The Heights April 5, 2018

Heights

The

The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College

EST. 1919

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Thursday, April 5, 2018

Golden Hour ARTS

seven sTRAIGHT SPORTS

Kacey Musgraves manages to top her previous Grammywinning album with her recent release, ‘Golden Hour.’

The Eagles extended their winning streak to seven againt Providence behind a seasonhigh 16 runs.

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Faulty Fridge Causes Fire in Welch Hall

No residents were injured as a result of the fire.

By Colleen Martin Copy Editor A fire broke out on the fourth floor of Welch Hall shortly after midnight Tuesday morning. The fire was most likely due to a small refrigerator experiencing an electrical issue, according to Eric Fricke, a spokesman for the City of Newton Fire Department.

While the none of the room’s residents were injured, they will be relocated to a different room for the remainder of the year due to the damage the fire caused.

A number of rooms on the third and fourth floors experienced water damage because the sprinkler system activated, causing several dozen residents to be temporarily relocated. Overnight housing was provided to six Boston College students.

“Throughout the day, Facilities Services has worked to dry out the affected rooms using dehumidifiers and fans,” University Spokesman Jack Dunn said in an email Tuesday. “They expect that all students, except those in the room where the fire started, will be able to return to their rooms by this evening.”

Investigators are still determining the

reason that the fridge caught fire. Fricke said the refrigerator, which was placed under one of the residents’ beds and was not originally distributed by BC, caught on fire either because it was overfilled, leaving it without “room to breathe,” or because it short-circuited.

Welch residents were forced to wait outside shortly after the fire alarm went off.

After a while, they were moved to McElroy Commons. Because the fire activated the sprinkler system, students were not allowed to return to Welch until 3 a.m. When one of the sprinkler heads goes off, the sprinkler company has to replace it, causing the students to be kept away from their dorms for a prolonged period of time.

A burnt bed frame, destroyed mattress, television, and mini fridge were outside of Welch Tuesday morning. Glass appeared to be missing from several of the top-floor windows. Fricke said that the windows may have cracked due to the heat of the fire, or firefighters breaking the windows for ventilation.

Fricke sees this incident as a teachable moment for students, which should encourage them to practice safety. He noted that improperly using power strips often causes fires on college campuses.

“College students are kind of [unaware of risks],” Fricke said. “What ends up happening is they don’t appreciate the dangers.” n

Cole Dady / Heights Editor

Mahoney Named Dean of Admission, Financial Aid Mahoney has served as admission director for 28 years.

By Cole Dady News Editor Director of Undergraduate Admission John Mahoney has been promoted to dean of undergraduate admission and financial aid, Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley announced last week. In this new role, he will manage the offices of Undergraduate Admission and Financial Aid, “aligning their functions to achieve Boston College’s enrollment objectives,” as reported

by BC News.

“John Mahoney has long provided principled and visionary leadership in Undergraduate Admission, and he and his team succeed at attracting a class of gifted and diverse students each year,” Quigley said to BC News. “I look forward to working closely with John in his new role as dean of undergraduate admission and financial aid, as we work to strengthen Boston College’s standing as one of the nation’s most selective universities.”

Mahoney has worked in his current role

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

for 28 years, and at BC for 34.

He told The Heights it’s crucial that Undergraduate Admission and Financial Aid work together once students are admitted to BC. “The cost of college today is challenging for most families, and Boston College is fortunate to be both need-blind in admission and to meet the full need of all admitted students,” Mahoney said in an email. “The more these two offices can work together to help families complete forms and communicate with them, the better we are able to serve families as they are making important enrollment decisions.”

He also discussed how BC can go about recruiting a more socioeconomically diverse student body.

“Undergraduate Admission works throughout the year to recruit talented students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds,” Mahoney said. “This involves building relationships with community based organizations (CBO’s) throughout the country and targeting schools where these students are enrolled. We also work to arrange campus visits for CBO’s and high schools so these students can experience campus life and have their admission and financial aid questions addressed.” n

Kaitlin meeks / heights editor

Jerome Robinson and Ky Bowman will test the NBA Draft waters in the coming months, while maintaining NCAA eligibility.

Newton Panel Discusses Preservation Webster Woods was purchased by BC in 2015 for $20 million.

By Isabel Fenoglio Asst. Metro Editor On Monday night, Newton residents and members of the newly formed Webster Woods Advisory Panel gathered in City Hall to discuss efforts to preserve a part of Webster Woods in Chestnut Hill that was purchased by Boston College in 2015 for $20 million.

The 23 acres of property BC acquired were previously owned by the Congregation Mishkan Tefila (CMT), and is located about 1.2 miles from Main Campus. The acquisition consists of nine acres of developed property where the synagogue resides, along with a 14-acre parcel of wooded land, which attaches to a surrounding conservation area and hiking trails that run through the CMT property. In fall 2015, Newton residents and officials opposed BC’s acquisition of the land based on the University’s intentions of developing the space.

of undeveloped open space here in Newton,” she said. During her campaign, Fuller identified Wester Woods as a major issue, and since assuming office in January, has stepped up efforts to preserve the space.

Fuller met officially with University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J., in February. She described the meeting as cordial, and said many things were discussed, including the future of Webster Woods. She stressed that officials seek to negotiate with BC to reach an agreement.

“We are still at the very beginning of this process, and I am very much committed to working with Boston College to find a way to preserve this much-loved and visited forest,” she said.

Multiple avenues have been discussed so far, including seizing the land by eminent domain, imposing conservation restrictions, and a call for public acquisition.

“There’s lots of different ways that we can make sure that this land is permanently protected, and we will look at a lot of different options and work with BC to see what the best steps forward are,” said Fuller. n

Federal Funding Exceeds Expectations Budget features increases for science, humanities programs

By Charlie Power

Proposed vs Actual Federal Funding Fiscal Year Proposed

80 bil

Actual

69 bil

78 bil

Asst. News Editor President Donald Trump surprised Washington on March 23 when he announced that he had approved a $1.3 trillion spending bill that broadly defies his wishes to reshape it. In fact, the budget mimics many of the budget requests of his Democratic predecessor, former president Barack Obama, rather than his own.

Pell Grants, a priority of the Obama administration, saw an increase in the maximum level of funding one can receive, from $5,920 to $6,095, as reported by The Chronicle of Higher Education. While this only represents a 3 percent increase, it will help offset the expiration of an annual inflation adjustment in the grants, said James Kvaal, president of the Institute for College

METRO: Boston Design Week NEWS: M. Shawn Copeland

Boston’s 12-day Design Week features leading innovators shaping the city............A8

At the start of her term earlier this year, Newton Mayor Ruthanne Fuller announced the formation of the Advisory Panel and Executive Committee, to offer guidance on the best methods moving forward. Beth Wilkinson of the Newton Conservators serves as chair of both, and was in charge of selecting Newton residents to serve on the larger advisory panel. At press time, Wilkinson had not yet responded to a request for comment on the panel’s first meeting.

After the first meeting on Monday, meetings will be held monthly throughout 2018, said Ellen Ishkanian, director of community communications, in an email.

“Since the purchase we have been working to provide updates to the existing building and replacing the sewer line,” University Spokesman Jack Dunn said in an email on March 23. “Beyond these upgrades, we have no specific plans at this time for 300 Hammond Pond Parkway.”

In a phone inter v ie w, Fuller stressed the importance of ensuring that the land is permanently protected.

“It is the largest continuous parcel

70.9 63.2 bil bil

34.

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40 bil 10 bil

29 mil

7.8 5.2 bil 7

NSF

153 mil

37 bil

DHHS

DOE

NIH

153 mil

42 mil

NEA

160 mil 80 mil

NEH

Anna Tierney / Heights editor

Access and Success, in a written statement.

Nationwide, approximately 7 million students take advantage of Pell Grants, which go to students whose families earn less than $50,000 per year.

Students will also benefit from a $107 million increase in funding to the Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant budget, according to The Washington Post. The

Prof. Copeland lectured on the prophetic political theology of Martin Luther King, Jr.................A3

INDEX

program, which now has an annual budget of $840 million, provides up to $4,000 each to 1.6 million low-income students.

Another notable aspect of the budget was that lawmakers rejected the slew of cuts Trump had proposed for federal agencies that fund research at Boston College, and

Budget, A3

NEWS.........................A2 OPINIONS................... A6

Vol. XCIX, No. 11 MAGAZINE..................A4 SPORTS......................B1 © 2018, The Heights, Inc. METRO........................ A5 ARTS..........................B8 www.bchelghts.com 69

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things to do on campus this week

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Nikki Silvestri, founder and CEO of Soil and Shadow, will lecture tonight at 7 p.m. in Gasson 100. Silvestri works to strengthen social equity for marginalized populations with regard to food systems and public health. She was included in The Root’s list of 100 Most Influential African Americans.

Thursday, April 5, 2018

2

The Singer Songwriter competition will take place tonight at 7 p.m. in the Vanderslice Cabaret Room.

Students will be competing for the opportunity to perform at the Boston College Arts Festival in April. The event is sponsored by the Arts Council, Music Guild, and CAB. The event is open to all students.

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The African and African Diaspora Studies will be hosting a conference entitled Black Bostonians and the Media on Friday, April 6 from 10:45 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Heights Room. The conference will address subjects such as the struggle for education and the relationships between Irish and black Bostonians.

NEWS ‘Special Delivery:’ Inside the 2022 Admissions Video BRIEFS

By Colleen Martin

BC Hosts ACC Researchers

This week, Boston College will host the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Meeting of the Minds, taking place from April 6 to April 8. The event will bring together undergraduates from all 15 member universities of the ACC to present their research.

“We are so pleased that BC is hosting the event this year,” said Vice Provost for Undergraduate Academic Affairs Akua Sarr to BC News. “We are expecting 90 undergraduate participants in all fields of study. This will be an exciting opportunity for students to engage with their peers in the ACC, collaborate, share ideas and experience some of the innovative work being done at our institutions.”

Former U.S. Ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization R. Nicholas Burns, BC ’78, will be the keynote speaker of the event, presenting at a dinner for participants on Saturday.

The conference will also include sessions for students to learn from each other as well as interacting faculty members from other universities.

This is the 13th year Meeting of the Minds has been held.

The six BC students participating, with their accompanying project titles, are: Stephen Gleason, MCAS ’18, “A Case for Radical Regionalism?: Re-Thinking the Rural Eastern Cape Homestead in South Africa;” Tiwalayo Eisape, MCAS ’19, “Syntactic Features for Native Language Identification in Spanish and English Corpora;” Cole Tamburri, MCAS ’20, “Investigating the Effects of Solar Activity on Paleoclimatological Trends and ShortTerm Terrestrial Weather Patterns;” Annie Kim, MCAS ’18, “An Analysis of Ku Klux Klan Radicalization and Rhetoric During Reconstruction;” Josephine Tang, MCAS ’18, “A Putative Autoregulatory Structure in Actinobacteria Responds to S15;” Echo Yiyang Zhuge, MCAS ’20, “Museums and Politics in the Gulf: The Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar.”

Wolfman Wins Teaching Honor Neil Wolfman, assistant professor of the practice in the chemistry department, has been named the Alpha Sigma Nu 2018 Teacher of the Year. Alpha Sigma Nu is the honor society of Jesuit colleges and universities.

Wolfman has taught general chemistry at Boston College since 2000. Before his academic career, he worked in the pharmaceutical industry for three decades, where he researched autoimmune diseases and muscle regeneration.

He attended New York University before going on to complete a Ph.D at Cornell University.

In the classroom, Wolfman tries to develop students’ critical-thinking and problem-solving abilities. He believes these skills will serve students well in any career, even if it does not relate to chemistry.

The only honor society allowed to use the Jesuit name, Alpha Sigma Nu recognizes those committed to the ideals of Jesuit education. “[Alpha Sigma Nu] recognizes students who distinguish themselves in scholarship, loyalty and service and encourages its members to a lifetime pursuit of intellectual development, deepening Ignatian spirituality, service to others, and a commitment to the core principles of Jesuit education,” according to BC News.

This year’s induction ceremony took place in March.

Copy Editor

Although prospective students admitted to the Class of 2022 do not actually receive admissions decisions by owl or eagle, new admits can revel in the similarities between Boston College and Harry Potter’s Hogwarts in “Special Delivery.” The video, part of a yearly tradition to welcome admitted students, was produced by University Communications in recognition of the 20th anniversary of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone being released in the United States.

John Walsh, a University Communications creative producer and BC ’17, said that BC’s Hogwarts-esque architecture was one of the things that attracted him to the University when he was still in high school. Once he arrived, he began taking classes with Rev. Michael Himes, another Harry Potter fan. Walsh said that it was Himes who originally had the idea for the theme—he also served as the Dumbledore figure in the video.

While Walsh was an undergraduate, he often spoke with Himes about the themes of the series and how they relate to “big questions” of life at BC and beyond.

“In a Jesuit, liberal arts environment here at BC, where we are so often asked to consider the big questions of life throughout our education and experiences, I couldn’t help but reflect on the book and so many of its themes throughout my time at BC,” Walsh said in an email. “I also think there is something so nostalgic and powerful about Harry’s discovery that he was admitted to the magical world of Hogwarts—a letter that most millennials wish they could receive—that I hoped to draw upon that emotion and nostalgia so familiar to this generation while welcoming students to BC.” Walsh began to pitch the idea to University Communications, the Office of Undergraduate Admission, and the University Wind Ensemble of BC shortly

Peter Julian / University Communications

John Walsh, BC ’17, was the brains behind the production of this year’s Harry Potter-themed Class of 2022 Admissions Video.

after he began working full-time for the University in August. Once it was approved, he went on to film the main scenes between January and March of 2018.

The video opens to “Hedwig’s Theme” and professor Kerry Cronin sitting at a desk, writing with a quill in front of bookcases reminiscent of the architecture of the beloved castle in the book and movie series.

She picks up a copy of The Heights, Walsh’s idea of what BC’s version of The Daily Prophet is, with a headline bearing a welcome to the Class of 2022. Articles on the front page contain admissions statistics and share news about house prefects, as it would if the Heights were in fact Hogwarts.

To create the moving newspaper, Walsh worked with Owen Edwards, a designer in the University Communications office.

They used a green screen that was replaced with the Gasson drone clip and the moving headlines. Other special effects included candles floating in the sky in Bapst, for

which Walsh used a green screen again and worked with Paul Dagnello, senior digital media and web producer at BC, to create the realistic image imitating The Great Hall.

A student wearing a scarf the colors of BC and Gryffindor ascends the stairs in Bapst Library, entering Gargan Hall, which BC tour guides refer to as “The Great Hall.”

Candles are suspended in the air as students study, in character with the happenings of the wizarding world.

She enters through a hidden bookcase entrance—it may look familiar to BC students who have been on 48Hours, Kairos, or Halftime. It exists in the main living room of the BC’s Connors Retreat Center, where the 60 percent of BC students that participate in retreats might stay. Following the Gargan Hall scene, viewers watch as John Luniewicz, BC Campus Facilities staff and P ’18 & ’19, climbs up a spiral to the Gasson Hall tower, of which he is the keeper.

In the clock tower sits an eagle, to whom he hands an envelope with the BC stamp.

The camera closes up on the same envelope sitting on the front step of someone’s home—when she takes it inside, she opens it to find that she has been accepted. Back at BC, double doors open to reveal the University Wind Ensemble of BC playing “Leaving Hogwarts” as Himes stands, raising a chalice. With a slight smile, he says, “Boston College expects great things of you.”

The video ends with an impressive shot of Gasson Tower at night, with “Boston College” appearing gold letters across the screen.

“Though we are obviously not Hogwarts and the video was intended to be fun and playful, alums of BC have a love and gratitude for their BC experience unlike any other, and I hope this video captured some of the BC’s community’s unique spirit and the love that so many share for the Heights,” Walsh said. n

Student Assembly Resolution Calls for Divestment

By Samantha Karl Heights Staff On Tuesday, the Student Assembly (SA) of the Undergraduate G overnment of B oston College passed a resolution calling upon the University to divest from existing funds in fossil fuel companies within the next five years. It also requests BC to immediately freeze any new or future investment in fossil fuel companies.

The resolution was sponsored by Ellen O’Brien, MCAS ’20; and cosponsored by Nicholas Stubblefield, MCAS ’20; Kate Canavan, MCAS ’21; Ignacio Fletcher, MCAS ’20; and Samuel Szemerenyi, MCAS ’20.

O’Brien thinks that connecting

Jesuit ideals with care for the environment would make the University known as an eco-friendly institution.

She cited the fact that other Catholic and Jesuit institutions, such as Georgetown University, in addition to other institutions such as Johns Hopkins University and Stanford University, have divested over $6 trillion in the last few years. “[Administrators] think divesting would put BC at a competitive disadvantage, but they didn’t get into many specifics because it was something they were not as willing or wanted to do,” said Kyle Rosenthal, a member of Climate Justice at Boston College (CJBC) and CSOM ’21.

In 2013, UGBC passed a resolution that called for “the President and

Board of Trustees of Boston College to Divest the University’s Endowment from Publicly-Traded Fossil Fuel Companies.” The resolution was passed by a vote of 17-1, but was later considered invalid due to restructuring within UGBC. Justin Hsieh, MCAS ’19, said he does not feel divestment is the best choice. He feels that it would be more effective to do something on campus with a more concrete impact, since he believes divestment will have a negative impact on fossil fuel companies and the University.

Other students believe divestment would have economic benefits.

“I actually think it would make economic sense in the long term,” said Alex Eishingdrelo, MCAS ’20.

“With growing emphasis on green energy, it is very likely that even the next presidential organization will push for legislation that attempts to restrict greenhouse gas emission.”

CJBC also released a press release on UGBC’s resolution, calling for increased transparency, climate action, and student and faculty input with regard to endowment investments. In partnership with UGBC, CJBC hopes to push BC to divest.

“CJBC looks forward to working with UGBC, the administration, and the Board of Trustees,” the press release reads, “to evaluate the most efficient and effective approaches the university can take, while continuing to educate students and faculty about divestment and its importance.” n

POLICE BLOTTER: 4/02/18 – 4/03/18 Monday, April 2

6:06 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a larceny in McElroy Commons.

8:45 a.m. - A report was filed regading a property confiscation on the Newton Lots.

11:32 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a fire alarm activation in Stayer Hall.

Tuesday, April 3 12:19 a.m. - A report was filed regarding a fire alarm activation in Welch Hall.

5:11 a.m. - A report was filed regarding a medical incident in Welch Hall.

1:39 p.m. - A report was filed rergarding found property at the Flynn Sports Complex

5:17 a.m. - A report was filed regarding a medical incident in Welch Hall.

4:14 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a suspicious circumstance at Boston College Police Headquarters.

—Source: The Boston College Police Department

CORRECTIONS What’s your favorite thing to do on a rainy day?

“Watch Netflix inside.”

—Alycia Kent, MCAS ’20

“Probably curl up in my bed and watch Netflix, if I don’t have a bunch of homework to do.”

—Shannon McNall, MCAS ’18

“Work out because I can do it indoors.”

—Jeffrey Xie, CSOM ’20

“Stay in my bed and sleep.”

—Vineeth Joseph, CSOM ’21

An article in the March 26 issue called “Across the Pond and to the Pulpit” misspelled the name of Rev. Oliver Rafferty, S.J.

The Heights

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Copeland Reflects On 50th Anniversary of MLK’s Assassination

By Anthony Rein Assoc. News Editor M. Shawn Copeland, a professor in the theology department, the African and African Diaspora Studies program, and in the School of Theology and Ministry, lectured on the prophetic political theology of Martin Luther King, Jr. in the Heights Room on Wednesday, the 50th anniversary of the civil rights leader’s assassination on April 4, 1968. Copeland used the words of King to highlight modern day struggles surrounding race, poverty, and war, and the deep social changes that are necessary to bring about a better society.

The lecture was sponsored by the School of Theology and Ministry, as well as the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life and the theology department.

Copeland began the lecture with a discussion of King and his role in society.

“Throughout the nearly 13 years of his public, Christian social ministry, King so attuned himself to the word of God, as to recover and to exercise the biblical vocation of prophecy for his country, our country, indeed, for the world.” Copeland said. “Like the prophets of old, he was a watchmen, scrutinizing the signs of the times in order to witness to and to speak God’s justice and providence in an oppressive and anguished world.”

King’s deep-rooted Christianity and vocation as a minister established his belief in the equality of all human beings as made in the image and likeness of God. From this belief, Copeland said, came his struggle to end racism and poverty.

“King raised his voice to denounce injustice and put his body on the line in disciplined, non-violent civil disobedience,” Copeland said. “He responded to the

demand of conscience to proclaim a new social vision grounded in faith in God to uphold the goodness of all humanity, and to affirm the spiritual, cultural, and social potential of the United States.”

Copeland discussed racism and what people can learn from King about its present form in society. Too often, Copeland said, racism is thought of as a series of isolated acts committed by specific individuals rather than contained in public institutions that mirror the beliefs, values, and judgements of society as a whole.

“Such structures sinfully impeded the very existence, the life, and flourishing of others simply because they are Native American, or African, or Asian, or Mexican, or Latinx, or of mixed racial-ethnic descent,” Copeland said.

She stressed that racism is a learned behavior and set of beliefs that is often unconscious in the minds of many Americans. It has roots stretching back so far that it is rarely acknowledged or questioned by society, and manifests itself in the media, in social institutions, and markets. She said that King challenged the prevailing idea of freedom and democracy as the main characteristics of the United States when it had acted opposite those values in many cases.

King also challenged religious institutions in the country as complacent in this racism at cost of their moral authority.

Moving on from racism, Copeland defined poverty as the inability to attain basic human needs, and noted King’s opposition to the poverty of any race, quoting his work, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?

“The curse of poverty has no justification in our age,” King wrote. “The time has come for us to civilize ourselves by the total, direct and immediate abolition of poverty.”

Kaitlin Meeks / Heights Editor

M. Shawn Copeland lectured on Martin Luther King Jr.’s strategy to bring about a better society on Wednesday night.

King criticized the programs in his own time that failed to actually alleviate property, and supported either full employment or the creation of a guaranteed income set at the median national income. He saw the elimination of poverty as something that could benefit and unite all minorities and whites, and wished for an economic system that focused on the person rather than on profit and property.

From poverty, Copeland moved to King’s push for peace in the then ongoing war in Vietnam, motivated by his Christian belief in the brotherhood of all humanity regardless of ideology and that garnered him criticism from many segments of American society. King criticized the sinful spending billions on the military when there existed so many people in poverty.

King was also concerned by young African American men going abroad to fight and die for freedom and democracy that they could not enjoy in their own country.

“We here tonight would do well to remember that in the 1960s, in many Northern cities, these same black and white men could not live in the same neighborhood,” Copeland said. “Nor could young black men wearing the uniform of the United States Marine Corps feel safe from physical assault in white Southern towns.”

Based on the writings and actions of King, Copeland called for serious examination of racism, a greater understanding of the human person, a commitment by the church and its members to preach a social gospel, a transformation rather integration of society and values, a greater

emphasis on hope.

Copeland finished with a discussion of King’s place in society’s conscience. To her, he has been placed on a pedestal as a saint and prophet of conciliation that all are comfortable with remembering.

“There is another King, one I hope I have shared with you this evening, the one we too conveniently overlook,” Copeland said. “The King who makes us uncomfortable. This is the King who condemned the Vietnam War, the King who sadly indicted his country as quote ‘The greatest purveyor of violence in the world.’ The King who charged that quote, ‘The life and destiny of Latin America are in the hands of United States’ corporations … This is the King who does not offer us an easy conscience." n

Fiscal Year 2019 Federal Budget Exceeds Expectations of BC Community Budget, from A1 this bodes well for faculty on campus.

In the past few years, cuts to federal research funding have become more prevalent, Sharon Comvalius-Goddard, director of BC’s Office of Sponsored Programs, told The Heights earlier this year.

Funding actions by federal sponsors at BC decreased from $35.8 million in fiscal year 2016 to $30.9 million in 2017, while funding actions by non-federal sponsors increased from $20.4 million in fiscal year 2016 to $23.4 million in 2017. BC has responded to the reality of lower funding levels by diversifying its grant sources.

If federal agencies are continually funded at a higher level like they were in this year’s budget, however, faculty may be able to revert to back to relying on federal grants.

A major source of federal funding at BC is the National Institutes of Health (NIH). According to the Office for Sponsored Programs’ fiscal year 2017 Annual

Report, the NIH distributed over $3 million for new projects and funded over $17 million total in research. Under the 2019 budget, funding for the NIH will rise from $34.1 billion to $37 billion. “[The] increase to NIH would definitely bode well for BC as NIH is our major federal sponsor,” Comvalius-Goddard said in an email. “That increase means increased funding opportunities from NIH which translates to more awards for BC down the road.”

In his first White House budget, Trump proposed cutting the NIH’s budget by roughly $6 billion, which “would have been a devastating blow after years of stagnant funding,” Vox reported.

Faculty can also benefit from a slight funding increase to $78 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services.

This is nearly identical to the $77.9 billion that Obama sought and almost 20 percent more than the amount Trump called for, as The Atlantic explained.

The National Science Foundation

(NSF) also got a boost, gaining about $300 million to reach $7.8 billion in total funding. In his proposed budget, Trump at first called for the NSF budget to be slashed 30 percent to $5.27 billion, but later for it to be restored it to its fiscal 2018 level, before Congress called to increase the funding.

NSF proposals for funding at BC came in at over $38 million in fiscal 2017, and funding actions at almost $4 million.

Ethan Baxter, chairperson of BC’s earth and environmental sciences department, told The Heights in March that most funding for the department comes from the NSF. This funding will prove helpful if other agencies that fund scientific research, like the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or the Environmental Protection Agency receive cuts in funding, all of which have supported research at the University.

Aside from funding for scientific research at BC, faculty in the humanities

and arts can take a breather thanks to a higher level of funding for the National Endowments for the Arts (NEA) and Humanities (NEH), both of which rose to about $153 million. In his proposed budget, Trump said that the agencies would receive significant cuts (down to $29 million for the NEA and $42 million for the NEH) and “begin” shutting down in 2019, as reported by the Associated Press.

Requesting grants from these agencies is commonplace at BC, and faculty have warned The Heights of the negative consequences that cutting their funding could have time and time again.

In addition, the Department of Education is to receive a $2.6 billion boost, which could benefit BC faculty and was another priority of the Obama era. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos had sought to cut Education Department funding by $9 billion, seeking to eliminate money for after-school programs for needy youth and a grant program that helps low-income students go to college, as

The Washington Post reported. In fiscal 2017, funding proposals for the Department of Education came in at about $9.6 billion, and funding actions at around $1.8 million.

Regardless of the positive outcomes of the omnibus spending bill, student aid and federal funds aren’t necessarily heading in a positive direction in the years to come. Soon after Trump signed off on the budget, he took to Twitter to express that he intended to never sign off on another bill like this one, and then called upon Congress to give him a line-item veto for all government spending bills.

“There is always the potential for budget cuts in the future,” Comvalius-Goddard said. “The federal budget is driven by the priorities of those in office at the time and for that reason it can change in drastic or subtle ways from year to year.

Those who work in Research Administration are always sensitive to which way the pendulum swings when it comes to research funding.” n

Second-Year Students to Overcome ‘Sophomore Slump’ With Stride

By Cole Dady News Editor Freshman year is about getting acclimated to life at Boston College, and students have many resources at their disposal to do so. Juniors and seniors commonly find themselves having determined their academic focus and are eligible for leadership roles around campus, creating a healthy balance in their lives.

Sophomores are still in period of selfdiscovery, however, needing to determine their academic, social, and spiritual paths, and that’s where Stride comes in.

Stride is a group mentorship program that aims to address the needs of sopho-

mores and enhance their college experiences. In an interview with The Heights, Mike Sacco, executive director of the Center for Student Formation and Office of First Year Experience, and Helen Ha, associate director of the Center for Student Formation, explained that the initiative revolves around the “formational triangle:” a framework that aims to enhance the intellectual, social, and spiritual lives of students.

The two found that the Center for Student Formation offers lots of programs for first year students, like Compass, Ascend, and Freshman League, but not a lot for sophomores. Although they can take part in Halftime, an overnight opportunity to reflect on one’s trajectory in college, sophomores

currently lack a program that is focused on serving them.

Stride has three main focuses, one of which is to help students build social connections through weekly small group meetings. Sacco believes that sophomores would benefit from having a space to discuss various aspects of their college experiences, like navigating living in eight-person suites, off-campus housing, and friendships.

“Sophomores are over the transition,” Sacco said. “But I don’t think they’re necessarily done with a need for good conversations with their peers, and especially an opportunity to make additional friends.”

Another valuable aspect of the program is that it introduces students to some of the

most popular faculty on campus through a biweekly lecture series. As Sacco explained, due to the competitive nature of the course selection process, students often can’t take all of the best professors. But through this series, students would gain exposure to those professors, who would discuss a topic related to their courses and frame it around the lens of leadership. Sacco and Ha wanted Stride to have an intellectual bent to it, so they figured that this would be a great way to incorporate such an ideal.

Stride will also let students areflect on themselves as leaders. The purpose of the program is to help students begin to ask bigger questions about who they are and who they want to be as a person. To be a

leader, Sacco explained, one first has to know oneself. Stride, therefore, combines an academic, social, and spiritual approach to help second year students integrate different aspects of their lives on campus.

“If Stride can provide a concrete way for you to reflect intellectually, open up and think about yourself and your interior life, make some friends, and learn how to be good leaders, we’ve hit our goal,” Sacco said.

The deadline to apply to the program is April 17.

“You often hear people talk about the sophomore slump,” Sacco said. “Our idea is that…instead of slumping, they’ll be hitting their stride.” n

THE HEIGHTS

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THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 2018

History Professor Robert Savage Offers New Perspective on Brexit

BY BRENDAN RUBERRY For The Heights In a referendum on June 23, 2016, the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union.

Brexit was officially the mandate of the people, and work for history professor Robert J. Savage was suddenly a bit more complicated than before. One of the main obstacles to the ongoing Brexit talks is the question of the current, mostly invisible Irish border. The border, which has been completely open for travel and trade since 1998, was once delineated by hard, armed checkpoints.

“The border has, in many respects, disappeared,” said Savage, who moves regularly between Queen’s University, Belfast, and Trinity College, Dublin, where he currently is a visiting fellow at the Long Room Hub Humanities Institute.

A seamless border crossing is a weekly ritual for Savage, and only by paying close attention to the road signs can he determine whether he’s in the North or the South. With the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland included, set to leave the EU, the possibility of a hard border on the island of Ireland has come back into focus. In order to understand the former importance of

the U.K.-Irish border, first must come an understanding of the nature of the conflict that surrounded it.

The ethno-nationalist conflict that was The Troubles began as a civil rights movement for the Catholic minority in Northern Ireland in the 1960s, spearheaded by both Catholics and Protestants in the region.

According to Savage, it was meant to ensure that everyone in Northern Ireland, regardless of religious status, had full rights to housing, jobs, healthcare, and education. But that positive energy spiraled into something much, much uglier.

On Aug. 24, 1968 a march organized by the Northern Irish Civil Rights Association was met with force by the Royal Ulster Constabulary in Derry, Northern Ireland.

Batons and water cannons were used to disperse the crowds and several prominent leaders were among those injured.

Things were never the same in Britain and Ireland. Over the next 30 years, thousands were killed in acts of terror and violence perpetrated by both sides throughout the British Isles, though primarily in Northern Ireland. Many prominent British political figures were assassinated, and the spectre of terrorism haunted the daily lives of everyday people.

“It had to be resolved by political lead-

PHOTO COURTESTY OF BC.EDU

Savage’s new book addresses the complexities of time in the context of Britain and Ireland.

ers who had the courage to make difficult decisions that were sometimes unpopular, and that finally happened,” said Savage of the peace process that culminated in the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) on April 10, 1998. It was negotiated between multiple government parties in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland and widely regarded as the landmark event that brought the conflict to an end. Savage points to John Hume as an integral figure. The Northern Irish politician received an honorary degree from Boston College in 1995 and served on the school’s faculty for a number of years.

In 1998, he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on the GFA. “[Hume’s message] was all about spilling sweat and not blood. That people had to come together and that there was no future in violence,” Savage said.

“The hard work of politics. All sides finally figured out that violence wasn’t going to get them anywhere. They had fought to a stalemate for 30 years and left nothing but carnage and hurt and dead, injured and grieving people behind.”

In those 30 years, the blood, sweat, and tears of the Irish and Northern Irish people were poured out to evaporate that border and the ethnic and national division that it symbolized. With Brexit, it becomes a problem again. To Savage, both the United Kingdom and Ireland being in the E.U. diminished the importance of national identity in Northern Ireland, especially for Catholics, who enjoyed being both “Irish” and “European.”

“It softened the whole notion of ‘British-ness’ and ‘Irish-ness’.” Savage said.

“They liked the fact that they could travel across the border easily ... There were no guards or stops or searches or customs or anything like that.”

Savage believes that some will see that the possible reappearance of a hard border in Ireland as a re-partitioning of Ireland, back to the time when the northern six counties were originally torn from the lower 26. To return to a hard border would be to spiritually return the people of Ireland to a time when each daily commute could be one’s last, and the threat of sectarian violence draped the island like a pall.

“It’s just going the wrong way,” Savage said of diplomacy in the region.

According to Savage, just as the border

separating Ireland and Northern Ireland was a popular target for bombings during The Troubles, so could future checkpoints become targets for “fanatical” elements, especially in the fringes of the Republican movement that would see the 32 counties united again—by any means.

This would be a far-cry from the conditions of The Troubles, but. Savage believes the widespread terror and acrimony of the pre-Good Friday Agreement Ireland to be firmly in the past, however, the return of the border could “poison” all of the goodwill that has come of it since.

“Anglo-Irish relations have been great, and this could possibly sour the relationship between London and Dublin,” said Savage. “The people of Ireland don’t want a return of the border. They like the fact that The Troubles are over.”

During The Troubles, television was the source through which people learned of the conflict in the British Isles. Savage’s scholarly work has often taken a mediabased focus and he considers television, specifically how the BBC presented events to an international audience during The Troubles, to be integral to understanding the politics of the conflict.

“A news report from Belfast might be three minutes, two minutes, and the reporter would have to get in a story very quickly and oftentimes there would be dramatic images and a narrative that would go with it,” said Savage.

Then-British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher wanted to shut off the Irish Republican Army’s “oxygen of publicity,” according to Savage.

“The British government became infuriated when reports from Northern Ireland questioned the [British] security services and their policies,” Savage said. “They didn’t like the fact that they were always being questioned by an aggressive press that was not willing to take at face value statements that were coming from the police or the [British] army.”

BBC reporters would go regularly into Catholic neighborhoods and ask the denizens about official British policy, or even give an international platform for Sinn Féin to voice its discontent. According to Savage, this repeated coverage lead Thatcher to officially institute censorship in 1988. The supporters of the Irish Re-

publican cause, who Thatcher wanted to portray only as criminals and terrorists without formulated political views, would no longer be aided in their strife against the British government by its own public news service.

“The lesson [from the censorship] is that in any viable democracy it is critical that there be a critical and free independent press that can have the legislative support, the independence it needs to report accurate, if critically, of these events,” Savage said.

Though there is no question of the IRA’s involvement in terrorist activities, Savage argued. The British government failed to recognize the support that both the IRA and Sinn Féin had in Northern Ireland, mostly in working-class, Catholic communities. They were so alienated by the discrimination that they faced in their communities that they would turn to the only groups that would offer them a voice.

“It’s all about trying to get beyond the polarities and trying to provide a more comprehensive understanding that explains why Northern Ireland was a place where Catholics felt marginalized, and how a civil rights campaign that had all the right intentions failed because of the inability of politicians to make important compromises.”

An expert on the history of modern Ireland, Savage published The BBC’s Irish Troubles: Television, Conflict and Northern Ireland in 2015. The groundbreaking work was recently named to the shortlist for the 25th Christopher Ewart-Biggs Literary Prize, named for British diplomat Christopher Ewart-Biggs, who was murdered in Dublin by the IRA in 1976. According to the organization’s website, the prize is awarded to works that “promote and encourage peace and reconciliation in Ireland” as well as “a greater understanding between the peoples of Britain and Ireland.”

Savage’s book is the first American work to be nominated for the award. Though he doesn’t expect to win, he takes solace in the fact that his work soundly accomplished the work of a historian: it addresses the complexities of the time with consideration and nuance.

“It’s important to understand these conflicts if we’re going to avoid repeating these same mistakes,” Savage said. 

A Column All About Appreciating the Finer Things in Life JOAN KENNEDY I’m no stranger to witnessing fights, and I’ve come to savor them—to appreciate their boldness and subtle touches, as one would a fine wine. Their aromas differ distinctly, depending on their environment—at times hints of flowers, or slight nuttiness might invade the witness’s senses, other times they’re characterized with a tinge of tobacco, or smokiness. Some are angular, with the puncher hitting the punchee in specific places with high impact. Others are buttery, with a few slip-slips, then a punch that hits right in the middle. Some are crisp, pairing well with a sundress and hot day. The best, in my opinion, are mediumbodied, with a fruity finish.

It was mid-April, and I found myself on a date. We consumed copious amounts of sushi on fire (literally). The date mirrored the ensuing relationship—flashy, cheap, and too long-lasting. But on that night, it was everything. After dinner, we—young, stupid, and drunk on the Allston air (or high on all the rat poison?)—began to walk aimlessly, with a clear purpose: dessert.

We pounded pavement, walking quicker than our nervous first-date words could, until we were halted at a crosswalk.

We stood on the sidewalk with a group of strangers, all with the same goal of crossing the street without losing a leg or life.

“Oh you must think you’re reaaaaaaal coool, carrying that beer with you,” pierced the air.

The crowd turned to look at a man (who appeared to be homeless, but I don’t judge), leaning up against a building—one leg propped on the wall, sagging backpack laying grievously on the ground, backwards baseball cap slightly off kilter, slyly eating a piece of chocolate cake out of a to-go container. Confusion permeated the dark atmosphere like a singular breeze pierces a stagnant summer day—all eyes on the mysterious speaker.

“All you do is drink beer all day. All you do is get drunk all day,” he said, shaking his plastic fork in the direction of a young boy (who appeared to be in a fraternity, but I don’t judge) donning a gray Patagonia half-zip, khaki shorts, and New Balances, with a case of Natural Light in his arms The boy froze in his frocket, now certain the comments were directed at him.

The speaker walked across the crowd so that he was standing beside his target.

They both tensed, then all at once the yelling erupted.

“You don’t even know me man!”’s and “oh I know you!”s were exchanged.

My date moved in front of me, shielding me from the danger . I swooned. Frat Boy crossed the street before the light changed—it was bold.

Homeless Man trudged forward behind him, walking with his shoulders forward and his brow furrowed—cake in one hand, backpack in the other.

The red lights glared on the pavement as a third voice entered the scene.

“Ohhhhh he’s not going to cross.

Ohhhhh he’s doing it. OHHHHH no they’re not,” the narrator said.

I looked to see a woman in her mid50s wearing leggings that were too big for her, and the same hair gel as Guy Fieri. Her legs vibrated slightly when she spoke, and it became clear that she had been designated to provide commentary for the scene.

“Ohhhhh you better run. Ohhhh he’s getting ready,” the narrator said.

Frat Boy and Homeless Man continued their markedly unfriendly verbal exchange across the street. Something the homeless man said struck the frat boy’s eardrums, commanding him to put down the case of Natural Light.

Homeless Man squared up, chocolate cake still in hand. They began to battle, the frat boy pushing and shoving as Frat Boys do, the homeless man getting a little creative with it and swinging his backpack like a nunchuck—one hand on his weapon, one hand holding his cake.

They went back and forth like this for a while, as the narrator began to speak a more guttural language, “ooof,” “ahhhh,” “mmmmhf,” “huuuuuuh.”

Something was awoken in the homeless man, maybe he had a chip on his shoulder or maybe he was Kappa Sigma and sensed Sigma Chi in his enemy—who knows, but a switch clicked in him. He was man on the edge, you could see it in his step back and slight hesitation. It was a watershed moment, a turning point.

As the red “stop” hand faded into history on the street perpendicular to the fight, my date and I crossed, leaving our group behind but keeping our eyes on the brawl. Following suit with our stride, the homeless man threw the chocolate

cake he had nurtured for so long down onto the ground like a red-headed step child (I can say it because I am one), and took a unimpaired swing at Frat Boy. The narrator’s voice still echoes in my ears.

“NOT THE CAKE,” she screamed.

“Why would he ruin the cake,” she said with tears in her eyes to the man next to her. “I just don’t understand why he threw the cake.”

He looked at her, offered no consolation, and walked away, leaving her standing there, hanging, like the little tail in the undercase “g” on a sheet of loose leaf.

Now, I’m fully aware that not everyone enjoys a fine vino. But, when the flavors become a little hazy and everything becomes a little blurrier, even the biggest critique of fermented grapes can find a little enjoyment.

Five Guys: 2:30 a.m., Thursday night (Friday morning), we sat munching on burgers and fries, as one does. My friends’ eyes became fixed on another table, after looking for a while, his sides began to split. I slowly moved my gaze from my Oreo shake to see five guys who ordered four bags of fries. Instead of eating the fries out of the bag, as one does, they decided to dump all four bags to form a mountain of fries in the middle of the table like it was the most normal thing in the world. Let me repeat that, they dumped four bags of fries directly onto a partially naked (only clothed in filth), then cleaned with a dirty, rag, table which retained a thin layer of sludge from the meals of our forefathers.

As they began to ravenously eat the fries (after coating them in various diseases), my friend began to laugh. They

ANNA TIERNEY / HEIGHTS EDITOR

looked over a little suspiciously, but then quickly looked back at the spread before them, shaking it off. In a sudden and decisive moment, one of the five guys decided to take ketchup and mayo and pour them out healthily over the pile.

That’s when the tables really turned.

My friend fell out of his chair. One of the five guys stood up to say something that I can imagine would’ve gone like, “What the h*ck are you laughing at?” But instead vigorously hit the table with his hip, knocking all of the fries onto the ground.

The laughter, once somewhat controlled, became pandemonious .

The five guys were furious, and started after my friend, claiming he had knocked over their table, even though he was miles away when it happened. One-sided tensions flared as they took turns lunging at my friend and his friends. At that point, employees had to get involved. One particularly grizzly fellow strolled over and yelled “Get the F—k out” to the five fry guys whilst sticking his hip out and filming the brawl for his Snapchat story.

“F—k your mother,” one beefy antagonist said to my friend.

He replied only with more laughter, and eventually choked out, “Nooo, not my mother,” raising his hands in faux surrender.

The five guys were reluctantly escorted out of Five Guys, but it was soon to be revealed that we had won the battle, but not the war. After copious celebration inside the locked doors of Five Guys, we ordered an Uber home. But, we should have taken queue from the ominous nature of silence, because as soon as we stepped outside, an ambush ensued. Each of the five guys

targeted one of the guys that was with us, in a giant heap on the sidewalk.

The only other girl playing witness to the amped-up situation and I stood by the curb yelling insults, and cheers of support, in between shoving fries—the Helens of Troy in this situation—into our mouths.

As our SUV Uber approached, we realized our fighting friends needed us and started throwing legs and arms aggressively into the situation.

All I heard next was “What are you guys thinking?”

We looked at each other in our heels, mascara and lipstick still perfect—an honest and unspoken acknowledgement that we couldn’t figure out what we were thinking, but before we could talk about it, we were rushed into the getaway car and drove off into the night, leaving the fry-mongrels to pick up the pieces.

A good fight is in no way necessary to a good time, but has transitory effects.

It can turn a bland night into something with more character and zest. It’s the difference between a filet mignon and a filet mignon with the bold and brash tannins of a Bordeaux, and the difference between sea bass and sea bass with the crisp citrus of a Pinot Grigio. There’s something about seeing the inner turmoil of others become physical that elevates the id, giving the witness a sense of superiority, much like the feeling one gets when putting their lips to a crystal glass full of lavish wine.

“Isn’t that the girl from White Collar?”

I said.

Joan Kennedy is the Magazine editor for The Heights. She can be reached at magazine@bcheights.com.

The Heights

Thursday, April 5, 2018

TOP

3

things to do in Boston this week

1

The Boston National Poetry Month Festival will hold events throughout the city beginning Wednesday through Sunday. Events are open to the public, and admission is free. A full list of the programs offered can be found on the organizer’s website, www.bostonnationalpoetry.org.

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2

On April 10, InnovateEDU will hold a student entrepreneur competition in Cambridge, Mass.

Student teams from Boston College, Emerson College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston University, Northeastern University, and Suffolk University will pitch their business ideas to a panel.

3

On April 12 at the Harvard Book Store, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will discuss her new book, Fascism: A Warning. The book provides an examination of fascism in the 20th century and how its legacy shapes the world today. Tickets can be bought online.

Berklee Students Strike a Chord at Open Mic Night METRO BRIEFS

By Jenna Rosenthal For The Heights

Upon entering the Red Room at Cafe 939, take caution not to trip. The room is pitch black except for a purple glow that emanates from the stage, illuminating a solo performer accompanied only by an instrument and her voice. Five minutes later, another performer takes the stage for his chance to bask in the purple lights.

A steady stream of performers follow

them, all students at Berklee College of Music, who come together on the last Monday of each month for Open Mic Night. The Berklee-sponsored event is free and is a great way to spend a weeknight in Downtown Boston on the cheap while getting a dose of music culture.

This past Open Mic Night held on March 26, musical acts ranged from guitar instrumentals to songs about being snowed-in in Back Bay. There was something for all ears and

Jenna Rosenthal / For The Heights

Berklee students take the stage to perform original music for a big crowd at Cafe 939.

for all moods: One artist softly played the piano and sang about falling in love, while another loudly strummed his electric guitar, belting about his recent breakup. The crowd was electrified when an artist took the stage. The room was filled at capacity with friends of the performers, Berklee students, and music lovers.

In between performances, a member of the audience would often shout and cheer for an artist while they were preparing the stage to play. The casual atmosphere added to the experience, as it felt like the Red Room transformed into someone’s living room or garage, and the crowd became one family.

The energetic crowd was juxtaposed with the dark and dramatic ambience that was strategically set to focus on the radiant artist on stage. While the crowd was funloving, they were respectful and quiet once a performance began, fully engaged in the entertainment in front of them.

The last performance of the night was Claire Marie Lim, whose electronic

production showcased her quirky spirit.

Lim, who performs under the name DollTr!ck, is a senior at Berklee majoring in electronic production and design and professional music.

“I produce all my tracks and write all the lyrics and music for them. I usually make my songs with performances in mind because I do a lot of live DJing,” Lim said.

Lim began producing electronic music in 2016 and loves to take advantage of the many platforms Berklee provides for students to perform. Fortunately for Boston music lovers, there are many.

You don’t even need to leave Boston College’s campus to stream the Berklee Internet Radio Network (BIRN), which features Lim’s show ElectriCute! She combines her love for electronic dance music and Korean pop, while promoting other Berklee artists, on her show.

“I try my best to play music that my friends have made and that of other Berklee students in my major,” Lim said. n

Newton Power Choice Offers Greener Electricity

By Chloe McAllaster Assoc. Metro Editor

In an effort to increase the amount of renewable energy in the city’s electricity supply, Newton is currently in the process of developing a new electricity aggregation plan. Named Newton Power Choice, the aggregation program is a form of group electricity purchasing that allows the local government to negotiate an electricity contract on behalf of all Newton residents and businesses. This allows the local government to decide the amount of renewable energy in the electricity supply and its price.

According to the Newton Power Choice website, the program offers residents the benefits of greener electricity, price stability, and consumer protections.

With the implementation of the new

program, Newton will join the more than 125 other communities in Massachusetts that already use electricity aggregation.

Of these communities, Newton will be one of the first to utilize aggregation for the added benefit of a more renewable energy supply.

“Only a few handfuls of [the other communities] have actually used the program to buy more renewable electricity,” said Ann Berwick, co-director of sustainability for the City of Newton. “So we’re actually kind of in the front in terms of the communities that are using municipal aggregation to make their electricity supply cleaner.”

As stated on the website, Newton Power Choice participants will automatically receive a set amount of renewable electricity that is higher than the minimum state requirement. Alternatively, they will be given the options to receive up to 100

percent renewable energy or the state-mandated minimum. All renewable electricity will be sourced from New England-based renewable energy projects.

“It’s far and away the most effective lever we have to have the community buy more renewable sources of power, like solar and wind,” Berwick said.

According to Berwick, Eversource will continue to be the electricity delivering utility for residents participating in Newton Power Choice. Eversource Basic Service customers will be automatically enrolled in the program, while other residents will be able to opt into the plan. Participation is not required, and residents may opt out at any time.

The first public meeting regarding Newton Power Choice was held on March 27 at Newton City Hall. Similar presentations to various citizen groups will be held

throughout 2018 with the intention of providing a setting for Newton residents to offer input on the program. One particular topic of discussion mentioned on the website is the amount of excess renewable energy that should be included in the standard plan.

Berwick said that Newton Power Choice will likely be implemented in the coming fall. The Department of Public Utilities must approve the aggregation plan before it can be officially enacted.

Public response to the program has been overwhelmingly positive, with many residents receptive to the idea of a more renewable electricity supply, according to Berwick.

“People who I have spoken to are— most people—are very enthusiastic about having a city that has a way to buy more renewable electricity,” she said. n

‘The White Card’: A Production About Perspective Jack Goldman When it comes to race, my default instinct is to just be afraid. Why would I ever have the answers to the thorniest issue in the world? I’m a very average white guy, so what do I know about anything outside of my own white experience?

It turns out, that experience in itself is something I found out I need to be shining a light on in order to make any valuable difference in the greater conversation surrounding inequality between white people and every minority.

The White Card, which was put on from Feb. 24 to April 1 at the Paramount Theatre by ArtsEmerson, directed by Diane Paulus and written by Claudia Rankine. It’s a production about perspective—white, black, female, male. It’s a play about relationships—mother and son, father and son, white and black, and many more. It’s a play about a lot of things—as many plays are—but The White Card makes you think about them.

From its set, to its dialogue, to the redness surrounding Alex’s (Colton Ryan) eyes as he gets more and more upset by the circumstances surrounding the dinner party that serves as The White Card’s main setting, everything about this play is thought-provoking.

I saw it on March 31. I sat in an uncomfortable white chair, looking out on an entirely white set, surrounded by more white chairs and white walls and white doors. The red exit signs stood out much more than usual.

The audience around me was not all white. In fact, during Act II of the play, which was really an audience-wide discussion session after the conclusion of the first and only official act of The White Card, one of the discussion leaders—

who had seen the production multiple times—said that she had begun to watch the audience watch the play instead of watching the play itself.

I understand why she gravitated toward that action. Whenever an audience member spoke, it became clear that the beauty of the play was how it resonated with each audience member differently.

One mother in the audience empathized deeply with the struggle Virginia (Patricia Kalember) was going through, watching Alex, her son, find himself in potentially dangerous situations in his role as a white member of the Black Lives Matter protests.

Another audience member said she couldn’t take her eyes off Charlotte (Karen Pittman), the lone African-American actor on stage—her face contorted as she struggled with each decision she needed to make, each realization that dawned on her about her dinner hosts, about the society she participates in, about her art, about black art, about charity, about relationships, about family, about blackness, about whiteness.

For me, it was Charles (Daniel Gerroll), the rich, white host of the dinner party and sponsor of many pieces of art put together by black artists, specifically those that depict black suffering—in his eyes, a reminder to the world of darkness surrounding the daily black experience—whose experience resonated the most with me.

Charles’ fortune comes from his real estate empire, and he, Charlotte, and Charles’ art agent/dealer/facilitator Eric (Jim Poulos) all reference the immense power the head of the household possesses wherever he goes. Charlotte describes him as Moses—wherever he moves, the waves of people part to let Charles through.

I am literally nothing like this man. I hold no power, people do not care when I enter a room, the only thing I share with Charles is the color of our skin.

But what hit me the hardest was how

wrong he was.

This man, thinking he is helping the black community through his foundation, is blinded by a few things, but most importantly it comes down to his unwillingness to reckon with his own actions.

He invests in real estate used to construct private prisons and he believes that the artwork he purchases only depicts black suffering, which Charlotte tries to teach him is turning the eye away from the more dastardly aspects of what it means to be white.

But I didn’t realize that. My initial reaction to the play was that I needed to do more to reach out to the black community, outside of the various bubbles— BC, white, Northeast, middle to upper class, left-leaning, attendee of a Catholic private high school in New England, you name it I’m probably in it—to try to make a difference, whether that was through charity—as Charles did—politics, or wherever else I was needed—I thought that’s where my attention should be going.

Luckily, the person sitting next to me at this play happened to be its playwright, Rankine. So, when she turned to me during Act II and asked me what I resonated with most, I told her the truth. And she asked me why. If Charles resonated with me the most, the ultimate lesson—that an effort to try to break into the black community to try to “save” it isn’t the point—led me to give into my fear of what it means to be white rather than trying to reckon with my skin color.

And that is how I realized the title of the play had a much bigger role in my life than I realized. In a sense, every time I read something related to the increasingly public troubles surrounding race-related issues in America over the past 10 years, and more specifically within the last two, I wanted to run from it. The dialogue scares me on a multitude of levels. Most notably for me, I just don’t feel qualified to be an authority on what goes on when it comes to race relations

in this country—I’m just a guy at a play.

But I’m playing the white card the wrong way. I’m very much an expert on what it means to be white—I’m living that privileged experience every day. As afraid as I am to face up to the darker aspects of the history of people who share my skin color, The White Card has opened my eyes to the idea that I should at least try to face up to how my privilege can warp the way I treat or allow other people to treat the different races, genders, and minority populations that surround me as I begin to emerge from the bubble I’ve grown up in.

Although I’m afraid I don’t have any of the right answers to any kind of race related problem ever because … well because I’m really white, if anything that makes me more qualified to look at the privileges my skin color grants me in American society. Maybe by looking more closely at my advantages and the darkness behind them, I’ll be able to brandish my white card for the greater good of society rather than the way Charles does.

Can I actually create change? I don’t know, probably not. But if I try, maybe I’m doing right by people my ancestors have oppressed for centuries, and at least that’s a good thing. Watching The White Card and what Rankine said to me wrecked my brain for three days. It bothered me so much—what scared me the most was how misguided my initial fears pushed me to be.

So rather than acquiesce to the distraction my fear engenders and turning away from the issue at the heart of this play—the danger of the white card—I’m at least going to try to be an agent of change, even if the only thing I’m agent-ing is my own personal actions and experience.

Jack Goldman is the copy editor for The Heights. He can be reached at copy@ bcheights.com.

Scandal Rocks State Police

The Massachusetts State Police has been embroiled in scandal over the past two weeks. On March 20, The Boston Globe reported that 29 active and retired state troopers in Troop E were facing potential sanctions for running an overtime scam. Troopers no-showed overtime shifts but were still paid for them, and as many as 100 unfulfilled shifts were reported to have occurred.

The scandal was uncovered in an internal audit of Troop E, the troop that covers the Massachusetts Turnpike, according to the Globe. Governor Charlie Baker, State Police Superintendent Col. Kerry A. Gilpin, and the State Police Association of Massachusetts—the union that represents state troopers—all issued statements condemning the actions of those who participated in the scam.

The results of the investigation so far are that nine troopers have been suspended without pay, according to the Globe, and nine more have retired. Of the troopers who were accused, each held various ranks within the police, including trooper, sergeant, and lieutenant.

This past week, Baker and Gilpin announced the end of Troop E. “It is clear that the actions of members within this agency have threatened that public trust,” Gilpin said at a State House press conference. “The membership knows that we need change.”

In addition, a 30-day review of Troop F was instigated. The troop patrols Logan Airport and the Seaport area. It is the subject of further attention because, according to further Globe reporting, the earnings of those troopers were not reported to the state comptroller for years, and their salaries have been much higher than they were previously understood to be.

According to the Globe, one of the members was the second-highest paid member of the state police thanks to $137,091 in overtime pay. Seventy nine percent of the troop makes more money than Baker does.

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey has launched a further criminal investigation into all of the alleged activities. The internal state police investigation has been extended to include the top 50 earners as well as Troop F, and that investigation will occur on a quarterly basis.

“The Massachusetts State Police has a long and honorable history. …

That history, that reputation, has been tarnished,” Baker said.

Spicer Endorses Diehl for Senate Sean Spicer is coming to Massachusetts to campaign for an Elizabeth Warren opponent, according to The Boston Globe. State Representative Geoff Diehl was one of the chairs of President Donald Trump’s campaign in Massachusetts.

Spicer, the former press secretary and communications director for the Trump administration, will make a speaking appearance at an April 12 donor event at the Union Oyster House in Boston.

Diehl attended Trump’s inauguration in January and, according to the Globe, is the favorite to win GOP endorsement at the party’s convention to go against Warren this November.

The Heights

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EDITORIAL

Thursday, April 5, 2018

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Stride Program Excellent Addition to Sophomore Student Life

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

On Tuesday, April 3, Boston they typically fall and encourage tions about who they are and who College’s Center for Student For- them to grow as students, leaders, they want to be as a person. By the mation launched the application and classmates. According to the end of sophomore year, students for Stride, a semester-long group application, “Stride is specifically are expected to declare a major, mentorship program designed to designed to help sophomores feel presuming that second-year stuaddress the needs of sophomores established at BC.” dents know a tentative direction and enhance their college experiThe application, open to rising in which they plan to direct their ences. The program features four sophomores, is due by 5 p.m. on futures. For those who remain major components, each designed April 17. Although the program uncertain about their prospective to target a specific aspect of a stu- appears open to accepting most professions, this program will be dent’s life. Academically, helpful for them to identify a lecture series occurring their interests as they deever y other Wednesday velop academically, socially, “...this program will be will showcase BC’s most and spiritually. helpful for them to identify popular professors, who In the past, BC Center will discuss a topic related for Student Formation has their interests...” to their courses and frame focused heavily on makit around the lens of leadering sure that freshmen feel ship. Socially, each student welcome and find an easy will be placed in a small group second-year students who apply, transition into college. Although with seven other sophomores the application asks applicants sophomores can take part in and one upperclassman leader to indicate their availability for Halftime, an overnight opportuand will be required to attend an the coming semester because nity to reflect on one’s trajectory inaugural event prior to the start it is necessary that those ac- in college, they currently lack a of classes in the fall. Spiritually, cepted attend all aspects of the program that is focused on servstudents will attend a weekend program. Stride also asks each ing them. Recognizing this lack of retreat, Halftime, for a chance participant to contribute $100 attention, the Center for Student to ref lect and consider their to the program’s operation, with Formation is instituting a positive purpose, vocation, and roles as financial aid available for students motion to create a more supportleaders. This formative experi- who qualify. ive atmosphere for students as ence hopes to draw sophomore The purpose of Stride is to help they advance through their time students out of the rut in which students begin to ask bigger ques- at BC with Stride.

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The Heights

Thursday, April 5, 2018

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The Wizarding World of BC 69

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Josh Behrens addie’s ice cream - One of the most underrated features of Boston College dining, Addie’s ice cream genuinely deserves much more respect from students than it currently receives. Why would you even go out for ice cream when you can just use your dining hall money to pay for ice cream that tastes just as good?

Don’t get me wrong, I love White Mountain just as much as the next person, but sometimes I don’t really feel like risking my life jaywalking across Comm. Ave. even though the crosswalk is approximately two feet away just to spend six dollars of my own real money on one scoop of ice cream. Although there is very little variety among the flavors in Addie’s freezer—it’s usually just chocolate, vanilla, some frozen yogurt (fake), and a special flavor—the ice cream is always reliable, but if you do want a bit of variety, they change it up every week with a new special! Plus, you can add chocolate or caramel sauce if you really want to spice up your life. The best thing about Addie’s ice cream, though, is that you can use your dining hall money.

Do you have thousands of extra dollars remaining on your Eagle ID because of the unreasonable mandatory meal plan? Spend the rest of your money on ice cream at Addie’s.

Don’t have any money left? Find a friend who has an absurd amount and guilt them into buying you ice cream while you slowly starve as you ration your remaining money until the end of the year so you don’t have to log onto Agora Portal to add a few extra bucks to survive.

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Boston College dropped its best admissions video yet last week—a Harry Potter-themed video welcoming the incoming Class of 2022 to the Heights. At nearly 200,000 views in addition to features in articles from news organizations like CNBC, the video is clearly a success.

The concept of comparing BC to Hogwarts is far from new. I’m 99 percent sure every single tour guide takes their group through Bapst and says, “this is our Harry Potter library.” I certainly got the whole “HP library” spiel on both of my tours as a prospective freshman four years ago. John Walsh’s video adds more magical comparisons to the cliché Bapst = Hogwarts refrain as eagles deliver acceptance letters to prospective students, students explore dark halls with lamps in hand (which would never happen here due to BC’s tyrannical policy on candles), candles float in Bapst (see my last parenthetical comment), an admissions officer reads an enchanted edition of The Heights (I couldn’t help but imagine how much moving images would enhance my columns), and homework is handwritten with a quill (thank God for laptops). The thing is, the video didn’t need to add any imagined connections between BC and Hogwarts: there already are countless connections between the two schools, most of which we never talk about.

First off, just like Hogwarts, we have four houses. I have heard many a debate about which college parallels which Hogwarts house, but there is a clear answer that is 100 percent accurate: CSON is Gryffindor (because they bravely save peoples’ lives every day); Lynch is Hufflepuff (Lynch students are the most loyal, dedicated, and patient Eagles by far); MCAS is Ravenclaw (the focus on a diverse education translates to Ravenclaw values of wisdom and learning); and CSOM is obviously Slytherin (if you need this explained, you’re definitely a Slytherin). There are great students in every “house,” but it is

no coincidence that there tend to be more Malfoy-like bros in CSOM (rich, entitled, legacy students often riding the coattails of their successful fathers). J.K. Rowling even wrote about Slytherin: “These cunning folks use any means to achieve their ends.” Sound familiar?

Just like the quaint village of Hogsmeade down the road from Hogwarts, we have Cleveland Circle. BC students have two favorite “pubs” just like Hogwarts’s two favorites: The warm and welcoming Three Broomsticks is like Cityside, while the dingy Hog’s Head Inn is like MA’s. Now abandoned, the old Agoros building (RIP) takes the role of the Shrieking Shack, a terrifying place filled with hazy memories of regret. Kung Fu Tea is our Madam Puddifoot’s Tea Shop, CVS is the Magic Neep grocery store, and Reservoir Liquors is J. Pippin’s Potions (watermelon Rubi will make any freshman transform into another person faster than Polyjuice potion).

Another obvious analogy is our Gothic architecture that looks like Hogwarts’s flying buttresses and parapets (side note: I’m so happy I finally have a reason to put the term “flying buttresses” into one of my columns), but less often acknowledged is the way our other buildings emulate other parts of Hogwarts’s architecture. Carney, with its crumbling walls and leaky floors, is just like Hogwarts’ dungeons. BC has nearly as many stairs as Hogwarts’s 142 staircases, and our stairs can certainly feel like the moving staircases in Hogwarts after a few too many “butterbeers.” We have a lake bordering our campus like Hogwarts’s Great Lake, but unfortunately no self-propelling boats to safely bring us across.

Sadly, we can’t travel by broomstick either, but we do have the BC bus, which is even jerkier than the Knight Bus. The MBTA’s B Line is our very own Hogwarts Express, albeit with 1,000 percent more stops and 97 percent fewer magical candies.

Speaking of broomsticks, our intramural sports embody the competitive culture of quidditch because we get just as enthusiastic for our friend’s intramural soccer game as we do for a Gryffindor vs.

Slytherin quidditch match. Not to mention the Beanpot, which is just like the Triwiz-

ard Tournament as we face the same three schools in a contest to see which school will come out on top and claim all of the bragging rights.

We have many fantastic beasts. Much like Ron’s pet rat Scabbers, Walsh and Iggy residents have lots of pet rats, too. Even though he has been inactive as of late, the BC Tickler is our very own basilisk, prowling the streets of Foster and Kirkwood, temporarily petrifying students. There’s a strange monster that stalks the halls of sophomore dorms and destroys ceiling tiles. And, I know for a certifiable fact that the second floor of Walsh is haunted, though my roommates and I could never pin down if the ghost was friendly like Nearly Headless Nick or mean-spirited like Peeves.

BC’s headmaster, University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J., is a far-cry from the warm, friendly Dumbledore (who also happens to be gay and would have a hard time finding a home at BC anyway, which the New England Classic hilariously pointed out). No, the better, albeit imperfect, parallel is to the reclusive, rule-loving Dolores Umbridge. Funnily enough, Headmaster Leahy has also inspired a Dumbledore’s Army of sorts as seen with the thousands’ strong Silence is Violence March last November and the various anonymous chalking over the past couple weeks.

Despite the rats and Umbridge-esque headmaster and various beasts and too many Draco-like-dudes, I do love this place. As a senior, I am starting to feel just like I felt as I read the last few chapters of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows—a strange sense of palpable nostalgia for what will soon end. For the past three summers, I felt like Harry waiting at the Dursleys’, counting the days until I could be back at the Heights. I won’t have that this summer, and that saddens me. I know I ceaselessly critique this institution, but despite its faults, BC has inspired me to rise like a phoenix and set the world aflame, to become part of Dumbledore’s Army on and off campus—perhaps this is the greatest Harry Potter parallel of all.

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

An Ode to Shea Field The Absurd Amount of Marathon Monday T-Shirts - One (my dad) might say that I shop too much.

I’m not saying he’s wrong, but sometimes I really just can’t help it. But now, whenever I check Facebook hoping only to find a video of some adorable animals or hilarious toddlers or delicious food, I have approximately 7,000 notifications that people have posted in the class Facebook groups. Then, for some unknown reason, I decide to check the pages and consistently find myself extremely annoyed at the countless posts advertising t-shirts for Marathon Monday (which is just one day a year—I understand that people wear these t-shirts afterwards, but it still seems kind of unreasonable to make so many different shirts every year for an event that’s actually less than six hours long). Not only am I annoyed at the absurd amount of t-shirts that people have made, but I’m annoyed at myself for wanting to buy more than one of them. I know a reasonable solution for me here would be to stop checking the class pages, but why should I change when it would be better for me if everyone else changed? I understand that most if not all of the groups selling t-shirts are raising money for charity, and I respect that. But really the biggest issue here is that there are just too many options, and I don’t have the funds to buy more than one t-shirt, so please stop making so many t-shirts.

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Jack Nelson Last week, Boston College baseball christened the new diamond on Brighton Campus. With fresh new field turf and efficient LED lights, Birdball battled Northeastern for a marathon 18 innings in a memorable first game. A project many years in the making, the new facility is representative of the new era of not just BC baseball, but athletics as a whole.

Even as we have begun play across Commonwealth Ave., I would like to give a requiem for Shea Field—it is hard not to get a little emotional remembering the field that Birdball called home for decades. It is tough to find words that can adequately describe having to avoid beer cans on a Sunday practice in the fall or finding students tanning in the outfield as we were about to have a September scrimmage.

Then, there were the days when the field was so flooded, the ball would make a five to six inch divot in the mud upon impact. And yet, all these seeming inconveniences made Shea so special and so loved by all those that were lucky enough to call it home.

The thing that made everything worth it, though, was seeing all the fans lined up on the ramp. The rowdiness of the crowd on the ramp gave us an unmatched home field advantage, especially when perennial powers like Virginia or Louisville would visit the Heights. Taken out of their fancy state-of-the-art stadiums, those big schools were sometimes visibly rattled playing on a more simple setting like Shea while students would be raucous

at the top of the parking garage. On a nice day, a baseball game would feel like a big party in the stands, and I think our play generally reflected that.

The grounds crew also did a phenomenal job creating, in my opinion, the best infield and mound in the ACC. It was easy to walk by Shea Field and see the chain link backstop and small set of metal bleachers as a sorry little field, but in reality the surface was arguably the best in the conference.

But I think what I will miss the most is the sense of pride everyone had when we finally played at home.

We routinely spend the first five to six weeks of the season on the road, so by the latter half of March, the team was eager to finally play in front of family and friends on our field.

In my two years in the program, the team has always taken off in April and May, and I believe much of this has to do with playing at home.

While every former player and fan will always have a soft spot in his heart for Shea Field, the Brighton Field is undoubtedly necessary to consistently compete with the top of the ACC. We will now be able to play earlier and more often at home, lessening the physically taxing and expensive cost of traveling for games. The unpredictability of New England weather is now neutralized as well because of the field turf.

There would be times in the past when our games would be cancelled because Shea was still too wet from a rainstorm that occurred days prior.

Yes, it will still be cold, but the snow and rain that threaten the region through the middle of April is no longer an issue.

For the program, having better facilities means that recruiting will become easier. While not known as

a baseball hot bed, New England has many, many talented baseball players that have, in the past, flocked to big schools down South because of the greater commitment and investment in athletics.

But now, that is changing as BC has a legitimate baseball stadium and facility that will only continue to grow and transform the program in the future. Better facilities bring better players, which brings sustained success and competitiveness.

From my own perspective, the new Brighton Field is an incredibly comfortable place to play as well as watch a game. With larger, heated dugouts and a spacious bullpen, the new stadium has everything a pitcher could possibly want. Plus, the park plays much bigger than its standard dimensions show.

From a fan’s perspective, the concourse is replete with box seats that are quite close to the action. It’s a very nice setting to enjoy high level baseball on any given afternoon or evening.

From a larger perspective, I believe the new Brighton Field represents not only a new dawn for Birdball, but for BC Athletics as a whole. Since Martin Jarmond became athletic director, there has been a palpable change both in the energy in Conte Forum and in the play of our teams this year. Both football and basketball are much improved, while other sports such as women’s lacrosse are in the midst of a historic season. The new (and necessary) construction of the indoor football practice facility and other projects that continue to be built will serve as the key infrastructure for—what I believe—will be BC’s return to athletic prominence.

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

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

March for the Future Madeleine Hughes

Standing in Boston Common at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 24 was powerful. Yes, it was powerful to watch hordes of people crowd the grass for the March for Our Lives. And yes, the speakers told harrowing tales about gun violence and survivors that awoke the next morning forgetting, for a fleeting moment of relief, about the deaths of friends and family. Most of all, however, I will remember the members of the crowd: As I glanced around, I saw a 13-year-old kid standing on top of a giant piece of ice. He was holding a sign that read, “Thirteen and afraid to go to school.” I watched teenagers in fluorescent rain jackets screaming, “We will not sit while Congress lets us die.” I saw college-aged protesters walking, their posters plastered with the devastating question: “Am I Next?”

This march belonged to our generation. We were loud, angry, passionate, and ready to take action. I was proud to be part of a crowd of young people proclaiming their independence. We arrived of our own volition, armed with posters and loud voices and the power of our influence, whether old enough to vote or not. From D.C. to L.A., students denounced political figures who refuse to listen to the voices of endangered students. Right in the middle of Boston Common, these young citizens from elementary schools, high schools, and colleges seized their futures and took action when powerful adults did not.

Becoming socially and politically active is an essential part of growing up.

What’s more, it is a critical part of the college experience that is often overlooked. At Boston College, I increasingly encounter bright students that don’t vote, aren’t aware of national news or politics, and merely echo the political messages of their parents. Many of my friends look at news stories and tell me they wish they were more informed, but they don’t have time to be.They demonstrate the desire to form their own opinions about current events and social justice issues, but do not know where to begin.

As soon as our parents drop us off on campus, college marks a time when we are independently exposed to life’s tragedies and joys. For the first time, we are fully autonomous. More important than any football game, Mod party, or other “pinnacle” BC experience, students begin to realize that they are part of a much larger, endangered world. Through service trips, volunteering, and speakers on campus, we see that politics and the government have a direct impact on our lives and the troubled city we live in.

Yes, the adult world is complex and hard to understand as a young college student, but our deeply imperfect country desperately needs the inquisitive minds of a new generation to catalyze a brighter future. College is the ideal time to begin untangling the complexities of the world’s problems for yourself. If you aren’t sure where to begin, start by picking up a newspaper—they are free and available in Mac and Lower every morning. Make reading the news part of your morning routine. Attend an event on campus hosting a speaker who’s addressing a social justice issue you care about. Volunteer for a few hours each week in a part of Boston struggling with the complex issues of immigration, homelessness, and gentrification. Sign up for a march, or donate to a political organization you believe in. Most importantly, vote (but make sure to Google the candidates and their platforms first)!

The many resources BC provides to keep its students informed about social justice and political issues aren’t so easily procurable in the real world. Eventually, the policies and politics you are currently ignorant of will truly have a direct impact on your life. Begin to develop a deeper understanding of the world now.

BC offers every student the opportunity to engage with a world full of human hurt and suffering, and resolve to make it better. It is time that BC students realize that it is up to us to march together, declare our power, and claim a brighter future.

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

The Heights

A8

Thursday, April 5, 2018

The Nomadic Maney Talks Classes and Conspiracies Professor Patrick Maney shares his story of accidentally influencing the Kennedy conspiracy narrative.

By Daniel Demonte For The Heights Patrick Maney thought he would cure the sick, not catalyze the Kennedy conspiracy theory.

Back in 1992, George H. W. Bush signed the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act, restricting access for 25 years to documents surrounding the assassination. These documents centered around the C I A and FBI having possible knowledge of Lee Harvey Oswald in Cuba months before the assassination.

Twenty-five years later, with information soon to be released, the Associated Press came to talk Boston College histor y professor Maney about the documents.

“I gave her an innocuous quote, with something like ‘One of the problems with keeping all of this stuff secret for such a long time, it fuels these conspiracy theories,’” Maney said.

The quote from the article, however, reads: “As long as the government is withholding documents like these, it’s going to fuel suspicion that there is a smoking gun out there about the Kennedy assassination.” What a smoking gun it became.

The story spread like a bad flu.

Two days after the article was published, Maney had over 100 requests for interviews from publications like BBC and CBC, as well as publications in Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia.

Maney ended up doing about 30 interviews, only for local publications. His newfound fame didn’t really change much about how he spoke to

the press.

He believed, and still believes, that there are people who are more expert on the subject—who are more versed in the details of the situation—who would be better subjects for the larger publications. Never one to do an interview just to be quoted, if Maney doesn’t know enough about a subject, he’ll decline to talk.

After looking over the documents, he concluded there “really were no bombshells” and that the information that was released didn’t tell the world anything it didn’t already know.

In his mind, the articles should never have been kept secret, as it caused more commotion than any of the articles could back up.

All it did was embarrass the CIA and FBI to a small extent—and it’s not as if this discomposure has never happened before within American history.

But, growing up, Maney never envisioned causing this much conflict in the American narrative.

From a young age, Maney found himself inside the walls of hospitals.

He started on a surgical floor in a small town branch of Wisconsin State University, where he earned a degree before the 1971 University of Wisconsin and Wisconsin State University merger.

“I loved working in a hospital. I enjoyed doing stuff for people, and I just thought it was really neat,” Maney said.

Asking him where he’s from is a difficult question, having attended four different high schools, in addition to a number of grade schools.

His father worked for an insurance

company and throughout the years was transferred to parts of Wisconsin and the Kansas City area, flipping between the two. He finally had the ability to stay in one place when he attended college close to home, graduating in 1969.

It wasn’t always easy moving from place to place so often. Coming to a new system every year did eventually leave its mark, with somethings being left behind in the process, both socially and academically.

“It was really hard and not real pleasant,” Maney said. “When I was in grade school, one school I went to had not gotten to long division or decimals. The next school I went to already had it, so I never learned how to do long division, and this was decades before electronic calculators, so you just had to know that.”

All this being said, he puts a positive spin on this part of his life. He attributes his ability to adapt and his desire to seek new challenges to his constant moving around.

He values the stability that comes from staying in one place, however, and he credits his wife for opening him up to the rewards of a life less traveled.

At this point, he’s written three books—his most recent one about former president Bill Clinton released in January of 2016, worked in the Wisconsin State Senate, served as head of the history department at Tulane University and the University of South Carolina, and Dean of BC’s Graduate Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences, where he now teaches.

He considers himself lucky to be able to teach classes such as Study & Writ-

Sam Zhai / Heights staff

Patrick Maney has published three books, the most recent of which was about former president Bill Clinton and published in 2016.

ing of History: Clinton Presidency and the United States, 1929-1960 as he would be doing this kind of work regardless as a hobby.

As a history professor, Maney loves to examine every angle. He offers no single answer on any subject.

He forces you to think outside of the small scope that many kids are used to in their AP U.S. History classes, or in his case, from whatever material the high school coach turned history teacher could muster up for a lesson.

That all changed when he went to college and took some of the history classes his freshman year. Maney recalls how “they forced me to rethink all of the assumptions that I had, and that’s what I try to tell my students.

In college, it’s time for you to rethink these things.”

This idea of a full spectrum even touches back to his days in the hospital. As much as he loved medicine, he thought that he needed a more open subject, rather than the already known, and forcibly memorized, information that comes standard within the medical world.

“If you come out of college the same as you went it, it’s a missed experience,” Maney said.

With that, he decided to attend graduate school at the University of Maryland in order to seriously pursue history. “I tell my students, ‘Why did I want to go into history?’ Because I’m interested in it. Will history save the world? I doubt it. Will it save my life?

No, but I’m interested in it anyways.”

Maney enjoyed the things and people he studied at Maryland, especially the life of Robert M. La Follette, Jr. (he finished his studies by publishing Young Bob: A Biography of Robert M. La Follette, Jr. in 1978).

When Maney emerged from academia, he struggled to find a job within the humanities sector, which sounds all too familiar to humanities students even now.

Luckily, he was able to begin working within the Wisconsin State Senate, under the wing of Clifford W. “Tiny” Krueger, a former circus actor turned politician. Tiny had an uncanny ability to predict the outcome of political standoffs, and was able to bring a measure of personality to politics.

Maney credits the way he sees the political world today in part to him.

He learned about politics in a way no one can learn studying it through Krueger.

He credits Krueger as being one of the most influential people in his young life. The work experience was invaluable, arguably the most important of his career. As a political historian, he learned more about politics by being involved in it than he had reading any book or during his seven

years of graduate school.

As a minority leader, Maney was exposed to another side of politics, and was truly invested in who he was serving.

In times where senators on the Wisconsin state senate would criticize it and say “this is like a circus,” he would say that was disparaging to the circus.

“I loved it … I’ve seen more of what people imagine is politics, like maneuvering and backstabbing and all the rest of that,” Maney said.

But, after three years working under Krueger, it was time to move on, and his next stop was Tulane, then South Carolina. “I never thought I would ever end up in the deep south,” Maney said.

Finally, he made it above the Mason-Dixon line, and landed at BC. He began his tenure as the head dean of the Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences, but, after two years at the helm and given his life status as a nomad, change was inevitable.

Maney then gravitated back to an old habit: teaching. His place was in the classroom, helping students see the world in a way that hadn’t before, not doing administrative work. He created a dedicated network of undergraduate researcher for his book on President Clinton.

“The experience was the perfect combination of working, learning and enjoying genuine conversation with Professor Maney,” said Giancarlo Ambrogio, BC ’16. Similarly, Greg Manne, BC ’12, remarked, “I was an aspiring history teacher with a keen focus and interest on modern U.S. history, so to participate in this ... with a renowned professional was really incredible.”

Although famous with the BC community, he became a new network , and cult theor y, celebrity overnight in regards to a recent JFK assassination case in October 2017.

Each generation has a specific moment in its history that marks that time: Pearl Harbor for the Greatest Generation, Sept. 11 for Millennials, and the assassination of Osama Bin Laden for Generation Z. For the Baby Boomers, it was the assassination of JFK. John F. Kennedy captivated the nation by becoming one of the first presidents with celebrity status.

Maney recalls the power of JFK as “my first political hero.” He talked about, as an eighth-grader, waiting to meet the campaigning Kennedy at the airport in October of 1960.

He recalls being the only kid there, but having his coveted handshake hijacked by a woman wearing a Nixon pin as Kennedy reached right over his head for her hand. “I’m thinking, ‘that’s the day I almost got to shake the hand of Kennedy,’” he said. n

Boston Design Week Celebrates Present, Future Design Innovation

Over 70 different events ranging from interior design to sustainability to fashion are featured in this year’s festival.

By Chloe McAllaster Assoc. Metro Editor Now, new, next: This is the theme of the fifth-annual Boston Design Week , a citywide event featuring leading innovators in the industries of interior design, architecture, fashion, product design, art, technology, and sustainability. Beginning on April 4, the 12-day festival incorporates over 70 different events from a number of partners including nonprofits, urban planners, architects, and design showrooms.

“The impetus for creating the festival and part of our mission is to increase public awareness and educate the public on all aspects of design,” said Meaghan Flaherty, account manager for Boston Design Week.

The events are applicable to all audiences, with students, families, and business professionals alike encouraged to attend. Most of the programs are free and are scattered across the greater Boston area, including the Metrowest, North Shore, South Shore, and downtown Boston.

Each of the events is intended to call attention to the vibrant design scene shaping the city of Boston in the present and future.

“We wanted to highlight the future of the city, what’s going on right now, and what’s just starting to come up,”

Flaherty said.

The festival ranges in scope to include all aspects of the “now, new, next” theme. While Boston Design Week has featured special tracks each year since its inception, 2018 marks the first time the festival follows an overarching theme. Within the broader theme, this year’s themes are designing Boston, professional focus, design and social impact, and Back Bay design district.

The “now” aspect of the theme focuses on current design trends prevalent in Boston in the present.

Sustainability factors prominently into this year’s festival, with a large number of events dedicated to its promotion.

The “new” element is fulfilled by the addition of Boston Design Week to World Design Weeks, an international consortium of design weeks. Entrance into the coalition affords Boston Design Week the opportunity to exchange business practices, recruiting strategies, ideas, and sustainable development with other design weeks across the globe.

An increase in internationality is a distinctive aspect of Boston Design Week 2018. According to Flaherty, many international participants have reached out to the festival, including architects from Spain.

Students are an important part

of the “next” component. The final round of Design Ne w England’s Design Showdown will take place on April 6. The competition among interior design students gives one winner the career advantage of being featured in the magazine.

Each fall, Boston Design Week creators send out a call for events, sponsors, and various businesses to be a part of the festival. When nonprofits respond with event ideas, the creators approve their proposals and help them promote their events through social media, websites, and the creation of a 90-page guide book.

According to Flaherty, nonprofit participation is a vital component of Boston Design Week, as those events often have the most unique topics. The Institute for Human Centered Design, the Museum of Fine Arts, YouthBuild Boston, and the Boston Landmarks Commission are among this year’s 24 nonprofit partners.

“The nonprofit partners are a really big part of the festival because they bring some really interesting and different events,” Flaherty said.

On the final weekend of Boston Design Week, the festival will culminate with AD20/21 HOME and the Boston Print Fair, a four-day show and sale of furnishings, art, and design. The show will take place at the Cyclorama Building in the South End. Exhibitors from

Photo Courtesy of Boston Design Week

Beginning on April 4, the 12-day festival features events scattered around Boston. around the country and the festival’s final events will be featured.

Through the broad range of programs, Boston Design Week strives to increase awareness of the active design scene that has characterized the city since it began.

“When people think of Boston they don’t really think of it as a design center like New York City or Paris, but Boston really does play a big role in design,” Flaherty said. “Our architecture is some of the oldest in the country. We have some of the best

schools in the country, including design schools.”

Lifelong Boston residents, tourists, and everyone in between are welcome at Boston Design Week, and Flaherty hopes that each attendee will be able to learn something from the tours, panels, workshops, and shows featured at the festival.

“We really want to encourage the city of Boston and people who want to come visit the city of Boston to explore the different aspects of design,” Flaherty said. n

SPORTS

THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 2018

B1

@HEIGHTSSPORTS

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Robinson, Bowman Declare for NBA Draft, Maintain Eligibility

BY ANDY BACKSTROM Sports Editor Over the course of the past few months, there has been talk among NBA scouts and insiders that Boston College men’s basketball combo guard Jerome Robinson may have played his way into the first round of this year’s draft. On Wednesday afternoon, ESPN’s Jeff Goodman tweeted that the junior—along with

his partner-in-crime, Ky Bowman—is indeed testing the waters.

Reportedly, both guards are not hiring agents, effectively preserving their NCAA eligibility. Either can return to BC if they choose to withdraw their names from the draft no later than 10 days following the combine (May 16-20), submit a letter of intent to Director of Athletics Martin Jarmond, or go undrafted. For the moment, though, the backcourt duo will use the

next two months to receive feedback and evaluate their potential draft stock.

“After consulting with my family and coaches, I have decided to declare for the 2018 NBA Draft,” Robinson told BCEagles.com. “I will not hire an agent, as to maintain my collegiate eligibility. I am thankful for my experience at BC and this opportunity and I look forward for what is to come.”

The junior, a week removed from be-

coming the fifth player in program history to be named an AP All-American, headlines the announcement. A unanimous All-ACC First Team selection, Robinson just polished off a career year, posting 20.7 points per game and eclipsing the 20-point mark 18 times throughout the five-month campaign. He really turned heads during conference play: The 6foot-6 guard led the ACC with 24.3 points per game—3.1 more than future lottery

pick Marvin Bagley III—on 55.1-percent shooting, including a 44.5-percent clip from 3-point land. With game-winning shots to knock off a top-ranked Duke team in the ACC opener and a fifthseeded North Carolina State squad in the conference tournament, as well as a 46point performance in South Bend—the most points scored in a single game by a

See NBA Waters, B3

The Deep Six BASEBALL

On March, Chaos BRADLEY SMART There’s a scene in the classic movie Jurassic Park where Jeff Goldblum’s character, a mathematician by the name of Dr. Ian Malcolm, is explaining chaos theory—his area of expertise—in a creepily flirtatious way to another main character, Ellie Sattler. Regardless of the way Goldblum comes off, his simplified explanation of the theory is demonstrated via a water droplet on Sattler’s hand. Each time he places a water droplet, it rolls off in a different direction, influenced by tiny differences such as blood traveling through her hand or imperfections of the skin. Simply put, it’s unpredictable.

The other example he gives is that of a butterfly flapping its wings in Peking, with the slight changes in air currents eventually influencing something as big as weather patterns in New York City. These ripples of changes reflect the chaotic world we live in, and while Malcolm’s simplistic explanation leaves out plenty from the field of research, it’s a valuable lesson when you look at the NCAA Tournament, a 68-team bracket filled with endless disorder and disruptions.

The one constant through all the years had been that a No. 1 seed hadn’t lost to a No. 16. I touched on this in my last column, but every year, it seems that the public gets behind a 16-seed and feels that there’s a chance it’ll pull off the improbable. They don’t pick it in their bracket, of course not, but they still hold out hope that they’ll witness something so unlikely, so unexpected, that it’ll stick with them forever. Last year, it was South Dakota State who had a “chance” against Gonzaga. It lost by 20. This year, the pre-tournament favorite to pull the upset was Ivy League darling Penn, hailed by FiveThirtyEight as “history’s best No. 16 seed.” It lost by 16. (Granted, the Quakers hung with the Jayhawks, even leading by one with three minutes left in the first half—but for most people, it was like watching an animal play with its food.

Kansas went on a 19-2 run and didn’t look back.)

Enter, chaos.

The No. 16 seed nobody was even remotely thinking about, America East champion UMBC, pulled off the upset for the ages—knocking off the top overall seed in the entire tournament, period. No. 1 Virginia didn’t just lose a nailbiter to the resilient Retrievers, though—they were blown out of the water. After playing to a 21-21 tie in the first half, UMBC lit up the country’s No. 1 defense with 53 secondhalf points, rolling to a 74-54 win that ended No. 1 seeds’ 135-game undefeated run. (Note: On the women’s side, the upset had already been pulled—back in 1998, No. 16 Harvard knocked off No. 1 Stanford, at the Cardinals’ home court.

Gutsy.) That top-ranked defense had previously allowed an average of just 53.4 points per game.

Quick tangent: It’s easy to look at the Cavaliers’ recent history of tournament disappointments and blame head coach Tony Bennett’s system, but that’s a weak argument and it’s missing the point.

Bennett’s team went 31-2 and lost just one game in one of the tougher conferences in the country—even if the ACC

Chaos Theory, B2

INSIDE SPORTS

KEITH CARROLL / HEIGHTS EDITOR

BC baseball dropped its third extra-inning affair this season on Wednesday night against Harvard in the Beanpot Semifinals, losing its sixth-straight game.

BY BEN THOMAS Asst. Sports Editor Thirty minutes before first pitch between Boston College baseball and Harvard, the game itself was Harvard 7 in doubt.

Boston College 4 Heavy intermittent showers and winds sent both teams to their dugouts during warmups, and foreshadowed what was to be a long, cold day for the Eagles—they ultimately fell to Harvard, 7-4, in 11 innings in the

Beanpot Semifinals.

Although BC (9-17, 4-8 Atlantic Coast) completed two successful comeback attempts over the course of the game, the Eagles faltered for the third time this season in extra innings. With one out in the top of the 11th, Patrick McColl was hit by a pitch, and Jake Suddleson walked to bring up cleanup hitter Patrick Robinson. Already 3-for-5 on the day, the left-hander crushed a ball to right field, silencing what was left of a dedicated BC fanbase, and

electrifying the Harvard (9-13, 1-2 Ivy League) dugout.

The rain managed to die down significantly before the first pitch, but things didn’t get much better for BC starter Matt Gill from there. A first-pitch single straight up the middle for Ben Skinner set the tone for the Crimson, and after advancing to third, he crossed the plate on a Jake Goodreau passed ball—the sophomore was starting his first game at catcher, with Gian Martinelli getting the day off. A line-drive single by Jake

Forte went over the head of Jake Alu for another run, followed by a Buddy Mrowka RBI single through the hole at second base. By the inning’s end, Harvard had tallied three runs on five hits.

While BC was unable to get anything going in the bottom half, Gill settled down the very next inning. He retired the side in the second frame with just 10 pitches, recording his first strikeout of the game. After Mrowka’s RBI single

See Baseball vs. Harvard, B3

SOFTBALL

Eagles Log Seventh-Consecutive Victory at PC

BY BRADLEY SMART Assoc. Sports Editor In the first seven games of the season, Boston College softball lost all but two games, scoring just 19 runs.

On WednesBoston College 16 day night in Providence 4 Rhode Island, the Eagles almost reached that total in just five innings, rolling to a 16-4 run-rule win over Providence (6-19,

3-2 Big East) for their seventh victory in a row—the program’s longest win streak since February 2012.

The lineup, fresh off of a doubledigit performance in the weekend series finale at Syracuse, picked up where it left off. The first four BC (16-15, 5-3 Atlantic Coast) batters reached, en route to a five-run opening frame, ultimately building a 7-0 lead before the host Friars could get on the board. The Eagles scored in all but one inning, capping the win off

with a six-run fifth inning that would send everyone home early.

C.C. Cook , hitting out of the cleanup spot, went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs, while leadoff hitter Chloe Sharabba homered for the second game in a row. It was more than enough run support for the duo of Jessica Dreswick and Allyson Frei, who combined for eight strikeouts and stranded seven Friars on base in the win.

On Saturday against the Orange,

the Eagles 12-2 win saw the bats heat up late—10 of the runs came in the final three innings. That wasn’t the case on Wednesday, as Providence starter Megan McCune recorded just one out before exiting, struggling mightily with her command.

McCune was greeted rudely by Sharabba, who doubled to left field to open the game. After stealing second, McCune walked Annie Murphy

See Softball vs. PC, B3

LACROSSE

BC Records First-Ever Win in Charlottesville

BY JACK GOLDMAN Copy Editor Boston College lacrosse may have the best offense in the country, but on Saturday afternoon Virginia one-upped the Eagles, at least Boston College 15 on paper. The Virginia 12 Cavaliers not only boasted the game’s top scorer, but also the assists and shots leader. At face value, the box score didn’t add up to BC’s 13thconsecutive win.

Even so, goalie Lauren Daly came up with seven stops, and the Eagles held on to

extend their program-record win streak, logging a 15-12 victory, their first-ever in Charlottesville, Va. Dempsey Arsenault, Tess Chandler, and Kaileen Hart led the charge for No. 2 BC (13-0, 4-0 Atlantic Coast), recording a trio of hat tricks. Cara Urbank stood out as well, tacking on two goals and the only Eagles assist of the game.

That said, the efforts of Daly, Arsenault, Chandler, and Urbank were lacking at the opening whistle. Avery Shoemaker kicked off the game with two goals in the

ANDY BACKSTROM / HEIGHTS EDITOR

See Lax vs. UVA, B2

Dempsey Arsenault recorded a team-high seven shots and her 10th hat trick of the year.

LAX: Kent to Redshirt 2018 Campaign BASEBALL: BC Swept at No. 12 Clemson

SPORTS IN SHORT............................... B2

Instead of making a mid-season return, Kenzie Kent will The Eagles’ losing streak continued in South Carolina, where LACROSSE......................................... B3 come back for the full 2019 season as a grad student........B2 they were outscored, 27-9, by their division rivals......................B2 AP ALL AMERICAN................................... B4

The Heights

B2

Thursday, April 5, 2018

LACROSSE

Kent to Redshirt 2018 Campaign, Eyeing Full Season in 2019

By Andy Backstrom Sports Editor

For each of the past three years, Boston College lacrosse attacker Kenzie Kent has missed the first half of the regular season—she’s had no choice. A dual-sport athlete, the senior found herself playing hockey well into the month of March, reaching four-straight NCAA Tournaments and a trio of Frozen Fours. Yet after wrapping up her hockey career on the Heights, Kent was presented with a unique opportunity, and on Friday afternoon, the Norwell, Mass. native decided to take head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein up on it.

Inspired by last spring’s National Championship run, Kent announced that she will redshirt the 2018 season with the intention of playing the entire 2019 campaign.

“I’ve been so lucky to have these opportunities at Boston College and being part of two amazing teams,” she told BCEagles.com. “Last year’s experience with the lacrosse team—and being able to play in a larger part of the season than I had in the past—got me seriously thinking about playing a full season.”

It’s easy to see why. During the five- v game stretch, Kent went on a tear, recording 37 points—11 more than any player has ever logged in the annual competition—en route to NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors. The eventual 2016-17 ACC Female Athlete of the Year was simply building up to that kind of outburst in the seven games prior.

Returning for the conclusion of nonconference play, Kent quickly went to work, racking up 40 points before the Big Dance. Couple that with her unprecedent-

ed NCAA Tournament performance, and the shifty attacker totaled 77 points in her abbreviated 12-game season. To put that in perspective, if she had suited up for all 23 contests and kept up that kind of output, she would have tallied about 148 points—29 more than last year’s secondleading scorer in the nation: teammate Sam Apuzzo.

Despite playing just 30 career games, Kent is one of the program’s top-20 all-time scorers, ranks sixth all-time in assists, and is a two-time member of the IWLCA All-Northeast Region Team.

Her accolades on the ice are even more impressive: Kent recorded 138 career points, becoming the eighth-leading scorer in program history, earning captainship and setting the school record for most games played (157) in the process.

As exciting as the news is for WalkerWeinstein and the BC community, the

KEITH CARROLL / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Kent impressed a season ago in limited action, piling up 77 points in 12 games.

senior, who has reached four national semifinals in her career, will have to wait another year to complete her quest for a national title. But in 2019, Kent

will be putting all of her marbles in one basket, and as far as college athletics are concerned, there aren’t many other better ways to go out. n

Eagles Ride Three Hat Tricks to Victory Over No. 7 Virginia Lax vs. UVA, from B1 over halfway through the first period. An Arsenault goal set the Cavaliers back, but Shoemaker quickly found twine again, and Kasey Behr added a goal of her own to give UVA an early 4-1 advantage.

Momentum shifted 11 minutes into the frame. Urbank struck for her first goal of the game, and Daly put on a show on the other end of the field.

Cavaliers forward Sammy Mueller got off a one-touch shot as the shot clock neared zero, only to see Daly come up with a much-needed stop.

It isn’t a coincidence that Arsenault and Chandler immediately notched a pair of free-position goals to tie the game at four, following Daly’s save. At this point, UVA head coach Julie Myers knew she needed to make a change before the game got out of hand. As a

result, she yanked goalie Rachel Vander Kolk—a senior captain—and inserted sophomore Charlie Campbell. Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, the substitution didn’t stop the bleeding.

Taylor Walker scored her 10th goal of the season, handing BC its first lead of the day. Soon after, Chandler tacked on another to give the Eagles some breathing room. Just as it seemed like BC was primed to blow the game wide open, Campbell settled in. She buckled down and made a big save on Urbank, and the Cavaliers streaked downfield, where Chloe Jones squeezed a shot by Daly to reduce UVA’s deficit to one goal.

Less than a minute later, Shoemaker scored her fourth of the day and 32nd of the season to tie the game at six.

Deadlocked at six, neither team found the back of the net during the final six and a half minutes of the period. The halftime stats showed how remarkably

even-keeled the first frame really was: BC had the edge in shots by one, in saves by two, in draw controls by one, and in turnovers by two.

After the Cavaliers managed to limit the Eagles’ three-headed attack—a trio of scorers consisting of Sam Apuzzo, Hart, and Arsenault—to just one goal in the opening period, Hart scored twice in six minutes to restore the Eagles’ twogoal advantage.

Then, Jones countered with UVA up a player after Urbank was shown a yellow, Arsenault completed her hat trick, and Ana Hagerup scored her first goal of the game nearly 13 minutes into the second half. The back-and-forth affair ended there.

BC decided to showcase its offensive might with over 11 and a half minutes remaining in the contest. Emma Schurr, Chandler, Elizabeth Miller, Hart, and Urbank all scored within seven minutes

of gameplay. Suddenly, a matchup that hadn’t seen more than a two-goal lead since early in the first half had gone from a one-possession game to a six-goal blowout with just 4:50 to play.

Yet the Cavaliers, namely Mueller, were far from done.

Less than half a minute after Urbank scored the Eagles’ 14th goal, Mueller streaked down the field and finished through contact past Daly to make it a five-goal game. Nineteen seconds later?

Exact same play, exact same result, minus the foul. Mueller then relaxed, waiting a full 76 seconds before she tied off her hat trick, bringing the score to 14-11 with just under three minutes to go.

Despite her efforts, UVA’s late comeback fell short. BC pulled itself together following Mueller’s final scoring play, in attempt to kill off the clock. Campbell abandoned her net to try to press the Eagles’ attack, but the strategy back-

fired, and Apuzzo was left with an easy finish on the other end of the field—her 53rd goal of the season, effectively the dagger. Hagerup would put up a final consolation goal, making the game appear closer than it really was.

BC is firing on all cylinders, as evidenced by the fact that Apuzzo—the team’s best player, who found herself pursued by two or three Cavaliers defenders every time she cradled the ball—only managed a single goal in the Eagles’ sixth ranked victory this season.

As long as BC is able to pair its offensive depth with solid defense, it stands to reason that this incredible run of form could be sustainable—but BC did show cracks at the beginning and end of Saturday’s contest. They are far from an unbeatable team, but right now, the Eagles certainly look the part. n

Without Fail, March is Always Defined by Pure Chaos Chaos Theory, from B1 has an equally bad reputation as of late in the postseason, failing to put a single team in the Final Four this season. Back to Bennett: He has taken a program that was meandering around to three one seeds and three ACC regular-season titles over the past five years, outperforming expectations each year. He recruits well for his system and is clearly a smart enough coach to go back to the drawing board and make the adjustments for another run next year.

On the other side of the bracket, our favorite ACC program, Syracuse, somehow made it back into the tournament—as predictable as clockwork, despite going 8-10 in the conference and failing to have a justifiable resumé.

Regardless, the Orange took it upon itself, once again, to inflict its wrath on the army of angry fans, bloggers, and radio personalities throughout the country.

Chaos reigns supreme.

As the 11-seed in the Midwest region, Syracuse would beat Arizona State in the play-in game, knock off No. 6 TCU, score a huge upset of No. 3 Michigan State—a trendy pick for many to win the National Championship—then barely lose by four points

in an All-ACC Sweet 16 matchup against No. 2 Duke.

I haven’t even talked about No. 11 Loyola-Chicago taking advantage of the dumpster fire of the South region to reach the Final Four, knocking off the 6-seed, 3-seed, 7-seed, and 9-seed in order. Somehow the path got easier for the Ramblers, the perks of watching Kentucky—again, a trendy pick for many—fall to Kansas State while Cincinnati blew a massive lead to Nevada. Sometimes, the water droplets roll down the hand in a way where the seeds that make it to the Elite Eight are ranked one, two, three, and five (the East region was evidently feeling mighty chalky). Other times? You’re looking at the five, seven, nine, and 11, and wondering how on earth the guy leading the ESPN bracket challenge managed to get that right.

There’s so many other storylines I could dive into—mainly, how easy it is to fall in love with a team during the NCAA Tournament. Look at Michigan, for instance, who despite faltering in the national championship, was temporarily many people’s favorites.

Last year, the Wolverines had a scary moment when their plane skidded off the runway after an aborted takeoff, the destination the Big Ten Tournament. They responded by getting

there, wearing practice jerseys in a first-round win, then rattling off fivestraight wins before eventually falling to Oregon by a point in the Sweet 16.

This time around, Michigan’s plane was in tip-top shape, and so were they. The Wolverines are a delightful team to watch, spearheaded by the smack-talking, big-attitude Moritz “Moe” Wagner, a German forward who sticks out his tongue, flexes, and mean-mugs at every camera he sees. Always grinning and fully ready to celebrate—regardless of if he had anything to do with the play—Wagner is a lot of fun to watch.

The same is true with the rest of the Wolverines, who rallied past LoyolaChicago and eventually fell to Villanova in the national championship after a quick and improbable run through the West region.

Michigan took care of business against Montana in the first round, then needed a miracle buzzer-beater from Jordan Poole to escape the clutches of a red-hot Houston team.

In all seriousness, how Poole’s shot went in still blows my mind. What’s even more entertaining was the moments after—first, the radio call from Michigan play-by-play announcer Matt Shepard, who just started yelling before simply laughing, with very

little coherent English coming over the airwaves. Next, Poole decided to sprint around the court in pure joy, avoiding teammates before they finally collapsed together in a moment of pure catharsis. Finally, the images that emerged from Getty and AP and other assembled photographers were immediately iconic—the picture of Poole running with his teammates in pursuit while Houston’s Devin Davis lies prone in the paint will surely find its way on many a fan’s desktop.

After that, they blew out a Texas A&M squad by 27, then hung on to knock off Florida State by four. Out of the last two teams—Villanova is the other I have yet to mention—it was easy to look at this Michigan team and get behind them. Sure, the Ramblers were everyone’s favorite underdog, but ever since watching Michigan come up short against Louisville in 2013 with a roster that featured players like Trey Burke and Nik Stauskas, it’s been an entertaining team to keep tabs on and root for from time to time. This year is no different—Wagner guided the Wolverines from 10 points down in the second half to an impressive 69-57 win over the Ramblers. The national championship was less of a contest and more of a coronation for

Villanova, who rolled past Michigan by 17.

Regardless, if you watched any of the Final Four games and saw that half of the bracket ended up entirely chalk while the other half featured two unexpected teams (after all, Michigan wasn’t supposed to be here over the likes of reigning national champion North Carolina, at least in the public eye), take a moment to appreciate the pure chaos that is March. It doesn’t matter that Villanova did exactly what it was expected to do while UVA didn’t, or that Loyola-Chicago is just a team from the Missouri Valley Conference.

At the end of the day, there are 9.2 quintillion possibilities in your pursuit for a perfect bracket—don’t even think about narrowing it down by eliminating 16-seeds winning a game. Witnessing the chaotic madness is quite simply the fun of it.

I’ll leave you with a Malcolm quote: “Life uh … finds a way.” Or in this case, each team finds itself on the verge of that “one shining moment,” and March will find a way.

Bradley Smart is the associate sports editor for The Heights. He can be reached on Twitter @bradleysmart15.

SPORTS in SHORT ACC LACROSSE STANDINGS

Numbers to know

Conference

overall

Boston College

4-0

13-0

North Carolina

3-1

8-3

Virginia Tech

3-1

10-4

Virginia

3-2

8-3

Notre Dame

2-4

7-6

Duke

2-2

7-4

Syracuse

0-3

7-5

Louisville

0-4

6-7

20

Stolen bases for baseball in conference play, one more then second-place Wake Forest, despite three fewer attempts.

6

Top-25 wins on the season for lacrosse, one shy of last year’s cumulative total, including the postseason.

1.75

Earned run average for softball during its seven-game winning streak, a stretch that features three shutouts.

QUote of the week

“Our preseason schedule was extremely tough, so you’re seeing the benefits now.”

— Ashley Obrest, on softball’s

winning streak, a far cry from its 1-5 start to the season.

The Heights

Thursday, April 5, 2018

B3

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Robinson Projected to Go in Late First Round of 2018 NBA Draft NBA Waters, from B1

CELINE LIM / Heights STAFF

Jerome Robinson and Ky Bowman averaged a total of 38.3 points per game this year.

visiting player in ACC history—Robinson burst onto the national scene.

As a result, several big-time media outlets have the junior going in the late first round of this year’s draft. In fact, on Tuesday, Sports Illustrated pegged Robinson to be selected 28th by the Brooklyn Nets. If the projections are accurate and he does not return to Chestnut Hill, Robinson will be the first BC prospect picked in the first round since Reggie Jackson in 2011.

Bowman, on the other hand, has yet to garner comparable attention. Coming into the season, the sophomore guard

was seen as the Eagles’ real NBA talent, but has recently dropped eight spots in Aran Smith’s nbadraft.net top-100 Big Board. Sitting at the 95th spot, the Havelock, N.C. native’s chances of hearing his name called in June are quite slim.

Nevertheless, getting a foot in the door is smart for any player with Bowman’s upside.

At 6-foot-1, the point guard logged 17.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game this season. Although his shooting percentage dipped and his turnover numbers took a turn for the worse, Bowman resembled a more complete player than his 2016-17 self. With the potential to notch a triple-double any

night, the explosive guard has earned the reputation as one of the most dangerous playmakers in the ACC. That said, his inconsistency, particularly pertaining to ball security, is undoubtedly a red flag.

Together, the two averaged a combined 38.3 points per game this season, accounting for 50.1 percent of BC’s scoring output this year. Without both, let alone one, of them, the Eagles will look like a completely different team in 2018-19.

It’s safe to say that BC fans and head coach Jim Christian—fresh off the program’s first winning season since 2010-11—will be holding their breath for the next few months. n

SOFTBALL

Eagles Rack Up Season-High 16 Runs Against Providence Softball vs. PC, from B1 before Cook singled in a run. A wild pitch, walk, and passed ball later, the Eagles already held a 2-0 lead without recording an out.

RBI singles from Lexi DiEmmanuele and Cami Sellers, paired with a throwing error from Providence catcher Jackie Martin, doubled BC’s lead.

After issuing her third walk of the inning, McCune exited, in line for the ugly loss following a shaky start. Her control issues were quite surprising, considering she entered having walked just nine batters in 34 2/3 innings on the year.

Trailing 5-0, Friars reliever Olivia Sprofera escaped the inning and threw a scoreless second, but soon found herself watching Sharabba circle the bases, courtesy of a two-run blast that extended the Eagles’ lead. It was the senior’s fourth home run on the year, good for the team lead on the season.

After retiring six of the first seven

batters she faced, Dreswick finally conceded her first earned run in over 17 innings.

The junior right-hander gave up a RBI double to Mackensie Compton and then, after striking out back-toback batters, coughed up a two-out, two-run single to Brittney Veler.

The Eagles’ offense had more than enough of an answer, though.

Entering the fourth with a four-run lead, Cook led off the frame with a solo home run.

Then, with two outs, BC sparked a rally—Sellers doubled in DiEmmanuele after a walk and a two-base error from Friars first baseman Taylor Stephen brought in another run to make it 10-4.

Providence turned to Julia Murphy in the sixth with the game largely out of reach, and the freshman fared about as well as expected against the red-hot Eagles lineup.

Murphy issued three-straight walks to load the bases with just one out, and BC quickly capitalized.

DiEmmanuele drove in a run with a

fielder’s choice, then Sellers and Chimento drew consecutive bases-loaded walks—before DiEmmanuele stole home to add insult to injury.

Murphy managed to get the frame’s second out by inducing a shallow flyout, but a passed ball by Martin and a RBI single from Cook pushed the total to 16—the Eagles’ most runs in a single game this year and the most since a 16-0 shutout win over Massachusetts in April 2015.

It was a more than promising victory for BC, who is playing easily its best softball of the season.

The Eagles have not only won eight straight, but are also excelling in every facet of the game. During the streak, the lineup is hitting a remarkable .316—over 90 points higher than the season average.

The duo of Frei and Dreswick have posted an impressive 1.75 ERA, allowing just 11 earned runs.

Pair that with a defense that has committed just three errors and BC has the look of a team ready to make a run in the always difficult ACC. n

17

straight innings before Jessica Dreswick allowed an earned run

2

consecutive run-rule victories

.316

BC’s batting average during its current win streak

BASEBALL

After Forcing Extras, BC Falls to Harvard in 11th Inning Baseball vs. Harvard, from B1

Keith Carroll / Heights Editor

The teams combined to use 11 pitchers and strand 23 runners on Wednesday night.

in the first, the 6-foot-5 lefty would go on to retire 11 of Harvard’s next 12 batters.

Alu reached on a walk in the second, but was thrown out by a mile trying to advance on a pitch in the dirt to Goodreau. The next swing from the backup catcher sent a ball off the center field wall for a double, and surely would have scored BC’s first run had Alu remained on the basepaths.

Kevin Stone relieved starter Hunter Bigge after four strong innings, and the Eagles still couldn’t get anything going after the change. Goodreau kept his solid day at the plate going with a walk, but without any hits in the inning he was stranded on base once again. The 255-pounder made his name known in the bottom of the inning as well, making up for his first-inning mistake with a tremendous diving catch off a weak foul ball from Forte.

In the bottom of the sixth, a hard

fought 10-pitch at-bat for Dante Baldelli ended in a walk and single-handedly jumpstarted the BC offense. A liner up the middle for Scott Braren, followed by an Alu base on balls, juiced the bases for Goodreau, who would log his first career RBI on a four-pitch walk.

Yet with pinch hitter Jacob Yish taking three-straight strikes and nine-hole hitter Mitch Bigras caught looking at a full-count fastball, the Eagles were unable to get more than the one run.

The next inning, BC cashed in on another scoring chance. With Chris Galland on first base, Brian Dempsey sent a shallow fly ball to left that would have dropped if not for an incredible diving stop by left fielder Tommy Seidl.

Even then, Palomaki’s second walk of the day brought the clean up hitter Baldelli to the plate, who stood in for a successful double steal attempt and then reached on an error that scored Galland.

Next up was Braren, who hit a weak ground ball to short that was

still enough to score Palomaki and tie the game.

It only took the top of the next inning for Harvard to retake the lead.

A sacrifice bunt and a hit back to the mound that Stromberg couldn’t control brought up pinch hitter Matt Rothenberg. Joey Walsh was next to take the mound but immediately let up an RBI single into right field.

In the bottom of the ninth, the game nearly ended on one swing of the bat. With Dempsey on first, Palomaki crushed a ball to deep center that looked like it was gone only before Skinner settled underneath it at the warning track. Despite the out, the Eagles were able to send the game into extras.

The disastrous 11th inning for the Eagles, though, finally put things out of reach, as they couldn’t overcome a three-run deficit, falling to 0-3 on the year in extra innings and short of a chance to win an unprecedented fourth-straight Beanpot. n

LACROSSE

On Paper, Eagles Stack Up to National Champions of Years Past

By Andy Backstrom Sports Editor Boston College lacrosse is off to its best start in program history and is on the brink of clinching a winning conference record for the first time in three years. The No. 2 Eagles—Inside Lacrosse Poll’s lone top-20 team with 11 or more victories—are an unblemished 13-0.

One year removed from stringing together four-straight NCAA Tournament wins, en route to the school’s first Final Four and National Championship, BC is clearly a national title contender. So how do the Eagles stack up against the champions of years past?

Mar yland and North Carolina have combined to win the last three national titles, facing off against each other twice in the process.

To make things simple, we’ll leave 2015 Maryland out of the equation and focus on the most recent UNC and Maryland national championship teams.

Two years ago, the Tar Heels eked out a 20-2 record, winning by the

skin of their teeth week after week.

In fact, of their 20 victories, seven were decided by just one goal. Head coach Jenny Levy’s team recorded 13.59 goals per game, but consistently leaned on its defense, especially down the stretch of the season.

Over the course of both the ACC and NCAA Tournament, the Tar Heels only conceded 7.14 goals per game. They weren’t just getting lucky either: All year, they held opponents to an average of 22.1 shots per contest—7.9 less than UNC recorded on a game-to-game basis.

It didn’t hurt that the Tar Heels won 56.3 percent of their draw controls and successfully cleared 89.6 percent of their attempts. But, the next season, their numbers hardly compared to the team that the y topped in the 2016 title game.

Avenging its first National Championship loss in three years, Maryland outplayed the rest of the country in 2017, winning all 23 of its games, claiming the No. 1 ranking for the last three months of the season. Not only did the Terrapins run the table, but they did so in a dominant fashion.

Maryland won all but seven of its games by five or more goals, ripping twine 16.96 times per contest.

Often, the Terrapins’ scoring spurts were hinged on their relentless pursuit—Maryland logged upwards of 35 shots per game, frequently giving opposing goaltenders fits.

Practically unguardable, the Big Ten Champions featured six 70-plus point scorers. Although there wasn’t one superstar per se, Maryland had a bounty of goal scorers, including five that tallied 35 or more.

Despite a couple of scares from Stony Brook and BC—interestingly enough, this year’s top two teams— Maryland completed the comeback story, capping off the coveted undefeated season.

As crazy as it sounds, the Eagles are on pace to surpass both of those teams, at least on paper.

Currently, BC is the only unit in the country, with the exception of Stony Brook, with an offense and defense ranked inside the top 10. Led

by Sam Apuzzo, the nation’s leading scorer, the Eagles are pouring on an average of 16.85 goals per game.

Nearly a third of that output typically serves as nothing more than insurance, considering that goalie Lauren Daly and Co. are limiting opponents to 9.08 goals per game.

Perhaps more impressive is BC’s work in between the lines.

The Eagles are converting 49.7 percent of their total shots—good for fourth in the country—and 49.5 percent of their free-position attempts.

They really tip the scale at midfield, though. BC is winning 60.8 percent of its draw controls, frequently maintaining possession for five-minute chunks at a time.

When the Eagles get in a rhythm, they are practically unstoppable. Winning consecutive draws, head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein’s crew sets up shop in enemy territory, dictating the speed of the game.

With the ability to score at will from all over the field, BC is usually in the driver’s seat.

And when things go awry, there’s a good chance the Eagles can flip the field and get back into scoring position—so far this season, Elizabeth Miller and the backline are posting a

.908 clear percentage, a higher success rate than either of the aforementioned national-title winning teams.

In all likelihood, the Eagles will go as far as Apuzzo takes them. In both games this season that BC has found itself trailing at the half, the junior has also been starved of a goal. Yet as soon as she gets on the board, the Eagles have reverted back to their normal selves and pulled away in the second half.

That’s not to say that Apuzzo is the only one that lights up the scoreboard.

BC has a trio of top-15 scorers, the others being Dempsey Arsenault and Kaileen Hart.

At the moment, all three are projected to rack up more than 85 points this year.The numbers speak for themselves: The Eagles have the talent, roster, and skill to win a National Championship.

But they know better than anyone else that stats only mean so much, especially as the year progresses. Two months down the line, BC’s worst enemy could very well be a spitting image of its 2017 self. n

The Heights

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Thursday, April 5, 2018

BASEBALL

BC Falls to Bottom of ACC Standings After Clemson Sweep

By Peter Kim For The Heights Boston College baseball traveled to South Carolina over Easter Break with hopes for a momentum-building, season-changing series against Clemson.

Unfortunately, the Eagles couldn’t manage a single win as they were outscored, 27-9, over the course of the three-game set, capping off a dispiriting week in which they also fell to Connecticut at home.

The Saturday finale was, in many ways, representative of the series. The Eagles found themselves in a hole immediately and, though they managed to mount a rally, were ultimately unable to find enough timely hits—dropping the last game of the series, 8-3.

No. 12 Clemson (22-6, 8-4 Atlantic Coast) opened the scoring gates in the first inning. Logan Davidson singled up the middle off Eagles (9-16, 4-8) starter Brian Rapp to lead off the game, advancing to third base on a passed ball and then a wild pitch. Seth Beer drove in Davidson with a sacrifice fly to right field, before consecutive doubles from Patrick Cromwell and Chris Williams gave the Tigers an early two-run lead.

The Eagles responded in the second and third—cutting into the gap initially via a clutch two-out RBI single by Brian Dempsey. Next, Chris Galland reached on a fielder’s’ choice before showcasing his speed, scoring all the way from first base on a Dante Baldelli single to tie the game.

BC managed to take its first lead of the series in the fourth inning, benefitting from Clemson’s pitching struggles.

After a walk to Jake Alu and an error put two men on, a well-executed sacrifice bunt by Anthony Maselli moved the runners over with one out. A wild

pitch scored Alu, completing the Eagles’ early comeback and giving them a onerun lead.

Unfortunately for BC, its pitching couldn’t hold on—a familiar story in the early going of this season. In the fifth, Jordan Greene walked to lead off the inning before Davidson doubled down the first base line, tying the game.

Eagles head coach Mike Gambino went to his bullpen to try and end the inning, but a wild pitch from replacement Joey Walsh scored Davidson from third and put the Eagles back into a hole. Beer then launched his third home run of the series to right-center, giving Clemson a 5-3 lead it’d never relinquish. The Tigers managed to tack on another run in the seventh, thanks to a line-drive home run to left off the bat of Greene.

The Eagles’ best chance to climb back into the game came in the eighth inning.

A walk and two hit batters loaded the bases for Jake Goodreau, but he struck out swinging to end the threat. Adding to BC’s misery, Clemson scratched across two more runs in the eighth, courtesy of a two-out, two-run double from freshman Bryce Teodosio.

In the second game, BC handed the ball to Dan Metzdorf, hoping he would be able to give the Eagles a boost—the junior was fresh off earning ACC CoPitcher of the Week honors. More early struggles, however, led to a 4-0 deficit for the Eagles after just one inning—one that they couldn’t overcome, falling, 9-4, on Friday night.

Metzdorf had trouble with his command from the get-go, walking the first two hitters he faced. Despite inducing a flyout, Metzdorf walked another batter before a fielder’s choice, and a Drew Wharton single plated the first two runs of the game. A passed ball and another sharp single into left field by Kyle Wilkie

gave the Tigers a four-run lead before Metzdorf could escape.

The Eagles, held quiet early, finally managed to cut into the deficit in the fourth inning. After two quick outs, Gian Martellini laced a single into left field before Scott Braren crushed his first home run of the season into the left field bleachers to halve BC’s deficit.

After a troublesome first inning, Metzdorf settled down, not allowing another run and striking out nine batters before exiting in the fifth inning with runners on first and third and only one out. Fortunately for the Eagles, Thomas Lane entered the game and got them out of the jam.

Beer, a highly-touted MLB prospect, got to Lane in the sixth inning, crushing a home run down the right field line and extending the lead. A walk and a single

by Robert Jolly followed to put runners on first and third with one out, chasing Lane from the game in the process.

An ensuing fielding error and another single, this time up the middle by Wilkie, gave Clemson a five-run cushion heading to the seventh.

After the Tigers tacked on two more in the eighth, BC attempted to mount a ninth-inning rally. Alu led off the frame by doubling to center field before Maselli hit BC’s second home run of the game into right field, cutting the deficit to five. To close out the game, the Eagles went down in order, ending hopes at a late comeback and a series win.

BC’s early weekend series got off to a rough start on Thursday, as Clemson got to starter Jacob Stevens early, grabbing a 5-1 lead after two innings. It didn’t look back, adding five more runs and handing the Eagles a resounding 10-2 defeat.

Clemson wasted no time, taking advantage of Stevens issuing a pair of walks before a single loaded the bases with just

KAITLIN MEEKS / HEIGHTS EDITOR

The Eagles were winless this past weekend, managing just nine runs in three games. one out. Jolly ripped a double into right field, clearing the bases and placing the Eagles in an early 3-0 hole.

BC managed to fight back in the second inning, in large part because of Galland’s one-man effort. He doubled, stole third base—which moved him to a perfect 14-for-14 on steals for the year—and scored after the attempted throw to third sailed into left field.

Clemson would answer, tallying two more runs of its own in the bottom of the second. After the Tigers managed to load the bases again, Williams singled sharply into left field, driving in two more runs and giving the Tigers a 5-1 cushion.

Stevens navigated the next three innings without much trouble, conceding just one hit and striking out three batters—even retiring nine of the last 10 batters he faced. Yet the Eagles’ offense couldn’t provide Stevens with much help. In fact, the lineup mustered just one hit off Clemson starter Jacob Hennessy in six innings—Galland’s sec-

ond-inning double—and didn’t score a second run until the ninth inning, when Braren singled to center field with one out before Dempsey brought him home with a clutch two-out single.

The Tigers, meanwhile, kept adding to their lead against the BC bullpen.

They tacked on two unearned runs against Zach Stromberg in the sixth inning thanks to an error, safety squeeze, and RBI single from Beer, who would also account for Clemson’s final three runs in the eighth inning. The junior blasted a three-run home run, pushing the Tigers into double figures, and polishing off a dominant offensive performance in the series opener.

In a road series against an opponent that has historically dominated them, the Eagles never really looked competitive, losing the three games by a combined 18 runs. It was a clear reminder of where they fall in the conference standings. With the bulk of the ACC schedule yet to come, BC will look to shake this one off quickly. n

SOFTBALL

Eagles Win Second-Straight Conference Series at Syracuse

By Andy Backstrom Sports Editor Of late, runs have been coming at a premium for Syracuse. In fact, over the course of the past seven games, the Orange has only scored 1.86 per contest. Not to mention that during that span, head coach Mike Bosch’s team has recorded a mere five extrabase hits. Boston College softball, on the other hand, is experiencing a revival of sorts at the plate.

The Eagles not only logged 10 or more runs in a single game for the second time this season in the abbreviated two-game series—upping their scoring average to 6.33 runs per game in the last week of action—but also went yard twice in the back half of Saturday’s doubleheader, completing the sweep with a dominant 12-2 victory.

Neither team got on the board in the opening frame, but from the second inning on, BC’s (15-15, 5-3 Atlantic Coast) lineup was unstoppable.

The Eagles scored at least one run in each of the remaining six frames, starting with an Emme Martinez RBI double in the top of the second. Jordan Chimento extended her eight-game hitting streak with a single to center field, and the freshman did the rest of work to bring her home.

That’s not to say that Syracuse

(16-14, 4-7) was out of the game from the start. In the bottom half of the inning, Toni Martin took four pitches, booking a free trip to first base. Soon after, she rounded home to tie it all up at one, thanks to a pair of singles.

The back-and-forth affair was shortlived, though.

One frame later, Cami Sellers singled to right field, scoring Annie Murphy to reclaim the Eagles’ lead.

Then, in the fourth, the floodgates opened.

Martinez got things going with a single down the right field line.

Immediately, head coach Ashle y Obrest called on dual-sport athlete Delaney Belinskas to pinch run. The sophomore made the most of the opportunity, swiping second in no time. All it took was a sacrifice bunt to advance the women’s hockey player to third. From there, a Murphy single gave Belinskas more than enough time to make it home. The ensuing batter, C.C. Cook, ripped another RBI single up the middle, creating distance between the Atlantic Division rivals. Annamarie Gatti was clearly rattled—the right-hander recorded two-consecutive walks, all while plating Murphy.

Eventually, the Orange escaped the inning and even tacked on a run of its own in minutes later with a couple of two-baggers, closing the gap to three.

Unfortunately for Bosch and Co., its deficit was about to double.

In practically identical fashion, the Eagles—the third-worst power hitting team in the conference—strung together a pair of home runs in the fifth inning. Right off the bat, a Chimento hit-by-pitch set the stage for Martinez to tee off a two-run shot down the left field line. Gatti approached the next batter, Olivia Markopoulos, with caution, but that didn’t work either—after working a full count, the freshman drew a walk. Bosch had seen enough: In attempt to stop the bleeding, he yanked Gatti and inserted Miranda Hearn, but the freshman didn’t fare any better in the circle. Two pitches in, Chloe Sharabba blasted a home run over the left field fence, increasing BC’s lead to seven.

Meanwhile, Allyson Frei was having her way with the Orange lineup.

The redshirt junior only allowed two hits during the final four innings of play. When all was said and done, Frei racked up nine strikeouts, her secondmost in a single game this season. If it wasn’t for the Eagles’ offense, she could’ve easily tallied a few more.

The Eagles run-ruled Syracuse in the sixth inning after driving in three additional insurance runs. Both Chimento and Markopoulos drew four-pitch walks, and Sharabba was hit by a pitch. With three men on,

Murphy singled to center field—the hit, coupled with a fielding error was enough to clear the bases, effectively sealing the win.

BC could have used some of those runs earlier in the day. The Eagles were deadlocked at zero in a pitcher’s duel between Jessica Dreswick and Alexa Romero. It was only a matter of time—five innings to be exact—until BC ’s bats came alive. The Eagles poured on a combined four runs in the fifth and sixth frames, giving their ace the support she needed to pull out a 4-2 series-opening victory.

Romero had BC’s number in the early going. The lefty fanned seven of the first nine batters that she faced and threw four-straight hitless innings. But when the fifth inning came along, she finally cracked. Romero walked Lexi DiEmmanuele on six pitches and then let one get away, giving the speedy DiEmmanuele a free trip to second base. All it took was a Chimento bunt single toward shortstop to score DiEmmanuele. Up, 1-0, Murphy tattooed a double through the left-center gap, slingshotting both Chimento and Markopoulos—who was previously hit by a pitch—home.

The two-out extra-base hit changed the complexion of the game, but the front end of the doubleheader was far from over.

Syracuse promptly responded with

two runs, cutting its deficit to one. Alicia Hansen fueled the comeback with a leadoff triple. A Bryce Holmgren hitby-pitch and a Lailoni Mayfield walk loaded the bases, paving the way for Neli Casares-Maher’s error-induced, two-run fielder’s choice single. Luckily for the Eagles, they were able to get Hansen at home and tag CasaresMaher out on her way to second. Still, the damage was done.

BC wasn’t the only one struggling in the field. Carly Severini reached first on a throwing error in the top of the sixth and proceeded to score on a wild pitch. All in all, the unearned run wouldn’t end up making a difference, though. Dreswick retired the side in the final two innings of the game, securing the two-run victory.

The Eagles didn’t skip a beat in New York, extending their six-game win streak. Back to .500, head coach Ashley Obrest’s team is piecing everything together at the right time.

Dreswick and Frei are finally reaping the benefits of their career-low ERAs, now that runs are being scored on a regular basis. BC logged 16 runs in the two-game set. To put that in perspective, it took the Eagles seven games just to pile up 15 in the opening month of the season. As long as BC keeps swinging the lumber, it’ll find itself right where it wants to be come postseason. n

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Robinson Named Fifth AP All-American in Program History

By Andy Backstrom Sports Editor

Tiger tao / heights staff

Robinson averaged 24.3 points per game in conference play, the best mark in the ACC.

If there were any lasting doubts about Jerome Robinson’s legacy on the Heights, they were settled on Tuesday afternoon. The Boston College men’s basketball combo guard was named to the Associated Press All-American Team, becoming just the fifth player in program history to earn the distinction.

The other four—John Austin (1963), Troy Bell (2001, 2003), Craig Smith (2006), and Jared Dudley (2007)—all rank inside the school’s top-10 scoring chart and ended up playing in the NBA. Robinson, one of five ACC players to earn a spot on this year’s list, was tabbed as an honorable mention. The junior is less than a month removed from a career year—one that made him an AllACC First Teamer, the Eagles’ first since Olivier Hanlan back in 2014-15.

Robinson upped his numbers across the board, averaging 20.7 points per game after getting off to somewhat of a sluggish start in non-conference play.

The Raleigh, N.C. native came alive in December when BC hosted then-No. 1 Duke in the teams’ ACC opener. With under a minute and a half remaining in regulation, the 6-foot-6 guard received a pass from Ky Bowman and launched a 3pointer over Grayson Allen—a shot that will go down as the defining moment for one of the program’s most iconic upsets.

The game simply foreshadowed what was to come.

Throughout conference play, Robinson was a different entity. As far as conference-only stats are concerned, the junior led the league with 24.3 points per game—3.6 more than future lottery pick Marvin Bagley III—on 55.1 percent shooting, including a 44.5-percent clip from beyond the arc.

Robinson started to turn heads on the

national level when he dropped 46 points in South Bend, becoming the first ACC player this season to eclipse the 40-point mark. Even with the added attention, he held his own down the stretch of the season.

Despite taking a few spills here and there and having his fair share of shooting struggles, Robinson logged 20 or more points in four of BC’s final seven games. Most notably, he tag teamed with Bowman, Jordan Chatman, and Nik Popovic to deliver the Eagles back-to-back ACC Tournament wins for the first time since they joined the conference 12 years ago, clinching the program’s first postseason appearance since 2010-11.

Robinson—one of five finalists up for this year’s Jerry West Award—has yet to announce whether he will return for his senior season. Regardless of his decision, his 2017-18 campaign will undoubtedly go down in BC history. n

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‘Pandas’ Features Cute Creatures and Sweet Message

BY LUIS FIALHO Heights Staff Pandas are arguably some of the most adorable creatures on this planet, something that many people around the world recognize. Yet not nearly as many people recognize, or make attempts to fix, the current population problem that pandas are facing.

This is true for many animals and aspects of nature—people may know of them, and may even enjoy them, but they do not make any efforts to fix the problems that plague them. Pandas is a family-friendly documentary that

shows a remarkable collaborative effort to fix the panda population problems.

The movie does so in a way engineered to inspire others to follow the path it lays.

From the opening credits, this movie delivers in the way every audience member wished for: with a lot of IMAX-sized footage of baby pandas.

The amount of cuteness is almost unbearable at times, with baby pandas rolling around, falling, going down slides, and generally doing the cutest things possible.

Watching these fluffy balls of fur slowly grow into 200-lb bears some-

FILM

PANDAS DAVID DOUGLAS DISTRIBUTED BY IMAX RELEASE APR. 6 2018 OUR RATING

IMAX

how made it even cuter, and helped for the audience to connect in to the main panda of the film, Qian Qian.

Qian Qian was chosen to be part of a new program where pandas bred in captivity are then released back into the wild to join other pandas.

The project was a joint effort between Chinese and American biologists, who worked together in China to raise and prepare Qian Qian for her revolutionary undertaking.

Helping them was wildlife biologist Ben Kilham, who had worked with incredible success with reintroducing raised black bears into the wild, successfully releasing over 160 bears.

His secret was to develop trust and to care for the bears—his secret worked fantastically. As such, the entire film is not only a massive endeavor in cuteness, but also an inspiring story of cooperation and care.

That inspiration is what truly makes the film remarkable. Showing footage of cute pandas never fails, and a film comprised of mostly that would work well.

But Pandas made the effort to not leave the message implicit, and to not just show cute footage—the film was filled with a sense of global cooperation and was specifically meant to inspire others.

At the end of the Boston showing, Kilham and biologist Jake Owens (both of whom were featured in the film) joined filmmaker Drew Fellman for a Q&A, but the questions weren’t from adults, they were from children.

After all, with its G rating and slow pacing, Pandas is a film meant for children, and it is a film meant to inspire them. The movie is a great way to introduce young children to different creatures and animal conservation efforts.

In coupling the cuteness with the inspiration, Pandas is hopefully showing the youngest generation that careers in biology and wildlife are not only possible, but necessary.

Kilham, in his responses, was also keen to note that despite any current political atmosphere, Pandas showed that successful global cooperation is possible, even in the face of climate change and quasi-trade wars.

And so, while Pandas will doubtlessly inspire young biologists to come, it is also a movie that will remind parents of those biologists what it is that inspires them so: that through cooperation, and through care, there can be successful change, even if it has to start with a single panda named Qian Qian. 

Cinematography Pins Down Success in ‘First Match’

BY CANNON FEW Heights Staff

In the first few moments of First Match, we see an upward shot of various pieces of clothing cascading downwards in slow motion. It doesn’t take long for us to learn that the beauty of the scene is made possible by the fact that protagonist Monique’s (Elvire Emanuelle) foster mother is kicking her out and throwing her things out of the window. Moments like these in the film highlight the beauty in struggle, without downplaying the sadness and severity of it.

First Match is the story of teenager Monique, hardened by her years of bouncing around the Brooklyn foster care system. The introductory scenes paint her current circumstances in life, brought about by the passing of her mother, incarceration of her father, poor decisions, and an attitude problem. Mo is desperate to reconnect with her estranged father, Darrel (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), and escape the cycle of foster homes and social workers, but when she happens to run into him on the street at his new job, he doesn’t seem to want anything to do with her.

Darrel was a state champion wrestler back in his day, and allegedly taught Mo “everything she knows.” So, in an attempt to draw from attention from her father, Mo joins the boys wrestling team. She finally develops a sense of purpose and belonging when Darrel

starts showing up to her matches and giving her pointers, but her newfound stability is threatened when Darrel tries to throw her into a dangerous sub-plot of underground fighting to win him some money. First Match becomes a question of what choices Mo will make under the impossibly conflicting circumstances of restoring order and purpose in her life and appealing to her long-lost, broken father.

What really gives First Match its power is the expressiveness of the cinematography, how it captures the raw emotion behind a second’s glance.

When Mo stumbles upon her father for the first time in the street, we see the hardened distance between them manifest itself in her expression—a mix of joy, terror, and pain. We see Mo’s desperation for her father’s love and attention in her last-second peeks at the door before the start of each of her matches. We see the mask of defiance when Mo faces those in authority over her that hides her fear and confusion.

Cinematographer Ashley Connor holds the close-ups masterfully, particularly with Mo, and compliments the script well.

The performance from Emanuelle as Mo is impressive. Due to her unforgiving surroundings, the character of Mo has had to learn to hide her emotions behind a visage of nonchalance, and Emanuelle adopts that visage wonderfully, periodically conveying glimpses of the depth of feeling underneath. Abdul-

Mateen II as Darrel is fairly lackluster, but whether that’s from the character or the performance is unclear.

That Darrel is defeated as a man is evident, but the attempts to reveal his ostensible love for Mo seem pretty forced and synthetic. Jharrel Jerome, on the other hand, stands out in his portrayal of Mo’s best friend Omari, revealing the challenges to helping someone you care about.

Though technically a sports drama, First Match is less about the final showdown (and the training montage leading up to it) than the decisions Mo makes in her coming-of-age and the lessons she learns from the people she least expects to care about her. In the beginning, Mo holds on to the sentiment that only

blood family can take care of you—a sentiment that’s broken down throughout the movie in the contrast between the way her father treats her and the way the other elders around her help her grow. And though there are some forced tropes of coming-of-age sports dramas tossed in here (i.e. Malik’s (Jared Kemp) role as Mo’s offhand love interest) First Match embodies the genre in a new and different way. It’s a movie about the unending wealth of truth and emotion that can come and go in a moment. It shows us how making the right choice can sometimes be harder than making the wrong one, but also how the people you surround yourself with are just as important as what you choose to do. 

Copy Editor

This Easter, Jesus Christ Superstar, the Andrew Lloyd Webber masterpiece that is often overlooked on account of its off-putting title and historically controversial religious subject matter, took to the stage—and screen—for a “Live in Concert” performance on NBC. This rendition of the 1970 rock opera, which follows the story of Jesus’ final days, from his entrance into Jerusalem to his death on the cross, was indeed performed like a live concert—clapping, screaming audience, and all. The performers, who included John Legend in the role of Jesus, certainly fed off the energy from the crowd that gazed upon,

cheered for, and reached out to touch Legend as if he really were Christ himself.

The screaming audience, which occasionally drowned out the music and lyrics, also hurt the production in some ways, however, as the show’s concert-like feel at times took some of the intimate emotion out of the actors’ performances of the passion-driven plot.

Vocally, Legend was able to wow the audience throughout a large portion of the show—his voice has a soothing, Jesus-like quality to it—but as the show progressed, it became clear that the singer-songwriter just simply did not have the vocal range for the role.

For those familiar with the Superstar soundtrack, it was quite anticlimactic when

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ISABELLA DOW

‘NEVER SAY DIE’ CHVRCHES

Electronic pop group CHVRCHES delivered “Never Say Die,” off their upcoming third album, Love is Dead.

The artists are known for their otherworldly, futuristic sound, complete with sparkling synths and danceable beats, and their new single brings that to the table. The lyrics detail a relationship on shaky ground, with at least one of the parties seeming to be unwilling to give up on it. Lauren Mayberry’s celestial vocals outline a laundry list of seemingly unrealized hopes, including “Weren’t you gonna be sorry and weren’t you gonna be pure?/ Weren’t we gonna be honest and weren’t we gonna be more?/ Didn’t you say that? Didn’t you say that?”

The repeated inquiry, “Didn’t you say that?” is all over this song. Appearing after some idealized statement about changing for the better, the phrase develops an accusatory and bitter tone, and casts doubt onto the likelihood anything good will come of the situation.

The tone of the song, however, retains an air of hope through its relentless calls to, “Never, never, never, ever never, ever, ever, say die.” Even though this emphatic belief is undercut by that echoing question, the uplifting, though saturated, quality of the electronic instrumentals keep the song from sounding despairing. The song’s formulaic structure relies on the typical, musically stripped-back verses followed by a cliché ramp-up to the chorus. By the time the listener gets to the processed, electronic wash over the chorus, one can at least appreciate the sentiment of the song, even if its execution was a bit flat. 

MUSIC VIDEO AUSTIN HORD

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‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ Delights Longtime Fans

BY ABIGAIL HUNT

SINGLE REVIEW

many of the powerful high notes Jesus is supposed to belt just simply never arrived—either because Legend couldn’t sustain them or because they were taken out entirely to adjust for the singer’s range. With Legend’s relatively weak rendition of Jesus praying in the garden in “Gethsemane,” and other instances in the show where he proved himself to be only an average actor, it was easy to wonder whether he was in the role merely because his big name might attract more viewers. Sara Bareilles, on the other hand, gave an excellent performance, showcasing her unique, angelic vocals in the role of Mary Magdalene. While her performance started out with a decent rendition of “Everything’s Alright,” it really found its footing with the classic “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” and culminated with a sweet intermingling of her and Peter’s (Jason Tam) voices in “Could We Start Again Please?”

Despite the title, however, the real focus of Jesus Christ Superstar isn’t actually Jesus, but his betrayer Judas Iscariot—from whose point of view the story is told—played in this production by Brandon Victor Dixon.

While at times Dixon seemed to lack the raw emotion—distress, jealousy, anger, and feelings of inner conflict—that is essential to pulling off the role of Judas (although to be fair, any Judas has huge shoes to fill after Carl Anderson’s portrayal on Broadway and in the 1973 film version), overall he carried the show with incredibly powerful vocals and an emotional performance that grew

stronger as the concert continued.

Talent was prevalent throughout the rest of the show’s cast as well—among them Broadway star Norm Lewis, whose acting and strong baritone voice made for an excellent high priest Caiaphas. Alice Cooper also made a thoroughly entertaining appearance as King Herod: Through his amused facial expressions and playful interactions with the crowd—waving them on to cheer for him and embracing their applause as he shouted “Hello Jerusalem!

I am your king!”—it was clear that he was having fun with his part, which he ended with a casual mic drop, and as a result, the audience had fun with it too.

For the song “Superstar,” arguably the highlight of the production, Dixon’s Judas returned from the grave and made up for whatever he may have lacked in the beginning of the show with a vibrant, emotion-packed rendition of the show’s title track—all while dressed in a sparkling silver ensemble, surrounded by a fiercely energetic cast of dancers.

In short, Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert had some areas in which it did well and others where it lacked—but if nothing else, it gave those who are already fans of the show the rare opportunity to see it live (as, due to its aforementioned nature, it has trouble touring) and hopefully exposed a whole new group of people to the hauntingly powerful way Webber’s melodies and Tim Rice’s lyrics serve to tell this familiar tale. 

SZA

Roasting marshmallows by the campfire, swimming in the lake, playing fun games with friends—a lot of people have a plethora of fond memories like these of going to summer camp when they were young.

This sense of nostalgia is exactly what SZA is aiming for in her new music video for “Broken Clocks,” a track off her 2017 album, Ctrl.

The video follows teenage campers at Camp Ctrl (named after the album, undoubtedly) as they progress through a day in the life at camp.

The video features beautiful nature shots of sunshine and pine trees, as well as slow-motion shots of the campers running and jumping that make the scenes seem like memories. Clips of SZA dancing at different parts of the campground are spread intermittently throughout.

The song itself is very hi-hat driven, with deep hi-hats that are panned side-to-side to run circles around your head, and SZA’s soulful voice is accompanied by synth chords that sound fluid and watery, yet airy.

Toward the end, the video cuts to a bleak reality, showing SZA on the floor of a strip club bathroom after getting in a fight.

While this scene is a little strange and swerves away abruptly from the atmosphere of the preceding parts, it relates to the meaning of the song as a whole.

Taking this ending as well as the lyrics and title into account, it seems that SZA wishes she could have kept time from passing so fast, and she’s singing about the struggles of life the way it is today. 

THE HEIGHTS

THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 2018

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‘Unfortunate Events’ Season 2 is A Terrible Delight Screams on Screenings BARRETTE JANNEY

Social Media Director

A Series of Unfortunate Events has returned for a second season of mystique and mischief and, despite constant warnings from key characters and the theme song itself, we can’t look away.

Netflix released the 10-episode continuation of the massively successful smallscreen adaptation on March 30. Based on novels five through nine in the book series of the same title by Lemony Snicket, the show follows the Baudelaire children as they attempt to curb the traps of Count Olaf, the hilariously devious villain played by musical and comedy extraordinaire Neil Patrick Harris. While Olaf is after the enormous inheritance of the children whose parents perished in a mysterious fire, the sibling trio is determined to find out about the secret organization their par-

ents belonged to and how it might explain all of the trouble that follows them.

Season 2 picks up right where Season 1 left off. The Baudelaire children, including Violet (Malina Weissman), Klaus (Louis Hynes), and Sunny (Presley Smith), enter their new life at Prufrock, a dilapidated boarding school where class consists of quizzes on the details of a teacher’s personal anecdotes and a library that’s open for 10 minutes each day. If that wasn’t bad enough, orphans are given the worst treatment in the school, forced to live in a shack infested with fungi and crabs.

With the arrival of a new home for the Baudelaires, of course, comes new despicable characters to overcome. Among them is Vice Principal Nero (Roger Bart), a self-proclaimed master violinist and wholly negligent leader of the academy.

While he installs an “advanced computer system” to combat any possible infiltration

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by Count Olaf into the campus, he is all too concerned with his musical career to really care much about the fate of the orphans.

His favorite student, the allegedly adorable but altogether deplorable Carmelita (Kitana Turnbull), constantly reminds them of their low place on the school’s totem pole, mocking them as “cake-sniffers” (and don’t ask—we never learn what that means) and later becoming Olaf’s sidekick.

There are, however, some new alliances introduced to the Baudelaires. The Quagmire orphans, Isadora (Avi Lake) and Duncan (Dylan Kingwell), befriend the children, and we soon learn that they suffered a tragedy similar to the siblings’, as their parents and triplet brother died in a mysterious fire. Coincidence transforms into suspicion when the two families discover that they each own pieces of a spyglass that click together and that their parents knew each other.

In search of more information about their parents and the organization they might have belonged to, they turn to the school librarian Olivia Caliban (Sarah Rue). Little do they know, however, that help is on the way in the form of Larry, a member of their parents’ organization who plans to deliver a book explaining all they need to know.

But as the series always goes, any sprinkle of hope is met with a flood of despair.

Count Olaf soon arrives on campus disguised as a turban-adorning gym teacher.

He and his squadron of delinquents torture the Baudelaires once again with mandatory night runs that compromise their grades and prevent them from reaching Larry. In

an effort to expel the children and get them away from the eyes of the school, Olaf challenges them to take comprehensive exams to determine their pass or failure of their courses.

Season 2 maintains the perfect blend of dark humor and tragedy that makes A Series of Unfortunate Events such intriguing entertainment.

The simultaneously shadowy and colorful cinematography captures the bleak circumstances always underlying the clever banter in every scene of dialogue.

Each character adds a new dimension of peculiarity to this already rich tale, constantly prompting viewers to weave together the individual threads of the mystery teased out in the story.

If fans are searching for more of what they got last season, they’re in luck. Count Olaf is still a demon in clown clothes, and the Baudelaires still battle adversity and ignorance with grace and integrity.

Right when you think justice is on its way, the plot veers in another direction, and no character is ever really safe.

Where the preliminaries to the tale consumed most of the first season however, the second season has more room for depth. Lemony Snickett (Patrick Warburton) is more than just the vague narrator, becoming undoubtedly intertwined in the story, and a larger war appears to exist under the obstacles of the children.

In the best possible way, A Series of Unfortunate Events has entered its terrible twos, where the more terrible the circumstances become, the more delightful it is to watch. 

Monopoly on Monotony in ‘My Dear Melancholy,’

BY KAYLIE RAMIREZ Assoc. Arts Editor

The Weeknd’s March 30 release, My Dear Melancholy, explores the hip-hop heartbreaker’s deeply personal reflections on love. As the title suggests, The Weeknd finds himself in a rut with depressed lyrics and slow, yearning beats on the six track EP. The punctuation of the title cleverly addresses the collective works to an unnamed party, causing many social media users to assume The Weeknd is airing his pent up emotions about recent relationships with Selena Gomez and Bella Hadid.

The Weeknd opens his letter to an estranged lover with sultry bass digs and building vocals on “Call Out My Name.” The song opens with an elegant drowned out piano progression and the bare vocals of the talented singer.

A robust pronunciation of the song’s namesake drops the beat, which is overtly reminiscent of the slow beat of “Earned It” with hard-stopping bass. Vying for his beloved’s attention, The Weeknd cries out “I want you to stay even though you don’t want me” over a tapping drum before the song fades into a mix of tunneled voices

and sounds.

“Try Me” takes on a slightly more upbeat tone with a a quick synthetic tapping beat and optimistic lyrics. The Weeknd tests the new relationship of his ex, threatening “Well, I’m not tryna break up something / You’ve been workin’ out, you’ve been steady / But I’m ready to go all the way if you let me / Don’t you tempt me.” The song’s bridge features simple repetition of “Lo-lolo-lo-lo-lo,” an empty phrase that contributes little to the already creatively lacking lyricism of the EP but ties the song together nonetheless.

The Weeknd gets his stride back on “ Wasted Times.” Produced by Skrillex, the beat meshes sliding clicks with spraying flourishes during the chorus that repeats “I ain’t got no business catchin’ feelings.” The Weeknd includes obvious allusions to the identity of the recipient of his feelings with the borderline raunchy lyric “You were equestrian, so ride it like a champion.” Despite the upbeat tone of “Wasted Times,” The Weeknd dreads the mornings he wakes up without his equestrian companion by his side for the song’s outro.

My Dear Melancholy, reaches a

dramatic peak on “Privilege,” the final track of the six song EP. A steady piano beat composes the track’s simple opening and carries the beat through a range of synthetic experimentation. Hollow clicks and distant autotuning create a somber mood for the outro track that details The Weeknd’s unhealthy coping mechanisms, including copious doses of sex, alcohol, and drugs.

The singer creates a clever play on words with the line “I got two red pills

to take the blues away.”

The Weeknd presents solid and cynical breakup tracks on My Dear Melancholy, but retreats to recycled beats and trite themes for the short EP. While the singer satisfies with his signature sultry sounds and risque lyricism, he falls short of the production innovation of his 2016 album Starboy and leaves listeners with a sense of melancholic monotony. 

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MY DEAR MELANCHOLY, THE WEEKND DISTRIBUTED BY XO RELEASE MAR. 30, 2018 OUR RATING

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Soderbergh’s ‘Unsane’ Blurs Thrills and Reality

BY PETER GAVARIS Heights Staff

Twenty-seven features in, and we still don’t know what to expect from Steven Soderbergh. After bursting onto the indie film scene in 1989 with his breakout Palme d’Or-winner Sex, Lies, and Videotape, the acclaimed director has been making films that run the gamut, churning out well-crafted crowd-pleasers like Ocean’s Eleven, enigmatic experimental works like Schizopolis, and other films that occupy the elusive space in between accessibility and obscurity. His chameleonic persona and penchant for pushing filmic boundaries should be lauded, even if the fruits of his experimentation aren’t entirely successful—hence, the price of ambition.

Following up his 2017 racecar romp, Logan Lucky, comes Unsane, Soderbergh’s

mental-asylum thriller shot entirely on an iPhone 7 Plus. This strange melding of genre schlock and formal experimentation stands somewhere near the fulcrum of the director’s filmography—it’s being marketed heavily as an edge-of-your-seat thriller, but these straightforward genre elements represent some of the least interesting aspects of Unsane.

Sawyer Valentini (Claire Foy) is new in town. Our 20-something-year-old young professional protagonist has just made the move to a new city to avoid a stalker (Joshua Leonard), and life doesn’t seem any easier. Sawyer spends her days working in a bland office space and her nights knocking back drinks at the local watering hole. Any sense of enjoyment is upended by chronic nervous breakdowns prompted by memories of her stalker, and Sawyer soon seeks out help at a local hospital. In

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UNSANE STEVEN SODERBERGH DISTRIBUTED BY BLEECKER STREET RELEASE MAR. 23, 2018 OUR RATING

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a Kafkaesque sequence, Sawyer is swept away in a frenzy of hospital bureaucracy and unwillingly committed to a week at a mental institution. She makes a friend in Nate (Jay Pharoah), one of the inmates, but Sawyer struggles to come to terms with her new home for the time being. The dimly lit labyrinth of hospital corridors house a grotesque cast of employees and inmates that perpetuate the unease and fear felt by our protagonist. Of course, things get worse when she realizes her stalker has taken a job at this very hospital (gasp!). iPhones play a prominent role here, not just in the filming but also in the action of the story. Sawyer calls her mother over Facetime, she uses Tinder to meet guys at the bar, and she eventually uses Nate’s smuggled iPhone to illicitly communicate to the outside world from the hospital. In a flashback, we even realize that her stalker harassed her over iMessage. Anxiety surrounding surveillance and technology is not a new idea, but the grimy, lo-fi aesthetic of the iPhone footage helps create a paranoid mood.

The camera observes Sawyer with a voyeuristic gaze, shooting her from behind bushes and trees, and this technique works well at the beginning of the film, but Soderbergh abandons it once our protagonist arrives at the hospital. Sweeping dolly shots down hospital hallways and harsh angle close-ups soon replace these voyeuristic techniques, as the iPhone cinematography seems to become less and less meaningful.

The direction throughout is undeniably

propulsive, but it adds little to the narrative as it goes on (even as it showcases the potential of low-budget filmmaking).

The film’s formal qualities are interesting to consider, but the question remains whether Unsane works as a thriller. The first half works fairly well by placing us in Sawyer’s subjective headspace, which allows us to question the protagonist’s sanity.

Foy’s manic performance helps sell the character’s sheer desperation as she is flung into an environment that seems to defy any sort of logical cohesion. Around the midpoint, however, the film strays away from its subjective bias and begins to include scenes that take place between characters other than Sawyer. Without spoiling anything, this transition away from subjectivity reveals the film’s hand and essentially abandons any sort of ambiguity the film worked hard to create.

With much of the ambiguity removed, the film effectively morphs into a sillier, schlockier kind of thriller that also hopes to communicate some sort of message regarding gender politics and abuse of power that feel prescient. Unsane comes to the conclusion that reality is often scarier than fantasy, yet the film’s subtext is often undercut by narrative conventionality. Still, Soderbergh deserves credit for delivering visceral and effective violence when the narrative calls for it. So, while the film doesn’t entirely coalesce in a meaningful way, there are certainly aspects of Unsane that make it worth a watch. 

JACOB SCHICK Over the past two weeks, I’ve been invited to attend two early film screenings. The first was for Ready Player One and the second was for A Quiet Place, and while both movies were very good (A Quiet Place is absolutely fantastic, review coming soon), my experience at each screening could not have been more different.

Let’s take a look at the similarities first. Both times, I had the opportunity to bring a guest. I chose my girlfriend, Alissa. Both times, the movie was very good. End similarities.

Now for the differences.

Ready Player One was Alissa’s first early screening, and it set a very high bar. We were invited to attend the newly constructed Showplace ICON Theatre at Seaport. When we arrived at the theater, we were greeted warmly by the screening coordinator, (who knew me by sight, I might add, a fact which had nothing to do with the Boston College hockey sweater I was wearing, and everything to do with my enormous fame as an acclaimed film critic). She handed us our tickets and directed us to the concessions counter. Here, we were both given free drinks (unheard of at a movie theater) and a bowl of an actual chef ’s new creation—sticky bun popcorn. It was delicious. When the movie began, I realized that everyone in the theater (mostly composed of film critics tied to various publications) was the kind of person that you wanted to watch a movie with. Everybody was quiet, they didn’t pull out their phones, and they didn’t clap at the end of the movie (why do people do this? The cast and crew can’t hear you).

But on the other hand. The screening for A Quiet Place was at AMC Boston Common. I like this theater a lot. It has a lot of showrooms, it has great posters of classic movies on the wall, and it shows both big movies and smaller, independent films.

What I didn’t like, however, were a few aspects of the screening itself.

None of these things are the fault of the theater, or the people who set up the early screenings for critics (and some fans). No, this was only the fault of people in the theater who do not understand how to watch a movie.

Especially a movie like this. As the name might suggest, A Quiet Place is a very quiet movie. The characters hardly ever talk, so most of the sound comes from background noise in the movie. The patter of feet, the rustle of wind through trees, and other such things. So why, why, why would you ever talk in a movie like this? I don’t advocate for talking in movies under almost any circumstances, but there are times when I can see the appeal.

This time is not one of them. While watching this movie, I could hear every noise anyone in the theater made. The crackle of popcorn being eaten. The rustle of candy wrappers.

Coughs, sneezes, and throat clears.

All of these are semi-permissible. But what drove me insane were the two people sitting directly behind me who “whispered” to each other at every scene in this damn movie. It’s ridiculous. I heard every word they said, and none of it was “what happened?” or “explain this to me.” It was all simply commentary on what was going on in the movie. SHUT UP. This is not the movie to talk through, especially not when everyone around you can hear everything you’re saying. It’s rude, it’s inconsiderate, and it’s annoying.

You aren’t so special that your words matter more than everyone else’s enjoyment. I was annoyed by the talking, Alissa was annoyed by the talking, and the people sitting next to me were annoyed by the talking. If A Quiet Place wasn’t such a good movie, this entire experience would have been much harder to enjoy.

Basically, early movie screenings are really fun and really cool. But if you get the opportunity to attend one, don’t ruin it for others.

Jacob Schick is the arts editor for The Heights. He can be reached at arts@ bcheights.com.

ARTS

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THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 2018

@BCHEIGHTSARTS

WZBC’s Spring Concert Showcases Local Indie Rock Bands

BY EMILY HIMES Asst. Arts Editor

In the midst of last week’s spring fever, WZBC 90.3 FM presented Daddy Issues, Baby!, and Funeral Advantage at the Great Scott in Allston.

All three bands were some sort of alternative or indie rock.

The venue with buzzing with all sorts of people—BC students, music

lovers, bar goers—and was fully by the time the first band was done.

The Great Scott radiated a grungy ambiance.

The small venue packed in a pretty artsy crowd, one that was familiar with some of the bands, or at least the indie-rock scene. The crowd was pushed up against the speakers which were booming with a heavy bass sound, rattling the tables and walls

KATE KLEIN / HEIGHTS STAFF

Baby! shakes the Great Scott with its bass-heavy music at WZBC’s Spring Concert.

in the bar.

The show started off with Funeral Advantage, a five-person Bostonbased rock group starring Tyler Kershaw, who looks like a cross between Walter White and Steve Jobs. His singing was very monotonous, without much fervor or emotion.

It was difficult to hear what he was even singing, however, he clarified the issue a few songs into the set.

“I’m very sick, I lost my voice this morning,” Kershaw said. “I’m trying very hard not to throw up right now.”

This caused the crowd to erupt in applause. Eventually, he broke into some interesting dance moves, but for most of the set he was stationary.

Funeral Advantage was established in 2013 and has released one studio album called Body is Dead and two EPs, Demo and Please Help Me. Their music is available on Bandcamp.

The next performance was by Baby!, kind of like Jeb! but with eyeliner—and a little more hipster and angsty.

The lead singer is Florida native

Haley Honeycutt, whose voice was soft at some points, but at others, it sounded like controlled screeching.

The three-person band had a bassheavy sound that made the floor vibrate.

Honeycutt was calm, cool, and collected while onstage. She steadily played the guitar as the drafty winds blew right onto the stage every time the door opened.

Baby!’s music is available on Bandcamp and Spotify. The band plays frequent shows in the Boston area.

Last but not least was Daddy Issues, a three-piece girl band from Nashville with an Indie-meets-angsty sound. There were two vocalists, Jenna Moynihan and Jenna Mitchell, both of which had strong voices.

Emily Maxwell, the band’s drummer, proved to be extremely talented. They were sure to include more of a context surrounding their songs, including one about sexual abuse.

Jenna Moynihan introduced the song, which is of heavy relevance in this day and age, in the middle of

the set. “You shouldn’t be second to anybody,” she said. “Don’t take shit from anybody.”

Out of the three bands, Daddy Issues clearly had the most devoted following. Many people were crowding towards the stage and taking Snapchat videos of the performance. A fair number of people knew the words to their songs.

Daddy Issues also demonstrated the most proof experience and expertise onstage. They were able to introduce their songs with ease, telling stories and talking to the crowd.

Clearly the three have been able to stick together through thick and thin, as many of their stories went back to college.

Daddy Issues developed this following their performance at South

by Southwest in 2015. Earlier that year, their single “Ugly When I Cry” generated almost 300,000 plays on Soundcloud. That same year they released their first album, Can We Still Hang, and in 2017, they released Deep Dream. 

Tchaikovsky Revived in Concert by Alumni Musician Trio

BY MARY WILKIE Opinions Editor

The three musicians composing the Alumni Concert Trio, violinist Grace Ro, BC ’16; cellist Monica Grady, BC ’17; and pianist Alexander Aylward, BC ’17, performed Tchaikovsky’s Piano Trio in A Minor, Op. 50. Through the hour-long performance, they displayed the passion and dedication necessary for a successful musical career.

These performers boast impressive experience both musically and academically. Ro has been playing violin since the age of seven. She performed in the Boston College Chamber Society while studying psychology on the pre-med track. Currently, Ro is attending New Jersey Medical School (NJMS) and directs an a capella group at the school, the NJMS Vocal Chords.

Grady began playing cello when she was nine.

While pursuing a degree in biochemistry, Grady performed in the BC Symphony Orchestra as first cello, Chamber Society, Cello Ensemble, and Middle Eastern Ensemble. She is now studying at Boston Conservatory for a master’s degree in cello performance and will attend the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, N. Y. this summer on a fellowship. Aylward studied philosophy and classics in the Honors Program at BC. He has

furthered his music career at institutions in Cincinnati and around New England. Continuing this commitment, Aylward now performs with the Ars Nova Musicians Orchestra in Buffalo, New York.

The trio was introduced by the assistant chair of the music department, Jeremiah McGrann. Before they began, however, Aylward prefaced the performance with a brief and eloquent explanation of the piece’s conversational nature. “It seems to end on a question with no answer,” he said.

Echoing his words—either because Aylward planted the idea in audience members’ minds or because it was truly that noticeable—short, dialectic exchanges immediately manifested among the instruments as they responded to each other’s expressive phrases in much of the piece. In these sections, as one voice assumed the accompaniment, the remaining two would counter one another in a contrapuntal melody.

Although it was often projected distinctly from one instrument, the musicians occasionally played the theme simultaneously with precise cohesion. The performers displayed great control over their own instrument, with distinct dynamics and clear articulation. They maintained such control even as the mood constantly progressed, particularly with key shifts between minor and major.

Because of this, their performance exuded distinct sensations in each section, from passion and anger to melancholy and desperation.

The tone was almost always introduced by the piano. As Aylward’s part guided the progression of the piece, he showcased his impressive musicianship with a polished performance.

The sections developed, however, to incorporate the other instruments in ways that highlighted each musician’s skill and control. Ro’s violin playing carried much of the melody, displaying emotions from passionate anger to pathetic grief. At times, however, these two voices drowned out the sound of the cello. Still, when Grady played the melody, the piece often took on a sorrowful mood that emanated especially because of the instrument’s human-like tone. Her performance was particularly expressive as her body moved in harmony with the music she played.

The performance otherwise maintained an overall balance among the performers. Ro and Grady demonstrated refined skill on their string instruments with clear vibrato and precise intonation, while Aylward’s even chords, steady scales, and undeterred energy projected clearly throughout the entire performance.

The group’s clarity and synchronization indicated that they had rehearsed together often prior to the perfor-

KAITLIN MEEKS / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Monica Grady, Grace Ro, and Alexander Aylward sent Tchaikovsky soaring into Gasson. mance and were comfortable with one through an uncertain pause in beanother’s playing. tween the end of the performance and With smooth crescendos and de- the final round of applause, that the crescendos in addition to consistently crowd found difficulty distinguishcontrolled articulation, beginnings ing the distinct sections of the work. and ends of phrases were synchro- Within the second movement, there nized when the musicians played at are a handful of variations, between the same time, guided only by occa- which the performers paused. But sional glances at one another. Their because the program listed the piece polished performance was obviously in only two movements, the intended the product of many intense individ- endings were mostly indistinguishable ual and collaborated rehearsals—this to audience members unfamiliar with piece is an immense challenge clearly the piece. representative of their musical dediStill, as the piece ended, the violin cation and talent. faded first, followed by the cello, until The audience, after a few late ar- Aylward’s solitary piano part hauntrivals at the beginning, consisted of ingly concluded the concert with many students taking notes in addi- minor chords that projected a melantion to parents and professors atten- cholic tone that left the audience tense tively listening. It was clear, however, and uneasy in their seats. 

Kacey Musgraves’ Midas Touch Gilds ‘Golden Hour’ Album

BY EMILY HIMES Asst. Arts Editor

Kacey Musgraves became well known after winning a Grammy in 2014 for her debut album, Same Trailer Different Park.

Her lyrics raised some eyebrows, but they were also the driving force behind her quickly found success.

Her new album, Golden Hour, tops all other country albums released in the past few years.

It can hardly be considered country, though.

The record, which is more indie and singer-songwriter than anything else, is incredibly consistent through

its simplicity. Throughout Golden Hour, Musgraves is in command of the vernacular with beautifully insightful and raw lyrics.

It is rare for modern-day albums to carry the effortless cohesion featured in this one.

The album begins with “Slow Burn,” which is a bit nonsensical, yet extremely relatable. In the song, Musgraves sings about her differences as seen through older generations, which is illustrated in the rather comic lyric, “Grandma cried when I pierced my nose … I’m gonna do it my way, It’ll be alright / If we burn it down and it takes all night.”

The third song on the album,

MUSIC

GOLDEN HOUR KACEY MUSGRAVES DISTRIBUTED BY MERCURY RECORDS RELEASE MAR. 30, 2018 OUR RATING

MERCURY RECORDS

INSIDE SCENE

‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’

“Butterflies,” is easily the best on the record.

Between Musgraves’s intricate vocal inflections and musical illustrations, the song displays a delicate intimacy that is achieved only through powerfully honest songwriting. “Butterflies” illustrates Musgraves’s amazing vocal capacity in addition to her lyrical talent.

It also features slight electronic modifications—just on one word in the entire song, “chrysalis”—to allow the unique and raw nature of the song stand out.

It is the small details like this that allow Musgraves to truly combine touches of modernity to very traditional songwriting.

These moments of double tracking are rare on her album, but when they occur they enhance its meaning.

These areas of unexpected modifications are often balanced with instrumental interludes, such as in “Oh, What a World,” which features synthesized vocals in the beginning and end but an extensive banjo solo in the middle.

A standout song on Golden Hour is current single “Space Cowboy,” a take on “The Joker” by Steve Miller Band. The song features simple lyrics and effortless rhymes, but feels so real

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it’s easy to get lost in the song. Following “Space Cowboy” is “Happy & Sad,” a song so raw that it is painfully relatable.

The echoes and effects of the song reinforce its meaning. Lines like “And I’m the kind of person who starts getting kind of nervous / When I’m having the time of my life” pierce the song.

On the entire record, but especially on songs like “Happy & Sad,” Musgraves creates a shared reality between herself and the listener, one that is mediated through the mellow melodies of the music.

Toward the end of the album, the songs become more upbeat while still keeping the strong vocals, lyrics, and instrumentals at the forefront. The first of these pop songs is “Velvet Elvis” which is both nonsensical and comedic.

It is similar in both rhythm and mentality to Maren Morris’s “80s Mercedes.” The song hardly has any meaning, but it is pure fun. The instrumental parts balance out the bass-heavy sound.

“High Horse” features funny lyrics and a disco sound.

One of the most interesting aspects of this song is that Musgraves’s intricate vocal inflections are mim-

‘My Dear Melancholy,’

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icked by the lead guitar, creating a unique and sonically pleasing sound throughout the song.

The last two songs on the record, “Golden Hour” and “Rainbow,” are calm and uplifting. “Golden Hour,” the album’s namesake, is mellow and honest, and features simple yet skillful guitar.

Co-written with lyrical powerhouse Shane McAnally, “Rainbow” is the perfect way to end the album, complete with heartwarming lyrics and a sweet storyline. The song is happy, and the song moves in a cyclical rhythm.

After a lengthy musical interlude, the song ends with the words, “It’ll all be alright,” making the entire album feel uplighting and bright.

Musgraves has somehow topped her Grammy-winning debut album with Golden Hour. It shines bright in a time of mundane, repetitive, or overly modified album releases across all genres.

Its soft disposition and mellow aura are calming, and the honest lyrics make for engaged listening throughout the entire record. Combine that with the album’s unrivaled sense of cohesion, and it is easy to realize that Musgraves has permanently raised the bar. 

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