Heights 04-22-10

The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College Established 1919

THE HEIGHTS THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2010

Vol. XCI, No. 20

www.bcheights.com

Faculty react to abuse

Grad schools rank high

BY ANA T. LOPEZ Heights Editor

Professors, Jesuits offer thoughts on scandals

BY MOLLY LAPOINT Heights Staff

As the international Catholic community has grappled with discussions of acts of sexual abuse committed by Catholic priests, members of the Boston College community have formed their own opinions.

In one case, the Catholic Church did not defrock a Wisconsin priest, Rev. Lawrence C. Murphy, after it was discovered that he had molested as many as 200 boys at a school for the deaf, where he worked from 1950 to 1974. The bishops in Wisconsin were communicating directly with Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI. Murphy was not disciplined by either the Church’s judicial system or by secular law enforcement because, by the time the cases surfaced in the mid-1990s, he was in poor health and no recent cases had been brought against him, Rev. Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, told reporters.

In another case, a priest who had been discovered molesting boys in Germany was put in therapy and later allowed to resume his duties. The Pope was the head of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising at the time, and approved his transfer to therapy.

In response to these recent events, members of the BC community expressed

See Church Scandal, A4

MICHAEL CAPRIO / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Timothy Muldoon said the church needs to now ask itself, “What does this mean?”

INSIDE SPORTS

Spatola’s patience at the plate finally pays off, A10

THE SCENE

The Scene looks at the infectiously horrendous cult hit ‘The Room,’ B1

MARKETPLACE

Icelandic volcanic activity creates headaches for travelers, B10 Classifieds, B6 Editorials, A6 Editors’ Picks, A9 Forecast on Washington, B8 Politico of the Week, B9 Police Blotter, A2 Thumbs Up / Thumbs Down, A7 Videos on the Verge, B2 Weather, A2

ALEX TRAUTWIG / HEIGHTS EDITOR

The Boston Marathon, which routes runners past Boston College, boosted the local economy by over $122 million this year, reports said.

City hosts 114th marathon

Students continue traditions of spectatorship, patronage of Boston Marathon

BY KENDALL BITONTE For The Heights

The 114th Annual Boston Marathon, which falls each year on Patriot’s Day, was held this past Monday. For Boston College students, who had the day off to spend in the fair weather and cheer on the runners, Marathon Monday is considered a holiday.

According to bostonmarathon.org, over 25,000 runners entered the race this year, and as these men and women reached “Heartbreak Hill,” BC students were there with overwhelming spirit.

Students lined Commonwealth Avenue cheering on friends and strangers alike. After enduring the grueling climb, runners needed the encouragement to finish out the last few miles of the race.

Tyler Martin, A&S ’12, ran the Marathon for the second time this year. Having completed several months of training in preparation, Martin looked forward to running by his friends and gaining the little extra push through the final miles.

“Getting to BC is my favorite part of the race and the experience here is the primary reason why I ran the race again,” Martin said. “Nothing beats seeing your friends and high fiveing students for a mile stretch.”

Many BC students and alumni who run the Marathon have a special connection with the crowd, and runners unaffiliated with the school have great experiences in Chestnut Hill.

Robert Hoffman, three-time runner of the Boston Marathon

from Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, ran the Marathon this year as well.

He said the BC crowd is the highlight of the race.

“The students are extremely supportive.” Hoffman said, “With the exception of the last two miles, this is the loudest area on the route. BC is a huge part of the experience.”

BC is known for its superior spirit, but it is not only the runners that benefit. The celebration of the Boston Marathon is steady along the entire 26.2 mile course that starts in Hopkinton and ends in the city.

The entire Greater Boston area is affected by the marathon.

“The Marathon will induce about $122.7 million in direct and indirect economic impact to the Greater Boston region,” Patrick Moscaritolo, president and CEO of Visitors Bureau and the Greater Boston Convention, told reporters. The sum includes the spending of runners and their families, spectators, the Boston Athletics Association, charity fundraising events, and media sponsorship.

“The spending impact of the 114th Boston Marathon is the equivalent to our region hosting the NCAA Final Four,” Moscaritolo said. “It is a huge economic benefit for our visitor industry and it kick starts our spring tourism season.”

The Marathon drew runners and their families from 71 different countries this year, according to bostonmarathon.org.

“Getting to BC is absolutely amazing,” Martin said. “Everyone is so loud and encouraging.”

“The BC students make the Heartbreak Hill experience unforgettable,” Hoffman said. 

Black Family Weekend seeks to broaden appeal

In the past year, three of Boston College’s professional schools – LSOE, CSOM, and the Law School – have been awarded high rankings by U.S. News and World Report, affording these schools nationwide recognition.

LSOE, which remained in the top 20 in terms of graduate education programs with a ranking of 19 nationally, was recognized for its specializations in elementary education (12th overall) and student sounseling and personnel (20th overall).

Joseph O’Keefe, S.J., dean of LSOE, said in a statement that it was a welcome honor for the school to have its achievements confirmed by the rankings. “Once again we see in the U.S. News rankings a confirmation of the strength of the Lynch School, particularly in the areas of teacher preparation and psychology,” he said. “This is welcome recognition of our outstanding faculty and staff, as well as our students, who are all focused on a mission of service and change working to improve the lives of children and families in Boston and beyond.”

The Carroll School of Management

See Grad Schools, A4

Tickets for The Fray will be on sale all day today for $25 in the Robsham Theater box office.

Cash, Eagle Bucks, and credit cards will be accepted. The concert will begin tonight at 8 p.m. in Conte Forum.

DREADLOCKS FOR JAMAICA

Weekend expands in approach, programming

BY MICHAEL CAPRIO News Editor

Last weekend, Boston College held its 30th annual Black Family Weekend, hosted by the Black Student Forum.

This year, the goal was to provide a more multicultural experience than in previous years, as expressed by the weekend’s slogan: “More than Just a Color.”

“We tried to give it a unique theme as something that would give something to all students,” said Ebony Moses, president of the Black Student Forum and A&S ’10. “It is something that everyone at BC could benefit from. ‘More than Just a Color’ is the idea that the weekend is about more than black people and race.”

The weekend kicked off last Thursday with The Come Up Show, hosted in the Vanderslice Hall Cabaret Room. The show featured student artists, poets, and a visiting band, Soul 4 Yo System, from Berklee College.

This year’s program also sought to include not only current and former BC students, but prospective students as well, said Leah Horton, an event organizer and A&S ’12. Organizers worked closely with the Student Admission Program to introduce visiting students who were attending the Discovery Weekend to the events of Black Family Weekend.

At a panel discussion on Friday afternoon, Karl Bell, assistant dean of the Student Programs Office, moderated talks on the subjects of race and identity.

“The panel sought to talk about different issues of race and culture at BC,” Moses said. “After the panel discussion, we broke off into groups with prospective students and we were able to deal with any questions they had.”

The panel was co-sponsored by the

Asian Caucus and the Organization for Latin American Affairs (OLAA).

Horton said that many of the attendees come from the Greater Boston area, although some travel from other states in the Northeast to attend the weekend.

“We usually only send invitations out to alumni in the area,” Horton said. “But there are always one or two alumni who come from far away.”

Families interested in attending did not have to register with the Black Student Forum, Horton said. “This is a weekend where we’re going to have a lot of events, so we want as many people to come,” she said.

Following the panel was a concert by Voices of Imani, a group which takes its name from the Swahili word for “faith.”

University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J.; Chrishana White, vice president of the Black Student Forum and A&S ’10, and Moses gave opening comments for the concert.

Saturday’s activities included a block party in the O’Connell House, followed by an alumni vs. students basketball game.

The highlight of the event was the fashion show, Metamorphosis: Unity Through Fashion, Moses said.

The fashion show was re-instituted this year after a four year absence from the Black Family Weekend program.

“Years ago, the fashion show was the main event of the weekend,” Moses said.

“It was brought back in a different way in that we collaborated with a number of organizations and we had a lot of upscale clothing organizations represented.”

The weekend culminated with a religious service in the chapel of 66 Commonwealth Ave. that was followed by an awards brunch in the Walsh Function Room.

See Weekend, A4

MICHAEL CAPRIO / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Ben Kimmerle, A&S ’10, allowed students to cut locks off his head for a fee of $5.

Students participated in the fundraiser on Tuesday afternoon in the Dustbowl.

TopFive

Thursday, April 22, 2010

THE HEIGHTS

things to do on campus this week

Spring Concert: The Fray

1

Ecopledge Earth Day Events

Today Time: 8 p.m.

Location: Conte Forum

The UGBC Campus Entertainment will be hosting The Fray from 8 to 11 p.m. tonight for its annual Spring Concert. The opening act for the concert will be Steel Train.

Friday Time: 10 a.m.

Location: The Dustbowl Ecopledge will be celebrating Earth Day with activities including a clothing swap, tie-dying, and a water taste test from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. tomorrow in the Dustbowl.

2

SEASA Culture Show

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Friday Time: 6:30 p.m.

Location: Gasson 100

SEASA will be hosting its annual culture show tomorrow night, featuring traditional Southeast Asian music, dancing, and food. Guest performances will include PSBC and VSC.

FEATURED ON CAMPUS

Clemente’s legacy honored

Spring Football Game

BEATS Spring Show

Saturday Time: 11 a.m.

Location: The Plex and Alumni Stadium This Saturday is the Jay McGillis Memorial Spring Football Game at Alumni Stadium and Family Fun Day at the Plex with food, music, and games, as well as a post-game autograph session.

Saturday Time: 7 p.m.

Location: McGuinn 121 BC’s newest a capella group will be performing Saturday, debuting a number of new songs, as well as some crowd-pleasing older numbers.

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5

IntheNews

FOUR DAY WEATHER FORECAST TODAY

67° T-storms Likely 44°

FRIDAY

61° Mostly Sunny 41°

SATURDAY

64° Sunny

University New York approves program to expand master’s degree programs On Tuesday, the New York State Board of Regents unanimously approved a pilot program that would allow for educational groups, such as Teach for America, to implement their own master’s degree programs, according to a report by The New York Times. Currently, such groups partner with universities that award master’s degrees in education. Under the Board’s decision, educational groups would have the option of creating their own master’s programs, and the Board of Regents would be the body that would award the degree.

44°

SUNDAY

58° Chance Showers 45°

SOURCE: NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE

A Guide to Your Newspaper The Heights Boston College – McElroy 113 140 Commonwealth Ave. Chestnut Hill, Mass. 02467 Editor-in-Chief (617) 552-2223

Local News MBTA introduces first of 25 hybrid gas-electric buses into fleet

ALEX TRAUTWIG / PHOTO EDITOR

Murray Function Room hosted a screening of the documentary ‘The Legacy of 21,’ which depicts the late Clemente’s career.

BY CARRIE MCMAHON

ing numbers, but also for his various humanitarian efforts, most notably his Latinos/as at Boston Col- work in Nicaragua in the lege and the Athletic De- aftermath of the 1972 earthpartment co-sponsored a quake. However, Clemente screening of the documenta- was killed on New Year’s Eve ry The Legacy of 21 Wednes- of 1972 on a flight bound for day in the Murray Function Nicaragua that was carrying Room. The documentary, relief materials.

Because of his status as which focused on the life and legacy of the late Ro- a legendary baseball player berto Clemente, also called and his inspirational acts to for Major League Baseball better the global commuto retire Roberto Clemente’s nity, the documentary urged for Clemente’s number 21. number to be At h l e t i c retired by the director Gene “Clemente MLB. This DeFilippo began the eve- exemplified ‘men and wo u l d b e a n women for others.’” a d d i t i o n a l ning by detailway to honor a ing Clemente’s man who “has accomplish—Gene DeFilippo, more places on ments and how Athletic Director Earth named they relate to af ter [him] BC’s mission than any other statement. “ C l e m e n te exe m p l i f i e d athlete,” said Julio Pabon, ‘men and women for oth- executive producer of the ers,’” DeFilippo said, calling film.

Like Clemente, Pabon Clemente a “great, great is originally from Puerto person.”

After DeFilippo spoke, Rico, and therefore he saw Adaline Mirabal, the co-di- the impact firsthand that rector of Latinos/as at BC, the legendary Clemente left said that they the club aims in their country. Despite “to plan events that lead to having no experience in documentary film produccommunity development.”

The former Pittsburgh tion, Pabon, founder of Pirate was known not only the marketing firm Latino for his incredible athletic Sports Ventures, Inc., was ability and record-break- so inspired by Clemente that Heights Editor

he felt compelled to share Clemente’s story and the spirit of humanity that he embodied.

Many of the featured athletes and sports figures in the documentary commented that, just as Jackie Robinson opened the door for African-American athletes, Roberto Clemente also did so as the “grandfather” of Latino players.

Today, Latinos compose 30 percent of major league rosters and 50 percent of the minor leagues.

The documentary discussed how Roberto Clemente was a transformative f igure, both for baseball and for society. It noted that various Latino players still honor his legacy by wearing his number, and that others, such as Alex Rodriguez, Jorge Posada, and Carlos Beltran continue to acknowledge and admire Clemente not only for his abilities but for the great community service he did.

“Clemente’s impact lives on today,” the film said.

Many athletes continue to incorporate a community service aspect into their public personas because of Clemente’s work.

A question and answer session with Pabon concluded the presentation. 

Police Blotter 4/15/10 – 4/18/10 Thursday, April 15 1:00 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a party who attempted to pay their bar tab with a credit card that did not have sufficient funds.

The party said they would return to the establishment to take care of it and never did.

2:12 p.m. - A report was filed regarding mulch that was smoldering. The area was watered down and the fire safety office was notified.

8:49 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a party who was hit with an item which was thrown from a window in Edmond’s Hall. A motor vehicle was also damaged.

Friday, April 16 2:02 a.m. - A report was filed regarding a reported fight in process in Greycliff Hall.

Upon arrival, officers determined there was no fight and that it was merely friends fooling around.

5:39 p.m. - A report was filed regarding two minors who were observed assisting a party of legal age in the transportation of alcohol in the Hillside parking lot. The party of age was spoken to and obtained assistance from another party of legal age with the transportation of the alcohol.

11:54 p.m. - A report was filed regarding two

unruly BC bus passengers acting hostile toward other passengers. Upon confronting the individuals, the officer discovered that the individuals were intoxicated.

Saturday, April 17 12:22 a.m. - A report was filed regarding an individual who had sustained a foot injury in Duchesne Hall. The party was transported to a medical facility by ambulance for further treatment.

1:48 a.m. - A report was filed regarding a window in the escort van that was broken due to items being thrown out of a window in Edmond’s Hall. Upon arrival the officers reported that items were being thrown at them from a room on the seventh floor. Officers identified the room, spoke with several of the occupants, and observed in the room the same brand of beer bottles that had been thrown at them.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) introduced the first of 25 hybrid gas-electric buses into its fleet on Tuesday, according to a report by The Boston Globe. The hybrid buses, which are priced at $915,000 each, get 5 miles per gallon – nearly double the mileage that the current compressed natural gas and diesel buses get. The buses, which were purchased with federal stimulus dollars, will serve the MBTA’s number 28 and 39 bus routes and the Silver Line’s Washington Street Route, which are three of the busiest routes.

On Campus Recent study by biology professor helps monitor spread of HIV / AIDS A recent study of the progression of AIDS in monkeys, co-authored by Kenneth Williams, professor in the biology department, and published in the online journal PloS Pathogens, could help researchers track the disease in humans, according to a release by the Office of News and Public Affairs. According to the release, the study will help scientists to understand the role played by monocytes, a type of white blood cell, in the deadly progression of HIV and AIDS in the brain.

National U.S. Department of Education overturns gender equality policy The U.S. Department of Education reversed a 2005 policy that previously allowed schools and colleges to use survey results to justify disproportionate male and female sports participation rates, according to a report by the Associated Press. The announcement, made by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., calls on school districts and colleges to be more accountable in ensuring gender equality in athletics, as required under Title IX.

Editorial General (617) 552-2221 Managing Editor (617) 552-4286 News Desk (617) 552-0172 Sports Desk (617) 552-0189 Marketplace Desk (617) 552-3548 Features Desk (617) 552-3548 Arts Desk (617) 552-0515 Photo (617) 552-1022 Fax (617) 552-4823 Business and Operations General Manager (617) 552-0169 Advertising (617) 552-2220 Business and Circulation (617) 552-0547 Classifieds and Collections (617) 552-0364 Fax (617) 552-1753 EDITORIAL RESOURCES News Tips Have a news tip or a good idea for a story? Call Michael Caprio, News Editor, at (617) 552-0172, or e-mail news@bcheights.com. For future events, e-mail, fax, or mail a detailed description of the event and contact information to the News Desk.

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

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

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

CUSTOMER SERVICE

Voices from the Dustbowl “Do you know anyone who will be performing in next week’s Arts Festival?”

“I’m in the University Chorale and I have a friend in an a capella group.”

—Bianca Munoz, A&S ’13

“I have a friend on the Irish dance team.”

—Stephany Shelton, A&S ’12

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

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

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

CORRECTIONS

Sunday, April 18 11:06 a.m. - A report was filed regarding a suspicious circumstance involving a large, heavy rock which had been pushed onto a sidewalk impeding foot traffic in the Newton lots. The officer placed a work order to have the rock removed from the area.

—Source: The Boston College Police Department

“My roommates are doing the singer-songwriter competition.”

—Pete Fay,

A&S ’10

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

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The Heights

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Student-run search engine takes first place 17 student businesses submitted plans for $10,000 grand prize

By Daniel Tonkovich For The Heights

PIQC, a visual search engine powered by a data sharing network, placed first in the 2010 Boston College Venture Competition (BCVC).

The PIQC team, which consisted of Shahbano Imran, BC ’09, and David Tolioupov, A&S ’10, took home the grand prize of $10,000 to help get their search engine off the ground.

PIQC was chosen from among 17 official business plans submitted to the competition, and was one of six finalists.

It pitched itself as a next-generation search engine that is able to produce more relevant search results because of its unique method of gathering data and presenting it in a manner that is visually appealing to the users.

“PIQC represents the next great paradigm shift to the semantic Web,” Imran said. “Where Web 2.0 is about social media, the semantic Web is about the individual and creating a more personal experi-

ence. It corrects the current search process by making data visible to search engines and presenting it to users in a relevant and visually appealing way.”

The award is the culmination of over seven months of work for Imran, Tolioupov, and the other competitors. Since October, teams have not only developed professional business plans for their respective projects, but they also consulted with BC alumni who acted as business mentors and work in a field related to the individual projects.

Teams also were able to gain insight into the startup business world through monthly presentations by the BCVC committee.

“The winning team, PIQC, was stellar,” said John Gallaugher, faculty advisor to BCVC and associate professor of information systems.

“The firm had a working demo and they are rolling out a pilot with the U.N. which is focused on making their data accessible. Furthermore, their solution is elegant, addresses a pressing need, and has the potential

to be really big. They can revolutionize search and make data significantly more useful. They are the best example I have seen of the promise of what is known as the semantic Web, the idea that you can make data visible to search engines.”

Gallaugher said the team of Imran and Tolioupov was exemplary for their attention to detail and comprehensive approach to refining the concept of a search engine.

“Think of the numbers that show up on a Web page,” Gallaugher said.

“Now, imagine you can have a computer tell that a number is a price, a quantity, a rating, or an address. Now, imagine you can gather that data across all sites and build tables showing exactly the ordered categorized data you want. That is PIQC’s promise, and they are already delivering on it with a magnificently beautiful interface.”

2010 marks the fourth year of BCVC, which awards a total of $15,000 in prizes each year. The organizers said past organizers

Courtesy of John gallaugher

Seventeen business plans were submitted to the competition, which offered a grand prize of $10,000 for the winner. have found success and that two of the last three have become Silicon Valley startups.

2009’s BCVC winner, WakeMate, was recently admitted to Y-Combinator, one of the nation’s most elite startup accelerator programs. WePay, a Web site aimed

at making it easier for groups to collect, spend, and manage money, is another BCVC winner that has since launched, due in part to $1.65 million in financing from August Capital and various investors.

“BC is not known for entrepreneurship, but the yeoman’s efforts

of our students, partnering with our extraordinary alumni, have created a program that is world-class,” Gallaugher said. “We have got the potential to do much more, and I look forward to seeing BCVC grow next year and explore all sorts of new opportunities.” n

College Democrats honor lieutenant governor

By Daniel Tonkovich For The Heights

Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray and Newton Mayor Setti Warren, BC ’93, were honored by the College Democrats of Boston College at the organization’s third annual Father Robert F. Drinan Award presentation held last Thursday.

Murray was honored with the Father Robert F. Drinan award and Warren received the group’s first Democratic Rising Star Award.

The Father Robert F. Drinan award is presented by the College Democrats in memory of Drinan to someone who they feel has championed the causes of the Democratic Party. Drinan served as the Dean of the Law School from 1956 to 1970 and was a U.S. Congressman, known for fighting for human rights and promoting justice and civil rights legislation.

“The College Democrats have been touched by the work of Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor

Murray,” said Rachel Lamorte, president of the College Democrats and A&S ’10. “Throughout his years of service on the state, as well as local level, he has been a champion of progressivism and social justice. We are pleased to honor his work as a Catholic Democrat.”

“The name and spirit of the Father Robert F. Drinan award is meaningful,” Murray said.

“Father Drinan epitomized faith in action by advocating for social and economic justice, and I am honored to receive an award honoring his legacy.”

Murray said he encourageg those in attendance to engage in service and embrace party platforms that include not only family values, but also the critical needs and issues facing all people. “We need policies that develop all into their God-given potential, and that can only be done by providing opportunities to those without them,” Murray said. “We need to start looking

Dustbowl hosts Jesuit olympics

Patrick Gallagher / Heights editor

Yesterday marked the fourth annual Jesuit Olympics, featuring a pie-eating competition, a trivia contest, and an obstacle course. Students formed teams with Jesuits and faculty members to compete in this year’s games. Nine teams participated, each consisting of five students and one Jesuit.

at assistance not as a handout, but rather as a hand up for those in difficult situations. It is only through service and creative social policies that families can be strengthened.”

Warre was also honored at the event with the Democratic Rising Star Award, presented to a prominent Democrat who exemplifies the ideals of the Democratic Party and has the potential to accomplish even greater tasks in his or her career.

“Mayor Warren has demonstrated his commitment to public service not only through his current position as mayor of Newton, but also through his work with as a service man in naval intelligence, staffer in the Clinton White House, and as an aide to Senator John Kerry,” said Kristoffer Munden, vice president of the College Democrats and A&S ’11. “We have confidence he will accomplish even greater tasks in the future.”

Warren took the event as an opportunity to speak about the present state of political affairs and his personal views of how to address them. “There are tough years ahead for not only Newton, but the entire state of Massachusetts, not only because of the economy, but also due to the need to break through much of the political noise to get to the real noise, the real roots of problems,” Warren said. “The change needed can further come about through grassroot politics and honestly connecting with members of the community. People need to stand by principles, as well as be direct and honest.”

Warren said he would like to continue partnerships with groups in the greater Newton community, including BC, to address critical issues facing the city and draft creative and comprehensive responses. “There is much to be done and some of it will be tough, but it is possible if we approach situations collectively as a community.” n

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Thursday, April 22, 2010

The Heights

‘U.S. News’ ranks BC graduate programs Fashion show among BFW events Grad Schools, from A1

(CSOM), whose undergraduate program received national recognition this year when it was ranked in the top 10 U.S. undergraduate business programs by BusinessWeek, saw similar success for its graduate programs, with a ranking of 39th nationally for its full-time program and 20th nationally for its evening MBA program. This is the sixth consecutive year that the evening

MBA program has been ranked in the top 20.

Administrators in CSOM attributed the school’s high rankings not only to the strong academic programs and national reputation, but also to the student experiences and opportunities offered by earning a degree at BC. “The U.S. News rankings assess the quality of the students entering our program, the reputation of our program among business school deans and corporate recruit-

ers, and the quality of opportunities our students have upon graduation,” said Jeffrey Ringuest, associate dean for graduate programs, in a statement.

Ringuest said that the high rankings CSOM has seen across the board will only contribute to making the program that much better. “The ranking of our full-time program at the 91st percentile and our evening program at the 94th percentile of all accredited schools in the U.S. are

additional measures that the hard work of our students, faculty, and staff is paying off,” Ringuest said.

“Combine these results with the Financial Times global MBA rankings and the BusinessWeek undergraduate rankings and it’s a great time to be at the Carroll School.”

The Law School, which has consistently remained in the company of first-tier law schools, held its spot as a competitive law program with a ranking of 28th nationally. n

Weekend draws a diverse attendance Weekend, from A1 “Overall, we’re really proud of the fact that we’re transformed the event to be all-encompassing,” Moses said. “There was definitely increased attendance

for all events. We definitely felt that through our publicity and through UGBC … we were able to reach a multicultural audience at BC and we were able to get them out to all our events instead of just one or two.” n

Muldoon, Kennedy offer thoughts on Catholic Church scandal Church Scandal, from A1

varying opinions on how the Church should respond.

Rev. T. Frank Kennedy, S.J., director of the Jesuit Institute and rector of the BC Jesuit community, said he believes that concern for the protection of children should be at the forefront of the issue. “We have to keep our eyes on the prize, which is the protection of children,” he said.

Kennedy is not particularly interested in individual cases, he said. “This case, that case – they don’t surprise me. What’s good is that it’s coming out and that we’re moving toward all being responsible.”

Mistakes were made in the handling of these cases, Kennedy said. “Did people make mistakes? Yeah, of course. We say the Church has found a way of dealing with offenders but hasn’t found a way to hold bishops accountable. I’m convinced that will happen, but it has to work its way through.”

The recent cases, although painful, have provided an important step in preventing such cases in the future, he said. “It’s a sad thing, and even those with good intentions have been hurt, but all this pain is necessary. There was a long time when people didn’t want to talk about [the abuse].

Openness and transparency are the only things [that can remedy this]. This is true for everything, not just sexual abuse. Truth goes a long way to help us become the community we want to be.”

Kennedy said he does not see repeated accusations against the pope as a compelling action for individuals to take. “That’s really for the Church to decide, not a single priest.”

Timothy Muldoon, former director of the Church in the 21st Century Center and assistant to the vice president for University Mission and Ministry, said the big

question going forward is, “What does all this mean?”

In 2002, five cases of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests were brought to court in Boston. “Boston was the equivalent of Ground Zero nine years ago,” Muldoon said. “There were some very welldocumented cases that unfolded here in this archdiocese. A number of priests did a number of truly evil things. It was shocking, and every person is right to be appalled.”

It was quickly discovered that the problem was not isolated, Muldoon said. “Nine years later, in 2010, we’re seeing that this wasn’t a problem unique to Boston or the U.S.” The Church has a number of tasks moving forward, he said. “The task of Catholics is to act with justice,” he said. “By that I mean, reach out to victims and perform public acts of penance. We must make this right. We have to resign ourselves as a Church, and I don’t just mean the leaders.

Part of the burden of being Catholic now is that we must take responsibility.”

Another task is that of repairing the Church’s relationship with the rest of the world. “We must show ourselves to be a community that seeks reconciliation.

We’ve got to recommit ourselves to a lot of core values – reaching out to the poor, helping those on the margins of society.”

One thing that remains important, Muldoon said, is keeping the abuse cases in perspective. “Abuse happens everywhere, and it’s a part of justice to ensure that fingers are pointed at the right people and not at the wrong people.”

Despite the negative implications of such cases, some positives can be found, Muldoon said. “If there’s a positive outcome from all of this turmoil, it may be that people in the Church will ask, ‘What does it mean to serve God as a member of the Catholic Church?’ It provides a

more mature understanding of the life of faith. In a sense, it makes us grow up as a Church.”

Although sexual abuse is committed by many people not involved in the Church, Muldoon said, the chain of command within the Church makes it a better target.

“It’s the difference between suing a local shoe store and suing Nike. It’s centralized, which is a double-edged sword. If a local Pastor X of the local Protestant church [abuses someone], he goes to jail.

If Father X [abuses someone], the bishop is culpable, the pope is culpable.”

However, he said, the pope should not necessarily be held accountable for all sexual abuse cases within the Church.

“Is the pope ultimately responsible every time a case of abuse happens? I would find it hard to make the case, and frankly, it doesn’t even address the real problem.”

Since the cases have become public, the United States has provided a model for other countries in handling sexual abuse cases, Muldoon said. The Vatican has created its own response to the sexual abuse cases, and within the United States, the Dallas Norms outline procedures for how to deal with future sexual abuse cases and prevent them from happening by ensuring cooperation with the public authorities and requiring each diocese to have an assistance coordinator to aid in the pastoral care of those who have reported abuse.

“The U.S. is becoming a success story on how to do it right,” Muldoon said.

“Most cases are 30, 40 years old. The norms that have been implemented in the U.S. are good norms – they are doing their job. New cases have dropped to almost nothing. What has happened in the U.S. needs to be the model for what needs to happen [in other countries]. If justice is the issue, the first point is ensuring that this can’t happen again.” n

Economics department to hire more part-time faculty

By Ji Hae Lee For The Heights

The economics department will be increasing the number of classes taught by part-time faculty in reaction to the increase in economics majors last semester. Some seniors, however, are still facing issues resulting from a scarcity of elective courses.

Last semester, the economics department reported a 30 percent increase in the number of students listed in the department. Professors said this was due to the 2008 economic recession and an increased interest in quantitative subjects among prospective students.

James Anderson, chairman of the economics department, said that the current surge in economics students had been seen in the past, most notably in the early 1980s when a recession increased the number of economics majors nationwide. “Quantitative subjects have also seen increases in majors such as science and math,” he said. “Maybe what students desire is permanently shifting to science, econ, and math.”

Responding to this increased demand for economics, the department will be hiring two full-time professors for next semester, in addition to one part-time professor. The department will also be increasing the number of classes taught by part-time professors to 26, an almost 30 percent increase from the 20 classes taught by part-time professors in the fall of 2009.

“I think our part-time faculties are very qualified,” Anderson said. “The University has become

more receptive of hiring part-time faculty.”

The two new full-time professors are Stefan Holderlein, a professor at Brown University, and Mathis Wagner, a professor at Collegio Carlo Alberto in Turin, Italy. The visiting professor is Surgei Koulayev, a graduate candidate at Columbia University, who will be graduating this spring.

Some students, however, are still feeling the effects of this year’s paucity of economics courses. John La Cara, CSOM ’11, plans on coupling his finance degree with an economics degree from the College of Arts and Sciences. However, he said he finds himself cramming many of the economics electives he would have preferred to have taken earlier into his senior year schedule.

La Cara said he will be taking at least six classes a semester during his senior year. “It’s for various reasons,” he said. “But the economics classes definitely played a huge part in it.”

La Cara said that many seniors, knowing the high demand for economics electives, register for electives even if they don’t plan on eventually taking them. “It causes a major problem, because the younger students don’t have any chance to get into any of these classes,” La Cara said. “What happens is that the people who have better pick times have the pick of the electives.”

Some sophomores, like Paul Kennedy, A&S ’12, have said they had difficulties getting their desired courses during the recent spring registration. “I was finally able to register for a microtheory class – something I was unable to do for the fall semester as a rising sophomore,” Kennedy said. “But all economics electives were full.” n

Courtesy of the office of news and public affairs

“We have to keep our eyes on the prize, which is the protection of children,” said Rev. T. Frank Kennedy, S.J., rector of the Jesuit community on campus.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

A5

The Heights

Wait, shouldn’t it be alphabetical?

A6

The Heights

Editorials

Quote of the DAY

‘Globe’ column insults and misses point

Thursday, April 22, 2010

“The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again because there is no effort without error and shortcoming.” — Theodore Roosevelt

A recent article in the ‘Boston Globe’ made legitimate criticisms about city contributions, but buried this point amid petulant remarks.

What does it mean when a Boston Globe columnist writes of Boston College pre-Doug Flutie days that the University “would accept a fire hydrant if it could pay tuition?”Brian McGrory’s April 16 column did just that and more. McGrory’s ostensible argument, though one needs to squint to find it somewhere microscopic between the lines, is that Boston College could do more, as a nonprofit entity that does not pay property taxes, to give back, in hard dollars, to the City of Boston.

He may have a valid point, although he overlooks the fact that BC is primarily located in the city of Newton. But he did a grave disservice to what could have been a solid and well-researched argument by flying into a fitful tirade. His legitimate criticism of the administration was demoted to the level of petty gossip about alumni and students, and was therefore lost among the drivel.

The criticisms found in the column are presented with little to no factual evidence, and in no way support his supposed argument about BC’s monetary contributions. It is one thing to have an opinion, but it is entirely another to have your opinion circulated in a prominent newspaper. Take, for example, the following McGrory statement: “Once in [to BC], you could be certain of three things: a diploma, a spouse, and a job. Everyone at BC marries someone from BC (and has children who go to BC) … and it’s a Vatican mandate that graduates hire BC graduates.” The diploma, spouse, job clause would be pertinent if only the

columnist were talking about Harvard in the early parts of the last century and before. And what about that bit about marrying someone who went to BC? Seems like that happens more or less everywhere – isn’t Swarthmore, that quaint and unassuming Pennsylvania school, known as the “Quaker tinderbox” for the number of graduates who end up making vows to one another?

These are just a few concrete examples of how his gross generalizations have almost no real foundation or point.

McGrory may have a point in asserting that the City of Boston could receive more money from the University to compensate for its tax-exempt status.

What he ignores is something that all BC graduates have a right to hold dear to their heart – that they attended a university that brings international recognition to the city for which it is named. This University and its students have garnered a well-deserved reputation not because of an extraordinary pass by Doug Flutie, but rather because of hard work and a dedication to their studies, their school, and themselves – hard work from which the city has benefited for decades.

Finally, for no reason at all, McGrory sets into University Spokesman Jack Dunn, who, he says, “is like a lot of other BC graduates – unfailingly polite and relentlessly proud of his school.” In response to that, we would just like to thank McGrory for his kind words and accurate representation of our undergraduates and alumni.

Economics dept. has not remedied issue

As rising seniors and juniors are disappointed by their inability to follow normal course tracks, we hope their concerns will be answered.

Last November, the economics department announced that it had experienced a 30 percent increase in interest over the previous 18 months. With the surge in majors, the economics department found itself in a quandary, facing the question: hire more staff, or stick it out? The department chose the latter, leaving some economics majors scrambling to pull together enough classes to graduate in four years.

For a department with an intimate knowledge of the nuances of supply and demand, the faculty has yet to solve this issue, as most economics electives were filled before rising junior registration periods for the fall 2010 semester.

Some of the department’s constraints are reasonable. There is a lack of classroom space at Boston College, which will be further exacerbated by the temporary closing of Gasson Hall next semester. There are also budgetary constraints. The department does not want to spend resources in response to a trend that may last no longer than a few years. So it remains that many juniors who previously could not register for economics electives are now faced with having to cram those courses into their senior year schedules.

We feel that the department should be aware of the structural implications of this problem. When students spend their freshman and perhaps sophomore years taking principle and theory courses, and then take all their electives senior year out of necessity, it creates a gap in their learning sequence. As exemplified by most of BC’s academic structures, most notably the core curriculum, the sequencing and packaging of classes each semester is of high importance to the administration and advising office. We feel that this disparity, causing students to, in some cases, take an involuntary yearlong vacation from their degree program, presents an issue to be addressed.

We applaud the department for its decision to hire two new full-time faculty members for the next academic year.

The department, however, needs to get creative to meet short run demands. As reported in past articles in The Heights and The Chronicle, some departments have resorted to hosting more 8 a.m. classes, night classes, and have creatively found spaces to use on campus – such as residence hall common rooms – as classrooms. The economics department can follow suit and, in the process, keep in mind not only the needs of graduating seniors (which are, of course, legitimate), but also the needs of the sophomores who would like to continue their economics studies without taking a dual semester hiatus. Alternatively, the department could consider restricting elective courses, so that they are open only to economics majors or to students who receive department permission to be in the class. This practice is employed by several of the larger departments, including communication, where the overwhelming majority of courses are either restricted to majors or require department permission.

Economics students are adjusting to the issues with the department. Some of them are taking five classes, and even overloading during their senior year. Yet, senior year brings many other added responsibilities – not the least of which are job interviews and applications. Just because students have been willing to adjust does not mean the department should overlook the problem that this issue poses to current students, and prospective students looking to enter the economics program.

The economics department should also, at the very least, collect data on the preferences of incoming freshman. What would be worse would be to see an ever-increasing rate of freshmen economics majors come at a point at which the department will be unequipped to accomodate them.

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

Contributors: Molly Lapointe

Matthew Laud / Heights Illustration

When criticizing BC, get the facts straight Andrew DeStefano In the Boston Globe’s April 16th edition, Brian McGrory wrote a column titled “BC = better contribute.”

This column featured many attacks against Boston College and their unwillingness to pay more “PILOTs” (Payment In Lieu Of Taxes) to the City of Boston. Although this seems to be the main point of his article, most of his attacks and sarcastic barbs seem to focus around his opinion of BC having a pretentious and nepotistic reputation.

In regards to the only part of this article which attempts any semblance of factual research, McGrory states: “Harvard gave Boston $2 million in 2009. Northeastern kept property on the tax rolls and paid $1.9 million for it. Boston University, the gold standard, paid Boston $4.9 million in lieu of taxes and an additional $3.4 million on property it could have excluded. And BC? The school gave Boston $293,000 in lieu of taxes, and $383,000 in property taxes it elected to pay, for a total payment of $676,500 on the property it owns in Boston. That ranks BC dead last among the four major schools.”

What he fails to mention is that besides parts of Lower campus and the athletic facilities, BC is located in Newton. BC pays an additional portion of their PILOT to Newton because of this. Additionally, BC has a substantially smaller sized “Boston” campus than BU or Harvard, which would explain this discrepancy.

Regardless, the PILOT issue is most definitely a valid topic of discussion and worthy of some debate.

And if he included all of the Boston area schools (say, Northeastern, who according to the City of Boston only pays .08 percent of what it would pay if their property was not exempt through the PILOT program), then it’s possible he could have developed a credible and intelligent article.

But this was not the object of his spiteful and hateful diatribe. He felt the need to call out the integrity and academic standing of the college’s students. He states that when Doug Flutie completed his famed Hail Mary to Gerard Phalen in 1984, Boston College alumni acted as if they graduated from Harvard with priests. And that before this pass, BC would accept a fire hydrant if it could pay the tuition.

However, he saved his most snide and cruel remark for the end,

Andrew DeStefano is sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences.

Letters to the Editor Faculty, staff, and administrators: It’s time to show you CARE Last week I had the privilege to witness the annual Boston College CARE Week Event, Take Back the Night.

As explained by the staff at the Women’s Resource Center at the beginning of the evening, Take Back the Night is an event held on many campuses throughout the United States at which women and men are called to declare the atrocities that occur right here on our campus. It’s an opportunity for survivors of rape and sexual assault to assert the truth about their experiences and speak out against the people and institutions that have hurt them. It is a chance to say “No more!” and to receive support from a community that may have turned its back on them in the past.

It’s also an opportunity for BC men to declare that “these hands won’t hurt” by taking a pledge led by the campus organization, Brotherhood for Change.

Nearly 300 BC students attended the event, sitting in silence and awe as four courageous and beautiful BC women shared their horrifying experiences of rape, sexual assault, and domestic violence. The stories of these women, like the stories of so many women at BC, are outrageously gruesome in both the detail of the assaults and the emotional and physical aftermath that each of the survivors spoke of. Nearly all of the speakers expressed feeling a sense of guilt and isolation after their respective assaults. Moreover, many of them described feelings of anxiety or nervousness about telling friends and family about their experiences.

As I have learned throughout all of the CARE Events this year, college campuses in the United States are in a severe crisis, and BC is no exception to this rule. Our BC community is comprised of students, faculty and staff.

While I was impressed with those in attendance last night, I was disappointed in the lack of a faculty and administrator

presence. I looked around for representatives from various academic departments and student affairs officials, and saw maybe four or five at the most. University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J., and other top administrators were nowhere to be seen. As a community, we are taught from our earliest days at orientation that we are to be men and women for others. We understand through experiences like Appalachia and Arrupe international solidarity trips that to witness the suffering of another is to be given a gift that should be used to change the world. Yet, where were those same encouraging voices last evening? I left Take Back the Night feeling let down by the faculty and administration whom supposedly lead this community. How are we to create a community that really embodies the Ignatian spirit if our leaders do not make events that reveal the suffering on this campus a priority?

CARE Week is a time that we show the many survivors of rape and sexual assault that we do care about the criminal and violent activity that happens to those in the BC community. In attendance, we convey that there must be an end to this suffering. Faculty and administrators, I hope that you will show your care and concern for the state of our campus at next year’s Take Back the Night.

The emotional and heartfelt stories cannot be recreated for you; you must come for yourself and you must witness with open ears and an open heart. You must witness the strength and courage of the women who choose to speak, and you must also hear the stories of violence and abuse that happens every weekend if not every day on this campus. You must break the silence around issues of rape and sexual assault. You must CARE. Kaki Stamateris A&S ’10

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

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

submitted to the newspaper.

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

Business and Operations

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

proclaiming: “BC needs to get over itself. Here’s one idea: pretend it’s a football game. Go Flying Eagles. Go be a better citizen.”

That’s right BC, he said go be a better citizen. Be a better citizen: Do more for our city’s schools, like save the St. Columbkille from being shut down by the archdiocese so Allston / Brighton parents would still have a parochial school to send their kids to. Be a better citizen: Send more than a mere 600 students on service and immersion every spring break.

Be a better citizen: Stop netting the restaurants, hotels, and public transportation of Boston millions of dollars per year in revenue from your athletic events. Be a better citizen: Your message of men and women for others is obviously failing its student body, such as Liz McCartney, 2008 CNN’s hero of the year.

Brian McGrory, here’s an idea: pretend you care about your job and do some research before you attack an institution that spends over $9.5 million on volunteering for the Boston Public Schools. Go be a better journalist.

Michael Saldarriaga, Graphics Editor Christina Quinn, Online Manager Laura Campedelli, Multimedia Coodinator Brooke Schneider, Assoc. Copy Editor DJ Adams, Asst. Copy Editor Patrick Gallagher, Assoc. News Editor Taylour Kumpf, Asst. News Editor Maegan O’Rourke, Assoc. Sports Editor Paul Sulzer, Asst. Sports Editor Kristopher Robinson, Asst. Features Editor

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

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

THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, April 22, 2010

A7

OPINIONS

(En)countering the hook up culture ‘Witness’ Thumbs the power Up of service 26.2 – Congratulations to all the marathoners, especially the now massive contingent of BC students (including three from The Heights!) who have somehow found the time to fit 20-mile runs in their schedules when most of us struggle to make it the Plex more than once a week. Enjoy your lifelong bragging rights.

Booths – The spiffed up first floor of O’Neill not only boasts a new entranceway, fancy new Macs (PC forever!), but how, and most importantly, cozy booths with flat screens for group work. Be sure to get there early because there is a limited number, but it’s safe to say that study dates will never be the same.

4/20 – Although this national holiday (judging by class attendance) didn’t fall on Marathon Monday, Boston did have an extra special stoner celebration this year. A list of the “Highest Cities” (and we’re not talking altitude) was released earlier this week, with Beantown ranked as number four, beating out both San Fran and Burlington. Insert dumb weed joke taken from High Times.

Double Down – The eternal genius that is KFC has done it again. TU/TD thought that it’d be impossible to top the deliciously disgusting famous bowls, but then the chicken bun was created. In this fried chicken and bacon sandwich, the chicken patties play the dual role of comprising both the bun and filling. Can’t you just feel your arteries clogging?

Thumbs Down Spectators – You run, we drink, it’s a tradition. TU/ TD respects and, dare I say, loves traditions! However when the ebullience of the crowd overf lows into distracting or even debilitating the runners, then it’s time to curtail the enthusiasm just a bit. If you’d be fine with strangers slapping you in the back and screaming in your face after running 20 miles, then by all means, let that tradition march on.

Mirage – It was there, and then, just as suddenly, it was gone. The majestic and mysterious Beans, Creams, and Dreams (genus shackius always-closedius) was sighted by many students (photgraphic evidence pending) on Monday, giving more fuel to the rumors that this is actually a functioning dining facility.

El Pelon – If you’ve ever been to the forests of Alaska or spent time as a valence shell electron, then you know what it means to be a take-out container from El Pelon. Their small enchilada tins fit comfortably in brown bags that could easily handle a week’s worth of groceries. Scale it back for Mother Earth, guys.

Eyjafjallajokull – Besides i m m o b i l i z i n g Eu ro p ea n travel for weeks, this TD is more focused on how ridiculous that name is and how enjoyable it is to watch newscasters struggle with it.

All natural disasters should stem from Iceland, if only for the incredible amount of consonants they squish into names. And you thought Reykjavik was bad.

TONY ZENDER It is always an interesting experience for me, as a visiting European student, to encounter cultural habits which are shared on both sides of the Atlantic. This, of course, is not only true under positive circumstances, but also in negative cases of cultural degeneracy like the hook-up culture.

It seems to me that hooking up in America is something that is connected to immaturity. Hooking up is part of a phase that will end (after college) upon entering a new stage of life, whereas the hook-up culture in Europe has been so broadly established in that it serves as a common and accepted standard for all stages of life. (The ongoing demotion of marriage and family, and the promotion of substitutes such as “civil pacts” and “civil unions” instead, are clear examples of this.)

However, the number of similarities is striking. The predominant culture in the Western world, formed by a notion of freedom without values and excluding an objective truth, has reduced mankind to a slave of its own sexuality. The glorification of a hedonistic lifestyle through parts of the political discourse, and especially through huge parts of the left-wing media, has disconnected sexuality from human love and reduced it to a cheap source of short-lived, personal

pleasure. Now, men and women, who previously enjoyed their own sexuality in a relationship oriented to their and their offspring’s good, have become counterparts in the struggle for constant sexual satisfaction. However, this point includes an interesting distinction, a kind of division of labor in the struggle that separates the sexes: Men are reduced to sexual performers while women are reduced to sexual objects.

It seems to me that this distinction requires both sexes to be discussed separately when it comes to this issue.

In the following, I want to address my male fellow students on campus who are currently involved in the hook-up culture, first with a short theoretical consideration and then more directly.

From a man’s perspective, a woman always has something mysterious, something that a man is never able to find in other men. With the creation of Eve, God complemented Adam with someone, who is more than something; Eve is not just another object in the realm of paradise designed to nourish Adam’s lower needs, like nutrition and pleasure.

From the time of this creation, Adam encountered someone at eye level, someone gifted with reason and rationality, someone who is similar to him but also different, and someone who is in her totality the most beautiful and most precious thing in the world surrounding him. Nothing on earth will ever be able to compete against her stunning and mysterious beauty, no symphony, no piece of art, no landscape, or sundown will ever suffice as a substitute. Two human beings of opposite sexes

designed to complement each other, gifted with rationality and capable of loving each other.

So, my fellow men, do you really think that someone serving as the head of creation should be treated in such a disrespectful and undeserving way? Ask yourself, how many of your hook-ups left a hurt person behind? How often do you feel shame deriving from the night before? Even if you try to cover your conscience with cheap jokes and bragging, you know you hurt a girl and yourself. You left deep wounds behind, wounds on the deepest level of the human being. And if you’re still not convinced, please tell me: How many of your hook-ups turned into a real relationship?

Take a second to think about the following. Imagine that the last girl you hooked up with would be not only “a” girl, whose first name you can barely remember. Imagine she is somebody’s daughter, somebody’s sister, or even somebody’s future wife.

What if she would be your little sister?

How would you react? And, what if she would be your future wife? How would you feel if somebody would use her – even with her consent – for his sexual pleasure?

So, my fellow men, I invite you to think this over. If your conscience is telling you what you are doing is wrong, then perhaps it is time for a mature decision. Encounter a woman in the way that she deserves, which shows her that you are really interested in her as a person and not only in her body. All in all: Esto vir - Be a man!

Tony Zender is student in the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences.

A summer of discovery

KYLE MARRA As an advocate for alternative energy use and an undergraduate physics major, I was enthused by the opportunity to help implement alternative sources in the developing country of Thailand last summer. Studying under Don Grace, the Nuclear Power Plant Feasibility Study project director for U.S. firm Burns and Roe Asia Lt. in Bangkok, I was exposed to a summer of science, service, and Thai culture. As project director, Grace works with a government organization, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), to assist with the generation and transmission of all electrical energy throughout Thailand. In brief, Grace surveys candidate nuclear sites, analyzes data to score and rank the sites in order of desirability, and educates the local officials on the advantages of having a nuclear plant in their community. For about a month last summer, I observed and partook in his line of work.

EGAT’s objective of constructing a nuclear plant by 2020 was summarized in a manual I studied during my initial days. This dense reading provided intricate details about the five commercially available nuclear power plants: the AP 1000, the ABWR, the PHWR, the APR 1400, and the ATMEA1. Aside from the intricate details regarding various aspects of planning for the construction of nuclear power, I also received Grace’s firsthand anecdotes from Three Mile Island as well as a recent developments in nuclear engineering. Grace stressed the fact that 2.2 tons of natural uranium produces 36 million kilowatthours of electricity – the same amount of electricity that 20,000 tons of coal or 8.5 million cubic meters of gas would produce. Unlike fossil fuels, nuclear waste is defined and contained.

While life in Bangkok resembled the fast-paced life I have grown accustomed to, rural Thailand was the relaxed and open environment that I had previously envisioned. While visiting a

candidate sight in Northern Thailand, I attended meetings with local officials to discuss the plausibility of building the plant. Since there are many economic benefits – job creation, skilled labor, tax benefits, etc. – for building a nuclear plant, the local community was extremely interested in using the land for a building area. Since not nearly enough water was available by the site, the rest of the day was spent theorizing how to supply enough water to the plant – from building an artificial reservoir from a nearby river to deepening local wetlands. The researchers and I then took a small boat (with a typical Thai engine consisting of a car engine attached to an extended propeller) and explored the wetland while continuing conversations.

On the ride home, Grace explained that, in the United States, the site would have been dismissed immediately.

However, since the local authorities were desperate to obtain the economic benefits, they did not instantly rule out the idea. Additionally, Thai culture seemed to dictate that opposition is unnecessary. Thus, the researchers, knowing the site was an improbable engineering feat, nonetheless respected the authorities’ plea for the entire day.

The difference between Western and Eastern thought was stimulating.

While conversing with a local Thai, we discussed the way in which Western culture places blame on individuals and Eastern culture tends to blame the situation. For example, if someone “cuts” in a line, Western people, in general, will comment on that individual’s character.

Meanwhile, someone of the Eastern culture will think something similar to “he must be having a bad day.” These different perspectives shared by the local Thais made the tripmore than informational. The number of jobs present in Bangkok was overwhelming – food was available on every corner, the Skyrail was cleaned by hand three times a day, and construction was carried out on most streets and sidewalks.

I noticed that there were very few elderly people on the streets of Bangkok, and, after working up the courage to ask a local to shed some light on why the elderly were scarce in the city, I was told about the family structure of common Thai people. Most fathers and some mothers work long hours at their

FROM HERE TO RESERVOIR

BY SAL CIPRIANO

jobs while the children attend school and stay at home with the grandparents.

Traditional gender roles are largely still in effect; In fact, at one point Grace told his cleaning lady that she did not have to refer to him as master. Some Thai women unfortunately sell their bodies for a fairly prosperous lifestyle. One philanthropist established a restaurant, Cabbages and Condoms, which takes women out of prostitution and employs them to decrease the spreading of AIDS. This same philanthropist has founded schools, created scholarships, and spread AIDS awareness throughout many regions of rural Thailand.

On days when the workplace was slow, I volunteered at an orphanage in Bangkok. The workers in the babies’ dormitories assigned each volunteer to one baby. I was assigned Bunyakhan, a lively and giddy baby with one dimple, one tooth, and a heart-melting smile.

Instantly developing an attachment to the orphanage, I frequently spent my days there. Soon thereafter, Bunyakhan recognized me whenever I arrived on site, and not much time passed before he cried when I left. I was lucky enough to volunteer at the orphanage on one of the organization’s most celebrated holidays, when the adopted children return to the orphanage. During the ceremony, many young adopted children, having learned English from their new homes in Europe and Australia, made moving speeches in which they spoke splowly of the workers’ care and the benefits of the orphanage.

From sightseeing to working, I gathered the perspective of individuals from lifestyles wildly different from that of my own. The wealth of scientific knowledge acquired was just as useful as the exposure to the process of innovation, research, and construction. Having kept in contact with Grace, I am regularly updated on the progress of the study. While working provided intellectual fuel, I was further satiated when learning about the Thai culture and volunteering at the orphanage. I will always remember Bunyakhan’s smile and laugh as well as his tears the last time we parted. I hope to hear word about him in another postcard soon.

Kyle Marra is a sophomore in the College of Arts & Science.

SUZANNAH LUTZ There is a new student publication premiering during Arts Fest, and it is something you have got to witness for yourself. This year brings the launch of Witness: A Journal of Social Responsibility, a publication that aims to foster and broaden discussion about global responsibility, social justice, and citizenship through reflection, storytelling, and artistic expression. Funded by the Center for Student Formation, Witness is a course-produced publication, the marketing, submissions, design, and online components of which are managed by a classroom of 15 students throughout the year. Witness is a two semester PULSE elective in the philosophy department (PL375).

Isn’t it about time we had something like this on campus? So often this school is regarded as a service-orientated campus, and it proves itself without a doubt. Programs like Appalachia send out dozens of groups each spring break to help communities. PULSE weaves together academia and community service for a greater understanding of philosophical and theological content. Arrupe immerses students in the lives of the poor all over the globe. But how often do you get to read people’s reflections and experiences with these service initiatives?

How often do you read about the lives of the people that Boston College service programs hope to affect?

When I volunteered at an alternative GED program in Brighton through PULSE, I worked with a girl who we will call Carla. She was a young Haitian woman originally from Miami, Fla., and every day, the van would bring her to school. During her senior year of high school, she was involved in a car accident, and while recovering, she used a wheelchair to get around.

Usually, the GED students like to get a smoke during lunch or actually leave the classroom, but Carla liked to stay behind and work on her writing. It was the last part of the test she had left.

I helped her with writing: grammar, punctuation, spelling, and other things to remember. She would bring me to the computer lab during the last part of break and show me pictures of her father, mother, sisters, and brothers. She even showed me the texts from a boy whom she liked back in Miami and his pictures from high school. Despite all of this, and her therapy, and her search for colleges, she still came to class every day, determined to do well on the test. I could not make her pass the test myself, and that was not my responsibility.

What we learn through service is not as simple as saying “doing good things for other people is nice.” That seems too forced or preachy. What we learn through service is an intimate understanding of other people through their stories. Those stories are what bind us to each other, make us feel ties to other human beings unlike ourselves,and help us understand our own character. It is why sharing those stories is so important not only for our own personal development, but also for the welfare of our community.

Witness creates a sphere outside service organizations for people involved in groups such as Appalachia, 4Boston, PULSE, and Arrupe to share those stories and gain a greater understanding of the meaning of their service work. For the first time, on Thursday, April 29, from 2 to 3 p.m., Witness will showcase readings, reflections, videos, and a presentation of its eJournal in Gasson 100. All are welcome and encouraged to join Witness for reflections, readings, and conversation.

For more information about Witness: A Journal of Social Responsibility, please visit its Web site at www.bcwitnessjournal.wordpress.com.

For any other information or questions about course registration, feel free to e-mail bc.witnessjournal@gmail.com.

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

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Contact us at editor@bcheights.com

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Thursday, April 22, 2010

The Heights

Spatola paces team with power and patience Spatola, from A10

Mass., native started 21 games over his first two years, making appearances in 50 games overall. In his junior year, Spatola only started 12 games, but played in 42 games overall. Many times, he would come on to play first base when Mike Belfiore would move over from first to close out a game.

“I joked last year that Belf and I were the closer,” Spatola said. “Whenever he came in to close the game, I’d go out to first. So if he’d be down in the bullpen, I’d be warming up my arm next to him.”

In the Austin regional of the NCAA tournament last year, Spatola got the chance to start all three games in which the Eagles played, and he made the most of his opportunities.

Spatola went 6-of-9 with a home run in the regional.

“Just the whole Texas experience was unbelievable,” Spatola said. “It really gives you a taste of what it’s like in the postseason to really want to get back there.”

Although the regional may not have ended how the Eagles had hoped, it provided Spatola with a running start for his standout play during his senior year.

“That was a great experience to get that postseason experience under my belt,” Spatola said. “I knew there were going to be a lot of opportunities for starting roles this year. I kind of took that with me into the summer and worked hard. [As a senior] I wanted to go out with playing to the max of my potential and working as hard as I can, knowing this is it.

“So I worked hard this fall, definitely got into the weight room all fall and all winter. I worked on my swing enough so that I can maintain some level of consistency, as opposed to in the past – I’d be hot one day, cold another. I just wanted that level of consistency that I’ve been able to accomplish so far this year.”

The right fielder has started all 37 games for the Eagles this season, and this consistency in the lineup has created a certain level of confidence, Spatola said.

“It’s definitely nice going to the park every day having an idea of where you’ll be playing and where you’ll be hitting in the order,” Spatola said. “It’s a type of longer leash that you get, having proven a little success in the past, where you’re not stressing out if you’re 0-for-3 going into your last at-bat, worried about playing the next day. It’s kind of a piece of mind-type thing.

“And it’s not that I get relaxed or take anything for granted, but it’s nice not having to press or try too hard to prove myself on a daily basis. I think

alex trautwig / heights editor

John Spatola has seamlessly stepped into the middle of the Eagles lineup this year, driving in 35 runs in 36 games. that’s what the fall and the winter are for, really. It’s been great. To be able to play every day, I like filling that role, and getting consistent at-bats. It’s definitely helped me achieve some success this year.”

The tri-captain certainly has had some success.

Spatola is batting .329, with nine home runs and 36 RBIs, and his bat has been a big reason for the Eagles’ offensive power this season.

With 18 games left in the season, including four key series against playoff contenders in the ACC, Spatola thinks the Eagles are in a good spot to make a run similar to that of last year.

“I think we’re in good shape right now,” Spatola said. “I like the way the schedule lays out, especially for the next two weeks, we can get things rolling.”

Ultimately, Spatola would like to end up where

his three roommates did this year: the national championship. The right fielder lives in a suite with the three hockey captains, Matt Price, Ben Smith, and Matt Lombardi.

“I feel like a slouch walking around there while they’re polishing their two rings,” Spatola said while laughing. “It’s great. They’re three of the hardest working guys I know, and they don’t take themselves too seriously. We have a good time. We root each other on, I go to all their games, they’ve been great about coming out and heckling me in right from the ramp. We have a blast. I’m so happy for them, so proud of what they’ve been able to accomplish, and all their hard work has paid off.

“I think we feed off of each other. They definitely inspire me to work hard. They’re accomplishing something that we as a team set out to accomplish every year, so my senior year, I wouldn’t mind joining them in the parade.”

After his season is over, Spatola’s career may be dictated by how the MLB draft goes.

“If the opportunity presents itself that would obviously be a dream come true,” Spatola said.

If the majors are not the next step in Spatola’s future, he could have a career in the entertainment industry.

Away from Shea Field, Spatola has been working on a screenplay. Having seen the movie Summer Catch way too many times on summer-league road trips, Spatola and good friend Sam Shaughnessy have decided it’s time that people know the real truth about summer leagues, and not what is depicted in the Freddie Prinze, Jr., film. Spatola said every time he sees the movie, it gets worse and worse.

“It’s such a good premise, but it’s just so poorly done,” Spatola said. “The baseball is awful. They don’t really have a grasp of what the summer leagues are really like. The characters – they don’t act like college-age kids or baseball players. And so basically, ours is going to be a funnier, more realistic, less idealized version of Summer Catch.

We’ve rattled off endless stories and anecdotes from our own summer experience or our experience playing here at school. I think it’s going to be pretty good.”

No matter what’s next for Spatola, BC is fortunate to have him starting in right field every day.

Maybe it’s fate that the plans for Spatola to go to the D-III school fell through. He had been following BC sports and coming to baseball games all his life. Heck, his whole family had come to Chestnut Hill before him.

“I’ve been a BC fan my whole life, and I’m proud to wear the colors,” Spatola said. “There’s really no place I’d rather be.” n

Whitney named team captain Gibbons, Cross given assistant captain title

By Zach Wielgus Sports Editor

After head coach Jerry York attributed much of the men’s hockey team’s national championship win to the leadership of the three captains, the mounting anticipation of who would take over for Matt Price, Matt Lombardi, and Ben Smith began as soon as the celebration ended.

The wait ended Friday. The team voted rising senior Joe Whitney captain, and rising senior Brian Gibbons and rising junior Tommy Cross assistant captains.

Because Whitney, Gibbons, and goaltender John Muse will be the only seniors, the new captains expected to get a vote of confidence from their team.

“There’s only three seniors next year, and one of them is a goalie,” Gibbons said. “Over the course of our career, we both gained enough experience where we expected it.”

Cross is the first junior to be elected captain since Mike Brennan in the 20062007 season.

“I’m really excited,” Cross said. “To receive a letter, I was pretty pumped.

They [Whitney and Gibbons] have three years experience, which will help. They

are proven vets, so it was pretty clear cut.”

“It’s a great honor for Tommy,” Gibbons said. “It speaks volumes to how the team thinks of him.”

Whitney and Gibbons played in all 42 games this season, both finishing in the top three in points. Whitney, the diminutive and scrappy forward, ended the year third with 45 points on 17 goals and 28 assists. He also played a part in six of the Eagles’ 12 goals during the Frozen Four, recording one goal and five assists.

The physical and similarly small Gibbons trailed only team-leader Cam Atkinson in total points, registering 50 on 16 goals and 34 assists. The junior forward was also the only Eagle to earn Hockey East first-team honors for his play this season.

The two forwards showed they could work together well this season, creating a dynamic line. What they learned being on the same line this year will carry over into their roles as captains this year.

“We have developed a pretty good friendship on and off the ice,” Whitney said. “That will only help in the game.”

At 6-3, 215 pounds, Cross offers an imposing presence among the defensemen and played an enormous part in stifling the potent offenses of Miami (Ohio) and Wisconsin in the Frozen Four, holding them to one goal. He, along with Edwin Shea, will be the elder statesmen of the

defensemen, as Carl Sneep’s graduation leaves BC with no current upperclassmen.

Yet, the Eagles also played four freshman defensemen this season, giving them plenty of experience for next year, and making Cross’ job less about mentoring and more about maintaining.

“Setting the bar, leading by example, being there for my teammates,” Cross said of his responsibilities. “I’m going to do whatever’s necessary.”

Cross will also be the first defenseman captain since Mike Brennan helped lead the Eagles to a 2008 national championship victory.

Although Price, Lombardi, and Smith left big shoes to fill after winning a national championship, Whitney doesn’t believe it will be a matter of living up to inflated standards.

“There is no pressure because it’s a completely different year,” Whitney said.

“We are well prepared to be leaders. Guys paved the way for us, and we have learned from the best.”

“We are going to use the captains before us and take a little bit of what they did, but use our personalities to do our thing,” Gibbons added. “It’s Joe’s team now.”

Like any good captain would, Whitney interjected.

“It’s not my team, it’s our team,” Whitney said. “But we’re going to do a great job as a trio.” n

Donahue provides welcome changes from Skinner’s style Change, from A10

assistant under Jay Wright at Villanova, brings experience with recruiting. He also brought along his assistant at Cornell, Nat Graham.

Beyond recruiting for the future, Donahue faces immediate concerns with both current players and the incoming class. Last week, junior guard Rakim Sanders announced he would leave the program, deciding that it was best for him to move on. The three members of the class of 2014 are also in doubt, with Brady Heslip definitely transferring, Kevin Noreen exploring other options, and Papa Samba Ndao doubtful because of academic issues.

With no rising sophomores, BC faces an undermanned team.

It’s difficult to coach players that you didn’t recruit under your system, which is why Donahue will take his losses and move on, because he knows what he wants to change at BC. Donahue will bring a new type of intensity that has been missing from BC basketball as of late.

And like at Cornell, he will build relationships with his players.

Before the announcement of his hiring and talking to the Boston press, Donahue went back

to Ithaca to talk to his team first. He will recruit players of high quality, both on and off the court.

He’ll also market the team to the Boston area and BC fans. Donahue is ready and willing to become the face of BC basketball, which is a departure from Skinner.

Donahue will also change up Skinner’s traditional slow-down, flex offense. He’ll introduce a new game of up-tempo style, with a spread-out offense that will encourage the players to shoot.

There’s a reason his Cornell team averaged 78 points per game this season.

This style will only benefit returning players like Reggie Jackson, who saw his playmaking ability stifled by the half-court offense employed by Skinner.

Even though the transition now could be difficult because of transfers and recruits in limbo, Donahue will eventually be successful, just like he was at Cornell. He will create the foundation for a program that can both win in the ACC and uphold BC’s high academic standards.

Welcome to BC, Coach Donahue.

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

alex trautwig / heights editor

New assistant captain Brian Gibbons will be charged with leading the team to another title.

The Heights

Editors’ Picks

Thursday, April 22, 2010 The Week Ahead Women’s lacrosse opens the ACC tournament against Duke today. The baseball team visits Raleigh for an important three-game set against the ’Pack. The softball team will be looking to pick up its first ACC win this weekend when Virginia visits Chestnut Hill.

Standings

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Paul Sulzer

38-17

Maegan O’Rourke

36-19

Zach Wielgus

34-21

Heights staff

29-26

Baseball swept Wake to improve to .500 in the ACC. Softball swept BU, extending its nonconference winning streak to four games. Lacrosse escaped Brown with a 9-8 win. In our series of the week, the Red Sox were swept by the Rays.

Guest Editor: Carrie McMahon Editorial Assistant “Zac Halpern apologizes for Sunday night.”

This Week’s Games NFL Draft: Number of BC players selected

Zach Wielgus Sports Editor

Maegan O’Roruke Assoc. Sports Editor

Paul Sulzer Asst. Sports Editor

Carrie McMahon

Editorial Assistant

1

1

2

BC

BC

NC State

BC

Softball: Boston College vs. Virginia (series)

Virginia

Virginia

Virginia

Virginia

Women’s Lacrosse: Boston College vs. Duke

BC

Duke

Duke

Duke

Bruins

Bruins

Bruins

Bruins

NHL Playoffs: Boston Bruins vs. Buffalo Sabres (series)

Sailing The Boston College sailing team won its fourth consecutive New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association (ICSA) Coed Conference Championship last weekend at Connecticut College.

BC finished in first overall by 40 points, winning the A and B divisions.

With the win, the Eagles qualify for the first round of the ICSA Coed National Championship.

The Eagles led the competition throughout the weekend, opening up a 13-point lead over second place Yale at the end of the first day. The Bulldogs pulled within three points Sunday morning before BC pulled away in the afternoon.

Women’s Rowing

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Baseball: Boston College at NC State (series)

BCnotes

Recap from Last Week

The Boston College women’s rowing team claimed three victories over UConn and Holy Cross on Sunday at Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Mass.

The Varsity 8 team won its race convincingly, steadily moving into the lead for the first 1,000 meters and holding off the competition for the final 500. The Varsity 4 and second Varsity 4 came from behind to edge out the competition.

The second Varsity 8 and the Novice 8 both finished in third.

The Eagles will row for the ACC Championship on Saturday at Lake Hartwell in South Carolina.

Three questions heading into Spring Game

By Ian Boynton For The Heights

The 18th Annual Jay McGillis Memorial Spring Football Game offers the public its first chance to view the 2010 Boston College Eagles. The team outperformed expert predictions last season, finishing 8-5 and qualifying for the Emerald Bowl.

The format of the Spring Game is tailored to the coach’s orders, and both the offense and defense are placed in predetermined situations designed to simulate a real game. While there are downs, the downs “reset” on fourth down, as there are no punts or kicks. The first-string offense, which goes against the first-string defense, takes 12 snaps, and switches with the second-string offense, which goes against the second-string defense.

While this is a limited format, the Spring Game will give fans their first look at some of the more exciting preseason positional battles. Here are just a few things to look out for on Saturday.

Who will be the starting quarterback?

Sophomore quarterback Dave Shinskie was among the most inconsistent Eagles last season. At times looking like a viable starter, while at others playing like a true freshman, the 26-year-old came into the spring as the No. 1 quarterback, with sophomore Mike Marscovetra, and true freshmen (early enrollees) Chase Rettig and Josh Bordner behind him. Rettig, from San Clemente, Calif., is one of the most highly touted recruits of the 2010 class, with experts predicting him to immediately push for the starting position.

As the Eagles prepare for the final spring scrimmage, the starting quarterback position remains up in the air. While each of the quarterbacks shined in the first scrimmage, the second scrimmage offered little insight as to who was gaining ground in the competition, as none of the quarterbacks stood out.

No decision will be made immediately following the Spring Game, so look for one quarterback to take the opportunity to separate himself from the pack.

Even though Shinskie is the starter at the moment, it is not out of the question that another

candidate could dethrone him. Do not expect any decision soon, though, as Superfans may have to wait until the Eagles’ opening game against Weber State on Sept. 4 to learn who will be leading the Eagles in 2010.

Can the Eagles find consistency in the receiving corps?

The Eagles’ wide receiving corps can be summed up as young and inexperienced. Outside of junior Colin Larmond, Jr., the Eagles have one wide receiver, senior Billy Flutie, with significant game experience.

Beyond that, BC boasts only potential.

Besides Larmond Jr., redshirt sophomores Clyde Lee and Donte Elliot, redshirt freshman Johnathan Coleman, and senior Ryan Lindsey have each turned in solid performances in at least one of the first two scrimmages of the spring.

None has been consistent, however, recording an uncomfortable number of drops in the spring scrimmages. Any of these receivers would greatly improve their stock by turning in another solid performance, and greatly ease the concerns of fans and coaches alike.

The Eagles do welcome receiver Shakim Phillips this summer, who many consider to be the gem of the 2010 class, rated by Rivals as a four-star recruit.

That being said, while certainly a possibility, the coaching staff cannot comfortably plan to rely on a true freshman – who will not arrive on campus until August – to step in immediately and become a legitimate threat.

Who will emerge on the defensive line?

BC defenses of late have been among the best in the nation, with the exception of one critical category: consistently pressuring opposing quarterbacks.

After two impressive spring scrimmages, keep an eye on redshirt freshman defensive end Kasim Edebali, junior defensive tackle Kaleb Ramsey, and senior defensive end Alex Albright, who has been hampered by injury the last few seasons. If the defensive line is able to produce throughout the 2010 season, the already stellar defense will improve all the more. n

alex trautwig / heights editor

(Left-right): Chase Rettig, Dave Shinskie, Josh Bordner, and Mike Marscovetra are all aiming for the starting QB spot.

alex trautwig / heights editor

Redshirt freshman Johnathan Coleman is one of the many receivers who is being asked to step up in the wideout corps.

Season play should trump Combine statistics for the Draft Nick Loury

Sometimes, you can have too much information to make a good decision. As the NFL Draft approaches, there will be plenty of talk about 40yard dash times, bench presses, and any number of other statistics. As the public and NFL decision makers become inundated with numbers, common sense can become clouded by hype that was garnered on a football field filled with cones instead of players.

NFL teams have developed physical expectations for prospects at each position, and will downgrade players if they do not fit the prototype. 6-1 Colt McCoy is ranked behind 6-4 Sam Bradford and 6-3 Jimmy Clausen despite having comparable numbers.

Over their careers, McCoy has had a higher completion percentage and threw for roughly 5,000 more yards, while all three had similar touchdown-to-interception ratios. On top of that, McCoy ran for roughly 1,500 more yards than Bradford and Clausen combined. Despite this, Bradford will likely be the first overall pick, with Clausen potentially going in the top 10, leaving McCoy to fall to the second round.

If McCoy is lucky, his career will be similar to that of Drew Brees, another standout college quarterback who fell to the second round because of concerns about his height. After finishing a career in which he set Big Ten records for passing yards, touchdowns, and completion percentage, the 6-0 Brees was overlooked by every NFL team before being selected by the San Diego Chargers with the first pick in the second round.

It seems safe to say that the Super Bowl MVP and four-time Pro Bowler has proven his doubters wrong.

Ironically, the player whom the Chargers drafted to replace Brees is a great example of a team not overlooking a player because he does not fit the typical pro mold. Philip Rivers finished his career at NC State having won three bowl games and throwing for the second-most yards in college history, but there were concerns about his unconventional throwing motion and suspect arm strength. Despite these flaws, Rivers has flour-

ished in the NFL, much as he did in college.

Similarly, NFL executives can get enamored with the speed of wide receivers and ignore college production. In the 2009 draft, the Oakland Raiders selected Darrius Heyward-Bey ahead of Michael Crabtree because Heyward-Bey had run a 4.3 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. The Raiders made the pick despite Crabtree’s vastly superior college career.

As rookies last year, Crabtree and HeywardBey each played in 11 games. Not surprisingly, Crabtree finished with 39 more receptions, 501 more yards, and one more touchdown. In fact, he had better totals over his first two games than Heyward-Bey did through the whole season.

Before making their selection, the Raiders simply could have looked across the San Francisco Bay to find out that speed alone does not make a good wide receiver. Despite only running a 4.6 40-yard dash, Jerry Rice retired as the greatest receiver of all time and a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

At the Combine, the 40-yard dash is one of the most closely watched tests, although it is a faulty barometer for professional success. The problem is that it does not measure game speed. There are few opportunities for a football player to run 40 yards in a straight line, making quickness and the ability to change direction more vital to a player’s success. Analyzing game tape gives a better sense of a player’s game speed than the sterilized drills at the Combine.

The Combine’s true value is in the opportunity to observe players interact and compete with each other, and the ability to have one-on-one meetings to asses a player’s personality, character, and football knowledge.

Information gleaned in these interviews can separate two seemingly similar players or overcome supposed shortcomings in size, speed, or strength, assuming they are conducted with an open mind. For example, going into the 1998 Draft, Ryan Leaf and Peyton Manning were both being considered for the first overall pick. They were similar in both statistics and size, and were generally considered equals. While Manning has worked his way into the conversation of best quarterback ever, Leaf is firmly entrenched in the conversation of biggest draft busts in history. The

difference between these two drastically different careers has everything to do with what goes on inside the heads of each player. Leaf was a combustible head case that got into fights with coaches and teammates on a regular basis, while Manning is a bonafide football genius. In meetings with potential draft picks, teams try to separate the Leafs from the Mannings, making the interview portion of the NFL Combine extremely valuable.

All players considered for the Draft were stars in college. The difference between good and bad professional players comes from work ethic, char-

acter, and determination that cannot be measured by a stopwatch. Someone who displayed these intangibles on fall Saturdays is more likely to be a star on fall Sundays than someone who simply starred in February at the Combine.

So, with the NFL Draft approaching this weekend, be careful not to let the endless statistics and analysis get in the way of what you saw over the course of the college season.

Nick Loury is a guest columnist for The Heights. He can be reached at sports@bcheights.com.

SPORTS THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, April 22, 2010

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THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2010

A welcome change for the Eagles

A Patient Approach John Spatola has gone from long shot to the baseball team’s hottest hitter.

All because he was able to wait.

ALEX TRAUTWIG / HEIGHTS EDITOR

BY GREG JOYCE For The Heights

Boston College was a waitlist decision away from not having its cleanup hitter and one of this season’s best players.

For most of his senior year of high school, John Spatola had plans to play hockey and baseball at a Division III school in western Massachusetts.

He had talked to the coaches, and was all set to enroll there.

Luckily for the Eagles, those plans fell through,

and BC was next on Spatola’s list.

“I decided, mainly due to what the school had to offer, that BC was the place for me,” Spatola said.

“And if baseball worked out, then even better.”

Once he stepped foot on campus, Spatola’s first move was to contact head coach Mik Aoki just to get the chance to try out for the team. Aoki had seen Spatola play at Roxbury Latin, where he recruited his teammates Chris Kowalski and Kyle Prohovich.

With that in mind, Aoki gave Spatola the opportunity to show his skills with the team in the fall.

“I guess I didn’t do anything to not make it,” Spatola said. “I was kind of living day-to-day, analyzing each day’s performance. So that was pretty stressful. But days went by, weeks went by, and no news was good news. And then by the end of the fall, he told me that I had made the team, which was a thrill for me.”

This was just the first of many steps for Spatola on the way to being a starter and a tri-captain this year, his senior season on the Heights. The Milton,

See Spatola, A8

MAEGAN O’ROURKE Amid all the hoopla of the hockey team’s national championship run, the hiring of the new Boston College men’s basketball coach a day before the Frozen Four commenced in Detroit seemed to get lost in the shuffle.

That Wednesday, Athletic Director Gene DeFilippo hired former Cornell coach Steve Donahue to take the reins of a job Al Skinner had held for 13 years. A lot has been said about Skinner’s departure, especially because he happens to be BC’s all-time winningest coach.

Many argued that BC could not find someone better than Skinner, that one losing season after making the NCAA tournament the year before was not cause for concern.

But it was more than just the losses.

As evidenced by the team’s unenthused play on the court and the empty seats in Conte, it was time for both sides to move on.

So when the search for the new coach began, some fans salivated over the thought of bringing Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl back to his alma mater. Former Skinner assistants Bill Coen and Ed Cooley were both interviewed.

Then there was Donahue, the outsider from Cornell that rose to national prominence because of the Big Red’s success in the NCAA tournament. And I couldn’t be happier with Gene’s pick.

Donahue comes to Chestnut Hill highly regarded, because of his background coaching in the Ivy League and especially after a tremendous year at Cornell that saw his Big Reds upset Temple and Wisconsin on their way to the Sweet 16. But the one major knock against him during the hiring process was the question of recruiting. Did Donahue have the necessary contacts and networks to compete in the recruiting world against other top ACC teams?

So far, Donahue has stressed his numerous contacts with AAU coaches and how he became successful at Cornell, which ultimately won DeFilippo over.

Donahue was able to build a competitive program at Cornell that had no athletic scholarships. Now, especially with a recruiting budget double what it was at Ithaca, Donahue can recruit more elite players than those that go to the Ivy League.

His top assistant Joe Jones, the former head coach at Columbia and an

See Change, A8

BASEBALL

Eagles win baseball Beanpot

BY DANIEL POPKO Heights Staff

A championship in the Beanpot helped propel the Boston College men’s hockey team toBoston College 9 ward a national 3 Northeastern championship.

Though a title may be a stretch for the Eagles on the baseball diamond, a 9-3 victory over Northeastern in the Beanpot final could be the boost BC needs to make its way toward a postseason berth.

Sitting at 9-9 in ACC play, BC is one of the last teams currently in the ACC tournament – only eight of the 12 schools in the league qualify – and needs a lateseason run to feel good about its chances for the NCAAs. The Beanpot doesn’t contribute to conference win totals, keeping most of the Eagles’ top arms on the bench, but adding a little bit of hardware could

boost confidence.

Some of the weekend starters in the field helped BC lock up the title. Anthony Melchionda and Mickey Wiswall launched three-run homers in backto-back innings to blow the game wide open.

Wiswall’s blast in the top of the fourth put the Eagles up 9-3, and both teams put up zeros the rest of the way out.

Northeastern was spotted an early 1-0 lead by Dane Clemens after the Huskies’ Frank Compagnone tripled home a run in the bottom of the opening frame.

BC wasted no time in tying the game up, though, with an Andrew Lawrence triple plating freshman Matt Watson in the second. Just one inning later, Melchionda gave the Eagles all the runs they needed with his fourth homer of the year.

Despite going down early, the Eagles – throwing out a total of five pitchers,

I NSIDE SPORTS THIS ISSUE

none for more than two innings – managed keep the Huskies at bay.

After relieving Clemens to start the third, Dave Laufer got off to a rocky start.

The junior right-hander walked the first batter he faced on four pitches before giving up a two-run jack to Matt Miller and a single to Adam Pastyrnak.

Laufer settled down after that, sending the next three hitters down swinging on his way to five strikeouts in his two innings of work.

Hunter Gordon, Kevin Moran, and Taylor Lasko closed out the contest, and only Moran wavered. Moran, who has allowed opposing batters to hit .343 against him this season, allowed two hits and a pair of walks in his two innings of work.

After loading the bases in the sixth, the junior forced John Puttress to ground into a fielder’s choice to get BC out of the jam. 

York names hockey team captains

Joe Whitney, Brian Gibbons, and Tommy Cross will captain the hockey team next year...........A8

ALEX TRAUTWIG / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Dane Clemens started out yesterday’s win pitching the first two innings, allowing one run.

Don’t be fooled by the numbers

NFL teams can lose sight of actual on-field performance when evaluating prospects...............A9

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

Thursday, April 22, 2010

The Heights

mike saldarriaga / heights illustration

Thursday, April 22, 2010

THE HEIGHTS

B2

+Editor’s Corner

The long and short of the best

This past weekend, while packing up my childhood room (I’m moving from coastal Maine to Worcester, I don’t want to talk about it) I found some treasures that maybe should’ve remained unearthed.

Like a book of poetry I composed in the fifth grade that revealed a somewhat morbid mind, illustrated particularly by a poem describing the tragic demise of a goose at the hands of a hunter. Apparently, I witnessed this event, though I have no recollection of it. These were perhaps early warning signs of the melodrama that lay ahead. Anyway, h my discoveries got me thinking about it ry w a certain videos I had stumbled over in e l the past few months that show that even Hi ass children can have some pretty deep and Ch dark minds, all while remaining adorable.

Also, they’re all French, but you can make of that what you will.

KRISTEN HOUSE In my fiction class, our final project is to write the “best shortest / shortest best” story we can.

The assignment calls for a story that is not one word longer or shorter than it needs to be. For a writer who often gets the critique “you have to work on the length of your sentences,” this project has been staring me in the face like the frightening Odwalla that’s been congealing in my mini-fridge since January. See? That sentence alone was almost three lines. But this project got me thinking. Isn’t every bit of art that I love in life the best shortest / shortest best?

In essence, films that I love don’t take a single word for granted.

In fact, a majority of viewers become upset when their favorite shows go on too long, like Friends did, with its rootless meanderings in seasons five through 10.

There were back-and-forth Ross and Rachel moments that probably could have been condensed, but were drawn out for the sake of Joey, Chandler, Monica, and Phoebe merchandise that was sold at the NBC experience store for an arm and a leg. Don’t even get me started on Gilmore Girls or Grey’s Anatomy.

But when I leave a film like Good Will Hunting, I feel a sense of purpose behind the characters, and, fundamentally, it’s the same feeling I get looking at a Van Gogh painting. His art never leaves me scratching my head, proclaiming, “Gee, I wish he had used one less layer of paint …” The movement and the shape of the strokes always gel in an extraordinary fashion. When he paints a winding river, it’s as short as it had to be but as long as he could make it with movement. In Good Will Hunting, every “f—” and every Southie tirade is worth a Van Gogh stroke. When Robin Williams’ character Sean says to Will (Matt Damon) that he blew off his buddies for a Red Sox playoff game with the line, “Sorry guys, I gotta see about a girl,” there’s no one who could claim that they are wishing for a bit more explanation.

A friend of mine is an enormous fan of the Tim and Eric Awesome Show, a show whose absolutely bizarre humor has captivated his imagination (a favorite clip of mine is the rather tame Josh Groban singing the ditty: “Bang bang cops and robbers / Bang bang robbers and cops / Bang bang, put ‘em in jail,” in his earnest velvet vibrato). Tim and Eric have always said that they would do 50 episodes, and they are about five episodes away from meeting that quota. Yet, my friend expresses nothing but contentment that the pair is moving on. One of the biggest fans of the show I know said, “I think it takes guts to end on a high note.”

Are Tim and Eric, Flight of the Concords (finished after two seasons), and Apocalypse Now so different? All of these works recognized the project’s organic ending.

Even though that may have left many fans wanting more, there is little doubt that any project that continues without regard to creativity is falling off the bandwagon of “best shortest / shortest best” story. And fans that have watched the director’s cut of Apocalypse Now could tell you that adding more doesn’t make it better.

I could go on and on with examples of the value of brevity in art, but the essence of perfect has become abundantly clear to me.

My professor told us a story about how, when he did this exercise last year, he went around the room to ask students what each word would be worth to them in this “best shortest / shortest best” endeavor.

One student said it would be worth as much as five more minutes with their deceased parent. Maybe every “f—” isn’t worth five more minutes with your mother, but true art has an eye to this morbid assertion that every word should mean something to you.

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

1

Werner Herzog reads Madeline. This famous German director has a very unique take on the classic story of the little Parisian girl and her scarring appendectomy story (puns!). With a rather Freudian take on the ivy house and the 12 small girls in two straight lines, he uncovers the hidden tensions and repression latent in this tiny cloistered world overseen by the matronly Miss Clavel. Although there are several other “Herzog reads…” videos out there, Madeline was selected if only for the appropriate use of “Mousies,” “Poo-poo,” and “Boohoo.”

The tiger dreams only of death.

2

Scene from The Little Prince. What happens when the ’80s takes on a beloved French novel? Answer: Gene Wilder gets to play a creepy fox in an orange suit and the prince gets to have his hair stacked so high with hairspray that he looks like a 5-year-old extra from a Poison video. This 10-minute clip shows the famous scene between the prince and the fox as they talk about the true message behind the book of responsibility and love, but the sentiment gets a little garbled when the fox looks like someone from How to Catch a Predator. Also, enjoy the musical number about halfway through.

3

French girl tells fairytale. This clip, of une petite fille, is fairly well known but deserves a shout-out for its simultaneous adorableness and creativity of plot. The fairytale involves Winnie the Pooh, witches, and suicidal hippopotamuses, all told by possibly the most adorable child on the planet (but seriously, she gets helped a lot by that accent).

The undertones of poverty and heaven are what remind us that she is, above all, French, and because of that, fatalistic and theatrical. Maintenant, c’est fini.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF YOUTUBE.COM

F

Characters not welcome?

A

s Thursday’s Project Runway season seven finale inevitably approaches, I am becoming increasingly aware of the fact that this one-time television favorite of mine is becoming a forced habit. Despite its fairly recent transition to the Lifetime network — otherwise known almost solely for such movie gems as My Stepson, My Lover, The Pregnancy Pact, and How I Married My High School Crush — the show has maintained most of the ingredients that have made it successful in the past. Tim Gunn makes sure to plug “Make it Work” into every conversation he has with a contestant. Michael Kors concocts outrageous metaphors while Nina half-smiles, and Heidi tries to act coy as she talks about her affection for short dresses and the occasional showing of cleavage. There’s inter-contestant drama, of course, and challenges have, for the most past, continued to surprise. Still, when I think about it, I’m unenthused, because while this season hasn’t lacked in most other ways, it has in one. There’s no Danny V., no Santino, no Jay, no Austin, Jeffrey, Christian, or Chris.

In other words, this season’s contestants are, quite frankly, boring me to death.

Up for the win this Thursday are three of the least likeable, least interesting contestants ever to make it to the final three: Mila Hermanovski, Emilio Sosa, and Seth Aaron Henderson. Mila, a Texan designer who has spent most of the season in heated battle with the just-ousted Jay Michael Sario, bores both in personality and design. The most memorable thing about her is the striking manner in which a high definition television picks up her face wrinkles, and the fact that the show’s film crew almost always manages to include footage of her morning hair-straightening routine. Emilio, the proud product of a Bronx upbringing, is downright obnoxious. He’s season three’s Jeffrey without the talent to justify his arrogance, and, for whatever reason, the judges seem to enjoy his tendency to splash his initials all over his clothing. Seth Aaron is probably the only charismatic, intriguing member of the group, though his egotism is a bit off-putting. Most of me thinks that his biker-chic, hardware-encrusted line would be the most worthy to win, since at least it’s consistent. Still, you won’t see me jumping up and down come Thursday night, and you won’t see me in a rage either. I’m fairly certain that, at this point, I will be indifferent to the result, no matter what it is.

This was never the case before, and, in fact, I can remember being in high school and sitting around with huge groups of friends to learn who would receive Heidi’s final “auf weidersehen.” When Christian Siriano took the season four title, I was so happy that I’m pretty sure I danced around my living room, and when his recent one-hour special, Having a Moment, recently aired on Bravo, it’s highly possible that I watched the whole thing. Christian was not only a memorable designer, but he was proof of the show’s need for “characters.” Viewers tuned in to watch season four not just to see dresses made of leaves and tablecloths, but to watch Christian strut around the workroom pronouncing one thing “fierce” and the next “a hot, tranny mess.” Season two shone with the help of the adorable Danny Vosovic and the plain ridiculous Santino Rice, whose Tim Gunn impersonation has yet to be bested. Austin Scarlett’s lipstick and golden waves paired with smack-talker Jay McCarroll’s big, round sunglasses and smoking habit made season one a winner, and Jeffrey Sebelia was unforgettable as season three’s resident tattoosleeved villain.

Who stands out among the bland mass of this season’s designers? No one comes to mind.

To use a Michael Kors-styled fashion metaphor, season seven is like an all-beige frock in desperate need of a splash of color. Even an accent bracelet would do. Honestly, I just want to look away.

Allison Therrien is the asst. Arts & Review editor for The Heights. She can be reached for comment Joseph Neese is a senior staff member of The Heights. He welcomes comments at arts@bcheights.com. at arts@bcheights.com.

ARTS EVENTS CALENDAR ON CAMPUS

OFF CAMPUS

THURSDAY

THURSDAY

ASIAN JOURNEYS McMullen Museum

BASSNECTAR House of Blues, 7 p.m.

BOSTON POETRY FESTIVAL Murray Function Room, 7:30 p.m

THE SNEAKS TT The Bear’s Place, 10 p.m.

FRIDAY

FRIDAY

ASIAN JOURNEYS McMullen Museum

OWL CITY House of Blues, 6 p.m.

BOOKS AND THEIR COVERS Boston College Law Library

THE APPLES IN STEREO The Middle East, 8 p.m.

SATURDAY

SATURDAY

THE WOLF CRY SINGERS O’Neill Plaza, 2 p.m.

BADFISH House of Blues, 6 p.m.

UNIVERSITY CHORALE Trinity Chapel, 8 p.m.

CYMBALS EAT GUITARS Paradise Rock Club, 8 p.m.

SUNDAY

SUNDAY

ASIAN JOURNEYS McMullen Museum

MY DEAR DISCO Harper’s Ferry, 8 p.m.

BOOKS AND THEIR COVERS Boston College Law Library

THE DOUBLE STOPS TT The Bear’s Place, 9 p.m.

CHRIS DEWEY’S CURIOUS CHILDHOOD: The lure of the Dark Knight

CHRIS DEWEY For better or worse, people change. If I was still the same person that I was in seventh grade, I would be an Abercrombie & Fitch-wearing Blink-182 fanatic who watched the Disney Channel when he wasn’t busy seeing movies like Charlie’s Angels with his friends. Over the years, likes and dislikes have come and gone, but some have remained notably constant.

The most enduring of all my fascinations has been with Batman, that fictional rich man who spends his nights dressed in rubber and spandex running around a city.

My love for Batman began at age four, when my parents exposed me to the 1960s television series starring Adam West. Having grown up on the program themselves, they enjoyed sitting alongside me while I watched the Dark Knight and Robin, the Boy Wonder, battle against the menaces of super-villains like The Joker, Catwoman, and The Riddler. While this take on crime in Gotham City was considerably more lighthearted (Pow! Wham! Zop!) than any other portrayal of the Batman universe, it was the perfect catalyst for my eager young mind. However, this show somehow led me to believe that Robin was infinitely cooler than Batman. It wouldn’t be until the debut of Batman: The Animated Series in 1992 that I would regret such folly.

There is a lot that can be said about the film career of Batman. Most will agree that there have been some big missteps along the way (e.g. hiring Val Kilmer to play Batman / Bruce Wayne). It pains me to even discuss the film Batman & Robin, except to express my amazement that there are people who were involved

with the movie that still have careers in Hollywood. Nevertheless, there have also been some superb films starring the pointy-eared crime fighter.

While the last two, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, are certainly the strongest and the most coherent, I grew up watching Tim Burton’s Batman and Batman Returns. Featuring the likes of Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, and Jack Nicholson, these cartoonishly dark films, aided by the music of Danny Elfman, left a lifelong impact on me, making them two of my favorite movies.

In recent years, my love for the Caped Crusader has taken me into previously uncharted dork territory. After hearing that the two latest film installments were heavily based on various graphic novels (read: glorified, lengthy comic books), I made it a priority to seek out titles such as The Dark Knight Returns and The Killing Joke. While, at times, I am hesitant to own up to indulging in such a hobby, there is no denying that these, err, books are quite compelling. Through vibrant artwork and gritty storytelling, comic book artists like Frank Miller and Alan Moore have been able to portray exciting and considerably darker takes on the Batman character than could have been captured by any other medium.

At this point, I cannot think of a reason why I would ever lose interest in following such an intriguing, albeit fictional, character. I’m still curious to see if director Christopher Nolan has it in him to create a film that can top The Dark Knight. As of now, there’s no title, script, or definite cast for this film, so it’ll probably be three or so years until Batman returns to the big screen.

In the meantime, I’ll just have to get my crime fighting fix playing the totally not childish Lego Batman video game.

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

The Heights

Thursday, April 22, 2010

B3

s: n o o or sp m s a e’ l n c o d ’ f n m o a o m lt o o u er c ro e th A Th f ‘ o

By Kristen House Arts & Review Editor

The question of the hour on Sunday, April 19, at Coolidge Corner was “Mr. Wiseau, what’s in your pockets?” An unassuming crowd member stared at Tommy Wiseau, director, actor, and co-producer of The Room, who stared absurdly back at the young man. He never answered the question. But a true fan knows that straightforwardness is not one of Wiseau’s or The Room’s strong points. As a first time attendee, this was something I had yet to learn. Yet, the film that has been marinating in the consciousness of the general populace since 2003, advertised as simultaneously “evocative of Tennessee Williams” and “a quirky … black comedy,” has somehow capitalized on the disparity between intended goal and eventual product. Throngs of moviegoers appreciate a new kind of comedy that the film presents full of plot holes, time jumps, ambiguous characters, and, of course, Wiseau’s accent. The question remains: What should the cast do with the surprise fandom of the worst movie ever made?

As a part of Coolidge Corner’s weekend series, Tommy Wiseau and co-star Greg Sestero appeared at the theater for a pre-screening question and answer session along with a postscreening signing. With a film like The Room, there are countless questions that could have been asked. Why are there photos of spoons throughout the film? What does Tommy eat for breakfast? Will there ever be a prequel to the film? Wiseau waxed poetic with his thick accent (he claims he grew up in New Orleans, having only briefly lived in France), about how nothing is impossible, his love of American slang, and that he would consider making a prequel to The Room. He ended every thought with a Brahmin-esque pronunciation of “et cetrah, et cetrahhh.”

When an antagonizing patron asked, “Why is your film so bad?” Wiseau was quick to respond, “Let me educate you. Have you heard of the expression in America ‘bad is good?’ You are behind schedule.”

Although this was my first rendezvous with Johnny, Lisa, Denny, and the gang, before I had even stepped foot in the theater, friends had been quoting parts of The Room, whose plot loosely centers around Johnny (Wiseau) and his fiance Lisa’s (Juliette Danielle) doomed romance.

“Hey, want to grab some late nigh—” “YOU’RE TEARING ME APART, LISA!” It seems the film has gained a wide popularity among people of all ages who can’t stop looking away.

Coolidge Corner’s beautiful vintage movie seats were filled with fans who knew all the proper moments to chime in throughout the film. When Denny (Philip Haldiman), the orphaned neighbor boy, visits Lisa and Johnny’s, the entire audience shouted a hearty “Hi Denny!” and at each departure, a similarly warm “Bye Denny!” Slow pans over the Golden Gate Bridge were accompanied by whoops and hollers. Any time the framed photo of spoons that sits in Lisa and Johnny’s apartment appeared on screen, an exuberant cheer of “Spoons!” was accompanied by hurling plastic spoons onto the stage. (When asked about why spoons were in the film, Wiseau reasoned, “Why is the sky blue? Even billionaires use spoons.”) Before the audience even entered the theater, we were told that all footballs would be confiscated.

This kind of audience participation is especially surprising considering the level of craftsmanship on the film. Tommy Wiseau, however, is due some credit. This is a man who made the most endearingly terrible movie ever. I genuinely left the theater without the ill-will and frustration that I get after seeing just an average bad movie. Perhaps it’s because Wiseau took such care in his movie, presenting a stark earnestness throughout that was rather infectious. As an actor, Wiseau has the emotional range of a spaghetti squash, or … a spoon. But this is not the typical Hollywood schlock movie, starring our favorite actors and actresses, trying to make a buck on a bum plot and flashy graphics at our expense. These were a bunch of actors and actresses deeply pulling for a movie with impressive chutzpah. Because The Room began as a drama, there are relics of a serious cadence throughout. With a dash of schadenfreude and a bit more of voyeurism, the audience can appreciate and even stand behind Wiseau’s Johnny when he says to Lisa, “This is a beautiful party! You invited all my friends. Good thinking!”

The Room delivers as the most pleasing group outing that audiences never expected. Perhaps, then, Wiseau’s project will possess far more staying power than he could have hoped, et cetera, et cetera…

Rachel gregorio / heights illustration

B4

Thursday, April 22, 2010

THE HEIGHTS

+Food

Spicy curry with Jenny

BY JENNY LIU

For The Heights In the vein of last week’s review of New Rod Dee’s remarkably delicious Thai food, I investigated how to make curry in less time than it takes to order it from a restaurant and have it delivered to you. For those of you who are subscribers to the idea of cooking as “stir-fries on the fly” or “less than five ingredients,” be comforted that this Thai red curry recipe only requires a few sauces bottled and packaged at your nearest Asian grocer, any meat and vegetable you have on hand, and one single pot.

Curry is often served with jasmine rice or “khanom jeen,” a type of rice noodle, but a busy cook can easily cheat by grabbing a container or two of rice from the dining hall. For a modern spin, you can also dip nachos into the curry. The limeflavored nachos, I find, are a perfect complement, and give the dish a pleasant crunchiness.

Curries in Thailand are spiced with galangal, lemongrass, and kaffir lime, whereas curries in India rely on more pungent dry spices like coriander, cumin, and turmeric. There are three kinds of Thai curries that we are most familiar with by their color: red, green, and yellow. The green

curry is slightly sweeter than its red counterpart.

The yellow curry is oftentimes the spiciest and richest, and coconut cream is used in addition to coconut milk. I chose to make the red curry purely for aesthetic reasons — red is a very nice color.

Instead of making your own red curry paste, which would be cost-ineffective unless you are making a large batch, you can easily buy a small jar of it at most supermarkets.

The coconut milk lends to the curry a richness that would satiate the most ravenous eaters after a few greedy bites. The fish sauce may sound like a strange addition, but it contributes an umami component that makes the Thai red curry taste like the familiar, comfort food of Southeast Asia.

The level of spiciness is controlled by the amount of Thai red peppers you dare to add into the pot, and with the peppers smaller than the size of your thumb, it should come with a buyer’s warning.

Two or three of these innocuous-seeming chilies should add a medium heat. Only a fool would consider putting an entire red chili in his or her mouth.

Once all the ingredients are assembled in the pot, preparation should take only 20 minutes of watching it boil or watching one episode of Family Guy, your choice.

Bite of Boston Elephant Walk 900 Beacon St. Boston, MA 02118 (617) 247-1500 Hours: Sun - Thurs: 5 - 10 p.m.

Fri & Sat: 5 - 11 p.m.

Lunch Sun - Fri: 11:30 a.m. 2:30 p.m.

PHOTO COURTESY OF FLICKR USER SEEKALTROUTES

Ingredients

No shame in spicy, elegant Elephant Walk

Vegetables (bell peppers, carrots, peas, potatoes)

BY KARA KAMINSKI Heights Senior Staff

Protein: chicken, shrimp, or tofu (about 1/2 pound) 1 can coconut milk (13.5 oz.)

2 onions, sliced 1 clove garlic 1 Tbsp. fish sauce 2 Tbsp. red curry paste 1 Tbsp. fresh squeezed lime juice 2 tsp. brown sugar 1-2 fresh red chilies, minced, or 3/4 tsp. cayenne pepper, or 1/2 to 3/4 tsp. dried crushed chili Cilantro (optional) Cooked rice

PHOTO COURTESY OF JENNY LIU

Cooking Instructions: 1. In a medium size pot, gently saute onions and garlic in vegetable oil until the onions turn translucent.

2. Add meat, vegetables, and chilies. Cook until mostly done.

3. Add the coconut milk, fish sauce, red curry paste, lime, and ketchup. Cook for approximately 15 minutes.

4. Serve with rice.

Elephant Walk always catches my eye when I drive down Beacon Street in Boston or when I’m searching Restaurant.com for a discounted meal. The concept of FrenchCambodian fusion intrigued me and, like any unique restaurant, I could only resist the temptation for so long. Much to my delight, Elephant Walk was a cozy yet romantic restaurant with delicious cuisine and attentive service.

Even though Elephant Walk falls on the pricey side, I urge students to not shy away from this restaurant. Both the mass distributed student coupon book on campus and Restaurant.com will offer handsome reductions to your meal price. Let’s not forget about the free valet parking when dining there before a Red Sox game, either.

Walking into the restaurant, I immediately fell in love with the elephant-themed decor that somehow managed to not be kitschy (no small feat with elephant print).

The lighting was dim and romantic. The designer of the restaurant also managed to partition the room in such a way that the customer does not feel like they are eating in a dining hall, but they will also not feel caged in.

I started my meal off with the appetizer nataing, accompanied by the customary bread and butter. Nataing is ground pork simmered in coconut milk with sliced garlic, crushed peanuts, and chili pods served with crispy jasmine rice. The dish came in a soup bowl with the crispy rice on the side. The flavors of coconut and peanut took turns distracting my taste buds. You can choose to top your pork on crispy rice, or if you go my way, just take spoonfuls of the soup-like dish and sprinkle a bit of crumpled rice atop for the extra crunch. I assure you, you must not leave Elephant Walk without trying this appetizer.

For the main course, the menu was split up into Cambodian and French. This was somewhat of a disappointment for me, since I was hoping for a true fusion. Honestly, the concept of keeping them separate reminded me of a Mexican-Italian-Chinese-Indian restaurant in Herald Square, NYC. That being said, my dining partner and I went for Cambodian and have no grounds to complain.

My friend ordered the Porc Diplomat, grilled pork tenderloin with a caramelized sauce of coconut milk, black pepper, and garlic with grilled eggplant and wild lime rice. The pork was juicy and cooked to the right temperature so that there was

no pink, but it also didn’t pass into the realm of becoming progressively drier as the seconds passed. Afraid the coconut milk may be too much considering the appetizer, I was very wrong. Though it is an ingredient one may not eat every day, Elephant Walk twisted the coconut flavor into something completely different for the Porc Diplomat. One interesting tidbit is that the wild lime rice tasted exactly like Froot Loops.

I did not believe it at first, but this fact is undeniable. When you go, you best switch out the lime rice for steamed (unless you’re looking for some culinary comic relief).

I ordered the Loc Lac, sauteed, cubed beef tenderloin, lightly caramelized in black pepper, garlic, and mushroom soy served over shredded lettuce with a lime and black pepper dipping sauce. This dish was ordered as a suggestion from my server. While it was certainly tasty, I must say cubing beef tenderloin is a waste. I wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference if they had used a cheaper cut of meat. Cubed meat cooks too thoroughly too quickly and ruins a tenderloin. That said, the marinade was sweet, something most are probably not used to, but very interesting to the palate. The unique mixture, which definitely consisted of more than just the above ingredients, had the ability to hold its own sweetness, while not making me tired of the flavor.

I always find it interesting when my friend and I have trouble deciding whose dish was more delicious. I also love when I have to deliberate over what to order because everything on the menu looks so intriguing. Elephant Walk granted me this pleasure. It took me almost 15 minutes to order, not including the prep time of staring at the menu on my home computer.

There are so many options, and I guarantee you will find something for anyone in your group. The flavors are adventurous enough to be a welcome change, while not going so completely off the map that you feel you are making a risk that may not pay off. Go to Elephant Walk, try Cambodian, and you will not be disappointed.

Getting to the point...

Transit: Boston University Central Travel Time: 15 minutes Affordability: Moderate / Expensive Atmosphere: Casual Food Quality: Excellent

THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, April 22, 2010

B5

+Music

Kate Nash, we are not your best friend

BY BRENNAN CARLEY

the Guilt,” Nash waxes poetically about how she thinks more people should have mental health problems because thinking is “one of the most Three years ago, a cocky, straight-talking girl stressful things I’ve ever come across.” The song made her footprint on the music industry with the is an intimate conversation with the songstress. in-your-face single “Foundations.” After two years She remains relatable, as she talks about wanting of touring and a year off, Kate Nash returns to the to travel, a desire to learn new words, and a fear scene with My Best Friend is You. Since Amy Wine- of rivers. This song showcases the best of Nash: a house’s rise to stardom, there has been a steady cheeky and brilliant songstress. resurgence of retro-soul music from On the catchy first single, across the pond, most notably that of Out of a rating “Do-Wah-Doo,” Nash revisits Adele, Lily Allen, and Florence Welch. of 10, this a childhood rivalry with a girl Nash borrows from all three artists who is the apple of her classon her second disc, which fuses old album scores mates’ eyes. All horns and school guitars and catchy melodies. “ba-ba-bas,” it is towering and The formula is a winning one on several songs, filled with drama. As she resigns herself to the idea but on others it seems forced. Nash is an impec- that she’ll “just read a book instead, I don’t care cably good singer, as her Cockney accent lends to if we’re just friends, I can hang out with myself…” her puckish charm and her witty lyrics frequently you can’t help but remember that she is still so sparkle with originality. Sadly, though, her new very young, so heartbreak is new and hurtful. Other album doesn’t show the side of Nash that her fans songs fall flat on their face lyrically. On “I’ve Got had grown to love with her debut. The songs work a Secret,” Nash definitely has a secret and that’s well as stand-alones, but the album lacks coher- all she can seem to talk about. Seriously, all she ency, bouncing around frenetically between surf- says is, “I’ve got a secret, and I can’t tell you,” punk tracks and slow love over and over. It’s a poor songs, dragging her lovely excuse for a song, as is vocals behind them.

“Mansion Song,” a rap As a singer and a lyri(confusing on its own) in cist, Nash is talented beyond her years. The 22-year-old seems to have experienced her fair share of heartbreak, as well. On her first album she chose to take the high road, but on My Best Friend she flounders between heartbreak and defiance, painting a muddled picture of the girl audiences once thought to be unbreakable. Maybe that’s a result of growing up. After all, she penned her first album when ‘My Best Friend is You,’ she was just a teenager. the newest from that Whether drowning in sorBritish firecracker Kate row or trash talking an Nash, suffers from ex, the old Nash still inconsistency and pales shines through with her in comparison to her savage wit and realism debut album. in some tunes. On the half spoken, half sung “Don’t You Want to Share For The Heights

4

which Nash seems to be proving that she knows the “F—word” and isn’t afraid to use it as much as she wants. It’s this conflicting, “I’m still a child, wait, no I’m not,” mentality that sends the album off the rails.

The problem with My Best Friend lies in the coherency and interest level. It’s not that every album has to tell a story, but it has to flow and can’t sound like a rehash of other musicians’ work. I don’t want to point any fingers, but the snarling guitar on “Kiss That Grrrl” sounds suspiciously like the riff on indie band Rilo Kiley’s “Silver Lining.” Her vocals on some of the songs (“Pickpocket” and “You Were So Far Away”) sound like they have been edited to the point that they could easily be mistaken for those by Regina Spektor. Other times, Nash sounds like Kelly Clarkson, M.I.A., Bruce Springsteen, and the B-52s. She is clearly confused and has lost the person she used to be. It’s never a good thing when you find yourself distracted when listening to an album, as I so frequently did while reviewing My Best Friend. It’s also a bad sign that this is how I’m choosing to end my review: If you want to listen to a thrilling, refreshing, and altogether amazing retro-soul British female album, turn to the new Marina and the Diamonds’ The Family Jewels. If you really feel the urge to listen to Nash, give her debut, Made of Bricks, another spin.

IN STORES NEXT WEEK

Hole Nobody’s Daughter MERCURY

B.o.B. Adv. of Bobby Ray ATLANTIC

CHART TOPPERS SINGLES

1 2 3 4 5

Rude Boy Rihanna Nothin’ on You B.o.B. feat. Bruno Mars Hey, Soul Sister Train Break Your Heart Taio Cruz feat. Ludacris In My Head Jason Derulo

1 2 3 4 5

Plastic Beach Gorillaz Broken Bells Broken Bells Have One on Me Joanna Newsom One Life Stand Hot Chip Gorilla Mannor Local Natives

COLLEGE ALBUMS

PETE RIMES / AP EXCHANGE

Source: Billboard.com & CMJ.com

Caribou bounds back with a tidal shift of sensibilities

BY WILL WATKINS

and retreating sound of some sort. It is not just about what is being played, but how it is being presented to the listener. No, nothing on this album would sound Dan Snaith, better known by his stage-moniker half as interesting if every track played at a static Caribou, has never fit into the typical musician level in regular stereo, but to criticize the album mold. With a PhD in mathematics from Imperial for this would be to miss the point entirely. Swim College London, he is a very rare case in the world makes the listener think about music in a different of independent music (and mathematic academia way than almost anything else, and that is what the for that matter). After getting sick album is all about. The swelling of ’60s comparisons following his Out of a rating harp and faint synthesizer that previous release, 2007’s Andorra, of 10, this linger behind the polyrhythmic Caribou went in a drastically difpercussion on “Bowls” give the album scores ferent direction for Swim, his latest song its full effect. If they were to album via Merge Records. While his stay in the same place at the front previous releases, innovative and unusual as they of the mix the song would lose its very distinct charwere, still had ties to rock music and were distinctly acter. Caribou extracts extra value from each note warm and upbeat, Swim is entirely in a different by presenting it in a very precise manner relative genre. Influenced heavily by dance music and the to the other sounds currently playing in the track, haunting techno of Radiohead’s Kid A, the album is which is the genius behind his mixing work. dark, rhythmic, and sonically dense.

As masterful as Caribou is behind the soundboard, Caribou’s live shows are well-known for the visual he is equally talented at composing material. The displays that take place behind the four-piece live songs do not open up after a few listens, however, in band. The tour for Swim has not yet commenced, large part due to the complex and dense production. but it is not hard to associate some visuals with the Swim may at first sound like a jumble of synthesizer music. The album’s bright cover is entirely deceptive sounds and a kid who had too much fun with some as far as the mood of the music, which feels distinctly recording software, but beneath the sonic clutter dark and foggy. Nothing is immediately obvious or lays a very strong concept. Still, points of accessibilpresent on the album, but it definitely conjures im- ity are hard to find, and it is not until one knows the ages of nighttime and thoughts of isolation. songs that they can begin to make sense. Snaith’s Perhaps the most distinguishing aspect of Swim sparse, airy vocals sound almost ghost-like and his is Caribou’s departure from traditional songs and abstract lyrics come off as internal thoughts rather more towards more abstract sonic collages. The than developed statements. This in large part is why mixing is as artful as the compositions themselves, the album is more of a soundtrack than a standalone and Caribou never sits back and lets the music speak piece of work; the synthesizer-driven compositions for itself. There is always a cross-panned synthesizer wash over the listener while Snaith provides bits note floating from speaker to speaker or a swelling and pieces of narration, but the meaning is up to Heights Staff

8

the listener to assign.

Swim is a melancholy and difficult album. Fans of Caribou’s previous work may find it to be very disappointing, and the unsuspecting house music fan may enjoy it. Its blend of synthesizers, electronic drums, flutes, falsetto vocals, and guitars manages to avoid sounding stale, but that is not to say that the album is refreshing. Depression and loneliness throb, float, and swell out of the speakers in a manner that is often impossible to understand. Swim presents a challenge to the listener to search for what is really going on, but when the music is finally unlocked it is that much more rewarding.

Caribou premieres a radically new feel in his newest, ‘Swim’ which combines a complex instrumental blend with dark emotional subtexts to create music both confounding and masterful. Though dark, this album proves a worthy accomplishment for this mathematicallycharged musician.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FLIKR USER GREG HUDSON

‘Power’ unleashed again, Stooges louder than ever

BY ZAK JASON

Assoc. Arts & Review Editor When you make an opening statement like, “I’m a street walking cheetah with a heart full of napalm,” you have to assert your authority. And for the next half hour, that’s all Iggy and the Stooges do: thrash, rattle, and growl their way to the top. From the opening line of “Search and Destroy” to the moaning, gritty guitars of Out of a rating “Death Trip,” Raw Power is the of 10, this punk revolution’s version of the album scores French Revolution’s Declaration of the Rights of Man and of Citizen. It is a work of philosophy, the philosophy of “F— off, man. This is my world.” With the new legacy edition, The Stooges’ authority revamps.

Originally produced by David Bowie in 1973, Raw Power earned no cred for layered mastery. In an age of hyper-produced, hyper-tame giants like Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor, and Elton John, The Stooges played bare bones, aggressively lo-fi rock. In “Search and Destroy,” Pop proclaims, “Look out honey ’cause I’m using technology,” but in terms of the band’s sound, the line smacks of irony. The Stooges’ technology includes just a battered voice, a couple of guitars that seem stuck on one effect (distortion), a bass, and a rickety drum set. How the group warps and works with its ratty instruments, though, marks the appeal of Raw Power.

For one, Pop’s voice, though raspy throughout, ranges from jungle cat calls to wounded crooning to wolf howling. In the titular track, Pop commands we, “Dance to the beat of the living dead,” but asserts that we cannot reciprocate, “Don’t you try to tell me what to do.” On “I Need Somebody,” his voice somehow channels the matter-of-fact and maniacal inflection of Thurl Ravenscroft’s in “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.” In the antisubliminally titled “Penetration,” the front man spends a minute squealing and yelping and groaning, a predecessor to Axl Rose.

Iggy Pop defines the sex and machismo of Raw Power, but the band crafts its distinctive and influential sound. Even through a wall of fuzz, an arena-rock guitar solo carries “Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell,” something as grandiose as a KISS lick. In fact, KISS formed the year Raw Power was released (KISS’ subsequent sound might not be a coincidence). Toward the end of the album, on “Shake Appeal,” the band’s hand claps accompany bluesy metal riffs. Many laud the album for its perfection of minimalism — guitars cutting off mid-solo so as not to blurt

10

an extra fragment of a note — but in many ways there’s nothing minimal about this adrenaline-engorged guitar wizardry.

Everyone from Kurt Cobain, to The Smiths, to Henry Rollins rated Raw Power as their favorite album of all time. The legacy edition of Raw Power, now complete with a bonus live album from 1973, may once again inspire a new batch of agitated musicians.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FLIKR USER GREG HUDSON

27 years later, The Stooges have reissued its magnum opus, ‘Raw Power.’ Though only a half hour long, the album thrashes and rattles with angst, machismo, and mastery. The legacy edition also includes a live album from ’73 dug up from the archives.

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THE HEIGHTS

CLASSIFIEDS Thursday, April 22, 2010

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It’s easy to spot new wrinkles. Not so easy to see the onset of eye disease. An eye doctor can spot the early warning signs of vision problems like glaucoma and serious health conditions like diabetes. For men and women over 40, it might be wise to look into your eyes. Visit checkyearly.com. A message from Vision Council of America and AARP.

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THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Palin and Tea Party-ers descend on Boston Common SPECIAL REPORT

BY MICHAEL CARPIO News Editor

AND TAYLOUR KUMPF Asst. News Editor

Last time there was a Tea Party in Boston, the participants wore war paint and tey took out their anger on the East India Trading Company.

On April 14th, modern “Tea Partyers” flooded Boston Common to rally against their own list of grievances. Local high school students marched toward Charles St. alongside septuagenarians donning American colonial garb – harkening back to a time when three point hats were in vogue. The highlight of the day was Sarah Palin.

The name of the day was Tea Party.

The afternoon last week marked one of several Tea Parties that have taken place across the country over the past month to protest rising national taxes. While the April 14 Tea Party drew a number of characters, many individuals came to express their disapproval with the Obama administration and power of the federal government.

Christen Varley, organizer of the greater Boston Tea Party Organization is one of those individuals.

She is unhappy with the healthcare bill and the general direction of the country. “The bill?

I think it sucks,” she said. “I think it’s a boondoggle of the highest order.”

The passage of the health care legislation, Varley said, goes beyond the rights afforded to the government by the people. “The government has no power to coerce citizens to buy a product,” she said. “They don’t have the power to force us to do this. You don’t have to be a Tea Party-er or a righty or a constitutional scholar to know that.

“I’d like to see some traditional Republican representatives. I’d like to see people say that government has the right to help the people when they are in need, but also to protect the

rights of those who are contributing.”

One of the key issues to be addressed in the United States, Varley said, was the lack of citizenship and civic knowledge.

Recent statistics back her sentiments.

According to a recent report released by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 71 percent of Americans could not pass a basic civic literacy exam. Varley said the United States needs something to fill that gap of education. “That’s what our mission is – to get people to inform themselves,” she said.

But there is more behind the report than civic literacy. According to the report, 61 percent of Americans agree that the nation’s founding documents are not obsolete and 67 agree that the Ten Commandments are still relevant today.“I inherently believe that people are generally pretty smart,” Varley said. “We have an innate ability to look at information and distill it to what the different facts are.”She said that there is something to be said for “common knowledge,” the kind that exists outside the educational systems and the federal government. “How can a housewife like me know better how an economy works?” Varley said. “How do [politicians] not understand this?”

The Tea Party itself brought out many individuals like Varley, along with others whose views were not necessarily in line with those of the Party-ers.

“I’m very worried about the Constitution being so overlooked,” said Linda Burke, a Tea Party attendee. “Obama has worried a lot of Americans with his very radical views. He was coming to change Washington. But I think he’s made it worse. I think he’s going to socialize health care.”

Burke, whose granddaughter will be applying to Boston College this year, said of Palin, “I think she’s doing a wonderful job making people aware of the issues. This is my first time being involved in something like this – and Sarah has helped me with that. She has motivated a lot of other people, as well.”

Another Tea Party attendee, Wes Galloway, said the Obama administration’s federal spending is a matter of concern for him. “They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions,” he said. “The problem is that Obama is using our money to pave it.”

Parked in the epicenter of the crowd was the Tea Party Express, the mobile Party headquarters that had recently made an appearance in Nevada, the home state of Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), and was headed for Washington, D.C. on April 15.

Others at the event protested for different reasons. As Palin drew the crowd’s attention to the main stage, Jerry Reilly traveled through the crowd holding a sign that said “Real Americans Drink Coffee.” His beef – the lack of focus on the other breakfast drink.

“If my father knew that I was here in the Boston Commons having to take the country back from tea drinkers, he would be shocked,” Reilly said. “These people are trying to jam tea down our throats.”

When asked his thoughts on Palin, Reilly responded, “Who’s Sarah Palin? All I know is that my slogan is ‘Beans, not Bags.’”

Varley said that the presence of Palin in the Tea Party organization has been a point of polarization among some members. “There are honestly people in our organization who are not excited about her presence,” she said. “But … she is right in line with the thoughts of the Tea Party movement. I think it’s great when you have someone who can come to town and give a great speech and get people motivated.”

While the sentiments of the former Republican vice presidential candidate fall in line with those of the Tea Party, the Party’s goals are not strictly political, Varley said. “Political parties are set up to win votes, we’re set up to win hearts and minds.” 

Visit www.bcheights.com/marketplace for more Tea Party photos.

TAYLOUR KUMPF / HEIGHTS EDITOR

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Thursday, April 22, 2010

THE HEIGHTS

Adoption policy strains U.SRussian relations Adoption, from B10

DANNY MARTINEZ

MIKE SALDARIAGGA

What do you think of Arizona’s new immigration law?

See column below. I think it is a horrible law, but that does not mean something good cannot come out of it.

It’s a shame that the tired, poor, huddled masses yearning to breathe free are criminals in the state of Arizona. Shame!

Can anyone say ‘racial profiling?’

I hope the police are good at telling if someone’s illegal by looking at them.

Oh, wait, that sounds like racial profiling.

Who is the most likely GOP candidate for 2012: Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin, or Ron Paul?

Ron Paul – this one is for you, Andrew.

Romney. Paul isn’t really a Republican, and I pray the GOP is smarter than voting for Palin.

Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Ron Paul’s a doctor on the weekends. He went to med school.

Will Charlie Crist retain his position as governor of Florida?

No, Rick Rubio, running as an independent, is going to beat Crist by a sliver.

He’s a better governor than he gets credit for. Unemployment isn’t his fault.

The man has worn out his welcome.

Flip a coin and wait for it to land on its side.

Will America’s distrust of government wane when the economy achieves stability?

No, I think it is an integral part of our national political character. Which can be a good and a bad thing.

The Tea Party-ers will lose steam once their health coverage is saved by Obamacare.

People will always find something to complain about.

People will be happier, and people trust other people when they’re happy.

Marketplace Editor

Graphics Editor

PATRICK GALLAGHER Assoc. News Editor

JAMES GU

Asst. Ads Manager

alone in her criticism of the Russi an adoption agencies.

The adoption scandal has also been creating foreign policy dilemmas outside the United States and Russia. Russia, along with Vietnam and China, is one of the most popular countries from which Europeans seek to adopt children.

These European countries now fear that Russia’s tightening of its adoption policies could have widereaching effects. “Some Americans are married to Germans, so the Russian decision could have an impact on adoption procedures taking place from here,” Gaby Dunschede, deputy director of Global Adoption Germany Help for Kids told reporters. “We are keeping our fingers crossed.” The scandal has also resurrected efforts by the European Union to create a common adoption procedure.

It is unclear what the longterm implications of the adoption scandal will be. Russia has not completely closed off U.S. adoption, and seems unlikely to do so after inviting State Department officials to meet. Both adoption agencies and orphanages will be pressured to reform the adoption process to avoid grievous errors like the Hansen case. The incident may even cause a spike in adoptions after the worldwide attention it has merited. However, Russia will not quickly forgive and forget, even after opening U.S. adoption again.

As Obama pushes for sanctions against Iran and cooperation on nuclear non-proliferation, the rupture in U.S.-Russian relations that the adoption scandal could cause will have far-reaching implications. Time alone will reveal how much damage Hansen caused by sending her adopted son back to Russia alone. 

DOMESTIC AFFAIRS

Arizona legislature passes stringent anti-immigration law DANNY MARTINEZ This past weekend, I was lucky to go to the California State Democratic Convention as a campaign representative for my state assemblywoman, whom I interned last summer. It was a great experience.

Among the many events were a series of caucuses, at which individual groups represented certain causes that had significant clout in the endorsement of candidates. I had the opportunity to attend the Latino/ Chicano Caucus, where, among the many notable speakers, was one man who spoke pressingly of an issue that is at the forefront of Latino / Chicano interest: immigration.

He spoke for five minutes, in a calm and patient tone, about an immigration bill in the Arizona legislature that he feared would extend the rights of law enforcement to an unconstitutional level and create a precedent for other states to follow suit.

On Monday, his fears were confirmed. While runners were storming past Boston College to the cheers of inebriated Superfans, the Arizona Legislature passed Senate Bill 1070, one

of the broadest anti-immigration laws in the country in one of the states that is affected by the most. The exact language of the bill allows that a “reasonable attempt to be made to determine the immigration status of a person during any legitimate contact made by an official or agency of the state or a county, city, town or political subdivision if reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an alien who is unlawfully present in the U.S.” The vote was 17-11, mostly along party lines. The bill represents the most anti-immigration legislation passed in any state in America. It legalizes racial profiling, targeting a population that is not bound by a border – Mexican-Americans. The language clearly states that law enforcement needs “reasonable suspicion” to take action. What does this mean? Does it simply constitute looking Mexican? How about speaking Spanish with a heavy accent? According to the new law, these things that might elicit suspicion of being an undocumented person in the United States would entitle law enforcement to question and determine the person’s immigration status.

Although this law is unconstitutional and racist, it is nonetheless important to examine why it is being enacted. At the moment, our

country is in a deep recession – we are inching out of it, but only slightly. Many citizens are feeling more than just a pinch, and when times are bad, when unemployment is high, people scurry to find scapegoats. Illegal immigration is an all-toocommon punching bag that seems to be politically prudent.

But this legislation poorly prunes the branches while ignoring the roots.

After orchestrating one of the most fateful ambushes in history by bombing Pearl Harbor, Japanese Admiral Isoruku Yamamoto famously declared, “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant.” In a way, I think this legislation – and legislation in other states that may follow – will do exactly that. On a micro scale in Arizona, Mexicans and other Latinos might feel unappreciated and unwelcomed by this legislation. Why go to a state where, just by your appearance, you can be arrested and deported? A lack of undocumented immigrants to do jobs that few others would like to do will drive up wages, hampering Arizona from roaring out of a recession and instead continue economic stagnation.

Furthermore, it should be a call to action for President Obama. For far too long, immigration reform has been put aside, used for political purposes (see: 2006 midterm

ROSS FRANKLIN / AP PHOTO

A group of protesters display signs showing their support for or opposition to Arizona’s new immigration law, SB 1070. elections), and ignored because it seems to be a third rail. A poor economy is no excuse not to pursue it. After all, the landmark health reform was debated and passed when the recession was in full swing. As the number of Mexican-Americans and Hispanics increase in the United States, the issue has become more and more inevitable.

The number of MexicanAmericans in the United States has healthily increased in

states like Arizona, California, and Texas, where tough immigration laws might appear.

However, many are unwilling to vote because they are fearful of the government’s infringement on their rights. Hopefully, laws like the one passed in Arizona should galvanize Mexican-Americans and other recent immigration populations to vote.

Many racist laws have been put on the books. But that

does not mean they cannot be changed. Rather, the greatest thing about our democracy is that we have the power to change unjust laws and replace them with laws that reflect the diversity of our citizens and the dignity to which our ideals hold us.

Danny Martinez is the marketplace editor for The Heights. He welcomes c o m m e n t s a t m a rke t p l a c e @ bcheights.com.

With depleted glycogen, runners hit the wall hard at Boston Marathon, from B10 the fuel in the gas tank.

Like every luxury car, though, what we put into our bodies affects how we operate. If you put diesel into a Lexus, you may not get good results. That’s why marathon runners pay such close attention to what they eat, especially before a race. When you eat carbohydrates, insulin breaks them down into glucose, which travels through the blood. Your liver stores some, your blood consumes some, and the rest is sent to your muscles. When you’re running, those muscles will use the glucose for immediate benefit. If your carbs are coming from a pasta dinner the night before, your muscles can store some of the glucose as glycogen to use at a later time. Marathon runners like to carbo-load before a race because it will help them store enough energy to break through the wall, rather than hit it.

It’s also a good idea to eat a bit of protein – maybe a piece of chicken – with your pasta dinner as well.

Protein helps stimulate insulin release, which will help store and burn the sugar in your blood at a faster rate. For marathoners, who might feel that they can’t get energy fast enough, protein might help speed the process.

If your muscles don’t have enough stores of glycogen during a race, there’s a chance that you’ll experience a muscle-glycogen bonk. These are the runners that want so badly to keep going, but their legs simply won’t obey. (This is the guy you see who is running fine at the bottom of Heartbreak, but collapses in front of you halfway up, unable to move.)

There’s another way of hitting the wall, though, that has more to do with your brain. The cause: not enough glucose in your bloodstream. Your brain burns glycogen stored in your liver, so if your liver doesn’t have a large enough supply of glucose – to convert and store as glycogen – your brain could begin to starve. An example of this is when

a runner’s muscles are fine, but she doesn’t care and can’t will herself to move any further. (The woman who’s at the short stretch of flat road at the traffic light halfway up the hill, still walking but gasping, “I can’t do it, I can’t do it,” over and over.)

Hitting the wall at Heartbreak Hill – or anywhere along the Boston

Marathon course, for that matter – is probably a combination of both muscle and brain depletion. (This is the guy you see in front of you, who just crested the peak but swerves across the race course and deliriously runs off the side of the road before collapsing on the grass.) The immediate concern is getting him back on his feet

ALEX TRAUTWIG / HEIGHTS PHOTO

Here, a runner with leg muscle cramps is helped on Heartbreak Hill. At this point during the race, runners have little glycogen from which to draw.

as quickly as possible. A sports drink will help almost immediately – the carbs in the fluid of a sports drink are enough to bring back a normal state of consciousness in a few minutes.

But for starving muscles and a nearstarved brain, he’s going to have to eat.

Marathon runners are familiar with gel packs, goo, and “magic” jellybeans, as all of these are packed with carbohydrates and designed for quick use in your body.

When the Boston Marathon volunteers – the people who spend hours on Monday handing out water and giving aid to anyone who asks – get the casualties of Heartbreak Hill back on their feet, they’ll need a lesson on proper marathon eating habits. One of the most important things to do is drink water. A small amount of water every 10-15 minutes will help keep your body’s digestive system working, and dehydration slows down this process significantly. The second thing is to consume calories, especially carbohydrates, before, during, and after the race to help replenish glycogen stores in your muscles and liver (for your brain).

I applaud all of BC’s marathon runners for the time and effort they put into their 26.2 mile challenge. To those who made it, congratulations. To those who hit the wall, remember these tips for next year: Carbo-load the night before, eat those silly goo packs they give out at the marathon expo, drink at each water station, and enjoy every second when you cross the finish line.

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

The Heights

Thursday, April 22, 2010

B9

Consumer Financial Protection Agency formed Regulation, from B10

be used to bail out a financial institution deemed so deeply interwoven in the economic fabric that its collapse would have multiple domino-like effects. A downside, however, is the moral hazard that such a proposal generates. By clearly identifying which banks are “too big to fail,” they may feel encouraged to take bolder risks with the knowledge that the government will support any unlucky turn.

The White House wants these intervention decisions in the event of an unlucky turn to be extended to “nonbank entities” such as failing hedge funds and insurance providers. The Fed would be granted the same powers that the FDIC has in regard to financial institutions (management changes, raising capital, and seizing control).

In addition, a nine-person board (including the Treasury secretary, the Fed chairman, and the SEC chairman, among others) would constitute an “early warning system” if they detect that a large bank is about to go under. This is the beginning of a good idea, but is not nearly as well developed as it should be.

What characteristics must the institution demonstrate before it is red-flagged? What is the process for notifying the public about an impending collapse? These are extremely significant concerns, as acting inappropriately could destroy a major corporation, thereby hurting the economy. On

the other hand, a lack of action could allow a large institution to fail, also hurting the economy.

Republicans are particularly vocal against some measures for which Democrats are advocating, such as shareholder approval of executive compensation packages, and the requirement that the originators of mortgage credit keep some of the risk instead of selling it all off in tranches.

Reform is absolutely necessary. The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) provided some interesting moments as CEOs admitted that their firms took unnecessary risks in the single-minded pursuit of profits, but little headway has been made in establishing measures to prevent such practices in the future – that is, we don’t know what the major players knew when they acted. To determine causes of the financial crisis, the FCIC should be combing through e-mails, texts, phone calls, and memos to then issue a subpoena and obtain a statement. Since the FCIC report will be published after any vote on financial regulation reform takes place – too late to have any influence – it needs to establish in minute historical detail all the events which transpired to bring about the financial crisis. The secrets and uncovered information allow the guilty parties to hide their mistakes and misdeeds. For instance, evidence exists that banks still own shell organizations in which they transfer liability to under-represent their true amount of debt.

Furthermore, there appears to be a double standard in regards to certain corporations. Most Americans, and indeed most of the world, agree that the major financial institutions are too big and carry too much economic clout. Shouldn’t they be broken up the way Bell Labs and Standard Oil were and Microsoft could have been? A single organization, incredibly large, performing multiple tasks and services, which are all intertwined so that a single failure sets off a chain reaction – anyone can see that they should be dismantled into smaller, more focused companies.

More than anything else, this indicates the special relationship between Wall Street and Washington. Multiple banks accepted bail-out funds from the taxpayer with little explanation for why the particular amount of money was chosen, what it was used for, and, isn the case of AIG, when we’ll get it back.

The government has a chance to make some significant changes with this financial reform. While Fox and Sarah Palin spout their vitriol about how another type of reform is being “shoved down our throats,” the Democratic party needs to maintain a strong sense of purpose in the face of Republican opposition. Otherwise, the CEOs will walk away laughing that once again the government has failed to do anything except incentivize further risks.

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

Nancy Pelosi (D-California) Speaker of the House

By Matt Palazzolo Heights Staff

Nancy Pelosi was born on March 26, 1940, in Baltimore, Maryland. Her father, Thomas D’Alesandro, Jr., was a U.S. Congressman and mayor of Baltimore.

Her brother, Thomas D’Alesandro III, also served as mayor of Baltimore. Pelosi graduated from Trinity College in 1962 with a B.A. in political science. She met Paul Pelosi while attending college. The two married in 1963 and later moved to San Francisco. In California, Pelosi entered politics for the first time.

She started off slowly, serving as a volunteer for the Democratic Party hosting parties and helping with campaigns. She later was elected party chairwoman of Northern California in 1977. After a decade of state service to the Democratic Party, she was elected to the House of Representatives in a 1987 special election and has won her 12 subsequent reelections.

In the House, Pelosi served on the Appropriations and Intelligence committees. In 2001, she was elected

Minority Whip, which made her second in command to Minority Leader Dick Gephardt. A year later, Gephardt resigned from his post in anticipation of a 2004 presidential run. Pelosi became Minority Leader by default. After the Democratic takeover of both sections of Congress in 2006, Pelosi became the first ever female Speaker of the House.

Pelosi has consistently voted for liberal causes and Democratic bills. The American Civil Liberties Union gave her a lifetime rating of 93 percent. She did vote in favor of the U.S. PATRIOT Act in 2002, though she voted against its renewal in 2005. Pelosi voted against authorization for the war in Iraq in 2002, and has been an ardent opponent since the invasion, opposing the troop surge in 2007 and advocating for troop withdrawals. Along with Harry Reid, Pelosi was a key architect of the recent health care bill and helped gather votes for its passage in the face of unanimous Republican resistance. She will likely be easily reelected in the 2010 midterm elections and will remain Speaker of the House as long as the Democrats maintain a majority in the House. n

SEC charges Goldman Sachs with financial fraud Alex Brandon / ap photo

Airlines lose billions in profit Richard Drew / ap photo

Despite recent SEC allegations, Goldman Sachs recently announced a handsome first quarter profit of $3.5 billion.

By Yat Hang Yu For The Heights

On Friday, the SEC issued civil charges against Goldman Sachs, alleging that the company failed to disclose conflicts of interest during the marketing of sub-prime mortgages in which investors lost over $1 billion. The UK’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) has also announced a formal enforcement investigation into the bank regarding recent fraud allegations.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Gordon Brown called for the FSA to launch an inquiry into Goldman. “Hundreds of millions of pounds have been traded here and it looks as if people were misled about what happened,” he said, “I want the Financial Services Authority to investigate it immediately.”

In addition to the regulatory actions against Goldman, the German government and insurance company AIG have both said they are considering bringing private legal cases over money they lost on sub-prime debt that the firm sold to them. Richard Bove, an equity analyst at Rochdale Securities, commented, “I expect everybody will jump on the bandwagon now.”

He thinks that the cost to Goldman of defending the lawsuits could be enormously expensive over the next few years.

Despite this, Goldman seems optimistic about defending these cases, saying it has set aside only $21 million of cash to cover the cost of “litigation and regulatory proceedings.” In contrast, rival JP Morgan, which is concerned about possible lawsuits over mortgages it sold to the government agencies Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, said it had provisioned $2.3 billion in the first quarter.

News of the SEC pressing civil fraud charges against Goldman and one of its London-based vice presidents, Fabrice Tourre, sent shares in the investment bank

tumbling 12 percent.

The SEC claimed that Goldman failed to disclose “vital information” that Paulson & Co., one of its client, helped choose which securities were packaged into the mortgage portfolio. Also, Goldman did not disclose that Paulson, one of the world’s largest hedge funds, had bet that the value of the securities would fall.

These securities were sold to investors throughout 2007.

John Paulson, owner of Paulson & Co., made billions of dollars by betting against sub-prime mortgage securities.

The SEC commented: “Unbeknownst to investors, Paulson ... which was posed to benefit if the [securities] defaulted, played a significant role in selecting which [securities] should make up the portfolio.”

“In sum, Goldman Sachs arranged a transaction at Paulson’s request in which Paulson heavily influenced the selection of the portfolio to suit its economic interests,” the Commission said.

The Commission alleges that Mr. Tourre knew the market in mortgage-backed securities was about to be hit well before this date. The loss for investors in the U.S. housing collapse due to Tourre’s mortgaged securities, which were packaged into a vehicle called Abacus, is expected to be over $1 billion.

The SEC’s court document quotes an e-mail from Tourre to a friend in January 2007. “More and more leverage in the system. Only potential survivor, the fabulous Fab[rice Tourre] ... standing in the middle of all these complex, highly leveraged, exotic trades he created without necessarily understanding all of the implications of those monstrosities!”

Goldman denied any wrongdoing, saying in a brief statement, “The SEC’s charges are completely unfounded in law and fact and we will vigorously contest them and defend the firm and its

reputation.” Additionally, Goldman insisted that there wasn’t any failure of disclosure because “market makers do not disclose the identities of a buyer to a seller and vice versa.”

The firm further responded by saying that, rather than make money from the deal, it lost $90 million. The two investors that lost the most money, German bank IKB and ACA Capital Management, were two “sophisticated mortgage investors” who knew the risk, Goldman said.

However, up to this point, the SEC has filed no charges against Paulson. When asked why the SEC did not also pursue a case against Paulson, Enforcement Director Robert Khuzami told reporters, “It was Goldman that made the representations to investors. Paulson did not.”

In a statement, Paulson & Co. said, “As the SEC said at its press conference, Paulson is not the subject of this complaint, made no misrepresentations, and is not the subject of any charges.”

This is the first time regulators have acted against a Wall Street deal that allegedly helped investors take advantage of the U.S. housing market collapse.

The charges come as U.S. lawmakers get tough on Wall Street practices that helped cause the financial crisis. Among proposals being considered by Congress are tougher rules for complex investments like those involved in the alleged Goldman fraud.

Observers said the SEC’s move dealt a blow to Goldman’s standing. “It undermines their brand,” Simon Johnson said, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Goldman critic, said. “It undermines their political clout.”

Analyst Matt McCormick of Bahl & Gaynor said that the allegation could “be a fulcrum to push for even tighter regulation.

Goldman has a fight in front of it.” n

Carolyn Kaster / ap photo

Eyjafjallajokull, an Icelandic volcano, has grounded thousands of European flights after spewing out huge quantities of ash.

Volcano, from B10 be able to stick with the same crew,” Strickland told BBC News. “Crews are entitled to rest periods, and they may not be available for the next flight.”

Crew’s body clocks are tight to flight schedules and there are safety regulations to prevent jet lag. Airlines might have to spend more out of their budgets to pay hotel bills for the crew’s resting, and compensate a whole new crew to fly out and pick up a stranded plane.

The airlines’ loss also worried the insurance companies.

Insurers hoped that they would not have to make major payouts, except when there was a direct damage as a result of the eruptions. London-based insurance company Lloyd said it was too early to tell what insurance claims might arise. Until it is clearer how quickly the ash clouds disperse, assessing the real cost to businesses will be extremely difficult. Professor Bill McGuire from the Aon Benfield UCL Hazard Research Center told reporters that the last eruption from the volcano lasted more than 12 months. A lasting eruption is detrimental to carriers’ losses. However,

insurance company Allianz did not seem too concerned about this. Company spokesman Richard Manson said that insurers do not cover volcano eruption.

Volcano eruption damaged the airlines industries, but opened up new opportunities for train stations, bus depots, and rental car offices. Eurostar, the high-speed rail service that links Britain and continental Europe, reported that thousands of new bookings had been made. National railway operator Deutsche Bahn said it deployed all available trains and urged staff to work extra shifts on the weekend. Ferries have also been able to continue operation with little interruption. Tallink, an Estonian company that operates ferries throughout the Baltic Sea, said the reservations desk has had delays of 20 minutes or more.

Cruise lines as well have been taking advantage of the growing interest in traveling to Iceland.

Tours to the currently active Eyjafjallajokull have been offered.

However, if the volcano was active for a more extended period, there would be grave economic consequences to

Europe. Vacations would be cancelled, shipments would be late, and fuel consumption would drop. European growth had been predicted to be 1 to 1.5 percent for 2010. However, lost travel and tourism revenue alone could knock 1 to 2 percent off the growth. “That would mean a lot of European countries wouldn’t get any growth this year,” Vanessa Rossi, senior economic fellow at Chatham House, told Reuters.

The financial impact of the Icelandic volcano must be minimized. When the forces of nature act and affect the economy on a large scale, only governments have the resources to respond to it. The airlines are not expected to suffer the loss from an uninsurable closure of airspace. In addition, airlines have been paying the bill for hotels and food for passengers who got stranded. Governments, not airlines, are responsible to care for their citizens following a natural disaster, return people home as soon as possible, and compensate for the loss of airlines.

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

MARKETPLACE THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, April 22, 2010

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THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2010

MARKET REPORT

HEALTH & SCIENCE

How to avoid the Heartbreak

Reining in Wall Street

ALEX COHEN

AMEET PADTE

You’re at Heartbreak Hill. You’ve just run here from Hopkinton – a mere 20 miles away. The Boston Marathon’s finish line, an aluminum blanket, and truckloads of food are only six miles down the road. But first, you must tackle the most infamous hill in Boston. It takes guts and determination to will yourself up the nearly mile-long incline. But conquering Heartbreak is as much a physical challenge as a mental one. At 20 miles, runners have depleted their stores of energy and are getting dangerously close to hitting the wall. Heartbreak Hill might just speed that process.

Hitting the wall is what runners call it when your body shuts down midstride. Cyclists call it bonking (which may just be the English way of saying “to hit the wall”). In either case, it is debilitating to athletes and may take more than an hour to recover from the effects. Have you ever seen a runner careen wildly off the side of Commonwealth Avenue on Heartbreak Hill?

How about a runner sitting and weeping on the curb, physically, mentally, and emotionally unable to continue?

That’s hitting the wall.

The reason athletes – especially those competing in endurance races with extreme physical demands – hit the wall is most likely related to nutrition. The food we eat can basically be grouped into three compounds – proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. Proteins are what your body uses to make tissue, fats help insulate your cells, and carbohydrates are the fuel that keeps you going. If you were a luxury car, protein would make up the aluminum shell, leather seats, and powerful engine components. Fat would be the oil and grease that help everything move smoothly, and carbohydrates would be

are complex, and the consequences of missing hundreds of flights are far reaching. “Airlines rely on a carefullyplanned sequence of flights,” John Strickland, director of the aviation consultancy JLS Consulting stated.

“Once the sequence is broken, it is very hard to catch up, particularly on complex routes such as the UK to Asia or Australia.” The problem would only get worse when international hubs such as Paris and Frankfurt were closed.

At airports that were closed completely, huge numbers of planes were grounded. Airlines usually do not have the capacity to support as many airplanes on the ground, and the planning required to get them all back up in the air is another problem. In addition, jet lag adds a degree of complexity to the logistics. “In some cases, airlines won’t

Last December, the House approved a drastic and far-reaching overhaul of our nation’s financial regulatory system, the most sweeping change since the Great Depression. This was one of Obama’s top priorities upon entering office, alongside health care reform and combating climate change. The obvious impetus for this movement was the most recent financial crisis and the need to more rigorously supervise the practices of financial institutions.

Unlike the most recent controversial health care reform, few doubt the reform of the financial sector regulation. With 10.4 percent of the workforce unemployed, Americans are resentful that the same companies that brought about the financial meltdown and were bailed out by the government are now making exorbitant profits without contributing back to the country that made those profits possible.

The bill contains a number of interesting components, the most significant of which is the creation of a new consumer defense group, the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA).

This agency would regulate all kinds of credit, including credit cards, loans, and mortgages, for the purpose of preventing lenders from exploiting customers and to ensure responsible decisions are being made. This group would operate as an extension of the Federal Reserve, but would maintain some independence to remain consumer-friendly. Republicans are taking issue with the CFPA’s independence, saying it would become too powerful, and would strangle both large and small firms.

Another interesting proposal offered in response to the most recent financial meltdown is a $50 billion “insurance policy” for the largest financial institutions.

This “too big to fail” provision would

See Volcano, B9

See Regulation, B9

See Marathon, B8

J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE / AP PHOTO

Travelers had to endure long and arduous delays as a result of Icelandic volanic activity that created unsafe flying conditions for airplanes.

Volcanic ash creates chaos in skies The cloudy skies cause European airlines to lose money in delays

BINH NGUYEN A cloud of volcanic ash from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano kept airports closed the past week as businesses across Europe struggled to make contingency plans. The airline industry was hit especially hard.

Eurocontrol, the European air traffic agency, said some 16,000 flights were canceled on Friday, down significantly from the 28,000 that usually operate. A flight ban was in place due to considerations about pilot visibility and jet engine failure from the ash. The

International Air Transport Association (IATA), which is based in Geneva, calculated that the interruption is costing the airline industry $200 million a day in revenues. However, the organization forecasted that costs will increase as carriers continue to reroute aircraft and care for passengers who got stuck. Concerning prospective revenue, British Airways lost 1.1 percent, and German carrier Lufthansa and Air France-KLM lost 2.1 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively.

Airlines also faced logistical issues that hindered them from reacting quickly to the incident. Airlines could not hire extra aircraft to cover the shortage in flights due to tight budgets.

“The fixed costs in the airline business are enormous, and they still need to be met,” Tim Coombs, managing director of Aviation Economics, told the BBC. In addition, flight schedules

Russia ceases adoption by U.S. parents due to scandal

BY MATT PALAZZOLO Heights Staff

ECONOMICS

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

The Iranian army has stated that it will enact a large-scale military drill in the Persian Gulf, while President Obama is in the middle of trying to persuade the U.N. Security Council to impose tough sanctions on Iran.

The U.S Department of Treasury unveiled a new version of the $100 bill, the first remake of the bill since 1996. It comes with new anti-counterfeit measures.

The Department of Homeland Security is working with four cell phone manufacturers to design phones that would alert their owners to dangerous chemicals in the air.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said that he will put forward a bill in May banning the wearing of a full veil in public places.

Chris Dodd, the senior Democratic senator from Connecticut, is among the leading senators who are pushing for financial reform to regulate Wall Street, which has been a constant target of criticism during the recession.

A new study states that, despite the promises made at December’s UN conference, it is unlikely that its goal of keeping global warming below 2 degrees Celsius will be achieved.

I NSIDE MARKE TP L A C E

THIS ISSUE

News Special Report

1 in 3

The number of teens who send more than 100 texts a day, according to a new survey.

$1.7 billion

The amount in revenue that global airlines have lost as a result of a disruptive Icelandic volcanic eruption.

A Tea Party rally with keynote speaker Sarah Palin is held in the Boston Common....................................................................... B7

IN QUOTES

IN THE NEWS

POLITICS

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RUSSIA 1 TELEVISION / AP PHOTO

Artyem Saveliev, pictured here with his adopted mother, Torry Hansen, was sent back to Russia with no adult supervision.

Russia has suspended adoptions by American families in the aftermath of a recent scandal.

Earlier this month, a Tennessee woman sent home a 7-year-old Russian boy she had adopted.

According to the adopting family, the child, Artyem Saveliev, was psychopathic and violent.

They claimed he threatened to burn down the family house and was prone to violent outbursts.

After caring for the child for seven months, the mother, Torry Hansen, purchased a one-way ticket to Russia for the boy and hired a driver online to pick him up and take him to the Education Ministry.

Hansen also sent a letter along with the boy in which she claimed, “I was lied to and misled by the Russian orphanage workers and director regarding his mental stability and other issues.” The child is still currently orphaned, though several families have already volunteered to adopt him.

The Obama administration has reacted swiftly to Russia’s suspension of adoptions. U.S. officials are traveling to Russia next week to discuss the issue. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley says that Russia is being ambivalent on its stance in allowing American families to adopt. “I don’t think the system has stopped,” Crowley said. “It is very possible the system is slowing down as we work through these issues.”

Crowley’s sentiments are reflected in the efforts of roughly 13,000 American families whom are currently in the process of adopting Russian children. One couple, Rick and Barb Durig, is flying to Russia later this week. “Our trip is still on,” Rick Durig said, who is among several adoptive parents of Russian children who met with U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn) on Sunday. “This is our final visit, we hope.”

The Durig’s effort to adopt hinges on the success of the meeting between U.S. and Russian officials. If the meeting goes smoothly, then the adoption process will be

restored to normalcy and the care of Artyem Saveliev can be handled as an individual case. If it fails, then Russia will likely enact a complete freeze on U.S. adoptions.

The Durigs, after enduring a long and costly adoption procedure, could be barred from bringing home the child they thought would become part of the family.

The accusations Hansen leveled against the Russian adoption system are not an isolated incident. Joyce Sterkel, the founder of a Montana-based adoption agency, says that couples involved in the adoption process have little access to the medical histories of children. “The records are very sketchy,” she said. “You might get a very scant statement such as, ‘The mother was an alcoholic.’ You might not have the child’s birth weight. You might get whatever medical information the orphanage has, but nothing in depth. So it’s very difficult for someone to make a judgment call based on observing the child.” Hansen is not

See Adoption, B8

“

As president of Kyrgyzstan, and guarantor of its Constitution, I am not evading responsibility for the castrophe that my people are going through.

”

– Kurmanbek Bakiyev, the recently removed President of Kyrgyzstan on the current events in his embattled country.

Domestic Affairs.................................B8 Goldman Sachs...................................B9