Heights 3-11

The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College Established 1919

THE HEIGHTS THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 2010

Vol. XCI, No. 12

Ross: ‘We disagree on this issue’

www.bcheights.com

Class of ’14 athletes get a start BC currently hosts pre-freshmen football players on campus

BY MICHAEL CAPRIO News Editor

BY TAYLOUR KUMPF Asst. News Editor

Michael Ross, City of Boston councilman, pressured a group of students and administrators last night to “appreciate” the circumstances surround the city’s “No More than Four” zoning law – an issue currently dividing city and student leaders.

“I didn’t come here to be convinced to go back on this issue,” Ross said, who authored the zoning law in 2008. “You have to know that we disagree on this issue.”

During his speech to a group of members of the Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC), Ross responded to student statements that said the zoning ordinance is discriminatory toward undergraduate students and that it forces them to pay higher rent than they would with more roommates.

Members of the UGBC Senate invited Ross to BC to speak on the housing issues. During a question and answer period following his presentation, Tyler Schenck, UGBC senator and A&S ’12, raised the issued of discrimination against college students. “This law singles out one group of the populace, and to me that strictly is discrimination,” he said.

Ross, who represents Boston’s district eight, defended his zoning law, stating that he had the interests of local families and the development of Boston’s communities in mind.

“There are families that lost their home,” he said. “And that’s something that didn’t come up until two hours into the meeting.

And that’s wrong. These people aren’t in this room. They’re not even in the neighborhood.”

During his introductory presentation, Ross discussed what he saw as an issue facing the City of Boston – the loss of its young post-graduate population.

“Despite that fact that we have a steady flow of [students], our undergraduate population rises by about 2 percent every year, we are losing you,” he said. “The 20 to 34-year-old population in Boston KEVIN HOU / HEIGHTS EDITOR

See Ross, A4

Boston City Councilman Michael Ross encouraged BC students to consider the rationale for his zoning law.

Walsh Hall to host check-in station Pilot program aims to supplement swipe card system in enhancing security in campus residence halls

BY ANA T. LOPEZ

Special Projects Editor Students who secure suites in Walsh Hall in this week’s housing lottery will notice a difference in their new residence even before they enter the front doors next fall. As part of a pilot program designed by the Office of Residential Life (ResLife), the building’s current card reader will be exchanged for a manned security desk from Thursday afternoons to the early hours of Sunday mornings beginning in the fall of 2010.

The desk will act as a barrier against uninvited guests from outside the Boston

INSIDE SPORTS

College community, preventing them from entering the residence hall. BC students will be required scan their IDs at the desk to be admitted during the specified times, while those not affiliated with the University will have to be signed into the building by residents.

“We want to make sure our building is open for the BC student, but that people that don’t belong here should not be in the buildings,” said Henry Humphreys, director of residential life. “The idea is that it would challenge anyone that is not affiliated with BC at all to just walk into the building at will.”

Humphreys said that BC students

would notice little difference in entering the building. “Just as a BC student would be able to swipe to be able to get into any other building, they would be able to do it here as well,” he said. “The nice part is that if someone was to find a BC ID and swipe it and get in, you now have someone watching them swipe and saying, that’s not the person.”

BC is one of a few major universities in Boston that lacks a desk security program in residential halls, mainly because it is a residential campus. But because of this, Humphreys is intent on ensuring that the program will not interfere with the lifestyle that BC students have come

to expect.

“For students in Walsh next year, this is not to take away from their residential experience, but this is to provide more enhanced security in their environment,” he said. “I want to make sure that whatever desk program we develop, it does not take away from the culture of BC students being able to see each other.”

Student leaders from the Undergraduate Government of BC (UGBC) collaborated on the program’s development, and some had qualms about how the desks would be staffed. Humphreys said that

In the past several years, Boston College has allowed select student-athletes to enroll early in the spring semester of what would be their senior year of high school. Although many universities view the chance to enroll athletes early solely in terms of the students’ athletic potential, BC only offers the opportunity to athletes who are competitive academically.

“We only look at incoming student-athletes with good academic standing, who are done with all their high school work,” said Chris Cameron, associate athletics director of media relations. “It’s not a fit for everyone.

We would never talk to a student who wasn’t academically ready.”

Cameron said that the practice originated due to schools’ desires to get football players onto the practice field in time for spring workouts. “Although having the ability to work out with teammates can benefit [these students] athletically, this is not our philosophy,” Cameron said. “It’s more like the icing on the cake.”

The practice of early enrollment is relatively new for BC, which has only offered the opportunity to athletes for the past four years. “BC has had very few football players enroll early,” Cameron said. Three players enrolled early this year, the most ever according to Cameron.

See Athletes, A3

The Heights will host two guest lecturers – NPR correspondent Martha Bebinger and BBC foreign correspondent James Reynolds – in the Walsh Hall Function Room at 7 p.m. this evening.

See Door Program, A4

Students produce two new shows

BY MATTHEW DELUCA Editor-in-Chief

BC enters Hockey East tournament as one of the favorites, A10

THE SCENE

The Scene explores the artistic wonders of Spain , B1

MARKETPLACE

Chile struggles to reach victims in aftermath of earthquake, B10 Classifieds, A5 In the News, B10 Editorials, A6 Editors’ Picks, A9 Forecast on Washington, B7 On the Flip Side, B6 Police Blotter, A2 Thumbs Up / Thumbs Down, A7 Videos on the Verge, B2 Weather, A2

In the tradition of the Baldwin student film awards and student-produced shows like The BC, a new wave of students have turned their wit and wide-angle lenses on campus life. Two new student shows, BC Senior Five and The Hillsides, take a comic turn on all things Boston College.

It was two days before spring break, but Ryan McDaid, Christian Harrington, and Ted Dillon, all A&S ’10, and Mike Wolf, A&S ’12, had turned a room in the O’Connell House into a film studio. Reilly Dinius, CSOM ’10, in a black suit with white socks – “They draw the eyes,” he said – sat in front of a large potted plant. They were filming the next video in the BC Senior Five series, conceived by Dillon and McDaid.

As most BC students will know, the senior five is one of those student traditions that is not likely to make its way into the freshman orientation program. Members of the senior class make a list of the five people they want to hook up with before graduation. McDaid said that the idea for a series of videos came to him while home over Christmas break. He filmed the first video himself, which he sent to some friends. In the video, McDaid played a mustachioed Arizona Iced Tea imbiber who struggled to define what exactly the practice of senior five is: “Senior five is like Christmas in that you make a list and then get presents in the form of girls. That doesn’t sound good,” he says. “It’s a time when you get to make ends meet.

Get to have meetings with people. With girls.”

The videos are hosted on their own site, bcseniorfive.com, which has had about 7,000 visits. The four principle Senior Five players have produced five videos since winter break. “Every episode has a premise that gets derailed by the people who are in it,” McDaid said.

Wolf, Harrington, McDaid, and Dillon have created characters and running jokes for themselves over the episodes they have produced so far, but each installment also features some other member of the student body, like Dinius, making a guest appearance. “We’ll have an idea, then write it about a person on campus who is not in our group,” McDaid said. “The goal is to get BC involved in it.”

KEVIN HOU / HEIGHTS EDITOR

The cast of the online series Senior Five poke fun at a notorious senior tradition using the campus as their television studio.

Each video takes shape over the course of the filming and editing process. Though the crew starts out with a script, the finished product may end up looking like something else entirely. “I love how most of this isn’t fake,” Wolf said. “What sucks is that we have to edit these down to about five minutes.”

Wolf said that the show is not just for seniors. As the de facto representative for underclassmen, Wolf said that he is a reminder that making out is not just for those about to graduate. Wolf holds the boom mic on the set, but does not stay out of the camera’s view for

long. During the shoot, he and Harrington, as much as Dillon and McDaid, guide the video’s direction. By the time they wrap, Wolf will have offered careful critiques of McDaid’s character, debated the finer points of Lady Gaga’s posture, and walked around with ab muscles outlined on his stomach in discount eyeliner. Wolf said that he is working on a dating guide for underclassmen “to show that there are ways to find love in all parts of the BC community.”

See Student Shows, A3

TopFive

Thursday, March 11, 2010

THE HEIGHTS

things to do on campus this week

Are all rights human rights?

1

Today Time: 5 p.m.

Location: McGuinn 121

Susan Shell, professor in the department of political science, will begin the discussion with a follow-up from Rev. David Hollenbach, S.J., professor of theology.

“Isn’t It Romantic”

2

Today Time: 7:30 p.m.

Location: Robsham

Held in Robsham’s Bonn Studio, the ongoing play, “Isn’t It Romantic,” by Wendy Wasserstein, focuses on postcollege careers and the dilemmas of two former classmates.

Men’s Hockey vs. UMass

3

Friday Time: 7 p.m.

Location: Conte Forum

BC hosts the Minutemen of UMass in the quarterfinal match up of the Hockey East Tournament. The best-of-three series will continue on Saturday, and Sunday if necessary.

FEATURED ON CAMPUS

Speakers discuss drinking age

“bOparazzi” Jazz Concert

4

Saturday Time: 7 p.m.

Location: Robsham

The instrumental and vocal jazz ensemble of Boston College presents the “hottest, swingin-est jazz this side of the river” Saturday night in Robsham Theater.

Laetare Sunday

5

Sunday Time: 9:30 a.m.

Location: Conte Forum

The annual campuswide mass will be celebrated at 9:30 a.m., followed by a brunch where Vice President for Student Affairs Patrick Rombalski will be the keynote speaker.

IntheNews

FOUR DAY WEATHER FORECAST TODAY

53° Partly Cloudy 37°

FRIDAY

48° PM showers 39°

SATURDAY

Rain

University Sexual assault cases go overlooked on New England college campuses Data obtained from the Justice Department show that among local colleges and universities, reports of sexual assaults rarely translate to serious sanctions, according to a report by the New England Center for Investigative Reporting. Several Massachusetts universities receive federal funding to help deter sexual assaults on campuses, including UMass Amherst, Northeastern, and MIT. Out of more than 240 alleged assaults reported between 2003 and 2008, only four led to expulsions, according to the Center’s report.

48°

44°

SUNDAY

49° Rain 38°

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

Local News Columbus Center complex plans derailed due to lack of funding

CARRIE MCMAHON / HEIGHTS EDITOR

John McCardell, Jr., and James Fell debated arguments that call for the legal drinking age to be lowered.

BY CARRIE MCMAHON

“Creating the safest possible environment for the reality and not denying the reality” John McCardell Jr., presi- needs to be the main goal, dent and founder of the or- McCardell said. ganization Choose ResponsiHe defended his point by bility, along with James Fell, citing facts such as how 10 M.D., of the Pacific Institute percent of all underage drinkfor Research and Evaluation, ing is binge drinking. He also expressed opposing viewpoints presented arguments based on on lowering the legal drinking other responsibilities afforded age in America on Wednesday to minors. “If you can sit in a night in the Rat. jury, you can buy a beer.”

As a central figure in Choose McCardell, who has been Responsibility, featured on proa n o rga n i za grams such as 60 tion dedicated Minutes and The There was a to stimulating Colbert Report, c o nve rs a t i o n 62 percent said that he did on drinking recognize the decrease in fatal culture, McCarisks involved automobile rdell said he bein drinking at lieves that the crashes involving a n y a g e . H e National Miniunderage drivers suggested manmum Drinking datory alcohol between 1982 Age Act of 1984, education and which threatlegal supervised and 2009. ened states that drinking so did not adopt teens can learn a 21-year-old how to drink drinking age with a 10 percent more responsibly. cut on federal highway funds, Fell said that numerous is outdated. studies have shown that low“Cultural attitudes change ering the drinking age will over time,” McCardell said. lower the age people start to “And current policy for the drink illegally, and will lead to drinking age has locked us an increase in alcohol-related into the culture of 1984.” Mc- incidents such as car accidents Cardell argued that drinking and homicides. has become a central part of He included facts such as social life for adults age 18-20, how there has been a 62 perand this is a fact that needs to cent decrease in underage be faced.” drivers involved in fatal crashHeights Editor

es between 1982 and 2009. Fell also addressed what he called the “European drinking age myth.”

“The lower drinking ages in Europe don’t mean the kids don’t get drunk,” Fell said.

He also pointed out that 26 European countries have higher rates of adolescent intoxication than the United States. Fell agreed with McCardell that college binge drinking is a cultural phenomenon.

Yet, Fell argued that this could not be changed by the drinking age and therefore, would not be an effective solution. “There needs to be policy, and there needs to be enforcement,” Fell said.

He also said that restricted alcohol advertising and the “denormalization” of binge drinking in society could help limit alcohol-related problems.

Fell said he feels that the current drinking age is appropriate, if too low, because the brain is generally not fully developed until someone’s mid-20s.

Fell said, “28,000 lives have been saved so far,” in reference to the age increase policy of 1984. Yet, McCardell refuted this statistic and said, “The precision implied is merely implied,” and the fact was simply “an exercise in statistics and probability.” 

The planned $800 million Columbus Center project in downtown Boston is being scrapped after 13 years of planning, according to a report by the Boston Globe. The complex, which was backed primarily by the California State Pension Fund and its local partner, WinnCompanies, was to be a five-building grouping of condominiums, hotel rooms, and stores spanning the Massachusetts Turnpike between the city’s Back Bay and South End neighborhoods. The plans were called off because they are no longer economically viable, said the Globe report.

On Campus No one injured when window pane falls from Gasson Hall, shattering On Monday afternoon, a window pane became dislodged and fell from Gasson Hall. The window was on the third floor on the side facing the Quad. No students were injured, but the window fell to the pavement and shattered. “A single pane of glass dislodged from one of the windows,” said Mike Jednak, director of facilities services. “Gasson Hall is scheduled for renovation starting this summer, and new windows are included in the renovation.” It is unknown whether the incident was due to wear-and-tear on the building or to other factors.

National Va. governor: state agencies not to discriminate against gays in hiring RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Gov. Bob McDonnell directed state agencies not to discriminate against gay people in employment practices Wednesday, essentially overriding the Virginia attorney general’s advice to public colleges. The governor issued the written directive as about 200 gay-rights activists swarmed the Capitol to protest Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli’s letter last week telling public colleges they cannot prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation without specific authorization from the General Assembly.

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

Police Blotter 3/1/10 – 3/8/10 Monday, March 1

Friday, March 5

9:18 p.m. – A report was filed regarding a student who was away from campus for spring break and allowed two non-BC students to reside in her residence in Vanderslice Hall. The two non-BC students were identified and removed from the residence.

A BC ID card was confiscated, and the locks were changed.

4:11 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a hit and run motor vehicle accident in the McElroy lot that resulted in property damage only. The operator of the motor vehicle was identified.

Wednesday, March 3 12:40 a.m. – A report was filed regarding a student who has been receiving threatening e-mails from another student. A detective is investigating and the ODSD is currently reviewing the matter.

8:51 p.m. – A report was filed regarding the parents of a student who are being harassed by the former roommate of their daughter.

A detective and the ODSD are currently reviewing the situation.

Thursday, March 4

6:14 p.m. – A report was filed regarding a party who had attempted to break into a motor vehicle in the commuter lot. A detective is investigating.

Voices from the Dustbowl “How did you find the process of purchasing tickets for Saturday’s Girl Talk concert?”

“It was difficult because there weren’t that many tickets for everyone.”

—Sarah Currier, CSON ’13

Sunday, March 7 1:35 p.m. – A report was filed regarding a party who was injured the previous day in St. Mary’s Hall but did not report it. The party was offered medical attention but declined.

Monday, March 8

“It was horrific, but it wasn’t necessarily UGBC’s fault.”

—Elizabeth Halle, CSOM ’11

12:28 p.m. – A report was filed regarding notification of an outstanding warrent against a party who could not be located.

1:43 a.m. – A report was filed regarding a student who was placed under arrest by the Massachusetts State Police for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.

“I’m going to Dropkick Murphys [instead].”

—Matt Johnson,

—Source: The Boston College Police Department

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, March 11, 2010

Kevin Hou / Heights Editor

The cast of the show The Hillsides bases its production off of the hit television show Arrested Development. The show went online in September and places a higher emphasis on plot development resulting in a more episodic production.

Shows are produced for students by students Student Shows, from A1

Though they procure some professional-grade equipment through their positions as film department teaching assistants, they said they do not need it to make people laugh. “This stuff helps a lot with our production quality, but we don’t need it to make movies,” Dillon said.

“We can pump out a video in a week or five hours,” McDaid said. Since most of the cast and crew are seniors, that economy of time is important, he said. They would like to get out as many videos as they can before May. Dillon and Ryan Python, A&S ’10, are co-producing another online student series, titled The Hillsides. Much of the inspiration for The Hillsides is derived from the television show Arrested Development – the students play characters lifted from the show and transplanted to the Mods. Dillon said that, because Arrested Development has not seen much commercial success, some viewers miss out

on the allusion. People come up to him and remark on the show’s originality, he said.

The idea for the show came to them in August, the Web site was launched in September, and the crew began to post trailers throughout the fall, Dillon said. The original idea was to produce a 30-minute show based on NBC’s hit The Office, Python said, but that fell apart. “We didn’t think people would watch for half an hour.”

Python said that he writes out every episode before they begin filming. The installments take a weekend to film, but they have been experiencing some downtime in filming, he said, so they are going to attempt to film two episodes in the same weekend. The style of the show makes filming it different than filming Senior Five, Dillon said.

They are not able to shoot for three hours and then go right to editing, and Python said that the number of times and locations they use for The Hillsides, compared to Senior Five, places far

more emphasis on narrative thread and consistent an episode. characterization. “It’s more of an episodic kind of It is also a great way to close out their time thing, where that [Senior Five] is much more of a at BC, the co-creators said, though they have viral video kind of thing,” Python way of knowing whether or not “I think it is a great no said. the series will continue beyond way to bring in our their departure. While both Dil“We’re trying to build five or six episodes,” Dillon said. “We’d like to senior year. I think lon and Python said that they feel get more people involved, more BC a strong sense of possession for it makes the campus the show now, they would like to camaraderie kind of stuff.”

Whereas the cast of Senior Five seem a lot smaller see someone else carry it on. “I’d said they have ambitions to reach love for it to carry over,” Dillon out to the campus beyond the vid- and a lot more closely said. “Two-thirds of our girls are eos, perhaps planning premieres or underclassmen.” knit.” other events, The Hillsides is much For now, however, their project more show-based, Dillon said. is more about enjoying the time — Ted Dillon, “It’s pure fun, nothing else atthey have remaining at BC. “I tached to it,” Python said, who is think it is a great way to bring in A&S ’10 a political science major. Outside our senior year,” Dillon said. “I of the show he rarely has time to act, write, edit, think it makes the campus seem a lot smaller or do any of the other things it takes to get out and a lot more closely knit.” n

Freshmen athletes arrive on campus early Athletes, from A1 One such player is Kevin Pierre-Louis, an incoming freshman and linebacker recruit from King Low Heywood Thomas School in Connecticut.

Pierre-Louis, who has been enrolled in the Carroll School of Management (CSOM) since Jan. 13, said he has had a positive experience so far and is happy with his decision. “It has definitely been a transition, but the team has been there for me, and I’ve learned very fast,” he said.

“The three young men here are all outstanding academically,” Cameron said. “They are very bright, very mature men, who can handle coming in early and tackling all those things that come with being a freshman.”

Although Pierre-Louis has adjusted to his new schedule, it has presented some challenges.

“Football-wise, I am definitely glad I took advantage of this opportunity; academically I’m not sure because I didn’t have that first semester grace period,” he said. “I wanted to take two relaxed classes since I was just getting here, but then I realized there are no relaxed classes here.”

In order to enroll early at BC, student-athletes must graduate from high school a semester early, something most students are not open to considering.

“For some students, missing out socially on things like senior prom and graduation is not something they want to do,” Cameron said.

“These are social occasions that any person looks forward to.”

Pierre-Louis, however, wanted to take advantage of this opportunity. “I graduated high school early, and to do that I took a class in the summer and then an additional class the first semester of my senior year,” he said. “I didn’t have a chance to experience that senioritis.”

According to Cameron, this extra work in high school is worthwhile for certain incoming student-athletes. “Potentially the most positive aspect of student-athletes enrolling early is that, because the time commitment is much lighter in the spring, they can get a feel for campus, establish themselves academically in class, and figure out how they’ll need to structure their time in the fall.”

Making adjustments is challenging for any

freshman, but for student-athletes especially, he said. “When playing a fall sport, you have a lot on your plate as soon as you arrive on campus.

With the fall time commitments, being able to come in early can be helpful.”

The time commitment in the spring is typically not as heavy for fall sports, but Pierre-Louis already has a busy schedule. “I usually wake up around 4:40 in the morning, then I go lift until 7,” he said. “Then I make sure to eat breakfast.

This is important because you don’t want to lose weight.”

Pierre-Louis said that this has been the right fit for him. “I’m definitely happy and I know where I stand with the football team,” he said.

Cameron also said that funding is not an issue when allowing these students early enrollment.

“Student-athletes that come in are on scholarship,” Cameron said. “Their scholarships start when they come in and enroll.”

“If this is the right fit for one of our incoming student-athletes, only then would we encourage this,” Cameron said. “We’re not a football factory here. We want our student-athletes to graduate.” n

ResLife reconciles former housing lottery glitches

By Molly LaPoint Heights Staff

After facing glitches and delays upon switching to a new software program last year, the Office of Residential Life (ResLife) has experienced few problems with the room selection process thus far this year, said Henry Humphreys, director of ResLife.

Last year was the first year the University used StarRez, an Australia-based database system, Humphreys said. For the first time, the process was completely online, whereas in previous years, students had needed to come into the office to select their rooms.

Instead of using this program “out of the box,” ResLife modified the program in certain ways. “We did a lot of modifications, which left more chance for human error in programming,” Humphreys said.

When it came time for the selection of six-person apartments, students last year were unable to select their rooms despite being able to view their pick time. Additionally, the system sent out test data, which included incorrect pick times. This mistake delayed room selection by an entire day. “They sent out the first list, and a couple hours later, they told us it was a test,” said Anthony Vitiello, CSOM ’10. “It took them a day or so to get the right list.”

For Vitiello, this delay was a benefit. “We were not on the first list at all, so we thought we had no Mod pick, but we got really lucky and were in the first time slot [on the second list].”

Room selection began on Tuesday, and so far there have been no major glitches with the system,

Humphreys said. The biggest problem is that students have been unchecking a box that they must leave checked to be visible in the room selection system. By un-checking the box, the students were making it so they could not be seen by others on the room selection system. This affected about 40 students, but was easily fixed when students called the office asking for help, Humphreys said. “We worked out all the glitches [from last year] and tested the system. Like anything else, there’s always going to be little imperfections, but we hope it’s small enough that it won’t affect students and can be resolved quickly.”

Another glitch occurred when ResLife was testing its system over spring break, this year. Student e-mail was accidentally left active during testing, which caused students to receive false e-mails.

“The e-mails said something like, ‘You’ve been added to a group,’ or, ‘You’ve been deleted from a group,’” said Steve Prue, assistant director of ResLife. “Within two hours we realized and turned off the e-mail system during testing.” ResLife then sent out an e-mail informing students to disregard the ones that came before.

It is important that ResLife resolves problems quickly, Humphreys said. “We made it clear with the software company that they have to resolve problems quickly to minimize stress level. We know students stress, and we try to minimize that as much as possible by resolving problems quickly.”

Despite ResLife’s attempts to minimize problems, housing issues have caused some students stress.

“I think the housing lottery breeds a lot of treachery, and backstabbing,

and a lot of really terrible situations for a lot of people,” Vitiello said.

“You have to cut or add people so quickly, going from one day to the next. I really think it’s terrible.”

Brendan Fitzgibbons, A&S ’11, agreed with Vitiello. Though he has never experienced glitches in the housing system, he said he recognized the social problems it can create. “The biggest problem is that it’s hard for some groups to break apart,” he said. “If a group has six people, and they don’t make the six-person lottery, they have to decide in one day how to cut two people from the group. It’s like Survivor – someone has to get voted off the island.”

This year, ResLife tried to minimize problems by explaining to students what type of housing they could expect. For example, freshmen should not expect to get a six-person apartment, considering that only 69 percent of juniors got one this year, Humphreys said.

“We tried to tell first year students what to not even apply for. The only people who ever get six-person apartments are [rising] seniors, but we still had six groups of freshmen apply for one.”

The only criterion for who is selected for each type of housing is a student’s year. Rising seniors get priority, followed by juniors, then sophomores. Following those criteria, selection is random and does not rely on students’ grades or any other factor. “People have asked about a weighted system, but I’m not in favor of that because there’s always someone who is not favored,” Humphreys said. “[The current system] is the fairest way – everyone has an equal opportunity.” n

Kevin Hou / Heights Editor

Kevin Pierre-Louis, CSOM ’14, currently takes classes to fulfill his degree requirements, giving the early high school graduate a head start for the fall.

“I think we’ve done very well in beginning that process of running as a single faculty. It gives me confidence that we will continue on that track.”

— Richard Clifford, Dean, School of Theology and Ministry

Clifford steps down as dean of School of Theology and Ministry

By Patrick Gallagher Assoc. News Editor

Rev. Richard Clifford, S.J., will step down from his position as dean of the School of Theology and Ministry (STM) at the end of the academic year.

However, he will remain on the school’s faculty, according to an announcement from the Office of News and Public Affairs.

Clifford was appointed as the founding dean of STM by University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J., in 2007, when the school was incorporated into Boston College. The move by BC, which merged the Weston Jesuit School of Theology with the Institute of Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry (IREPM) and the Church in the 21st Century (C21) Online program, has resulted in a 23 percent increase in enrollment since August 2008, when the STM was moved to then newly-acquired Brighton Campus.

“It’s unusual for two different educational entities to come and work together,” Clifford said. “I think we’ve done very well in beginning that process of running as a single faculty. It gives me confidence that we will continue on that track.”

Clifford insisted that the step is by no means a move to retire. He said that he will continue to teach within the STM and will fulfill whatever role is asked of him by his successor in helping the school to advance its strategic plan.

“I’m going back into teaching and research, but I want to be part of this thing,” Clifford said. “I was committed to this from the time I heard of it, so I’m happy to see it move ahead no matter who is moving it ahead.”

Leahy said that Clifford has demonstrated an afinity to seamlessly lead the STM through its first several years, from the planning stages in 2007 to the school’s official opening in August 2008.

“Dick Clifford has been a superb founding dean of our School of Theology and Ministry,” Leahy said

in a statement. “His years of service as a faculty member, administrator, and colleague have enabled him to have such a wonderful impact, and I am confident he will continue to do so much good as he returns to full-time faculty work.”

Clifford said that the first several years of the STM have been about “getting to know each other,” and becoming accustomed to working as one entity with one core mission.

“My hope is that in the summer we will turn that personal knowledge into a strategic plan,” he said. “The strategic plan is something you can’t do from day one – you have to wait until you gel. I think we’ve gelled.”

The faculty members of the STM will all have a say in the selection of the next dean, Clifford said.

He hopes that whoever succeeds him will set a good example in teaching and scholarship, continue to build the relationship between the STM and BC, as well as the relationship between the STM and the Archdiocese of Boston, and fulfill both those tasks while incorporating the best practices of both the IREPM and the Weston Jesuit department.

Prior to his term as dean of the STM, Clifford was the acting president of the Weston Jesuit School, where he had taught since 1970. The Weston Jesuit School was previously affiliated with BC from 1959 to 1974, when it then became an independent entity in order to be able to grant its students civil degrees.

Clifford attributed the success of the STM to the support of Leahy and the Provost’s Office, among others, as well as the school’s faculty for their ability to come around.

“No group of people wants to change that radically,” he said. “The faculty members of both the institute and Weston Jesuit discussed the issue, and over the course of the next two or three years came to realize that our joining together – while it meant change – also meant great opportunities for our students.” n

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Thursday, March 11, 2010

The Heights

Pulitzer Prize-winner offers lesson in history

By Tanner Edwards For The Heights

B e r n a rd Ba i ly n , a two time Pulitzer Prize-winning historian,and professor of early American history at Harvard University, treated an intimate audience gathered in Fulton Hall Tuesday evening to an unconventional lecture on the context and piecemeal construction of the American Constitution.

“I am very much interested in the contingencies, accidents, personalities, and timing that play into the outcome of historical events,” Bailyn said in his introduction. Bailyn said that the writing and interpretation of the American Constitution was the “perfect example” of the outcome of such a strange mixture of factors, pointing out what he described as the numerous Constitutional accidents, compromises, and contingencies that undermine the modern-day sense of the document’s inevitability.

Ken Kersch, director of the Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy and a professor in the political science department introduced Bailyn.

Mary Bilder, a professor in the law school, said that Bailyn boasts an impressive resume that includes two Pulitzer Prizes, a Bancroft prize, and the distinction of being the one-time president of the American Historical Association.

“Bailyn challenges himself with historical puzzles,” Bilder

said. She said that his comprehensive examination of history and sympathy for those in the past made him “the quintessential historian’s historian.”

Bailyn opened his lecture, titled “How Historians Get it Wrong: The American Constitution, For Example,” by discussing the general challenge of chronicling history. “No historian sits on a cosmic perch free from prejudices or interests of his own,” Bailyn said. He said that there is a need to understand the context of historical events before examining their ultimate outcome. “We as historians know how it all came out – those in the past couldn’t have,” he said.

After highlighting the American Constitution as an instance of this sort of contingent situation, Bailyn delved into the heart of his lecture, which examined some of the most unexpected, accidental, and flawed moments in the composition of such a revered document.

“Nobody designed the document,” Bailyn said. “Nothing about it was inevitable. It was a compound of compromises.”

Portraying the framers’ competing impulses to mitigate centralized government yet somehow secure its power after the failure of the Articles of Confederation, Bailyn highlighted the difficult environment in which “one of the most intense, elevated discussions of ideas ever” took place.

He said the ambiguity of the extent of Congress’ constitutional power to raise armies was an

example of how some problems were simply unsolvable at the time. The delegates, he said, tabled issues like slavery because of the inherent risk of destroying the fragile process of drafting and ratification, hoping that someday the political context would change enough so that the matter could be resolved. Bailyn characterized the constitutional delegates as doing “what they could, satisfying the immediate needs and fears consistent with the issues of the Revolution.”

The remainder of the talk centered on a case study of James Madison, through whom “the mix of personality, chance, boldness, and timing that compose the U.S. Constitution,” was revealed, Bailyn said. The problem with a Bill of Rights, which Madison initially opposed and then supported in order to ratify the Constitution, gave rise to such moments as John Hancock’s hasty recovery from a suspicious illness to push Massachusetts to ratify the document at Madison’s urging, “possibly the most important event of the constitutional process,” Bailyn said.

The failure of Madison’s desire to protect citizens from the power of state governments marked a major f law in the initial Constitution, only being resolved after the Civil War and the passage of the 14th Amendment establishing equal rights, Bailyn said. “Ironically, [the 14th Amendment] was the most Madisonian element of the

annie Budnick / Heights STaff

Bernard Bailyn, a professor at Harvard University, spoke on varying historical interpretations of the Constitution.

Constitution, and he didn’t even write it.”

“They had no blueprint to follow. They could only seek guidance from the history they knew, and the sense of rights they clung to,” Bailyn said, highlighting Madison’s transformation from a proponent of government power to the author of the Bill of Rights as a reflection of the indeterminate course of a young nation guided by contingencies and compromises. Following his

lecture, Bailyn fielded a variety of questions from students and professors on topics ranging from the 2nd Amendment to the emergence of executive power.

BC’s Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy co-sponsored the event as part of its speaker series, along with the BC Legal History Round Table. “Mary Bilder and I were so delighted that we were able to bring him to BC to deliver his first lecture ever here,” Kersch

said.

“Professor Bailyn is a very important historian,” said Jackie Beatty, A&S ’10. “It was a history lecture, but more based on present events than I thought it would be.”

“I think he was clear,” said Matt Palazzolo, A&S ’13. ”We take for granted that the Constitution was just going to be ratified. I agree with him that compromises played such a huge role in the process.” n

Ross addresses UGBC, discusses student housing Ross, from A1

is decreasing at an increasing rate every year. We know the issues. It is housing. It is jobs. It is amenities and it’s quality of life.”

Ross said that unregulated rental markets led to increases in the price of property in Boston, making units unaffordable for some residential homeowners.

“Once a house sells for $900,000 or $1 million, it’s never going to go back to [its original price],” he said.

“It will never go back to not being student housing.”

Demand for undergraduate housing, he said, is the

engine driving the issue. “This is the only population that is really creating this situation,” he said. “All of this caused me to have to write a law that was nearly tailored to going back to … normalcy – to trying to have a place that will, forevermore, be past the point of no return.”

University dormitory expansion will alleviate this problem, he said. “Boston is the second most expensive city in America to rent or to buy,” he said. “And that’s not good. Much of that is due to the need for more oncampus housing. Right now we’re trying to transition through that.”

He said that if all Boston universities met 75 percent of student housing needs, the housing market would be significantly alleviated.

One topic of agreement between Ross and the attendees was the need for greater collaboration between the colleges in the greater Boston area.

Harvey Simmons, president of the UGBC Senate and A&S ’11, said early in the meeting that BC has discussed the issue of housing with other colleges and universities in Boston.

Ross also said that collaboration between the universities to create a unified bus route in the

metropolitan area would generate a positive civic service. A similar idea is being explored by members of the UGBC. Ross also encouraged students to be more involved in their communities. “Communities need people who are participating in the civic realm – going to meetings, getting involved in community organizations and making sure that city hall is fixing their sidewalks and fixing their streets,” he said. “You should all sign up on the census. This is considered your domicile. You should all register to vote in Boston.” n

New guard station to deter campus trespassers ResLife considers hiring contractor to staff future Walsh desk Door Program, from A1

continue the program, we don’t have a job for you anymore.” The the University has a plan in the program was not borne out of a documented need for increased works.

“Because this is a pilot proj- security on campus, but in order t o p ro t e c t ect, we’re “We’re trying to be proactive against that currently exneed. “We’re about this. We haven’t ploring the to be idea of hiring really had any safety and trying proactive a third parsecurity issues, and while about this,” ty company to staff the I’m happy that we haven’t, I Humphreys s a i d . “ We desk,” Humphreys said. don’t want us to have to act haven’t really had any “I know Harin a kneejerk manner.” s a fe ty a n d vey Simmons security isfrom the —Henry Humphreys, sues, and UGBC SenDirector, Office of Residential w h i l e I ’ m ate has chalhappy that lenged me on Life we haven’t, I this … [but], I don’t want to say two years don’t want us to have to act in a from now, we’ve decided to dis- kneejerk manner.”

Because the program is only in the planning stages, it will only be in effect during the weekends, from 5 p.m. on Thursday to 5 a.m. on Sunday.

“If we see it working and having positive effects on the community, then we would extend the time to seven days a week,” Humphreys said. In that case, they would also extend the program to all residence halls equipped for a front desk – a process that would take several years.

Humphreys also wants the desk to be a resource for students. “There might be an area behind it that would have a plasma screen with information for students, or hold the school newspapers, or the Wall Street Journal,” he said. n

CLASSIFIEDS

THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, March 11, 2010

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BABYSITTER NEEDED. A family residing in Chestnut Hill/BC area is looking for responsible babysitter with a car. We need a babysitter on two afternoons (any 2 days of Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday) to pick up children (6 and 9 years old) from a neighborhood school, drive them home for a snack, and then drive them to after-school activities. 6-7 hours per week. Please send an e-mail to nashideti@yahoo.com.

BABYSITTING JOB. Need fun-loving babysitter. Weekends and/or weekday evenings for our daugh-

ter (10) and son (8). We live close to BC’s Shea Field. If interested, call Laurette at (617) 733-3309.

SUMMER JOBS For Environmental Action! Earn $350-$550/week.

Work with Environmental Action on a campaign to protect our forests. Make a difference while earning valuable campaign experience.

Call Marty at (617) 338-7882.

BECOME A JETBLUE CAMPUS REP – HIRING FOR FALL. Run events and create promotions on your campus for JetBlue Airways.

Earn great incentives and gain amazing experience for your résumé! Go to: Repnation.com/JetBlue to apply.

PARTICIPANTS NEEDED. The Neurodevelopment Center in Cambridge, MA is seeking individuals aged 12-21

with depressive symptoms for a free drug-free treatment study. Contact http://www.youthmood.com or (401)-351-7779 for more information Have you thought about adoption? Loving and devoted married couple hoping to adopt. We hope you will consider us in your options. To learn more, please call us toll-free at 1-877-841-3748, or visit our Web site www.roseanneandtim. com. Please be assured all conversations are held in strict confidence.

With gratitude, Roseanne and Tim.

MISCELLANEOUS Happy birthday, Dara, Maegan, and James! Love, The Heights.

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A6

The Heights

Editorials

Quote of the DAY

New security policy is questionable

Thursday, March 11, 2010

“If you want your dreams to come true, don’t sleep.”

— Yiddish Proverb

The proposed pilot plan to implement a desk check-in system in the lobby of Walsh Hall will impede student socializing.

Before the housing lottery began this year, the Office of Residential Life (ResLife), sent an e-mail to all students. The one item that probably caught the eye of most students, particularly those interested in living in Walsh Hall, was the announcement of a desk attendant program, which would place a ResLife representative in the entryway to check or swipe in students. The e-mail said that the desk will be part of a pilot program, intended to explore the possibility of expanding the program to other residence halls. We feel that the program is entirely unnecessary and will likely do little but stifle student weekend social activities.

ResLife has said that the desk program will be active from early on Thursday evening to the wee hours of Sunday morning. Now, sophomores, when they are exploring their house options, generally favor Walsh because, of all residence halls on campus, Walsh is second only to the Mods in terms of its sense of community. That community takes two forms: First, it comes from the students who live there, the sophomores who see one another on a daily basis. Then, of course, there is that migration of students that comes from the other, scattered areas where sophomores are housed. If a desk is implemented, it will prevent the free flow of students. Boston College is lacking in areas where students can freely congregate, and this is not the time to construct an additional impediment to their ability to visit one another.

We question the very reason for the desk attendant. Programs such as this exist at other schools, but generally those colleges and universities are located in the middle of urban areas, places heavily trafficked by the public, or where students are otherwise at risk of having persons completely unaffiliated with

the University infiltrate their living space. We would like to think that since BC’s surroundings are mostly residential, and since the school boasts its own police force and is located in what has been called the fourth safest community in the country, these would be enough to ensure student safety. These desks are not responding to any student complaint (in fact, some students would prefer less security, as seen in the “Swipe for Safety” group), and so we suspect that they are being implemented to serve another purpose.

The proposed timeline and location of this pilot program suggests that this system, if put into operation, will serve little more purpose than place another ResLife representative on the look out for rule breakers and underage drinkers. If this is in fact the purpose for the desks, ResLife should make that known, instead of using the guise of student safety. Students know that administrators are concerned about student drinking.

Administrators seem, for the most part, to be actively pursuing ways to curtail it, some more vigorously than others. The Heights fears that this desk attendant program will only lead to more problems. If students are barred from parties in Walsh, they will go and drink in their own rooms.

It is better to have students roaming from residence hall to residence hall, so that they are in the public eye, than sitting in small clusters in their rooms sampling Reservoir’s most inexpensive vodka.

We hope that ResLife will reconsider this desk program, or provide more satisfactory reasons for its implementation. We think that many students will be upset by the program, and that, as the rationale for its implementation stands right now, they are in the right, and should protest against expanding the program to other residence halls.

Prepare for rowdy crowds at Girl Talk

As the University approved a dance concert for a Saturday night, it should expect the attendees to be boisterous.

If a student happened to be anywhere in the vicinity of Robsham Theater on Monday’s exceedingly temperate morning, he or she witnessed a snaking line of students eager to purchase tickets to the Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC)-sponsored Girl Talk concert. The select group of students able to obtain tickets will be headed to the Plex Saturday night at 11 p.m. for a raucously joyful set of mixed pop favorites. This seems like an open invitation for every student in attendance to furiously bust some moves.

Yet, there is a shadow lurking over the upcoming Girl Talk production.

In November 2009, Girl Talk’s performance at Harvard University was cut short when, according to the Harvard Crimson, the campus police perceived crowd control problems, largely due to the barrier-less set up between the DJ and his audience. There were even rumors that a student had gotten caught beneath the stage. Yet, in the end, there were no reported injuries, and in light of these concerns, BC has worked with Girl Talk to reach an agreement to implement a barrier between the stage and the crowd. One cannot help but remember BC’s own encounter with a concert getting cut short, with the instance of this year’s fall concert. Akon’s abrupt ending in-

spired curiosity among students who were dancing rather peaceably on the floor of the Forum. In this instance as well, no injuries were reported.

If administrators and the UGBC organizers can temper their already sufficient security efforts with a heavy dose of realism, a healthy balance between fun and safety will be obtained. Saturday’s concert will probably make Mario and Akon appear uneventful by comparison, but since Girl Talk is slated to be a onehour performance, security should not hold shutting down the concert as a feasible plan. They should resist the impulse to stop crowd danger.

Instead, they should be primarily concerned with facilitating the show to run in its entirety. Many students have waited three times the length of the event itself just to buy a ticket.

Students should always feel that their safety is a the top priority, but not to the degree that security is taking too much stock in snap judgments to end entertainment events.

If there is anything we can learn from the Girl Talk ticket-buying frenzy on Monday, it’s patience. Therefore, we encourage security to recognize the task ahead and use their patience this Saturday night before they prematurely end what will surely be a phenomenal show.

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

Contributors: Sam Lipscomb, Brad Zak

Chris Petteruti / Heights Illustration

Letters to the Editor Mixed messages from the University in regards to alcohol How delusional can this University be? In a recent article, “Debate Over Alcohol Policy Rooted in University’s History,” Robyn Priest, assistant dean, and Paul Chebator, senior associate dean for student development, enumerated several valid historical factors that have contributed to Boston College’s drinking culture.

However, they fail to mention the active promotion of tailgating parties throughout the football season, where the often excessive flow of alcohol is University sanctioned for the sake of fundraising. The conspicuous Superfan t-shirts donned by alumni, parents, and students alike can be seen throughout the greater Boston area as they crowd local package stores in the pursuit of liquid entertainment on any given home game day.

The extreme nature of these alcohol-based fundraising activities can be consistently witnessed as parents and students unload cases of alcohol from vehicles and dorm

rooms across campus as early as 9:00 a.m., and can be substantiated by the increased workload of campus EMS personnel in response to alcohol-related incidents. The lack of alternative on-campus activities and prohibited physical access to the campus for students and families who choose not to engage in these fundraisers is most apparent on Parents’ Weekend, when tailgating and football are the foci of the weekend (academic and cultural presentations being relegated to Friday, a workday for most parents). If the BC administration is serious in its efforts to shed the vestiges of a party school mentality and focus its attention on improving academic and social standards on campus, it must first engage in selfreflection and recrimination regarding its hypocritical policy of, “Do as I say, not as I do.”

Anonymous

Health care reform is essential for generations to come Many people think that the status quo in health care is sustainable. They are wrong.

Per capita health care costs in the United States rose to over $8,000 in 2009, and at their present rate of increase, will surpass $16,000 by 2019.

Without the passage of comprehensive health care reform, the amount of uninsured individuals, inflation, unemployment, bankruptcy rates, taxes, trade deficits, and budget deficits will all be increasingly higher.

We have the most expensive healthcare in the world, with per capita costs that are at least double those of any other country, and yet we live shorter,

sicker lives than do people in the vast majority of other advanced industrial countries; our infant mortality rate is higher, our life expectancy is shorter, and we experience many more years of severe, chronic, debilitating illness.

Congress must pass comprehensive healthcare reform now so that millions of jobs and hundreds of billions of dollars in taxes will be saved, so that millions of personal bankruptcies will be prevented, and so that we and our children and grandchildren may be able to live longer, healthier lives.

Kevin Costa

The Online buzz Reprinting reader comments from www.bcheights.com, The Online Buzz draws on the online community to contribute to the ongoing discussion.

In response to “University struggles to retain AHANA faculty” by Zachary Halpern: “Good to see The Heights covering this topic. Last year, the ALC implemented the annual AHANA / GLBTQ faculty appreciation banquet to bring light to this very issue. Hope it is well-covered this year.

Of course, schools are evaluated on their academic prestige, but relationships with faculty and the classroom experience are extremely important to the development, performance, and success of students. Having a mentor with a shared experience can really shape a student’s academic career.”

Ricky In response to “Chris Dewey’s curious childhood: teenagers, mutants, and ninjas” by Chris Dewey:

“BC ResLife needs to make an exception for the turtles on Ignacio. These works are beyond impressive and even ResLife cannot deny themselves. I think BC needs to be honest with themselves; the turtles clearly do not represent a safety / health concern. Instead, BC is concerned of defacing the campus, which is a legitimate concern. However, no furniture has been damaged and the wall is as functional as before. Additionally, if BC students know in advance that B62 is the “turtle room” everyone would want it in the lottery. BC should keep the turtles and future students would happily live in a room with the four depictions of TMNT. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in Ignacio has my approval and I think the approval of most of the students ... if it isn’t a safety concern shouldn’t that be all that matters?”

Matt Maerowitz

Readers Note: The Heights welcomes Letters to the Editor not exceeding 200 words and column submissions that do not exceed 700 words for its op/ed pages.

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 email to editor@bcheights.com, in person, or by mail to Editor, The Heights, 113 McElroy Commons, Chestnut Hill, Mass. 02467.

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The Heights

Thursday, March 11, 2010

A7

Opinions

Decaf Tea Party

Thumbs Up Tournaments – Sports fanatics rejoice. This weekend two BC teams will be competing in tournament games: men’s basketball today versus Virginia, men’s hockey Friday versus UMass. If trekking down to Greensboro isn’t an option, head on over to Conte and get into the hockey spirit.

Still not convinced? Check out the fantastic column on A10.

Mod Grills – Those who were lucky enough to be chosen by the Mod gods on Tuesday had another reason to gloat after it was announced that every Mod unit would be outfitted with a grill for the coming fall.

September 2010 headline: Mods burn to the ground due to overzealous grill masters.

Appa Love – There’s an overwhelming feeling of good will and camaraderie when entering into Eagle’s Nest lately (as opposed to the normal cutthroat musical chairs atmosphere) and judging by the date, TU/TD suspects that Appa lunches are back in full force. Enjoy your new found friends and try to keep them for longer than it takes for the “service high” to wear off.

Gams – Hello, spring, it’s been too long! With the temperatures skyrocketing to the balmy mid-50s (yay, New England!), girls all over campus have decided it’s more economical to just not repack their vacation gear.

Quick word of advice: when your toes are bluer than the beautiful clear skies, it might mean it’s a little too early for the flip-flops.

Thumbs Down Queues– Students who didn’t camp out since before vacation were met with a line to rival American Idol’s auditions Monday morning outside of Robsham for Girl Talk tickets.

To the disgruntled dance devotees who were left out after about 8:15 when the concert sold out, TU/TD, who enjoys sleeping past 5 a.m., commiserates.

Maimed – A member of our community has undergone some serious cosmetic surgery over the break, and frankly, they were butchered. The freshly de-limbed tree by Fulton in the Dustbowl stands like a wounded soldier. It might have been kinder to just put him out of his misery.

Shards –Look out below!

Monday morning could have ended in disaster for students scurrying out of Gasson when a third story window suddenly popped out of its frame and crashed below, luckily not injuring anyone. Perhaps it’s a good thing it will be closed for repairs soon after all.

Oscars – The usually massive ceremony this year was even longer than usual, with 10 films nominated for the top award of the night. Unfortunately, all the hoopla at the beginning of the show, including painfully self-congratulatory actor / actress nominations, built up to the awkwardly rushed announcement of The Hurt Locker’s victory. Maybe they just wanted to escape James Cameron’s wrath as quickly as possible.

Kevin Swanson It’s a gorgeous Sunday afternoon.

Pickup trucks stream into the Community Center’s parking lot adorned with bumper stickers touting slogans such as, “I’ll keep my money, healthcare, and guns. You Keep ‘The Change.’” Three supporters of Lyndon LaRouche, a fringe political activist group, and self-proclaimed members of the national Tea Party movement are holding signs that depict President Obama with a Hitler mustache and calling for his impeachment.

A “tea party” protest had descended upon Mill Valley and set up shop in the town’s publically financed Community Center. The Bay Area Patriots, a Bay Area-based spinoff of the national Tea Party Patriots 501(c) 4 group, described the event as a “Conservative GroupaPalooza.” It’s safe to say their choice of venue was riddled with irony. In 2008, Marin County voted for President Obama over John McCain with a 77.77 percent to 20.19 percent differential in the vote. Moreover, in Marin County, registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than 2-to-1.

Apart from the event being a political aberration in deep blue Marin County, the presence of the Tea Party movement is symbolic of a frightening national trend across the American social and political landscape. For a number of reasons, most notably the effects of the recession, “tea party” activists are angry with the government for reasons that include: Wall Street bailouts, healthcare reform, and high unemployment.

A stimulus package, while ironically undersized to combat unemployment, they view as runaway deficit spending.

However, the Tea Party’s anger has not translated into a rational dialogue that offers substantive policy alternatives to address these problems. Rather, what the party proposes is impeachment and a castrated federal government.

The movement appears fueled by a strong personal hatred of President

Obama based largely on racism and ignorance. An article entitled “Angry white men” from the Economist’s Lexington Blog makes the point that alongside racism within the Tea Party movement, blue-collar white men seem to be the angriest. That demographic’s unemployment rate of 10.3 percent may, in fact, be the very cause of its anger because as the article suggests, “those who can no longer provide for their families feel emasculated.” It also just so happens these white men also vote overwhelmingly Republican, but the incredible irony here is that the anger over unemployment by the Tea Party movement is largely directed at President Obama; however, it is the obstructionist Republican Party that has refused to allow the president to enact more aggressive measures to reduce unemployment. Just last week, it was lame duck Republican Sen. Jim Bunning of Kentucky that held up (through use of the Senate’s parliamentary rules) a one-month emergency extension of unemployment benefits for Americans, literally bringing the Senate to a halt for an entire week. In fact, it is the Republican Party in general that has blocked a broader based jobs bill for Americans with the threat of filibuster.

Around the country and in the press, the Tea Party movement gained notoriety for its hostile demonstrations at Congressional healthcare town hall meetings last summer. It has arisen as the most vocal opposition to the Democrats since the election of President Obama. While the Tea Party movement is made up what is traditionally characterized as social and fiscal conservatives, at its core, the Tea Party cannot ascribe itself to any political party. This is because the movement professes an absolute rejection of the political establishment and governmental authority. The movement authority at large subscribes to conspiracy theories. In their view, just like the Democrats, Republicans too have also been co-opted by a group of special interests that has hijacked the federal government from serving their interests.

They favor a government formed around a literal interpretation of the Constitution, whereby the size of government is similar to the one that existed during

the country’s early years.

What makes it all the more odd is that the organizers of the event chose to hold their event in a public space, one built through the public’s tax dollars.

When I walked inside the gathering, I expected a bunch of revolutionaries gearing up to overthrow the government.

Rather, what I saw was a collection of conservative political action groups ranging from mothers trying to revive Air Force ROTC in public high schools to Golden Gate Minutemen crusading against illegal immigration. There was a table registering Republican voters and a table for California Republican Senatorial candidates Carly Fiorina and Chuck Devore as well as Republican gubernatorial candidates Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner. In reality, the Tea Party movement appears to be a Republican marketing campaign that seeks to capitalize on the fear, ignorance, and anger of many Americans and convert them into Republican votes. Therefore, despite the Tea Party creed espoused by its most radical proponents, the Tea Party movement is truly nothing but an upstart fiery organizing arm of the Republican Party. Hence, despite the radical antigovernment messages present at the event for what the Tea Party is made out to be, it is a surprisingly pedestrian brand of decaffeinated “tea.”

However, this should not discount the worrisome rise of radicalism and violence expressed by elements of the Tea Party. As I left the rally, a female “tea party celebrant” confronted me (probably because of my tie-dyed shirt) asking if “I would like to blow up the rally?” I laughed and shook my head.

I wish the American public could see what I saw in that Community Center. The Tea Party’s angry reactionary answers to just abolish much of the federal government, as the solution to our problems is untenable. Decaf tea, no matter how swathed in a red, white, and blue cups, won’t cut it. I can only hope the American people uncover an insight and prudence not present during last year’s political debates when November rolls around.

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

A New Church Charles Mangiardi My last column, “Changes in the Catholic Church,” elicited a number of affirmations, criticisms, and questions from a wide range of people, many of them strangers. There were enough responses that I deemed it worthwhile to use another column to answer them, specifically in regard to why I consider myself Catholic and what I think needs to be done.

I am a Christian, and I have never taken this fact for granted. I come from a mixed-faith family; my mother is a Reformed Jew. I grew up celebrating Jewish holidays alongside Jewish relatives, and Jewish spirituality has most certainly influenced my own. I was sent to Catholic pariochal school at the behest of my parents, but I have had to consciously affirm my faith in Jesus from the first day that I could understand the existence of different religions.

I root my Christian faith in the Catholic Church because I believe there is a great and immeasurable value in a unified Church. A large and inclusive Church fosters intense theological scholarship and debate, centralized and strong humanitarian efforts, grounded religious education, familiar ministry, and deep spiritual kinship between peoples. There is something truly beautiful about a Church in which the Society of Jesus and Opus Dei can both exist.

Some people in my home parish (Holy Name of Mary in Croton, NY) took umbrage with my portrayal of it.

They should know that it wasn’t the parish or its parishioners that I was criticizing. My target was the institutional deficiencies and people that allowed my parish, and so many others, to suffer so much. For those who kept faith and worked hard to restore the vitality of Holy Name’s ministry – including Father Michael Keene, who has performed admirably since taking over in 2002 – I have nothing but gratitude.

Somebody once explained to me that the Church has three primary features: ministry, scholarship, and an institutional hierarchy that oversees and nurtures the other two. By its nature, the institutional arm always lags behind the other two in adapting to societal changes. The problem with the current Church is that the institution is lagging so far behind as to hinder and obstruct the ministry and scholarship that is its lifeblood.

I believe that there are a couple of primary causes for this, both long-term and short-term. The long-term cause is the recent paucity of ecumenical councils. Prior to modern times, the Church convened a council whenever there was a major dispute or crisis of theology or ministry. In a span of 440 years, beginning in 1123 with the First Lateran Council, there were 11 such meetings, at a time when even travel over short distances was arduous and time-consuming. In the 447 years since the conclusion of the Council of Trent, though, there have been just two. In their absence, popes have taken on an increasingly important role in settling matters of doctrine.

More recently, the lengthy pontificate of John Paul II (the second longest in history) ensured that the College of Cardinals would be dominated by his appointees. They consequently elected a man, Pope Benedict

FROM HERE TO RESERVOIR

BY SAL CIPRIANO

XVI, who has continued almost all of the official policies of his predecessor, and they are likely to do the same when picking his successors. For over 30 years – and, in all likelihood, for decades to come – the Catholic Church has not moderated its stances on the important challenges it faces, in spite of the rapidly changing world it now finds itself in.

I am not opposed to Papal Infallibility, as it is a dogmatic position of the Church. It has also been exercised only twice in the last 200 years, both in relation to theological issues concerning Mary, and both times with the wide support of the world’s bishops.

Almost every contemporary issue is thus open for debate.

To answer the questions of the modern world, the Pope should convene ecumenical councils on a regular basis (at least every 20 years). These councils should reserve a large role for lay people, and their word should be recognized as final. A primary role of the Pope should be to preside over these councils and to execute their recommendations.

The Church was meant from its very origins to be a changing body, one that adapted to new challenges and changing surroundings on Earth. The debates between Peter and Paul, and the Jerusalem Council, are biblical evidence of this.

The ability and imperative to adapt and change is why we have a Catechism and a Pope and 21 historical ecumenical councils in addition to the Bible. Belief in the necessity of such change isn’t heretical and doesn’t make me a nonbeliever. It’s Catholic, and so am I. Charles Mangiardi is a staff columnist for The Heights. He welcomes comments at cmangiardi@bcheights.com.

Do you believe in monsters?

Dan Esposito Every Wednesday night, the History Channel (a network which has recently felt the need to justify its lack of any historically relevant programming with the new slogan “History Made Every Day”) airs an hour-long program called Monster Quest.

The program will usually involve a team of “experts” who will perform experiments, dissections, and field expeditions with the goal of proving the existence of a certain cryptozoological creature or phenomenon. Monster Quest is not only one of the History Channel’s top rated shows, but its recently initiated fourth season has made it one of the longer running paranormaldocumentary shows. Its success has also ushered in an impressive new wave of paranormal programming. One aspect of MQ that is not unique among the bevy of pseudo-scientific media, and seemingly incongruous to its relative popularity, is its success rate, which, after three and a half seasons and 66 outings, remains at precisely zero “monsters” caught on film.

What is baffling about these shows is their seemingly counterintuitive popularity. Effectively, each of these shows promises to provide the viewer with the same thing, namely proof. Each episode of MQ begins with an alluring question in the vein of “Is the Skunk-Ape out there?”

Yet, each episode ends with the same sort of lukewarm conclusion, “Our experiments have led us to believe that the Skunk-Ape could potentially survive out there. However, we found no concrete evidence that it does exisit or ever has.”

After watching only two episodes of the predictably disappointing waltz that is MQ, I was ready to accept the fact that some people are just fascinated by the unknown, and that’s what keeps them tuning in. This was too simple, though.

Even Loren Coleman (who is, from what I’ve learned, the world’s preeminent cryptozoologist) would tire of watching so many fruitless expeditions. There had to be something more. Then, while watching what I promised myself would have to be my final episode of MQ, I noticed something. The “expedition leader” on this particular quest was trying to prove that a breeding population of piranhas (Monster Quest, as it has begun to run out of traditionally mythological creatures to search for, has introduced a new genre of “monster” – the threatening animal in an anomalous place) had taken root in the Lake of the Ozarks. Having earlier planted several “camera traps,” which essentially involved a supermarket wholechicken and an underwater camera, he pulled one out of the lake to see if it had been nibbled on by some sort of fish. As a layperson in the field of carnivorous fish, I feel the piranhas reputation for pretty much skeletonizing its meals is fairly well known. The expedition leader, though, saw these few meager bites on the supermarket chicken and was filled with a genuine excitement. When the video recording showed nothing other than a couple native fish having a nibble, you could almost watch his heart break.

This is why people watch these programs. It’s not that their “experts” are necessarily good at tracking down monsters, it’s that they’re good at believing in monsters. They’re good at believing in such a naive and despite-their-age innocent way that it makes us want them to succeed. How could you not cheer for a guy who is willing to dive into 20 degree waters and feel around on the bottom of a lake for a supermarket chicken, all to prove something that most people would have told him wasn’t true to begin with?

All this time, there’s something so hopeful and desperate in his voice that you really believe that there’s got to be some kind of monster hiding out there, if only for this guy’s sake, and that if we could just get some government funding for this type of thing, maybe we’d have some proof by now.

In the end, it is the first part of the show’s title that is a misnomer, not the monsters for which people are watching. They’re watching for themselves and for the quest. This program, in a small way, signifies a quest just as poignant and inspiring as anything Cervantes could have devised. This show, along with all the Ghost Hunters and Lost Tapes of the world, may not make us believe in anything, but they make us remember a time when we, perhaps a bit naively, did believe.

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

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Thursday, March 11, 2010

THE HEIGHTS

BC sets sights on Hockey East title Hockey East, from A10

pointment was merely a minor bump in what they hope to be a long season ahead of them.

“Hats off to New Hampshire, they rallied back and won the league title, and that was our goal,” he said. “We’ve been strong down the stretch, but we still have a long way to go to get to the Garden, and that’s what we’re aiming for.”

York’s team faced the Minutemen three times this season, with the Eagles skating away with the win each time.

Twice the two teams met in Amherst, with both teams nationally ranked, and twice, BC emerged victorious – 3-1 on Dec. 4, and a dominant 7-1 thrashing on Feb. 5.

“We feel really good going into the playoffs, but we’re playing one of the hottest teams coming down the stretch of the season,” York said. “We have momentum, but once the playoffs start, momentum is shift by shift.”

Since losing at Conte Forum two weeks ago, UMass (18-16-0, 13-14-0 Hockey East) defeated No. 17 Maine twice by a combined score of 9-5 to earn the seventh seed in the Hockey East tournament. Captain Justin Braun found the net four times in the series and leads the Minutemen defensemen with 28 points.

UMass head coach Don Cahoon had the highest praise for his captain.

“Justin Braun is as good a defenseman as there is in college hockey,” he said. “He’s added the offensive dimension to his game. I really, truly believe he is the best offensive defenseman in the league.”

Offensively, UMass is paced by the third-leading scorer in the Hockey East this season, James Marcou, and fellow forward Casey Wellman. Marcou finished the regular season with 46 points on 10

goals and 36 assists, and Wellman was close behind with 20 goals and 21 assists for 41 points on the year. Marcou also recorded two of the three goals posted by the Minutemen against the Eagles this season.

“They certainly are special players,” York said of Marcou and Wellman.

“When they’re on the ice, they can certainly make things happen. We have to be aware of them and really battle defensively to make sure they don’t have a big impact on the game.”

The Eagle offense, however, is just as potent as the tandem of Marcou and Wellman.

Much has been said of York’s decision to put juniors Brian Gibbons and Joe Whitney with sophomore Cam Atkinson on the same line after the loss to BU at Fenway. The Eagles dropped only four of their next 16 games thanks, in large part, to the offense generated by this line. The three are the points leaders for the Eagles.

Atkinson and Gibbons finished the season in the top 10 in the Hockey East with 42 and 41 points, respectively. All three linemates also surpassed 30 points for the year.

“Most of the accolades this season have gone to our dynamic forwards, Joe Whitney, Atkinson, and Brian Gibbons,” York said. “They’re fun to coach, and they make a lot of great offensive plays.”

The trio has enjoyed quite particular success against the Minutemen goaltenders, Paul Dainton and Dan Meyers.

Whitney has found the net three times against UMass this season, Gibbons registered a goal to go along with a fourassist performance in the 7-1 victory in Amherst, and Atkinson has recorded five points on three goals and two assists.

BC’s young blue-liners and solid goal-

The perfect ending to a lost season PAUL SULZER

ALEX TRAUTWIG / HEIGHT EDITOR

Junior Joe Whitney has been deadly with the puck this season, scoring 31 points in 34 games. tending, however, deserve just as much credit for its second seed in the tournament. Led by lone senior defenseman Carl Sneep (22 points), the Eagle defense has provided exceptional cover for its goalies, Parker Milner and John Muse.

“We have our own Vezina Trophy [the NHL award for best regular-season goaltender] concept at BC, and we let in the least amount of goals in the Hockey East this year,” York said. “The two goaltenders, Milner and Muse, have really good numbers and deserve a lot of credit for that. We’re really excited about the emergence of Parker Milner to pair with John Muse. They’re both capable of bringing us a long way in the tournament.

At this stage, we’re deep on defense and goaltenders.”

Milner appeared in all three contests against UMass this season, starting two and relieving Muse in the other. The

two goalies finished in the top five in the Hockey East in goals against average, save percentage, and winning percentage, with Milner going 9-2-1 and Muse boasting a record of 12-8-2. Similar to the third regular season game, Cahoon is anticipating a tough weekend ahead for both teams and is prepared for BC to be in its usual best form.

“They’ve had our number for awhile now,” he said. “Clearly, they’ve had their way with us, and we’re expecting BC to be at their very best, which they usually are.”

York has stated that his team’s goal from very early on in this season has been to win the Beanpot and the Hockey East. While the Eagles may not have captured the regular season title, UMass is the first team standing between BC and potentially something better: the title of Hockey East champion. 

Baseball splits with Florida International

BY BRAD ZAK Heights Staff

Boston College’s pitching woes took center stage once again Wednesday night when the Ea18 FIU gles’ staff failed Boston College 14 to provide any consistency in an 18-14 loss on the road to the Florida International University Golden Panthers.

The loss dropped the Eagles (5-6) below .500 and mercifully ended 3 hours and 40 minutes after it started. Starter Andrew Del Colle was pulled in the second inning after giving up four runs on three hits. Relievers Chris Kowalski, Dave Laufer, Kyle Prohovich, and Nate Bayuk did everything but provide batting tees for the opposition, as they combined for 14 runs and 14 hits over 5.2 innings.

The Eagles pitching staff came into the game with an ERA of 7.21 and didn’t help their cause with Wednesday night’s outing. Outside of Pat Dean, the Eagles have struggled to find a dependable starter who can provide solid innings and put the Eagles in a position to win without needing to score over 10 runs.

Del Colle had only appeared in two other games before this with an ERA of 54, but he couldn’t turn his struggles around in his latest outing.

The Eagles bats tried to bail out their pitchers with 14 runs on 15 hits and strong efforts from Mickey Wiswall and John Spatola, but unfortunately, even that proved to be futile. Wiswall continued to be an RBI machine with two more on Wednesday, giving him 21 on the season.

Spatola added three hits and three RBIs to bolster his batting average even further above .400.

The Eagles tied the game at 14 thanks to a six-run seventh inning, but immediately handed back the lead to the Golden Panthers in the bottom of the inning.

Alberto Cardenas ended up earning the win for FIU despite giving up three runs during the Eagles’ seventh-inning rally.

On Tuesday evening, BC came through when it counted, recording all 11 of its runs with two outs in an 11-5 victory over FIU. FIU jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning before the Eagles evened it up in the top of the third. Matt Watson opened the inning with a single up the middle, and then Mike Sudol moved him into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt. Robbie Anston doubled Watson in with a shot to left-center. Matt Hamlet drew the Eagles even with a single that soared just beyond the reach of the diving second baseman.

BC busted the game open with five runs in the fifth. The Eagles had runners on the corners when Hamlet singled to left. Wiswall then smacked a three-run homer, his third of the year.

The following inning, the Eagles tacked three insurance runs on the board to put the game out of reach for Florida International. The strong offensive performance was backed up by a strong outing from senior Dane Clemens. He surrendered only three hits and two runs over six innings, allowing the Eagles to build a comfortable lead. Hunter Gordon and Taylor Lasko closed out the game for Clemens, securing his first win of his career.

Hamlet and Wiswall paced the offense all afternoon as they each recorded three hits, four RBIs, and two earned runs. The Eagles recorded 18 hits on the afternoon, with every starter contributing at least one.

BC will start a weekend series against the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Fla., on Friday. Miami will provide a tough test for the Eagles as they come in at 8-3 and ranked No. 13 in the nation. After winning their first two games, the Eagles have lost six of their past nine. 

COURTESY OF FAUOWLACCESS.COM

Garrett Smith was 1-for-3 with a run scored in yesterday’s 18-14 loss at Florida International.

Bubble over Alumni bursts

BY ZACH WIELGUS Sports Editor

The Boston College football team’s Pro Day, an exclusive event held before NFL scouts interested in BC players, will not be held in Alumni Stadium today like it has been every other year. Due to damage sustained to the football field after high winds wrecked the Bubble over Alumni Stadium on Feb. 25, Pro Day is being held at Harvard’s indoor practice facility. Alumni Stadium will be closed until at least March 18, the first day of football’s spring practice. “[The closing] is a precautionary measure,” said Chris Cameron, associate athletic director for media relations. “On Feb. 25, the Bubble sustained some wind damage, which included some broken glass. Athletics and facilities didn’t want to take any chances that there would be any remnants of glass in the turf when student athletes would be practicing on it.”

The University is bringing in a sucker truck,

which will vacuum up all shards of glass still in the turf. With any glass, however, also come the rubber pellets that are used to soften the field surface. A new layer of rubber pellets will be reapplied after the truck vacuums the turf of Alumni.

The Bubble will be closed for at least another week, so teams that would normally practice inside the Bubble, such as the football, baseball, softball, and golf teams, will need to look for other spots on campus to complete their workouts.

“Teams can’t practice there, so they will have to find other accommodations,” Cameron said. “That may include being on the Newton Campus, or in the Plex, or in the Power Gym.” Cameron said this was the first time the Bubble sustained this magnitude of damage, and said the facilities department preemptively closed the Bubble on the evening of Feb. 25 to prevent any injuries. The cost for the repairs is not known at this time. 

Boston College should thump Virginia tonight in the ACC tournament.

The Eagles wiped the floor with the Cavaliers in a 68-55 win last week that wasn’t as close as the score suggests.

In the first half, BC pummeled them, 37-23. After losing to Maryland on Saturday, Virginia has dropped nine straight games.

BC should thump Virginia, but it won’t. This team thrives when expectations are low and crumbles when they are high. Look at the Paradise Jam. The Eagles played themselves into the loser’s bracket with an appalling loss to a St. Joseph’s team that finished the season with an 11-20 record, good for 12th place in the 14-team Atlantic 10 Conference. Or, look at the Harvard debacle. Having lost to the Crimson last year, the Eagles should have known not to overlook that game. Instead, they were on the wrong end of a sevenpoint loss, as Jeremy Lin torched them for 25 points.

Heading into Sunday’s contest against NC State, BC had won three of four, but all that momentum was killed by a 12-point loss. With a fourpoint lead and their NIT dreams in the balance, the Eagles rolled over and allowed NC State to reel off a 13-1 run to steal the game.

Now BC needs to make a run to the ACC tournament final to have any hope of receiving a bid from the NIT. The Eagles lack the focus to put together that kind of run, though. They have two three-game winning streaks this season, but both were before the New Year.

Since then, BC has managed to win back-to-back games just once. Their likely road to the final would include match-ups with Virginia Tech and Duke. This team is just too inconsistent to be taken as a serious tournament threat.

Plus, the Cavaliers have nothing to lose, which makes them a dangerous team. You’d be hard pressed to find anyone with faith in Virginia at this point. During their nine-game skid, the Cavaliers lost six straight by double digits. The losses haven’t been pretty. Virginia never cracked 70 points over the stretch and failed to reach 60 points in five of the nine games.

The Cavaliers did show something in their 74-68 loss to the Terrapins last weekend, though. They showed moxie.

Playing without star swingman Sylven Landesberg, who was suspended for the rest of the season for academic reasons, Virginia gave the hottest team in the ACC all it could handle.

It works to the Cavaliers’ advantage that they played the Eagles last week, too.

After BC crushed Virginia in the first half, the Cavaliers actually outscored the Eagles 32-31 over the final 20 minutes. Although they took their lumps in the first half, the Cavaliers showed they can adjust their game plan. Unless Al Skinner has designed an inbounds play in the last week, BC probably won’t have any surprises prepared.

Landesberg tweaked his hamstring two weeks ago against Miami and had been ineffective in the games leading up to the suspension. Since he went down, senior big man Jerome Meyinsse has caught fire. Meyinsse is only averaging 6.3 points per game, but he’s scored 50 points on 19-of-22 shooting in his last three games. The Eagles could have their hands full in the low post, where they still have not found a reliable option. The trio of Josh Southern, Evan Ravenel, and Cortney Dunn has struggled to defend the rim. Those three are buried on BC’s list of leading rebounders behind Reggie Jackson, Joe Trapani, Corey Raji, and Rakim Sanders.

Perhaps most importantly, Southern, Ravenel, and Dunn have become foul magnets. Because they can’t stay on the floor, the offense can’t develop a rhythm down low. It’s becoming more about which big man has the fewest fouls, not which one is playing the best.

This has largely been a lost season for the Eagles. Nothing has really gone their way. Sure, they pulled off a pair of upsets against Clemson and Virginia Tech, but this season will be remembered for what could have been.

A loss against arguably the worst team in the ACC in the first round of the tournament would be a fitting end to a frustrating year.

Paul Sulzer is the assistant sports editor for The Heights. He can be reached at sports@ bcheights.com.

THE HEIGHTS

EDITORS’ PICKS

Thursday, March 11, 2010 The Week Ahead

Standings

It’s conference tournament time, as the basketball team heads down to Greensboro and the hockey team hosts UMass. Baseball can regain some momentum with a good showing at Miami.

The lacrosse team looks to remain undefeated against the Hokies.

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BCnotes

Recap from Last Week

Paul Sulzer

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Zach Wielgus

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Maegan O’Rourke

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Heights staff

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UNH rallied to tie the hockey team, winning the league title in the process. Men’s basketball split with Virginia and NC State, while the women made a run to the ACC semifinals. The baseball team has cooled off after a hot start.

Guest Editor: James Gu Asst. Ads Manager “Rollin’.”

Softball The softball team, which started the season 7-4, the best start for the program since 1998, suffered three losses over the weekend in the Central Florida Tournament in Orlando, Fla. The losses against Central Florida, Georgia Southern, and Harvard drop the Eagles to 7-7 on the season.

BC’s strength this season has been its offense, as the Eagles hit 12 home runs in their first 11 games. In the weekend tournament, though, the BC bats struggled, scoring only three runs and stranding 18 runners over the course of the three games.

The Eagles have committed 15 errors in 14 games, accounting for 12 unearned runs.

Lacrosse Zach Wielgus Sports Editor

This Week’s Games Men’s Basketball: Wins by BC in the ACC tournament Men’s Hockey: Boston College at UMass (series) Baseball: Boston College at Miami (series) Lacrosse: Virginia Tech at Boston College Men’s Basketball: Winner of the ACC tournament

Maegan O’Rourke Assoc. Sports Editor

Paul Sulzer Asst. Sports Editor

James Gu

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The Boston College women’s lacrosse team opened its 2010 season 4-0, cruising to wins over Bryant, Canisius, Jacksonville, and Siena. The Eagles have outscored their opponents, 72-20, over the course of four games.

Freshman Brooke Blue, an attack from Bethesda, Md., has made an immediate impact on the team, recording an impressive 18 goals to open the season.

Lauren Costello, an attack from Levittown, N.Y., is also off to a hot start. With seven points in the game against Siena, the senior moved into second place on BC’s all-time scoring list with 182 points for her career.

Basketball team must be wary of Cavaliers ACC Tournament, from A10

and second-team All-ACC player, Sylven Landesberg, has been suspended for the remainder of the season due to academic issues. Before his suspension, Landesberg led Virginia in scoring, assists, and minutes. Without Landesberg or team captain Calvin Baker, who left the team on Monday for personal reasons, Virginia is down two key members and has no experience playing without them.

Virginia has been beyond dismal in the last five weeks, currently riding a nine-game losing streak, with six of those losses coming by double digits.

BC was one of the teams that handled Virginia, beating the Cavaliers, 68-55, March 3 at Conte Forum. Of those losses, six were on the road; the skid followed a once-hopeful eight-game winning streak. The Cavaliers are 14-15, which is just a half-game worse than BC. Cavaliers first-year coach Tony Bennett has not exactly found the rhythm that helped him lead Washington State to an NCAA tournament bid in 2008. In fact, he may have cost Virginia a chance at a major upset in its final regular season game against Maryland on Saturday.

With less than a minute to go, and down one point, the referees called a blocking foul on a Cavaliers player. Bennett, obviously appalled by the call, decided to rip his coat off and throw it to the floor. He was immediately called for a technical foul, which gave Maryland two free shots and propelled the Terrapins to victory.

In order to avoid being upset

ALEX TRAUTWIG / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Joe Trapani (left) was the only Eagle named to an All-ACC team, picking up third team honors. He and point guard Reggie Jackson (right) will be counted on to lead BC in the ACC tournament. by the ninth-seeded Virginia team, BC must focus on consistency, a trait it demonstrated in its previous victory. Each player contributed just about what was expected of him.

Third team All-ACC player Joe Trapani, Corey Raji, and Rakim Sanders put up double digits in the game, while three Cavaliers

did the same.

Virginia actually outshot the Eagles (46 percent to 44 percent), while the Eagles outrebounded their foe, 33-29. BC made one more 3-pointer than the Cavaliers. If the Eagles can focus on playing their game, mixing the slow-and-steady flex with fastbreak opportunities, they have

a shot at taking down Virginia again.

Still, the Eagles stand in a long line for a ticket to the Big Dance.

In order to enjoy March Madness, the Eagles must do a bit more than “play their game.”

Instead of the up-and-down play that the Eagles have displayed throughout the season,

Eagles perched on the bubble

BY ADAM ROSE For The Heights

The Boston College women’s basketball team firmly placed itself on the tournament bubble after its performance at the ACC tournament over the weekend in Greensboro, N.C. According to Charlie Creme, ESPN’s women’s college basketball bracketologist, the Eagles (17-15) are among the first four teams out of the tournament after bowing out of the ACC semifinals.

In the opening round of the conference tournament, BC handed the Virginia Tech Hokies a 63-49 loss behind 18 points from Stefanie Murphy.

BC shot over 40 percent from the floor in the win, and nine members of the women’s team scored.

The quarterfinal round of the tournament featured a matchup against No. 8 Florida State, which demolished BC, 85-64, in the only regular-season bout.

The Seminoles entered the ACC tournament having won eight in a row, while the Eagles lost four of their last six.

Although senior guard Mickel Picco struggled from 3point land and Murphy fouled

out with six minutes to go, their teammates picked up the offensive slack. Jasmine Gill, playing in front of her home crowd, scored key points late and totaled 13 on the game, while Ayla Brown and Carolyn Swords each added 11. Murphy again led the Eagles, this time with 14 points. The 67-60 win against Florida State marked BC’s eighth victory against a top-50 team.

“FSU was the only team I hadn’t beaten in the ACC,” said guard Brittanny Johnson. “Winning that one felt great.”

The basketball team does not frequently play consecutive games during the season, and the strenuous schedule of the ACC tournament appeared to catch up with BC, ultimately derailing the Eagles’ bid for an ACC championship and automatic NCAA bid. Though the Eagles held a 10-point lead at one point, the North Carolina State Wolfpack battled back to beat BC, 63-57, in the semifinal game.

“We just ran out of gas,” Johnson said.

NC State went on to lose to Duke in the ACC championship game.

they need to be firing on all cylinders. Sanders must step up and carry the load as people expected he would when the season began.

Tyler Roche needs to hit his 3point shot at a rate similar to other top shooters like Duke’s Jon Scheyer and Maryland’s Greivis Vasquez. The subs have to bring energy to the floor and play with

total intensity. Head coach Al Skinner must match wits with the likes of Mike Krzyzewski and Gary Williams.

Basically, everything must fall in place for a chance at a tournament bid.

Again, though, let’s not forget to steer clear of the squirrel in the road. 

BC takes finale

ALEX TRAUTWIG / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Mickel Picco and the Eagles ran out of gas in the semifinals of the ACC tournament.

Last year, the women’s basketball team finished with a 23-12 record but was on the outside looking in on Selection Monday, once again one of the first few teams out of the bracket. Though the overall record appeared strong, Johnson and the committee both felt they had no signature wins.

“We didn’t beat anyone, so we didn’t feel snubbed,” Johnson said.

Instead, they drove to the Final Four of the WNIT, falling to eventual champion South Florida. This year’s squad awaits a decision from the NCAA Selection Committee on Monday as to its tournament fate. The 17-15

overall record and 6-8 conference record are not as strong as last year’s resume, but BC’s eight wins against top-50 teams could prove vital.

Johnson and other members of her team will watch the rest of the conference tournaments this weekend closely, hoping the top seeds from each conference will win so lesser-ranked teams do not take the auto-bids.

“We’re just watching scoreboards and hoping,” Johnson said. “Obviously we wanted the auto-bid, but whether we play in the WNIT or the NCAA tournament, we’re gonna go out and play hard.” 

IAN THOMAS / HEIGHTS SENIOR STAFF

Captain Matt Price couldn’t hide his smile after Boston College disposed of New Hampshire, 3-2, at Conte Forum in the final regular season game.

Although the Eagles fell just one point shy of tying for the regular-season championship, they finished with a conference-best 16 wins. For full coverage of Saturday’s game, visit www.bcheights.com/sports

SPORTS THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, March 11, 2010

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THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 2010

BC enters tournament as one of the favorites

BY ANDREW KLOKIW For The Heights

Boston-area schools in the Hockey East have dominated the ranks of college hockey for the past two years, as each year the winner of the Beanpot and Hockey East championships has also been crowned national champion.

In 2008, Boston College raised all three trophies, and last year, Boston University captured the same three. BC head coach Jerry York has not overlooked the strength of Hockey East in recent years as he prepares his team for the league tournament.

“The last two years, with the national champions [BC and BU] coming from our league, we’ve certainly made a statement,” York said.

The less-heralded Massachusetts Minutemen, who took the Eagles into overtime before falling 2-1 in their last match-up, are bent on breaking Boston’s stronghold on the league title. This weekend, UMass will return to Conte Forum as the seventh seed in the eight-team Hockey East tournament to face the second seeded Eagles in a best-of-three quarterfinal series.

Currently ranked No. 4 nationally, BC (21-10-3, 16-8-3 Hockey East) finished with a Hockey East-leading 16 wins in the regular season, but narrowly missed out on the Hockey East regular season championship by one point to New Hampshire.

For BC and York, though, this disap-

Road to postseason starts with Virginia

See Hockey East, A8

BY ROB INTRIERI For The Heights

Heading into the ACC tournament, the Boston College men’s basketball team’s draw sounds like the plot of a certain Seinfeld episode.

George is driving with his girlfriend in the car and sees a pigeon in the street. In order to impress his new lady friend, George swerves out of the way of the pigeon, seemingly saving the day and the date. When he comments on the close call with the bird, however, his date screams, “What pigeon? You just ran over that squirrel!”

As abstract as it sounds, this is the danger of BC’s position in the bracket, heading into today’s action. Being the eighth seed, an opening-round win would mean a second-round match-up against Duke, the tournament’s top seed and heavy favorite. It would be easy for the Eagles to focus only on the Blue Devils and lose sight of the immediate road ahead. An error like that, however, would send the Eagles veering off course before they face the University of Virginia.

There are a number of explanations for why the Eagles might overlook the Cavaliers. For one, they’re shorthanded. Their star sophomore

See ACC Tournament, A9 ALEX TRAUTWIG / HEIGHTS EDITOR AND MICHAEL SALDARRIAGA / HEIGHTS PHOTO ILLUSTRATION

No more excuses for poor attendance at Kelley Rink HILARY CHASSE Like any true Mainer, New Englander, and French Canadian, I love hockey more than any other sport. I grew up watching all my male classmates play hockey. I watched the brave girls who took to the ice after pushing their way on to the boys’ peewee team. My high school’s team was always a contender for the state championship, and the annual tournament against our local rivals kept the student section filled and rowdy for all three periods.

Although I grew up in Maine, all of my schooling took place in New Hampshire, about 20 minutes down the road from the University of New Hampshire.

Wildcat Fever infected my classmates and me as early as kindergarten. Most of them were the offspring of alumni,

and many of them would eventually become Wildcats themselves.

Once hockey season hit, weekend nights would be spent in the Whittemore Center Arena, where loyal fans sported blue and white from face to foot and recited the legendary (and often crude) cheers. I distinctly remember when my two best friends and I, decked out in extra large jerseys, performed an elaborate UNH cheering routine to the tune of “We Will Rock You” for our third grade talent show. To me, what state college football is to the South, state college hockey is to the North.

Now I’m at Boston College, a school with a hockey program that’s the envy of almost every other Division 1 team and its fans. I have many sentimental ties to BC as well, such as memories of watching games on NESN with my dad (a BC alumnus) during the winter. I came to Chestnut Hill ready to cheer the demise of my old favorite along with the rest of the Eagles in the crowd, excited to learn the traditions of another great team and expecting many triumphant mid-game calls to my friends at UNH. When the first game of the season

I NSIDE SPORTS THIS ISSUE

during my freshman year came around, I dressed in maroon and gold gear and walked down to Conte, fearing that I wouldn’t be able to find a seat in the sure-to-be-packed student section with game time 30 minutes away. To my surprise and dismay, I was one of the first students there, despite the fact that the game was the home opener of the defending national champions. Although the crowds did eventually arrive about five minutes before the start, the cheers were unenthusiastic, and the student section began to clear out about halfway through the second period. I later found out that this was a fantastic showing for BC hockey fans. Since then, my expectations are lower and attendance is less frequent.

This past weekend, I visited a group of friends at UNH to watch our thenNo. 5 Eagles take on the conferenceleading Wildcats. As I walked into the arena 45 minutes before the start, I immediately began to question my decision to wear my bright, golden Superfan shirt; the student section was a sea of blue and white, packed to the very last row. I was immediately reminded why I

Eagles perched on the bubble

The women’s basketball team is again unsure of its postseason future..........................A9

came to love hockey. The fans’ energy didn’t waver for a moment. The cheers were loud enough to reach the opposite goalie. Most impressively, even when the ’Cats were down 3-0 in the second period, few fans decided to throw in the towel. Rather, the students led the alumni in ear-piercing, third-period cheers, the pitch rising with every goal made by the ’Cats until, with mere minutes left, the score was tied, and UNH had the Hockey East title in its grasp.

This is what fans can do.

Too often I hear BC sports fanatics lament the poor performance of the current athletics program, pining away for the glory days of BC basketball and football, when Jared Dudley and Matt Ryan were icons, all the while ignoring our only team that is consistently ranked among the top 10 teams in the nation. We were national champions two years ago, and have a great chance to take the title this year as well.

Now, as many people constantly remind me, hockey is not everyone’s cup of tea, and many aren’t interested enough to make the effort to attend. To this, I would make the argument that

The perfect ending to a lost season

BC must be careful not to overlook an undermanned Virginia team in the ACC tournament...............A8

the games are always short and fastpaced, they almost always fall in that sweet spot between dinner and parties on a weekend night, and I defy anyone to attend a great hockey game and not find themselves on their toes, straining to watch the puck’s every move.

What makes a game great, besides great players, is great fans. The energy of the crowd makes a visible difference in the state of play, changing a lethargic struggle into an electrifying comeback, which is exactly what happened at UNH. This weekend, the Eagles will be hosting UMass in a best-of-three series in the Hockey East quarterfinals. Tickets for all three nights are just $10 for students. If you’re a regular attendee, recruit a group of friends to go with you.

If you’ve never been to a hockey game before, there’s no better time than the present to show your support. Show that you can be true Superfans, for any and every sport.

Hilary Chasse is the opinions editor of The Heights. She can be reached at editor@ bcheights.com.

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

Thursday, March 11, 2010

The Heights

mike saldarriaga / heights illustration

+Editor’s Corner Tragedy at the Kodak Theater

Is anyone else struggling to get back into hardcore work-mode after a week of no classes? This week is definitely a killer, especially since, for a lot of us, midterms are far from over and some of those big-deal papers and projects are looming on the horizon. Thankfully, we’ve got lots of flashy television and people like Lady Gaga and Will Ferrell to keep us laughing. Anyone who caught the Oscars was sure to be laughing, and not because of the dry, too-safe humor enacted by joint hosts Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin.

Perhaps if the Na’vi Ben Stiller had h snagged the host gig the night, the it on w is three hours wouldn’t have felt so long. l rien l Either way, what we remember most are A er those moments that had us laughing outloud. h T It’s why we peruse the internet and post inappropriate videos on each other’s walls. So, though your spring-break tan may be fading, and you have yet to start that term paper, enjoy this uncharacteristically sunny weather, and hit up some of the videos that everyone’s watching.

KRISTEN HOUSE Ten Best Picture nominations instead of five. Two hosts, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin, instead of one. The business model of the 82nd Annual Oscar Awards on Sunday was similar to the McDonald’s food chain — supersized. General interest with these changes increased viewers by approximately 14 percent, with 41.5 million viewers tuning into California’s Kodak Theater. However, as with the ingestion of a supersized double bacon cheeseburger and filet o’ fish, the newer, bigger Oscars resulted in a fuzzy feeling of bloated confusion.

Yes, there was a drunk Clooney, sitting in the front row and bobbing to the campy classical arrangements of The Hurt Locker’s theme song, and inexplicable pans to the most disinterested audience members that they could dig up. Why Kathy Bates was a camera favorite for many, if not all, audience close-ups remains shrouded in mystery. The entire thing just left a bizarre taste in the entertainment palette, like mixing cottage cheese with Skittles.

Certainly there were bright points to the Oscars, especially when Ben Stiller ambled out in full Na’vi garb for the Best Make-Up category.

Stiller didn’t even have to come up with his own comedic bits. Instead, he could easily rely on quoting actual lines from Avatar with an earnest stare, producing the same amount of laughs that 10 minutes of Meet the Parents could. Avatar was the butt (or braided tail) of many jokes that evening, an odd place to find it in after critics were formerly validating post-Avatar depression as an actual condition. Despite this, the line “I see you” was repeated at least a dozen times. James Cameron undoubtedly wished he had been nipping at Clooney’s flask by the end of the night. Notably, however, Stiller’s bit was largely curtailed, as there was a rumor that Sacha Baron Cohen was originally going to appear alongside the star. The match was killed beneath a pile of broken Oscar dreams, along with Avatar’s hopes of taking home Best Picture.

Other absurdities abounded, from Molly Ringwald’s penetrating deer-inthe-headlights stare during the John Hughes tribute, to Elinor Burkett storming the stage during Roger Ross Williams’ Best Documentary Short acceptance speech. No one was sure if this fireball ginger was even supposed to be on stage. This was the essence of the night’s slapstick vibe.

There was minimal coverage of the In Memorium section, leaving many understandably upset over the lack of tribute to Farrah Fawcett and Brittany Murphy. Some of the Best Picture nominations were even presented by actors involved in the movie.

As far as Baldwin and Martin are concerned, they made themselves scarce the entire night, even ceding the opening bit to a musical theater grand opening by Neil Patrick Harris. The ceremony, which ended at around midnight, seemed to forego the presence of Baldwin and Martin completely by 11 p.m. Probably the most fruitful comedic bit they came up with was the parody of Paranormal Activity, with Martin and Baldwin rolling around in a bed on fast-forward. If two mid-fifty silver … not foxes … groundhogs rolling around in a bed is the best bit I can remember from these comedians, it isn’t exactly a glowing report.

In the end, the lesser-known Hurt Locker travailed over more recognizable names like Up!, and of course, that blue wonder Avatar, and even Up In The Air, for the coveted Best Picture spot. Perhaps the Oscars should take a step back and wonder how this honorable ceremony has been set back from elegant tribute to corny, E!-network-worthy tabloid fodder. At the end of the day, the only thing fresh and clean-cut about the show was the fashion strolling the red carpet. If Ryan Seacrest ends up hosting next year, we’ll be hitting an all-time low on the tastelessness scale. Let’s keep it classy next year, Academy. Oscars, out.

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

Thursday, March 11, 2010

THE HEIGHTS

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Funnyordie’s “The Presidential Reunion.” In this SNL-worthy skit, funnyordie.com presents political satire at its finest and funniest. A stress-smoking Barack Obama, played by Fred Armisen, is at a loss for what to do to placate supporters of a plan to create a Consumer Financial Protection Agency. In a dream-sequence-like reunion, a host of past presidents – including Will Ferrell’s Bush and Jim Carrey’s eerily convincing Reagan – come to visit the bewildered Obama and push for the agency, despite having been responsible for much of the regulationstripping that facilitated this whole mess in the first place.

2

Ben Stiller as an Avatar. In one of the few truly funny moments of the otherwise largely blase 2010 Academy Awards, Ben Stiller presented the award for Best Make-up, displaying what is arguably the most elaborate make-up job for any Oscar presenter, to date. With yellow contacts, that long braid, tail, and head-to-toe blue paint, Stiller could have just stood there and announced the nominees in order to wow viewers. Instead, Stiller had the audience – and finally, James Cameron – cracking up as he began to speak, wide-eyed, in the language of the na’vis from Cameron’s nominated film and said quite seriously, “I want to plug my braid into your dragon.”

3

Gaga In Wonderland. In this mock-trailer, which combines footage from Lady Gaga’s music videos with that of the new trailer for Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, there is no Alice. It’s all about Gaga. Some of the voiceovers are less than convincing, but the narrating is a respectable imitation of Johnny Depp’s Mad Hatter. Cleverly incorporating lines from Gaga’s music and rewriting a few of the story’s key points, Gaga is dropped smack-dab in the middle of Wonderland, and let’s be honest – she fits in perfectly.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF YOUTUBE.COM

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Silver screen to small screen

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rom the era of Hollywood glamour to the self-parodying ’80s, the industry considered television the kiss of death. No self-respecting star would allow herself to appear in a serial with her visage put before the American public, free of charge. Her market value and star power, to borrow a phrase from Guitar Hero, would plummet, making her the pandered old bat on the scene. Take exhibit A – Bette Davis. The woman whose eyes inspired a song, once was the Scarlett Johansson of her day, an old school beauty with talent and a hint of attitude. Her early career was studded with successes, including Academy Award-winning work in Jezebel and an iconic turn in All About Eve. Following her diva performance in Eve, though, Davis found herself in a consistent string of flops.

With nowhere else to go, Davis found herself in the Siberia of media — television.

She appeared on a variety show with nothing but fear and a reputation. While the critics panned her, she stuck with television, enjoying the fast cash approach for only several weeks of work.

Working in television seemingly drove Davis crazy, though. She never found much success in her later life. She was too busy abusing viewers by singing on The Andy Williams Show. Her story is nothing out of the ordinary. Movie stars dropping screen sizes inevitably led to has-been status. The glamour and celebrity of a motion picture was unmatched, and television was so new that its success couldn’t have been determined so early. In fact, TV stars, from Donna Reed to Michael J. Fox, used their status as a platform for film work. Film was where respect, talent, and depth converged.

We’re in the midst of a Renaissance, however. TV is the new pink. Rather, television is where film stars are now doing their best and most rewarding work. When exactly the change occurred is difficult to place, but the most representative example of it is Glenn Close. A 20-year career in film with five Oscar nominations is nothing to scoff. With her heyday in the ’80s, though, Close found herself in a rut. Surprisingly, Hoodwinked! and Tarzan II were not enough to sustain her pedigree. Then a choice offer came to her from FX networks – the plum role of ruthless lawyer Patty Hewes on Damages.

Close took quite a risk in taking a role on basic cable, especially on such a young network, but she claimed the script was “one of the best she ever laid her hands on” in Entertainment Weekly. The risk was one well taken. From personal viewing experience, I can say that Damages is the best show of its kind, and Close’s motion picture experience attributes to it a sense of importance. As Brian Lowry from Variety said, “There’s a certain joy in the relish with which Close sinks her teeth into the part.”

This relish represents a challenge, a challenge that actors cannot get from films. On television, an actor has the opportunity to take a character and truly explore every facet of his personality. He isn’t limited to a few months of inhabiting the character but gains the possibility of spending years with this character, fully inhabiting every idiosyncracy. Close recognizes this, calling the role the most rewarding of her career.

Everyone is jumping onboard the TV train. Holly Hunter has earned two Emmy nominations on TNT’s Saving Grace, and Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte just signed on to an HBO series about horse racing. Just as video killed the radio star 25 years ago, the small screen is starting to win the duel against film. A topnotch thespian trumps.

JoDarren Ranck is a Heights editor. He can be reached for comment at arts@bcheights.com.

ARTS EVENTS CALENDAR ON CAMPUS

OFF CAMPUS

THURSDAY

THURSDAY

ITINERANT MADNESS Gasson 100, 4:15 p.m.

JAY-Z TD Banknorth Garden, 7 p.m.

BALDWIN SCREENING Devlin 008, 7 p.m.

SASQUATCH O’Brien’s Pub, 9 p.m.

FRIDAY

FRIDAY

ISN’T IT ROMANTIC? Bonn Studio, 7:30 p.m.

THE DROPKICK MURPHYS House of Blues, 7 p.m.

ASIAN JOURNEYS McMullen Museum

DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN Palladium, 7 p.m.

SATURDAY

SATURDAY

ISN’T IT ROMANTIC? Bonn Studio, 7:30 p.m.

THE DROPKICK MURPHYS House of Blues, 7 p.m.

GIRL TALK Plex, 11:00 p.m.

SIDEWALK DRIVER Harper’s Ferry

SUNDAY

SUNDAY

BOPARAZZI Robsham, 7 p.m.

THE DROPKICK MURPHYS House of Blues, 7 p.m.

ISN’T IT ROMANTIC? Bonn Studio, 7:30 p.m.

THE VANGUARD TT The Bear’s Place, 9:15 p.m.

CHRIS DEWEY’S CURIOUS CHILDHOOD: A look back at the Bluffington

CHRIS DEWEY The more things change, the more they stay the same.

As a child, I always assumed that some day I would outgrow cartoons. Thankfully, shows like Family Guy and South Park have made it acceptable for adults and adolescents to continually consume animated fare, well past the traumatizing years of puberty and awkwardness. Nevertheless, I still feel the urge, every now and then, to go back into my past and recall the more family-friendly cartoons of younger days.

During my elementary school years, there was no show I identified with more than Doug.

Though Doug was not the first Nickelodeon cartoon I chose to feature in this column, it has always been my favorite, most likely because it was so easy to relate to the storyline.

Though I didn’t have a questionably friendly neighbor that would arouse the curiosity of To Catch a Predator like the purple Mr. Dink (“Very expensive, Douglas!”), Doug and his best friend Skeeter’s relationship was similar to many of the friendships I had in my younger days. Many could also relate to the companionship Doug had with his loyal hound, Porkchop.

Even the interpersonal dynamics within the Funnie family were fairly realistic, although some may contend that the beatnik sister Judy was more of a caricature than anything else.

While Doug had its fair share of comedic elements, it also dealt with issues that young children began to experience as they grew older. These topics included childhood crushes (Patti Mayonnaise), neighborhood bullies (Roger Klotz), overbearing authority figures (Vice Principal Bone), and musical interests (The Beets, banjo lessons, etc.). Class differences came into the play, with the

uber-rich Beebe Bluff on one end of the spectrum and the aforementioned Roger Klotz on the other. The varying tones of skin color also provided for a not-so-subtle commentary on the acceptance of all races and ethnicities. Regardless of the differences in the characters’ identities, the show made a point to humanize each of them and never overly vilified anyone.

One of the more intriguing aspects of the character of Doug was his numerous alteregos, a feature that might qualify him for split personality disorder. As a James Bond fan, I always enjoyed Smash Adams, the suave spy that Doug would become in dire situations, such as when he accidently passed in a crude drawing to his teacher, Ms. Wingo. Doug’s most memorable daydream manifestation was of Quailman, a Superman-like character that donned a belt around his head and tightywhities over his khaki shorts.

Other notable split personalities were Race Canyon and Jack Bandit, two personas that were takeoffs on Indiana Jones and Zorro, respectively.

Sadly, Doug crashed and burned pretty hard. In 1996, the show was bought out

by Disney, moved to ABC, and underwent some major changes that hurt the show immensely. Mrs. Dink became mayor of Bluffington, Patty and Doug both underwent cosmetic alterations, and the Funnie family picked up a baby sister that we were probably supposed to assume was an accident. A 1999 film creatively titled Doug’s 1st Movie did nothing to revive the brand, and Doug was soon no more.

Today the show is not even shown in repeats, nor is it featured on YouTube. Hopefully someone gets it right and puts the original episodes out on the DVD market sooner rather than later.

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

Thursday, March 11, 2010

The Heights

By Ethan Stevenson Heights Senior Staff In Roald Dahl’s multigenerational favorite, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the eccentric chocolate magnate known as Willy Wonka leads a group of enviable children through his mystical fortress of sweet temptations, hoping to discover an heir to his enterprise. One by one, the overzealous children fall victim to Wonka’s deceptively dangerous chocolate waterfall, bubble gum, nut sorting squirrels, and fresh television technology. Throwing a bunch of Boston College kids in a European city isn’t much different. Plenty of alluring vices scream our names, and it’s pretty easy to fall away from a more “virtuous” path.

In Madrid, some have decided against speaking a word of Spanish, while those who have utilized their Spanish-speaking abilities to their greatest extent, have mired themselves in the quagmire of making no BC friends. Quite easily, one of us broken Spanish speakers can pound one drink too many, and be nowhere within earshot of the nearest English speaker (let alone, the infirmary or BC Police Department).

Spending money always causes problems, especially with a crappy (but improving!) exchange rate. Dreams of coming home empty handed with a full bank account, however, should not inspire someone to study in Europe. I’m not suggesting anything new – all of us who studied Aristotle’s Ethics in that barnstorm that was Philosophy of the Person I, knows that “moderation” has been kicking around for quite a while.

I’ve been guilty of almost all of these, but I’ve tried my best to get a mix of everything.

It may seem obvious, but European taste differs greatly from standard American fare. While movies like Valentine’s Day dominate theaters in the United States, I’ve had the pleasure of walking down two blocks from my apartment to see the Coen brothers’ most recent effort, A Serious Man. The “Filmoteca Española,” or the Spanish Film Library, in Madrid offers screenings of its collections for two euros (about 1.50 USD), or one can buy an installment of 10 tickets for 15 euros. The screening room alone generates excitement for what you’re about to watch, and in the summer, it offers rooftop screenings.

The Filmoteca celebrated the career of David Lynch during the month of February, and the theater filled more seats for a Sunday afternoon showing of Lynch’s bizarre, melancholic The Elephant Man than when I saw Avatar this winter. Not only could I not see these movies on the big screen anywhere else, but also, the culture of what I like to

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call “enjoyment” is worlds apart from the United States. The Filmoteca also houses a café bar so that its patrons can have a beer before their film, or just enjoy a cup of coffee like Dale Cooper in a unique atmosphere. A well-stocked bookstore in the same building stands right next to the café. Instead of jetting in 10 minutes late to the Filmoteca and jumping up at the credits like I usually do, I took my time with a cup of coffee and discussed with a friend what we had just watched.

The clearest reflection of this difference comes in art and architecture. Old yellow brick buildings covered with graffiti, mostly protesting one former education restriction or another, litter my university, which was built during Franco’s reign. The collective shock we experienced after two and a half years at a university that tries to hoodwink the next round of 2,300 kids to pay $50,000 compared to this one that asks its students to pay minimal tuition was extraordinary.

However, some things remain the same. Tourists flock to the Palacio Real in Madrid, and when I visited London, to Buckingham Palace and Parliament, just like I’ve posed for pictures in front of the White House and Capitol building in Washington, D.C. European museums also approach their collections differently than many in the States or even among each other. The Reina Sofia in Madrid focuses on contemporary art — a little bit from everywhere; but its proudest possessions are its collection of contemporary Spanish artists like Dali, Muro, and Picasso. Picasso’s “Guernica” was one of the most stunning visuals I’ve ever seen. London’s Victoria and Albert Museum showcases its decorative arts — an amalgam of Islamic carpets and ewers, Christian reliquaries, and post-classical sculpture.

A fascinating exhibit at the British Museum told the story of the Enlightenment thinkers who first established the historic site in the 18th century.

Prices and availability to see American bands in Europe have been quite disappointing. Bands that I’d see for $12 at the Middle East in Cambridge, sell at around 25 or 30 euros per ticket in Europe, but thankfully, it works the other way around too. Last weekend, a friend and I picked up two 13 pound (20 USD) tickets for an awesome night with Italian DJ duo Crookers at one of London’s biggest clubs.

As much as I try, sometimes I can’t avoid the chocolate waterfalls that may be waiting for me throughout Europe, but when a four-yearold Ethan looked up at his father, with two bloody knees and a bloody elbow after falling in the street, trying to take the reins behind my first bicycle, my father said, “Everyone’s gotta fall a few times to learn to ride, son.”

sam lipscomb / heights illustration

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Thursday, March 11, 2010

THE HEIGHTS

+Food and Fashion

Chronicles of Campus Fashion: Snapping shots in Cambridge

BY JORDAN MENDOZA For The Heights

Halfway through the semester, I figure I’ll return the favor and tell you, reader, how I, writer, feel about this column. Earlier this week, I lunched with the former writer of Chronicles, the lovely Hilary Chassé, and in hopes of segueing my own ennui with the column into conversation, I asked her if she ever got tired of writing it, to which she quickly responded in the affirmative. Maybe that’s why I have it now.

Okay, maybe I’m blowing off some steam, but photographing three portraits a week and somehow trying to link them is tiring, especially when they really don’t fit together, or the weather is bad, or I feel like there’s not much to say (i.e. groundhogs from the last column), or I get turned down by someone I built up the courage to ask. Yes, reader!

Turned down for a photograph after complimenting her look. “No, no, no,” she snapped and quickly walked away.

Alas, just when I feel like it’s about time to throw in the towel, our lovely Boston College populace pulls me back in again. The other day, I shot 12 people within a three-hour span, with two breaks in between, might I add! You’re making me happier this week, BC. I feel like giving you a noogie.

This week, however, I’ve prepared something a little foreign for you. Over break I stayed on campus, and, after not leaving my suite in Edmond’s for three days, I began to feel that distinct feeling of paranoia coupled with voyeuristic withdrawals. I retreated to Cambridge, and on such a dreary day caused my eyes to immediately run to color. The following demonstrate for me fantastic and bold tonal choices, outfits that I would otherwise find solid, but unexceptional. And how neat — they’re photographic primaries!

JORDAN MENDOZA / FOR THE HEIGHTS

On Stranger Red: This whole look is really strong for me. I saw her making a deposit in a Bank of America and waited casually behind her until she finished.

The mannish red boots drew my eye, and the schoolboyish upper half sealed the deal: cropped hair, smart turtleneck wrapped in a blazer with an emblem to top it all off.

Jordan Mendoza is a Heights contributor. He can be reached for comment at arts@bcheights.com.

Just Desserts: Chocolate Cake

BY KARA KAMINSKI

Heights Senior Staff Molten lava cake is a dish for which anyone would die. Even I, who don’t really care for chocolate, can’t resist the oozing dessert accompanied by simple vanilla ice cream. It is also an extremely effortless dessert (the theme of all my recipes) and is made with some interchangeable ingredients.

While this recipe calls for one cup of chocolate chips, you could use four ounces of semi-sweet baker’s chocolate or four ounces of unsweetened chocolate and another half cup of powdered sugar (or one quarter of a cup of granulated sugar, for that matter). Depending on what is in your pantry or on sale at the supermarket, you can switch things up.

The melting step is another opportunity for your personal interpretation. Microwaving can be a dangerous road because, if you get too lazy, you will nuke the chocolate for too long, and your kitchen will fill with the putrid scent of burnt chocolate. On the other hand, not every college student has a glass bowl to use over a pot as a double boiler. I advise you to proceed with caution

and melt slowly. With a double boiler it is nearly impossible to burn chocolate, but one does have to take a bit more stirring time.

The entire recipe can be made in one bowl, convenient for students with only one bowl in their kitchen’s arsenal, and of those of us who don’t like a great deal of clean up. While students may not have smaller soufflé dishes, you can buy aluminum ones at the store or even try a larger cake pan. To be honest, I have never attempted to create a massive lava cake, but would be open to receiving information from someone who would attempt such a daring feat.

When baking, do not be deceived by the term “cake.” Poking the center of this delight won’t tell you when it’s done, you need to simply use intuition and have faith that 14 minutes is a good time in the oven. Over-baking will cause you to lose the ooze factor, and without that, there is no reason to make this dish.

The dessert is great for brownie (no pun intended) points with a significant other or parent. The wow factor completely overpowers the actual skill and effort involved in making this dessert, and it won’t take more than half an hour to complete.

COURTESY OF RYAN KILLIANEY

Ingredients 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips Granulated sugar for coating dishes (optional) 1 cup powdered sugar 2 eggs 2 egg yolks 6 tbsp. flour

Cooking Instructions: 1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Butter three small baking dishes (preferably soufflé or custard cups) and then coat the buttered dish with around a teaspoon of sugar.

3. Melt chocolate and butter in a large bowl. This can be done in a microwave for one minute or a double boiler. Stir until contents are completely melted.

4. Stir in powdered sugar.

5. Stir in eggs and egg yolks.

6. Stir in flour.

7. Pour batter into separate dishes.

8. Bake for 14 minutes, do not overcook. Centers should still be soft.

9. Let cool for three minutes. Loosen the cake with a knife and invert onto a dish.

On Stranger Green: As my friend Amy said, “He just uses green really well.” Green boots, green hoodie, and green-tinted jean jacket – and I love jean jackets. This was the first non-BC stranger I’ve asked to photograph in while, so it took me a few minutes of mental sparring to build up the courage to ask, by which time he had already figured out what I wanted to do. Anyways, he responded with a “cool brah” and relieved, I snapped away.

On Stranger Blue: So, I lost someone really great with blue boots in one of those unsubtle quick walks I do to track someone down – but this will do. Amy and I actually dogged this girl down, right before she stepped foot into the banker’s. She was very scared and confused when we stopped her. Anyways: cute hair and really bold use of blue – you rarely see such a primary shade.

Bite of Boston Helmand 143 1st Street Cambridge, MA 02142 (617) 492-4646 Hours: Sun - Thurs: 5 - 10 p.m.

Fri - Sat: 5 - 11 p.m.

COURTESY OF EXPRESSNIGHTOUT.COM

Afghan delights done impeccably at Helmand

BY JENNY LIU For The Heights If there is one thing that will compel me to take two buses, one train, and then forge onward by foot through the frigid northeastern winds, it is very good food. Helmand, an Afghan restaurant in Cambridge, is capable of such seduction, singing its siren song.

Before making the intrepid trek out to Helmand, you must know that reservations are a necessity. Those who have the misfortune of arriving more than 15 minutes late will have their reservation brusquely passed on to the next lucky person on the waiting list. Dressed in earthy Persian tones, with the surrounding air fiery and thick from Indian spices and graced with a Mediterranean flair, Helmand is a pretty thing with many suitors vying for an opportunity to indulge in its goodness.

Where a bowl of bread and a tub of butter are usually presented, homemade flatbread, industriously rolled out by the bread artisan in the main dining room, is served with three dipping sauces, instead.

If there is one thing you must order, it is the pumpkin kaddo, pan-fried baby pumpkin dish served on a yogurt, garlic, and ground beef sauce. After one sweet bite, I am reimagining a line of comfort food based on creamy yogurt and fragrant pumpkin. If I could redo this meal, I would probably order the pumpkin kaddo twice, once as an appetizer, and once more as a dessert. This dish is certainly sweet enough to be placed amongst the selection of baklawa, pudeen, and ice cream.

Like at most Middle Eastern restaurants, lamb is the main focus. The mashawa, a golden yellow yogurt soup of lamb, mung beans, chickpeas, and black-eyed peas, is a blast of flavor, encompassing a gamey richness from the lamb and the spices that collect at the back of my throat with a satisfying heft.

And this was all before the entrees had even arrived.

The other lamb dish of note, the chowpan, was ordered by my dining companion, who had a keener fixation on lamb than I do. A half rack of lamb, marinated, charred, and grilled to a delicious rare perfection (although, you would have to ask for this level of doneness), its char gives it an extra smoky depth. It tastes like food for the gods, even coming from someone

who had detested the grass-fed chewiness of this animal for the past many years. Perhaps this is the dish that inspired the name of a famous heavy metal band.

The succulent lamb rests on a bed of the same homemade Afghan bread served previously, the bread sopping up the excess, savory juices. Sautéed eggplants and pallow rice also accompany the dish, but it is not a stretch to say that it also shares the stage with the lamb as a main focus. The individual grains of rice are so full of flavor that it commands the full attention of my taste buds.

This is the dish I wish I had ordered. I look on enviously, reminiscing about the little that I managed to filch as the other side of the table resonated with moans of happy appreciation.

I resume carving up the chapendaz, marinated beef tenderloin served with a sauce of grilled tomatoes and peppers, with cumin-spiced lentils, and spinach rice. The rice is similarly delicious, and the lentils, a pitch-perfect spiciness. However, the beef is not the star of this restaurant, and was grilled to toughness beyond what it should have been.

We should have ended the meal here, or perhaps ordered another pumpkin kaddo, but we continue on to the dessert, with bellies distended and a voracious curiosity that resulted in an order of “Our Cake,” a homemade cardamom and pineapple cake served with ice cream on pomegranate sauce. It looks better on paper.

After all that splendid array of food, one may feel like royalty. After all, the restaurant is owned by Mahmood Karzai, the brother of Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai.

The menu itself, aside from the unfamiliar content, is thoughtfully accessible. Sensitive to the fact that Helmand may be the inaugural Afghan restaurant experience for many, each item is described with illustrative precision.

Despite being a restaurant of the rarest of breeds, it has the advantage of being one of the only Afghan restaurants in the entirety of the city. Helmand rises above the easy standards of being simply the best in its class. As if defiantly breaking free from its small pond (or rather, a river in Afghanistan, as this restaurant is named after), this big fish churns out food that is some of the best in Boston.

THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, March 11, 2010

B5

+Music

A collision of sound hits Plastic Beach

BY BRENNAN CARLEY

fostering an emotional connection between his audience and his songs. The best example of this is the ethereal “On Melancholy Hill.” The song kicks After a five-year break from music, the animated off with a steady drumbeat but winds up, carrying band Gorillaz seems dead-set on taking the world the listener away to a heavenly place. It really is by storm, once again. Dreamt up by British pop the perfect pop song, both bursting with emotion star Damon Albarn, the British virtual rockers (2D, and filled with stellar vocals and music. Mos Def Murdoc Niccals, Russel Hobbs, and Noodle) deliver appears again on “Sweepstakes,” which he tackles a fresh, exciting sound on their new album, Plastic all by himself. Things really get interesting once Beach. This time around, armed with a hodgepodge the song shifts into an entirely group of guests (including Snoop Out of a rating new beat that wraps around Dogg, Mos Def, Bobby Womack, Velhis voice. Then, just when you of 10, this vet Underground founder Lou Reed, think you have a hold on it, the and electro-soul band Little Dragon), album scores track explodes into a Miami Gorillaz have created a lush, synthbig band jam, courtesy of The heavy album that proves their staying power.

Hypnotic Brass Ensemble.

Innumerable synthesizers layer on top of one In a genius move, Albarn enlists Lou Reed for another on “Welcome to the World of the Plastic “Some Kind of Nature,” which he attacks with devilBeach” featuring Snoop Dogg, which showcases ish and defiant wit. The drum machine intro, evocaSnoop at his absolute smoothest. More than a song, tive of the alternative band The Kills, is proof of it is an intimate conversation with whomever lends Albarn’s interest in keeping up with musical trends. him an ear. Here he is at his most relaxed, rolling Here, Reed sounds as pissed off as ever, his anger off rhymes about fairytales, Wonderland, and mir- directed at the band itself. “Nature” gives Reed ror-mirrors on the wall as the backing music swells the chance to protest the concept of the album. and soars.

His sharp-tongued lyrics “White Flag” kicks off (“Some kind of nature, with a tribal drumbeat, some kind of soul …”) followed by an orientalare aimed at convincing sounding flute. This is Albarn’s forte: He enjoys having the freedom that a cartoon band allows him to experiment with different genres of music.

Suddenly, “Flag” flips into a trippy, 1980s-style rap featuring British rappers Bashy and Kano, sounding here like the early Beastie Boys. The album then moves into its first single, “Stylo.” Rife with pumping beats, low-key raps, and stunning vocals, “Stylo” refreshingly In “Plastic Beach,” harkens back to 60s soul.

Gorillaz incorporates Womack’s soulful and surprising twists heartbreaking croon unand underlying hinges the song, sending commentaries to create it off its coolly composed a more powerful, more rails, but rapper Mos Def exciting new sound. restores some equilibrium.

Albarn is a master at For The Heights

9

Gorillaz to just give nature a chance, instead of jumping ship to a plastic-filled world.

A real standout track is the mainly instrumental “Glitter Freeze.” With an intro full of sirens, horns, and repetition, the song is simultaneously reminiscent of Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love” and the work of other current British artists like Little Boots and La Roux. The track is trancelike, invoking head nodding and toe tapping. The melody always seems to be leading somewhere but, mystically, sends the listener to musical worlds unknown.

The only real letdown is the track ironically titled “Broken.” It seems more like filler than anything else. It is bursting at the seams with cliches, which is extremely unlike the band. The track plods along monotonously, like it knows it doesn’t belong on what is otherwise a brilliant album.

As an album, Plastic Beach provides a biting commentary on the “plasticity” of the celebrity culture that our society revolves around. On the title track, Albarn compares Hollywood to a “Styrofoam deep sea landfill.” Albarn showers America’s fascination with pop culture on the biting track “Superfast Jellyfish,” in which he takes jabs at network television, dollar menus, and infomercials. The funniest thing about it is that the song could easily be one of the Top-40 hits that it is so gleefully mocking, and, if Albarn has his way, it just might be.

IN STORES NEXT WEEK

The Whigs In The Dark

Neon Trees Habits

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CHART TOPPERS SINGLES

1 2 3 4 5

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

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Teen Dream Beach House Transference Spoon One Life Stand Hot Chip Contra Vampire Weekend ODD BLOOD Yeasayer

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PETE RIMES / AP EXCHANGE

Source: Billboard.com & CMJ.com

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club can’t escape its past

BY WILL WATKINS

almost redundant given the angry guitar riffs and pounding drums over which they are sung.

The album’s rare mellow moments come on a trio California rock trio Black Rebel Motorcycle Club of ballads. “Sweet Feeling” and “The Toll” feature is, in many ways, music’s equivalent of a pro sports Hayes’ well practiced mix of acoustic guitar and draft bust. The group was hyped up to be the band harmonica, and “Long Way Down” is centered on a of the decade that has recently ended, and so, no slow piano chord progression. These three songs are matter what the trio did, it was never as good as it spread out on the track listing, and each one is a sort was supposed to be. The lofty expectations to which of oasis of calm in an otherwise they were held were not set by the Out of a rating tempestuous album. When Hayes band, yet it is the burden that they of 10, this laments, “Everything’s taking its have had to face. On the trio’s most toll,” on “The Toll,” it almost recent release, Beat The Devil’s album scores makes sense for Tattoo, the band members don’t him to be singquite deal with that burden, but they do let out ing about the fits of rage present their frustrations. on the rest of the album. Aside Aside from bearing a title that sounds like some- from providing some variety to thing Mick Jagger came up with in the late 1960s, The the album, these three songs also Devil’s Tattoo’s opener and title track has the type allow Hayes to highlight his strong of catchy acoustic slide-guitar riff that the group can ability to write a great folk song, seemingly produce out of thin air. Before the vocals something he showcased at length even kick in, the listener already knows what the song on 2005’s Howl. and entire album will be all about — a band having a The biggest flaw of the album great time dealing with its bad times. In many ways, is the group’s difficulty at avoiding Black Rebel Motorcycle Club has been attempting to dull, tired-sounding songs and modo with angst what Elliott Smith did with depression ments. Just as a great movie will — construct an entire career around one theme. have twists and suspense to keep Angst is all over this album, just as it has been the audience interested, a song on the group’s previous releases. On “Evol,” lead needs to always give the listener singer Peter Hayes repeats, “I don’t want to feel an exciting reason to stay attenlove again,” over a noisy, atmospheric backdrop. tive. On “Aya,” the extensive The group shows no moderation when it comes time outro to “Shadow’s Keeper,” and to heap on the distortion, even using it for the bass a few other points on the album, line on the hard-rocking “Mama Taught Me Better.” Black Rebel Motorcycle Club does This provides the perfect outlet for its well-executed not do this. “Aya,” in particular, griping, and on many of the songs, the lyrics seem is the gravest offense. By the time Heights Staff

6

the listener gets to this track, things start to feel predictable. That said, the song’s screaming chorus and heavy power chords sound like they would be killer live, but the intensity is weakened that late into the album.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club is a hardworking group that has yet to release a dud, and for that it should be commended. Beat The Devil’s Tattoo does not present a groundbreaking development for the band or show maturation in songwriting, but it is a solid effort that fans of the group’s angsty, hard-rocking sound will enjoy.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s “Beat the Devil’s Tattoo,” has its catchy moments and stays true to the angst-driven rock genre that has earned the band much veneration, but lags during its dull tracks and fails to demonstrate any sort of growth in the band’s lyricisim or sound.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FLIKR USER GREG HUDSON

OFF THE RECORD GREG KITA

For The Heights When I first started to discover music, I was a wide-eyed kid in a candy shop. I wanted to hear it all, all of the good music out there, all at once.

Of course, in my 13-year-old mind, “good music” consisted almost exclusively of classic rock — it was a few more years before different and more diverse genres found their way onto my iPod. Back then, I’d have Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd playing, daily, on repeat, and it wasn’t long before I’d collected their entire discographies.

Back then, it seemed to me, every group I listened to had an obligatory instrumental track, relieving the singer of vocal duty for a little while so that the rest of the band could focus more on the guitar, bass, and drums. Zeppelin has “Black Mountain Side,” Floyd has “One of These Days,” Rush has “YYZ,” and Van Halen has “Eruption” — all little gems in their band’s respective catalogue.

I was surprised the first time a friend told me he couldn’t listen to music if it didn’t have words. What made him enjoy a song, he said, was a catchy hook and words with which he could sing along. Having an affinity for songs with words is fine, I suppose, but the listener whose tastes don’t venture outside of a catchy, sing-along chorus is going to miss out on a lot of cool music.

Look at post-rock. Here’s a genre built off instrumentals — where the traditional rock instruments

(guitar, bass, and drums) are used in unconventional ways, where instruments are overlaid, looped together, and repeated, creating not just riffs but entire atmospheres. Since its creation in the late ’80s and early ’90s, post-rock has also featured a distinct lack of traditional vocals. The listener who focuses on singing alone will miss the sprawling, 20-minute-plus soundscapes of post-rock vets Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and the distinctive metal-infused sound of post-rock newcomer Russian Circles.

Then there’s the more traditional instrumental rock, where searing guitar riffs or melodic keys take the place of the vocals as a primary instrument.

Yngwie Malmsteen, for example, has been wellknown in speed-metal circles since the mid-’80s.

Consistently ranked among the fastest guitarists in the world, Malmsteen’s speed and neo-classical tendencies have earned him a cult following among guitarists.

I’m not saying that vocals and lyrics aren’t important in music. After all, simply thinking the line “just a small town girl” is liable to get Journey stuck in my head for days. And yes, vocals allow anyone and everyone with a voice to participate and interact with the music in a way that instrumental music cannot. Then again, though, the voice is just one instrument in the company of many. Just as a saxophone or a synthesizer would sound out of place in some music, not all musical styles lend themselves to vocals. This isn’t to say that this is good or bad — it is simply different.

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

B6

Thursday, March 11, 2010

THE HEIGHTS

Potential harm outweigh benefits

ON THE flip side

MICHAEL SANDERS

THE ISSUE:

President Obama, during his administration, has changed the policy of the DEA to make raiding marijuana dispensaries the lowest priority. As a result, 14 states so far this year have considered the question of legalizing marijuana for medical purposes. Should marijuana be legalized for medical purposes, or should the federal government make a broad ban forbidding the use of this drug regardless of the purpose?

Marijuana, a valid medical option drug to have as a treatment option could be the difference between some pain management and none at all.

For years, American culture Additionally, the side effects has linked the use of marijuana of marijuana are much less with images of blazed-out stonserious than many other drugs ers who seemingly spend their that are recognized under the time either high or longing to federal government. According be high. Though it would be to former Surgeon General Dr. comfortable and all-too-easy to Joycelen Elders, “Marijuana continue to associate the drug is less toxic than many of the with that sole image and other other drugs that physicians negative connotations, to do prescribe every day.” A testaso would be doing not only the ment to this fact is that there drug a disservice, but our sociare currently ety as well. no cases of Th e m e d i In order to more lung cancer or cal benefits of eff ectively control and emphysema in marijuana are u n d e n i a b l e , regulate the drug, the the U.S. linked solely to mariand when a only rational option juana smoking. patient’s health The current is for the federal is concerned, decisions based government to rework system of leaving the decision on which drug its original opinion up to the states should be used is clearly not should be made of marijuana and working, since between the acknowledge its benefi ts laws concernpatient and the ing medical doctor, without to patients. marijuana differ Wa s h i n g t o n signifi cantly from state to state. politicians in mind.

A doctor’s advice on a course of Marijuana has had a long medical treatment should not history as a valued medicine. depend on a person’s geographAccording to the Los Angeles ical location. Furthermore, Times, it has been used in methe recent tussle between the dicinal teas in China, as a stress DEA and medical marijuana relief tool in India, and as a dispenseries in Colorado, where pain reliever in Asia, the Middle it is legal, shows the confusion East, and Africa. Historically, that arises when the federal marijuana has been used for its government holds a different medicinal properties for over an view of the drug than the state estimated 12,000 years. It has does. been used to help ease nauAfter major raids on medisea created by chemotherapy, cal dispensaries, the DEA had restore appetites in AIDS pato sheepishly back down after tients, and as an effective painadmitting that they may have reliever for a variety of causes.

Some recent studies also suggest crossed a line. However, the problem remains that even when that medical marijuana might medical marijuana is legal to be helpful in lifting depression distribute, it is illegal to grow. In or easing convulsions, like those order for a productive system to caused by multiple sclerosis or exist, the states and the federal Huntington’s disease. government need to be working The UC Center for Medicion the same page. nal Cannabis Research in San Part of the problem that Diego found that marijuana is would also be solved with the highly useful in helping patients support of medical marijuana with neuropathic pain, which is by the federal government is a syndrome where the patients the worry that the source of experience chronic pain, and a the drug comes from the black simple touch can be unendurmarket. There is no way to ingly painful. Here, marijuana has succeeded where other med- monitor harvesting or farming regulations, making the choice ication has proven ineffective, to use medical marijuana more and stronger opiates have the dangerous than it has to be. In potential to be resisted. In this order to more effectively control case, where treatment options and regulate the drug, the only are limited, having one more

PATRICIA HARRIS

rational option is for the federal government to rework its original opinion of marijuana, and acknowledge the drug’s benefits to patients.

If the fear then is that by advocating for medical marijuana, the drug will enter further into the mainstream culture, I would argue that this has already occurred. Walking into Newbury Comics, a person is virtually attacked by the familiar fiveleafed plant decorating bumper stickers, hats, pins, jewelry, etc.

Many states, including Massachusetts, have already decriminalized marijuana, making the penalty for possession significantly less than it was before.

Is medical marijuana the solution for every patient? Of course not. Like any drug, however, it has its own particular pros and cons. The vast majority of drugs that are widely prescribed are extremely dangerous to the patient unless taken with caution. Marijuana is no exception to that rule. However, I have enough faith in patients to make up their own minds about that, and any other potential drug treatment. The federal government should prove that they have such a belief as well.

Patricia Harris is the Asst.

Marketplace Editor. She welcomes c o m m e n t s a t m a rke t p l a c e @ bcheights.com

Medical Marijuana. Two small words, one big problem.

The debate about medical marijuana (or medical cannabis) has been going on for decades and is still being contested today.

Medical marijuana is currently a federally controlled substance, but 14 states have Compassionate Use Laws that approve and regulate it for medical use. The laws in each of these states are convoluted, and the discrepancy between federal and state laws inherently causes problems.

The clinics, or dispensaries, are often breeding grounds for crime and violence, and allow common criminals to use state laws to their advantage in the establishment of more serious criminal activities, most obviously drug trafficking. The federal government needs to assume a more active role in the handling of illegal substances. Simply saying it is illegal and then standing back to let these issues take root is unacceptable.

Also, simply making medical marijuana legal is not the correct option. Marijuana is classified as a “Schedule 1” substance, defined as having a high potential for abuse and no medicinal value. There has been no concrete evidence offered to reschedule the substance to a lower level. Research has shown that marijuana smoke can contain as much as five times more carbon monoxide than cigarettes.

The British Lung Foundation found in a 2002 report that the effects of smoking three to four marijuana cigarettes can have the same physiological effect as smoking 20 tobacco cigarettes, an entire pack. Marijuana also can have a serious effect on the brain, especially since often-

risk. Extended use of marijuana times THC can be stored in fat gradually reduces the effect it cells, so the brain will experiappears to have in terms of the ence prolonged exposure to the “high,” and so users are more harmful effects of marijuana. likely to switch to something There is also the issue of stronger. adolescent use of marijuana.

Finally, the federal governBy making it legal, it would be ment needs to be wary. Although even easier for teenagers to gain “slippery slope” is a very cliche access to this very dangerous phrase, that is because it is so substance. While it is rare, there often applicable to these types have been documented cases of adolescents developing psychot- of situations. Rescheduling marijuana to a lower level and ic issues in later life, including opening it up to federal regulaschizophrenia and paranoia.

If we allow marijuana use to tion only leads to more debates become rampant by, in a sense, on why more serious drugs are making it socially acceptable, we not allowed to be opened up to could see a sharp rise in these the public.

If we say medical marijuana cases. There is also the commonly known side effects of laziness, loss is acceptable to use because of of memory, and general delin- a potential benefit, then how quency in teenage and even adult long will it be before energy drink compasmokers. Making marijuana There has been solid nies say that cocaine, should legal for mediresearch showing be legalized as cal purposes will that marijuana use it is an effeconly mean more teens will have increases the likelihood tive stimulant?

We endanger chances to get for experimentation the future by their hands on the dangerous with, and dependence allowing our standards to substance.

We put our on, other, more serious gradually decay.

We could end youth in danger drugs. up in a sceif we make marijuana acceptable. Teens already nario where we might consider show a proficiency at obtain- something akin to the dangerous ing other illegal items such as “Needle Park” in Zurich, where cigarettes and alcohol, so it is it was legal to purchase and no stretch to imagine that they inject heroin, free from police would find it easy to get their harassment.

The legality of heroin was hands on legalized marijuana, thereby exposing them to the short-lived, naturally, as it harmful medical effects of this became a breeding ground for other illicit activities. Saying, risky substance.

“Well, maybe pot is okay,” today Then, you have to conmay eventually lead us to say, sider the issue of marijuana as “Well, truckers do need the a “gateway drug.” There has been solid research showing that energy in amphetamines to make marijuana use increases the like- those cross-country trips.” lihood for experimentation with, and dependence on, more seriMichael Sanders is a guest columnist ous drugs. If we legalize medical for The Heights. He welcomes marijuana, then we open up our c o m m e n t s a t m a rke t p l a c e @ entire society to this serious bcheights.com

PHOTO COURTESY OF CNN.COM

While some states have legalized medicinal marijuana amd allow its growth within state borders, others continue to seize the drug from massive pot farms.

Turkey recalls ambassador in response to resolution

BURHAN OZBILICI / AP PHOTO

Survivors of the Armenian genocide looked on as the House Committee voted to recognize it by a narrow 23-22 margin.

Genocide, from B10 military actions in Afghanistan and the Middle East. Turkey is also a strategic partner with the United States in the War on Terror and the present conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. President Obama has recently prodded

Turkey and Armenia into signing an agreement to establish diplomatic relations and open their respective borders to each other. Ironically, the day before the House committee passed the resolution in question, Obama called the Turkish prime minister and praised his efforts to normal-

ize relations with Armenia.

The disputed genocide occurred during World War I and in its aftermath, when the Ottoman Empire was still in existence and Armenia was not yet a sovereign state. The Ottomans entered the war in 1915, joining the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-

Hungary, and began attacking Russia. Armenians living in Turkey sympathized with Russia, due to their shared Eastern Orthodox religion and Slavic culture. Several volunteer Armenian army battalions actually fought alongside Russian soldiers during a counter-offensive against the Ottomans in the Caucasus region. In response, the Ottoman government arrested Armenian political and intellectual leaders, and in May 1915, it ordered the military to forcibly deport all Armenian citizens from the country. More than one million Armenians were uprooted from their homes and marched into the Arabian desert. The Armenians were treated inhumanely by their Turkish escorts, often being denied food, shelter, and rest. Soldiers would periodically massacre groups of Armenians and leave their bodies behind to rot in the desert. The deportation ended with the Central Powers’ defeat in World War I and the subsequent collapse of the Ottoman Empire.

Turkey, the modern successor state to the Ottoman Empire, has continuously denied that the Armenian genocide ever occurred. According to the Turkish government, Armenian casualties can be linked to sectarian violence between Muslim Turks and Christian Armenians, unintentional deaths during the forced deportation process, and a famine that occurred in Turkey during the war. The government disputes the benchmark number

of 1.5 million Armenian deaths, claiming that roughly 500,000 Armenians reached their destination in Damascus and the Euphrates River valley. Under current Turkish law, citizens can be arrested and tried for “insulting Turkey” if they recognize the genocide.

The formal definition for genocide, according to a 1948 U.N. convention, is “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group.”

Turkey alleges that the Ottoman government only intended to deport the Armenians, while its detractors claim that their actions were actually extermination disguised as deportation.

Twenty countries, as well as 42 U.S. states, have recognized the Armenian genocide. In the academic world, denial of the genocide is the minority view, with few historians outside of Turkey refusing to recognize the time of absolute terror. In politics, many countries, such as the United States and the United Kingdom, acknowledge that atrocities took place but refuse to label them as genocide for fear of reprisals from their Turkish allies.

The recent House committee resolution puts the Obama administration in the awkward position of choosing between moral obligations and political interests. As a presidential candidate, Obama stated that, “America deserves a leader who speaks truthfully about the Armenian genocide and responds forcefully

to all genocides.” However, now Obama is confronted with an enraged Turkish government on which the United States relies heavily for support in the War on Terror. Obama’s idealism has been tested, and he has passed on the opportunity to change the Bush administration’s official denial of the genocide. It seems that in the world of politics, whether one is Republican or Democrat, national interest still trumps morality. 

Thursday, March 11, 2010

B7

THE HEIGHTS

DANNY MARTINEZ

MATT PALAZZOLO

Should Eric Massa have resigned after the Ticklegate allegations?

He wasn’t going to win anyways in November, so it is a moot point.

He should ask Donald Trump if there is an opening for another politician on Celebrity Apprentice.

He should rerun in November under the “son of the Devil’s spawn” ticket.

He should resign for using the word “fracking.” He clearly isn’t old enough to hold elected office.

Can Democrats pass the health care bill without reconciliation?

I can’t see that happening.

Everyone is too polarized at this point.

They have a better chance of resurrecting Ted Kennedy than healthcare reform.

Would you hire a clown to fix a leak in the John?

There is no middle ground between a 2,700 page Senate bill and the Republican plan, which is just “no.”

Is a law that would require photo ID to vote unconstitutional?

If it prevents or hampers people from voting, yes.

No, people should only be allowed to buy guns without a photo ID.

Everyone knows ID photos are totes embarrassing.

Mickey Mouse would still find a way to vote in Florida.

Was Hurt Locker a worthy winner for Best Picture?

I loved the awkwardness between James Cameron and his ex-wife. That was priceless.

It met the Academy’s standard of being completely unknown.

Yes. But if the Academy had any stones, it would have voted for District 9.

There were ten nominations, but everyone knew Hurt Locker would win. At least it wasn’t Avatar.

Marketplace Editor

Marketplace Staff

ZAK JASON

DAN OTTAUNICK

Assoc. Arts Editor

Collections Manager

Massive car recall hurts Toyota’s profits and credibility Toyota, from B10

more than 2.3 million vehicles because of the possibility of the accelerator pedal sticking even without the presence of floor mats. Five days later, Toyota halted sales of the cars under recall. It later emerged that the suspension of car sales was a legal obligation. Even later, the company recalled about 500,000 Prius and other hybrid models, bringing the total number of vehicles recalled by Toyota to 8.5 million. The sticking pedals and badly-fitting floor mats have been blamed for at least 19 deaths and more than 2,000 incidents of “unintended acceleration.”

The business costs are plain to see. Toyota put the financial cost of the recalls at $2 billion in the first quarter alone. While Toyota’s sales in America fell 16 percent in January, compared with last year, General Motors’ and Ford’s respectively rose by 15 percent and 24 percent.

However, the true damage has been to Toyota’s supposedly bulletproof reputation for impeccable quality and fastidious customer care. In a country that already brims with efficiency and innovation, Toyota was regarded as Japan’s pinnacle of industrial strength.

Its lean production methods and modular car designs have been examined, imitated, and re-examined countless times by all industries, and not just in the automotive world. Our transportation secretary, Ray LaHood, purports that Toyota was pushed into making the recalls and that customers had been complaining about unintentional acceleration for several years before Toyota acted. Further damage has been done to the Prius; for a brand that positions itself as the leader in “green” personal transporta-

tion, this monumental setback puts Prius on the back foot as competitors gear up to launch their own green models.

Product recalls are common with any mass manufacturing business. Toyota itself has issued recalls before. However, Toyota made a number of crucial errors in its handling of the growing concerns regarding its vehicles. Despite a multitude of complaints lodged with the NHTSA and Toyota itself over nearly a decade, Toyota failed to act until the tragic, highly public, and gruesome death of Mark Saylor.

Toyota then sent out confusing messages when it initially blamed the accidents on floor mats, and then later recalled gas pedal mechanisms. Matters were further complicated when Toyota admitted that a software issue may also exist. Finally, when the world was waiting for an apology, or at least an explanation, Toyota’s leadership was on vacation.

In many ways, the Toyota recall parallels the fallout over Tiger Woods’ indecent tomfoolery. In both instances, an apparently impenetrable and indomitable force with a staggeringly solid reputation for quality and performance was reduced to a humble, groveling apology.

Furthermore, both brands took liberties as a result of their unique position at the top of the totem pole. Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota, apologized for the company’s mishandling of the recalls and admitted that perhaps Toyota relaxed its meticulous attention to detail and stringent quality standards in the pursuit of growth. Despite statements to the contrary, Toyota’s management wanted to overtake General Motors as the world’s largest automobile pro-

BURHAN OZBILICI/ AP PHOT

Company head Akio Toyoda testified before a Congressional panel in an attempt to assure consumers that Toyota was dedicated to improving the safety of its cars. ducer. There is something to be said for the adage that “absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Toyota’s debacle is simultaneously saddening and illuminating. I come from a Toyota family, and we are proud to own three Toyotas. The fact that I can even use an expression like “Toyota family” is an indication of the sentiments attached to and the loyalty felt

toward the brand. Its advertising agency, Saatchi & Saatchi, refers to this idea as that of a “LoveMark” – a brand which commands strong sentiments of love and respect. It upsets me that a company in which I had so much faith was disingenuous to its valued customers. The sky is blue, grass is green, homework is terrible, and Toyotas are indestructible – it was a law of

nature. Now, no more.

The controversy is illuminating in that it has established, through unfortunate example, that a bashing on the news is the least of the punishments a wrongdoer must endure.

The vitriol of the blogosphere and online chatter means that news is communicated and commented upon at light speed, and opinions are

formed and broken at a rapid rate. The online community possesses such tremendous schadenfreude that we enjoy watching a fall from grace. Corporations must now tread an incredibly fine tightrope of good behavior.

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

B8

The Heights

Thursday, March 11, 2010

The Heights

Thursday, March 11, 2010

B9

Lame duck presidency dooms aid response Chile, from B10

In the first time the Chilean army has been used since the country became a democracy in 1990, the military quickly reduced the anarchy through curfews and patrols. The government claims that more than $2 million in stolen goods has been returned since the army’s arrival.

This disaster comes at a time when a presidential transition is taking place. On March 11, the center-right Sebastián Piñera will take control of the government after the center-left Concertacion ruled for 20 years. He will face new challenges rebuilding the ruined roads, businesses, and harbors of the affected areas, besides boosting an economy hurt by the global recession. For example, areas of Santiago’s newly renovated airport are near the point of collapsing. Some assessors estimate that 500,000 new homes must be rebuilt and many more repaired. According to the California-based riskmodeling firm Eqecat, costs from

the earthquake could range from $15 to $30 billion in damages.

This is equal to 20 percent of Chile’s GDP. Luckily, $11 billion from copper exports have been saved by Bachelet in a fund over the past years.

A rare side effect of the earthquake was a tiny shift in the Earth’s axis, according to researcher Richard Gross. The model estimates that each day on Earth will be 1.26 microseconds shorter. While an earthquake in Sumatra had a larger magnitude, the Chilean earthquake was more effective at causing this shift due its location in the mid-latitudes.

At the same time, precise GPS measurements reveal that the entire city of Concepcion moved 10 feet west following the cataclysm. Seven major aftershocks have continued to pummel the region, including a 5.8 convulsion in the Bio-Bio province.

Major industries in Chile suffered directly from the earthquake. Charles Kimber of the forestry firm Arauco claims that the entire forestry industry will

shut down for a month due to damages to factories and distribution centers. Logging, which accounts for about 8 percent of the GDP, was based around the “catastrophe zones” of Maule and Bio-Bio. Winemakers are also suffering after storage tacks of wine on vineyards were cleaved in two after the accident.

The government plans to use old-fashioned communication systems and coordinate its aid efforts better in the future.

Since the occurrence of a major earthquake in the near future is inevitable on the fault line on the South American and Nazca plates, a large investment in earthquake-resistant structures would be profitable in the longrun.

As writer Gabriel García Márquez warns, “Chile has an earth tremor on the average of once every two days and a devastating earthquake every presidential term.” Hopefully, three days of national mourning will set Chile on the road to rebuilding a shaken country. n

Silvia Izquierdo/ AP Photo

Displaced families in shelters finally receive packages of aid three days after the earthquake struck south of Santiago.

Massacres in Nigeria will not be solved by aid alone Nigeria, from B10

als were arrested for prosecution of the January attacks, but it is unknown how many of these 300 actually faced prosecution.

The Washington Post’s recent article detailing the massacre said, “The United Nations, United States, Human Rights Watch and opposition politicians all urged the authorities to ensure those responsible face justice after attacks on Sunday on three Christian villages in which hundreds are feared to have died.” This phrase is not unlike previous responses heard every time an atrocity occurs somewhere around the globe. Little address is given beyond the “urge” that higher global powers fix the problem at hand.

It seems logical for these non-authoritative entities and individuals to plead with the Nigerian government to simply “fix” the problem, but does the Nigerian government really have the ability? The United States has provided aid to Nigeria in an effort to bring peace to the region and to reward the country’s semi-democratic position in West Africa; but, in turn, it forbids the country from training military because of the frequent infringement on human rights. Can a country known for having corrupt military forces, then stripped of training new military, be held completely accountable for domestic surges of human rights violations?

A global pattern of urging, aid,

and force comes into play alongside any occurrence with which the United States or the United Nations disagrees.

Despite efforts, the bleeding only seems to be marginally mitigated, or not at all, rather than stopped. This problem slowly seems to be realized by the U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon who urged for a “permanent solution,” – but this is not a done deal.

The recent atrocities in Nigeria bring into question, yet again, how the global community should respond to foreign calamities that are clearly beyond the capability of indigenous governments. A recent investigation into the World Food Program’s Somalia operations found about half of the donated food was lost due to corrupt distribution. Such an occurrence leads one to question of the reliability of aid in general. Foreign military occupation delegitimizes what little authority a frail government like Nigeria’s and often ignites rage on the part of the citizens.

The latter would specifically be an issue in Nigeria, where anti-American sentiment runs rampant (incoming troops would undoubtedly be American whether under the banner of the United States or the United Nations) shown by the demonstrations supporting the Sept.11 attacks by the Islamic Youth Organization, a prominent Nigerian group.

So, what is the best path to choose?

It seems obvious that a permanent solution, as Ban Ki-moon asks for, is the current need. Urging, aid, and mili-

tary occupations are not permanent.

Instead, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, and even individual nations need to aid in the form of intelligence.

It seems that there is always a hands-off urging or a completely hands-on take over as the answer.

There should be a middle ground in between direct development assistance and helping governments in power utilize what little resources they have in the most effective manner. Disputes in nations like Nigeria arise because of clashes between groups that believe they know how to solve a country’s problem, or over ownership of limited resources.

If governments, however frail they may be, are able to show progress, there will be less anger among citizens, and problems will actually be addressed. If a government should fall and another come in its place, intelligence aid should come about again, building from whatever point at which the country may currently be sitting. Developed nations need to move away from colonialist and imperialist tendencies, give nations time to develop as they did, and aid by advice, not by handouts and takeovers.

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

Jude owuamanam / ap photo

The Nigerian government allows massacres between religious groups to continue in rural areas.

A Green Piece

Disparity in water quality, quanity throughout the world Shanna Atherton

World Water Day is coming up in a week and a half, so with that in mind I’d like to share a few thoughts.

Potable water, beyond any other resource, is the most precious commodity on earth.

Without it we cannot physically survive. It quenches our thirst, feeds our crops, sanitizes our homes. As Americans, we blithely ignore the importance of this substance, because so

easily does water come to us through a system of our pipes and taps. I am not exempt from this. While I attempt to watch my use in various ways, I invariably find myself dragging out the simple pleasure of a hot shower, sending 2.5 to 10 gallons of water per minute down the drain and off into Neverland. It might not sound like a lot, until you consider that my routine 15minute showers consume more water than three people in the developing world use in a day.

Of course, my water consumption in temperate Massachusetts, where potable water is relatively abundant and delivered through a decent infrastructure, does not have

a direct effect on world water issues. At home in southern California, though, I receive water that most likely comes from the Colorado River, a waterway that once flowed into Mexico to nourish a flourishing agricultural system and a thriving delta ecosystem. Today, the Colorado River delta below the border is dead, and Mexico receives barely legal water from its neighbors to the north. The water is so polluted and so saline after it flows through seven states’ agricultural and sewage systems, that it kills crops. Northern Mexico’s agricultural industry is failing, even as California vies for more water to sate its ever thirsty population. I might note

that 70 to 80 percent of this water goes to California’s large agribusinesses through illegal subsidies. Further, while the river’s water was theoretically divided evenly between the arbitrarily-named Upper and Lower Basin states, California has, over the years, claimed a larger and larger portion through first appropriation rights, while the overall amount of water flowing through the river decreases steadily.

The original terms of the contract were set based on unusually high flow rates, but California insists on receiving its granted portion and no acrossthe-board cuts, leaving other states to flounder. Add to this

John Bazemore/ AP Photo

Vast resevoirs that provide easy access to water are becoming rarer as increasing populations centers, like those in California, compete for this vital resource.

the fact that California’s avaricious consumption encourages a “use it or lose it” mentality among the other states, and the West has a recipe for disaster.

Urban Californians are working to reduce their consumption at home, but without a reduction in irrigation water, there is only so much the public can do.

Governmental subsidies in the arid west falsely represent the value of water and allow gross overindulgence by large farms, and some private interests argue that the best way to fix this is by privatizing the system and letting the free market reign. Unfortunately, in many places, such a system makes little sense.

In places like Bolivia, where the government was forced to privatize water in order to receive World Bank aid, water rates to poor families more than doubled, while water quality dropped. Bechtel, the corporation that took over management of Bolivia’s water when it was privatized, sought to increase profits and cut off supplies to those who could not afford them. A popular rebellion ensued.

Privatizations in developing countries, while instituted nominally to increase access to safe drinking water, have led to similar cutoffs for the poor elsewhere in the world, forcing more people to drink from polluted rivers or face prohibitively long hikes in search of water daily. At the last estimate, more than one in six people lacked access to safe drinking water, according to unwater.org.

Faced with the choice, many drink the polluted water, which has been linked to as many as

4,500 children’s deaths daily.

In a world where 97 percent of all the water on earth is salt water and 2 percent is locked in glaciers, leaving only 1 percent as readily accessible, potable water, issues surrounding this resource take on a stark new meaning worldwide. Consider that in developing countries, 70 percent of industrial pollution is dumped into rivers without first being treated, and 54 percent of organic pollution stems from agricultural runoff, according to the World Water Assessment Programme.

The complexity of water issues is staggering, especially when each community is faced with a unique set of challenges.

For many communities water scarcity is not an issue, for others, it is a life or death situation.

For the world, we must remember that water may be a globally renewable resource, but at the rate we are polluting our rivers and overdrawing our groundwater, it’s a locally nonrenewable resource too.

In the week and a half before World Water Day, and as we enter BC Green Week, I ask that you think about how you consume water in relation to others.

What changes could you make to live on five to 11 gallons a day rather than the 40 the average American consumes? If you dare, imagine what it would be like to live on 2.5 gallons a day, and see if you can’t find a way to be in solidarity with those who deserve the right to far more.

Shanna Atherton is a staff columnist for The Heights. She welcomes co m m e n ts a t m a rke t p l a ce @ bcheights.com.

MARKETPLACE THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, March 11, 2010

B10

THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 2010

FROM THE BLOGOSPHERE

Chile suffers from monstrous quake

COURTESY OF MYINWOOD.NET

“

Has this hungry Eagle ever considered where his food originates from, or how it is produced? Personally, when I look at the perfectly rectangular slabs of beef they throw on the grill, I just choose to not think about its shape. Instead, I focus on a more pressing issue …

Chipotle, Barbeque, or both?

–Jason Goode

”

Check out a screening of Food, Inc. in Higgins 310 on Thursday at 7p.m.

Interested in reading more?

Check out the entire article at www. bcheights.com/ marketplace/the-lorax

FERNANDO VERGARA/AP PHOTO

After an 8.8 magnitude earthquake, much of Chile, including the town of Constitucion pictured above, has been devastated and many homes have been reduced to rubble or left barely standing.

BY KEITH VAN KULLER For The Heights

The iPad was such a severely overhyped product, it is difficult to imagine even Apple satisfying everyone’s expectations, but even when considering that, the iPad’s initial reception by the tech community was lukewarm at best.

– Amir Shaikh Interested in reading more?

Check out the entire article at www. bcheights.com/ marketplace/go-go-gadgets

”

Many Americans view the 8.8-magnitude earthquake in Chile on Feb. 27 as inconsequential following the catastrophic 7.0-magnitude disaster in Haiti.

More than 800 people perished in mostly rural Chilean towns, while an incomparable 230,000 Haitians are estimated to have died in the vicinity of their rubblestrewn capital, Port-au-Prince. The high quality building standards left blocks in Santiago, Chile’s capital, completely intact. Although Haiti undoubtedly suffered great losses of life, the response of Chile’s government was almost as uncoordinated as that of Haiti.

failures. The unwillingness to use oldfashioned radios that still functioned in Concepcion prevented information from reaching Santiago until seven hours after the earthquake.

Rations started to arrive in the region three days after the disaster. In a country familiar with tremors on the Ring of Fire, an area around the Pacific with constant volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, there should have been a much faster response. The government already had stockpiles of food and supplies in Santiago but stalled when the time came to use them. Despite the collapse of many towns near the epicenter, Sergio Bitar, the minister of public works, stated that “Chile’s infrastructure held up well.”

Armenian genocide resolution in Toyota has the House draws ire from Turkey lost more MARKET REPORT

Nigeria unable to end violence

KARA KAMINSKI

AMEET PADTE

See Genocide, B6

See Nigeria, B9

SUSAN WALSH / AP PHOTO

BY MATT PALAZZOLO The U.S. House of Representatives resurrected a nearly 100-year-old genocide controversy with a vote on Thursday.

The House Foreign Affairs committee passed, by a narrow 23-22 vote, a non-binding resolution recognizing the mass killings of Armenians by Turkish forces during World War I as genocide.

By passing the resolution, the committee is calling upon Congress to formally recognize the genocide by passing its own binding law.

POLITICS

ECONOMICS

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Congressman Eric J. Massa of New York resigned after allegations of sexual misconduct. He denies the allegations, but admitted to tickling one staffer.

India’s Parliament passed a bill reserving one-third of the seats in the country’s national as well as state legislatures for women.

China’s exports have climbed by 46 percent in February, compared to the same month a year previously, a good indication of a recovering world economy.

Bank of America stated that it would do away with overdraft fees on items bought with debit cards beginning this summer.

This decision could lose the bank tens of millions a year.

Last Tuesday China and India formally signed the international climate change agreement drafted last December in Copenhagen Yoink is the one of the newer iPhone apps that finds nearby free items for the user, enables searching by city or item, and allows people to post their unwanted possessions

Heights Staff

I NSIDE MARKE TP L A C E

THIS ISSUE

On the Flip Side

IN NUMBERS

IN THE NEWS

make sure it does not go to the House floor.” Interestingly, President Obama, Vice President Biden, and Clinton, all during their terms as senator, urged the Bush administration to recognize the genocide.

The administration’s opposition to the bill is linked to American foreign policy interests. The military has a base in Incirlik, Turkey, which it has operated since the 1950s. The airbase has been used as a launch point for reconnaissance flights when Saddam Hussein ruled Iraq, as well as current

Early Sunday morning around 4 a.m., 500 Christians were slaughtered, mostly via machete, in Nigerian villages surrounding Jos. The city hit the hardest was Dagon Na Hauwa, where about 400 victims were recently buried in a massive grave. The killings are generally believed to be a response to a similar massacre in January of Muslims

by Christians, mostly in the village of Kuru Karama, whose population was nearly decimated. The dispute between the two ethnic religious groups is over farmable land. The Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang is putting the fault of the attacks on the Nigerian military, who did not respond to his warning of militant movements toward the city.

Jang told reporters in Abuja, “The army should live up to expectations and stop the carnage in Plateau. If they cannot, then they should as well get out of the place.” The opposing party to the current Nigerian government, Action Congress, described the problem as being political, to the Washington Post.

“The government is the problem. It has the power of arrest and prosecution. It has the ability and resources to gather intelligence.” More than 300 individu-

The foreground protestor expresses widespread discontent in Turkey of the resolution by demanding the withdrawal of US troops from Incirlik.

The Turkish government harshly condemned the committee’s actions.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed the resolution will “damage bilateral relations between countries, their interests, and their visions for the future.” The Turkish government also recalled its ambassador to the United States for consultations soon after the House committee passed the resolution.

The Obama administration also denounced the resolution. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated that the administration “strongly opposes the resolution … and will work very hard to

See Toyota, B7

See Earthquake, B9

POLITICALLY SPEAKING

than money

On Aug. 28, 2009, 45-year-old Mark Saylor frantically called 911 while driving to report that his accelerator pedal was stuck. During the call, the Lexus ES350 holding Saylor, his wife, his brother-in-law, and his 13-year-old daughter accelerated to 120 miles per hour. It then slammed into the rear of a Ford Explorer, plowed over a curb, and crashed through a fence before becoming airborne. The Lexus then rolled several times before bursting into flames. There were no survivors.

In response, Toyota, Lexus’ parent company, recalled 3.8 million floor mats one month later, because of complaints that the mats could slide forward and force the pedals into an open position. Another month later, Toyota announced increased measures to prevent floor mat complications including redesigning the mats, installing brake override systems, and reconfiguring the shape of the accelerator system.

Though the recall affected a number of models sales were not significantly affected, as it appeared that the recall was of an easily replaceable component.

On Jan. 21, Toyota then recalled

The government did respond forcefully in combating looters. President Michelle Bachelet deployed 14,000 troops to scare away people ravaging stores in Concepcion, a city of 600,000, and smaller towns. A local official referred to this transformation of a law-abiding society into a rebellious one as a “social earthquake.” Television images displayed people taking products from department stores not related to survival, such as plasma televisions, before the army arrived. “This looting has nothing to do with survival,” said Bachelet. “It has everything to do with people trying to make a profit on the suffering of others.”

extent that the State “ofTothetheUnion has degenerated

8.8

Magnitude of the earthquake that hit Chile on Feb. 27

1.3 billion

The amount of unclaimed money that the IRS is holding for the 1.4 million Americans who neglected to fill out their 2006 tax refund.

This week On the Flip Side will explore both sides of the issue of medicinal marijuana ................................................................. B6

IN QUOTES

“

MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ / AP PHOTO

The Chilean government made several mistakes that probably led to many more deaths in the Juan Fernandez Islands and provinces of Maule and Bio-Bio. First of all, the government calculated that the epicenter of the earthquake was on land when, in fact, it occurred in the Pacific. As a result, the national emergency office assured people that there was no probability of a tsunami so that fishermen and tourists at the beach continued their activities, unalarmed, until a massive wave drowned them. In addition, the government relied on cell phones and the Internet to attempt to contact the devastated region around Concepcion. Unfortunately, these devices were unavailable after power

into a political pep rally, I’m not sure why we’re there.

”

– Chief Jusitice John Roberts, U.S. Supreme Court Concerning the traditional attendence of the Supreme Court justices at the annual State of the Union.

A Green Piece.......................................B9