Wu-Tang release, even a compilation of B-sides.

Other tracks also lack the complex wordplay and humor, which dominated early Wu-Tang albums, and some feature lines that would sound more appropriate coming from rappers like Ludacris or Lil Wayne. “Real Nillaz,” in which the Clan falls into the excessive materialism of many modern rappers while discussing “million-dollar cribs,” feels cliché and lacks the boldness of earlier WuTang songs.

Still, for all its faults, Return of the Wu and Friends is still better than many current rap releases. The Clan’s Bsides are better than many group’s A-sides.

While the two standouts

are the aforementioned “Clap 2010” and “Respect 2010,” there are several other noteworthy tracks on this compilation. On “Iron God Chamber,” Mathematics’ production finally shines as he alternates repetition of a basic sample with triumphant horn blasts, while RZA and Method Man deliver some of the best verses to be found on this release. Mathematics’ keyboarddriven feature, “Da Way We Were,” also emerges as one of the better pieces on the mix. Finally, the ironically titled “Early Grave” is notable as the only track to feature the late ODB, although his flow is much less fractured and erratic than usual and thus somewhat less enjoyable.

In a time when rap is marked by Auto-Tune and house beats, it is nice to hear a return to the hardcore rap of the 1990s, when the Wu-Tang Clan released some of the best solo and group rap albums ever recorded. However, the Wu-Tang Clan featured on Return of the Wu and Friends, as produced by Mathematics, is markedly different from the Clan featured on songs like “C.R.E.A.M.” or “Triumph.” Listening to this compilation, one comes to the unfortunate conclusion that the Wu-Tang Clan stopped bringing the ruckus a long time ago.

6

Shout Out Louds Work MERGE RECORDS

Lifehouse Smoke & Mirrors GEFFEN RECORDS

CHART TOPPERS SINGLES

1 2 3 4 5

TiK ToK Ke$ha Imma Be Black Eyed Peas Need You Now Lady Antebellum BedRock Young Money feat. Lloyd Bad Romance Lady Gaga

1 2 3 4 5

Contra Vampire Weekend Teen Dream Beach House Fall Be Kind Animal Collective Heartland Owen Pallett BlakRoc BlakRoc

COLLEGE ALBUMS

PETE RIMES / AP EXCHANGE

BY ROBERT ANDWOOD

IN STORES NEXT WEEK

Source: Billboard.com & CMJ.com

Lightspeed Champion whines with his own orchestra

BY ZAK JASON

Assoc. Arts & Review Editor Unless you’re a newborn terrier, you will not win sympathy by whining. If you whine in song, the critics will condemn you into the realm where all the mall goths and misunderstood track stars lurk — the limbo Out of a rating of emo. Whining bands garner of 10, this whining fans. Except, of course, album scores Lightspeed Champion. In its sophomore album Life is Sweet! Nice to Meet You, Lightspeed Champion blends cinematic orchestral scoring with country twang and punk distortion, hypnotizing us to enjoy his whining, for the most part.

Completely conceived and performed by one man, Lightspeed Champion orbits around Devonté Hynes. He was born in Texas, but grew up in England. Both cultures resonate in his music as lush, classical instruments brush suggestively against southern blues and bluegrass. Above all, Hynes’ voice distinguishes Lightspeed — thick, milky, and often operatic. Somehow, Hynes warmed audiences with his whining in his 2008 debut Falling Off Lavender Bridge, an album rife with quirky yet affective instrumentation and including “Midnight Surprise,” a magnanimous, awe-inspiring 10-minute ballad about falling flat with a girl.

On Life is Sweet! Nice to Meet You, the forlornness and the medley of instruments remain, but the hair-raising moments vanish. The album begins with the somber yet cinematic “Dead Head Blues.”

As Hynes quivers “I know you’re happy / and that’s lovely / it won’t keep me complete,” a thudding ragtime piano and atmospheric organ moan in the

background. Toward the end of the song, Hynes grows too frustrated to sing, channeling his angst in a grungy guitar solo.

The melancholy mounts with the single “Marlene.” Even though the singer wails unsettling lines like “I’m waiting for a strand of your golden locks to sew my stomach shut,” the listener bops along to the chiming bells and twirling violins. Another guitar solo — this time, a hair metal scale-climbing bit — seeps in. Seemingly every other song burst with a varied guitar solo, marking both an inspired shift from his more uniform debut and a charming way for us to rock out to his whining.

Life is Sweet continues for nearly an hour with a few gorgeous tracks.

“The Big Guns of Highsmith” features a “Bohemian Rhapsody” style sing-a-long between the singer and a baritone male choir. “Sweetheart” chugs along as one of the coldest traveling songs you will ever hear. For such a long album, the surge lulls for extended bouts. Songs like “I Don’t Want to Wake Up Alone,” fizzle with piano-driven melodies that sound like

7

demo songs on a Casio keyboard. The album even includes three instrumental tracks, two of which entitled “Intermission,” and all of which seem to add nothing but time.

Life is Sweet! Nice to Meet You is an album about the trials of loneliness. Had Hynes sculpted the album down to its strongest tracks, he would have broken our hearts with his grandiose orchestral pop.

But at 15 tracks, some of which are duds, we start to feel less of that beauteous loneliness and hear more of that little whining dog.

British one-mand band Lightspeed Champion returns with his sophmore release Life is Sweet!

Nice to Meet You. Layered with orchestral instrumentation, the album soars like a midday’s dream. At times, however, the singer whines to the point of annoyance.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FLIKR USER GREG HUDSON

The Heights

Thursday, February 18, 2010

B6

+Fashion

Chronicles of Campus Fashion

By Jordan Mendoza For The Heights

I asked roommates Ali Miller, A&S ’12, and Nina Stingo, CSOM ’12, of Walsh 120 to speak about their personal style because I saw a picture of them on Facebook. Here’s what they had to say: Q: How do you think your style may have changed since becoming roommates?

AM: I don’t think our style changed necessarily, but it’s nice to have Nina. We borrow each other’s clothes when we’re picking out our outfits, we get each other’s advice on what to wear.

NS: I honestly feel like last year I could dress myself better, because this year I’m always like “Ali! Does this look good?”

Q: Describe your own personal style.

NS: Can I describe Ali’s? I think that Ali’s personal style is ... what she does really well is pairing things together that I don’t think most people would feel confident enough to try to together, like a skirt with Converse or brown boots with black pants. And it looks effortless. It’s not like one day, “Oh, I’m gonna try and do this.” Every day she has this consistent personal style.

AM: I think it’s interesting because I don’t I think I could pull off what you [Nina] wear at all. All of your pieces are so distinct. You have some beautiful tops — lots of ruffles, details. Also, I don’t know if it’s the business school thing, but you look very clean cut.

NS: Yeah, you look more like an English major [laughs] but in the best possible way!

AM: I have a question for Nina: How do you think going to an all-girls’ school with a uniform influenced your style?

NS: Well, going to an all-girls’ school is bizarre, because even when you wear a uniform, you’re trained to find ways to be unique within the restrictions.

AM: I mean for me, going to public school, I felt like I had to come up with something new to wear every day. Not that it was a competition between all the girls, because girls would notice if you wore the same outfit twice in one week. I guess that’s why I had to be a little creative with the same pieces, because I don’t have an unlimited wardrobe.

Q: Nina, did you have “Best-Dressed” at your school?

NS: No. We didn’t have that award.

Q: Ali, you won that, right?

AM: [reluctantly] ... yeah, I mean, I don’t like that. I just think it sounds so superficial. I mean, the outfits I put together aren’t me wanting to look better than anyone else, it’s just something fun to do. It’s your own way to be creative every single day.

NS: For me, I try hard to pick out an outfit, but by 10:00 the next day, the morning that I’m wearing it, I hate it. But then, every once in a while you find something, and it’s perfect.

Q: How do you see yourself dressing in 10 years?

NS: [laughs] I’ve always kind of envied when you see movies and you see these powerful corporate women. Yeah ... I wanna do that a little bit, but

maybe not every day, but occasionally. On a day to day basis, I’d ideally like to see myself wearing what I wear now.

Q: Ali, yourself?

NS: Mom sweatpants ... mom pants.

AM: [laughs] So I’ll be 30 ... I don’t know! I don’t want to change the way I dress. I want to have the same style, I guess a little more grown up. I mean, I think what happens is I’ll be shopping at different stores — I don’t see myself shopping at H&M or Urban Outfitters.

NS: Maybe that’s why our styles are so different. I shop at a lot of stores like Banana Republic or Anne Taylor Loft ... because I try to find clothes that I could pair with business pants and a cardigan, or I could pair it with jeans and dress it down.

AM: That’s my problem. When I shop, I’m very spontaneous, I never care about pieces in relation to other pieces I own. So, I see a dress and think, “I like that.” I guess that’s why my outfits are, not mismatched, but I guess atypical ... just not always very coherent.

Jordan Mendoza is a contributor for The Heights. He welcomes comments at arts@bcheights.com.

Jordan Mendoza / for the heights

BC Tube: Small screen jams

+Television What We’re Watching

By Brennan Carley For The Heights

1

2

1. Chelsea Lately.

It’s amazing how on her game, Chelsea Handler manages to stay for each of her late night shows.

With two NY Times bestsellers under her belt (and a third on the way), Handler is one of the sharpest, wittiest, and most biting comedians in the business. Whether it’s her interactions with Chuy (her self proclaimed “pocket-sized” sidekick), her constantly revolving panel of up-and-coming comics, or her guests, Handler always emerges from her show victorious — she can more than hold her own against Hollywood’s “elite.” Watch Chelsea Lately Monday-Friday on E! at 11:30 p.m.

2. The Soup — The third highest rated show on E!, The Soup has quietly turned into many TV watchers’ guilty pleasure. This fast-paced clip show, hosted by the enthusiastically sarcastic Joel McHale, satirizes pop culture and current events. What makes the show so brilliant is the way that McHale pounces on his targets with glee.The Soup is known for the obscure shows it skewers — keep an eye out for I Love Toy Trains.

Watch The Soup Fridays at 10:30 p.m. on E!

3. The Amazing Race — Surprisingly still one of the best reality shows on television, Race kicked off its sixteenth season in Chile on Sunday. The contestants this season are the most engaging they have been in a while. While there are the typical teams (Brothers! High school sweethearts!), there are also the detectives and the ex-Big Brother contestants. Phil Keoghan hosts. Watch The Amazing Race Sundays at 8:00 p.m. on CBS.

3

Photos Courtesy of google images

Nothing beats a live concert. I know, I’ve caught you off guard because this is a television column, and here I go talking about concerts. I’m allowed a cheat. It’s undeniable, though. The atmosphere of a concert, the electricity pulsing through the audience, that audible ground swelling that only live music can achieve, is unmatched. When watching musical performances on award shows, the artist tries to draw the audience in using Darren Ranck spectacle. Lady Gaga and her essentially frightening outfits and Pink with her gimmicky but still impressive acrobatic action utilize this technique to stir excitement. Any artist that attempts to sing in a straightforward manner, in a manner where the show is simply another arena concert, usually fizzles because, sadly, TV cannot capture that concert spirit.

Televised concerts are nothing new. Many attempt them, but, more often than not, they lack a certain spark. It feels like a canned experience, not lived-in like a typical concert outing. In my mind, however, there are three filmed concerts that manage to capture the thrill and certain je ne sais quoi of live music.

U2, Rattle and Hum: Dublin’s biggest act, headed by one of the world’s greatest philanthropists (whether one disagrees or not), brings down the house and home in its 1988 concert promoting its then-current release Rattle and Hum. The release of the concert on video brought a new legion of fans to the group, having relinquished them of the band’s pretty boy pop rock appeal and unleashing the rough, edgy rockers within. The smoke from the machines pours over the stage and seemingly out of the home entertainment system, a testament to the crude and unhinged environment U2 crafts during its set. It’s simplistic, sparse, and wholly engrossing because of the star power from frontman Bono and the underrated but wonderfully captured brilliance of drummer Larry Mullen, Jr. Interspersed clips of rehearsals and backstage fodder also provide greater cohesion to the set as one sees the hard work put into performances come to glorious fruition. Editor Phil Joanou deserves kudos for his film treatment, as it forgoes polish in favor of gritty realism and a realistic concert feel.

John Mayer, Where the Light Is: He started as a bubblegum boy dream, made moves to the second coming of Clapton, and now is heading toward the rough waters of Hollywood bad boy.

This 2008 release, however, solidifies his placement in singer / songwriter history. Filmed in Los Angeles before a packed audience, Mayer pushes all the gossip fodder aside and brings nothing but pure talent to the stage.

What makes his performance special, though, is the emotion he brings to each song. Best exemplified by a previously unreleased track called “In Your Atmosphere,” Mayer sews his emotions to his sleeve. In the song, he considers the effects of being on the bad end of a breakup. Never does Mayer compromise his music for the sake of theatrics, though. His performance of the song is nothing but thoughtful and somber, evoking a greater emotional response than some (by which I mean most) actors on Grey’s Anatomy. Everyone knows Mayer has musical talent, but this concert makes the list because it feels like a 90-minute monologue with Mayer.

Fleetwood Mac, The Dance: Not enough is said about the behind the scenes drama of the Mac. Where’s that movie? This MTV concert, a reunion of the Rumours five, tells enough of the story, though, in its nostalgia and historical importance. The band’s first reunion in over a decade, The Dance starts off almost awkwardly, with everyone taking their positions on stage and seeming not quite sure exactly what to do.

The percussion beat of “The Chain” starts, though, and it all sinks in. Suddenly, the vocal, earthy Christine McVie, resounding Lindsey Buckingham, and raw Stevie Nicks, kick in, and it feels like the ’70s all over again. The lyrics, “I can still hear you saying, don’t ever break the chain” never sounded more true, more pleading. The one-time dysfunctional group brought classic California rock back to the forefront in this taping and gave all ’90s artists something to aspire to in terms of longevity. The special is at its most charming when the band engages in between-song patter with one another, bringing up old collaborations, subtle grudges, and what essentially makes Fleetwood Mac great — their propensity for the truth. A concert for the ages, it seems ironic for McVie to say, “Thanks for coming to our soiree.” No Christine. Thank you for having us.

Darren Ranck is Managing Editor of The Heights. He welcomes comments at arts@bcheights.com.

CLASSIFIEDS

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THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, February 18, 2010

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Answers to the Crossword are below the Sudoku

Directions: The Sudoku is played over a 9x9 grid. In each row there are 9 slots, some of which are empty and need to be filled.

Each row, column and 3x3 box should contain the numbers 1 to 9. You must follow these rules: · Number can appear only once in each row · Number can appear only once in each column · Number can appear only once in each 3x3 box · The number should appear only once on row, column or area.

Answers below

Answers to Crossword and Sudoku

B8

THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Thursday, February 18, 2010

THE HEIGHTS

B9

B10

Thursday, February 18, 2010

THE HEIGHTS

Give Brown a second chance

ON THE flip side

ALEX COHEN

THE ISSUE:

Twelve-year-old Jordan Brown is going on trial for allegedly killing his pregnant soon-tobe stepmother. In Pennsylvania, since there is no minimum age at which someone can be tried as an adult with criminal homicide, the prosecutor has decided to take the matter out of juvenile court. If convicted, Brown will face life in prison without even the possibility of parole. Should he be tried as an adult, or should there be different standards for minors in the justice system?

Age no excuse for crime

at such an age does not bode well for him or the community in which he resides.

There are other factors that What would cause a person need to be taken into account. to shoot a 26-year-old pregnant Judge Thomas Edwards forwoman in the back of the head merly presided over the Juvenile as she lay sleeping?

It is an unfathomable question Court of Santa Clara County, to which you probably do not have a division of the California an answer. Even more unfathom- Superior Court. When he able is the knowledge that an was asked by PBS’s Frontline 11-year-old boy is capable of such whether there are kids that do an act. In a rural town in Penn- not belong in juvenile court, he answered, “Oh, sylvania, Jordan sure. Yes … I’ve Brown murdered The underlying had sociopaths Kenzie Marie philosophy of the in court here.

Houk, his father’s girlfriend juvenile justice system I’ve only had a few of them, and his soon-tois rehabilitation, and I’ve been be stepmother.

Then, he got on and even some of its doing this for long time.” the bus with Ms. greatest proponents aJudge LaDoris Houk’s 7-yearCordell echoed acknowledge that old daughter and sentiwent to school rehabilitation is not an Thomas’ ments. Does as if nothing exact science.

Brown fall into happened, dropthis category? ping the shotgun shell from his pocket and hiding I do not know. I am not a psythe weapon under a blanket in his chologist, nor is there enough public information to make bedroom. such a judgment. Whether or Thus far, no allegations of not Brown should be tried as abuse or neglect have arisen, so an adult is unclear to me for what possibly could have motithese reasons, but I certainly do vated Brown to do something so believe there are cases where it horrible? Houk’s family reportis appropriate. edly told police that Brown had The underlying philosophy threatened Houk and her older of the juvenile justice system is daughter a few weeks before the rehabilitation, and even some of shooting, and that he may have its greatest proponents acknowlbeen jealous of Houk and her edge that rehabilitation is not two daughters. an exact science. Kurt Kumli, a Brown’s defense attorney deputy district attorney that has dismissed these allegations as “bull–” but experts acknowledge practiced exclusively in juvenile court for six years, told Frontthat feelings of animosity are line, “What works for one kid common in “blended” families. may not work for another. And Jeannette Lofas, founder of so what you try to do is to do as the Stepfamily Organization, many things as possible, hoping told Fox News, “Two out of that something works.” Kumli three stepfamilies fail. Would and the others interviewed for you take your child on a plane the piece all acknowledged the to San Francisco with a 1/3 success stories, but also exhibchance of making it there?” ited incredible frustration with a While acknowledging that many system that is overburdened and children feel abandoned when their parents enter new relation- underfunded.

When asked if the system ships, Lofas said, “Few act it does well, Judge Nancy Hoffout to the extent of shooting the man said, “I think that it does stepmother to be.” well in cases that it is originally That is exactly the point we designed to deal with. The origihave to keep in mind in decidnal idea was, when a kid gets ing where to try this child and in trouble and is brought into others like him. Undoubtedly, court, the judge sits down, is a it must have been difficult for friendly mentor, and has a talk.

Brown to adjust to the changes The family is involved and things in his life, and his father showed get better.” a terrible lack of judgment in Of course, the problem is that giving his child a shotgun and many of the most violent offendthen not locking it up, but that ers come from extremely troudoes not excuse murder. The bled families and, following their fact that this child has commitstint in juvenile detention, they ted an act of extreme violence

JANINE HANRAHAN

are sent back to the environment that helped form their bad behaviors. How is anyone going to be rehabilitated if that is the pattern? And what if the child is one of those rare sociopathic cases? Can society really run the risk of failing to rehabilitate a seriously disturbed individual and then releasing him or her back into society?

A particularly gruesome case highlights the difficulties of trying juveniles. In San Francisco in 1971, two boys, ages 10 and seven, found a 20-month-old wandering at the playground and took him to a secluded spot where they liked to play. When the toddler began to cry and they failed to quiet him, they beat him with a brick and then crucified him on a makeshift cross. Murder charges were dropped and the two underwent extensive therapy. The older boy has gone on to live a productive life, but the younger brother has been twice convicted of abusing children, including his own 3-month-old son.

While the older boy seems to have been rehabilitated, the younger one has continued to perpetuate misery. For those that cannot be rehabilitated, those that continue to commit bad acts over and over again, they must be tried and dealt with as adults.

Janine Hanrahan is a guest columnist for The Heights. She welcomes comments at marketplace@ bcheights.com

A teachable moment. It’s a phrase our president has used frequently on issues as diverse as race and health care. It’s also what the criminal justice system should be thinking about right now, in the middle of the Jordan Brown case.

I refuse to argue that what Brown allegedly did wasn’t a crime. Murder is the ultimate offense. The American criminal justice system’s primary purpose is to rectify the wrongs of such an action and bring the perpetrators to justice. I don’t disagree with this modus operandi, and, especially in the case of a horrifyingly severe crime such as murder, punishment is necessary. However, in the highly publicized case of a child – an 11-year-old child at the time of the murder – it is an unbelievable opportunity to teach the American public about the second purpose of the criminal justice system: reform.

Reform is something that may not happen, but the simple possibility of reform is reason enough to employ it in the trial of a juvenile – especially such a young juvenile. Brown is a year removed from the death of his would-have-been step mother, whose murder he is accused of committing. He is only a 12 year old. Surely he cannot yet grasp the magnitude of such an intensely immoral action like murder. Even if Brown conspired to kill, as the prosecutors allege, he cannot understand the severity of such a crime. Thinking back to my days as a 12-yearold, it was not uncommon for me to hit my younger sisters (it sounds worse in print than it was, I promise). At the time, it was difficult to understand why this practice was wrong, when I felt it to be so right. After years of hearing the stern voices and high ideals of my mother and father though, I’ve learned the correct way to act.

Without making any judg- can have on Brown’s life. Give ments on Brown’s upbringing, him a life sentence with no hope the point I am trying to make of parole – no light at the end of with that anecdote is that learn- the tunnel – and Brown’s psyche ing about right and wrong is a could be irreversibly damaged. process that often takes a lot of What if he’s given a second time. Furthermore, it is a process chance? At age 12, Brown’s adult that is most highly influential personality and character are in young children. Taking the still far in the distance. Could he Brown case into become a viojuvenile court I refuse to argue that lent second-ofwould allow for Maybe. what Brown allegedly fender? the possibility He could also did wasn’t a crime. become a of a smaller sentence, and one for good, Murder is the ultimate force that would termaybe even a minate at the age offense. The American champion of of 21. Remem- criminal justice system’s gun control, ber, Jordan is not or a therapist yet even into his primary purpose is to for troubled teenage years, so rectify the wrongs of youths. Simply this is a lot of the possibility time and a lot such action and bring that he could of opportunity do good is the perpetrators to for the criminal enough to take justice. justice system to his case into show its better juvenile court, half. Reform is meant to produce regardless of the ridiculousness contributing members of society of trying a 12-year-old in a court while maintaining a deterrence that could sentence him to life effect on convicted criminals. without parole.

Teach Brown the values AmeriAs a 12-year-old, Brown has cans hold dear – like the sanctity remarkable potential – every of life – in his formative teenage 12-year-old does. I remember years, and he may exit the juvenile wanting to be an NHL hockey detention center in 10 years a player, an astronaut, an FBI changed man, for the better. agent, or maybe even an autoToo often reform takes a motive engineer working for my back seat to vengeance. The favorite car company, Porsche. emotional need of a victim or Brown could be a killer, but he victim’s family to see the worst could be so many other things as possible sentence is levied. If well, and it’s going to take many they value the life of their loved years to find that out. Put him one so much, why can’t they in prison for life, without parole, value the life of someone who and he can be nothing. Just an made a mistake – especially if empty soul, filling up a cell in a that someone is an 11-year-old Pennsylvania penitentiary. Dechild? When Gandhi proclaimed, nying Brown the opportunity to “An eye for an eye will make make amends and do something the whole world blind,” he was positive with his life would be a touching on something deeper. tragedy.

While pacifism may not be the Prosecutors should use this best way to administer domestic as a teachable moment. Teach justice, Gandhi’s pacifism recogthe world that America can fornized the power of forgiveness, give, and that a child’s life need growth, and reform, and each of not be defined by one act. these can play a positive role in the criminal justice system in the Alex Cohen is a guest columnist for United States. Imagine for a mo- The Heights. He welcomes comments at marketplace@bcheights.com ment the impact that this event

PHOTO COURTESY OF PENNLIVE.COM

If convicted, Jordan Brown could spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole. If tried as a juvenile, the penalty would be much less severe.

Prostitutes and strippers part of latest Blackwater scandal Blackwater, from B14

PHOTO COURTESY OF DARKGOVERNMENT.COM,

Here, Blackwater contractors guard a U.S. diplomat. Blackwater is no longer licensed to operate in Iraq, though they continue to participate in the Afghan War.

later that year. The parents of one of the victims filed a wrongful death suit against Blackwater in 2005.

In September 2007, its contractors were involved in a shooting in Baghdad’s Nisoor Square that left 17 civilians dead. In response to fierce Iraqi outrage, the Justice Department charged five Blackwater employees with manslaughter. However, on Dec. 31, 2009, a U.S. judge dismissed the charges on constitutional grounds, citing that the defendants’ Fifth Amendment rights were violated when their statements made to the State Department were used as evidence against them.

In the aftermath of Blackwater’s involvement in the Nisoor Square massacre, its presence in Iraq came to a swift end. The company’s founder, Erik Prince, was summoned to a congressional hearing. Shortly after his testimony, in which Prince claimed that Blackwater was unable to punish its contractors for misdeeds committed in Iraq, the U.S. House passed a bill making all private military contractors employed by the government subject to prosecution by U.S. courts. The Iraqi government promptly cancelled Blackwater’s license to work within the coun-

try, and, in January 2009, the U.S. State Department followed suit by declining to renew the company’s contract.

Blackwater’s controversial involvement in Iraq has brought into question the role of private security contractors and soldiers in America’s foreign wars.

Private contractors cost the government six times more than a U.S. soldier.

In Iraq, they were granted immunity from Iraqi courts and acted outside the law during the years they were employed in the country. Whereas a U.S. soldier faces a court martial for negligence or excessive violence, Blackwater contractors have only been halfheartedly prosecuted by the Justice Department, usually years after their crimes, during which they continued to work in Iraq. Despite the current lawsuit and past infractions in Iraq, the government continues to employ Blackwater contractors in Afghanistan.

Over 100,000 private military contractors are currently deployed in Afghanistan, and 50,000 additional contractors will accompany the 30,000 U.S. soldiers deployed to the country as part of President Obama’s new war plan. Though Blackwater may be under fire, the presence of private soldiers remains unquestioned. 

THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, February 18, 2010

DANNY MARTINEZ

KEITH VAN KULLER

What is the effect of Sen. Bayh not seeking a third term?

I don’t think the 2010 elections will be as bad for the Democrats as people think.

More Democrats will abandon office as they see a moderate voice leave.

Not so sure. The cause?

Democrats bailing on the bandwagon when it was a minor bump in the road.

I will go with Hilary on this.

As a former vice president, is Dick Cheney a credible source for national security policy?

He wasn’t a credible source for national security policy when he was vice president.

Yes. I’m sure that Dick reads the police blotter for Casper, Wyoming everyday.

Is he still alive?

Most definitely.

What should be done about the federal debt level?

I don’t know, but the fact that our debt is so high during “peacetime” is very worrying.

Social Security benefits should be restricted to centenarians.

Hope that the Chinese don’t take repayment cues from Shylock.

We can sit and watch how it continues to rise in the future.

Will Press Secretary Robert Gibbs ever pass Kim Kardashian in Twitter followers?

That has about as much of a chance of happening as Kardashian being a productive member of society.

Maybe if he and Sarah Palin start their own soap opera.

Not unless he makes a sex tape and gets butt implants.

I don’t know, but I will start following him on Twitter.

Marketplace Editor

Marketplace Staff

HILARY CHASSE

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MARGARET TSENG

Opinions Editor

Asst. Layout Editor

North Korea apologizes after currency reform disaster

BY KEITH VAN KULLER Heights Staff

Kim Jong-il is not the type of person that often admits his mistakes. In his authoritarian government, where secret police dominate the media and people lack basic necessities, the leader of North Korea has traditionally boasted of the splendor of his nation. Yet, after the policy changes in late November worsened the already struggling economy, the blunder was too obvious to ignore.

Last year, Pak Nam-ki, director for planning and finance, decided to eliminate the use of old bank notes and establish a new currency. By setting the rate of old to new money at a rate of 100 to 1, Jong-il ’s Workers’ Party practically obliterated the private savings of entrepreneurs. People only had one week before any old cash was deemed worthless. In addition, the possession or use of foreign currency within North Korea was outlawed.

North Korea seemed, in 2002, to be on the road to free markets, when reforms permitted the buying and selling of goods in free markets. Now, though the country is headed toward more extreme communism. Despite the efforts of the government to impose communism throughout the country, illicit free markets have nevertheless persisted. Foreign currencies have been used to pay for food and other necessities smuggled in from China. In a communistic system, the government should ideally supply all of the food, but North Korea’s centrally planned

economy has repeatedly failed to produce enough crops for the whole population.

The failure of the November policies revealed the country’s tenuous agricultural situation. As market activities stopped, the demand for goods in the government stores soared. Prices rose beyond the means of any ordinary person, contrary to one of the goals of curbing inflation. As a result, starvation is now as widespread as ever in North Korea. Elderly military veterans have held protest rallies as troops try to shut down the remaining vestiges of markets that have sustained the population over the years. Park Sang-hak, a North Korean who escaped to the South, asserted, “My contacts called me to say North Korean people are in despair, crying and shouting just like a war.”

On Feb. 11, Kim Jong-il, the prime minister of North Korea, delivered an apology at a meeting in Pyongyang, the country’s capital. These reports were verified by the Chosun Ilbo newspaper and Yonhap, the national news agency in South Korea. An unidentified source within North Korea claims that the prime minister stated, “I offer a sincere apology about the currency reform, as we pushed ahead with it without sufficient preparation, and it caused a great pain to the people.” As a result, Nam-Ki was fired for his incompetence, and some workers are being paid at previous wage rates in the new currency. It could be interpreted as an admission that a degree of market freedom must exist in the country in order

KOREAN CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY / AP PHOTO

Despite the hiring of new cabinet members, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il faces growing desperation in the country following the failure of his economic reforms. to prevent terrible deprivation.

If the anti-capitalist reforms had been successful, they would have, in a sense, vindicated the isolationist, communist ideology of Jong-il. Participation in market economies is now a matter of life and death for many North Koreans.

The public apology was “public” in the sense that the chiefs of thousands of inminban listened to the declaration. Inminban, or “people’s squads,” are the basic parts of local government and are composed of 20 to 40 families. Chiefs are appointed by the government to serve as managers of these small units. While the

government did not apologize to the fullest extent possible using the state-run media, this meeting of the inminban in Pyongyang was a substantial acknowledgment of the government’s blunder.

At the moment, North Koreans face a severe shortage of food. The Unification Ministry of South Korea estimated that only 4.1 million tons of grain were produced in 2009, a 5 percent decrease from 2008. The United Nations relief agencies have estimated that 5.1 million tons are the minimum amount of grain required for the people.

Some North Korean observers have reported a 30-fold increase

in the price of rice from 20 won per kilogram in December 2009 to 600 won in January 2010. In the 1990s, the absence of trade and aid from the USSR, as well as poor weather, contributed to a famine that left many North Koreans dead. Since then, little effort has been made to bolster the farm system or develop trade partners. Clearly, a difference of 1 million tons of grain could result in the starvation of millions of North Koreans, unless organizations donate food or the ban on market activities is somewhat lifted. Jong-il attempted to reassure North Koreans and the world with his claim that,

“We will do our best to stabilize people’s lives,” according to Good Friends, a relief agency in Seoul, South Korea that planted spies in the North.

While North Korea admits to its failed economic policies, JongIl is indicating his reluctance to continue the nuclear program. The Yonhap news agency reports that an envoy, Kim Kye Gwan, plans to meet with officials in Washington to discuss disarmament in March.

This unusual bilateral discussion has the potential to bolster the relationship between North Korea and America if agreements to dismantle the nuclear program are reached. 

Democrats challenge Supreme Court ruling in the Senate

BY PATRICIA HARRIS

Asst. Marketplace Editor

Last week, the Democrats proposed changes in policy that would place restrictions on corporate spending in political campaigns. These changes would undermine a recent Supreme Court decision, which states that the government imposing financial limits on corporate support for political candidates is unconstitutional.

The changes to be discussed include banning spending by foreign corporations, forcing executives to disclose all of their political spending, and lowering political ad rates to give candidates who are not as well financed a fighting chance.

Senator Charles Schumer and Chris Van Hollen unveiled this plan in the Senate, and they are hoping that these restrictions will be able to be put into practice before the 2010 mid-term elections.

These steps come on the heels of a 5-4 Supreme Court decision last month that struck down a significant part of the 2003 Bipartisan Reform Act, also known as the McCain-Feingold law. The Act formerly banned corporations from spending money on “electioneering communications,” ads for or against a certain candidate, when an election is imminent.

However, the Supreme Court found that this section violated First Amendment Speech rights, and that there can be no limits on independent expenditures for a political candidate. Before the ruling, a corporation could only suggest to its employees that they should contribute to one political candidate

or another, or make donations on an individual level. Now, corporations can actually use their corporate funds for such actions, which make the personal cost to CEOs’ push for their own special interests in Washington close to nothing.

The ruling also provides corporations and special interest groups with unprecedented rights previously reserved for individuals.

The worries sweeping through Washington are numerous. According to the latest ABC News and the Washington Post, 80 percent of Americans oppose the ruling, and 65 percent of those polled “strongly” opposed it. Compared to other political polls, this is an unusually strong sentiment, which reflects the worries of how much our political system will change. The predominant fear is that this decision will have a deep effect on the outcome of future elections, as corporations have the ability to use their deep pockets to sway the outcome of future elections. If this comes to pass, many believe it will hurt the democratic nature of our government, by giving an unfair advantage to those who act in the interests of one corporation or another.

It also means that it would be harder for candidates to come out of nowhere and have a fighting chance at winning.

Another fear is that this decision will create a loophole that will allow foreign companies to come in and interfere in American politics. As quoted in ABC News, Senator Van Hollen said, “There’s a big danger that the decision opens the door to foreign owned corporations indirectly spending millions of dollars to influence the outcome of U.S. elections

through their American subsidiaries.”

Although currently foreign nationals and foreign governments are banned from spending money on U.S. political campaigns, the law now permits U.S. subsidiaries of foreign companies to behave as if they were American businesses. These corporations have the same rights as American-based ones as long as the people making the decisions are American, and the money comes from the treasury of the U.S. subsidiary.

However, it is clear that this particular requirement is going to be nearly impossible to be enforced. Van Hollen warns the public in an interview with ABC News, “The American people should be deeply concerned.”

Although these new measures in Washington are meant to quickly end some of the immediate fallout of this decision, there is a push on Capitol Hill to do more. Some politicians now are working on a Constitutional Amendment that will effectively override the Supreme Court and make the rights of corporations in the political process explicitly clear. However, formatting and passing such an amendment is a long process, and the results of such an effort will not be seen for the immediate future if at all.

Many believe that despite these efforts, the powers newly granted to corporations are here to stay. According to Robert K. Kelner, a lawyer at Covington & Burling, as quoted in the Washington Post, “There’s not much that Congress can do. It’s hard for me to see any obvious route for finance reformers to take aside from tinkering around the edges.” 

SUSAN WALSH/ AP PHOTO

John McCain and Russ Finegold, shown above, orchestrated the overturned Bipartisan Reform Act.

B12

Thursday, February 18, 2010

The Heights

Cheney and Biden clash on national security issues

By Binh Nguyen For The Heights

On Sunday, former Vice President Dick Cheney attacked the Obama administration’s national security policy, saying that it is failing to defend America against terrorism. Cheney has become the most outspoken member of the Bush administration, accusing the current government of being soft on terrorism. Incumbent Vice President Joe Biden countered, saying that Cheney’s allegations were not well-informed.

Cheney attacked Biden’s recent judgment that another Sept. 11 attack was unlikely to occur. The former vice president said that the United States needs to take every action to prevent another attack.

“If the mindset is it’s not likely, then it’s difficult to mobilize the resources and get people to give it the kind of priority that it deserves,” Cheney told the Wall Street Journal.

Cheney said his remarks came from concern that CIA officers and others under the previous administration’s command could face criminal prosecution for following Bush’s orders. Cheney also criticized the plan to close Guantanamo Bay prison and the possibility to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, in New York.

Since the failed attempt at bombing a Detroitbound airplane on Christmas Day, the Republicans, led by Cheney, have been questioning the White House’s preparation to handle terrorism on American soil. Conservatives have criticized the Obama administration for the intelligence lapse, which led the president to call for reforms. Republicans argued that granting civilian legal rights to the suspect, Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, reduced chances of gaining valuable information on al Qaeda, the infamous organization that claimed responsibility for the attack.

Obama’s officials denied the charges and said Abdulmutallab is cooperating and providing useful information for U.S. security. Analysts agree that the Obama administration and the Democratic Party are trying to fight off the GOP’s attempt to portray the current administration’s national security policies as weak in a congressional election year.

Cheney told ABC that interrogators should have had the option to use “enhanced interrogation techniques,” including waterboarding, on Abdulmutallab.

Human rights groups call these methods torture.

Under the Bush administration, Cheney had been an advocate of such techniques in the aftermath of Sept. 11. “Now, President Obama has taken [those techniques] off the table,” he told the Wall Street Journal. “I think that’s a mistake.”

In appearances on two news shows Sunday, Biden argued that Abdulmutallab was treated in the same way as Richard Reid, who tried to blow up an airliner in 2001 by means of explosives that he stored in his shoe. “It’s one thing to criticize,” Biden told the Guardian. “It’s another thing to rewrite history.

What is [Cheney] talking about?”

General James Jones, Obama’s national security advisor, also supported the treatment of Abdulmutallab. The bomber was read his legal rights upon

Michael saldariagga / heights photo illustration

arrest and now has access to a defense attorney like any other citizen would if arrested. Jones remarked that national security is not a partisan issue and asked people to consider the problem in a respectful way.

Cheney also berated Biden for his assertion that the Obama administration deserves credit for the handling of the Iraq war. The former vice president reminded the audience that the Obama campaign platform was in opposition to the unpopular war. It was Bush, he said, who ordered a troop buildup to help calm the situation in Iraq.

Saying the war was not worth the price, Biden still insisted that the Obama administration’s efforts at sectarian reconciliation were the key to end instability. He also listed a series of the administration’s achievements, such as eliminating 12 of al-Qaeda’s 20 top leaders, taking out 100 of their accomplices,

dispatching extra troops to Afghanistan, and stepping up drone attacks on Taliban militants. However, Biden told Reuters, “I’m happy to thank George Bush.”

Meanwhile, Biden indicated that the administration might be moving toward Cheney’s view and rethink its decision to try Sept. 11 masterminds in federal court rather than before a military commission.

This possibility has been opposed by Congress.

Cheney’s outspokenness contrasts deeply with Bush’s withdrawal from political involvement. Since returning to Texas, Bush has not made any public appearance except for the recent emergence to work with President Clinton on aiding Haiti. Cheney revealed that he and Bush have not met since they left Washington in January 2009.

However, not every Republican shares Cheney’s thoughts. Richard Lugar (R-IN) described Cheney’s

attacks on Obama as unfair. Some newspapers have characterized the former vice president in a sarcastic way. New York Daily News described Cheney as “some old crank in the park.”

Despite his criticisms, Cheney applauded President Obama for the latest military offensive against the Taliban stronghold of Marjah, Afghanistan. “I think the president made the right decision to send troops in,” he said on ABC’s This Week. “I’m not a critic in terms of how they’re dealing with that situation.”

Cheney also agreed with the Obama administration’s repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.

The Clinton administration introduced this policy as a compromise with a military that was reluctant to allow GLBTQ persons to serve. “I think the society has moved on,” Cheney, whose daughter is gay, told the Guardian. “It’s time to reconsider the

Politically Speaking

Iran’s actions consequence of U.S. foreign policy in region Kara Kaminski Scanning the papers this week, as I do before writing any “Politically Speaking” column, I found many articles and columns screaming Iran this and Iran that, “Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Issues Another Warning,” and, “Clinton Raises Concern,” among many others. I thought to myself, this is still front-

page news? How is it that a non-issue to begin with is treated with such attention by the media? Why do we even care in the first place? Well, I can at least tell you why we shouldn’t.

First of all, does Iran have the right to possess nukes? It is all about deterrence. Deterrence, the threat of retaliation, is why we don’t make more of an issue with China. What if they nuke us? We do not go to war with the big players in the nuclear game because of the threat they pose to us and vice versa. For a country like Iran, I can understand how that would

be an enticing game to involve.

The region surrounding Iran is threatened by the United States because America currently occupies Iraq, neighboring Pakistan and Afghanistan are both unstable, and, after George W. Bush’s presidency, they are now considered part of the “axis of evil.” If I were Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, I would want a nuke, too. From Iran’s point of view, a nuclear program is essential to upholding its national security.

While we might view a move toward a nuclear program as offensive, Iran is actually acting defensively.

Since the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II, the only use of nuclear weapons has been deterrence, and I honestly believe this is how it will remain. It is clear that in the realm of nuclear deterrence, all countries will be risk-averse. Once nuclear weapons came along, destroying another country’s army was not necessary to annihilate the country itself. The only issue of deterrence in war is credibility, and a nuclear weapon is a completely credible threat. Iran has a right to build nuclear weapons to increase its own credible deterrence in an unstable Middle

vahid salemi / ap photo

Pro-government demonstrators in Iran show fervent anti-U.S. sentiment during a rally marking the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution led by Ayatollah Khomeni.

East.

Secondly, what if Iran actually does get nukes? Iran is one of many countries now considering terrorism that could pose a threat to the United States. While it is extremely expensive to develop a nuclear weapons program, I would not be so comfortable with pointing fingers at one country.

Also, the fact is that the spread of nuclear weapons has been extremely slow. It has been over 50 years since the invention of the Bomb, yet still only nine (that we know of) countries possess the weaponry.

China, feared during the Cultural Revolution, has behaved responsibly despite constant provocation. States that do have the power use such strength as a means of deterrence. I do not believe that nuclear weapons should be the concern for our national security. Just as deterrence deals a lot with the image of power that countries project globally, international image is what has proven to be the most important. With the rise of terrorism, if a nation angers a key group of individuals because of political meddling in their given region, it could result in an attack like that of Sept. 11.

Though the United States considers its war on terrorism to be a defensive attack, it could be perceived as an offensive pounce by terrorists, and the actions that follow will be in self-defense. Just as with a petty argument, someone needs to stop first. The United States needs to stop promoting itself as beckoning in a new era of imperialism and start working to repair its international image.

Thirdly, if we are America, how can we tolerate this? I described in an article on nation building last year how global democracy is now a policy

axiom post-President Bush’s 2005 inaugural speech. Hillary Clinton seems to agree. She has gone through the motions of rallying her allies to put sanctions on Iran, creating a new, stricter set of UN sanctions for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards that are a threat to the political structure of Iran and move the nation toward a military dictatorship.

As I began to mention in the previous paragraph, the United States cannot be a global police force. While I can certainly promote Clinton’s attempts to empower Iraqis to rise up against the Revolutionary Guards, this was verbal.

That being said, the idea of the United States supplying “defensive” weapons to several allied countries harkens back to issues our country had with the Taliban not too long ago.

The position of global police force is not a position the U.S. can afford to be in, financially or for the best interests of our national security.

America’s current issues with Iran stem from faulty ideals of a previous era (the George W. Bush era) that we as a nation need to free ourselves from. The issue at hand shows the true colors of this fact by giving Iran more reason to feel the need to have credible deterrence via nuclear weapons because of the United States pressure in their region.

From Iran’s point of view, they have just as much right as the United States does to possess nuclear weapons. When considering a given response to U.S. action, our country should consider this option a bit longer rather than pouncing and making accusations.

Kara Kaminski is a senior staff columnist for The Heights. She welcomes comments at marketplace@ bcheights.com.

The Heights

Thursday, February 18, 2010

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Curitiba, Brazil leads global charge in urban ecology

photo courtesy of traveltobrazil.com

Curitiba, Brazil is a model for green cities with its efforts to bolster public health and environmental awareness through implementing infrastructural changes.

Urban Ecology, from B14 and encourage environmental policies in local government and among the citizenry.

While the world’s governments struggle to come to a consensus on how to deal with climate change, cities around the world are taking measures into their own hands and innovating their way toward a greener future. Combining knowledge of natural processes,

human needs, and impact on the environment, cities are developing new plans that will reduce our impact on the environment, bring green back to our streets, and raise the standard of living for all people. No national or international standards exist yet for measuring green cities, but their absence has not stopped many from implementing more sustainable initiatives.

In Curitiba, Brazil, the transportation system was reworked

so that a network of bus routes now carries citizens along priority roads through the city cheaply and efficiently, cutting down on traffic by 30 percent and giving the city the lowest air pollution levels in the country.

Curitiba’s city center has been transformed into a pedestrianonly area, and a network of parks and green space in the city’s low-lying areas now serve as an effective means of flood control for the once flood-rid-

den city. Residents of the city’s shantytowns, which are unreachable by municipal trash services, are encouraged to keep their neighborhoods clean through a “green exchange” program, in which people bring trash to central sites in return for school supplies, bus tickets, or food. These initiatives, implemented and updated over the past 40 years, have turned Curitiba into the “ecological capital” of Brazil and have made

it an example for cities around the world.

Though most cities have yet to take such a fully integrated approach to sustainable city planning as Curitiba did, efforts are still being made to create better public transportation, conserve water, and become more energy efficient, and we don’t have to look beyond the United States for examples. Last year, Philadelphia devised an innovative plan to meet the EPA’s demands of reducing the city’s storm water overflow by 85 percent (the current pipe system overflows after just 1/10 inch of rain, shunting contaminated water straight into nearby creeks and rivers).

In a bold move, and in an effort to cut the cost of the plan, Philadelphia policy makers decided that, instead of reworking the system of pipes already in place, they would create a system that catches the rainwater where it lands, decreasing runoff throughout the city and thereby reducing the pollution of local water conduits.

They plan on doing this by increasing the number of rain gardens, green roofs, and mini-wetlands, while also replacing many impermeable surfaces such as sidewalks with permeable surfaces that allow the rain to seep into the soil below. The plan isn’t perfect – water rates will increase slightly, and overflow will be decreased by 80

instead of 85 percent – but it’s a start, and one that will increase the green space of the city, decrease the economic and environmental costs of the traditional storm system in the long run, and slow the flow of water through the system as a whole. Instead of working against nature, Philadelphia, like Curitiba, is working with nature to solve one of its biggest problems.

The effort to become a green city, to reduce human pressures on the environment within and beyond a city while maintaining a high standard of living for urban dwellers, has been a scattered effort taking place at the local level throughout the world for many years. Some projects are older than others, and some more integrative and exhaustive in approach, but all are part of a larger trend toward greener, more sustainable communities. Whether it is to meet mandated standards or promote public health, to save money or to save the environment, a trend has emerged that is truly local in style but global in scale.

From Curitiba to Philadelphia, and from Bangkok to Boston, efforts are being made to rebuild cities in a more enivornmenatlly conscientious way.

Shanna Atherton is a staff columnist for The Heights. She welcomes c o m m e n t s a t m a rke t p l a c e @ bcheights.com.

Postal Service struggles due to newer, faster technology Postal Service, from B14

a net loss of nearly $4 billion.

Countermeasures have been taken. Plain to see is the cost of stamps, which has crept up steadily for years. This has been hindered by the Postal Act of 2006, which limits price increases to 90% the rate of inflation.

Unfortunately, their costs do not move at the same rate. In a business that has very specific roles and depends on high volume, the service has increased efficiency and reduced costs by switching to automated systems and laying off employees. It has also frozen construction on new facilities.

There are other opportunities as well. The postal service depends upon ground transportation. Therefore, it could attract investors in green technology such as

hybrid drive and fuel cells to implement their vehicles in the USPS fleet. Since the USPS is the most trusted government agency, it could make inroads into e-commerce by acting as a go-between for consumers and companies as a way of paying bills.

The Postal Service could, as it does now, help protect consumers against fraudulent schemes, data mining, and identity theft. It could (and has just begun to) establish advertising partnerships with Amazon.com and other internet retailers to increase visibility.

Volume will increase when the economy eventually recovers, due to the junk mail industry.

A mark of quality from delivery companies, next-day delivery may cease to exist. Email outpaces even the fastest of physical services, and it is usually related to impatience

rather than need. This would significantly reduce costs associated with nighttime sorting and flights. Finally, many European postal services, such as those in Switzerland and Italy, offer financial services, and they will soon begin to offer loans directly to consumers and businesses.

These are all reactionary measures, an indication of many businesses that fail to prepare for rainy days and to foresee challenges. How many other industries will fall into oblivion within our lifetime, or even the next decade? Can you imagine when we’re older, saying, “When we were young, you could mail and receive a package within 24 hours?”

Ameet Padte is a staff columnist for The Heights. He welcomes comments at marketplace@bcheights.com.

Joel Philippsen- / AP Photo

The United States Postal Service is having a slow winter and fiscal year, as the cost of printing and shipping is rising.

Despite recent success, Patrick has struggled in public eye Deval Patrick, from B14

In 2009, despite making difficult budget decisions, Patrick managed to put together a good year in terms of legislative achievements. Transportation agencies in the state were combined to lower waste of state funds. Long overdue improvements to state ethics laws were made to curb political corrup-

tion. Additionally, badly needed reforms to the state’s pension laws were enacted to improve fairness and ease the growth of retirement benefits for former state employees. Each of these reforms had been desired by several previous governors, but it was only in the last year that the Commonwealth has been able to realize these longtime goals.

Patrick offered actual plans

for combining state transportation agencies that provided similar services, arguing that the simplification of the bureaucracy would improve service and save money. It was through Patrick’s urging that the legislature passed an ethics reform bill to, as he said, “Assure ourselves and the public that the consequences for breaching the public trust will be serious,

swift, and certain,” in the wake of political scandals involving Dimasi and state Senator Diane Wilkerson. On pension reform, the governor insisted, “It’s plain to us and plain, I think, to everybody, that the abuses and loopholes in the [pension] system are discrediting the system and distracting from the good work of state government and, frankly, just making everybody mad. That has to end, and it has to end now.”

These reforms were significant for the Commonwealth.

From 1991 to 2007, the state government was divided as Republicans consistently held the

governor’s office while Democrats retained super majorities in the legislature. The result, to a great degree, was an impasse between the two branches of government, with the legislature usually winning small victories.

Serious and much needed reform to ethics, pension, and transportation issues went unattended, as neither the Democratic legislature, nor the several Republican governors, diligently sought to broker deals.

Patrick has had recent success in prodding the legislature to act on much-needed reforms.

However, his early scuffles with the public and his unpopularity

with the legislature seem to have tainted his entire resume in the minds of many people in the Commonwealth.

In order to win this November, Patrick will have to convince voters that the “change” he promised in 2006 has been realized with the reforms of the last year. This translation may be difficult to make, as issues like transportation and pensions make for boring topics for most of the electorate. As his campaign for re-election gears up, with his position in the public’s eye so low, he has nowhere to go but up. How far up remains to be seen. n

Gerald herbert / AP Photo

Deval Patrick’s recent legislative triumphs may not be enough to repair his public image in time for the Nov. elections.

MARKETPLACE THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, February 18, 2010

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2010

MARKET REPORT

Postal service breakdown AMEET PADTE While e-mails and instant messages are incredibly fast and efficient, there is nothing quite like receiving a letter. From slitting open an envelope to unfolding a piece of paper, receiving a letter is a tremendously sentimental and sadly anachronistic experience.

The idea that someone has taken the time to handwrite a message seems incredibly civilized next to typing out an e-mail and firing it off into the binary universe. Unfortunately, it appears that the bringer of such modes of transmission, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), is on its way out. This decline is taking place for a number of reasons.

Before the recession, in wealthy countries such as the United States and Japan, the business of delivering printed material was thriving despite its appearance as a relic. Electronic substitution was slowly taking place.

Though it was interpreted as inevitable and inexorable, it still moved at a lethargic pace. Letter volumes were consistently declining but were still high enough to maintain profit margins. Postal services around the world continued their humdrum business.

See Postal Service, B13

Patrick faces tough re-election battle

BY JOHN GLYNN For The Heights

When Deval Patrick was elected governor of Massachusetts in 2006, it was on the strength of voters excited by his political newcomer status and promise of change and reform, similar to Barack Obama’s broad message of hope and promise of effective governing.

Four years later, polls show Governor Patrick to not be very popular with the Massachusetts electorate.

Patrick was relatively unknown when he announced his intention to seek the governor’s chair for the Commonwealth.

He was in charge of the Civil Rights Division in the Justice Department during the Clinton presidency and later served as counsel for Coca-Cola before turning his eyes to the Massachusetts political scene. Greeted as a breath of fresh air and faced with a weak field of opponents in the Democratic primary and in the general election, Patrick steamrolled into the corner office at the Statehouse, winning in the November 2006 general election by 20 percent.

The beginning of Patrick’s term was plagued by personal problems, making his transition to public life very difficult.

While his wife needed treatment for exhaustion and depression, there was general uproar over his purchase of an expensive Cadillac to be used for official transportation purposes and over the pricey remodeling of the governor’s office in the Statehouse. The public reaction to the expensive purchases was not handled with the poise and grace of a seasoned statesman some thought, giving many Massachusetts residents a poor, initial opinion of the governor.

Though eventually apologetic, Patrick was off to a rocky start.

Still early on in his tenure, the governor suffered a resounding defeat in the state’s House of Representatives when the lower house refused to allow

PHOTO COURTESY OF CUBIST.COM

Deval Patrick, right, participates in the opening of a new hospital. His first term has been market by legislative defeats and low approval ratings. casino gambling in the state, seeing as then-Speaker of the House Salvatore Dimasi heavily opposed Patrick’s proposal. Without significant legislative achievements to speak of, 2008 ended with the onset of the current recession, making 2009 a year of significant budget deficits. Patrick was forced to make the unpopular decision several times to cut funding for important services. A sales tax increase was seen as further cause for many Massachusetts residents to dislike the governor.

Patrick’s relationship with the predominantly Democrat state legislature has never been ideal. In the first year of his term, the governor had a difficult time coming to agreements on legislation with Dimasi and Senate President Therese Murray, two leading legislators who could garner overwhelming support for their own initiatives from fellow Democratic members of their respective houses. The current speaker of the house is now Robert Deleo. Despite the change in leadership, Deleo and Murray

Blackwater left reeling by latest legal troubles

BY MATT PALAZZOLO Heights Staff

Blackwater Worldwide, the infamous private security company mostly known for its involvement in the Iraq War, has once again made the news. Brad and Melan Davis, two of its former employees, filed a lawsuit against the company (which changed its name to Xe in 2009) in December 2008, and the lawsuit was finally unsealed this month. The suit accuses Blackwater of committing fi-

nancial fraud by double billing and filing false invoices, employing incompetent personnel, and billing the U.S. government for a prostitute and strippers.

The prostitute was a Filipino woman who entertained employees and was listed in the payroll under the category “Moral Welfare Recreation.” The strippers were present in Louisiana during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and were paid for “cleaning services.”

Blackwater supposedly transferred its funds to Greystone, an offshore

company owned by Blackwater, to avoid auditing by the Internal Revenue Service. The company also shuttled contractors to Afghanistan on its own private airline company, but billed the government as if they had travelled on a third-party airline.

Blackwater also continued to retain employees regardless of their competence due to its peculiar salary methods.

Contractors hired by Blackwater are given free tuition for its training academy. Then, their tuition is deducted from

GERVASIO SANCHEZ / AP PHOTO

Before being removed from Iraq last year, over 1,000 Blackwater contractors worked alongside American soldiers providing security assistance.

POLITICS dously expensive car that is neither exceptionally fuel-efficient nor fast.

A rational-minded individual should be able to see past the marketing distractions and know that this car is useless. However, if you’re drunk, it may begin to look appealing.

–Ameet Padte Interested in reading more?

Check out Marketplace’s blogs at www.bcheights.com/blogs

”

ECONOMICS

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Senate Democrats are reeling after Indiana’s Evan Bayh declared that he will not run for a third term, citing frustration that “the people’s business is not getting done.”

The U.S. economy seems to be slowly creeping out of a recession, as housing has climbed 2.8 percent and industrial production rose for the seventh straight month.

Skype CEO Josh Silverman is fighting large phone companies for his company’s widely popular free service, to be used on mobile smart phones.

President Obama plans to fund new nuclear power plants, but opponents argue that he does not know how to properly handle the nuclear waste.

Mega-HMO Humana announced it was reducing its workforce by 5 percent after 11 percent of its customers did not renew their insurance.

Archbishop and Nobel Prize winner Desmond Tutu was used in a genome study to learn about genetic diversity and health among Africans.

I NSIDE MARKE TP L A C E

THIS ISSUE

On the flip side

See Deval Patrick, B13

A GREEN PIECE

Greening up concrete jungles

SHANNA ATHERTON Urban ecology. It’s the new buzz phrase among those looking to develop more sustainable, resilient cities throughout the world. For those who haven’t heard, urban ecology takes an integrative approach to studying sustainability by looking at the interactions of humans, plants, and animals within the city environment as part and parcel of a single, connected system. Such studies allow for a more holistic understanding of city environments and are paving the way for a new era of city planning – the green city.

Green cities are those urban areas that are, whether publicly or not, making strides to: become more energy efficient, conserve and preserve the quality of water, update transportation systems, encourage recycling, protect green space, encourage green building, strive for high air quality standards, support a high standard of living,

See Blackwater, B10

IN THE NEWS

FROM THE BLOGOSPHERE “What we have, then, is a tremen-

subsequent paychecks. Thus, the company continued to employ incompetent, and in some cases, violent contractors, in order to regain tuition fees.

In the suit, Melan Davis claims she attempted to “blow the whistle on the fraud and abuse occurring in New Orleans” in 2006, but was told to back off and that “she would never win a medal for saving the government money.”

Blackwater later fired Melan Davis in 2008, while she was on leave battling cancer. Brad Davis,+ who served as a Blackwater team leader in Iraq, reportedly witnessed three instances in 2005 of contractors “using unjustified force to kill or seriously injure Iraqi civilians.” Brad Davis later resigned from the company.

Blackwater has vehemently denied the charges. Stacy DeLuke, a company spokeswoman, has stated that “the allegations are without merit, and the company will vigorously defend [itself] against this lawsuit. It is noteworthy that the government has declined to intervene in this action.” The U.S. Justice Department indeed declined to assume the case, which led to the unsealing of the Davis’ accusations this month.

Blackwater’s six year involvement in Iraq under the Bush administration was tumultuous and controversial. On March 31, 2004, a convoy manned by the company’s employees was ambushed in Fallujah. Four contractors were killed with gunfire and grenades, and their charred corpses were paraded through the city before being hung from a bridge over the Euphrates River. Photos of their mutilated remains were broadcast worldwide, and American outrage led to the counterinsurgency battle in Fallujah

maintain a tight hold over legislation, and often act in concert. Members of both houses follow the legislature’s leadership with incredible frequency, making it very difficult for Patrick to establish a substantial amount of support in either body. Without receiving great support from the speaker and the senate president, Patrick cannot get much passed. Additionally, his vetoes are easily overridden.

See Urban Ecology, B13

IN QUOTES “

First, Rahm Emanuel, who represents the most powerful man, the leader of our free world, called people — a group of people whom he disagreed with, “f–ing retards.

”

– Sarah Palin In an Interview on Fox News

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IN NUMBERS

Medal count totaled by U.S. athletes in Vancouver, including four gold medals, one from Lindsey Vonn.

This week On the Flip Side will explore both sides of the issue of juvenile murder........................................................................... B8

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Number of billions of dollars in estimated damage from the earthquake in Port-auPrince, Haiti.

Politically Speaking...................................B12 North Korea..............................................B11