The Heights April 16, 2015

The Heights will return on April 23. Have a great Marathon Monday!

BORN IN THE BAYOU

LEGALLY BLONDE

MARATHON MONDAY

SPORTS

ARTS & REVIEW

METRO

Now in his senior year, Blake Butera eyes an ACC Tournament berth, B8

A blonde takes over the Bonn this weekend for five sold-out performances, B2

Junior Ryan Reede will shift his efforts from the court at TD Garden to the Marathon route in Monday’s race, A8

HEIGHTS

www.bcheights.com

THE

The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College

established

1919

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Vol. XCVI, No. 21

LUDACRIS FOR MODSTOCK ‘Money Maker’ artist tapped to headline free concert on April 30

BY CAROLYN FREEMAN News Editor

DREW HOO / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Hanlan forgoes senior season, enters NBA Draft

BY TOM DEVOTO Heights Editor Boston College junior guard Olivier Hanlan will declare for the 2015 NBA Draft, according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress. com.

Givony reported the news on Monday, which was then backed up by ESPN’s Jeff Goodman. BC Athletics confirmed this on Wednesday afternoon.

Hanlan is looking to become the third active BC player in the NBA, joining Milwaukee Bucks shooting guard Jared Dudley, who played for BC from 2003-2007, and Detroit Pistons point guard Reggie Jackson, who played for the Eagles from 2008-2011.

Hanlan averaged 19.5 points per game in 2014-2015, the highest total in the ACC and 21st in the nation. An All-ACC First Team selection, Hanlan scored 30 or more points four times this season while still keeping his shooting percentage above 45 percent.

“I am extremely grateful for the experiences I have had and the friendships I have made over the past three years, and look forward to taking this next step in my career,” Hanlan said in a press release. “Although my time at BC is coming to an end, I know I will always be an Eagle at heart.”

The Aylmer, Quebec native was recruited to BC by former head coach Steve Donahue, and was one of few contributing players to remain with the Eagles after Donahue was fired last spring.

After winning ACC Rookie of the Year in his freshman season, Hanlan made the All-ACC Third Team as a sophomore.

Hanlan’s status was followed closely last year, as he was considered a prime candidate to either declare for the draft or transfer to another school. He ultimately decided to return for his third year in maroon and gold.

Despite his personal stellar play, the team struggled mightily during Hanlan’s three years on the Heights. The Eagles’ combined record from 2012-2015 was 37-60. Hanlan did not miss a game during that stretch, and averaged an astounding 37.6 minutes per game as a junior.

Current head coach Jim Christian will now be left only with one returning starter from last season: center and rising senior Dennis Clifford. Fellow big man Idy Diallo and highflyer Garland Owens will likely both compete to fill spots in the starting lineup, but neither player has shown consistent production in his first two years at BC. “Olivier has been an absolute joy to work with over this past year both on and off the court,” Christian said in a press release. “I cannot thank him enough for all he did for me personally and for our program during my first season as head coach at Boston College.”

With college basketball’s National Signing Day today, Christian will likely have to be very active in replacing Hanlan, Will Magarity (who decided to transfer yesterday), and eight graduating seniors. 

The performer for the 2015 Modstock concert will be Ludacris, an American rapper and entrepreneur, according to the Campus Activities Board (CAB).

Rapper and record pro ducer Charle s Hamilton will open for Ludacris. The winner of the forthcoming Battle of the

Bands will perform as well.

Modstock will take place in the Modular parking lot at 3:30 p.m. April 30. The winner of the Battle of the Bands will perform at 3:30, Hamilton is slated for around 4:15, and Ludacris is scheduled to take the stage at 5:15.

Ludacris released his most recent album, Ludaversal, on March 31.

Unlike last year, this year’s event will be ticketed—5,000 free tickets will be available to students in the next week and a half, one per Eagle ID. This event will have tickets because of the popularity of the performer, said Paul Murphy, assistant director of student programming in the Office of Student Involvement and advisor for CAB. This is the first year CAB has hosted the event, which was previously put on by the Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC).

Modstock is a big milestone for the organization,

Kevin Polman, financial director of live events for CAB and CSOM ’17, said.

He emphasized that CAB worked with students via a survey and an open meeting to determine what kind of performer students would like.

“The big thing we worked with this year was keeping with tradition in terms of keeping with events students liked, and also keeping our own name,” Polman said.

Though CAB landed Ludacris a few weeks ago, due to blurred lines of communication, it took some time for the contract to be finalized. The concert was planned so that the highest level, and thus most expensive, artist could be brought in.

The budget for Modstock, however, was supplemented by the revenue made from Plexapalooza, which sold out. That ticket cost $25, but all the money is put back into Modstock, Murphy said.

“We are anticipating handing out a lot of tickets and we are anticipating all of them to be gone,” Polman said. “We’re really excited about this event.” 

BC to test bus route extending to Chestnut Hill grocery stores, mall UGBC initiative stemming from student suggestion adds new route to BC shuttle

BY YOLANDA BUSTILLO Heights Staff Students trying to buy groceries, see a movie, or shop will now be able to access the Chestnut Hill Mall area by way of a Boston College bus.

On Thursday, BC will start a pilot bus route that will take students to Star Market, the Chestnut Hill Mall, Wegman’s, and The Street, a strip mall on Boylston Street.

The Undergraduate Government of

Boston College (UGBC) hopes that this new initiative will prove popular with students and will lead to an increased awareness of Campus Voice, UGBC’s new student ideas forum from which the concept came, Sarah Woods, nursing senator and CSON ’16, said.

In March 2014, Javon Gates, CSOM ’16, posted the suggestion on Campus Voice, a website run by UGBC that is meant to grant students a space to share thoughts on how the student government can better

the University experience. Once a post on the website receives 50 votes, the Student Assembly will respond directly to the suggestion.

Gates requested that UGBC reach out to the University’s Department of Transportation. With the help of the department, UGBC mapped out the logistics of the new route.

“Matt Hugo [A&S ’16] was campaigning during the launch of Campus Voice and what he did was get people to put what they wanted on postcards,” Gates said. “Feeling as if no one would write

See Shuttle, A2

Two years later, stories of survival

BY CAROLYN FREEMAN News Editor

Spring forward: a spotlight on campus fashion

When Patrick Downes, BC ’05, woke up in the hospital after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, he had three questions. First, was his wife, Jessica Kensky, okay? Second, did the Red Sox win? And third, did the nurses go to Boston College?

The answer to all three questions was yes, he said, and that is when he knew he would make it through.

Downes, along with Brittany Loring, JD/ MBA ’13, and Dave Wedge, BC ’93, reflected on their experiences at the Boston Marathon bombings in a panel discussion moderated

by Paula Ebben, BC ’89, Tuesday in Robsham Theater. The event, entitled BC Strong, took place on the eve of the two-year anniversary of the bombing and was sponsored by the Office of News & Public Affairs and the BC Alumni Association.

BC students stepped out this week in some of this season’s latest trends. From 1970s-inspired maxi dresses and flowing skirts, to sportswear looks, to denim-on-denim, students are sporting current trends in fashion without forgoing comfort. See page B3.

See Marathon Panel, A3

See Night, A3

DREW HOO / HEIGHTS EDITOR

The Heights

A2

3

Top

things to do on campus this week

Climate Justice at BC is hosting prominent environmentalist Bill McKibben on Monday, April 16 at 7 p.m. in McGuinn 121. McKibben, founder of 350.org­—a worldwide climate justice campaign—will speak with co-organizers Koreti Mavaega Tiumalu and Ferrial Adam.

News Briefs ‘D ive st Har v ard’ st ag e s week-long protest—The environmental activist group at Harvard University, Divest Harvard, staged sit-ins at multiple University buildings on Tuesday, forcing administrators to relocate.

The blockades were located at Massachusetts Hall, the headquarters of the Harvard Alumni Association, and University Hall.

By 6 a.m. on Tuesday, around 25 student protesters had blocked six entrances to University Hall, forcing custodial workers, University Hall staffers, and University administrators to start their days elsewhere.

The protests also included about a dozen alumni demonstrators, who planned to occupy the Alumni Association offices.

The protests began on Sunday, and are a part of Divest Harvard’s planned “Heat Week,” which will continue until Friday, April 17.

The week was intended as a petition to the University to divest from its $35.9 billion endowment from fossil fuels.

Rainbow Run scheduled for Friday at the Chestnut Hill Reservoir—The Undergraduate Government of Boston College Leadership Academy (ULA) is bringing the Rainbow Run to Boston College on Friday at 5 p.m. at the Chestnut Hill Reservoir, in support of the GLBTQ community. Registration for the 5K is on OrgSync for $5, and will be available at the event, as well. All proceeds will benefit the Spectrum Retreat, a free weekend away for GLBTQ students to speak and reflect on their personal identities at BC. ULA is a program that prepares a group of 30 freshmen for leadership roles through involvement and mentorship within UGBC. Rainbow Run participants will be given white T-shirts with “Support Love” written across them. Before the run, ULA members will use mist bottles to spray paint on the participants’ shirts and bodies in various colors.

The bottles, as well as human paintbrush tunnels, will also be available for participants to apply the paint on themselves.

“The goal of the event is to signify unity and compassion,” ULA member Rachel Newhall, A&S ’18, said in an email. “The run will raise awareness to help combat exclusivity and discrimination on this campus.”

Ta - N e h i s i C o a t e s t a l k postponed—Ta-Nehisi Coates, author, journalist, and senior writer for the Atlantic, was set to speak at Boston College on “The Case for Reparations,” his cover story for last June’s issue of the Atlantic. The talk, hosted by the Office of the Provost and Dean of Faculties, was originally intended to be on April 13, but has since been postponed.

On Monday morning, Coates pushed back his appearance due to an unanticipated personal emergency.

Coates’ work focuses on the legacy of racism, and reparations for emotional, social, and institutional turmoil faced by the African-American community. Coates is the author of the memoir The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood, and has contributed to the New York Times Magazine, Washington Post, Village Voice, and Time, among other publications.

The office is confident that Coates will return to BC in the fall, David Quigley, provost and dean of faculties, said.

1

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Campus Activities Board and Residence Hall Association are organizing Boardwalk-Mile 21 to help kick off Marathon Monday weekend on Saturday. The event will feature carnival games, inflatable obstacle courses, a mechanical bull, fried dough, and giveaways, all in the Mod Lot.

PULSE is sponsoring a panel discussion on protesting and activism, and the impact on social change.

The panel features Pamela Lightsey of Boston University and a Ferguson protester, M. Brinton Lykes of the Lynch School, and Dan McKanan of Harvard University, an Occupy protester.

2

Explaining behavior through ‘Freakonomics’

By Sophie Reardon Heights Staff We all know, Stephen Dubner said, that drunk driving greatly increases the likelihood of a fatal car crash.

But, Dubner and his business partner, economist Steven Levitt, found that you are eight times more likely to die walking home drunk than driving home drunk. He noted, though, that you would not kill someone else. Still, it is five times more likely that a death will occur if you walk home than if you drive home, he said.

This is one example of the style of questions he asks and research he does on a daily basis.

Dubner, acclaimed co-author of the bestseller Freakonomics, spoke to the Boston College community at an event hosted

by BC Economics Association, the Finance Academy, Investment Club, and Omicron Delta Epsilon Tuesday night about his unique position as a journalist in the field of economics.

Dubner is an award-winning author, journalist, radio and television personality. His books have sold more than seven million copies around the world.

His radio podcast, Freakonomics, gets five million downloads per month. Dubner maintains a blog, also called Freakonomics, that attracts a wide audience as well.

Dubner explained that he never really liked economics— he is, after all, a journalist.

His opinions of economics, however, began to change about 10 years ago when he looked at the behavioral aspects of economics.

“What got me really interested was the smaller, weirder, more interesting stuff because I’m a big believer in rather than trying and failing to answer big, hard, maybe impossible questions, well, I’d rather peel off a really, really small piece and try to answer it that well,” he said.

Dubner explained that there are always people who are looking to cheat the system somehow, particularly in the field of education, because the returns of an advanced degree are so high.

He decided to look into how many people have fake college degrees. Dubner and Levitt went to the FBI and found a man who had done a little bit of looking into this matter. He had entertained the idea (not seriously) when he had to send three of his own children to college.

The man who worked at the FBI found that about one percent of college degrees are frauds.

“When there’s something considered to be valuable, people respond to incentives,” Dubner said. “People always try to find things at a cheaper price.”

Dubner and Levitt, therefore, spend their time peeling back a layer or two of the world to understand people’s incentives for doing certain things, whether it be moral, social, or

any other incentive.

“If you want to get data, you need to get crafty sometimes,” he said.

Some researchers, he said, would dry bathroom sinks and then wait for people to use the bathroom and leave. When they were done, the researcher would go into the bathroom and see if the sink was still dry or if it was wet, implying that the man had washed his hands. This may not be an accurate measurement, he explained, because some people turn on the faucet but do not wash their hands.

Dubner said that he lingers in airport bathrooms and records the number of men who wash their hands after using the bathroom. He has found that about 70 percent do. But, he said, if the 30 percent who do not were asked in a social setting, especially in front of family and friends, they were very likely to say they did wash their hands.

Dubner concluded that it is important that questions are asked in certain circumstances because the setting in which it is asked matters.

He also said that we are good at finding data that supports what we want to be true.

For example, a research team was trying to understand how the public makes up its mind about controversial ideas, such as gun control. They found that the more educated a person is the more extreme the person’s views will be on these topics.

The researchers determined

that if you are smart, then you consume a lot of information.

The smarter you are, the better you are at finding evidence that you want to be true. This is a scary concept, he said.

He gave another example of how a committee at CedarsSinai Hospital in Los Angeles came up with a way to get more doctors to wash their hands after finding that only 60 percent do. The committee decided to write a strongly worded memo and sent it out to everyone, but it did not help.

The hospital then decided to come up with a different incentive. It then decided to break up the committee into smaller groups. The small groups would go into a patient’s room and hide. If they heard the doctor washing his or her hands, they would jump out and give the doctor a free $10 Starbucks gift card. But this short-term incentive failed.

Then a woman on the committee suggested that the committee members test their hands for germs. After sending the samples to the lab, they found that the majority of the committee members’ hands were covered with bacteria.

They decided to take a picture of the results and make it the background of all the staffers’ computers. The rate of hand washing shot up overnight, and many hospitals across the country adopted this idea.

“Look at how long this took,” Dubner said. “Human behavior is hard to change.” n

UGBC expands BC shuttle route into Chestnut Hill Shuttle, from A1 down ideas, I decided that I would.”

Gates thought of going to the Chestnut Hill Mall after many of the shops nearby opened. He believed it made more sense to go to this area rather than limit student travel to a single grocery store.

In November, UGBC announced that it was going to proceed with the idea.

“From this, I hope people realize that a good idea is something that you should run up the proper channels when the opportunity arises,” Gates said. “I would love to see everyone open up about how we could improve student lives.”

Matt Hugo, chair of the Policy Development Committee and A&S ’16, helped push Gates’ plan into action.

“UGBC has been the recipient of a lot of criticism over the years for being ineffective and focusing on insignificant tasks,” Hugo said in an email. “We heard the complaints loud and clear, and hope that this project is a sign of far greater things to come.”

Hugo highlighted the ways in which Campus Voice has pro-

12:12 a.m. - A report was filed regarding a student placed into protective custody at Xavier Hall.

3:08 p.m. - A report was filed regarding credit card offenses at the BCPD headquarters.

The Heights Boston College – McElroy 113 140 Commonwealth Ave. Chestnut Hill, Mass. 02467 Editor-in-Chief (617) 552-2223 Editorial General (617) 552-2221 Managing Editor (617) 552-4286 News Desk (617) 552-0172 Sports Desk (617) 552-0189 Metro 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 Carolyn Freeman, News Editor, at (617) 552-0172, or email news@bcheights.com. For future events, email a detailed description of the event and contact information to the News Desk.

Arts Events For future arts events, email a detailed description of the event and contact information to the Arts Desk. Call Ryan Dowd, Arts and Review Editor, at (617) 552-0515, or email arts@bcheights.com.

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 John Wiley, Editorin-Chief, at (617) 552-2223, or email eic@bcheights.com.

CUSTOMER SERVICE Delivery To have The Heights delivered to your home each week or to report distribution problems on campus, contact Chris Stadtler, General Manager at (617) 552-0547.

The Heights is produced by BC undergraduates and is published on Mondays and Thursdays during the academic year by The Heights, Inc. (c) 2014. All rights reserved.

CORRECTIONS Framcisco ruela / Heights graphic

moted this idea, hoping that other students will also take initiative with their own proposals. UGBC officials began to meet with the department of transportation about the feasibility of the project in September, he said.

“There are many ways to make

this campus a better place, and UGBC is devoted to figuring them out and reaching out to the right administrators to make sure they happen,” Hugo said.

Woods will oversee the process of the new route, verifying that the next steps are planned in a way to

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

make it as useful as possible for students.

“We would love to see students take advantage of this service,” Woods said. “The more popular it proves to be, the more likely it will continue and even expand in the future.” n

04/10/15 - 04/15/15

1:12 a.m. - A report was filed regarding a general harassment of a Boston College student at 90 St. More Rd.

Tuesday, April 14 2:47 p.m. - A report regarding the civil possession of marijuana in the Commonwealth garage.

Sunday, April 12 12:16 a.m. - A report was filed regarding the arrest of non-BC affiliate Haynes Deandre for posession of marijuana with intent to distribute in the Modular Apartments.

A Guide to Your Newspaper

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.

POLICE BLOTTER Saturday, April 11

3

—Source: The Boston College Police Department

How old do you think Ludacris (age: 37) is?

“He is ... 42. Wait is he like 55?” — John Sipp, A&S ’18

“‘I wanna say 30.”

— Grace Eisenbergler, A&S ’18

“I don’t know, 72 maybe?”

— Austin Bodetti, A&S ’18

“38?” — Chris Kim, CSOM ’18

A3

The Heights

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Interdisciplinary classes available to freshman this fall

By Carolyn Freeman News Editor Beginning this fall, freshmen will have the opportunity to take several classes that, in the spirit of Perspectives and PULSE, will incorporate two aspects of the Core Curriculum into one curriculum or two linked classes.

These new courses for the 2015-16 school year will be pilot courses that are part of the ongoing effort to renew Boston College’s Core Curriculum.

The new classes, meant to instill incoming students with a sense of the importance of academic rigor and engagement with material, fall into two categories. First are the “complex problems” courses—lecture classes consisting of around 80 students that will be team-taught and will give students credit in two different

disciplines. Second are the “enduring questions” courses—students will enroll in two linked classes, in which the teachers work together but the classes are distinct.

Though these pilot classes are just for freshmen, the hope is that all students will eventually take one “complex problems” class and one “enduring questions” class during their time at the University, Greg Kalscheur, the interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said.

The current core curriculum has been in place since 1991. In the spring of 2013, there was a movement to renew the core. The proposal has not yet been approved—Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley and University President William P. Leahy, S.J., must do so—but these pilot courses are part of the process of renewing

the curriculum.

There will be two “complex problems” courses offered in the fall and one in the spring of next year, and three “enduring question” courses offered in the fall and three in the spring. One of the important ideas behind the core renewal is to focus on the integration of learning and to help students understand how what they are learning is important to their lives, Kalscheur said.

“The idea is to help students see how there are important questions about what it is to be a human that arise in different disciplines,” he said.

“To have an adequate understanding of these questions, we need to have the perspective of different disciplines.”

Nursing professor Jane Ashley and English professor Laura Tanner have teamed up to teach linked classes in

the “enduring questions” category.

Together, their classes will focus on the human body. The professors will teach some shared texts in their separate courses, but the majority of their texts will remain discipline specific. Like all classes of this type, students will be required to enroll in both, and will receive credit for both disciplines.

“It is incredibly invigorating to dialogue with a partner about the goals of our classes, the potential texts we might use, and the pedagogical strategies we want to adopt,” Tanner said in an email. “Because we typically do this type of thinking alone, introducing another voice—and, in this case, a voice from a very different academic discipline—is very energizing.”

The pilot courses focus on the freshmen, Kalscheur explained, be-

cause it is important that students coming to the University have a sense of how important academic rigor and reflection is. Students coming to BC will have a sense of why the course material is important to how they live their lives, and how different disciplines work together to encourage deep thought about fundamental questions of the human condition, he said.

Pulse and Perspectives are the two current courses on campus that integrate two components of the core— theology and philosophy. The soon-tobe-introduced classes, however, will have a broader range of disciplines.

The success of Pulse and Perspectives has given the University confidence that cross-disciplinary classes can work well, Kalscheur said.

The challenge moving forward will

be to teach in a way that maximizes the strengths of the disciplines while also allowing professors to make connections and explore various pathways between the two subjects, Tanner said.

Ultimately, Kalscheur feels it is very important for students to be exposed to a wide variety of courses in many disciplines. This, he said, is a critical part of Jesuit education and something that the core renewal process emphasizes. Core classes ought to help students learn why the material they are learning is so important to them, he said.

“So, how are these courses helping students minds and hearts be opened to the fullness of what it is to be human?” he asked. “How do we make a connect between the material and how we live our lives?” n

On eve of second bombing anniversary, affected alumni reflect Marathon Panel, from A1 Each year, Patriots’ Day commemorates the anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord. The Boston Marathon is run every Patriots’ Day. Class is canceled for students, and employees get off from work. Along the 26.2 mile marathon track, families and friends cheer on those running, both world-class athletes and recreational runners, Ebben said.

“There is an incredible attitude of freedom,” said Ebben, who reported on the bombings for WBZ-TV all day Marathon Monday and for the next four days.

Now, she anchors the 6 p.m.

WBZ-TV broadcast as well as the 10 p.m. WSBK-TV broadcast. She heard about the explosions while she was in the studio, she said, about to head downtown to report on what she had anticipated to be a standard Marathon Monday.

Loring turned 29 on Patriots’ Day in 2013. She and friends went out to

watch the Boston Marathon together.

As she walked toward the finish line, she was hit by shrapnel from the explosion. Loring recovered in Boston Medical Center for 10 days.

Downes, who lost a leg, does not have a strong recollection of what happened when the bombs went off.

He remembers his wife—a nurse—attempting to tie a tourniquet around his leg to stop the bleeding although she herself was on fire and her legs were badly burned.

At the time, they had been married for six months. They both lost their left leg. Downes recovered in Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center for five weeks.

Wedge started working at the Boston Herald in 2013. Though he no longer works there, at the time he was the city hall bureau chief, and was on the way to a meeting when the bombs went off. He began to interview people. The confusion and uncertainty of the scene was comparable, he said, to Ground Zero when the planes crashed

into the World Trade Center on Sept.

11, 2001. He has written a book, Boston Strong, about that day.

“The nation had stopped.”

During the Boston Marathon, notable athletes run alongside ordinary people—amateurs. The Latin root of amateur, Ebben noted, is “amator,” or lover. An amateur who runs in the Boston Marathon does it because they love it. That love for the city and for the sport gives the marathon a unique atmosphere, Ebben said.

“It dawned on me that on a Monday afternoon, the nation had stopped and was looking at Boston,” she said.

“What the nation saw in the aftermath of such a horrific act of violence was every day people running toward where the explosions where … all those amateurs kneeling and helping other people purely for the love of it.”

In April 2013, Downes and Kensky were set to move out to California, near Kensky’s parents. They opted to go to the marathon one last time be-

fore the move. They were not cheering for anyone in particular, but rather for all of those running for various causes.

They loved seeing a 300-lb. man cross the finish line, Downes said.

“It was spectacular weather,” Downes said, “and everything crumbled.”

Now, Downes and Kensky start their day in wheelchairs, a constant reminder that they cannot stand up out of bed. Their prosthetic legs are located in a separate part of the room, so they have had to adjust every part of their routine. The couple are now patients at Walter Reed Military Hospital in Bethesda, Md., where they are focusing on regaining all of the mobility they had before the bombs went off.

Loring is doing well, physically—she ran four miles last weekend.

But, she still feels pain on a daily basis while she is trying to do regular activities. Despite the severe injuries, she said she did not feel anger at first because she was so focused on heal-

ing herself.

“Initially you’re in shock and have to focus on your initial recovery,” she said. “I think that’s what originally got me through it.”

“The onslaught of love.”

Both Downes and Loring noted that their community of family and friends helped them to survive the ordeal. Loring’s friends from her MBA program organized a schedule to bring her food and care.

While she was in the hospital, her fellow students rallied to ensure that she would graduate on time.

Shortly after the bombing, she joined a community of survivors that she continued to meet with through the first anniversary of the bombing.

She felt the need to speak with people who felt exactly the same as she did.

Downes’ friends from BC started a fundraising page for him. The money was immensely useful, he said, as he and Kensky rebuilt their lives, but it was the sentiment behind the gift that was even more meaning-

ful. During the five weeks he was in the hospital, his mother would sit with him and read the comments left on his page—it became a source of strength for him.

“That was all started by my BC buddies who I used to throw potatoes at and eat chicken fingers at Late Night with,” he said.

To Loring, the oft-used phrase “Boston strong” is about the community coming together. Downes feels that it means “the onslaught of love” that he and the other survivors have felt from the community. It’s a beautiful buzz phrase, he said, because everyone immediately knows what it means.

Boston is a very different city now than it was before the marathon bombing, and it can continue to grow and improve if the positive spirit that came out of the bombing continues to be harnessed, Wedge said.

“That’s really what the marathon’s all about,” he said. “It’s a testament to the human spirit.” n

CoReHub takes home $20,000 in University venture competition

By Pasquale DiFilippo Heights Staff CoReHub, an online marketplace that connects buyers and sellers of real estate, won the Boston College Venture Competition (BCVC) final competition this Monday, earning $20,000. Helpers, an on-demand tutoring service, won second place and $10,000, and 1950 Collective, a clothing company, won third place and $2,500. Winners were selected for the strength of their business plans, product, and market for their product.

This year’s competition featured a record 37 entrants.

The BCVC finals took place this past Monday in the Fulton Honors Library. The competition featured five BC student teams that moved on from the Semi-Finals two weeks earlier. Helpers, 1950 Collective, Noggin, Postcard, and CoReHub all presented in front of a panel of judges including CEOs, venture capitalists,

and professors.

The BCVC program is a University business plan competition designed to promote the growth of entrepreneurship at BC. The program also provides mentorship from students, faculty, and alumni to assist students in creating their businesses.

The organization offers sessions with entrepreneurs, executives, lawyers, and venture capitalists for students to learn more about the business landscape. This time around, students had more time to present their business, as opposed to the two-minute elevator pitch at the semi-finals. Following the presentations, while the judges deliberated, students from various clubs on campus that also aim to foster technology and entrepreneurship presented, including BC Grad Tech Club, Computer Science Society, Information Systems Academy, and BC Women Innovators Network. Next, alumni Miguel Galvez, BC ’12, of NBD Nano and Tom Coburn, BC ’13, of Jeb-

bit presented Soaring Startup Circle, which provides students with time, office space, resources, and mentorship to BC student companies.

Representing the 1950 Collective, Angela Jin, CSOM ’17, and Nashiki Maredia, University of Texas ’18, showed off their One Direction fan clothing brand, which was created after they both found that there was a poor selection of merchandise on the band’s web store. 1950 Collective sells t-shirts and phone cases featuring images of the band. In addition, the clothing line also donates 10 percent of its profits each month to a different female empowerment organization.

Xiaojie Li, A&S ’17, Sunny Luo A&S ’17, Jianing Wi, A&S ’17, and Andrew Ferdowsian, A&S ’16, presented next their on-demand tutoring service Helpers, which promises to connect students and tutors using an algorithm that takes into account price, location, and rating to find the best match for the particular student.

“Our application is incredibly flexible so that you can hire whoever you want, whenever you want, and get what you want,” Ferdowsian said.

Helpers also sees an opportunity to sell its API and connection systems to schools that can benefit from organizing their data. The group hopes to launch its application in September with a focus in the Boston area.

Noggin—Muhan Zhang, CSOM ’15, Francisco Mantica, A&S ’15, and Nicholas Shamlian, CSOM ’16—utilizes gyroscopes within Google Glass to translate head motion into text. The hope is that it will empower individuals with disabilities, allowing them to communicate using words. Noggin won third prize at this year’s BCVC SEED (Social Entrepreneurs Envisioning Development) Competition.

Postcard—John Doherty, A&S ’17, Theodore Chapman, CSOM ’17, and Jack Uesugi, CSOM ’17—aims to be the first ever merit-based platform for Instagram where users can share

their photos that they previously “Instagrammed” with 10 users on Postcard. If the users they share it with “like” it, then it is passed onto three more users. This allows the best content and the best content creators to gain the most exposure by making the content go viral.

CoReHub—Matt Burke, A&S ’17, Chris Castro, A&S ’15, Emaad Ali, BC High ’15, Gaetan Daphnis, CSOM ’15, and Doug Bent, A&S ’15—Is an online commercial real estate marketplace that seeks to fix the problem of unreliable real estate market information.

CoreHub connects buyers and sellers together with search options such as property size, price, and location.

Following the pitches, judges Greg Strakosch, BC ’84, of TechTarget, Kristin Keating, BC ’94, of EY, Bob Davis of Highland Capital Partners, John Morrissey of Shea Ventures, and Bridget Akinc of CSOM faculty deliberated to select the three winners.

After deliberations, BCVC hon-

ored its board members for their work throughout the academic year. The judges then thanked the participants and left with parting words of encouragement and praise.

“We were particularly impressed as we looked down the list of the range of grade levels represented—which I think bodes well for the future of this program,” Aknic said. “I really want to commend all of you for the leadership that you have demonstrated in participating in this event.”

Judges also acknowledged the advancement and growth of the program over the years.

Faculty advisor John Gallaugher, BC ’88, MBA ’90, praised those who are responsible for growing entrepreneurship at BC. “The students are just outstanding, the alumni couldn’t be greater, and our dean Andy Boynton has so much energy around galvanizing entrepreneurship and innovation at BC,” Gallaugher said. n

A4

The Heights

Thursday, April 16, 2015

A new way Boston Marathon 2015 to seafood From sneakers to cans, and every step in between

By Sarah Moore Asst. Metro Editor

Archer Parquette When I first heard of the Union Oyster House, I obviously assumed it was a Civil War-themed hotel for down-on-their-luck oysters.

My heart was thoroughly warmed thinking of those poor jobless oysters being able to find shelter and nourishment under the roof of the Union Oyster House. General Grant would be proud that his heroic legacy extended to caring for our unfortunate sea brethren. I carried this assumption with me for some time, until my mother suggested eating there.

“But ma, no self-respecting hotel would let us waltz in and eat the tenants like that,” I told her.

What followed was a very prolonged and exceptionally awkward discussion regarding my perception of the world and my general intelligence. During this discussion, it was impressed on me that oysters are incapable of checking into hotels or holding steady jobs. This revelation shocked me to the core. But let’s not get hungup on that. What matters is that I learned the true nature of the Oyster House and visited the establishment on a sunny Boston afternoon.

As I found out, The Union Oyster House is, believe it or not, a restaurant. It is the oldest continually-operating restaurant in the United States. Arriving for lunch, I was promised high-quality seafood and a worthwhile atmosphere. This was important because there’s nothing I love more than some worthwhile atmosphere.

I’m happy to say the Oyster House delivered on all fronts. Being from Wisconsin, I’m used to that high-quality Wisconsin seafood, straight from the back of a dirty truck.

I’m happy to say the Oyster House definitely delivered delicious seafood (although I did miss that ol’ “dirty truck” touch).

Now, I’m no food critic, but I can assure you that the fried clams were both fried and, in fact, clams, which beautifully complemented my glass of ice water and provided a delicate and yet tasteful treat for my palate. To quote renowned food critic Shackles “Greasy Tooth” Huntington, “The food was good, yeah, it was pretty good.”

On a more interesting note than the food was the atmosphere. The wooden booths and dim-lighting recall the colonial background of the institution. The large lobster tank and the nautical decorations add to the restaurant’s oceanic atmosphere.

By the end of the meal I was ready to hop on my trusty stallion and go off to cross the Delaware.

Another reason to visit The Oyster House is to see the “Kennedy Booth.” A sign overhead sets this large booth apart as the booth used by the famous Massachusetts clan for lunch meetings. I could practically picture those besuited politicians hunched over the table, plotting and munching on some clams.

As I sat there, eating my seafood and looking around the restaurant, I decided that this would be my favorite seafood restaurant from here on out. I would plant my flag on The Union Oyster House and defend it forever as the best place for seafood in Boston. I decided this because the world is black and white and all forms of compromise are inadequate. It’s always best to be unreasonable, defensive, and fundamentally furious about every choice, decision, and phenomenon in this world. At least that’s the way I see it.

In a final and overall viewing, it is clear to see that The Union Oyster House is a Boston institution and is, in many ways, representative of the city as a whole. Both the restaurant and the city hold roots in the Revolution and have histories filled with poignant Americana. If you spend any time in Boston and don’t visit this restaurant, I am forced to believe that you must be some sort of lobster-back sympathizing hate-filled monster, and I don’t want to believe that.

For all of you fun-loving Boston College students, I’d recommend taking an afternoon to venture down to this classic restaurant. What else are you doing with your life? Nothing. That’s what. So hop on the train and get moving. Eat some oysters, munch on some clams, pretend you’re a rich Massachusetts politician, a good time will be had by all.

Archer Parquette is an editor for The Heights. He can be reached at metro@ bcheights.com

O

n-campus closet space is usually an after thought. At times a point of contention between the lucky tenants of the elusive forced triple, most concerns about campus closets diminish at the hands of the Container Store and under-the-bed storage. Once graduated from the cramped cubicles of freshman year, closet space seems to only increase in upperclassman dorms. As the spring approaches, the auxiliary storage spaces of Vanderslice, Voute, and Rubenstein are usually lightly packed with now-obsolete winter coats and Bean Boots, remnants of the brutal Boston February. One closet in Ignacio, however, is cleared of empty suitcases and extra toilet paper, but filled to the top with cans.

“It all began with sifting through the trash cans in Iggy, and now just yesterday there was about five feet of bags of bottles and cans stacked in my closet,” said Brendon Anderson, A&S ’15, who has been collecting cans for the majority of his senior year.

Though he admits that his room has been cleaner in the past, he shouldn’t have to deal with the smell much longer as his bottle and can collection is in preparation for the Boston Marathon.

Over the past few months, Anderson has been making almost weekly drives to the Allston Redemption Center where he receives a five cent stipend for each recyclable bottle or can he has collected. After countless trips, Anderson managed to establish a friendship with the owners (despite how many times he has clumsily knocked over their organized stacks of recyclables), and he has now raised over $1,500 that will allow him to run with an official number in this year’s Marathon.

Though housed in his closet, Anderson has not been collecting alone. Friends and family are just a few of the others who have had a hand in helping to bolster his collection. Anderson’s bags of bottles originate everywhere from the bushes of the Mods to the Vanderslice recycling rooms. 4Boston groups have spent some of their weekly reflections collecting cans for his cause, and it is not uncommon for him to get an exciting call from a friend who hosted a party the evening before.

“It allows people to get involved,” he said.

“Especially for college students, of course everyone wants to make a donation but sometimes thats hard. This helps people realize the little, everyday things people can do to help out.”

Anderson spends a lot of his time finding

ways to help others out from his collection, even the idea for his unique method arose from donating the money from his recyclables at home to nearby charities. As one of the 4Boston councilpersons for the Roxbury nonprofit ACEDONE, African Community Economic Development of New England, Anderson spends four hours a week working with and tutoring local, East African youth.

His time at 4Boston and ACEDONE have allowed Anderson to establish lasting relationships with others outside of the Boston College community and also helped him realize his draw to service is also manifested in his fast-approaching, 26.2 miles.

T

his year Anderson is running the Marathon as a member of Team Respite in conjunction with The Michael Carter Lisnow Respite Center. Located just a mile from the starting line in Hopkinton, The Respite Center is one of the Boston Athletic Association’s five, sponsored, legacy charities.The BAA allocates official numbers to various charities, in addition to those who qualify for the Boston Marathon, as a philanthropic endeavor as well as in recognition of the Boston community.

100 percent of the money that Anderson’s cans have amounted to—as well as an additional $1,500 in donations he has received—will benefit the Respite Center in providing services to adults and children in need of care. Similar to ACEDON, The Michael Carter Lisnow Respite Center benefits local families in a variety of ways. Though from the outside it may seem like a quaint house in Hopkinton, the Center provides programs that range from after school care to employment support for those with disabilities and special needs.

“I think the two really hand in hand for me,” Anderson said. “I realize that all this service work that goes on at BC—that we are so fortunate to be a part of—really relies on so many other facets that we don’t even know. Running with The Center has allowed everything to come into place, and it’s something I wouldn’t realize by only working in a classroom for a few hours each week.”

After coming in contact with the center earlier this year, the decision to run wasn’t a difficult one to make. Being a part of Team Respite only made the idea more appealing and he knew he could make it to the finish line, as this race will be Anderson’s second Marathon.

Last year Anderson trained for the Marathon with The Campus School, and had intended to partake in the race as a bandit runner. With the imposition of safety

Arthur Bailin / Heights Staff

Brendon Anderson, A&S ‘15, has raised over $3000 for The Michael Carter Lisnow Respite Center. restrictions following the Marathon Bombings the year before, however, he ran his 26.2 miles a week early.

Though two marathons is a feat that most avid athletes would be impressed by, Anderson was not always a runner. In fact, the runner in his family was his brother who was a highlight of his high school track team. “His name is still on the walls,” Anderson laughed. “—And then there was me. I hated running—it was just never my thing.”

Though a younger Anderson wouldn’t have expected to run the Boston Marathon, let alone run it twice, after experiencing the tragedy of the Marathon Bombings in 2013 he decided he would start training that summer.

A

nderson was on campus during the bombings, an experience he can only describe as unreal.

Though panic-stricken by the confusion and terror of that day, when reflecting on that Marathon Monday, Anderson focuses on the sense of community that arose in its aftermath.

“I think for a lot of Boston College students, and for me at least, I think it was the first time we felt as we were a part of Boston as a community,” he said. “You can come in and out of this place in four years and then who knows where we will end up, but after that I knew that Boston is my home.”

It was this city-wide sense of community, resonated through efforts like the Boston Strong campaign, that inspired Anderson to try out his brother’s sport.

Although he initially thought it would be a miserable set of miles that he just needed to complete, after a summer of training, Anderson realized that running had become

one of the most important aspects of his life. Though his last Marathon was draining, once Anderson found the center he knew he would run again.

Most BC students spend their Marathon Monday on the sidelines, cheering on their peers and professors in between stumbles. They wake up early to don their tank tops and fanny packs, and head to Commonwealth Ave. in an excited stupor.

Most BC seniors don’t even make it out of the Mods that morning, but Anderson just hopes that he makes it out of bed in time to make it to Hopkinton this Marathon Monday.

“Oh, running? It’s definitely making me nervous, but I have to tell you—my biggest fear is oversleeping,” he laughed.

Though the final week before Monday has been busy—managing his time between final runs and last minute can deposits—Anderson is excited more than anything. He is enthusiastic about the support he will see throughout the course’s entirety, as this year he is running the Marathon with an official number rather than with the Campus School a week early.

However excited he is about reaching Mile 21 and running past all of his friends at BC, the prospect of jelly beans along the way—a snack handed out by many Marathon onlookers—is a close second in terms of what excites him about Monday.

Anderson knows that this run will be a very different experience than last year, but anyone who knows Brendon can attest to the fact that come Monday, he will run past BC with a smile on his face, wearing a red Respite Center T-shirt, with Katy Perry blasting from his headphones, and that he wouldn’t hesitate to stop and pick up a can along the way. n

Foot by foot: Marathon Sports provides sole of race

By Rebecca Moretti Heights Staff Situated on Boylston St. across from the Boston Public Library and right off Copley Square is Marathon Sports, a well-known running store and gathering place for runners from the Boston area and beyond, especially leading up to the Boston Marathon.

The company, founded by Howard Sagrans in 1975, opened its first store in Harvard Square but has expanded to seven retail locations in the Greater Boston area.

The Boylston store, opened in 2001, is perhaps the company’s best-known and most frequented, due to its central location right on the finish line of the famous Boston Marathon. It is one of four Marathon Sports stores located along the Boston Marathon course.

“Our store is a gathering place for the Boston community, a place for people to learn about the marathon and get involved in a more active lifestyle,” Assistant Manager Morgan Kennedy said.

Kennedy, currently a junior at Emerson College, has worked at the Boylston location since fall of 2014. Her duties as one of the managers include leading the staff and maintaining a positive atmosphere in the store.

“We fit people for shoes, and try to find the pair that is perfect for them,” she said.

In early 1992, the store integrated a foot and biomechanical analysis into the shoe selection process, which they call “The Right Fit.” This method, still used at the store today, helped pioneer the gait assessment component now utilized by many running stores throughout the country.

A lot of events happen around the time of the Boston Marathon, as various athletic brands seek to host promotional events and launches at the store. On

Monday night, the store held an event for the launch of a Saucony Boston-themed running shoe.

The store also hosts a running club every Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m., which is free to join and practices yearround.

The club meets at the store location and then runs along the Charles River, and is comprised of runners of all different ages and abilities. The club has been known to garner over 100 runners per meeting during the summer months, but a smaller number also brave it through the winter.

“I’d say we get about six to seven new runners each week,” Nick Panarello, a sales associate at Marathon Sports said.

“Sometimes, tourists join too since they want to run with people who know the area. We get runners from all over, and it’s a great way to meet people.”

Kennedy is another staff member who will be running the Boston Marathon this year to promote a charity organization, raising money for a non-profit called Back on My Feet, which promotes independence and wellness among the homeless.

“The marathon has always been really special to me,” Kennedy said, who grew up in the Boston area, and was never a runner before college. “Growing up, I’d always watched my dad run it, and last year for the first time I ran it with him.”

On Wednesday, running groups from various Marathon Sports locations will go to the marathon finish line to commemorate those who lost so much in the bombings. Marathon Sports is working to raise money for one of the survivor’s charities of the One Fund, Panarello said Following the 119th Boston Marathon, set for Monday, the store will continue to work to build a strong and

devoted community of runners, who continue to celebrate the sport.

Both Kennedy and Panarello agree that the employees represent the spirit of the company’s ideal, and are dedicated to helping people pursue their goals for

a healthier life.

“Running may seem like something to do just for fitness, but it’s really about community,” Kennedy said. “That is why I love working here—to help bring people into that community.” n

Rebecca Moretti / Heights staff

Marathon Sports will host a number of events during the 2015 Boston Marathon at its store.

The Heights

Thursday, April 16, 2015

A5

BC professor argues Dzokhar Tsarnaev trial appears far from over

By Thomas Banfield For The Heights

Wednesday marked the twoyear anniversar y of the 2013 B oston Marathon b ombings .

Despite this milestone, the story is not over.

On April 8, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, presided over by Judge George O’Toole, BC ’69, convicted Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on all 30 counts. The trial period, which preceded his conviction, lasted for a total of 16 days. Over this period, 95 witnesses were called to the stand to deliver testimony.

The prosecution controlled the vast majority of this process.

Tsarnaev’s defense attorney, Judy Clarke, called only four witnesses and openly admitted that her client was responsible for the attack.

A not-guilty verdict was never the defense’s goal from the beginning. Instead, it looked to “humanize him, in preparation for the sentencing phase,” Stephanie Greene of the Boston College business law department said.

The sentencing phase, which will begin after the Boston Marathon on April 21, will be the focus of the defense’s energy, making this portion of the proceedings far more contentious, Greene said.

The prosecution will likely argue that Tsarnaev’s actions merit the death penalty. To this end, it will emphasize a number of aggravating factors surrounding Tsarnaev’s crime. The prosecution must make clear the bombing was as a premeditated and intentional act of terrorism. It will also focus on the multiple murders that resulted, and the atrocity of the act.

The defense, in turn, will likely argue for the lesser sentence of life in prison. They will play up the mitigating factors involved in Tsarnaev’s story. These will likely include his troubled youth, susceptibility to the manipulation of his older brother Tamerlan, and young age at the time of the bombing.

In short, none of the facts surrounding the bombings are in dispute, Greene said. Instead, the parties will argue over conflicting views of the perpetrator. One will present him as a cold-blooded terrorist who intentionally inflicted as much harm on innocent people as possible. The other will depict him as a deeply troubled and misled youth guilty of an unforgivable wrong.

After these arguments conclude, the jury will once again be sent to deliberate. This time, they will be made to decide Tsarnaev’s

fate. The jury consists of seven women and five men, all Massachusetts residents. Each has explicitly expressed their willingness to apply the death penalty, if they were to deem it necessary.

The death penalty is in the case as it falls under federal law. The death penalty has been abolished in Massachusetts since 1984, and has not been exercised since 1947.

“Some people think the Massachusetts population is not as likely to give the death penalty as citizens of another state might be,” Greene said.

The law requires that a death sentence be unanimous among the 12 jurors, which could prove to be a challenge for the prosecution.

Opinion regarding the appropriate verdict is divided. Greene points out that many “feel that if there were ever a case for [the death penalty], this is the case.”

They believe that Tsarnaev’s actions, which took three lives and wounded 260 others, require that he pay the ultimate price provided under the law.

Others, however, “still don’t feel that the death penalty is the answer,” Greene said.

While some oppose the death penalty on a fundamental level, others believe that killing Tsarnaev might make him a martyr,

Jane Collins / AP Photo

Prof. Stephanie Greene argues that although Dzokhar Tsarnaev was found guilty, his trial could continue for years.

Greene argues. Still others assert that life in prison would be a more significant punishment. Greene makes clear that the emotional and ethical reasoning of the 12 jurors charged with the task of deciding upon a sentence will be a powerful influencing factor.

Judge O’Toole informed the jury that the sentencing phase would take approximately one month to complete. In an effort to maintain neutrality, the court specifically instructed jurors to

avoid Marathon related events this weekend, according to Boston.com.

If the jury were to return with a sentence of life in prison for Tsarnaev, proceedings would likely end there. If the jury sentences Tsarnaev to death, however, Greene believes there is “absolutely no doubt” that the sentence will be appealed.

The defense would attempt to file an appeal based on issues with procedure during the trial, or

flaws with the instructions given to the jury. According to law, such an appeal would first be filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Greene explained that the process could take up to several years.

For now, Bostonians are set to celebrate the running of the 119th Boston Marathon with the knowledge that the tragic narrative which began at the finish line two years ago has not yet reached its end. n

In honor of the Boston Marathon, five songs for the average runner Maggie Powers When someone runs past me in a Boston Athletic Association (BAA) jacket, clearly training for the Marathon, I always feel a little worse about myself as I struggle through a two- or three-mile run.

But even more astounding to me than the 26.2 miles (plus the dozens of other miles they rack up training) is that the average runner is discouraged from wearing headphones by the BAA and the elite runners eligible for prize money are prohibited from wearing headphones at all. My music is almost exclusively what gets me through my measly runs.

I like to think of myself as someone who has a decent taste in music. Thanks to a series of musically literate ex-boyfriends, I have a robust iTunes library that mostly stays away from the standard poppy and/or acoustic guitar playlists of many of my friends. But when I’m running, it has to be either bad pop or occasionally rap with a sing-a-long hook. That’s it.

I justify this weakness for

Top 40 hits with the theory that all humans have a self-destructive streak. It’s just bigger or smaller in some people. We crave things that are bad for us on some level, no matter what.

When I’m running, I’m doing something good for my body.

I can’t do something good for my mind too—sort of like how it is really hard to write a 15-page paper without eating Doritos.

I’ll try to listen to tUnEyArDs or LCD Soundsystem, which are just as upbeat and share similar rhythms with the Top 40, but less than a half-mile in, I become a pop junky, shaking and pleading with the iTunes gods to give me the stuff I need to numb my mind and body enough to get through.

Rather than fight this desire, I have given in. So, in honor of the Boston Marathon, I am sharing with you five of-the-moment(ish) songs to start a run and attempt to be in solidarity with the marathoners—or just make yourself feel better about not running 26.2 miles.

“Shut Up and Dance” by WALK THE MOON Even though this song is everywhere, the catchy guitar riff hooks you right from the beginning and gets you psyched to start your run. After the first verse, the break in the lyr-

ics—with only the thrum of the guitar and steady clap—sets an even beat and a rhythm to run to. The quiet 1-2-1-2 can be heard at all times and drives the song (and you) forward.

The lyrics are fun and take you to a Friday night instead of the road in front you. “Shut Up and Dance” clinched its spot as a beginning-of-the-run favorite with the interlude at minute two that matches the one after the first chorus. It not only reminds you of the pace at which you should be running, but the exuberant exclamation of “SHUT UP AND DANCE WITH ME!” that carries you into the final chorus is so enthusiastic that you may become that weird person in the gym who is dancing on his/her treadmill.

“Honey, I’m Good” by Andy Grammer The song starts with a burst of energy, with only a linedance-like clap and the vocals from Andy Grammer keeping up all the energy you just built from “Shut Up and Dance.”

After the initial intro, the instruments come in and it slows down a bit for the verses, letting you really settle in for the run. This works like a modified sprint, challenging you with some interval training without exhausting you completely and depleting your energy.

But the intro comes back for

every chorus, keeping the song interesting and allowing you to check your pace and energy for the remaining three minutes.

“7/11” by Beyonce Pretty much any Beyonce is great running music in my book, but her newest release, “7/11,” is even better. A bonus track for her much acclaimed, self-titled album, “7/11” is a touch grittier than the rest of the record and listening to it feels a little more badass than the average Beyonce song.

It has an artificial keyboard beat that works the same way as the clap in “Shut Up and Dance,” but it moves a little faster to really get you into the run. It tells you to pick up the pace and hopefully motivates you to keep running until you look as fabulous as Beyonce sounds. It is slightly irregular, punctuating some of the sassier lyrics. “Girl I’m tryin’ kick it with you” makes it sound like Beyonce is on your side as you push through this first mile. That, or I sort of feel like she’s trying to hang out with me, and my girl crush on her knows no bounds. I would be pretty okay with her hitting on me.

“Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars Running songs have a longer shelf life than the average track because of the tried-andtrue, worn in, almost lullaby-

like nature. I heard once that good pop songs are like nursery rhymes—easy to remember and not too complex—and that is part of why they are so successful. This is even more true for running music. The simplicity lulls you comfortably into the pace of the run.

“Uptown Funk” is the song no one can seem to get away from, but this makes it ideal to pound out the middle of a workout. It is catchy as hell and sheer, innocent fun, which makes it way more enticing than other songs it’s next to on the charts. (Take “Wasted,” for example. Any song that is built on the basis of “I like us better when we’re wasted” is depressing, no matter how upbeat it is.)

The three-minute break of just Bruno Mars repeating “Uptown funk you up / dance, jump on it” mixes up the song enough to keep your mind busy for the full 4:29, which is about a half mile without looking at your timer or mileage.

“Anything Could Happen” by Ellie Goulding “Eee eee eeee eeee.”

Ellie Goulding’s autotuned falsetto welcomes you to the middle of your run.

Even though this one is a few years old, it is still the perfect this-is-starting-to-get-difficult song. This quality is mostly due to two things: first, it gets

bonus points for being almost five minutes long. The second is a somewhat more elusive quality, a quality I couldn’t pin down for almost year.

It comes from the transitions into the choruses. They build and build, with the repeated “Anything could happen / anything could happen,” slowing gaining as the background singers and the weird “ee eeee ee” is added back in.

But on the last repetition of the phrase, it cuts off at “... anything could.” You are pulled up short, never getting the payoff you were waiting for, a watered-down techno beat cutting in instead. It’s maddening, like holding in a sneeze.

At the three-minute mark, a piano takes over for the eees, joined only by Goulding’s voice. Then the drums come back, strengthening, as Goulding’s voice gets more guttural and more powerful, singing “I know it’s going to be / I know it’s going to be,” with a final, perfectly timed “Oooowhooo” joined with the techno beat.

Payoff.

And it took her a full four minutes to get there. Look at that, you’re almost finished with your run.

Maggie Powers is the Managing Editor for The Heights.

She can be reached at metro@ bcheights.com

Local athletic apparel startup raises awareness for running culture

By Pasqualle DiFilippo Heights Staff Yale Track & Field alum Matt Taylor started the local apparel startup, Tracksmith, after he was frustrated with most of the apparel in the running industry seemingly looking identical other than the brands’ logos.

To solve this problem, Taylor left his position as head of global marketing for the running and training product line to work for Puma.

“Everything in the industry right now seems so futuristic, and robotic, and fluorescent,” he said.

Taylor created Tracksmith with the desire to sell running apparel with a timeless feel made of the highest quality materials available.

“We just wanted something that was much more conserva-

tive and understated from a color palette standpoint and something that you can go for a run in and then go to a coffee shop and not feel out of place,” Taylor said.

With Marathon Monday less than a week away, Tracksmith is gearing up for the big day in a special way.

With over 500,000 spectators expected to cheer on runners during the historic race, the Wellesley-based online retailer of premium running apparel will be launching a “pop up” store on 285 Newbury St. The shop is located just 400 meters from the Boston Marathon finish line and a block away from the marathon expo.

The days leading up to the marathon will feature the store being a gathering point for local runners to meet for a 7 a.m. morning run along the Charles

River, led by the Tracksmith team.

In addition, the store will host a revival of Runner’s Digest Radio Show featuring live recordings by legendary broadcaster Toni Reavis and Letsrun. com. Reavis is WBZ NewsRadio 1030’s announcer for the marathon.

Thursday afternoon, the shop will host a Q&A session with Mario Fraioli of Competitor Magazine with some of the best amateur competitors in this year’s race.

On Friday, Tracksmith will launch it s women’s colle ction, and finally on Saturday afternoon, the company will unveil its next issue of Meter Magazine, a quarterly journal that re-establishes a connection between the sporting heritage of running and its current participants and fans.

Tracksmith is also launching a limited edition Boston Marathon “BQ 15” singlet, which is exclusively available to those who qualified and registered for the marathon, paying tribute to the iconic race.

The company will also feature other marathon apparel as well.

“We only sell online—this will be the first time we have a physical presence in a store,” Taylor said. The brand sells T-shirts, shorts, singlets, hats, socks, and apparel bags online.

The apparel features Tracksmith’s logo, a gold rabbit complete with moisture wicking.

Tracksmith’s singlets are inspired by Ivy League track teams and features a diagonal sash that is symbolic in collegiate track and field dating back to Cornell’s teams from the late 1880s. The company’s

singlets are made from quality lightweight mesh. The garment also includes four safety pins for the runner’s bib. “ We want to car ve out a spot that felt differentiated and allowed us to use high quality materials and do domestic manufacturing,” Taylor said.

“We found that high school and college kids are still asking for our products for gifts.”

Taylor believes that most of his clients are repeat clients that are spreading the word of the brand. Tracksmith still sells accessories that are more affordable in the fall such as caps, gloves, and hats.

Taylor believes that most apparel companies have abandoned running to focus on health and wellness to capture a larger audience base.

“They have gone away from the sport, culture, and his-

tory—what I’d like to see is us continue to tell the story and use the culture references from the sport to tell our product’s story,” he said. Tracksmith, as opposed to major large apparel companies, seeks to capture and celebrate the history rooted in New England’s running culture, while providing runners with the comfort that they need.

Taylor is thrilled with his company’s success since he and co-founder Luke Scheybeler founded Tracksmith in 2012.

With more people running marathons than ever, according to Running USA, Taylor eyes an expanding market for his products. ”I think there’s so much room within running and there’s a huge opportunity in front of us to continue growing and really become the unique running lifestyle brand,” he said. n

The Heights

A6

Editorials

QUOTE OF THE DAY

New route to tangible results for UGBC’s advocacy

Boston College is piloting a new bus route that goes to StarMarket, The Mall at Chestnut Hill, Wegman’s, and The Street, the strip mall on Boylston St. This expansion of the University’s transportation offerings is in response to a post on Campus Voice, a website run by the Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC) that acts as a free space in which students can post suggestions as to how the student government can better improve life on and off campus. The new bus route represents one of the most tangible accomplishments of UGBC this year and a great reflection on the power of Campus Voice. Although the bus route should be celebrated, it will hopefully be the first in a series of more substantial changes brought on by UGBC, which is still working to establish itself as an authoritative voice for change within its new constitutional framework.

UGBC has supported a number of successful advocacy programs recently, which shows that its new organizational breakdown lends itself to educational programming. Looking to have a broad discussion on rape and sexual assault on campus, and how to prevent it, the Concerned About Rape Education (C.A.R.E.) Week that took place this past March brought in a myriad of speakers and culminated with a “Take Back The Night” event, bringing together students, faculty, and survivors for a night of solidarity for those that were affected by sexual assault.

Although C.A.R.E. week was primarily a University run event, UGBC provided

“Life has no meaning. Each of us has meaning and we bring it to life. It is a waste to be asking the question when you are the answer.”

-Joseph Campbell (1904-1987), American writer

much needed assistance. The same goes for F.A.S.T.—Faith, Action, Solidarity, Today—Week, which also occurred this past March, and allowed those returning from service trips, such as Arrupe, and organizations participating in service in and around Boston, such as 4Boston, a chance to engage in a conversation about integrating the lessons learned into their daily lives. These two weeks, paired with programming like the year’s Be Conscious campaign, show that UGBC is capable of creating dynamic programing that hones in on very specific topics, raising awareness on particular campus issues.

The absence of major Universitylevel policy changes brought on by this year’s UGBC administration, however, is evidence of some of the growing pains associated with flipping the student government purely into an advocacy body. The bus route represents a tangible change that students will be certainly aware of, and it’s important that there remain some physical reminders of the work UGBC does, considering much of its advocacy work so far has centered on policies mostly invisible to students, later to be left in administrative limbo.

3,411 students voted in UGBC’s most recent president and vice-president election, which is under half of the student population. This low turnout seems to reflect many students’ feeling of disinterest toward UGBC. Having an easier trip to local hotspots could help bring more students to platforms like Campus Voice and begin to build faith in the restructured student government.

Climate Justice’s potential path to legitimacy The Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC) voted Sunday to approve Climate Justice at Boston College (CJBC) as a registered student organization. This vote positions Climate Justice one step away from gaining full legitimacy as a club. The Office of Student Involvement (OSI) is set to decide the future of the group this week.

CJBC previously applied for recognition under a different name, BC Fossil Free. The group was rejected by the Student Assembly on grounds that the events it hosted were often off-campus (interestingly, it is not possible to host events on campus if your group is not registered) and did not enhance the University community. In addition, Fossil Free was turned down because it lacked an organized leadership structure. Climate Justice’s members believes that a horizontal leadership structure works best for their club, and they still do not have a designated president or vice president. This approach is consistent with many national activist groups; it is not, however not an approach allowed for BC clubs and organizations.

When students take tours of BC, they are told that if they cannot find a club for something they are passionate about, they can start one. The students in Climate Justice are clearly passionate, yet the vast web of rules required of student organizations have kept them from a formal status on campus. The reason why is disputed—Climate Justice members will posit that it is because the University does not like their cause, while members of UGBC say that Climate Justice did not previously adhere to their standards to be registered with the University. At least on the part of UGBC, this has changed. To pass the first standard to become a recognized student organization, Climate Justice has incorporated more educational activities and events.

The demands BC puts on clubs that wish to become registered organizations are lengthy, though not altogether unreasonable: clubs must have a power structure, have at least 10 members, understand hazing rules, and align with the University’s mission, among other requirements. With that, club members must complete a certain number of leadership training hours throughout the year and avoid trouble with the disciplinary system to maintain their registered status and their University funding.

Though Climate Justice’s potential and likely incorporation into the fold of registered organizations could redirect their energy to more bureaucratic matters—they will now be tied to the University through funding and can be disciplined as a group rather than individually—it is ultimately a useful move on the part of both the club and the administration. Climate Justice has attempted a radical route to push for the school’s divestment in fossil fuel companies for some time. Its members have held an unregistered rally and vigil, resulting in several of its members receiving disciplinary probation. Their activity with the administration is disputed, but has been unfruitful thus far in achieving any divestment-related goals. As a registered group, Climate Justice will be put into a system of strong conduct requirements, but will also be given several sanctioned forums for its views. If the club finds itself making even less progress within the system, then by all means, it can leave this structure and pursue its aims through unstructured demonstration. Navigating the University’s administrative structure could ultimately allow for more productive interactions between Climate Justice and the administration, and if the group is approved, we might see a stronger sense of understanding on both sides of the debate.

The views expressed in the above editorials represent the official position of The Heights, as discussed and written by the

Editorial Board. A list of the members of the Editorial Board can be found at BCHeights. com/opinions.

Heights

The

The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College Established 1919 John Wiley, Editor-in-Chief Chris Stadtler, General Manager Maggie Powers, Managing Editor

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Editorial

Magdalen Sullivan, Copy Editor Julie Orenstein, A1 Editor Carolyn Freeman, News Editor Michael Sullivan, Sports Editor Corinne Duffy, Features Editor Ryan Dowd, Arts & Review Editor Bennet Johnson, Metro Editor Ryan Daly, Opinions Editor Drew Hoo, Photo Editor Joy Li, Layout Editor

Letter to the Editor A Letter on Climate Justice from VPSA Barb Jones Whether it is in examining racial inequality or climate change, Boston College supports the exploration of issues through intellectual discourse and open dialogue. We emphasize the capacity of our students to sort through competing ideas and formulate opinions on their own without a prescribed opinion or action from the University.

Issues around climate, sustainability, and divestment are among a multitude of world issues that engage the attention of our students.

For the past two years, a group of students calling themselves Climate Justice at BC has requested that the University divest from fossil fuels. Members of the group have met with a number of university representatives, including the president, vice president of student affairs, and chief investment officer. Throughout these meetings, students have been told that the University is opposed to divestment on the grounds that the BC endowment exists to advance the academic mission of the University and is not a tool to promote social or political change. They have also been told that the University’s focus is on promoting sustainability efforts that reduce its carbon footprint, and educating its students in the area of environmental conservation. The Climate Justice group has also had a number of meetings with Student Affairs staff related to University events and policies. Unfortunately, these conversations have not always been accurately presented on their website and social media channels, or in their remarks to the media.

One issue that has been misrepresented is the question of group recognition. The fact is, the Climate Justice group applied for registered student organization status twice in the past two years, but did not meet the criteria of approval as determined by the student-elected Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC). Most colleges and universities have some form of registration or recognition policy for student organizations that is very similar to the one used at BC. This year, when several members of the Climate Justice group chose to stage an unauthorized march through campus, they were informed of the University’s policies and told that if they decided to participate they could be found in violation of BC’s Code of Conduct. Before the march began, the students were once again told that their protest was in violation of University policies and could result in conduct action. The students chose to proceed with the march. As a result, four students received disciplinary sanction. None was suspended from the University. Their sanctions ranged

from a “warning” to “probation.” It has long been the right of colleges and universities to determine the time, place, and manner of events held on their campuses, so as to help ensure the safety and wellbeing of their students as well the educational functions of the institution.

The Climate Justice group applied for a permit again for an on-campus rally on Sunday, April 12. They indicated that they were requesting a permit for “faculty from area universities.” As a private university, BC does not permit outside groups to use the campus for rallies and demonstrations. Accordingly, the student who applied for the program was given three options: 1) Postpone the event to see if the group’s latest registration status would be approved at the UGBC meeting on April 12, which would make them eligible for final approval as a registered student organization.

2) Partner with a student group that already has registered status to receive authorization for a permit that would allow BC community members to participate in the rally.

3) Host the rally in a public location that was contiguous to the campus, which the University would help facilitate with appropriate authorities.

Unfortunately, the group decided not to engage in any of these options and communicated publicly only that they were “denied a permit.”

As a university, BC vigorously sponsors learning and public discussion on climate change and related issues. Our environmental studies program is robust, interdisciplinary, and growing, engaging natural scientists, social scientists, and theologians, as well as students from many disciplines.

And our Department of Earth and Environmental Science carries the University’s scholarly interests and social commitments in its name. Our public programming—held for the benefit of the greater community—is equally vital, recently featuring a presentation on “Religion and the Roots of Climate Change Denial,” as well as a public discussion with environmental activist and writer Bill McKibben.

We believe, as a university, that we have an obligation to our students to engage with them on all matters of societal, cultural or intellectual interest. We hope that when our students are moved to activism, they choose to do so in the honest and transparent manner that expected of all BC students.

The Heights welcomes Letters to the Editor not exceeding 400 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.

Breck Wills, Graphics Editor Alex Fairchild, Online Manager Alec Greaney, Assoc. Copy Editor Archer Parquette, Asst. Copy Editor Arielle Cedeno, Assoc. News Editor Gus Merrell, Asst. News Editor Jack Stedman, Assoc. Sports Editor Tom DeVoto, Asst. Sports Editor Mujtaba Syed, Asst. Features Editor Chris Fuller, Assoc. Arts & Review Editor

Barb Jones Vice President For Student Affairs

Summer Lin, Asst. Arts & Review Editor Sarah Moore, Asst. Metro Editor Daniella Fasciano, Asst. Photo Editor Keaton McAuliffe, Asst. Layout Editor Francisco Ruela, Asst. Graphics Editor Juan Olavarria, Editorial Assistant Mattie Mouton-Johnston, Executive Assistant Hannah Say, Asst. Online Manager

Business and Operations

Jordan Pentaleri, Business Manager Jessica Turkmany, Advertising Manager Kayla Famolare, Outreach Coordinator Donny Wang, Systems Manager Zach Jayson, On-Campus Advertising Manager Madeleine Loosbrock, Account Manager Evan Gatti, Collections Manager Russell Puleo, Project Coordinator

The Heights

Thursday, April 17, 2015

A7

The effects of Rolling Stone’s failure

Christophe Bernier

The Atmosphere - With the green grass and sun continuing to stay out, people have been flocking to the Quad to hang out between classes, do homework, or toss a frisbee or football around. Walking from place to place across Boston College’s campus, you can feel a shift in the entire mood of this place. People can be heard saying to each other, “Beautiful weather today,” and it doesn’t for a moment feel like small talk. People are just happier, they can walk slower outside without having to worry about getting to the nearest, warmest building. Shorts and sunglasses are out, and we’re not walking around, suffocated under four layers. This might instill many with a sense of procrastination for all of the work that has to get done, but at least they’ll have the tans to make up for it.

Freakonomics Author Speaks - A big round of applause for BC bringing Stephen Dubner to campus to give an incredibly well-spoken and thought-provoking speech about incentives and how people respond to them. He mentioned something of importance for college kids to remember: those who are the most educated hold the most radical views on religious, moral, and ethical issues. That’s because those who are the most educated are able to most effectively comb through mountains of information, pick out the stuff that proves their point, and totally disregard everything else. You have to fight for your right to stay an open-minded person as your education goes on. Keep that in mind moving forward. Also, surround yourself with curious people that have interests nothing like your own. That’s the only way to challenge yourself and make you grow, Dubner said.

Patriots’ Day - The Heights won’t be publishing an issue this coming Monday, so you won’t have to be distracted by our ground-breaking stories and fascinating columns, and instead you can just enjoy more of the Boston Marathon. It is always one of the best days of the year, and the weather is shaping up to be beautiful. So get out there, wear your “Boston Strong” apparel, and cheer on the 30,000 people that are hitting The Wall, and running through it.

Last FuLL Week is Almost over - The last full week of classes is almost over, and we can’t believe it.

This is practically the last weekend that we have until finals are upon us, so we’re going to do the best we can to enjoy the weekend in all of its three-day glory.

Like Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down?

Follow us @BCTUTD

A little more than a week ago, Rolling Stone Magazine retracted its headlinebreaking article entitled “A Rape on Campus,” which covered the alleged gang rape of a University of Virginia student. The magazine pulled the article after a tremendous lack of evidence to back up the allegations. The recent and complete retraction concluded a painfully drawn-out nightmare. Well, scratch that. Phi Kappa Psi has threatened to sue Rolling Stone Magazine. We might be far from the end.

The failure shed some light on the tremendous role that reporting has on social activism. Even though reporting is unbiased—or ought to be—the power to influence a country-wide discussion lies in the selecting of stories that are out under national spotlight.

The author of the article, Sabrina Rubin Erdely, contacted a staff member at the University of Virginia looking for an emblematic case that would show “what it’s like to be on campus now … where not only is rape so prevalent but also that there’s this pervasive culture of sexual harassment/rape culture.” Clearly, she was fishing for a provocative article that would spark deeply needed conversation. It is important to realize that her intention was not necessarily to directly help this one rape victim, but rather to use her case to display the atrocities of sexual assault on campus.

But the case was poorly chosen, and from the beginning the reporting was riddled with flaws and blatant signs of contradictions and inconsistencies. At this point in time, I am in no place to

pronounce myself a qualified judge of the legitimacy of the story, and neither is Mrs. Erdely. But as someone who is about to report on such a controversial topic with the goal of sparking conversation, she must consider how the article will be perceived by the general public. Her fault was in her failure to recognize the confusion surrounding the situation. Even though this victim absolutely needed to be heard, this wasn’t what Erdely set out to do. She wanted to attract national attention, something paramount for any hope of change.

At the end of the day, it is unclear what really happened, and the incertitude of the situation led to individual speculations, and reinforcement of preconceived ideas. It’s so easy to look at

The case was poorly chosen, and from the beginning the reporting was riddled with flaws and blatant signs of contradictions. this article and take away points that are unrepresentative of the situation: that girls cry wolf, that fraternities don’t fuel the problem, that the rape issue might not be as significant as it has been played out to be. Next time a similar situation arises, the UVA case will undoubtedly be brought up to create some skepticism in regard to the legitimacy of the situation.

It’s undeniable. Even though Boston College is leagues away from perfection regarding sexual assault on campus, it has taken the initiative to further awareness of it. Media also has a power to fuel the movement. It must uncover the stories that demonstrate the issue at hand, in which the facts are scrutinized by the publisher so the state of our cam-

puses can be scrutinized by the reader.

Some rape cases aren’t so crystal clear.

But there are definitely ones that aren’t shrouded in mist and confusion, ones that are better suited to capture the spotlight and be placed under national scrutiny. Rolling Stone Magazine and Erdely, as members of the movement, have an obligation to recognize that.

As this case made the headlines, it took the attention away from many other cases, cases that I feel deserved more attention. Look at Yale, Harvard, and, more significantly, Florida State.

These cases seemed to have slipped past us, while this particular case captured tremendous attention. There is definitely caution that needs to be exercised, for such failures tarnish the reputation of the movement, something that has taken so much work to build up.

But what I find most deplorable is the effect that this had on Jackie, the supposed victim. By retracting the article, Rolling Stone left this woman completely out to dry. Even though they wrote a long, extremely self-critiquing apology, they pin the moral blame on this poor girl. Even if her testimony was confused, in no way does she deserve this infamy, in no way does she deserve all this animosity, and in no way does she deserve to be used as a tool to doubt the legitimacy of the presence of sexual assault on campus.

It’s time for media to acknowledge their role in the campus rape epidemic.

Even though all victims should be heard, not all cases should be placed under such a bright spotlight. Reporters must exercise caution when choosing these cases. Rolling Stone, Erdely, and one poor UVA student learned this the hard way.

Christophe Bernier is an op-ed columnist for The Heights. He can be reached at opinions@bcheights.com.

Everything has changed: how to reframe

Julia Bogiages St. Ignatius is the man. Although he started his life as an arrogant narcissist, he went on to attend one of the best universities of his time, found the Jesuit order, and promote education around the world. St. Ignatius accomplished much in his life, and with his values of education, reflection, and intention, it makes sense that Boston College reveres him.

But St. Ignatius is not the only person that BC holds in high esteem. There is Rev. Gregory Boyle, S.J., who founded Homeboy Industries. There is Colum McCann, author of “Let the Great World Spin.”

There is Brene Brown, a social worker and creative force behind the Ted Talk “The Power of Vulnerability.” There is Marina Keegan, author of the essay “The Opposite of Loneliness.”

And there is David Foster Wallace.

Although Wallace wrote many novels and short stories in his career, he is perhaps most known for his 2006 commencement speech at Kenyon College, titled “This is Water.” In this speech, Wallace argues that choice is the best important part of adult life because it is only through choice that life has meaning. When people say a liberal arts education teaches you how to think, they really mean it teaches you “how to exercise some control over how and what you think.” That is, a liberal arts education teaches you that you have a choice in what you think. Exercising this control, Wallace says, is the only way to keep from “going through your comfortable, prosperous, respectable adult life dead, unconscious, a slave to your head and to your natural default-setting of being uniquely, completely, imperially alone, day in and day out.”

Understanding that you can choose what and how you think may seem painfully obvious, like how the presence of water should be painfully obvious to the fish who live in it. But it’s not for one simple reason: we are hardwired to think and view situations through the lens of self. People are, in short, selfish. And because we automatically think about the world around us in relation to ourselves,

we never actually choose what and how we think. A shift from the paradigm limited by the self is difficult, but yields a crucial realization: “love, fellowship, [and] the mystical oneness of all things deep down.”

A liberal arts education opens students to the choice of how they view and what they view about the world.

This speech is nothing short of beautiful. It is moving, funny, and short enough for a commencement speech, but long enough to be thoughtful and impactful.

I hated it.

I remember reading the speech and being filled with irrational rage. This was unbelievable! Wallace is limiting college graduates, the very people poised to change the world, to only changing their mindset. Doesn’t he know that there are much bigger issues that face the world?

Doesn’t he understand that people, whose biggest problem is the long line at the grocery store, are incredibly lucky and privileged? Doesn’t he know that there are people in the world to serve? Doesn’t he

David Foster Wallace’s speech is nothing short of beautiful. It is moving, funny, and short enough for a commencement speech, but long enough to be thoughtful and impactful. I hated it. see how hypocritical it is to argue against selfishness, and then encourage students to only focus on their own thoughts and experience?

Most importantly, doesn’t he see that choosing what to think is an exercise in futility? That no matter what you think about, the situation remains the same? The traffic jam has not magically disappeared.

The line at the grocery store has not gotten shorter. Suffering and starvation have not been eradicated. In short, nothing has changed.

Only now, however, can I see that when you actively choose how you think and what you think about, everything changes.

Amy Poehler provides an example in her brilliant book, Yes Please. Everyone, she says, lives with a demon in their minds. This demon tells us we are

not beautiful or capable or worthy. This demon chips away at our self-esteem until we have none. But, Poehler writes, “through good therapy and friends and self-love you can practice treating the demon like a hacky, annoying cousin. Maybe a day even comes when you are getting dressed for a fancy event and it whispers, ‘You aren’t pretty,’ and you go, ‘I know, I know, now let me find my earrings.’”

Poehler is talking about the ability to reframe, which is exactly what David Foster Wallace argues for in his commencement speech. Instead of allowing her demon to dominate her head and her heart, Poehler recognizes that there is a problem and then chooses to think about something else. And because of this choice, something wonderful happens: Poehler’s actions change as a result. Instead of looking in a mirror and worrying about her appearance, Poehler decides to continue getting ready and then go to the event. Instead of being paralyzed by what she thinks she lacks, she moves through and focuses on what she can do.

It is only through reframing that our actions can change. Yes, sometimes reframing can seem trivial in comparison to the problems that plague the world. Yes, there are issues that we face that cannot be solved by only reframing how we view the situation. Yes, reframing can be hard when we have been told how we are not beautiful or capable or worthy.

But such a shift is a crucial first step to addressing these issues. A shift in thinking just about ourselves to thinking about ourselves in relation to others, and others in relation to ourselves, promotes actions that reflect this shift as well. That is, soon our actions will not be solely based upon our desires and immediate needs, but instead based upon what we can give and how we can serve other people. Perhaps it is a listening ear. Perhaps it is a hug.

Perhaps it is our love and compassion.

I no longer hate David Foster Wallace’s speech, because I think that he is right.

Reframing is crucial to handle the frustrations and boredom and obstacles of life.

Reframing is the crucial first step to not only saving your life, but for affecting positive changes in your own life, the lives of those around you, and the world.

Julia Bogiages is an op-ed columnist for The Heights. She can be reached at opinions@bcheights.com.

The opinions and commentaries of the staff columnists and cartoonists appearing on this page represent the views of the author or artist of that particular piece, and not necessarily the views of The Heights. Any of the columnists and artists for the Opinions section of The Heights can be reached at opinions@bcheights.com.

Thrones and death penalty

John Miotti It’s Sunday and the nightmare of another school week is quickly approaching. Yet something is different about tonight: Winter is coming. With its weekend premiere, Game of Thrones began a new season of white-walker doom, sibling love, and dragon destruction. Even though Jon Snow still knows nothing, the opening episode reminded loyal fans that there will be death, and lots of it. While the trials of Westeros unfold, however, another important event is taking place as we prepare for the Boston Marathon.

In the Game of Thrones season premiere, Mance Rayder refuses to pledge his people’s loyalty to a foreign army and is thereby sentenced to death. While his actions may be deemed noble, his sentencing to death represents a system frequently used to suppress dissenters (i.e. Ned Stark) in Westeros, a land, however fictional, that is defined by war and bloodshed. Though Game of Thrones is not reality, its imitation of our old, feudal society serves as a reflection of the barbarity that marked human history. While we recognize the distinct contradictions between our society and the one of Westeros, one commonality echoes throughout the episode and our current events: the death sentence.

On April 8, the Boston Marathon bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was found guilty of all 30 charges against him. Though the verdict has been reached, the trial will move to a second sentencing phase in which the jury will decide Tsarnaev’s ultimate fate: life in prison or the death sentence.

While many outraged Americans call for Tsarnaev’s death, it is important to understand that the lines of justice, and ultimately morality, are easily blurred in instances of extreme violence. Therefore, the decision to take a man’s life, a terrorist or not, must be carefully examined because it reflects the innermost values of our society. It sets a precedent for how we, as the United States, respond to terrorism.

The death penalty, oftentimes, seems an outdated form of institutional punishment.

While it may have been an effective barrier for stopping some of the world’s most dangerous people, the technology of our modern day prisons has increased substantially, creating facilities that can ensure the retention of inmates and the safety of the outside community. Economically, the network of legal fees and appeals that pollute a death sentence are fiscally inefficient and time consuming. A life sentence in prison additionally appears much more punitive than the death sentence, which in many ways serves as a quasi-“Get Out of Jail Free” card. Once in prison, many inmates must participate in community service, allowing even the most extreme offenders to be contributing members of society. Likewise, it seems hypocritical of us, as a country, to kill someone for murdering others. I find it difficult to imagine that killing the offender is restorative or satisfying for the victims’ families, who will never reclaim the lives of their lost loved ones.

The death penalty, however, is arguably justifiable under circumstances in which the person, while incarcerated, could motivate additional acts of terror. If such conditions hold true, then the continuation of the prisoner’s life is therein a threat to society and can rightfully be ended. While I recognize these standards perpetuate an increasingly ethical grey-area, it is important to acknowledge that perhaps the death penalty is not always morally wrong.

Nevertheless, I do not believe Tsarnaev is deserving of the death penalty. While I will never see his actions as rectifiable, I believe that as a society we should not attempt to fight death with death. We do not live in Westeros, we live in reality. We want to bring about social justice and peace in the world, and those two values must not be exclusively withheld from certain individuals. I refuse to accept the finality of death as the solution, because in death there can never be retribution—retribution for the offender, the victims, or the witnesses. Killing Tsarnaev will simply mask the problem of terrorism, muting the violence until it reemerges in the actions of the next fanatic.

We must turn to the root causes behind these offenses, searching for a solution greater than one man killing the next.

John Miotti is an op-ed columnist for The Heights. He can be reached at opinions@ bcheights.com.

The Heights

A8

Boston Marathon

Thursday, April 16, 2015

2015

The green mile Junior Ryan Reede prepares to run the Marathon for Celtics’ Shamrock Foundation bennet johnson | metro Editor

R

drew hoo / heights editor

yan Reede, A&S ’16, doesn’t run away from pain.

A 20-year-old junior from Los Angeles, Reede was a competitive triathlete in high school, and nearly turned pro during his senior year.

Triathlons are notorious for pushing athletes to their limits. They consist of a half-mile swim, 25-mile bike ride, and finish off with a 5K race. At his high school in Manhattan Beach, Reede would train for the circuit six hours each day, shuffling from morning practice to class, then to the streets for a bike ride, and eventually return to run at the track before bed each night. A frequent part of his daily routine included ‘Brick Workouts’—a triathlon exercise that combines the elements of cycling and running. Reede would bike for five minutes on a stationary bike on the track before quickly transitioning into a mile-long sprint. He would then repeat the exercise five times.

“I enjoyed seeing what my body was capable of doing,” Reede said. “I wanted to know how fast I could push myself.”

As a member of the “Junior Elite Series” circuit, Reede competed across the U.S., including Des Moines, Dallas, San Diego, Richmond, and Cleveland. A competitive swimmer, Reede focused his talents on open water training in the ocean, while improving his cycling in his free time on weekends. He was regularly one of the first athletes to complete the swimming and cycling portions of the race, which was enough to earn him an 11th place finish at the Junior Nationals competition. But he wanted more.

“The only thing I was missing was the run,” he said.

Now, set to begin his daily 10-mile run around the Chestnut Hill Reservoir nearly a week before participating in the 2015 Boston Marathon, Reede isn’t concerned with his usual 7:20 mile pace—all he wants is to log in the miles. His body doesn’t react well to the long-distance running, and he has frequent flare-ups of shin splints, runner’s knee, and tendonitis that have previously plagued him from pounding the pavement. His natural home is in the pool, and he knows he is not built to run marathons. Yet, he likes the idea of the challenge.

“I know consistency is important for me and that my body can’t usually handle that kind of mileage,” he said. “But I learned through triathlons how to read what is going on with my body, and I know I’ll be ready.”

He ran through the pain.

H

e arrives at TD Garden at 3:30 p.m., which is about four hours before game time. On this particular night, Reede has an inside look at how the Boston Celtics operate behind the scenes. He has been a ball boy for the Celtics since his freshman year, but his love for the team began when he attended games with his father and other family members.

Between the locker room and retrieving balls across the court, Reede has interacted with a number of high profile players, such as Rajon Rondo, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce. Before the game and hours after the final buzzer, Reede performs various tasks ranging from moving players’ cars to going out and buying things for them.

Reede sees all of the players in their personal lives, surrounded by their families, friends, and fellow teammates.

“You encounter a number of very trustworthy things while dealing with high-profile athletes,” Reede said. “A lot of the guys are very quiet, but they notice that you’re working hard to make sure they’re happy and everything goes as planned.”

Rajon Rondo took notice.

The former point guard for the Celtics took Reede and a group of other ball boys out to dinner at the waterfront Empire Lounge in the South End. Rondo was one of the players who also hosts underprivileged youth groups across New England at the Garden.

Known as the “Shamrock Foundation,” the team gives disadvantaged kids the opportunity to sit courtside while players warm up prior to the game, as well as greeting them during starting lineups.

Players like Rondo travel to elementary schools in the city’s most troubled neighborhoods and host events with the Celtics’ mascot, Lucky the Leprechaun, which are designed to keep kids in school and off of the streets through sports.

“Kelly Olynyk will go out to local school gyms and really put on a show for the kids,” Reede said. “He talks about his experience as an all-American at Gonzaga and staying in school and working hard.

The story really speaks to the younger kids, especially in Boston and how they love sports.”

In the wake of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, a dozen Celtics athletes were inspired to run the race, including assistant coach Jamie Young and former Celtics beat reporter Emily Austin.

In order to enter, the group decided to raise money for the Celtics’ Shamrock Foundation.

“These were people I interacted with on a daily basis,” Reede said.

“It was a great accomplishment for them, and I knew it was something I had to do before I graduated from this school and city.”

Feeling the contagious energy from the other marathon runners, Reede and his friend Kyle Rohde emailed the Celtics’ Foundation back in November. With no prior marathon experience, the two were accepted to run the race in March.

Reede had less than a month to train for a full-length marathon and raise $5,000.

T

he pool is his natural home.

After spending two and a half years as a member of BC’s Division I Swimming team, Reede finds himself back in the pool once again—but this time for a different purpose.

Reede began his training for the 2015 Boston Marathon in the water in order to get legs back in shape. Reede would do long kick sets at very low resistance and a high lactate threshold, working his calves, hamstrings, and quadriceps. Within the first two weeks, he would go on 3 to 4 mile runs in between pool workouts. He eventually grew to doing a 10K race twice a week. Now, with less than a week before the race, Reede is at a point where his legs are close to returning to full strength—operating on 8-10 miles every day.

“I’m not taking the normal, prescribed course to running a marathon,” Reede said. “I’m doing my own plan.”

Reede’s brief training stint has not come without its own set of challenges. While outside of the pool, he frequently gets shooting pains on the side of his leg, which make it hard to put pressure on his right foot.

Fortunately, as ball boy, Reede has access to some of the best doctors in sports medicine at his disposal. Todd Campbell, one of the main trainers on the Celtics’ staff, is also a veteran of the Boston Marathon and gave some free advice to Reede. He’s now eating a diet loaded with potassium and electrolytes, while running twice a day and constantly stretching with a foam roller. He’s working to train as smart as possible, by gradually increasing his mileage without getting hurt.

I

f you ask Reede what his biggest challenge has been in training for a full 26.2-mile race, his answer will probably surprise you.

“The fundraising,” he said. “It is definitely not my

forte.”

Reede has until the end of the month in order to raise his estimated $5,000 to benefit the Shamrock Foundation. He currently is at $1,170, but is hopeful that he will reach his goal in time. The rest of the team has raised a combined $68,000, with hopes of reaching the $100,000 mark. With his experience churning out triathlons, Reede is more worried about helping the foundation as much as he can than completing the arduous race.

With the 2015 Boston Marathon set for Monday, Reede has no expectations. He will be using his GPS watch to help him keep track of his distance and ideally hold a pace of about 7:20 for the initial and final six miles of the course. He wants to run a complete 26 miles and stay healthy throughout the race. Looking forward, Reede would like to stay injury-free and hit the 3:05 mark in order to qualify for the Boston Marathon in the future.

Even if his shins start firing up or his hip flexor suddenly gets tight during the middle of the race, you can count on him to keep running.

“I’m going to power through, because I know I need to run through it." n

Dear John: time for a new leader for sinking Olympic bid Bennet Johnson John Fish is positioned in the front of a small Fulton Hall conference room, addressing a group of Boston College students about leadership. He has a commanding presence, speaking in a very confident tone about his path to becoming CEO of Suffolk Construction Company—one of the most profitable general building contractors in the country—chair of the BC Board of Trustees, and most recently, the main force behind Boston 2024 Olympic Committee.

This is a man I have heard a lot about, but never seen in person. The controversial stories and rumors surrounding Fish seem to have drowned him in a never-ending sea of troubles.

Critics of Boston’s Olympic bid have attacked Fish and his leadership for a lack of transparency in the bid process, and not including the public on a decision that could ultimately affect the city’s legacy for decades to come.

Others have questioned how the privately-funded organization could possibly stage the Olympic ceremonies, which typically far exceed predicted costs, without taxpayer money. Some even think Fish should step down from his position altogether.

As Fish sat in the front of the Fulton conference room last week, his Olympics pitch seemed to be wrapped up in his personal struggles and accomplishments. Now married with three daughters, he described how his confidence on the football field helped him overcome severe dyslexia and perform better in the classroom.

As he stressed the potential impact the Games could have on the city in the future, he insisted that bringing the Games to Boston “isn’t about me,” yet many have seen the Olympic bid

effort as The Fish Show, entangled in the business history and somewhat arrogant personality of the construction executive.

What did Fish have to say about this?

“I’ve been doing what I think is best, and I’m going to go until the governor or mayor tells me to stop.”

Fish is trying to do what he thinks is right: bring a Summer Games to the city and state, create over 50,000 jobs and billions of dollars in economic development, and put Boston and America on the world stage. Along the way, the Olympics might just get the city a new T system that will actually work year-round.

The problem is that nobody believes him.

Boston 2024’s big plans were made behind closed doors, without the consideration of Bostonians, and the public can’t accept the organization’s pledge that the Games will be privately funded, especially when the Olympics has a history of exceeding

budgets. Public support for the bid has dropped to 36 percent, down from 51 percent in January, according to a WBUR poll. The Wall Street Journal reported two weeks ago, citing unnamed sources, that the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) may drop Boston’s bid if public support doesn’t improve, though the USOC quickly denied the report. Even papers from Italy, France, and Germany are talking about Boston’s bid struggles, as if it’s a time bomb ready to explode.

It’s easy for us to shoot the messenger, but with Fish leading Boston 2024 to an impending doom, maybe it’s time for a change. With public support starting to wane, now is the perfect time for Mayor Martin J. Walsh, WCAS ’09, to reclaim control of a process that he never wanted— but could potentially end his tenure as Mayor if he sits on the sidelines.

Despite Boston 2024’s claim that the Games will be privately funded, it is likely that billions of public dollars will go into transportation and build-

ing. Walsh and Governor Charlie Baker need to make it blatantly clear that Boston will use the Olympic plan to move the city forward—not just to please the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Swaying back and forth in his chair at the front of the conference room, Fish explained that the secret to his success in business is the importance of relationships and building a base of trust.

“You need people to be successful,” Fish said. “I realized if I wanted to be successful, I have to understand the art of teamwork and compromise.”

Maybe it’s time, John, to compromise and take a step back from your position. Public support is fading, and with time running out, Boston 2024 needs to show us a leader who can get a city to understand the Olympic dream.

Bennet Johnson is the Metro Editor for The Heights. He can be reached at metro@bcheights.com.

The Heights

A8

Boston Marathon

Thursday, April 16, 2015

2015

The green mile Junior Ryan Reede prepares to run the Marathon for Celtics’ Shamrock Foundation bennet johnson | metro Editor

R

drew hoo / heights editor

yan Reede, A&S ’16, doesn’t run away from pain.

A 20-year-old junior from Los Angeles, Reede was a competitive triathlete in high school, and nearly turned pro during his senior year.

Triathlons are notorious for pushing athletes to their limits. They consist of a half-mile swim, 25-mile bike ride, and finish off with a 5K race. At his high school in Manhattan Beach, Reede would train for the circuit six hours each day, shuffling from morning practice to class, then to the streets for a bike ride, and eventually return to run at the track before bed each night. A frequent part of his daily routine included ‘Brick Workouts’—a triathlon exercise that combines the elements of cycling and running. Reede would bike for five minutes on a stationary bike on the track before quickly transitioning into a mile-long sprint. He would then repeat the exercise five times.

“I enjoyed seeing what my body was capable of doing,” Reede said. “I wanted to know how fast I could push myself.”

As a member of the “Junior Elite Series” circuit, Reede competed across the U.S., including Des Moines, Dallas, San Diego, Richmond, and Cleveland. A competitive swimmer, Reede focused his talents on open water training in the ocean, while improving his cycling in his free time on weekends. He was regularly one of the first athletes to complete the swimming and cycling portions of the race, which was enough to earn him an 11th place finish at the Junior Nationals competition. But he wanted more.

“The only thing I was missing was the run,” he said.

Now, set to begin his daily 10-mile run around the Chestnut Hill Reservoir nearly a week before participating in the 2015 Boston Marathon, Reede isn’t concerned with his usual 7:20 mile pace—all he wants is to log in the miles. His body doesn’t react well to the long-distance running, and he has frequent flare-ups of shin splints, runner’s knee, and tendonitis that have previously plagued him from pounding the pavement. His natural home is in the pool, and he knows he is not built to run marathons. Yet, he likes the idea of the challenge.

“I know consistency is important for me and that my body can’t usually handle that kind of mileage,” he said. “But I learned through triathlons how to read what is going on with my body, and I know I’ll be ready.”

He ran through the pain.

H

e arrives at TD Garden at 3:30 p.m., which is about four hours before game time. On this particular night, Reede has an inside look at how the Boston Celtics operate behind the scenes. He has been a ball boy for the Celtics since his freshman year, but his love for the team began when he attended games with his father and other family members.

Between the locker room and retrieving balls across the court, Reede has interacted with a number of high profile players, such as Rajon Rondo, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce. Before the game and hours after the final buzzer, Reede performs various tasks ranging from moving players’ cars to going out and buying things for them.

Reede sees all of the players in their personal lives, surrounded by their families, friends, and fellow teammates.

“You encounter a number of very trustworthy things while dealing with high-profile athletes,” Reede said. “A lot of the guys are very quiet, but they notice that you’re working hard to make sure they’re happy and everything goes as planned.”

Rajon Rondo took notice.

The former point guard for the Celtics took Reede and a group of other ball boys out to dinner at the waterfront Empire Lounge in the South End. Rondo was one of the players who also hosts underprivileged youth groups across New England at the Garden.

Known as the “Shamrock Foundation,” the team gives disadvantaged kids the opportunity to sit courtside while players warm up prior to the game, as well as greeting them during starting lineups.

Players like Rondo travel to elementary schools in the city’s most troubled neighborhoods and host events with the Celtics’ mascot, Lucky the Leprechaun, which are designed to keep kids in school and off of the streets through sports.

“Kelly Olynyk will go out to local school gyms and really put on a show for the kids,” Reede said. “He talks about his experience as an all-American at Gonzaga and staying in school and working hard.

The story really speaks to the younger kids, especially in Boston and how they love sports.”

In the wake of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, a dozen Celtics athletes were inspired to run the race, including assistant coach Jamie Young and former Celtics beat reporter Emily Austin.

In order to enter, the group decided to raise money for the Celtics’ Shamrock Foundation.

“These were people I interacted with on a daily basis,” Reede said.

“It was a great accomplishment for them, and I knew it was something I had to do before I graduated from this school and city.”

Feeling the contagious energy from the other marathon runners, Reede and his friend Kyle Rohde emailed the Celtics’ Foundation back in November. With no prior marathon experience, the two were accepted to run the race in March.

Reede had less than a month to train for a full-length marathon and raise $5,000.

T

he pool is his natural home.

After spending two and a half years as a member of BC’s Division I Swimming team, Reede finds himself back in the pool once again—but this time for a different purpose.

Reede began his training for the 2015 Boston Marathon in the water in order to get legs back in shape. Reede would do long kick sets at very low resistance and a high lactate threshold, working his calves, hamstrings, and quadriceps. Within the first two weeks, he would go on 3 to 4 mile runs in between pool workouts. He eventually grew to doing a 10K race twice a week. Now, with less than a week before the race, Reede is at a point where his legs are close to returning to full strength—operating on 8-10 miles every day.

“I’m not taking the normal, prescribed course to running a marathon,” Reede said. “I’m doing my own plan.”

Reede’s brief training stint has not come without its own set of challenges. While outside of the pool, he frequently gets shooting pains on the side of his leg, which make it hard to put pressure on his right foot.

Fortunately, as ball boy, Reede has access to some of the best doctors in sports medicine at his disposal. Todd Campbell, one of the main trainers on the Celtics’ staff, is also a veteran of the Boston Marathon and gave some free advice to Reede. He’s now eating a diet loaded with potassium and electrolytes, while running twice a day and constantly stretching with a foam roller. He’s working to train as smart as possible, by gradually increasing his mileage without getting hurt.

I

f you ask Reede what his biggest challenge has been in training for a full 26.2-mile race, his answer will probably surprise you.

“The fundraising,” he said. “It is definitely not my

forte.”

Reede has until the end of the month in order to raise his estimated $5,000 to benefit the Shamrock Foundation. He currently is at $1,170, but is hopeful that he will reach his goal in time. The rest of the team has raised a combined $68,000, with hopes of reaching the $100,000 mark. With his experience churning out triathlons, Reede is more worried about helping the foundation as much as he can than completing the arduous race.

With the 2015 Boston Marathon set for Monday, Reede has no expectations. He will be using his GPS watch to help him keep track of his distance and ideally hold a pace of about 7:20 for the initial and final six miles of the course. He wants to run a complete 26 miles and stay healthy throughout the race. Looking forward, Reede would like to stay injury-free and hit the 3:05 mark in order to qualify for the Boston Marathon in the future.

Even if his shins start firing up or his hip flexor suddenly gets tight during the middle of the race, you can count on him to keep running.

“I’m going to power through, because I know I need to run through it." n

Dear John: time for a new leader for sinking Olympic bid Bennet Johnson John Fish is positioned in the front of a small Fulton Hall conference room, addressing a group of Boston College students about leadership. He has a commanding presence, speaking in a very confident tone about his path to becoming CEO of Suffolk Construction Company—one of the most profitable general building contractors in the country—chair of the BC Board of Trustees, and most recently, the main force behind Boston 2024 Olympic Committee.

This is a man I have heard a lot about, but never seen in person. The controversial stories and rumors surrounding Fish seem to have drowned him in a never-ending sea of troubles.

Critics of Boston’s Olympic bid have attacked Fish and his leadership for a lack of transparency in the bid process, and not including the public on a decision that could ultimately affect the city’s legacy for decades to come.

Others have questioned how the privately-funded organization could possibly stage the Olympic ceremonies, which typically far exceed predicted costs, without taxpayer money. Some even think Fish should step down from his position altogether.

As Fish sat in the front of the Fulton conference room last week, his Olympics pitch seemed to be wrapped up in his personal struggles and accomplishments. Now married with three daughters, he described how his confidence on the football field helped him overcome severe dyslexia and perform better in the classroom.

As he stressed the potential impact the Games could have on the city in the future, he insisted that bringing the Games to Boston “isn’t about me,” yet many have seen the Olympic bid

effort as The Fish Show, entangled in the business history and somewhat arrogant personality of the construction executive.

What did Fish have to say about this?

“I’ve been doing what I think is best, and I’m going to go until the governor or mayor tells me to stop.”

Fish is trying to do what he thinks is right: bring a Summer Games to the city and state, create over 50,000 jobs and billions of dollars in economic development, and put Boston and America on the world stage. Along the way, the Olympics might just get the city a new T system that will actually work year-round.

The problem is that nobody believes him.

Boston 2024’s big plans were made behind closed doors, without the consideration of Bostonians, and the public can’t accept the organization’s pledge that the Games will be privately funded, especially when the Olympics has a history of exceeding

budgets. Public support for the bid has dropped to 36 percent, down from 51 percent in January, according to a WBUR poll. The Wall Street Journal reported two weeks ago, citing unnamed sources, that the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) may drop Boston’s bid if public support doesn’t improve, though the USOC quickly denied the report. Even papers from Italy, France, and Germany are talking about Boston’s bid struggles, as if it’s a time bomb ready to explode.

It’s easy for us to shoot the messenger, but with Fish leading Boston 2024 to an impending doom, maybe it’s time for a change. With public support starting to wane, now is the perfect time for Mayor Martin J. Walsh, WCAS ’09, to reclaim control of a process that he never wanted— but could potentially end his tenure as Mayor if he sits on the sidelines.

Despite Boston 2024’s claim that the Games will be privately funded, it is likely that billions of public dollars will go into transportation and build-

ing. Walsh and Governor Charlie Baker need to make it blatantly clear that Boston will use the Olympic plan to move the city forward—not just to please the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Swaying back and forth in his chair at the front of the conference room, Fish explained that the secret to his success in business is the importance of relationships and building a base of trust.

“You need people to be successful,” Fish said. “I realized if I wanted to be successful, I have to understand the art of teamwork and compromise.”

Maybe it’s time, John, to compromise and take a step back from your position. Public support is fading, and with time running out, Boston 2024 needs to show us a leader who can get a city to understand the Olympic dream.

Bennet Johnson is the Metro Editor for The Heights. He can be reached at metro@bcheights.com.

TV REVIEW

MAD MEN

AMC’S AD DRAMA STAYS AS CRYPTIC AND STYLISH AS EVER, PAGE B4 ALBUM REVIEW

THEATRE REVIEW

TYLER’S LATEST ALBUM, ‘CHERRY BOMB,’ IS HARD TO DIGEST, PAGE B4

ELLE HEADS OFF TO BONN STUDIO TO GET HER LAW DEGREE AND FIND HER WAY, PAGE B2

TYLER, THE CREATOR

Legally Blonde The Musical!

SCENE Thursday, April 16, 2015

THE

BRECK WILLS / HEIGHTS GRAPHIC

The Heights

B2

Thursday, April 16, 2015

A Fuller Picture

The iron cast of ‘Thrones’

Chris Fuller There are a lot of reasons why Game of Thrones has been such a wildly successful television show. Viewers tune in to see if their favorite character will get killed off. Others are so engrossed in the war for Westeros that they just need to stick around to see who ends up on the Iron Throne.

A few might even check back in for the multitudes of sex scenes or beheadings that this series is notorious for. There are countless reasons that Game of Thrones has held such a grip on its audience, but there is one central factor that is the source of the show’s appeal: its casting.

If you’ve read the Song of Ice and Fire novels, this point might ring a little more poignantly than if you haven’t. Sure, the show’s creators might have made some of kids a bit older than they are in the novels, but these details are trivial when looking at the general characteristics all of these actors have fleshed out of the written material so well. Every time I hear a casting announcement, I’m thrilled to see who the casting team has added to the ensemble. Whether it be the mute and minor Ser Ilyn Payne (beautifully portrayed by Wilko Johnson) or a more central character like Daenerys Targaryen (played by Emilia Clarke), these actors have been incredibly successful in bringing text to life. Sure, a foundational feature of acting is that an actor should become their character, but the cast of Game of Thrones obliterates the conception that there are even actors behind these characters—each actor is, almost to a fault, their character.

Try to imagine anyone else but Peter Dinklage playing Tyrion Lannister. The other week someone suggested that I try to imagine Warwick Davis as the part and I cringed in pain at the thought. The show might have been an utter disaster based on that one hypothetical change alone.

Some might despise her, but Cercei Lannister’s essence is perfectly captured by Lena Headley. I’ve been a big fan of the series since it started, but I lost a little of my enthusiasm for the main characters after trudging through the A Song of Ice and Fire novels.

After a nice yearlong break from reading or watching Game of Thrones, I got bone-piercing chills when I saw Cercei’s haunting glare in this season’s premiere. Lena Headley is both gorgeous and frightening, and it’s impossible to imagine anyone else taking on the part. The only other person I find even remotely acceptable in her role would be Charlize Theron, and if she were cast in the role I wouldn’t only detest Cercei Lannister’s character, I would despise her as Cercei too.

Seeing different actors play off of each other is another great feature of this perfect cast. I’ve been waiting for years to see Jon meet Melisandre, and just seeing the two on screen together was overpowering. Kit Harington and Carice van Houten handle the tension between Jon and Melisandre beautifully. You can feel Jon’s palpable mistrust of the fire-priestess and Melisandre’s almost playful curiosity of Jon without them uttering more than a few lines of dialogue.

“Are you a virgin?” she asks him in a rattling equivalent of an elevator.

“No,” is Jon Snow’s typically curt response.

“Good,” Melisandre purrs.

I wish I could go into detail about each and every remarkable cast member of the show—they all deserve credit for what they have brought to the show. These actors make even the most malicious and unredeemable villains of the entire series some of the most interesting and (in a way) admirable characters on screen. I didn’t think much of Roose Bolton when I read the books, but Michael McElhatton, with his harsh, intimidating growl and stone cold expression has brought out the subtle traits of the Northern villain beautifully.

Especially seeing the transition from the page to the screen, I can’t find a flaw with a single casting choice throughout the series. Looking forward, the Dornish are some of my favorite characters in all of Westeros and I can’t wait to see what justice the newest cast members of this season will bring to these hot-headed, mystical Dornishmen.

Chris Fuller is the Assoc. Arts & Review Editor for The Heights. He can be reached at arts@bcheights.com.

Drew Hoo / Heights Editor

‘Legally Blonde’ musical focuses on Elle Woods’ journey from sorority president to Harvard lawyer, dealing with privilege, class struggle, and gender stereotypes along the way.

Elle Woods, infamous blonde, hits the Bonn Studio

By Liz Holman Heights Staff

Elle Woods is more than just a Gemini Sagittarius with a signature color. She represents perseverance and a will to succeed. Thanks to the direction of Sam Goober, A&S ’15, the Boston College community gets to see Elle’s success story first hand in the Bonn Studio Theater over the weekend.

Goober puts a new spin on the movieturned-play looking at ways in which patriarchal and discriminatory forms of thinking are embedded in a text and uses her stage direction to undermine them in hilarious and fun ways.

The play begins by introducing Delta Gamma President Elle Woods (Meghan Linehan, A&S ’17) soon to be engaged to Warner Huntington III (Alex Rougeau, A&S ’18)—the two would become UCLA’s most perfect power couple. This all suddenly changes, however, when instead of proposing, Warner decides to break up with his “pooh bear” to pursue someone more “serious.” This is when Elle starts her journey to becoming a serious girl, the type of girl Warner would want to put

a ring on. This ultimately leads her to Harvard Law School (thanks to a recommendation from Oprah and an impressive dance number), where she experiences life as an “other” for the very first time.

Elle feels out of her element here.

She’s on a different coast at a place that stresses an academic calendar over one dominated by social events. She is surrounded by people who choose black over pink. Suddenly, “serious” becomes all too real. Right off the bat, Elle is made fun of for the way that she dresses, her pep, and her answers in class. This all speaks to something fundamentally human—the tendency to make face value judgements and to discriminate against “otherness.”

These social constructs of gender, race, and origin begin to be challenged as the play unfolds. We see the effects of privilege in her interactions with Emmett (David Makransky, A&S ’17)—he sings about the “chip on his shoulder” and how it has motivated him to study so hard for his law degree while working two jobs. He encourages Elle to put a chip on her shoulder too, and to embrace what’s stacked against

her. He sees an exceptional student and person, not just a Malibu Barbie, and for the first time Elle is able to see herself apart from the image her peers reflect back to her.

Elle goes on to challenge the ideas of femininity and marriage as she transforms from a girl whose only wish is to marry a well-dressed, successful man into a woman who “still [has] so much left to do” on her own. She no longer aims to define herself through marriage but rather through personal achievement and growth. She gets a chip on her shoulder and it’s the best thing that ever happened to her. Elle sings about the fact that she “feels so much better” about her own achievements than she ever did in the hot tub with Warner.

Once Elle scores a highly competitive internship with her Criminal Law professor, Professor Callahan (Andrew Babbitt, A&S ’15), the musical spotlights gender and sexuality once again.

Working on a case with Callahan, Elle becomes convinced that her defendant’s (Caroline Portu, A&S ’16) poolboy Nikos (Chris Pinto, A&S ’16) is gay.

She does the “Bend and Snap” in front of him, getting no response—it is ef-

fective on 99.9 percent of the straight male population, after all. She brings it up to her team, and they become hotly divided on the question of whether he’s “gay or European.” They can’t be sure until Callahan tricks him into admitting it on the stand—turns out he’s gay and European.

After that day on trial, Callahan asks to speak to Elle in his office. Once she gets there, Callahan hits on her and tries to tell her that she must do “certain things” if she wants to be successful. Elle quits the team and runs off, dejected.

If that’s the only reason she got the internship, she resolves, perhaps Harvard Law isn’t for her. Luckily, Emmett, Vivienne (Christy Coco, A&S ’17), and her chorus of supportive sisters bring her back to her senses and encourage her to stay. As it turns out, they were right because Elle ends up graduating at the top of her class, surrounded by all of her friends.

The play isn’t just empowering. It’s also an absolute joy to watch. From stuffed dogs to hilarious and ridiculous scenes at the salon with Paulette (Lili Chasen, A&S ’15), there’s never a dull moment. n

This weekend in arts

By: Chris Fuller | Associate Arts & Review Editor

Boardwalk- Mile 21 (Saturday 1, P.M.)

The annual Showdown (Saturday, 7 P.M.)

Come to the Mod lot Saturday afternoon to celebrate the Marathon Monday Boardwalk tradition.

There will be carnival games, inflatable obstacle courses, a mechanical bull, fried dough, burgers, and giveaways.

Chorale Spring Concert (Saturday, 8 p.m.)

Head back to Newton to see the University Chorale of Boston College perform its Spring Concert in Trinity Chapel this weekend. This will be one of its last performances before the end of the year. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door.

‘Legally Blonde’ (Thursday through Sunday)

The Boston College Contemporary Theater presents Legally Blonde! Check out the show’s Facebook page for information on times for each day. Students can search for tickets on the show’s Facebook page.

Come see the best of Boston College’s dance groups battle out at AHANA’s Annual Showdown. The Showdown will be held in Conte Forum Saturday night.

Students can scout the Showdown’s Facebook page for extra tickets on sale.

Clare kim / Heights staff

‘Monkey Kingdom’ (Opens Friday)

‘Unfriended’ (Opens Friday)

Tina Fey narrates this Disney nature documentary. The film focuses on a blonde-bobbed monkey mother, Maya, that does everything she can to protect her newest baby and help him grow.

A disgraceful video of Laura Barns is anonymously posted on the Internet. Several days later she commits suicide. Her classmates are then haunted by a mysterious force that hacks into Laura’s social media accounts.

‘Paul Blart 2’ (Opens Friday)

World Fiesta (Thursday, 11-3 P.M.)

Famed mall cop, Paul Blart, takes a needed vacation with his daughter Maya. The two go out to Las Vegas for one last family trip before Maya goes to college. Vegas, however, isn’t as quaint as Blart expects it will be.

The International Club of Boston College will be throwing a World Fiesta Thursday. Swing by O’Neill Plaza Thursday morning and afternoon for international games, food, and other activities.

THE HEIGHTS

Thursday April 16, 2015 Thursday,

B3

Spring into Style

Sportswear If you’ve flipped through the glossy contents of any fashion magazine in the last month (or year) or so, you know that sportswear has been dominating the fashion scene for quite some time. Combining the comfort and wearability of sneakers with the androgynous looks that often rule the runways, sports-inspired wear has everyone slipping into a pair of crisp white Adidas or Nikes. Track jackets, mesh, and paneled and sheer tops have offered a unique twist on the sportswear trend. Sometimes making an impression doesn’t always have to involve frills or flounce.

Spring streetwear, more so than glamourous red carpet looks, is often the biggest indicator of how last season’s biggest runway trends have transitioned into everyday wear. With temperatures reaching into the low seventies this week, it’s finally time to shed those Canada Goose jackets and L.L. Bean boots we’ve grown tired of seeing during the dreary winter months and slip into a pair of strappy sandals or maybe even a flowy top. Spring is finally here and it’s all about incorporating comfort and accessibility into some of this season’s hottest trends.

Hippie chic Speaking of the 70s, the disco era we’ve all come to love (and sometimes hate) is back at full force this spring.

From suede to fringe-lined jackets, hippie-chic dominated the runways this season. Featuring romantic silhouettes and flowy dresses from Alberta Ferretti, Emilo Pucci, and Chloe, Fashion Month proved that bohemian-inspired looks are here to stay. Billowing skirts, paisley motifs, and lace-lined maxi dresses have gradually moved from the runway into everyday wear by focusing on light and flowing silhouettes.

It’s all about clothes with movement.

Blue Jean Baby Trade in the Canada Goose for a Canadian suit this spring.

Denim has always been a long-time staple in fashion, but this season has taken denim to whole new level. Designers such as Gucci and Stella McCartney have incorporated denim color palettes into their lines while Burberry Prorsum evoked faded blues and various textures into its denim trench coat. Blue in general has been hue to watch out for, with the revival of nautical-inspired wear this spring.

Summer Lin | Asst. Arts and Review Editor

White Out Gone are the days of forgoing white after Labor Day. Last season saw an emphasis on grid pattern and gingham prints, along with clean lines and minimalistic looks. This spring, the monochromatic trend is taking the fashion world by storm. While people trend to gravitate towards all-black looks during the colder months, some are opting for crisp, white outfits in order to look effortlessly chic along with the rising temperatures.

THE HEIGHTS

B4

Thursday, April 16, 2015

In its final hours, ‘Mad Men’ cycles back to Don Draper

BY SEAN KEELEY Heights Senior Staff This review contains spoilers.

As the ninth episode of Mad Men’s seventh season opens, Don Draper is standing in the kitchen making milkshakes for his two sons, Bobby and Gene. At first glance, it might be a shot from several seasons ago: a pre-divorce Don playing his weekend role of all-American, suburban Dad, with a bright red polo shirt to match. In reality, though, Don is far from that life: the year is 1970, he is preparing for a second divorce, and his brief exchange with his ex-wife Betty and her husband Henry only underscores

how much things have changed.

The tension between change and continuity has always been at the heart of Mad Men, a show where the tumultuous transformations of the 1960s play out through the eyes of the stubbornly unchanging Don Draper.

Sure, plenty has changed in Don’s life since Season One—he has burnt through two marriages and countless affairs, created his own agency, been fired and rehired, and gone public with his traumatizing past. But for all that, Don remains the same alcoholic, womanizing, mysterious cipher he was from the very start.

Sunday’s episode was entitled “New Business,” but the fresh

start implied by that title proved illusory. Yes, Don began a new relationship with Diana, a local waitress with whom he had a shady back-alley tryst last week.

But in his relationship with Diana, as in so much of his life, Don remains haunted by the past.

As we learn more about Diana, the parallels become clear.

Like Don, she comes from poor Midwestern origins. Like Don, she is divorced. Like Don, she is a serial liar. Diana fi rst tells Don she has no children, then gradually reveals that one of her daughters died and she has abandoned the other. Perhaps Don is attracted to Diana because her past is just as troubled as

TELEVISION

MAD MEN ‘NEW BUSINESS’ NETWORK AMC RELEASED APR. 13, 2015 OUR RATING

PHOTO COURTESY OF AMC

his—but does such a relationship signal a new beginning or a dead end?

In many ways, “New Business” devotes itself to tying up loose ends and dealing with old business. Don’s second wife, Megan, flies to New York to finalize divorce proceedings, joining her mother and sister to move her stuff out of Don’s apartment.

The Megan storyline was the most tiresome aspect of Sunday’s episode, saddling the viewer with unnecessary and unconvincing Calvet family squabbling. With only five episodes left, why waste precious screen time exploring Megan’s sister issues, or giving her mother another excuse to sleep with Roger?

Another Megan plotline involved Harry Crane, who promised the budding actress some career help if she would sleep with him. It was a more intriguing scene than the earlier family drama, revealing just how slimy Harry has become, but its ultimate relevance to the final arc of the show remains unclear. Perhaps these plots will pay off by the show’s finale—showrunner Matthew Weiner is the master of slow-burn storytelling—but for now they seem like mere distractions in an episode whose main goal was to get Megan out of Don’s life. Eventually, she did make her exit, telling off Don as a liar and scoundrel but walking away with a $1 million settle-

ment check.

Back at the office, Peggy and Stan meet Pima, a famous art photographer whose services they are eager to solicit for a new ad campaign. As played by a somewhat masculinized Mimi Rogers, Pima seems to embody the women’s liberation movement, seductively making moves on both Stan and Peggy with little regard for gender norms or expectations. Rogers’ playful performance made her scenes more exciting than the average SC&P business storyline, and suggested that the show may tilt heavily toward feminist themes in its final episodes.

In the end, though, Mad Men always comes back to Don, and “New Business” was at its best when exploring his personal demons and crises. A brief elevator encounter with his former flame Sylvia was another reminder of Don’s past, and perhaps suggests that their storyline is not yet closed. As ever with Mad Men, though, Don’s fate remains an open question.

The episode closed with a classic Mad Men shot, where the spatial composition of the image tells the whole story. Don returns home from work to a barren, furniture-less apartment, standing alone in the middle of where his life used to be. What, or who, will fill that space by the show’s end? We only have five episodes left to find out. 

Is ‘Cherry Bomb’ a masterpiece or a joke? Only Tyler knows

BY JAMES FARRELL Heights Staff Tyler, The Creator thinks so highly of his work on Cherry Bomb that it’s difficult to tell how serious he is. In “DEATHCAMP,” the album’s opening song, he muses, “Named the album Cherry Bomb / because Greatest Hits sounded boring.” Later in the album, “SMUCKERS” boldly claims (with the help of guest performers and renowned self-promoters Kanye West and Lil’ Wayne), “Cherry Bomb, the greatest f—king album since the days of sound.”

But what makes Cherry Bomb unique is how unabashed Tyler is, how he creates these audacious, swear-ridden tracks with an implicit chuckle. The rapper has developed a reputation for ticking off critics, and he knows it. “I can’t wait to see the look on y’all n—as faces / That boy T is nuts, surprised his thoughts isn’t chaffing,” he says on “BUFFALO.” It’s almost all a joke to Tyler, The Creator—we are never quite sure what is genuine, and what is just there to get a rise. The masterstroke of Cherry Bomb is that nagging possibility that it’s all a joke, that the album’s

explosive claims may be nothing more than flashy, low-consequence entertainment like the firework it is named after.

Cherry Bomb is a formidable production: thick and layered, messy and dirty, filled with everything from synthesized patches in “DEATHCAMP” to sultry and jazzy horn lines in “2SEATER.” The album is littered with distortion. The drums, the patches, the vocals all have an implicit, distorted growl. It never gets stale though, and Tyler makes a concerted effort to try new formats and transitions.

In “2SEATER,” the smooth and dreamy arrangement, highlighted by horns, strings, and heavenly backing vocals, cuts off suddenly to a conversation between Tyler and a girl in a car. Tyler angrily says, “The f—k you turn my music off for?” The girl responds that she wants him to roll the window up, and he responds “But I love it when your hair ... ” and the song returns suddenly on the word “Blows,” this time driven by piano.

Maybe it’s creative and grandiose, or maybe not. Maybe it’s just flashy, and maybe Tyler knows it’s a bit heavy handed. But that’s

exactly the point. Either way, he’s in your head.

Beginning with the seventh track, “BLOW MY LOAD” (the subject matter being exactly what it sounds like), a recurring motif is introduced. At the end of the song, a radio jingle plays, and we are to understand the next half of the album as a collection of songs played over a car radio as Tyler and his girl drive. The thematic purpose of this decision is a little hard to determine, and it’s unclear whether every song is supposed

to be understood as a part of this scene-within-an-album. Like everything else, it could be an audacious aesthetic. But if you don’t think too much about it, it makes for an entertaining listen, taking many creative turns, all in the context of a well-produced collection of exciting raps.

Of course, there is a real possibility that these songs really are grandiose, self-conceited, heavy handed, and a bit over the top. There is a significant chance that Tyler, The Creator is sitting

somewhere writing these songs in complete seriousness and earnestness, believing he is somehow changing the world and the music industry. And that latter point is fine—but it’s just better to think he’s doing it with a sly smile.

And if one thing is certain, it’s that regardless of his intention, he doesn’t care at all about what critics have to say or think. He’ll continue his audacious ways, smile or no, unable to contain himself at the thought of what our faces will look like. 

ALBUM

CHERRY BOMB TYLER, THE CREATOR PRODUCED BY ODD FUTURE RECORDS RELEASED APR. 13, 2015 OUR RATING

PHOTO COURTESY OF ODD FUTURE RECORDS

Passion Pit mellows out with an album best for rainy days

BY CALEB GRIEGO Heights Staff Capturing the forlorn feelings of rainy days as well as the promise of blossoming friendships, and adolescent optimism, Passion Pit’s Kindred highlights the woes and joys of family matters. Kindred, Michael Angelakos’ third studio album, continues to deliver a nuanced style and

sound from what has normally been labeled alternative electronic dance.

In this latest work, Passion Pit gives a simultaneously fun and uplifting soundtrack to a narrative of growth and renewal.

Lyrically, the whole of the album does persist in the style we’ve seen from Passion Pit in the past. A catchy chorus, interspliced with some spurring thoughts from Angelakos seems

to be a winning formula. As a subset of the electronic dance movement, Passion Pit functions essentially as alternative even when it it flexes it synthetic and mixing muscles while remaining tethered to its rock roots.

This is captured well in the lyrical content of the songs. Kindred continues on in this fashion, using an electronic, synthetic sound, while keeping a rock pulse with impassioned lyrics. In Kin-

ALBUM

KINDRED PASSION PIT PRODUCED BY COLUMBIA RECORDS RELEASED APR. 14, 2015 OUR RATING

PHOTO COURTESY OF COLUMBIA RECORDS

ON-CAMPUS EP REVIEW BY JAMES FARREL

SMALL TALK Us Kids

It’s hard to believe that Small Talk’s debut EP Us Kids was recorded in Lyons Hall. The production quality is jarringly impressive, from the resonant and reverbed guitar chords of opening track “Retrogradient” to the churchlike synth organs and vocal harmonies of “Song

For Tulips.” But for anyone who followed Small Talk’s original run as Seaver’s Express—the indierock band fronted by brothers Sean and Brian Seaver, which ended with Brian’s departure in December—the most surprising part of the EP is how quickly the band completely reinvented itself.

Us Kids constitutes more than a shift in band members and a change in name. Small Talk has

dred especially we see a more centered theme—kin, personal growth, and friendship. Certainly in this album, attentive listeners will find the same kind of relatability and comfort in the simple words as they have found in the other work of Passion Pit. In sound, Passion Pit varies its tempo through the album much more than in the past. From fast paced builders like “Five Foot Ten (I)” to slower more reserved pieces like “Looks Like Rain,” Kindred offers a variety of energy levels.

This is appreciated and welcomed in the often high octane nature of any derivative electronic dance genre, yet Passion Pit again finds the middle ground.

Two of the singles, “Lifted Up (1985)” and “Until We Can’t (Let’s Go)” function as a backbone for the album. The tracks provide a strong intro and center to the album. These songs set the precedent thematically, speaking of the sky, rain, love, and youthful ambition.

On a technical level, the use of the synth in different areas gives each song some variation, but similar sounding progressions. The synth does not overshadow or mute the presence of the drum and bass—which classically function as a track’s lifeblood.

In many cases, Passion Pit’s ambient synths seem to trade off against the drums and bass. This facilitated the feelings of progression and variability within the songs themselves, but made the distinction between songs more difficult.

Kindred seems to point Passion Pit in a new direction. Thematically, Angelakos finds a center in speaking on the subject of youthful progression, giving a certain amount of uniformity to the album. Though one may find enjoyment in individual pieces and delve wholeheartedly into the sentimental lyrics Passion Pit is known for, nothing on the album stands out as unequivocally unique.

Though the previous album, Gossamer, was known for being chaotic and unpredictable in progression and nature, Kindred feels almost too safe.

Electronic dance and its derivative forms may not be for everybody, but there is an enjoyable experience to be had in Kindred.

Certainly, some of these songs will infect the airwaves in the coming summer and solidify Passion Pit’s spot in its indie pop niche. The song “Lifted Up” said 1985 was a good year. For Passion Pit, 2015 will be a good year too. 

traded the indie-rock, Strokestinged sound of days past for an exploratory, highly produced collection of psychedelic grooves.

And it’s a complete success—a bold and exciting statement of things to come.

The second track, “Brothers,” hints at the hard choices the Seaver brothers had to make, as Seaver sings, “I am so sorry you could not stay.” Brian’s absence

is most felt in the vocals—one gets the sense that Sean is still getting a feel for filling in the front man spot. But the instrumentals, from all members, are fluid, and Seaver’s expertise in production takes over on the EP. The new songs have a Pink Floydian ambition in their trippy, yet laid back grooves. It’s more Tame Impala than The Strokes. There is a fascination for loops and

CHART TOPPERS TOP SINGLES

1 Uptown Funk!

Mark Ronson 2 Sugar Maroon 5 3 Love Me Like You Do Ellie Goulding 4 Earned It The Weekend 5 Thinking Out Loud Ed Sheeran 6 Trap Queen Petty Wap 7 Style Taylor Swift 8 G.D.F.R. Flo Rida feat. Sage the Gemini & Lookas

TOP ALBUMS

1 The Album About Noting Wale 2 Furious 7 Various Artists 3 Ludaversal Ludacris 4 To Pimp a Butterfly Kendrick Lamar 5 1989 Taylor Swift Source: Billboard.com

MUSIC VIDEO

MICHELLE TOMASSI

“YOGA”

JANELLE MONAE

Janelle Monae really, really likes yoga—so much that she wrote an entire song about it. The R&B singer’s newest video, “Yoga,” featuring Jidenna, is the first to be released from her upcoming label compilation Wondaland Presents: The Eephus. Whether you bend it, flex it, or stretch it, Monae wants to see it all—but she won’t do it herself.

If you were hoping to see Monae do the mountain pose, the cobra, or maybe the down dog, you’ll be a bit disappointed.

We begin with Monae levitating in a meditative pose within a well-lit room that appears to be a yoga studio—and that’s about as close as she gets. Once the video reaches the chorus, the yoga studio becomes a dance party—and the electro-beat mixed with the dancers’ synchronized clapping reads more “club” than “relaxing exercise.” Suddenly, we are actually inside a yoga studio with people doing actual yoga on actual mats.

In the middle of it all is Monae, but instead of getting on her own mat, she’s grooving and popping, wearing a stylish, gold … crown.

As she sings, “I’m too much a rebel / never do what I’m supposed ta,” we’re reminded that Monae can move however she’d like—because she’s the Q.U.E.E.N. The end shifts to the a restaurant after-hours, with Jidenna sitting at a table for a candlelight dinner—and if you had any suspicions that “yoga” is code for “sex,” Jidenna’s lackluster verse confirms just that. Finally, everyone invades the establishment for a sensual dance finale—and it appears that nirvana has been achieved once everyone has joined in to “do that yoga.” The “Tightrope” singer is all about movement and freedom.

While “Yoga” is entertaining for its catchy chorus, it just doesn’t capture Monae’s unique soul-funk vibe. And be warned, you won’t be able to do a down dog ever again without hearing Monae’s sultry voice encouraging you along.

Namaste. 

samples (the vocal samples at the beginning of “Retrogradient”) and found sound recordings (the siren on “Us Kids”). Every song is well layered and carefully considered, from the deep drums to the scattered synth and piano lines. Us Kids provides a snapshot of the BC musicians’ abilities to create high quality music right here on campus, and it’s a beautiful snapshot indeed. 

CLASSIFIEDS

Thursday, January 17, 2014

THE HEIGHTS THE HEIGHTS

B5 B5

Thursday, April 16, 2015

COMMUNITY HELP WANTED $$ SPERM DONORS WANTED $$ Earn up to $1,200/month and give the gift of family through California Cryobank’s donor program. Convenient Cambridge location. Apply online: SPERMBANK.com.

Interested in placing a classifed ad? email ads@bcheights.com

VISIT BCHEIGHTS.COM FOR UPDATED NEWS EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK.

The Heights

B6

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Johnny Adams goes yard as BC tops Harvard at Shea

By Tom DeVoto Asst. Sports Editor Boston College freshman Kyle Dunster trotted to the mound, wide-eyed and ready to go, in his first career start at Boston College. With some classic Stevie Nicks blaring in the background, Dunster looked relaxed and confident in throwing his warmups.

Harvard leadoff hitter Mike Adams welcomed him to the starting pitching game as only an experienced hitter can—he sent a meatball from Dunster flying over the left field fence.

The next batter, sophomore Drew Reid, came up next and slapped a double into the outfield, and Mitch Klug brought him home with an RBI single on

the next at-bat. After issuing a walk later in the inning, BC head coach Mike Gambino decided he had seen enough.

For Dunster, his start ended before it ever really began—he lasted only 2/3 of an inning, allowing three hits, two runs, and a walk.

But fortunately for the freshman right-hander from Greenwich, Conn., his team was there to pick him up.

In a sloppy game consisting of four errors and nine unearned runs total, BC (18-18, 6-11 ACC) returned to a .500 record on the season with a 13-10 victory over the Harvard Crimson (16-17, 5-7 Ivy League). Reliever Tyler Hinchliffe stepped in for Dunster in the first inning and locked down the Crimson for the next

three, carrying the Eagles into the fifth inning with his effective pitching.

The teams traded runs backand-forth for the first few innings, but shortstop Johnny Adams blasted a home run to left-center field in the bottom of the fifth to put the game out of reach for good. It was Adams’ first career homer, the highlight of a big game the native of Walpole, Mass.

“It was such a great feeling to get my first collegiate home run,” Adams said following the game.

“I’m glad I could contribute at the plate to a good team win.”

Gambino had high praise for Adams’ work ethic following the game and said that it could not have happened to a better person on the team. The bench let out

a raucous cheer when Adams’ shot fell on the other side of the outfield wall, and they whooped and hollered for their teammate as he rounded the bases.

“Johnny is one of the hardest workers I have ever been around, and he’s one of the best kids I’ve ever been around,” Gambino said. “His teammates love him, coaches love him, umpires love him, and he’s an unbelievable kid. We were all fired up and the bench went nuts.”

Adams, fellow sophomore Michael Strem, and junior Joe Cronin are the only three players who have started every game this season for the Eagles. Adams is a defensive specialist, forming a formidable double-play combination with second baseman Blake Butera and first baseman

Cronin. He struggles at the plate, carrying a .186 batting average into the game against Harvard, but he was the hero against the Crimson on Wednesday.

The Eagles received a majority of their production offensively from the three through five hitters in the lineup, who combined for six hits and eight runs. Cronin, Strem, and Stephen Sauter paced BC with timely hitting in the middle of the lineup.

Gambino was happy to see production coming from the entire team, especially taking the loss of superstar outfielder Chris Shaw into account. The fifth-year head coach said that it would take a concerted effort from the entire team to replace what he brings to the table, and he sees that happening with the

Eagles.

“There’s not one guy in the country that replace what Chris Shaw gives you,” Gambino said.

“In my mind, he’s the best hitter in the country. The awesome thing is that no one has to. We have to have nine guys working together to fill the void, and the same goes for the pitching staff with (Jeff ) Burke out.”

The game on Wednesday marked the Eagles’ fifth consecutive win on a weekday, a streak that stretches back to late March.

BC has owned the Northeast thus far in the season, suffering its only loss to the University of Connecticut. Don’t expect that reign of dominance to end if the roster continues to answer when teammates get knocked down. n

Eagles continue New England dominance with victory

By Victoria Johnson Heights Staff Two outs. Two men on. Two strikes . All Blaise Whitman had to do was throw one more strike to Nick Sciortino to get the Rhode Island Rams out of the third inning trailing by one.

Sciortino patiently waited as three balls passed over the plate.

With a full count, Whitman had one more chance to end the inning. The Eagles needed to make something happen after leaving men stranded in the past two innings. Sciortino bucked that trend.

The URI hurler threw just what Sciortino needed to send a rocket to right center for an RBI double, clearing the bases and sending two men home.

Throughout the afternoon, the Boston College Eagles (1718, 6-11 ACC) stayed patient and made big hits under pressure to defeat Rhode Island (13-13-1, 6-3 A-10) by a score of 5-2 in a midweek matchup.

The teams got a lot of men on base early in the game, but left them stranded. Things changed

in the third, when first baseman Joe Cronin singled in Johnny Adams to break the scoreless tie in the third. After a Michael Strem flyout moved Blake Butera and Cronin up to second and third, Sciortino stepped up to the plate.

The catcher stayed patient and hit a double sending Butera and Cronin home giving BC a 3-0 edge.

BC head coach Mike Gambino and the Eagles knew this play was a game changer. “That’s enormous,” Gambino said. “If we don’t get those first couple of runs there it changes everything, the difference: 3-0 and 1-0.”

The Rams tried to cut the deficit. After pitches hit two players and Mike Sherburne hit a fielder’s choice, the bases were loaded with no outs. Rhode Island got one back in the fourth when Hess scored off a sac fly.

“You figure you’re giving up one run but then you’re just on damage control,” Gambino said.

“Give them one and settle back down and get back to work to get out of that.”

But the Rams were no match

for Eric Stone. The senior righthander tossed six innings allowing only one unearned run while walking two and striking out four. With the win, Stone dropped his season earned-run average to 1.66 while improving to 3-0.

Once he left, the bullpen had an up-and-down outing. Brian Rapp allowed the Rams to load the bases for John Nicklas, but the latter kept URI off the board in the seventh. In the following inning, however, Nicklas’ two-out walk to Derek Gardella proved costly, as Matt O’Neil doubled him in to cut BC’s lead to one.

Yet in the bottom of eighth, the Eagles came out swinging Butera got hit in the head by a pitch and advanced to second on a wild pitch. With one out and Strem at the plate, Butera stole third. The senior edged off third base, thirsty to reach home plate. “He’s reading down angle, reading down angle and as soon as the baseball is hit down he’s going hard,” Gambino said.

Strem made contact and Butera instantly flew towards

home. Rams second baseman Chris Hess threw the ball high over home plate out of catcher Chase Livingston’s reach, just barely guaranteeing Butera’s safety at home.

“If [Butera] doesn’t do an unbelievable job with that read, he doesn’t get to score because the ball stayed in the infield,” Gambino said. “These are the things that Blake does that don’t show up on the score sheet but are a game changer.”

The Eagles added the insurance run shortly after, with a two-out single by D onovan Casey to bring Strem home and give BC a 5-2 lead with one inning left.

The Rams’ Tom Caputo started the inning with a double to give his team a chance to come back. Justin Dunn had other plans and struck out three batters in a row to close the game and get his fourth save of the season.

The Eagles stayed patient and maintained composure throughout the game to send the Rams to the buses for a quiet ride back to Rhode Island. n

Arthur bailin / heights Staff

Blake Butera (3) turns two, helping the Eagles out of another tight spot.

Christian needs to recover from the losses of Hanlan, Magarity From Hanlan/Magarity, B8 Garland Owens, Daryl Hicks, Steve Perpiglia, and Sam Donahue. That’s not a good situation to be in.

Perpiglia and Donahue will never be in the regular rotation, and can only hope fill the role of bench players, acting as the heart and soul of the team while pushing their new teammates in practice.

Clifford has a lot of weight on his shoulders to provide the majority of the offense after averaging a tame 6.9 points per game this season. Next to him, Diallo is hit or miss at this point. The only glimpse of Diallo was the exhibition against American International College, in which he showcased

his size and raw power but little else in terms of scoring or defense.

Another big question mark is Darryl Hicks, who has yet to play a game here due to two torn ACL’s. If the ups and downs of Clifford’s career are any indication, then immediately coming into a big role after extended absence due to injury is a big, long-term undertaking.

The only glimmer of hope is Garland Owens.

Following the loss to North Carolina in the ACC Tournament to end the season, Batten—whose role was to bring the energy and defense—looked at Owens across the locker room and referred to him as his little brother. If Bat-

ten represented the core values of a Jim Christian team, then Owens has received the torch and will take over for Batten in the coming years, and could play a key role in the development of A.J. Turner, a top rated recruit.

While the addition of Turner next year represents a step forward for the program, the incredible exodus of 10 players is a huge step backwards.

No need to hit the eject button quite yet, but Christian needs to do a lot to pull his ailing fighter jet back up to full speed.

Jack Stedman is the Assoc.

Sports Editor for The Heights.

He can be reached at sports@ bcheights.com

Francisco Ruela / Heights editor

Olivier Hanlan (21) and Will Magarity (11) will depart BC next year, leaving huge holes in Jim Christian’s lineup.

College baseball should avoid the acronyms and adopt wood bats From Wooden Bats, B8 1973, the last year college baseball was an exclusively wood league.

But the NCAA couldn’t be satisfied and felt the need to boost the offense back up. Starting this season, it mandated a new flat-seamed ball, which research shows can travel farther than the raised-seam balls previously used.

Early results suggest the baseballs are working to raise run and home run rates, and the NCAA has already proudly patted its back with a colorful infograph.

But, if history is any indicator, this won’t last. Each time the NCAA added on new regulations to the metal bat in the past 40 years, offenses temporarily declined but eventually rebounded as players adapted and technology worked around regulations.

Why limit offense anyway?

Why can’t we let it rise, free and unconstrained? Those who see issues with returning to wood,

including Boston College baseball head coach Mike Gambino, cite the ill effects of capping offense as an issue of general popularity.

“You know, you see TV ratings and crowds and everything—they want to see scoring, they want to see home runs,” he said. “All that went down when they made one adjustment to the bat [by adopting BBCOR], right. If you do it again, it’s going to go down even more, I think it would probably hurt the game.”

Scoring is great, don’t get me wrong, but not the type of scoring that gives the advantage to gorillas. Baseball is not about mindlessly bashing ball after ball over the fence. Sure, fans love the long ball—the mere popularity of the Home Run Derby shows that—but those who really want to watch famous power hitters blast flashy homers will tune in to MLB games, not NCAA ones.

Even with run totals at historic lows, college baseball

teams still score more runs per game than MLB teams. Granted, the strength of pitching staffs across the board in the NCAA are nowhere near the level of the Majors.

Louisville’s staff, for instance, boasts a 2.07 ERA in 32 games this season, which is the best in the ACC and sixth-best in the nation. Wake Forest, on the other hand, has an ERA of 5.73 in 38 games—a difference of 3.56. The span between the ERAs of the best and worst MLB teams in 2014, however, was just 1.71.

Rather than trying to compensate for a lack of power hitters, college baseball should focus on producing good baseball players.

Teams should be smarter about how they manufacture runs. Big, strong kids should also need sharp hand-eye coordination and good, fundamental swings to succeed.

Similar to NCAA basketball compared with the NBA, college

baseball can hold an edge over the Bigs by having shorter games and shorter seasons. By implementing BBCOR—which this year seemed to reflect that of wood—the game became quicker. An average regional national tournament game in 2011 lasted just 2 hours, 44 minutes, compared to an average of 3 hours, 3 minutes the year before. Instead of a grueling 162game season, NCAA teams wrap up in less than half that.

By building up fundamentals and acclimating to wood before the minor leagues, college players will also be better prepared for the professional game. In the past several years, more and more high school level leagues have required wood. Cape Cod Baseball and other leagues will be filled with college players this summer—all who will use wood.

The biggest problem, like always in college athletics, is an economic one. Today, a good, quality, metal bat from

a reputable company can cost between $300 and $400, whereas a comparable wood one costs about $75. The latter seems far more affordable, but for one flaw: wooden bats break.

Over the course of a season, a college baseball team might play over 70 games (including a postseason run), and its players will take exponentially more swings in practice. These programs, especially the smaller ones that can get very limited funding, may have a hard enough time affording a few bats that can last an entire season, let alone dozens of wooden bats.

And then, of course, there are sponsorships. Bigger programs have deals with bat companies that not only get them free bats and other equipment, but also big bonuses. BC baseball, for example, has a contract with Easton. Louisiana State University, which has one of the biggest baseball programs in the country,

inked a deal with Wilson in 2011 that gives LSU $275,000 annually in compensation, according to AL.com.

Tennessee, one of the weaker baseball programs in the SEC, still receives $125,000 every year from Wilson. These programs are very unlikely to want to give up those checks, especially when so much money goes to football and basketball.

Ultimately, wood should be used in college, but realistically this isn’t changing anytime soon.

The NCAA thinks it has found a nice medium, and maybe it has.

For now, all fans of college baseball can do is sit back and enjoy even baseball while it lasts. In the meantime, I’ll start working on the next acronym.

Alec Greaney is an editor for The Heights. He can be reached at sports@bcheights. com.

B7

THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, April 16, 2015 Standings TOM DEVOTO

31-15

MICHAEL SULLIVAN

28-18

JACK STEDMAN

26-20

HEIGHTS STAFF

21-25

Recap from Last Picks

Game of the Week

The Clemson Tigers took two out of three games in their series against Birdball over the weekend. Kenzie Kent’s hat trick led lacrosse over Virginia Tech, 13-11. Softball couldn’t muster any offense, while the team’s pitching faltered, in a sweep

by Notre Dame. The Boston Red Sox won in two of their three games against the New York Yankees in the Bronx.

Baseball

Georgia Boston vs. Tech College

Guest Editor: Drew Hoo Photo Editor

“The Mets aren’t going anywhere this year (as usual).”

MICHAEL SULLIVAN

This Week’s Games

Sports Editor

JACK STEDMAN

Assoc. Sports Editor

Asst. Sports Editor

TOM DEVOTO

DREW HOO Photo Editor

Baseball: BC vs. Georgia Tech

BC, 2-1

BC, 3-0

Georgia Tech, 2-1

Georgia Tech, 3-0

Softball: BC vs. Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech, 3-0

Georgia Tech, 2-1

Georgia Tech, 3-0

BC, 3-0

BC

BC

BC

UNH

MEB

MEB

MEB

MEB

Lacrosse: No. 4 BC vs. New Hampshire Who will win the Boston Marathon?

Boston College baseball will take on Georgia Tech in its annual ALS Awareness Game. GT comes into Chestnut Hill with a 24-12 record. The Yellow Jackets have been on a hot streak lately, winning seven of their past nine contests. The Eagles will have to deal a lethal pitching attack led by starter Brandon Gold and closer Zac Ryan. The Yellow Jackets are paced by Keenan Innis at the plate, and he leads the team with a .321 batting average. This is the fourth ALS Awareness Game, held in honor of Director of Baseball Operations Pete Frates.

Saturday, 1:30 p.m. at Shea Field

Eagles continue New England dominance with victory From Butera, B8 move to his left or a step in makes the difference between a runner being safe or out. “I’ve seen so many games over my years that I’ve really come to understand what’s going on in each situation,” Butera said.

Shortstop Anthony Melchionda took repeated ground balls in practice from Gambino, fielding each with ease. He made the toss over to second for Butera to convert the mock double play.

Butera couldn’t handle the ball, dropping it in the conversion to his hand or tripping on the pivot.

With each miss, his face got fiery red in both anger and embarrassment. For the first time in his life, Butera had to adjust to looking at the middle of the infield from the opposite side.

The change from shortstop, his position heading into BC, to second base led him to make 14 errors at second in his freshman season. Each year he improved through intense practice. In 2013 he cut that total to 11.

By 2014, he was down to only six. He works even harder during the offseason with his best friend, former teammate, and Vanderbilt senior, Dane Stubbs. “I caught more at first base this summer than I’ve ever caught before,” Stubbs said with a chuckle.

This season, Butera has a .963 fielding percentage with only four errors. And, according to Gambino, he’s now perfected the art of the double play. “Robbie Alomar had nothing on that turn,” Gambino said, referencing one he converted in the Wake Forest series this year.

When recruiting time rolled around in high school, the two schools he grew up idolizing— LSU and Tulane, his father’s alma mater—overlooked him. The only one who didn’t was Gambino.

As a scout with the Detroit Tigers, Gambino flew down to Louisiana to look at a teammate of Barry Butera Jr., who played second base for BC in 2009-10. He regularly stayed with the Butera family while on these trips, according to Barry Butera Sr., a former farmhand in the Boston Red Sox system. But when Gambino saw Barry Jr.’s skill, he immediately called then-BC coach Mik Aoki to give him the scouting tip.

As the assistant coach and scouting director for Virginia Tech, Gambino’s interest turned to Butera. Although he didn’t have much interest in VT as a school, Butera made the trip just because he loved the idea of playing for Gambino.

When Gambino got the head coaching job at BC, Barry Sr. says his son’s mind was made up. “How can you not love Mike Gambino?”

Barry Sr. said. “If my kid had come to BC and sat the bench and never got on the field for four years, he’d

be a better man for having played with Mike Gambino.”

Butera desperately needed Gambino’s guidance his freshman year. He already had trouble dealing with the adjustment to second base. Nothing prepared him for failing at the plate for the first time in his young career.

Following an 0 for 3 day in the 2012 season, Butera slammed his helmet to the ground in frustration. Gambino was disgusted by the lack of maturity in his young starter. In no time, Butera found himself riding the pine for the rest of the game.

Butera has since matured, assuming the role of the captain of the Eagles along with Gorman.

While Gorman acts as the “rah rah guy,” Butera serves as the lead-byexample guy, a huge growth from those freshman year outbursts.

“Now you can’t tell if he’s 0 for 2, 0 for 10, 4 for 4,” Gambino said.

“Look at him after the game and all you’ll be able to tell is whether we won or lost. That’s all he cares about.”

Barry Sr. checked to see if his wife was looking. As soon as she turned around, he tossed a football across the living room to his youngest son, Brice, concealing the ball as his mom glanced toward him. Again, the matriarch of the Butera family turned her back. Brice tossed the ball over to Butera, who wasn’t ready for the catch. The ball knocked over his mother’s vase, shattering it.

Even when determining who would accept the blame, Butera’s competitive nature showed. “We both [got in trouble], but it was his fault,” Butera said with a sheepish smile.

That extends to video games as well, according to his teammate and freshman roommate Geoffrey Murphy. When he lost, Butera gave Murphy the silent treatment, just as he would to his brothers when they would fight as kids. Murphy believes that Butera more often channels his competitiveness into a positive on the field.

“He’s a grinder,” Murphy said. “We were watching the Sox game last night and they were talking about guys who never give up at-bats.

That’s how Blake is. We can be up by 10, down by 10, close game, anything.”

Murphy sees a lot of the same quality in Butera that he saw in Melchionda, Butera’s former double play partner. “Melch was a lot like Blake in that way: he took care of business, he would speak but only when he needed to,” Murphy said. “I think Blake has been able to follow and see a lot of these guys in a different way [as an everyday player] than someone who’s on the bench can.”

Heading into the third game of the Wake Forest series, one the Eagles desperately needed following two losses to the Demon Deacons, Butera dealt with a painful thumb

baseball

scoreboard

CLEM 15 BC 6

BASEBALL CLEM 7 8 BC

injury. The pain brought him to the point where he could barely hold a bat—he could only offer a sacrifice bunt attempt. With the Eagles up one in the sixth, Cronin made his way to third with one out. Gambino drew up a plan for Butera to attempt a suicide squeeze.

With the game on the line, Butera wasn’t satisfied with the risk of a suicide squeeze. He knew he could drive in the run.

He assured Gambino he had one swing left in him, stepping to the plate with every intention to swing away and drive in the runner. With his hands shaking in pain, Butera drove home Cronin with a sacrifice fly to center. Everyone remembers Shaw’s three home runs and seven RBIs. Butera won that game with his sacrifice fly in the sixth.

“When you need a single to win the game, and Blake walks up to the plate,” Gambino said, “everybody on the bench is like, ‘Got it. Ballgame.’”

Butera doesn’t care at all about the walkoffs, the stats, or any of the praise. After three losing seasons, all he wants is to get an elusive postseason berth. Following his game-winning hit on Saturday— the 12th of his career—he barely stopped to soak in the moment.

While sitting down at dinner with his family, all in attendance, Butera stayed glued to his phone.

He ran through the scoreboards, checking to see how other conference teams did that day. The second baseman let a sad “doggone it” when he saw Notre Dame won again, further separating BC from the logjam in the middle of the conference. “All he was thinking about is getting into that ACC Tournament,” Barry Sr. said.

Given the resources at BC, there are only so many defensive gems Butera can make that will actually make a difference for the Eagles. Gambino’s team has had to recover from poor recruiting lasting from the Aoki era and the natural disadvantage of attempting to get big name recruits to come to a place with terrible conditions for baseball for a majority of the season. Injuries to Shaw and pitchers Jeff Burke and Bobby Skogsbergh make Birdball’s margin for error even slimmer.

In his first game against LSU, his first time playing in his home state since high school, Butera notched three hits and a stolen base. The Eagles lost and most of his friends still pulled for LSU. He catches himself at the thought of his friends rooting for the Tigers, laughing that they’d put their team over their friend. He swears that, deep down, they were rooting for BC. But Butera has proved he deserved to receive this opportunity.

And Stubbs believed everyone in Alex Box Stadium that night saw it.

“Watching him made them regret not signing him, they all regret not pursuing him.” 

chestnut hill, ma 4/10

CHESTNUT HILL, MA 4/11

13 11

SOFTBALL

OKEY 2 H 2 R 3 RBI ND HOGGARTH 3 H 2 R BC

GRAHAM BECK / HEIGHTS SENIOR STAFF

ALEC GREANEY / HEIGHTS EDITOR

TOM DEVOTO / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Whether in the field, at the plate, or on the basepaths, Blake Butera excels no matter where he is on the diamond.

CHESTNUR HILL, MA 4/11

BLACKSBURG, VA 4/11 SOFTBALL

LACROSSE

WHARTON 2 H 4 RBI BC PALOMAKI 3 H 2 R VT

EMILY FAHEY / HEIGHTS SENIOR STAFF

KENT 3 G B ARTLEY 3 G 1 A

ND BC

8 5

CHESTNUT HILL, MA 4/11 BASEBALL 5 2

REED 1 H 3 RBI CORTEZ 1 H 1 R 1 RBI

CLEM 6 BC 3

ARIZMENDI 3 H 4 RBI SHARABBA 2 H 2 RBI

CHESTNUT HILL, MA 4/12 ROMEO 6 G 1 A CHANDLER 4 G 1 A

CHESTNUT HILL,Ma MA11/11 4/121Boston,

SOFTBALL ND BC

10 2

Chestnut Newton, Hill,MAma11/09 4/14

BASEBALL URI BC

KOERNER 4 H 4 R 2 RBI DALTON 1 H 1 R 1 RBI

2 5

CRONIN 2 H 1 R 2 RBI O’NEIL 2 H 2 RBI

sports

b8

Thursday, April 16, 2015

a Name Beyond the Numbers

Blake Butera’s baseball journey from Louisiana to Boston came full circle with a series at LSU. Now he’s looking to cap off his career with an ACC Tournament berth.

Arthur bailin / heights Staff

By Michael Sullivan Sports Editor In the bayou of Louisiana lies a pocket of baseball fans lacking a major league identity. The state falls in a dead zone, where St. Louis, Atlanta, and Texas all sit hundreds of miles away. But that doesn’t mean they’re without hope. Down south, they love a part of the sport no one around Boston pays too much attention to: the college game.

So, when Blake Butera received a text during the fall of his freshman year from his head coach, Mike Gambino, saying Boston College would play at Louisiana State University’s Alex Box Stadium in 2015—Butera’s senior year—the Madisonville, La. native immediately texted all of his friends and family members the same message. “Hey, second week, my senior year, we’re coming to LSU.” And although Butera won’t admit it now, he had something to prove.

John Gorman allowed another walk in the second inning of

last Saturday’s game. The entire pitching staff has struggled of late giving free passes to batters. Gorman induced Clemson’s Chase Pinder to hit a ground ball on the left side of the infield.

Shortstop Johnny Adams got to the ball as quickly as possible, tossing it to second. Given how slow the ball was hit off the bat, turning the double play seemed unlikely.

After receiving the feed, Butera quickly pivoted like a Gold Glove winner, whipping the ball to Joe Cronin at first to end the rally. In the box score, that may look like just another double play.

For those watching the game, Butera just stifled a Clemson rally by stealing another out the Eagles didn’t think they would get.

Butera doesn’t profile as your typical baseball player. At only 5-foot-8, 161 pounds, his relatively diminutive stature saps much of his ability to drive the ball off the bat. He doesn’t have the speed to threaten on the basepaths. And a quick glance at his career statistics won’t show a player that seems to have many professional prospects. To date, Butera has amassed a .261 career batting average, five home runs, and 71 runs batted in—those aren’t numbers

that make a scout leap to his feet. Most would even credit his lofty runs scored total of 109 to the man batting behind him for two and a half years: slugger Chris Shaw.

But Butera compiles numbers that would make Billy Beane tingle with excitement. The infielder gets on base at an impressive clip given his ordinary batting average—.377 over his first four years. A lot of that stems from his patience at the plate. Butera is BC’s all-time leader in walks with 104 (and counting) to go along with 24 hit by pitches. Unlike the current trend from many of his contemporaries, Butera makes productive outs by cutting down on strikeouts—for his career, he only failed to put the ball in play 91 times.

His value goes beyond the box score—Butera has developed superb instincts in the field, something he prides himself in the most. He routinely makes adjustments in between pitches, depending on the pitch count, the batter, and the score. One little

See Butera, B7

Christian needs to recover from the losses of Hanlan, Magarity

Jack Stedman Jim Christian is sitting in the pilot seat—not of a commercial jet filled with luxuries, but of a fighter jet that just lost its second engine.

Since 2009, Boston College’s last trip to the NCAA Tournament, the program has been in a steep nose dive. Now, following the recent exodus of Olivier Hanlan and Will

Magarity, Christian must add a few more maneuvers to his repertoire to pull his team back to its feet.

The departure of Hanlan, who declared for the NBA Draft and opted out of his senior year, is no surprise after his best season with the Eagles yet. But Magarity’s decision to transfer came as a bit of shock with all the attention surrounding Hanlan. What does this mean for the future?

For a rebuilding year to happen, a team has to scrap most of its players and start from scratch, and this process requires one solid explosion to kick off the process. For the Boston Celtics, that blowup occurred when Danny Ainge hired Brad Stevens and dished Kevin Garnett and

Paul Pierce to the Nets.

Hanlan was probably never going to play better than he did this past season, in which he averaged almost 20 points a game and was in contention for ACC Player of the Year. After losing three of his fellow starters— Pat Heckmann, Dimitri Batten, and Aaron Brown—Hanlan was left with no team there to support him, and the draft was his only option and the right decision personally.

But from a broader view, in terms of the program, Hanlan’s decision is also the right one. Unless Christian and the Eagles turn into Danny Ainge and the Celtics, who can be constantly blowing up its team to acquire stock in the future

while simultaneously contending for a seven-seed in the playoffs, a final season from Hanlan wasn’t going to bring anything except a few more wins, at most.

So while the loss of Hanlan kicks off the beginning of an uphill climb for BC, all of the energy in the program can be focused on developing young players, which means giving them playing time.

As for Magarity, his exit just makes an unfortunate situation much worse. The lack of depth that plagued the Eagles last year was most evident in the post, especially when Magarity went down with a concussion toward the end of the year. Without Magarity, only Dennis Clifford and Idy Di-

allo remain as true big men—a scary thought given that Clifford has never been the same since injuries last year, Diallo didn’t see a minute of regular season action, and the three incoming freshmen so far are all guards.

Magarity is the type of player that benefits a team on the rebuild. He’s not the everyday starter that Clifford is, but he’s steady, and on a young team he would have provided experience as a junior.

Instead, Clifford and Garland Owens will be the only returning players who have started a game.

That’s not good.

To recap the roster as it stands,

See Hanlan/Magarity, B6

It might be time for the NCAA to give up on aluminum bats

Alec Greaney Without question, the best sports video game in history was Backyard Baseball 2003. Diehard fans of FIFA and Madden will probably disagree, and even a good amount of Playstation-owning baseball fans will argue for The Show.

They’re just wrong.

The game cast a set of Major League

all-stars at a Little League age, mixed in with a lineup of made-up characters.

These kids could use special power-ups in their backyard games, like the “crazy bunt,” the “under grounder,” and the “screaming line drive.” One power-up, though, put the rest to shame: “aluminum power.” By deploying this power-up, the kids dropped their regular wooden bats for a thick, aluminum one—a bat that guaranteed a home run.

Any kid who has played Little League knows that aluminum bats don’t have this type of magic power in real life. But that same kid could also tell you there is a significant difference between wood and metal, even if he’s never used one. Metal bats, in general, are better to hit with.

i nside S PORTS this issue

They’re just not better for baseball.

Major League Baseball, which avoids anything that could taint its holy record books, has never strayed from wood. All other leagues used wood exclusively until 1971, when Little League kids first swung aluminum bats. Three years later, the NCAA legalized aluminum. Instead of breaking several wood bats a week, teams could now purchase similar-functioning bats that would last an entire season.

But, as bat companies realized they could profit more from making metal bats work far better, scoring exploded.

The NCAA caught on to this issue after the University of South Carolina defeated Arizona State University, 21-14, in the 1998 College World Series. And no,

that’s not a football score. We’re still talking baseball, just the type of baseball that is a brutish slugfest. The NCAA didn’t like it, and has spent the past 17 years researching and experimenting with lists of complicated limits and regulations.

All this effort went toward getting as close as possible to wood without actually using wood. Want an easy solution?

Have the NCAA stop fooling around and just switch back to wood. There, done.

If only it were that simple.

The problem is the NCAA can’t make up its mind about baseball. First it tried to reign in scoring by adopting the BallExit-Speed Ratio (BESR) regulation in 1999. BESR limits the bounciness of the ball off the bat, so hitting with those bats

Baseball takes down Rhode Island, Harvard

Birdball won back-to-back games against two local rivals before facing Georgia Tech in a conference showdown this weekend............................B6

is harder. This held offenses in check for a couple years, but power numbers and run totals rose to record highs.

The NCAA tried again in 2009 and 2011, first by banning composite bats and then by rolling out a new acronym: the Batted-Ball Coefficient of Restitution (BBCOR) standard (they’re actually not that different—BBCOR just further limits bounciness and the sweet spots of bats to the level of wood).

This over-complicated adjustment hurt scoring more than any other. After run per game totals reached another peak of 6.98 in 2010, BBCOR slashed them down to 5.58, just 0.01 more than in

See Wooden Bats, B6

Scoreboard...........................................................................................................B7 Editors’ Picks.........................................................................................................B7