The Heights September 3, 2018 by The Heights

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Endowment, Now $2.6B, Sees 10.7 Percent Return BC also returned 5 percent on its balance sheet. BY JACK MILLER Asst. News Editor Boston College’s Executive Vice President Michael Lochhead announced Wednesday at University Convocation that the endowment posted a 10.7 percent return during the last fiscal year that ended on May 31, which Lochhead said surpassed University expectations. 2018 is the 47th consecutive year operating revenues exceeded expenses, according to Lochhead, which he said was driven by undergraduate enrollment that made up for “challenges” the University faced in certain “graduate areas.” The endowment sat at $2.6 billion at the end of fiscal year 2018, according to Lochhead. Last year, the endowment had returns of 13.4 percent and finished fiscal year 2017 at $2.4 billion. In 2016, it posted a -4.3 percent return, the first time the endowment hadn’t returned a positive percentage since 2012. “That is a new watermark for Boston College and something that will help position us well in the future as we talk about investments in Ever to Excel,” Lochhead said.

“As a result of the endowment returns, some slight reductions in liabilities, as well as the operating budget returns, the University posted a strong return, 5 percent, on its balance sheet which means the balance sheet overall is well positioned for potential investments in the future.” Earlier during University convocation, University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J., addressed some of the problems facing higher education as a whole, including questions of affordability and reduced government support for colleges and universities. Lochhead expanded on this topic, emphasizing that the success of previous years would provide flexibility for upcoming costs, specifically naming wavering tuition and fee revenues in the face of widespread affordability concerns. He also noted that continued strength in regards to undergraduate enrollment numbers boosted difficulties BC faced on the graduate front. He also provided some information about how the University spent its money in the last year. About 48 percent of the operating budget went to personnel-related expenses—namely salaries and benefits. Lochhead concluded the review by listing the University’s priorities, which includes investments in the core curriculum, student life, and athletic programs in the upcoming fiscal year. 

Leahy: ‘Similar Response’ as C21 Needed Amid Penn. Clergy Abuse At Univ. Convocation, Leahy talks trends in Catholic higher ed BY JACK MILLER Asst. News Editor University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J. spoke to Boston College’s faculty and staff Wednesday as part of University Convocation. In his speech, Leahy shared his thoughts on

the University’s place in the world and commented more specifically on the renewed revelations of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. Leahy committed to formulating a response similar to how the University respondede to the sexual abuse scandal that gripped the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston in 2002. Leahy’s speech addressed some of the problems facing higher education as a whole, including questions of affordability and reduced government support

for colleges and universities. In the face of these issues, Leahy stressed the importance of frequent reflection and analysis in the context of a fast-paced society. He also briefly acknowledged some of the topics that have been raised by the student body in the past several years. “Boston College has responded well to various challenges and opportunities, particularly because of its regular cycles

See University Convocation, A3

KAITLIN MEEKS/PHOTO EDITOR

Eagles Blow Out UMass in Opener Four touchdowns and 279 yards through the air propelled the Eagles to a season-opening victory, see B1

Gosselin Plans to Focus on Yield, Diversity Save Late New director of undergrad admissions on BC’s standing BY CHARLIE POWER Assoc. News Editor A little over one month into his new position as the director of undergraduate admission at Boston College, Grant Gosselin, BC ’97, LGSOE ’02, is looking to continue the legacy of John Mahoney, who helmed that office for 28 years.

“My goal is to build on the legacy that John has set here in terms of always being seen as a reputable and ethical admissions office,” Gosselin said. In March, Mahoney was promoted to a newly created office, the dean of undergraduate admission and financial aid. Just a few days ago, Mahoney was promoted again to vice provost for enrollment management. He’ll be tasked with fostering collaboration between the admission, financial aid, and registrar’s offices in order to better predict enrollment cycles. “It will free up John to think more strate-

gically on the bigger decisions that need to be made at the institution,” Gosselin said. Gosselin will focus on running the dayto-day operations of the admission office, and navigating annual enrollment cycles will be one of his most important tasks. To work through cycles, he’ll be taking on the challenge of predicting how many admitted students will actually decide to accept BC’s offer of admission. Over the past four cycles, the admissions yield has hovered between 26 and 28 percent. In addition to yield, selectivity, often seen as a gauge for prestige, is an admissions

statistic that gets a lot of publicity. During last year’s admissions cycle, BC had a 27 percent acceptance rate. Over the past few years, acceptance rates have been in the 28 to 32 percent range. The easiest way to increase selectivity is to attract more applicants, and many admission offices spend considerable resources to build their pool of prospective students. BC’s admissions office is not interested in inflating application numbers, according to Gosselin. He sympathizes with the psyche of

BY ABBY HUNT Copy Editor The Boston College and Boston University Police Departments teamed up last month to participate in the Law Enforcement Lip Sync Challenge, with a Boston-themed “Battle of Comm Ave.” between police officers and other community members from the two rival schools. The challenge began early this summer,

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

when Deputy Alexander Mena from Bexar County, Texas recorded himself lip syncing the Kumbia Kings’ “Fuiste Mala” in his car, and has since spread across the country, with hundreds of departments participating nationwide. “There’s these little challenges that pop up on social media that police departments and police officers get involved in to really kind of humanize the profession, to kind of humanize the men and women who wear the uniform,” said BCPD Lt. Jeffrey Postell, who—along with student interns—wrote the script for the video. “We had folks within our … own community here that had reached out to the police department—to me—and said, ‘You

NEWS: Mahoney Promoted

John Mahoney is the new vice provost for enrollment management........................... A2

know, we’ve seen a hundred of these police departments around the country do these videos, when is BC going to do one?’” he said. “And I’m not one to back down from challenges.” When thinking about how his department should partake in the social media phenomenon, Postell wanted to do something that hadn’t been done before—something that would make BCPD’s video stand out. “I just love the camaraderie and the rivalry of college sports, so I said, ‘You know what, I have not seen a department do an actual battle. We’ve heard them say lip sync challenge, but we have not heard them do a lip sync battle,’” he said. “And so

FEATURES: Michael Davidson

ROBERT WALMSLEY

I said, ‘If the Boston College Police Department is going to do a lip sync challenge—or battle—there’s no better department to battle than Boston University because of the rivalry between BU and BC.’” When considering which songs to include, Postell again thought it would be important to do something different than any other police department had done before, ultimately deciding to do songs that represented the Boston community. Postell pitched the idea to the BCPD student interns, from whom he took ideas about what the video should look like, and then he began to write the script.

Yes, the rumors are true. They are all true. Late night as we know it is gone. Lower is closing at 10 p.m. The menu includes only salads and grilled chicken so cold, so tough, Excalibur would stand nary a chance, never mind your flimsy plastic knife. Wilhelm screams galore. Snack attacks … gone. OK, maybe only that last part is true. STILL, late night is irreversibly changed for the worst, right? It got up and left us for good, as if we’re Omelas or something. (I’m not saying we’ve imprisoned an involuntary martyr under the depths of Gasson to inherit the amalgamated ills of a community built on a utopian facade, but I’m not denying it.) Those soggy fries, breaded sticks with a hint of cheese, and half-baked tenders you drunkenly dream of while you stand motionless in a dimly lit Mod won’t be found upstairs at Addie’s. Speaking of half-baked, how the hell is this whole operation going to function? Honestly, I’m not completely opposed to the new food options: Pizza and meatballs sound fine to me. And who doesn’t want a nice iced mocha latte to push you through a procrastinated assignment or counter

See Lip Sync, A3

See Late Night, A5

See Gosselin, A3

Law Enforcement Lip Sync Challenge, Boston Style BCPD and BUPD team up for viral “Battle of Comm Ave”

Night

Davidson begins his new role as the director of the BAIC.......................................................A6

INDEX

NEWS.........................A2 SPORTS.................... A7

The Heights

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things to do on campus this week

The Mass of the Holy Spirit will be held at 12 p.m. on Thursday in O’Neill Plaza. Classes will be cancelled from 12 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. If there is inclement weather, the Mass will be held in Conte Forum. The Mass is a tradition that marks the beginning of each academic year at Jesuit schools.

Monday, September 3, 2018

The McMullen Museum of Art will hold an Art After Dark: Student Opening for Carrie Mae Weems and Hartmut Austen Exhibitions on Friday from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. In addition to the art, the event will have live performances and music, food, a scavenger hunt, and chance to work on a giant collaborative work of art.

CAB will hold a Bingo Night in the Walsh Function Room on Thursday at 8 p.m. Past prizes have included TVs, a Razor Scooter, and an Apple Watch. There will be snacks, and this event is open to entire BC community.

NEWS Fulton Leadership Society Targets CSOM Class of 2022 BRIEFS

BC Grad Stats

Ninety-six percent of the Boston College Class of 2017 is employed, pursuing a graduate degree, volunteering, or the recipient of a fellowship, according to data released by the Office of Institutional Research and the Career Center. Seventy-three percent of graduates entered the workforce. Of those who are employed, 22 percent are working in financial services and real estate, 16 percent are working in health care, and 12 percent are working in business, consulting, and management. Nineteen percent are attending graduate school. Of this cohort, 20 percent are pursuing degrees in STEM fields, 16 percent in education, 15 percent in law, 10 percent in medicine, and 10 percent in business. Among those volunteering, the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, Peace Corps, and Americorps are most popular. Fullbrights, Venture for America, and Humanity in Action are the make up the largest fellowship awards. “These post-graduate success outcomes are very strong and speak so highly to the value of a BC education,” Joseph DuPont, associate vice president for student affairs at the Career Center, told The Chronicle. According to DuPont, 71 percent of students surveyed said they used a BC Career Center resource in their employment search. These resources include the EagleLink, on-campus interviews, the career fair, and the alumni network. “Boston College is blessed to graduate students with a range of gifts, and we’re pleased to see further evidence that our young alumni are in great demand in the job market, and compete successfully for admission to top graduate programs and for prestigious fellowships,” Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley told The Chronicle.

CRR Report Women tend to work fewer years and earn less than men, leading to less income in retirement. One explanation is that women are often the main caregiver for the family. The design of Social Security attempts to take this into account, providing spousal and widow benefits for married women. These benefits are often not available to women, however, either because they divorced before the 10 year cutoff, or never married in the first place. Consequently, many mothers do not receive support to offset the effects of childrearing on earnings. A recent brief released by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College (CRR), authored by Alicia H. Munnell, the director of the CRR, and Andrew D. Eschtruth, associate director of external relations at the CRR, investigates the task of modernizing Social Security in light of changing demographic and family patterns. The authors propose the United States could expand Social Security to include caregiver benefits, which many Western countries already have embedded in their pension systems. The authors lay out two potential ways in which caregiver benefits could be instituted. One idea would be to provide earning credits to those with children under the age of six. Another would be to increase the number of work years that are excluded from benefit calculations, allowing parents to have “dropout years.” Current Social Security benefits are calculated based on a worker’s highest 35 years of earnings. Under this proposal, the number of years counted would reduce to 30. “The key for U.S. policymakers is to determine the primary goal of such a credit—improving the lot of mothers generally or increasing benefit adequacy for the most vulnerable. Fortunately, even if the primary goal is to help mothers generally, a credit would also help improve benefit adequacy because mothers tend to be at higher risk for poverty,” the authors conclude.

By Heidi Dong A1 Editor

Since the announcement that the Carroll School of Management Honors Program (HP) would stop accepting students admitted after the Class of 2021, a group of CSOM HP members has been working to create a new program for the incoming freshmen. The group established the Fulton Leadership Society (FLS), a new club with a mission of furthering “high achieving” CSOM students in their journey to becoming men and women for others, according to its website. With a focus on leadership, professional development, and service, FLS “strives to provide its members with insight into the dynamics and complexities of the business world.” In conjunction with the CSOM dean’s office, FLS was created by a committee of students in the Honors Program. On July 17, Senior Associate Dean of CSOM and CSOM HP Director Ethan Sullivan sent an email to incoming freshmen informing them of the opportunity to apply to be considered for the organization. “Our purpose is to provide students with an opportunity to engage in formative experiences to develop their leadership potential, intellectual curiosity, and orientation to serve their community,”

said Jeff Stautberg, president of CSOM HP and CSOM ’19. “We are hoping to create a community that helps students feel comfortable at BC and encourages them to pursue their academic and extracurricular interests across the University.” Stautberg explained that FLS also has the goal of adding value to the greater BC community. FLS has plans to incorporate advising for Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences students who are taking on CSOM minors and building a repository of career and recruiting resources on the FLS website for any students who have an interest in business. The announcement of the Honors Program’s end followed a similar decision to end the MCAS Honors Program last October, and foreshadowed the ending of Lynch School of Education Honors Program later that week. The decision to end the CSOM HP came after no consultation with current Honors Program students, they said, and elicited apparent disappointment from both past and present Honors Program members. “We had no advance knowledge,” Andrew Kearney, past president of the Honors Program and CSOM ’18, told The Heights in an interview last January, following the announcement. After a town hall hosted by Dean of CSOM Andy Boynton and Sullivan, a steer-

ing committee of students representing every class in the CSOM HP was formed with the goal of drafting a proposal for FLS by the end of the academic year. “After the announcement of the disbandment of the Honors Program last December, many members felt compelled to find a way to keep some of the benefits of the Honors Program alive for future students at Boston College,” said Stephanie Ogeka, an officer for both CSOM HP and FLS and CSOM ’19. “Because of this, the steering committee was created to draft a proposal for a new program.” Members of each class were elected to the steering committee, where they were able to represent their respective class’ opinions and ideas for the new club. “Working with the Dean’s Office, [the steering committee] was able to get the club approved before everyone left for the summer,” Stautberg said. Stautberg explained that throughout the summer CSOM HP members were able to opt in to FLS to help get the new club off the ground and prepare for the upcoming year. As CSOM HP is phased out over the next three years, there will still be some crossover between CSOM HP and FLS in terms of members and in the form of cosponsoring events, but the two programs are separate programs, Stautberg said.

“FLS is an entirely student-run program with four officers and an executive board made up of 12 committees,” Ogeka said. Stautberg, Danni Bianco, Kimberly Sieloff, and Ogeka, all officers of CSOM HP and CSOM ’19, were the founding members of FLS and will head the club as officers this year. They will also head up the 12 committees. FLS students will be able to shadow the committees during their first year then take a leadership role their second year. “FLS and HP are two entirely separate organizations,” Ogeka said. “The founding members retained the parts we loved about the Honors Program, such as the mentorship program, but FLS is more outwardfacing and about leadership, formation, and community programs rather than just academics.” For the upcoming year, FLS will focus on initiatives including advising and posting resources on its website for CSOM and the larger BC community. FLS will also be putting together a “Business&” speaker series that covers topics such as business and government, business and art, and business and biotech.

“Our application closes on Friday and the future is a really exciting aspect of FLS for the incoming freshmen,” Ogeka said. “They’ll be a major part of the decisionmaking process of where FLS goes in the future." n

Full WSJ Online Access Available to All Students, Staff By Jack Goldman News Editor The newest addition to the Boston College Libraries’ inventory of resources available for students on campus will be a subscription to The Wall Street Journal with no monthly charge to student subscribers. BC Libraries paid a fee so that students do not have to pay extra for access to the Journal. BC also offers access to The Financial Times. “All current students, faculty, and staff at BC can have their own subscription to

[the Journal now],” said Sonia Ensins, business librarian for BC Libraries. “We have hundreds and hundreds of periodicals. [The Journal and The Financial Times] are a little bit different in that it’s newspapers and you can get a subscription similar to what you would have if you did it individually.” The partnership appeals to the library because no newspaper like The Journal has ever offered such unrestricted access to the University community. The entire Journal archive won’t be available through the subscription—it is available through the library’s newspaper research guide—but

beyond that, BC students have never had the opportunity to have a subscription they don’t need to pay extra for to one of the largest newspapers in the country. Ensins noted that The Financial Times subscription, though comprehensive, has a limited audience compared to The Journal. The charge to the library is discounted from a group subscription or buying individual ones for each student on campus, according to Ensins. Along those same lines, this partnership could be the beginning of a more serious relationship: Ensins said that journalists from

the paper may visit campus at some point this year. The Journal’s presence at BC will not end at available subscriptions. In addition, Ensins noted the most comprehensive resource in relation to current issues of newspapers across the country offered through the library is Factiva. A DowJones service, Factiva gives students access to searching through current events on an easy-to-navigate landing page. Showcased on the front page are the Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and many others. n

John Mahoney to Head Enrollment Management By Jack Goldman News Editor John Mahoney, BC ’79, who served as director of undergraduate admission for 28 years until his promotion in March to dean of undergraduate admission and financial aid, has been promoted to vice provost for enrollment management, according to a press release from University Communications. Nanci Tessier, BC ’82, previously held the position, but she left Boston College to pursue other opportunities at the end of the 2017-18 school year. Grant Gosselin, BC ’97, LGSOE ’02, succeeded Mahoney as director of

undergraduate admission. There will not be a new dean of admission and financial aid, according to Mahoney, since his previous responsibilities will be absorbed into his role as vice provost. “Over his m any years leading Undergraduate Admission in Devlin Hall, John Mahoney has earned respect among faculty and staff across campus and nationally among his admissions colleagues,” David Quigley, provost and dean of faculties, said in the release. “He has helped lead Boston College to new heights by attracting generations of talented young men and women to the University. I’m pleased that John is

joining the group of vice provosts and will bring his principled and visionary leadership to the broader work of enrollment management.” Mahoney expressed excitement at the prospect of moving into his new role. “Moving from Director of Undergraduate Admission after 28 years to Vice Provost for Enrollment Management is like moving from lead talent scout to general overseer of some of the critical offices on this campus which serve students,” Mahoney said in an email to The Heights. “I’ll now be working with the leaders in Undergraduate Admission, Finan-

cial Aid, the Registrar and Academic Services, and Financial Operations to ensure that BC students have a first class experience from the time they enroll through until they graduate.” He went on to mention that despite how important forging “personal relationships with students and families” is to Mahoney’s success, in his new role, he’ll be diving into working with more technology to enhance the BC student experience. Mahoney’s first priority will be to complete EagleApps, a new student information system Student Services and Information Technology are putting together that will also be used by admissions. n

POLICE BLOTTER: 8/27/18 – 8/28/18 Monday, Aug. 27

Tuesday, Aug. 28

3:09 p.m. - An officer filed a report regarding assitance provided to another department off campus.

7:21 a.m. - An officer filed a report regarding a medical incident at Corcoran Commons.

1:06 p.m. - An officer filed a report regarding a fire alarm activation at Corcoran Commons.

4:55 p.m. - An officer filed a report regarding a fire alarm activation in Stayer Hall.

11:14 a.m. - An officer filed a report regarding a fire alarm activation off campus.

4:40 p.m. - An officer filed a report regarding a medical incident at Flynn Recreation Complex.

6:19 p.m. - An officer filed a report regarding a fire alarm activation at Rubenstein Hall.

—Source: The Boston College Police Department

CORRECTIONS How have you been coping with the heat wave this week? “I slept in the lounge because it had air conditioning.” —Gov Harish, MCAS ’22

“Spening a lot of time in the AC, like in the lounges and library. Also, a lot of cold showers.” —Daphene Binto, MCAS ’ 22

“A lot of water and prayers.” —Khaled Mustafa, CSOM ’22

“Using as many fans as possible.” —Cullen Pina, CSOM ’22

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

The Heights

Monday, September 3, 2018

Leahy Offers Remarks on Church Scandal University Convocation, from A1 of institutional assessment and change,” Leahy said. “We know too that we have to be ready for responding to campus tensions, whether they’re about race, sexual misconduct, free speech, a range of issues.” He also addressed BC’s identity as a prominent Jesuit university in light of the recent Pennsylvania grand jury report that implicated over 300 priests throughout six Catholic dioceses in sexual abuse allegations. Between the dioceses, 1,000 child victims have been identified. Pope Francis later released a letter condemning the abuse and the years of cover-ups. In

response to the Pope’s public comments, Superior General Arturo Sosa, S.J., the leader of the Society of Jesus, called on Jesuits to spearhead initiatives that would promote healing, protection, and support for minors. “Within the Catholic subset of colleges and universities, there are additional challenges that we, as a Catholic university, have to attend to,” Leahy said. “We know there is growing secularization in American culture and we also live in a time where there is an inadequate understanding and appreciation of the Catholic intellectual tradition. He explained how the Church in the 21st Century (C21) initiative was started by BC in 2002 as a response to that year’s

scandal. Originally envisioned as a twoyear program that would help the Church grapple with moving forward and regaining trust, C21 became permanent in 2004. “I believe a similar response is needed now regarding leadership and general management in the Church,” Leahy said. “And I think there are lessons for us in Catholic higher education to offer a wider church because of the way we work with a board of trustees. Our trustees have been so influential and helpful in Boston College’s stability. “All these are issues that require response. And I think BC is well-positioned to get involved with these matters that touch sexual abuse but also about other matters that require attention.” n

Gosselin Looks to Solidify BC’s Standing Gosselin, from A1 high school students in the college process and does not want BC to contribute to the proliferation of applications. “We’re really focusing on those students that have identified BC as a good match,” Gosselin said. “It’s our goal to try to reach as many students as we can, but our goal has not been and will not be moving forward simply to boost our application numbers for the appearance of selectivity.” Instead, he wants to focus on convincing more admitted students that BC is the right place for them—the yield is his priority. “As you do that, you don’t need to admit as many students, and you become more selective in an appropriate way than simply appearing so through smoke and mirrors,” Gosselin said. Gosselin sees several challenges facing the University’s desire to increase yield, one of which comes in the form of the institutions that BC competes against for students. Gosselin cited Notre Dame, Georgetown, New York University, Fordham, Villanova, Boston University, Virginia, Cornell, Brown, and Harvard as schools the University measures itself against. Over the past three years, Georgetown’s yield rate has increased from 47 to 49 to 51 percent. Notre Dame yielded 57 percent for its class of 2022. Harvard’s yield is typically over 80 percent. “Some of those schools I think we fare very well against … and there are others where we have our work cut out for us” Gosselin said.

In addition to losing students to higherranked institutions, he cited the fact that BC is a high-priced institution as a challenge to recruitment. BC awards $140 million in financial aid each year, and is one of only 19 colleges and universities to meet students’ full demonstrated need and have a needblind admissions process. Notre Dame also awards $140 million in undergraduate need-based financial aid. Harvard gave $175 million to undergraduates in 2016. But for those that do not qualify for financial aid, the $70,000-plus cost of attendance is a hefty price tag. Some students may receive merit scholarships at other, lower-ranked institutions, and choose to go there instead. “So I think we lose on both ends, some by prestige and some for cost,” Gosselin said. “But again, that’s where our value proposition needs to come in in terms of helping families understand what actually happens here with the student experience.” He sees growing personnel and health care costs combined with increased investments in technology and the student experience continuing to increase higher education costs. “You can only become so efficient in terms of the educational model, the only way to become more efficient is to hire lessqualified faculty or have larger class sizes, and those are things we are not willing to do here,” Gosselin said. He admitted that it is a challenge to keep BC positioned as one of the most selective institutions in the country. “Being able to sustain the success we’ve had isn’t easy when many other institutions

are vying for, to overtake another institution in its position in the market and that will be something that we continue to work hard at,” Gosselin said. The development of the Schiller Institute could help contribute to attracting more students to the University, and potentially a segment of the population that does not currently consider BC, according to Gosselin. Under Gosselin, diversifying the student body will also remain one of admissions’ chief concerns. One component of this strategy will be to focus on continuing to build the number of AHANA+ students at BC. Over the past two cycles, AHANA+ students have made up around 30 percent of the incoming class. “Diversity comes in all forms, and students of color and the AHANA population have always been a priority here at BC, and we’ve done really good work as an institution in increasing that and we’ll continue to focus our efforts on diversifying the student body as much as we can,” Gosselin said. In addition, admissions will be focusing on countries that are not typically represented in the international cohort. Reflecting upon his time at BC in the ’90s, Gosselin noted that the international student population has gone from a few dozen students to almost 10 percent. Yet, he still sees room for improvement. “We are very popular in China, Korea, and in some particular countries, and we’ll continue to focus on those areas, they are important areas for us, but really try to expand recruitment in areas where we’re perhaps not as well known,” he said. n

BC to Transform Pine Tree Reserve By Jack Miller Asst. News Editor In his speech at last Wednesday’s faculty convocation, Boston College Executive Vice President Michael Lochhead provided new information on the status of several highprofile facilities projects and renovations, breaking them down based on completion. Highlights included details concerning the new Pine Tree Reserve and the much-anticipated Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society. He discussed the current timeline for the Schiller Institute, which is still in the design phase. The building is set to house laboratories, additional classrooms, the Shea Center for Entrepreneurship, and the Computer Science department. According to the project’s webpage, BC has already raised over $100 million of the $150 million budget. Lochhead also shared photos of the projected design. “The planning and design should be done by next summer,” Lochhead said. “Hopefully they’ll be able to take Cushing down and start it next summer and begin construction on this immediately thereafter,” he said. Lochhead went on to note that the facility should be completed by 2021.

The list of complete and nearly-complete sites included several major upgrades to BC athletics. Over the past two years, the University has worked on support for the ACC Network, the league’s very own channel that will begin broadcasting in 2019. He also highlighted the Harrington Athletics Village, which was put into use last March. Lochhead also announced that the Fish Field House is nearly finished. The site boasts an indoor synthetic turf field as well as a strength and conditioning center. This workout area is over double the size of the current, football-exclusive one in Conte Forum. BC will join Clemson as the second ACC team with a video board in their practice facility. “Although you can’t see it, lurking below the surface of this project is a 2.4 million gallon stored water retention system,” he said. “That project, in and of itself, will help contain some of the flooding activity we’ve seen on the Lower Campus over the last several years. “The University’s horizon for capital facilities is a 10-year horizon or longer. That requires the University to really focus its efforts today to fulfill those capacity restraints are and factor those restraints into our current plans.”

In another minor project, the University upgraded security measures on campus by installing more Eagle-One card readers and security cameras across campus. He went on to list several facilities that are still under construction, starting with the Connell Recreation Center, which is set to replace the Plex in the summer of 2019. The Pine Tree Reserve, a joint effort between BC and the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority (MWRA), is now set to open by early November of this year. Additions to the area, which is four acres big and located next to the Chestnut Hill Reservoir, include lighting, pedestrian pathways, and more open space. The University will be responsible for cleaning up dead trees and redoing walkway, according to a press release. Vice President for Governmental and Community Affairs Thomas Keady was responsible for working with the MWRA in order to secure the land for BC’s oversight. The MWRA will retain ownership of the land, while BC will be responsible for its upkeep. Lochhead predicted the changes to be done by early November of this year. Campanella Way has been rerouted to connect to St. Thomas More Road, adjacent to the reserve. n

Julia Hopkins / University Communications

Police Departments Combine Forces for Video Lip Sync Challenge, from A1 After about a month of planning, the two departments finally came together on what Postell described as a “scorching hot” day in August to film. The video begins with a duel between Postell and BUPD Sgt. Patricia Murphy, who each take turns mouthing the words to Broadway’s “Anything You Can Do (I Can Do Better).” “It kind of gives storyline to the [video]—anything BU can do BC can do better, and vice versa,” Postell said. “That led it into throwing down the gauntlet, if you will, of the challenge of who rocks the song better—whether BC doing ‘Shipping Up to Boston’ by the Dropkick Murphys or BU doing ‘Dirty Water’ by the Standells.” After mouthing the words and dancing along to those two Boston classics, the two departments come together in the end of the video for a lip syncing of “Sweet Caroline,” led by BCPD Chief William Evans and BUPD Chief Kelly Nee, and the video ends with a “Welcome back to Boston” message for returning BC and BU students. “It bleeds into … [the two departments] realizing that they’re all in it together, that we have the same responsibilities: BU’s responsibility to keep their community safe, BC’s

responsibility to keep our community safe,” Postell said. In addition to Evans and Nee, notable appearances in the video include campus minister Rev. Don MacMillan, S.J., BCPD Staff Sergeant Hasnain Ali, Eagles defensive back Will Harris, and Officers Michael and Richard Cabral—identical twin brothers who work for BCPD and BUPD, respectively. As of Aug. 28, “#LipSyncChallenge: Battle of Comm Ave.,” which was filmed and edited by the Office of University Communications, had been viewed over 658,000 times and had been shared over 14,000 times on various social media platforms. “It would be fair to say that our video is popular,” Postell said. “And we’re very proud of it. I think it was fun for us to do, we enjoyed doing it—we hope that the viewers get a kick out of it. “The real important thing is that it showcases a lot. It showcases our department in a sense that is positive, and human, if you will. It showcases the pride and professionalism we have in our profession, and it really shows the love that we have for not just our individual institutions and communities, but the greater Boston area, because this is a great place. So that was our goal, and I think we accomplished it.” n

Sophomore Transfers Being Housed On Newton Campus By Jack Miller Asst. News Editor Due to a lack of space on Main Campus, 12 transfer students, all women, are currently living in converted lounges in Keyes Hall on Newton Campus, according to Greg Jones, the director of housing operations. The Office of Residential Life converted these lounges into makeshift rooms by permanently locking one door and installing a lock on the other. At the beginning of the placement process, these transfer students were notified that the University was at full capacity, but they would still have housing for the 2018-2019 academic year. In return, they were guaranteed housing senior year. Traditionally, transfer students only receive enough guaranteed housing for their first academic year and live in the dorms on College Road. “They will be offered spaces on the

Chestnut Hill Campus as they become available, and we anticipate being able to offer all students new assignments for spring semester, if not sooner,” Jones said. According to Autumn Hauser one of the transfer students living in Keyes and MCAS ’21, they were told about their housing situation via email on Aug. 17, a week before their scheduled move-in. Until that point, the only information they had received was that all dorms were at 100 percent capacity, but they would be provided housing. Despite the strange start, Hauser said that living in the lounges is better than she expected. “It’s strange being in a converted lounge of a freshman dorm, but it’s turned out to be a really nice room,” she said. “Knowing that by my senior year I won’t feel like a transfer student anymore since I will be living on campus with all of the four-year students is definitely worth it.” n

The Heights

EDITORIAL

QUOTE OF THE DAY

BC’s Response on Penn. Report Should Engage Students

In the wake of the explosive revelations in a Pennsylvania grand jury’s report on clergy sex abuse and cover-up released last month, University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J., told faculty and staff at University Convocation Wednesday that BC should have a “similar response” to the report as it did more than 15 years ago to the Boston sex abuse crisis, when the University launched the Church in the 21st Century Center (C21). Originally launched in 2002 as a two-year initiative, the C21 Center offers symposia, lectures, conferences, and other thinktank-type resources to address the scandals in the Church and assist the movement from crisis to removal. In 2004, C21 was established by the University “as a permanent commitment to explore the neuralgic issues facing the Catholic Church today.” With many other Catholic or Jesuit universities releasing statements on the report, per-

Monday, September 3, 2018

haps BC’s first move should be an initial rebuke, going beyond Leahy’s remarks last week. The presidents of Notre Dame, Fordham, Loyola Marymount, Holy Cross, and St. Joe’s all shared varying degrees of reflection on the report. BC’s lack of communication on the issue is noteworthy at least. As one of the most prominent religious institutions in the country—and in light of its stated goal of being the preeminent Catholic university in the U.S.—BC is uniquely qualified to lead the Church’s response to these latest allegations, and we’re curious to see what response is made. But beyond a statement, what should—what can—BC do? One thing to consider is how to engage students, both Catholic and non-Catholic, on issues of abuse and what it means today to attend a Catholic institution. As a pre-existing institution on campus, C21 should be the focal point of such efforts. In recent

“I like to think of ideas as potential energy. They’re really wonderful, but nothing will happen until we risk putting them into action.” - Mae Jemison

years C21 has shifted away from its original think-tank-style mission relating to issues of abuse and the institutional challenges facing the Church to one more centered around modern Catholicism, holding events for students such as Agape Latte. While these events are constructive and highly popular for members of the BC community, in light of the Pennsylvania report, C21 has an important opportunity to take on a dual role: continue to engage students generally on issues related to modern Catholicism, and more specifically return to its work as a catalyst for long-term discussion of reform in the Church. In turn, students have an opportunity, too: The Pennsylvania report is an important moment for the U.S. Church and therefore an important moment for BC. Engaging actively with these issues, and with how BC ultimately responds, should not only fall to clerics and faculty.

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The Heights

Monday, September 3, 2018

Save Late Night Late Night, from A1 the built-up depressants? But I get the movement to “save late night”—there’s a lot of nostalgia and memories attached to the gustatory perception. Nevertheless, the food will be fine. I just don’t see how it’s going to work. I mean, I can’t navigate the Addie’s “lines” when it’s 7 p.m. on a Tuesday, never mind at 1 a.m. on a Friday with half the school packed in the building. Cue Jon Snow gif. At this point, you may be wondering, “Rob, what could you possibly offer that Dining Services didn’t already think of?” Well, I got a B in my operations class and am highly opinionated about trivial things, thank you very much. 69

Measuring things in pitchers - The applications are endless.

MOD LIFE - A stove? Stairs? A oneto-three shower-to-roommate ratio? A backyard? Senior year, you are too good to us. (Or were the other years bad?)

looming retirement - We’re getting too old for this.

TEEN ROM COMS - There’s no better way to celebrate your impending adulthood/death than watching the latest Netflix teen rom com phenomenon and realizing you did high school all wrong and that since it’s over you’ll just have to live with the knowledge that you did it all wrong until you die.

SOPHoMORES - Bless these kids [insert Cardi B “okuurrrrr”].

NEW DEADLINES - Having one more hour than before means everything gets done four hours later than it used to, apparently. 69

CHANGES OF PLAN - Heading to the football game Saturday, somebody stepped on the back of one of our flip-flops, a classic flattire situation. After we tumbled head over heels down the stairs next to Merkert and landed at the bottom in a bloody heap, we realized that the flip-flop was broken irreparably. Our options were 1) to soldier on, dragging one foot on the ground to get to the game, risking life and limb on the bleachers with one flip-flop dangling precariously from our big toe; 2) to go with one bare foot to the game and risk judgy looks from parents and sober students alike; or 3) to give up and walk home to our Mod, have a beer (not quite a whole pitcher), and watch the latest Netflix teen rom com phenomenon. What’d we do? You have one guess.

PEOPLE WITH JOBS - Just stop, OK?

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But I get the movement to “save late night” - there’s a lot of nostaglia and memories attatched to the gustatory perception. We could sit here and speculate how late night might handle this onslaught, but as all great op-ed columnists do, I went out in the field to investigate. The timing wasn’t perfect at 11 p.m. on a Thursday with only a few people in line, but it still gave

one the idea that the setup would not survive the normal late night influx. I could describe in great detail my mysterious and confused first experience at Late Night 2018, but I’ll save you the time. I’m sure you’ll experience the logistical blunt force trauma soon enough. Basically, it’s one line, with a single line divider through the middle. You go in on the right, PAY BEFORE YOU ORDER, then move through that classic Fordian late night assembly line. Imagine you’ve been waiting 30 minutes for late night. The cashier asks what you want, but there’s a full line of people blocking the food. There’s a menu, yes, but half the battle of late night is seeing the condition of all those carbs! Do you know how many times I shied away from a Mac attack because the mozz sticks looked undercooked? A few! I was expecting the traditional Addie’s environment of several scattershot lines, but that wasn’t the case. It was a complete reversion. I thought I’d be criticizing the operational hazards of too many paths to an end (see Braess’s law), but they opted for the ol’ one liner. On an even more basic level outside of the logistics of it all, the large array of options at Addie’s slows down flow time because of sensory overload. Then, after all that, you can’t even take your food downstairs when the loft is inevitably packed. The congested space, flipped line, daunting options … I’m beginning to see a pattern here. It’s almost as if BC IS TRYING TO DRIVE US AWAY FROM LATE NIGHT. It’s the exact inverse of Operations 101. The perfect formula for a terrible business. This business (BC) already has your money - however, they don’t need you to spend it. They just don’t want

a bunch of kids jumping on tables and breaking things in a manner bordering a full on coup d’état if they did cancel late night entirely. Even then, the tighter spaces and confusing layout may provoke more of what the administration could be trying to prevent if the gambit fails. The plan is dumb, even if some secret group of

I’m sure you’ll experience the logistical blunt force trauma soon enough. operational saboteurs designed it. MAYBE, maybe this is just a poorly planned idea along with a misguided attempt to work some healthier options into late night only those on a one-week New Year’s resolution diet might try. The addition of all these unnecessary steps to get to the restructured menu, however, doesn’t equate. But I digress. Food is food, and we still get it passed Cinderella’s closing time. Other schools would be lucky to get heaping servings of meatballs this late at night! UNH, UMASS, they don’t have it lucky like we do! We should be grateful for our wonderful—no, wait. Screw that. All this writing is making me crave some chicken and fries. Bring back late night! SAVE LATE NIGHT.

Robert Walmsley is an op-ed columnist for The Heights. He can be reached at

opinions@bcheights.com.

Taking a Step Back: An Argument for OffCampus Housing Shannon Lyons My grandfather is one of the most persuasive people I have ever met. If and when he decides to share his opinion with you, which he does not always do, he sits up straight in his chair, looks you dead in the eye, and proceeds to present you with three clear, compelling reasons you should agree with him. The day that I told my grandfather I was planning to live off campus this semester, his jaw nearly dropped to his feet, and his posture instantaneously became that of a ballerina. As soon as I saw his penetrating gaze, I knew a counter-argument was looming. I sighed, sat back in my chair, and listened carefully as he began to make his case. “Number one,” he said. “If you live off campus, you’ll have to walk 20 minutes every day to class. Number two: You’ll be responsible to cook and clean for yourself. Number three: There’ll be no supervision.” This exact conversation was not a one-time occurence. Over the course of the summer, I spent many afternoons listening to my grandfather explain why I should reconsider my housing choice. Given that I had the option to live on campus, he believed I was making the wrong decision—and because I so deeply value his opinion, I have to admit that I experienced moments of doubt. I began to wonder: Would I miss being a five-minute walk from class? Would my cooking skills limit me to toast every night? Did I really want to worry about burglars, the electric bill, and grocery shopping every week? Ultimately, however, the temptation of living with all my friends and the freedom of having our own space prevailed. Though I’ve only lived here a week, I feel strongly that I made the right decision. Among many cautious parents and wise grandparents, there seems to be a stigma surrounding the idea of “offcampus housing.” The word “freedom” is understood to mean recklessness. “Fun” translates to danger. “Independence” implies the potential for disaster. While it is true that being away from RAs, campus police, and school administration increases the risk of rule-breaking, that is not the reason I am so fond of the dusty apartment I call home. Having lived on Upper Campus as a

freshman and CoRo as a sophomore, I spent the first half of my college experience eating, sleeping, and breathing in the heart of campus. As a freshman, this was exactly what I needed. Being a mere five-minute walk from my classes, the library, and the Plex made everything feel more manageable and lent a sense of familiarity to what initially felt like a foreign place. Campus quickly became my home base: a place where I could socialize, study, sleep, eat, and exercise. As a college newcomer, I was infinitely grateful for this sense of containment, this territory within which all my needs were provided for. It really wasn’t until the latter half of my sophomore year, however, that something in my perspective began to shift. I suddenly began to crave a sense of division—it wasn’t that I wanted to remove myself from campus altogether, but rather that I wanted to separate the various aspects of my life and create an element of space between them. Living on CoRo, I studied in the same room that I hung out with my friends on Saturday night. I slept less than a hundred yards from the classrooms where I took my exams. I drank my morning coffee at the same table that I ate my dinner. There is, of course, nothing objectively wrong with this. Retrospectively, however, I’ve realized that there is something valuable about segregating the different facets of the self, separating work from play and sleep from study.

I began to wonder: Would I miss being a fiveminute walk from class? Though I’ve only lived off campus for less than a week, I already feel a newfound ability to compartmentalize the roles that I play in my day-to-day life. Surprisingly, the somewhat tedious walk home from class allows me to decompress and to switch out of the mode of

a student. Suddenly, I am an ordinary person in the “real world” returning home from a long day’s work. Making dinner for myself, wiping the bathroom counters down, and locking the doors at night lends me a sense of responsibility that is precisely nonacademic, and there is something strangely refreshing about that. Paradoxically, living away from the buildings where I study and take exams motivates me to exert more effort when I

Among many cautious parents and wise grandparents, there seems to be a stigma surrounding the idea of “off campus.” return to them the next day. Sometimes, you need to take a step back in order to see the big picture. Sometimes, you need to defamiliarize the familiar in order to recognize just how special it is. Walking to class in the morning along Comm. Ave., I can see St. Ignatius Church ahead, with its brilliant stained glass windows sparkling in the sun. In the distance, I can see hundreds of students streaming up the Million Dollar stairs, talking to friends and preparing for their day. On some mornings, I can hear the bells of Gasson Hall ringing out into the late summer air. It’s during moments like these that the “big picture” suddenly crystallizes and everything comes into perfect clarity. It’s during moments like these that I realize I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.

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

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

Make it a Great One Anna Long The beginning of the year always gets me thinking. Moving in feels like a fresh start: new room, new schedule, and new me. Similar to most students at Boston College, I start the new year planning to improve from the last. I write “Student Activities Fair” in bold letters in my planner, introduce myself to my professors, and keep the workout class schedule at the Plex open on my desktop for weeks. That’s what you do, right? In order to be that perfect college student, you have to cover all your bases. Or so we’ve been led to believe. Amid all this planning, I find that the first few weeks of class leave me in a blind panic over the unwelcome reminder that I have no ideas for a major, no plans for the future, and no time to figure it all out. Yet somehow, I’m also too busy and excited by the prospect of another year in this beautiful city with my best friends that I forget to be afraid. With every new beginning comes a careful blend of excitement for the future and fear that I’ll miss out on my own epic story because I’m too busy figuring myself out. This is my first time writing for The Heights, and while I have no shortage of opinions concerning life at BC this week (seriously, what is with this heat?), I want to start off the year saying something I think we all know but don’t hear enough: You only have to live for you, because this is your story. For freshmen, this is your preface. You get to be introduced to the characters that will make up your life at BC, get to know your new setting—yes, BC is more than just Gasson!—and begin to set the tone of your life for the next four years. For seniors, you’ve reached your final chapter. Make it a great one. For my fellow sophomores and juniors, you’re in the tumultuous thick of the plot. It’s your chance to delve into your own character development, flesh out the stories of the people around you, experience conflicts, and maybe even find love. When everyone started arriving back on campus last week, I immediately noticed a prevailing theme among my friends and myself: It’s time to step it up. We no longer have the perfect “well, I’m only a freshman!” excuse. Times are changing, and every day the people around me and I are panicking about something new: “Should I minor in film studies because I love it, or marketing because it looks good on a resume? Can I balance a PULSE placement and a part-time job? What clubs do employers want to see I was a part of?” Four months ago, we were celebrating in an Uber because we had scored the holy grail of sophomore housing: a corner room eight-man in 90. Could it get any better? And now that we’re here—drinking coffee in the morning, doing homework in the common room at night, enjoying our own bathroom—it’s been a dream. But it’s also given me a front-row seat to the struggle of moving on from freshman year. Deciding between what we will enjoy now and what will pay off in the long run is a balancing act, and something’s gotta give. Stepping it up can take a lot of forms, and there’s by no means a “perfect” college experience. Making the most of your year doesn’t have to mean getting a job and maintaining straight As and changing your whole life to fit the idea of the Renaissance student. If those things will truly make you happy and make the $73,000 a year you spend to attend this university worth it, then by all means do them! But sometimes, making the most of an experience just means making yourself happy one day at a time. Remember to take a step back, absorb life, and pay attention to the things that you love. Your best life probably lies within them. So, to everyone like me who feels the pressure to make their experience at BC as picture-perfect as possible, take a deep breath and ask yourself: What will make me happy today?

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

The Heights

Monday, September 3, 2018

Michael Davidson Prioritizes Community Outreach, Feedback

As the new director of the BAIC, Davidson looks to bridge the gap between the different communities on campus. By Jack Goldman News Editor Rev. Michael Davidson, S.J., was only supposed to spend one year as a part of Boston College’s Campus Ministry department. His provincial sent him to BC to do a master’s in educational leadership, and after that he was supposed to work for a year in Campus Ministry. Six years later, Davidson has only just left his position as a campus minister for his new job: director of the Thea Bowman AHANA and Intercultural Center (BAIC). “I really do love Boston College,” he said. “I think this school has an intention … to help people be their best self.” Nowadays, Davidson can’t make it to his office without being surrounded by different members of BAIC pulling him aside to chat, whether they be staff or students. But Davidson’s journey began far from the office in the corner of the center he now calls home: A native of Jamaica, the Jesuit never imagined this would be the path he’d follow as a young boy. He grew up living in poverty, hoping one day to possess so much more than he and his family could afford to have. “But I encountered some Jesuits in school … who were really men who were present,” he said. “Their simplicity, their attentiveness to the individual, their care for the individual moved me. I prayed about it a lot, and the Lord did the rest.” His education was rooted in Jamaica, but he traveled the globe to complete it. He got his B.A. in philosophy from Arrupe College in Zimbabwe, then went to Regis College at the University of Toronto to get his B.A. in theology and a master’s in divinity before arriving at the Lynch School of Education to get a master’s in educational administration. “I believe in the Jesuit mission informing men and women despite what they look like,” Davidson said. “I think there’s a need to work with students—particularly with students who feel they’re in the margins. How do I help them to feel loved? And from being loved, reach out to others so they can break that silo.” He’s found a home where he can do that at BC. He pointed to his time at Campus Ministry and the colleagues he worked with there as the inspiration for how he realized he could fulfill his mission in Chestnut Hill. The love he believes is

inherent in BC’s culture makes this the perfect home for his work. Although for him, love begins with Jesus, the community that surrounds him has plenty in supply as well. “From the many men and women on campus who have been working tremendously with students,” he said. “I can think about [Special Assistant to the Vice President of Student Affairs] Dan Bunch. I can think about people from Campus Ministry who spend hours helping students, who didn’t have to do it, but they’ve bought into the mission. When you form men and women, and you teach them the example, they’ll show it to others, because people learn from doing.” His compatriots remind him of his Jesuit mission: to try to transform wherever you are. Leading by example is a value Davidson holds dear, and he looks to his fellow faculty and staff in order to ensure life lessons are being taught every second of every day. “You can’t change the world, but the individuals you come into contact with, you can make a difference with them,” he said. “In my class, it’s the same thing: I do things in order for people to look beyond our external appearance.” His class is Courage to Know, and what he teaches through a semester he plans to bring to the lessons he gets to teach as the Bowman Center’s leader. “In my course, my students are of different ethnicities. … I teach them what it means to listen to the other, because unless you do that, then how can we coexist if everybody is of their own point of view?” Davidson said. Listening isn’t just something the Jesuit teaches his students—it’s a practice he believes is foundational to his attitude. That’s part of the reason he considers BC his home. Davidson is of the belief that despite students sometimes feeling like the administration doesn’t listen to them, the University makes an effort to try to respond to student discourse. He sees interim Vice President of Student Affairs Joy Moore as a good example—having a black female lead the department that interacts most closely with the student body sends a message to Davidson that BC is taking as many perspectives into account when it comes to the direction the University takes. To Davidson, whenever the administration makes a difference in student life, it’s because it’s been listening to the needs

Courtesy of University Communications/lee pellegrini

Before coming to BC, Davidson worked at St. George’s College in Jamaica as dean of students and teacher at the Jesuit high school. of the student body instead of closing itself off to public sentiment. Now, he has an entire center that he plans on gearing around listening to students. The staff he has inherited he believes is wholly dedicated to the students who come through the door, and they work well together. His goal is to integrate into the center’s established culture without missing a beat, while elevating the center’s goals in regards to the resources it offers. Davidson is looking to attract many of the students he’s taught and mentored as a part of his work with campus ministry in the past and bring them into the BAIC fold. He feels the office’s brand outreach has new heights to reach: BAIC resources aren’t as well known as Davidson believes they should be to students across campus. In addition, he believes BAIC can partner with offices like Montserrat and Learning to Learn to take care of students on a more holistic level, utilizing resources beyond what BAIC can offer on its own. There is one thing he specifically mentioned he did not want in regards to the Bowman Center. “I don’t want this office to be only for students of color,” Davidson said. “I want [BAIC] to be a place where anyone can feel they are welcome and they are loved.” Why does he feel so passionate about reaching out to every member of the community while leading an organization primarily tasked with mentoring

and taking care of the students of color on campus? Perhaps this desire stems from the protests related to race related incidents that took place on campus just over a year ago, but Davidson feels that the motivation behind the sentiment comes back to his prior history at BC. During his time as a campus minister, Davidson lead the Jamaica and Magis Civil Rights Immersion trips to Atlanta and Birmingham, Ala. He learned one defining lesson during his time working with all three communities. Fifteen students of color and 10 white students would accompany him to Jamaica. Each trip, Davidson would require every student promise to do away with BC’s lookaway culture the moment the group stepped off the plane—the group is defined by one identity: They are BC students. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t value the tradition each student calls upon based on their heritage. Davidson noticed that difference races would see different things on trips, but it was the end product that brought each student on each trip together. “The students of color, … would go down and see the students in Jamaica and say ‘Oh my God, I have all these resources that they don’t have,’” he said. “The students in Jamaica would look our students and say ‘There is a black student going to college, there is a black girl going to college.’ It’s a marriage. Our white students would go down,

because when they got to Jamaica, and they’re a minority, they appreciate what it means when students talk about how they feel isolated. That would open up a conversation.” In seeing the poverty-stricken in Jamaica, Davidson believes students learned far more about themselves and their identities than anything else. That realization will carry over to his work at BAIC. “I’d like this office to be the kind of place where those kinds of conversations can take place.” Ultimately, Davidson wants his tenure at the helm of BAIC to be remembered as community-building. “There’s more that connects us than divides us,” he said. “There’s much much more, so much more, that brings us together … If we’re going to create men and women of competence, it cannot be only a math class or a science class, it has to be intrinsical things like how do you care for others, compassion, how do you see good in others—even if they don’t look alike.” His task won’t be a small one: The Bowman Center has a large role to play in regards to dealing with race-related incidents on campus. Silence is Still Violence is far from fading out of BC’s rearview mirror. Yet, Davidson believes that by leaning on his positive message, he can be begin a new, brighter era of discussion between different ethnicities over race-related issues at BC. n

Who’s Your Caddy: Another Summer Without an Internship

Timmy Facciola It’s the best of jobs and the worst of jobs, depending on whether one is at the age of wisdom or foolishness. If one is only 19, with two whole years of college left and plenty of time to figure out the next step, there are few places better than the caddyshack to waste away a summer. But if one is already 19, with a declared major and a career in mind, the caddyshack is the most constricting straitjacket, with straps of untaxed $100 bills and locks whose only key lies in an internship offer. This was the sixth summer I’ve wasted in a caddyshack, and I was somewhere between yanking on my locks and drooling from the drip of the doctor’s IV that has drawn me back, summer after summer, to carry two 20-lb bags in the hot sun for four hours. I’ve been humiliated, demoralized, and verbally abused, and I’ve been given business cards, beers, and insight into the psyche of 50-something-year-old children. My experience with the asset-slinging and stock bell-ringing began in the spring of eighth grade, when my parents realized summer was approaching and I was at an awkward age–too old for summer camp, too brashy for Teen Travel, and too young to entertain myself every day. But there are few jobs for teenagers, and even fewer for those too young to obtain working papers. Neither of my parents golf, and the starter club set Santa had brought me the previous year was still collecting dust in the corner of my room. But for some reason, they figured caddying might be a good job for a 14-year-old with too much energy (I had been cut

from all travel sports teams at this point and had yet to begin my remarkably underwhelming high school football career). I looked up “Golf Clubs” in the yellow pages, called the first club alphabetically, and received an invitation to come train once a week before starting in June. In the spring training sessions, I caddied for the caddymaster, who told me where to put the bag down, how far to place the bag from the golfer, and when to pick the bag up. That isn’t to say caddying is easy, but it’s not hard to imagine an Air Bud caddy—and he might even be better than most humans because he wouldn’t understand the golfers’ backhanded remarks. But caddying is much more than dog work, and it requires a forbearance I never anticipated needing when I first started. Caddying is not following the golfer for 18 holes, but leading him, hoping that with the right information about the wind, the distance from the hole, and the uphill trajectory, this middle-aged, decrepit, lonely, crusty millionaire might relive the athleticism of his high school days, before he shipped out for World War I. Indeed, it takes a couple to caddy, both a golfer open to criticism from an adolescent, and a caddy willing to take the most vitriolic verbal degradation, in a mutual hope that the golfer might finally feel better about his self-esteem, and the caddy might have enough money for beer for the entire school year. I did not come to this realization the first few summers I caddied. I quickly assumed I was to speak only when spoken to, and this allowed me to almost entirely remove myself from the game emotionally. I was a robot carrying a bag, announcing a distance to the hole, and moving on to the next shot. I had been wired and programmed to behave this way by the other caddies in the caddyshack. The average caddies at my first job were 37, and had worked

at the club since they were 16. Wideeyed and curious, I was fascinated when they’d chain-smoke Newports, scratch-off lottery tickets, and itch at their track marks. Mother would not approve of this. I quickly picked up on their work habits, although I had no reason to have any such habits. I slugged up hills carrying the bag, not because I was hungover but because I was lazy. I didn’t talk to members, not because I was slurring my words, but because I was scared to use them. I sulked when there were no loops, not because I needed to score before withdrawals kicked in, but because I had been spoiled into expecting a perpetual flow of untaxed income. Caddying was nothing more than work, and grunt work at that. I learned to resent the early morning wakeups because I watched cab drivers, deadheads, barbacks, stoners, and dropouts—all caddies—resent the early morning wake ups. That changed in summer 2016, after I graduated high school, and my parents decided I was old enough to spend the summer at my grandparents’ house on the East End of Long Island, in one of the last hidden neighborhoods of the Hamptons, called Noyac. In Noyac, hedges are looked down upon, and convertibles are parked in front of cottages that could double as garages. During the day for kids, it’s a bike track more intricate and storied than the Tour de France. At night, it’s a playground lit by fireflies and scored by hide-and-seek counts. Crickets are interrupted by the cracks of teens’ first beers, and the moon is never taken for granted. It’s a community of bungalows—the antithesis of the shallow flash of East Hampton, which has three separate Ralph Lauren stores on Main Street. In Noyac, there was once a club as casual as the neighborhood. In the

1990s, new members at Noyac Golf Club payed $8,000 to join. But spots at nicer clubs in the Hamptons dried up as more rich people made partner at Goldman each year. The newest members, who paid six figures to join, are in the process of manicuring Noyac to the standards of the authentic WASP country club, into which they so desperately wish they could get admitted. One of the marks of a real country club is the caddy program. If a club has real rich people, the kind who employ millions of workers in sweatshops throughout Asia, it will employ professional caddies—grown men who carry bags for members half their age. At such clubs, people work in hospitality for careers. But Noyac’s clientele isn’t elite enough to attract such a workforce. Instead they hire kids like me. In the shady corner of the service lot, the caddyshack at Noyac Golf Club is a wood deck with high picket fences on three sides, and a tarp roof to block the sun. In the middle is a glass patio table rescued from the side of the road. Around the table are four comfortable patio chairs, and three white, wooden folding chairs, and in them sit a band of adolescents as loyal as The Sandlot, as sophomoric as Jeff Spicoli, and as enterprising as Ferris Bueller. The caddies at Noyac were not junkies, but juveniles—normal kids from down the block who played golf for the local high school, went sledding down the ninth hole in January, and snuck Cuban cigars out of the snackbar, which they knew was unlocked weekdays after Labor Day. But with this coming-of-age innocence existed a level of shrewdness not typically found among teenagers who work retail for the summer. Untaxed cash raged like fire in our khaki short pockets. More money circulated

across the caddyshack table than the average Vegas blackjack table, and four hours of hard work could disappear with the roll of the dice. The love for gambling often coexisted alongside a love for golf. We were allowed to play the course Monday through Thursday after 3 p.m., and with this freedom came a newfound appreciation for the game. I had playing privileges at the first club I worked at, but never coworkers who were sober enough on their days off to golf. At Noyac, I didn’t develop a love for playing golf, but by playing every once in a while with caddies who knew how to golf, I realized, and grew amused by, how difficult the game is, and how much it tormented my clients. After three years of walking in silence, I was now working with guys who could advocate for a low 5-iron instead of swinging for the fences with a 3-wood. I didn’t need to know the difference between the shots so I wouldn’t get fired, but I wanted to know so I could laugh at the member with the other caddies in the shack. The most common caddyshack talk often revolves around the immense stupidity exemplified on the course by some of the world’s most savvy businessmen. Over the course of my days caddying, I’ve found the best way to decompress after a sweaty Summer Sunday afternoon slinging bags and selecting clubs is to sit in an air-conditioned room and turn on a PGA tournament. The best remedy for watching so much bad golf is to watch a little good golf. I could never do anything close to what Phil Mickelson does on TV. But I can kind of tell a member how to do it.

Timmy Facciola is the Asst. Magazine Editor for The Heights and can be reached at magazine3@bcheights.com

SPORTS

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2018

@HEIGHTSSPORTS

THE BOSTON MASSACRE FOOTBALL

KAITLIN MEEKS / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Quarterback Anthony Brown returned from last season’s ACL tear and tossed a career-high four touchdowns in the ﬁrst half of BC’s season opener against Massachusetts, guiding the Eagles to a 34-point rout of their in-state rivals. BY ANDY BACKSTROM Sports Editor Last season, Boston College football quarterback Anthony Brown won the starting job in training camp and immediately flashed his mobility and arm strength. For a run-heavy Massachusetts 21 offense, the Cliffwood, N.J. Boston College 55 native was a breath of fresh air. That said, he was anything but consistent. In his 10 starts, the redshirt freshman failed to string together a pair of a games where he completed over 50 percent of his pass attempts. His rating fluctuated week after week, even after A.J. Dillon exploded onto the scene as one of the nation’s best running backs. There were even more concerns surrounding the

gunslinger following the Eagles’ late-season matchup against North Carolina State. Brown, who was battling a shoulder injury in the early portion of the season, tore his ACL in the first half, cutting his rookie season three games short. All offseason, pundits and analysts alike speculated whether the underclassman would return as the program’s quarterback of the future. During Saturday’s season opener against Massachusetts, there was no indecision—not from the media or Brown—the 6-foot-2 signal caller, knee brace and all, confidently orchestrated six touchdown drives, throwing for a career-high 297 yards and four touchdowns in just one half of play. There was no question he was the best quarterback on the field,

See Football Vs. UMass, A9

BY BRADLEY SMART Assoc. Sports Editor Behind an excellent offense, a pass rush that wreaked havoc, and a return to a starring role for Anthony Brown, Boston College football rolled to a thorough 55-21 win over Massachusetts in Saturday afternoon’s home opener. The Eagles built a 48-7 halftime lead and worked through the bench the rest of the way, easily coasting to a win in which they piled up 622 yards of offense, the highest single-game total since 2003. Two Up 1) Anthony Brown Brown, returning to make his first start after suffering a torn ACL against North Carolina State

in 2017, had drawn rave reviews from the Eagles’ coaching staff through preseason, but he was still a question mark—he hadn’t obviously been tackled in preseason play, and recovering from an ACL injury as a dual-threat quarterback isn’t often easy. On Saturday afternoon, Brown put all doubters to rest. He was nothing short of remarkable, completing 15-of-21 passes for 279 yards and four touchdowns—and the redshirt sophomore didn’t even play in the second half. Most have focused in on A.J. Dillon as the engine that makes the offense go, and while that’s true, it was Brown’s pinpoint accuracy and ability to roll out and hit receivers in stride that made the visiting Minutemen crumble early. He was

See NOTE Vs. UMass, A9

UNPACKING THE BAY STATE BLOWOUT

FIRST-HALF POINTS

622

71.2%

TOTAL YARDS OF OFFENSE

QB ANTHONY BROWN

COMPLETION PERCENTAGE

FOUR PASSING TDs

The Eagles Will Only Go as Far as Anthony Brown Takes Them

ANDY BACKSTROM Since Boston College head football coach Steve Addazio was hired back in 2013, the Eagles have started eight different quarterbacks—five of whom have recorded 40 or more pass attempts in a season. There hasn’t been any kind of consistency in the quarterback room since the

INSIDE SPORTS

days of Chase Rettig, ironically the first signal caller that Addazio worked with at BC. From 2010 to 2013, the four-year starter accumulated 8,253 passing yards, all while posting a 52 to 39 touchdownto-interception ratio. His numbers weren’t extraordinary, but he did more than enough to open up the Eagles’ playbook. After the 6-foot-3 gunslinger graduated and tried his hand at making an NFL roster, BC transformed into a onedimensional team. In fact, over the course of the next three years, the Eagles ranked among the top 15 worst passing offenses in the entire country. During that span, BC averaged a meager 128 yards per game through the air. Even more staggering, its

quarterbacks were completing just 50.5 percent of their passes—many of which were short to intermediate throws. There’s something to be said about young guys behind center needing time to develop, especially in the college ranks. But Addazio went from one “gunslinger” to the next, at times leaning on graduate transfers to keep the program somewhat competitive. Just think about this. After Rettig left, BC threw six quarterbacks into the fire the ensuing three seasons. On the other hand, the best teams in the ACC stuck with one during that same time frame. Now, it’s important to note that injuries heavily influenced the Eagles’ variability at

quarterback. Of those six signal callers, three—Jeff Smith, John Fadule, and Troy Flutie, all of whom ended up switching positions—were forced into action because of Darius Wade’s season-ending ankle injury at Florida State in Week Three of the 2015 season. But patching the Eagles’ long-standing quarterback problem with graduate transfers—nothing more than a simple band-aid—prolonged the team’s offensive deficiencies. The combination of Tyler Murphy, Darius Wade, Smith, Fadule, Flutie, and Patrick Towles recorded a total of 4,832 yards and 34 touchdowns from 2014 to 2016. To put that in perspective, Clemson’s Deshaun Watson threw for 4,593 yards

WSOC: Eagles Outlast No. 21 Texas Tech VOLLEYBALL: BC Sweeps GCU Invitational

BC defender Gianna Mitchell scored in the ninth minute, The Eagles defeated Jacksonville State, Southern Utah, and the Eagles held on for the shutout victory...............A9 and Grand Canyon University over the weekend.......A10

and 41 scores in his junior season alone. Murphy gets a free pass here, due to the fact that the Florida graduate transfer was largely used as a spread-option quarterback. But from there on, the rest of the guys hardly looked the part of ACC-caliber signal callers. Without a passing game, BC was predictable and inefficient, averaging 21.4 points per game in the aforementioned three-year span. Last season, the Eagles turned the corner. And after Saturday’s Week One blowout victory over Massachusetts, it’s starting to finally look like BC has the aerial attack it needs to

See It’s Up to Brown, A8

SPORTS IN SHORT................................... A8 WOMEN’S SOCCER................................. A9 MEN’S SOCCER..................................A10

The Heights

Monday, September 3, 2018

FIELD HOCKEY

Northwestern Spoils BC’s Comeback in Double Overtime Thriller By Ben Thomas Heights Senior Staff

In a matchup between two top-15 teams, it took some last-second heroics from both sides before one could be declared the winner. To end the Boston College 2 first half, it was Northwestern 3 Puck Pentenga giving No. 12 Northwestern a halftime lead with just five ticks remaining on the clock. In the second though, it was Sky Caron for No. 13 Boston College field hockey tying the game up with just 4.8 seconds left, effectively forcing overtime. But in the end, it was Kirsten Mansfield getting behind BC goalkeeper Jonna Kennedy and putting one home 12 minutes into the second frame of overtime to seal the 3-2 victory. The striking similarities in the clutch shooting performances from both Pentenga

and Caron earlier in the game ultimately represented what was a nearly identical statline from the two sides. Ranked just one spot higher than the Eagles (1-2) in the NFHCA Coaches Poll, Northwestern (2-2) indeed ended up victorious, but very little split the two sides throughout the game. BC, in fact, totaled just one more shot than the Wildcats over the course of the game with 17 total strikes, while Northwestern edged by the Eagles in the short corner department by a 6-5 margin. If anything, BC was more aggressive. The Eagles suffered from two yellow cards, yet neither led to an opportunity for the Wildcats—who did not get hit with a single card in the game. In fact, it was shortly after coming back to equal strength at the end of the second half when Caron scored the equalizer on a penalty. And as far as goal scoring is concerned, the two teams were again indistinguish-

able. Twelve minutes into the game it was defender Frederique Haverhals scoring on a corner to give the Eagles an early lead. And Pentenga’s two goals—the one at the end of the first half being the most critical to the Wildcat’s momentum—both came off corners as well. That said, Pentenga’s performance should come as no surprise, as she entered the game leading her team in points with a goal and three assists through two games. The win is already Northwestern’s second double-overtime victory of the season. Meanwhile, the Eagles are still looking for their second win overall, having played two of the top teams in the Big Ten conference this past weekend, and currently hold an uncharacteristic losing record. Caron’s first career goal, however, should also be a sign of things to come. The freshman has shown the ability to make plays on her own since entering the starting lineup on Friday. n

Lizzy barrett / Heights Senior staff

BC dropped both of its games at the ACC/Big Ten Cup, falling to 1-2 on the season.

BC Finalizes Beer and Wine Sales at Alumni Stadium, Conte Forum By Andy Backstrom Sports Editor

Last August, about two months after he took over as Boston College’s new director of athletics, Martin Jarmond announced that the school—like a third of the FBS—would expand its beer and wine sales in Alumni Stadium for the 2017 season, as part of a pilot program designed to examine the benefits of

increased alcohol distribution. Then, in November, BC extended the policy change to Conte Forum, allowing beer and wine to be sold in select concessions throughout the arena. Jarmond must have liked what he saw. On Tuesday, the second-year AD declared that BC has finalized its alcohol sales in both Alumni and Conte. “We’re excited to continue offering

this expanded service to our fans,” he told BCEagles.com. “We received great feedback last year that this opportunity enhanced our game-day experience.” Just like last year, beer and wine will be available for purchase in designated concession areas scattered across Alumni Stadium, but there will also be additional sale locations in both Alumni and Conte for fans to access. The beverage options include Bud-

weiser, Bud Light, Sam Adams, Harpoon IPA, and cider, as well as red and white wine. It’s important to note that, prior to last season, alcohol had been sold to fans in Alumni’s premium seating areas—60 boxes, suites, and a tent next to the stadium. That said, even then, the sales never reached general admission ticket holders.

Since last summer, BC’s attendance numbers have been trending in the right direction. For instance, on average, the school filled 80.7 percent of Alumni Stadium during the 2017 football season—an 8.4 percent increase from the year before. Although the Eagles’ recent success in major revenue sports may have something do with the spike, the expansion of alcohol sales is surely a factor, too. n

The Eagles’ Season Hinges on Brown’s Consistency in the Pass Game It’s Up to Brown, from A7 compete with the big boys—at least, it better hope it does. The Eagles’ season rides on the success of redshirt sophomore Anthony Brown. Plain and simple, the team will only go as far as he takes them. All offseason, the talk has surrounded Brown’s best friend and sidekick, running back A.J. Dillon—and for good reason. The ACC Rookie of the Year racked up 1,256 rushing yards in the final seven games of the season, ultimately finishing with 1,589 yards on the ground, second only to reigning Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson in the ACC rushing rankings. Still, the fact of the matter is that the sophomore could surpass the 2,000-yard mark and record 20 touchdowns this year, and the Eagles could end up clocking out with six or seven wins. In the ACC, a running back can only do so much to alter the course of his team’s season. You don’t have to look any further than Chestnut Hill to confirm this accusation. When Andre Williams rushed for 2,177 yards and 18 touchdowns, turning heads across the nation en route to Heisman Trophy finalist honors, BC managed just seven wins, dropping the final two games of the season—including the AdvoCare V100 Bowl. The Eagles rounded the 2013 campaign with a 7-6 mark, the same record the program has posted four of the past five years. It’s not just BC either. Looking back at the top three teams from both the Atlantic and Coastal Divisions from last season, as well as the two years before that, only 2017 Georgia Tech

and 2015 Pittsburgh finished the season below 72nd in passing offense. And each year at least four of those teams ended up inside the top 60. It’s a national phenomenon in a day and age when defensive flags are thrown by the series. Last summer, Addazio adapted, albeit a few years late. During the 2017 ACC Kickoff Media Day, the tenured Eagles coach emphasized that his team was going to play faster than ever before, expanding upon their 75-play Quick Lane Bowl victory over Maryland—a statistical anomaly for a BC offense that had scored 30-plus points twice all regular season. In Year Five, Addazio lived up to his word. BC ran 76.8 plays per game, nine more than the year before and the 25th-most in the country. At first, the change in pace made no difference on the scoreboard as the Eagles averaged just 16.3 points per game—its lowest output since the 1978 season, a year in which the program limped to an 0-11 record. But when Dillon broke loose, the offense, notably the passing game, followed. A week after the sophomore tailback rumbled past Louisville for 272 yards and four touchdowns, Brown recorded three scores of his own at Virginia, through the air that is. Not only that, but he also completed 19-of-25 pass attempts for a careerhigh 275 yards. He was hitting all kinds of throws, slants, flea-flicker deep balls, play-action rollouts, you name it. Brown’s precision enabled offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler to mix up the offensive scheme. The second-year assistant seamlessly

alternated hard-nosed rushing plays with jet sweeps, end arounds, and the play-action pass. What might appear vanilla was overwhelmingly calculated, and Brown was Loeffler’s centerpiece. The redshirt sophomore had his limitations, though. In his 10 starts last season, Brown failed to string together a pair of outings where he completed more than half of his passes. His rating fluctuated game-by-game, leaving many to speculation when he went down with a season-ending ACL tear against North Carolina State last November. Fortunately for BC, Wade reassured fans and analysts around the country that Loeffler’s offense really did work. The backup quarterback, who before 2017 had played just 12 games and completed just 33 of his 69 career pass attempts, went on to guide the Eagles to a 2-1 record in the final three games of the season, all while logging a 62.9 completion percentage, 511 yards, and a trio of touchdowns. The offense was built for mobile quarterbacks like Brown and Wade—for the first time in the Addazio era, there appeared to be a long-term plan at the position. All Brown had to do was get back on the field and the job was his. No quarterback controversy or competition—none of that. And boy, did he recover. The redshirt sophomore opened the 2018 season, tossing four touchdowns for a whopping 279 yards, both career highs, in one half of play, as BC steamrolled over UMass. Following the game, Addazio said that the quarterback exceeded his own expectations, and it’s safe to say that everyone can

second that statement themselves. Some may point to the fact that BC was playing the Minutemen—a team that’s a putrid 14-58 since joining the FBS—but lighting up UMass actually helps his case. In 2017, the Minutemen ranked 36th in the nation in pass defense, allowing just 204.7 yards per game. Not only that, but UMass opponents only completed 53 percent of their passes. Head coach Mark Whipple lost a a stud strong safety in Jesse Monteiro, but returned both of his starting corners from the year before. Brown just balled out. Stats aside, the redshirt sophomore looked better than he ever has in a BC uniform. Despite donning a leg brace, the Cliffwood, N.J. native was beaming with confidence. With no restricted mobility, Brown glided outside the pocket and even scrambled on occasion. Whether it was hitting Travis Levy with a bullet on a wheel route or lofting a 25-yard pass down the sideline for Kobay White, the underclassman was proving that he could make the toughest of throws, placing the ball where no defensive backs—UMass or not—could make a play on the ball. Brown finished the day 15-of-21, and if not for a couple drops, his numbers could have been even more impressive. Above all else, Brown’s ability to connect with his receivers downfield should have been the biggest vote of confidence for the program. Last season, Brown struggled to pull off the deep ball—not because of arm strength, but because of his accuracy, or lack thereof. On Saturday, he was 6of-7 on passes 20 or more yards. That doesn’t just happen by chance.

Of course, it’s yet to be seen if he can replicate this kind of performance on a weekly basis. That will be the true test for the Eagles’ offense. It takes no analyst to figure out that Loeffler’s scheme is built on play-action. If Brown can’t complete passes, especially those downfield, the operation is doomed. Teams will crowd the box, and BC will return to its one-dimensional self, helplessly riding Dillon the rest of the way. BC doesn’t have the talent of that of a school like Clemson or a Florida State, the Atlantic Division’s powerhouses. According to 247Sports.com, Addazio reeled in the 71st-best 2018 recruiting class in the country—in other words, the worst in the ACC. But that’s not how the Eagles win. Ever since they left the Big East, they have thrived into turning three-star recruits into four-star caliber players. Maybe Brown’s one of the guys, maybe he’s not. But he is the perfect candidate to run Loeffler’s offense, a meticulous unit that has the potential to render prospect ratings irrelevant. If he can spread the ball like he did on Saturday, fit passes in tight windows, stretch the field, and keep the turnovers to a minimum, BC might just be the dark horse pundits are proclaiming it to be. Anything less could spell doom for a program that’s teetering the line between good and great—and at the very worst, reset the quarterback carousel.

Andy Backstrom is the sports editor for The Heights. He can be reached on Twitter @AndyHeights.

SPORTS in SHORT ACC Women’s Soccer Standings Conference Boston College 0-0 Louisville 0-0 Florida State 0-0 Virginia 0-0 NC State 0-0 North Carolina 0-0 Notre Dame 0-0 Duke 0-0 Pittsburgh 0-0 Wake Forest 0-0 Clemson 0-0 Miami 0-0 Virginia Tech 0-0 0-0 Syracuse

overall 6-0 5-0 4-0 4-0 4-0-1 4-0-1 4-1 3-1-1 3-1-1 2-1-1 3-2 3-2 2-1-2 2-2

Numbers to know

Straight wins for volleyball to open the season, marking the best start in program history.

Goals in three games for Simon Enstrom this season after an 86th-minute equalizer against BU on Monday.

Consecutive shutouts for women’s soccer (5-0-0 in that time).

QUote of the week

“I was really excited. I was like an 8-year-old playing football again.” — Anthony Brown,

on his return to the field against UMass on Saturday.

The Heights

Monday, September 3, 2018

WOMEN’S SOCCER

BC Continues to Show Defensive Resolve, Beats No. 21 Texas Tech By Bradley Smart Assoc. Sports Editor In its first four games of the 2018 season—all wins—Texas Tech women’s soccer scored within the first two minutes twice. The Red Raiders, the No. 21 team in the country, play Texas Tech 0 with an energy Boston College 1 from the outset that wreaks havoc on opposing defenses as they’re beginning to settle into the game. So, when Texas Tech arrived in Newton to take on Boston College, it came out of the gates with the same energy—but was greeted by a lockdown defense. And, instead of taking an early lead and relaxing the rest of the way, as they did in victories over San Diego State and Pepperdine, the Red Raiders went down early to the surging Eagles and never recovered, falling, 1-0—the difference being a ninth-minute goal from Gianna Mitchell. “We knew about their style, their energy level,” BC (6-0) head coach Alison Foley said. “It’s a ‘ra ra’ group, and you have to weather it. We try to keep our kids professional and engaged in the moment. It was exactly what we thought was going to happen.” Foley’s back four have been just shy of being perfect on the year. Aside from two

goals let in at the end of the first half of the season opener, the Eagles have recorded clean sheets in each and every game. With Alexis Bryant, in her fourth year as the starting goaltender, calling the shots behind two impressive centre backs and a trio of outside backs splitting time, it’s easy to see why BC has found success. The group is defined by Mitchell and Kayla Duran in the middle, a duo that is first and second in minutes played. One such moment was in the second half, where, with nine minutes to go and a one-goal lead to protect, Duran cleared away a corner kick chance and Mitchell followed with an excellent slide tackle to prevent a run down the left side. On Saturday, one of the best of the group might’ve been Elysa Virella, though— a former JUCO transfer who has steadily improved to win back her starting job on the left side. Virella, time and time again, was able to largely contain Texas Tech (4-1) on the attack, especially speedy right wing Kirsten Davis—whether forcing her to pull back or simply guiding her out of bounds to set up a goal kick. Virella’s lengthy throw-ins were also crucial in creating the few chances the Eagles had to counterattack. “She had a really good game,” Foley said. “We’ve been waiting for her to get in

full form. I said to her today, ‘You’re there.’ There was three plays she did at the end of the game in the last 10 minutes where she was just running with [Davis], getting us goal kicks that were really important.” The lone goal? In fitting fashion, it came from one of the defenders responsible for containing the Red Raiders all night. Mitchell, enjoying an incredible start to the 2018 campaign, netted her team-leading fifth goal of the season—all coming via corner kicks. It came amid a scrum in front of the net off a Sam Coffey service, and even Foley wasn’t sure if it was her or Duran who got the last touch on it. The box was crowded, as Mitchell had taken up her usual position in front of Texas Tech keeper Marissa Zucchetto, with Duran flying in amid three other defenders. Zucchetto appeared to attempt to grab the ball, but was shielded and couldn’t get her hands on it before it flew into the back of the net. Either way, the corner kick once again was BC’s key play, with Foley describing every one that the Eagles earn as “dangerous.” “When you have someone like Sam Coffey, who can hit a corner kick in like that, you’re dangerous every time,” she said. “We just know we have two incredibly strong targets and someone who

can serve a perfect ball. It puts us [in the position] to be dangerous every time on set pieces.” The only goal of the game wasn’t without controversy. Referee Michelle Beagan, who handed out five yellow cards got an earful from Red Raiders head coach Tom Stone. Storming up and down the sideline, desperate to get in the ear of Beagan or one of the assistant referees, Stone complained after watching Zucchetto come crashing down in the crowd, falling backward into the net. It wasn’t the first protest lodged by the 12th-year head coach, though, as he grew frustrated with an assortment of calls and no-calls. It was an aggravating defeat for Stone’s side, as for much of the game, his team looked superior on the attack, possessing quite well. BC struggled mightily to form a cohesive attack, and the seams that the Eagles have exploited in the past few games to free forwards like Olivia Vaughn to go in on goal weren’t there. Jenna Bike found some success down the right sideline, but all three of her shots were far from finding the frame. Foley tried seemingly every combination of forwards she had at her disposal—Carly Leipzig and Riley Lochhead notably made appearances—but nothing appeared to

work. The problems for the Eagles’ attack were rooted in connecting the back with the front. The midfield, hampered without Kayla Jennings, wasn’t able to do much. Coffey drew the attention of the Red Raiders’ defense and was denied the ball often, while a breakout game from Mijke Roelfsema—she did every little thing right for the Eagles—wasn’t enough. A part of the struggles in the offensive third can be traced to the ninth-minute goal, as BC settled in on defense after and focused on denying the equalizer. The Eagles rarely pushed forward, fearful of Tech’s overall team speed on the counterattack, and, as a result, left many crosses untouched. The visitors didn’t have the same problems, as they were able to possess with ease. Still, the end of that run mirrored the final result—a ball cleared out over the half line. The win, the first marquee victory for Foley’s squad, should earn it a spot in next week’s poll—a plus-14 goal differential and six wins in six tries is quite the resume. The Eagles are still three games removed from the trials of conference play, but with the defense in peak form, they’ll likely be much more confident heading into ACC action than years past. n

FOOTBALL

Brown Posts Career Numbers in Season-Opening Rout of UMass Football Vs. UMass, from A7 and it was abundantly clear that the Eagles were the far superior team. BC racked up 622 yards of total offense—455 of which it piled up in the first two frames—en route to a 55-21 rout of the Minutemen. The game might have been over before the teams even took the field for the opening kickoff. Captains Will Harris and Jon Baker walked out to the 50-yard line and won the coin toss. Without hesitation, they elected to receive—BC knew what it was doing. Offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler started the 2018 campaign the same way he ended last season: by feeding his former ACC Rookie of the Year. Dillon carried the ball four times on the drive for an impressive, but rather predictable, 37 yards. Yet, it was what he did in the passing game that caught people’s eyes. Inside the Minutemen (1-1) red zone, Anthony Brown rolled out of playaction and hit Dillon in the flat. The 6-foot, 245-pound back caught the ball with ease and made a bee-line for the end zone, diving for the pylon to log his first career catch and touchdown reception. BC stalled on the next possession, but the three and out was nothing more than a fluke. Led by Brown, the Eagles put together three-straight touchdown drives, starting with a seven-play, 73-yard series.

On the heels of five run plays, a pass interference call, and a false start, Brown took a two-step drop and dialed up a pass to Kobay White down the left sideline. The redshirt sophomore leapt in the air and snatched the perfectly placed ball, picking up 25 yards on the completion. On the very next play, Brown went back to his classmate—this time, he was all alone. White hauled in the pass and trotted into the end zone for a 34-yard score. To start the second quarter, Dillon plowed his way through the UMass defensive line, setting up a 29-yard play-action pass to Ray Marten. By the time BC reached the goal line, it turned to Davon Jones to finish the job. It only took the linebacker—who entered college as a running back—two tries to punch it in. The next drive was more of the same. Dillon, who rushed for 98 yards in the first half, muscled past a number of Minutemen to keep the chains moving. Loeffler mixed things up by having Jeff Smith run the jet sweep, in addition to successive crossing patterns, keeping the UMass defense on edge, as the Eagles pushed the ball downfield. Just like the previous series, Jones trotted out to the field for the team’s goal-line package and pummeled into the end zone for his second score of the game. Eventually, BC’s scoring spree came

to a halt—albeit for 76 seconds of game time—but the Minutemen failed to capitalize on the situation. UMass’s offense struggled, from start to finish, converting just three of its 12 third-down conversions. There was really only one moment in the first half that had people believing that the Minutemen could actually hang with the dark horse of the ACC. Midway through the opening quarter, Ross Comis—who alternated series with starting quarterback Andrew Ford at certain points of the game—hooked up with Andy Isabella down the right sideline for a huge 49-yard completion. Moments later, running back Marquis Young dashed into the end zone to cap a 72-yard scoring drive that took all of 83 seconds. The four-play series took the air out of Alumni Stadium and tied the game at seven points apiece. But rather than riding with the hot hand, head coach Mark Whipple went back to Ford, who ended the day with two interceptions and a meager 78 yards to his name. Regardless if it was Comis or Ford, the UMass quarterbacks had very little time in the pocket—perhaps a rude awakening following the Minutemen’s massacre of Duquesne last week. When all was said and done, BC finished the game with six sacks. After the Eagles punted for just the second time all day, the defense immediately

forced a three and out, placing the ball in the hands of Brown and BC’s offense. The redshirt sophomore quarterback kept on executing play-action to near perfection, finding his tight ends in the heart of the field. The moment of truth came in UMass territory: Brown faked the handoff and trailed to his right, eying Marten on the seam—confident in his body, he delivered a strike to his tight end from his back foot while taking a hit from a Minutemen linebacker. Marten caught the pass and sprinted to the end zone for a 33-yard touchdown. BC’s biggest hiccups all came on special teams. A botched extra point and a blown coverage on the ensuing kickoff cost the Eagles a point and potentially more. Luckily for them, Hamp Cheevers forced and recovered a fumble on their own goal line, setting the stage for BC’s most impressive series of the game: a 10-play, 97-yard drive that culminated in Brown lofting a 27-yard dime into the arms of a diving White. UMass was down, 41-7, with less than a minute to go in the second quarter. Just when it looked like the Minutemen were going to wave the white flag and run out the clock, Ford forced a pass downfield—one that was ultimately deflected into the arms of a charging Lukas Denis. The safety, who intercepted seven balls last season, took the pass 59 yards all the way to the house, recording

his first touchdown of his collegiate career as time expired. BC didn’t play Brown or Dillon during the second half and decided to give the second-teamers a chance to lead the offense. Taking after the guy ahead of him on the depth chart, backup quarterback E.J. Perry led the Eagles downfield and watched freshman running back David Bailey steamroll into the end zone for six. UMass whittled its 48-point deficit down by a pair of touchdowns before the end of the game, even playing third-string quarterback Michael Curtis in the final stages of regulation. But the damage was done. The Eagles’ 55 points marked the first time that the team has met or eclipsed the 50-spot in a season opener since it shut out Northeastern, 54-0, in 2009. “This was one win,” Addazio said. “We can put it in the win column, we can learn from it, we can grow from it, and the most important thing is, we better improve from it cause we’re staring down the gauntlet of a lot of tough games ahead of us.” But before BC experiences the rigors of conference play, it has another in-state opponent left to take care of. And after Saturday’s offensive explosion, there’s no telling what kind of spectacle the Eagles will put on when the Patriot League’s Holy Cross comes to town. n

KAITLIN MEEKS / Heights Editor

BC’s offense orchestrated six touchdown drives in the first half of Saturday’s season opener against UMass and ended up recording a total of 622 yards, setting the stage for the Eagles’ 34-point blowout win. MEN’S SOCCER

Eagles Weather Red Card, Tie Providence in Foul-Filled Contest By Peter Kim Asst. Sports Editor Soccer is a sport that can be equally beautiful and ugly to watch, and Boston College men’s soccer’s Friday night contest against Providence was a Boston College 1 perfect example Providence 1 of this. In a game that produced both fine build-up play and a plethora of physical tackles, it was Eagles midfielder Beto Luna who was the best representation of the beauty—conversely, he was also partially responsible for the ugly side of the match. In the seventh minute of the game, midfielder Callum Johnson played an inchperfect ball over the top that sophomore counterpart Luna didn’t let go to waste. The midfielder, who had made a perfect run in behind the Friars’ backline, used his head to direct the ball over Providence goalkeeper Colin Miller and into the back of the net, giving the Eagles (1-0-2) the early lead and

the perfect start to their second road game of the season. That said, he wasn’t perfect. In a game that started physically and continued to be rough until the final whistle—the teams combined for 35 fouls, 21 in the first half—Luna accounted for the worst foul of the game. After Providence eventually found an equalizer late in the first half, he was assessed a red card with 15 minutes left in regulation. Despite the one-man advantage, Providence couldn’t find a way through the BC back line, as the teams remained deadlocked at one goal apiece throughout the remainder of regulation and two 10-minute overtimes, finishing the game tied, 1-1. Immediately after Luna gave the Eagles (1-0-2) the lead, BC goalkeeper Antonio Chavez Borrelli, making his first start of the season, was called into action as he pushed an effort from Brendan Constantine wide. This strike set the tone for the remainder of the half, as the Eagles were unable to produce a shot while Providence (1-1-1)

had occasional chances among the parade of fouls. Eventually, the Friars’ pressure ruptured the Eagles’ back line. Caught out of position, Johnson was forced to commit a foul that cost him a yellow card in the 32nd minute. The resulting free kick was played wide for Malcolm Duncan to serve into the box, and the sophomore defender made no mistake with his delivery. His ball hit the foot of fellow sophomore Tiago Mendonca, whose first-time shot was deflected past Chavez Borrelli, tying the game at one. The second half produced more of the same, as Providence outshot the Eagles, 10-3, and consistently threatened the BC defense. Chavez Borrelli, who made a career-high nine saves, was forced to make his first save of the half just 10 seconds in, as he pushed aside an effort from Danny Griffin before the resulting corner kick was cleared. Fifteen minutes later, he deflected a fierce drive from the top of the box behind for another corner kick. Despite all his heroics, he also had the

woodwork to thank for keeping the score level. Late in the second half, Friars midfielder Kevin Vang played a perfect through ball for Simon Fisher, but his low drive rang the outside of the post. When the Eagles did get forward, it was Johnson leading many of the attacks. He was on the end of BC’s two best chances of the second half. First, yet another save from Chavez Borrelli led to an Eagles counter, but Johnson put his effort wide. Six minutes later, Johnson found space at the top of the box, but sent his effort flying past the post again. The Eagles’ struggles getting forward were compounded after Luna’s red card. BC head coach Ed Kelly responded by sending on freshman midfielder Jesus Sahagun to shore up the midfield, and for a time it paid dividends. In between a pair of corner kicks that the Eagles failed to convert, Kristofer Konradsson saw a good effort on goal blocked. But the Friars’ one-man advantage was always going to lead to chances, and

once overtime started, they began to pour the pressure on. The extra period saw the Friars creating all the opportunities. First, Chavez Borrelli pushed aside a shot from Matt Deperro, before watching a header from Kline crash against his crossbar. In the second half of extra time, Mendonca sent another long-range effort over the bar and Klisman Sousa saw his shot saved, but the BC backline, thanks to stellar play from Abe Bibas and Tyler Stott, was able to hold firm. Stott also had the Eagles’ best chance of overtime, but his shot attempt was stopped by Miller. After the Eagles conceded three goals to crosstown rivals BU on Monday, Kelly has to be encouraged that his team was able to hold the Friars to just one, especially considering that it played a man down for the final 35 minutes. Coming off a season in which the Eagles gave up 1.79 goals per game, some newfound defensive solidarity would be a good sign for BC, as it kicks off the conference slate against Clemson next Friday. n

The Heights

A10

Monday, September 3, 2018

FOOTBALL

Pass Rush, Offensive Gameplan Key to Defeat of Minutemen NOTE vs. UMass, from A7 nearly a perfect 7-for-7 on passes that traveled over 20 yards, with the lone miss was in the first quarter when miscommunication with Ben Glines spoiled a chance at a lengthy score. He was also able to spread the wealth, connecting with Dillon, Kobay White twice on deep balls, and Ray Marten for scores. His favorite target, White, said after that he thinks Brown “throws some of the best balls in college football.” The praise was well-deserved, as White’s two highlight reel catches—a 25-yard completion down the left sideline in the first quarter and a 33-yard touchdown in the second—were the product of absolute perfect ball placement. 2) Pass Rush Head coach Steve Addazio described the pass rush as “outstanding,” and you can be sure that UMass’s quarterbacks, Andrew Ford and Ross

Comis, would echo that sentiment. Time and time again, the defensive line wreaked havoc in the backfield, forcing Ford in particular into rushed throws or knocking him down. From the third Minutemen drive on, the impact that the likes of Zach Allen and Wyatt Ray were having on the game was clear. With the Eagles fresh off taking a 14-7 lead, UMass returned to the field with hopes of keeping the game competitive. After a run for a minimal gain, BC sent six pass rushers and the pocket collapsed quickly, with Connor Strachan recording the sack. After another short run play, the Eagles only sent four on third-and-long, but still picked up a sack. Hamp Cheevers came in off the edge on a cornerback blitz, and while he merely brushed an evasive Ford, he still forced a sack as Allen worked through a double team to drag the Minutemen quarterback down. It was a crucial play—despite dropping seven in coverage, there was still an

open Andrew Isabella down the field, a fact that head coach Mark Whipple pointed out with chagrin after. The rest of the game featured plenty of starring moments—Allen and John Lamot both registered quarterback hurries, the former hammering Ford from behind right after he released an incomplete pass. Nose tackle Ray Smith even picked up a lunging interception, diving impressively off of a deflection to haul it in. Two Down 1) Special Teams Suffice to say, things didn’t run super smoothly on several occasions. The kick coverage team let up a 73yard return and several lengthy ones, the field goal unit—after starting long snapper Jimmy Martin missed several plays—had a pair of false starts and a botched snap, and punter Grant Carlson had to make something out of nothing after a Kevin Bletzer snap sailed several feet over his head.

“Special teams-wise, we had a couple issues when we lost [long snapper] Jimmy Martin on the field goal short snap and then an issue on the punt, obviously, and we let up a kickoff return,” Addazio said. “That’s not anything that we’re going to do around here. But that happened, so I’m going to have to take a look and address what that problem was.” Note: Carlson, taking punting duties over for Mike Knoll, doesn’t belong in this category. He was excellent in his debut, with his first punt going 49 yards and the one on the high snap still managing to go 17 yards after he sprinted back to chase it down. 2) Blown Coverages For as well as the Eagles played defensively as a whole, there were certainly several plays that the secondary will want to take a long , hard look at it—especially when the quality of opponent increases in a few weeks. The most notable slip up came on the lone

touchdown drive of the first half for the Minutemen. Isabella, a speedster, did a simple double move on Brandon Sebastian and was left untouched streaking down the right sideline. It was an easy throw for Comis, and if Lukas Denis hadn’t swooped over from the free safety position to slow him down enough for Sebastian to come up with the tackle from behind, it would’ve b e en a 50- plus y ard touchdow n. Isabella’s speed caused problems at times, and he’s a top-notch wide receiver that provided a good early test for the Eagles secondary. UMass’s offensive line wasn’t a match for the BC pass rush, so the defensive backs didn’t have to run around in coverage as much with the pocket often collapsing quickly. Still, it’s worth nit-picking little things that could pop up later in the year. Sebastian played well, but was caught looking inside while a capable receiver beat him with ease—that can’t happen against ACC opponents. n

VOLLEYBALL

BC Remains Perfect With Sweep of Grand Canyon Invitational By Bradley Smart Assoc. Sports Editor Much is often written about the culture that new coaches look to build upon arriving, and that was certainly true when Jason Kennedy, a part of the national powerhouse Southern California, arrived on the Heights as the sixth head coach in Boston College volleyball history. He inherited a roster loaded with returners from a team that managed just seven wins in 2017, and eight the year prior. Kennedy, after arriving, spoke about how at USC, one offseason they dramatically changed the way they did things, and a few years later, they were the No. 1 team in the nation. Now, with the Eagles, he’s worked on instilling his way of doing things, and after a highly suc-

cessful weekend in Arizona, the results are streaming in. BC went a perfect 3-0 at the Grand Canyon Invitational, sweeping through Phoenix with relative ease to continue its impressive start to the season. With wins over Jacksonville State, Southern Utah, and the hosts Grand Canyon University, the Eagles (6-0) have lost just three sets total in their first six matches and are off to the program’s best start. The combination of a new coach, established starters, and plenty of growth has seen BC go from wallowing under Chris Campbell to actually building excitement and drawing attention. Even if it’s just six games into Kennedy’s tenure and not a single one of the team’s first six opponents finished within the top 150 by RPI last season, a perfect record through six tries is still an

impressive achievement for a program that managed just 15 over the last two seasons combined. Saturday night’s win, a thorough victory over GCU, was a fitting punctuation mark on the weekend. The Eagles were at their best on offense, posting a season-best attack percentage (.438) and winning in straight sets—25-17, 25-17, and 25-13. Jill Strockis, who merited the Invitational MVP award, led the way—she had 11 kills and 11 digs, finishing the three-game road trip with a double-double in each outing. Strockis, who made the transition to play as libero a season ago, has quickly come into form for the Eagles. She averaged just over five kills per game across the first three wins, but has since totaled 36 and hasn’t recorded less than 11 digs in

a single match. Strockis had plenty of support in the finale—Amaka Chukwujekwu had a career-high 11 kills, Jane Dejarld racked up 26 assists, and Makenzie Morrison finished with 12. Together, the four of them earned spots on the All-Tournament team, taking up half of the selections. No other team had more than two representatives, a fact that establishes BC’s strong showing in the four-team field. Against the host Antelopes, the Eagles found themselves tied at eight apiece early in the first set, but a 4-0 run would put them up for good. It was the same story in the second set, where the teams were deadlocked at seven, but an impressive 9-2 run from BC forced a GCU timeout. With a healthy lead, Cat

Balido picked up back-to-back kills, pushing them further out of reach. Then, with a sixth-consecutive win within reach, the Eagles steamrolled through the final set. Up by two midway through, errors from the Lopes and a pair of kills resulted in a nine-point swing, and BC didn’t look back. Overall, the weekend was a resounding success for Kennedy’s group — even when things were shaky in the Friday night opener. With a perfect record entering the Dartmouth Invitational, the Eagles are riding a strong wave of momentum as they’re gunning to equal last year’s total of wins in just the third week of the season—and have a clear path to doing so. The three teams scheduled for next weekend? A combined 2-13 on the young season. n

WOMENS SOCCER

Two-Goal Spurt Seals Shutout Victory Over Stony Brook By Bradley Smart Assoc. Sports Editor Protecting a one-goal lead over visiting Stony Brook, Boston College women’s soccer came out a little hesitant in the second half of a hot, Stony Brook 0 humid match. Boston College 3 With plenty of subs on both sides, the Eagles were missing connections in the midfield, had conceded a pair of corner kicks, and hadn’t picked up a real scoring chance since the first eight minutes of play. Then, as soon as it looked like the Seawolves were finally primed to equalize, it was over. BC’s dangerous forwards, who’d spent much of the game probing for seams in the Stony Brook back line, took turns finding them—and eventually found paydirt. Olivia Vaughn slipped through the field and drew a red card on Seawolves defender Allyson Baner, who held her from behind, and just

four minutes later, the Eagles tacked on two insurance goals to secure the 3-0 shutout win—BC’s fifth in a row to start the year and fourth consecutive clean sheet. The foul on Vaughn, who scored the game’s first goal, set up a free kick for Sam Coffey from beyond the 18-yard box. Coffey, who had tried to go through the Stony Brook (2-3) wall earlier in the half to no avail, opted to unleash a rocket that slammed off the inside back post, a deafening clang that reflected the slim chance anyone had at stopping it. The final punctuation mark for the Eagles (5-0) came via the sophomore midfielder just two minutes later, as her corner kick from the near side took a favorable deflection and found the head of teammate Gianna Mitchell on the far side of the post. “Obviously, it’s a tough break for them but a good break for us,” BC head coach Alison Foley said about Baner’s card. “To add insult to injury, Sam [Coffey] steps up

and bangs one off the back post. It doesn’t get any worse than that—it’s a momentum changer.” The win, preserving a perfect month of August for Foley’s team, was marked by the poor weather conditions. With highs of 96 degrees in the area and the “feels like” temperature soaring past 100 degrees, school officials decided to push the start time back two hours, to 7 p.m., while additionally featuring two water breaks throughout. The temperature at game time was still a muggy 85, though, and the benches were emptied on both sides. Foley opted for nine players off the bench, while her counterpart in Brendan Faherty needed 12—he was additionally hampered with the red-carded defender and lost his starting keeper to an injury in the 82nd minute. “It’s hot, so you almost can’t think straight, let alone run,” Foley said. “We just talked about breaking it into three 15-minute spans in the first half, then get people

in and out so they didn’t have to think ‘oh my god, I’m exhausted’ the full 90 minutes. We were hoping to get a few goals in so we could get some people in and rest a few for Saturday.” Vaughn scored in the eighth minute, but BC failed to log a second goal until almost an hour of game time later. This resulted in occasional pressure on the Eagles’ back line with the added importance of keeping the Seawolves off the board, ultimately forcing the duo of Kayla Duran and Mitchell to play the entire game. The pair, combined with a seasoned goaltender behind them in Alexis Bryant, were called upon at key moments—Mitchell had an impressive slide tackle down the right sideline, Duran headed away a corner kick attempt, and Bryant made her lone save in the first period. Coupled with outside backs like Rachel Newborough, Erin Convery,

and Elysa Virella, the BC back line is a formidable group. Foley stressed the way the group has returned to the program’s roots of building from the back, and the Mitchell-Duran combination is one that will make ACC play—against elite offenses—a little easier. “We talk a lot about scoring goals, but I said in the locker room before, ‘I love the fact that we have three shutouts in a row—let’s go get another one,’” Foley said. “That’s grit and determination. It’s what BC was built on, defending, and I think this group has that mentality.” With Vaughn, Mitchell, and Coffey all sitting on four goals apiece, and the likes of Gaby Carreiro and Jenna Bike equally explosive up top, having a strong defense to lean on is a luxury for Foley. Through five games, the Eagles boast a +13 goal differential. Last year at this point? Just +5, and they’d conceded at least one goal in all but one game. n

MENS SOCCER

Eagles Rally Twice, Settle for Draw in OT With Rival BU By Bradley Smart Assoc. Sports Editor In the 99th minute of Monday night’s thrilling back-and-forth affair between local rivals Boston College men’s soccer and Boston UniverBoston University 3 sity, the visiting Boston College 3 Terriers, having squandered both a two-goal lead over the course of the second half and a onegoal advantage in the final 10 minutes of regulation, seemed to finally have scored the game-winning goal—one that in overtime, BC couldn’t answer. BU midfielder Mana Chaveli, weary legs and all, sent a bullet destined for the upper right hand corner. Instead, it was batted away at the last minute by Eagles keeper Antonio Chavez-Borelli, the second man between the pipes for head coach Ed Kelly. In the 100th minute, on the other side of a brief two-minute breather that marked the second overtime, it was BC’s Simon Enstrom with a chance for glory, springing free in the box and managing to head it in the direction of the net. Once again, the potential gameending goal was foiled, as 6-foot-4 Terriers goaltender William Bonnelyche denied his Swedish countryman the last scoring chance

of the match, leaving the contest deadlocked, 3-3, at the final whistle. It was 110 minutes of pure adrenalinefueled soccer, a slow first half picking up pace in the waning minutes, then absolute chaos breaking out in the second half. The Terriers (0-1-1) built a 2-0 lead, but like every match between these rivals in any sport, each blow from one side was answered by the other. The Eagles (1-0-1) fought back to equalize in a nine-minute span, prompting drama for the remaining 20 minutes—what once seemed like a decisive victory was suddenly in question. BU forward Matt McDonnell appeared to put that to rest with his hat-trick completing goal in the 80th minute, but six minutes later, his counterpart atop the rival formation, Enstrom, answered with the equalizer. After 20 more minutes, the draw was sealed—the first between the two rivals in almost 20 years—and several players from both sides simply collapsed onto the well-worn turf in exhaustion. A last ditch free kick from the Eagles as the PA announcer counted down from 10 had resulted in a shot, but it sailed high, a fitting end to a match that was plagued by missed chances. “It’s always going to be like that with BU,”

Kelly said afterward. “You can’t just think you’re going to come in and get a win. It was a very tough game—they battled really hard. We battled and came back and should’ve won—we had chances.” McDonnell did everything he could to secure the win for the Terriers, netting three goals—all via headers—but breakdowns by his back line within their own 18-yard box proved costly. The junior forward piled up eight shots and three goals, but eventually departed with eight minutes left in overtime, his legs betraying him and his valiant protest to his coach to stay on not quite enough. The Eagles found their goals from a variety of unexpected places. Down 2-0 in the 61st minute, Kristofer Konradsson, described by Kelly as a free kick specialist, sent a curling ball into the box from 25 yards out. Lasse Lehmann, he of zero career goals, headed it in to the far post—prompting Bonnelyche to look up at the sky and curse his misfortune. Teammate Trevor Davock, who made several runs throughout the game in which he came just shy of getting a good foot on a through ball, was the first to grab the ball, sprinting back to the half to force BU to get going. The urgency didn’t leave the BC side,

and they struck for the equalizer under 10 minutes later—in a similar situation. The ball came in via a corner kick off the foot of Callum Johnson, a second-half substitute who provided an invigorating presence in the midfield, and connected with Abe Bibas—who used all of his tall frame to fight through traffic and send the ball into the back of the net before sprinting to the near sideline. He fought through a Johnson hug, mid-air, before being mobbed by his bench, disappearing amid grey t-shirts and spraying water bottles. Soccer is a sport where things can come crashing down just as quickly as they were built up, and that was what happened to the Eagles 10 minutes later. With the crowd volume rising, BC built steady pressure, approaching the reality of a clean slate for the final 19 minutes with hope. Johnson, Enstrom, David Longo, and Joe Kellett all took shots for BC, but they were blocked or skipped wide or soared high. McDonnell, though, didn’t miss when he earned his opportunity—the forward slipped, unknown to the BC defenders caught sleeping, to the far post on a BU free kick and buried a header. It was a goal many in the stands expected as soon as Toti Knuttsson, who already had one assist, stood over the ball

with a free kick opportunity from the left sideline while the player in the red No. 8 jersey began to make his run. Fittingly, three minutes later, Enstrom—who scored both goals for the Eagles in their season-opening win over Quinnipiac—found himself in the right place to knock in the equalizer. Davock’s ball thrown from the sideline—which many times throughout the game had been deflected or the ensuing shot went awry—dropped in amid the crowd for his senior teammate to tuck it home. Enstrom, who entered eighth in BC’s all-time scoring list, merely wagged his finger “no” in the air as he jogged to his eager teammates. The ensuing 23 minutes featured a golden opportunity for both teams—Chaveli’s shot and Enstrom’s header—but it was fitting that the game ended in a draw. BU failed to hold a lead, while BC’s glaring gaps on defense were enough to hamper what had been solid midfield play and a bevy of scoring opportunities. The Eagles had an edge in shots and drew six more fouls than their opponents, but couldn’t find the back of the net when it mattered most. Ultimately, playing from behind for 30 minutes prevented BC from beating the Terriers for a sixth-straight year. n

THE HEIGHTS

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2018

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Underwhelming ‘Jack Ryan’ Features BC Alumnus STEPHANIE LIU Heights Staff

With f lashing gunfire, roaring explosions, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, released and produced by Amazon Studios, is exactly what you would expect it to be, but nothing more. Ryan, the most beloved character by prolific war fiction writer Tom Clancy, gets a renewal in the form of John Krasinski, best known for portraying Jim Halpert in the American version of The Office. With the most recent film installment in 2014 by Chris Pine, Jack Ryan details the beginnings of the famous character. The show follows the stor y of Ryan as a State Department financial analyst responsible for keeping tabs on Yemen.

A Boston College graduate—trailers for the Amazon show featured him furiously rowing on a river in BC Rowing gear—and an excellent statistician, Ryan harbors a past as a marine but works contentedly at his mundane office job. Discovering unusual transactions that he suspects might be linked to terror activity, Ryan teams up with James Greer (Wendell Pierce), their new director demoted from the front lines, to investigate further into the transactions. Unwillingly thrown into action, Ryan acts as the reluctant hero, traveling through the Middle East trying to unravel a terrorist threat against the United States. The show immediately launches into a tense atmosphere where people begin spouting out many acronyms that are

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never explained, serving only to make what they are talking about sound very important and very threatening. That take on character conversations really embodies the flaws of the show—all show, no substance. Jack Ryan fulfills all its duties as a member of the political/war thriller genre with fire, guns, and grenades, but does not deliver enough on plot and character building to make it particularly outstanding. The storyline in Jack Ryan feels linear. Although the show does try to throw in some twists, much of the plot has simply become predictable, and the audience is not as invested in the outcomes of the characters as they should be. Characters suffer from the lack of complex motivations, leading to them all feeling flat and typecast. Krasinski’s take on the famous character, although notably different from the portrayals by Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck, and Chris Pine, has an affability decidedly derived from the actor’s own likeability and charisma. Krasinski has a very real take on the character, showing a man who is dedicated to the path of righteousness and heroism, but not without fears and hesitations in the face of great danger. Even with the fantastic portrayal by Krasinski, Ryan can sometimes feel generic and predictable. Ryan maintains indifference in the face of all temptation, always choosing to do the right and honorable thing, but precisely that lack of desire and

greed—very human traits—makes him too perfect a hero. Ryan’s heroism, although unwilling, seems too perfect and his motivations too one-dimensional to really establish him as a strong character. His dogged goodness makes him one of the masses of the typical all-American hero that plagues the genre so often that they become almost indistinguishable from each other. The story between Ryan and his love interest, Cathy Mueller (Abbie Cornish), seems like an unnecessary side plot that only distracts from the main, action-filled storyline. The two actors do not seem to have much chemistry, and the persistent interest that Ryan has towards Cathy after only a short, five-minute conversation at her father’s party seems contrived and odd, especially since he goes to Yemen and gets embroiled in an armed siege immediately after. Fans of Tom Clancy and of the genre will find this new installment enjoyable enough. The cast really carries the show through their personalities, vitalizing a plot that would be boring otherwise. Fans get the action that they expect, with the standard gunfights and operations expected from the genre. The show feels like an in-the-moment high that becomes almost immediately forgettable. With all the flashy effects and fighting, Jack Ryan ultimately lacks the substance to make it truly great. 

Sivan Diversifies His Repertoire on ‘Bloom’ BY MAEVE RUSSO Heights Staff

Coming off his debut album titled Blue Neighborhood, former YouTuberturned-popstar Troye Sivan released Bloom on Friday. Sivan’s first album placed the artist squarely in a pop electronic genre, which he has stuck to in this recent release. Organizationally speaking, the album switches methodically from serious to carefree at almost every other song. Thematically, however, Bloom is not for the faint of heart. It tackles breakups in one of the saddest ways imaginable—realizing the love that once was clear is now fading. The songs on Bloom that more closely align with the larger pop genre have a light superficial feel to them that, fortunately, allows for a reprieve from the sadness. These pop songs meet their unfortunate demise, however, with the end. Many of the songs on the album repeat lines from the bridge or chorus with heavy instrumental parts and rarely have more than two short verses until they fall back on the chorus to repeat. Bloom begins with a pop song that, upon first glance, fits the popular idea of Troye Sivan’s style very well: “Seventeen.”

When you listen closely to the lyrics, though, it is apparent that this song is about entering the sexual dating pool a bit too young and becoming jaded early in life. This is a tough theme to open an album with, but Sivan makes it a catchy song that sounds as if it could be played at parties. The pop-like music makes the theme of underage dating a little less jarring when starting off the album. After “Seventeen,” the album seems to take a strict half-and-half slow vs. pop organization. The pop songs, tracks two, four, six, and seven, seem to come almost directly after slow serious songs like tracks three, five, eight, and nine. The pop songs on Bloom are quite deep. Particularly hard-hitting is “Postcard,” coming fifth on the album. The song’s narrative follows Sivan as he writes a postcard to his boyfriend while on tour. As the story of the song unfolds, the listener realizes that Sivan’s boyfriend never went to the post office to receive it. At this point in the song, Sivan sings that he realized his boyfriend did not care about the relationship. “I sent you a postcard from Tokyo baby / You never picked it up / I even wrote it in Japanese, baby / You didn’t give a fuck.” As a parallel, Sivan talks about cheat-

ing (emotionally and physically) on tour in his song “The Good Side,” placed third on the album. “Found arms to fall right into / I know how it looked, it wasn’t the plan / And some day I hope that you’ll understand.” This dichotomy seems to be an observation about the fame that Sivan has experienced after his first album rose to fame fairly quickly for a new artist. The music of the album was in line with what might be expected from Sivan, with the exception of “The Good Side,”

which is acoustic. Sivan made his name on electronica, and he continues to fit very well into the genre. In this album, as opposed to Blue Neighborhood, Sivan used a lot more voice modification and manipulation. Of note is the end of “The Good Side.” The regularity of genre and overuse of cliches like “A hit of dopamine, higher than I’ve ever been,” which have been exhausted to the point of impotence, make it difficult to see the entire album as impressive. 

Heights Staff

Quietly sneaking into the tail end of the dead month during the summer movie season is Searching, and it’s really wonderful that it did, because this film is fantastic. Many adjectives will surely swirl around one’s head when watching and reflecting on this movie, but the number one word that comes to mind is engaging. Rarely does one get to experience a cinematic showing that so viciously arrests the attention of the viewer at all times. It’s an irresistible spectacle: tense, mysterious, and nerve-frying to the extreme, leaving plenty of room for a number of satisfying twists, turns, and developments. Watching a thriller such as this that has clearly been so meticulously crafted is

an absolute treat. Searching, starring John Cho and Debra Messing, follows the disappearance and subsequent investigation of David Kim’s daughter, Margot Kim. While this sort of plot for a mysterybased thriller certainly isn’t new (Think: “I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you”), the presentation of the film, at least for this genre, certainly is. Searching, much like other recent films such as Unfriended, presents the entire story through a screen. Examples include FaceTime, newsreels, and other sorts of broadcasts. It’s a very interesting way to produce a film, and the director of the movie, Aneesh Chaganty, has talked about the many challenges in shooting and crafting a feature-length movie in this style. Chaganty and his team should be

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EMILY HIMES

‘SITTIN’ PRETTY’ FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE

Country powerhouse duo Florida Georgia Line is no stranger to an easy hit. It seems like the group could release an auto-tuned rendition of a grocery list, and it would still be the top song on country radio for weeks to come. The group has become so popular that they no longer need to release quality music. The band’s newest release, “Sittin’ Pretty,” is by no means a good song. In fact, it hardly deserves three stars. However, compared to Florida Georgia Line’s current repertoire filled with fake twangs and nothing but vapid redneck imagery, “Pretty” is an outstanding song. It has a cyclical, rolling cadence that is both soothing and buoyant. The song was released shortly after Bebe Rexha’s “Meant to Be,” which featured Florida Georgia Line, broke the record for amount of time at number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Hopefully the combination of the two better songs foreshadows an increase in quality of the popular duo’s future releases. Country music fans everywhere would appeciate the upgrade.

MUSIC VIDEO AUSTIN HORD

‘HIGH HOPES’

PANIC! AT THE DISCO

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‘Searching’ Employs Cathartic Suspense, Intrigue BY ADAM MEHAL

SINGLE REVIEW

applauded, however, as this method led to a film that is simultaneously harrowingly relatable and freakishly realistic. The movie manages to pull off this form of storytelling so well because of the organic way in which it presents its footage. All of the various camera placements are believable, and the movie doesn’t try to abuse its style of limited screen space in the interest of any cheap tricks. None of the events that unfold on the cinema screen seem far-fetched (even going as far as to have the hapless middle-aged dad David spell tumblr as “tumbler” for the first time). This is critically important, because as soon as the spell of realism over the audience is lost, so is the power and magnitude of the thrills. Searching has no interest in losing your attention, and it masterfully takes the seemingly innocent and decidedly limited setting of a Macbook desktop and uses it as a hypermodern canvas in order to paint a robust, unnerving story of suspense and tension. (Seriously, you’ll probably feel your heart pumping a little faster the next time you open up FaceTime.) Just as excellent as the directing, however, is the acting. Cho is consistently brilliant throughout the course of the film’s hour-and-42-minute runtime. He really flexes his acting chops in a large number of the scenes, displaying a wide range of emotions through both facial and vocal expressions, and he

certainly plays a large role in contributing to the overall immersiveness and immediacy of the plot. Another highlight of the movie and one of the reasons why it is so engaging is its pacing. The film was patiently metered out, pulsing along at a naturalistic but also breathtaking speed. Just when one might think that things are winding down, they rev back up again, always accompanied by the skin-crawling low electronic notes in the background, letting the viewer know that there’s still more of the mystery to be found and unraveled. It really is a great benefit that the movie knows how to parcel out its thrills, as there’s nothing more frustrating than watching a film in which everything interesting happens over the course of 20 minutes. The conclusion was also excellent as well. Without spoiling anything, it can certainly be said with confidence that not even the most savvy viewer would be able to guess how the film ends until it’s presented to them, which is just how it should be for mystery films. Searching is a riveting, suspenseful delight, and a movie that can be recommended to really anyone who enjoys being thoroughly entertained at the cinema. Be prepared to hold your breath, squirm nervously, rustle your popcorn, and sit firmly planted on the edge of your seat when you watch this one. 

Brendon Urie and his band Panic! At The Disco have been crossing the boundaries of what’s been considered musically possible ever since they formed in 2004. Urie has one of the most superhuman voices of anybody in the music industry, and his tone sounds like modern-day Frank Sinatra. He recently released a music video for “High Hopes,” the hit song from the band’s recent album, titled Pray For The Wicked. The track is an upbeat, feelgood pop song that features a prominent horn section and highlights Urie’s commanding voice. The music video, which debuted on Monday, begins with Urie stepping out of a car and walking down a sidewalk in downtown L.A. As he sings the first verse, he constantly bumps shoulders with people walking by as they seem to not notice him. As soon as the chorus hits, though, he stops in front of a skyscraper and puts his foot against the outside of it. Think he’s about to kick open the door to some recording studio? Nope. In a fashion that’s about as unbelievable as his voice, he starts to defy gravity and scale the side of the building, shocking the onlookers who had previously ignored him. As soon as he reaches the top, he’s joined by his band on the roof to finish the song with a stage-like setup on the building’s helicopter pad. The video fits the song perfectly. Urie references how people didn’t believe in him when he was chasing his dreams, but he didn’t let that stop him: “They say it’s all been done, but they haven’t seen the best of me.” The chorus lyric, “always had high, high hopes,” is quite literally reflected by his climb into the sky. Directors Brendan Walter and Mel Soria created fantastic sweeping camera shots and really captured the essence of the song, and Urie’s outstanding vocals took it to new heights.

ARTS

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2018

@BCHEIGHTSARTS

‘Art & Glory’ Applauds Roycroft Bookbinding Look on the BY JACOB SCHICK Arts Editor

Tucked away past the mezzanine study area, small desks, and stacks of Bapst Library, the newest exhibit housed in Burns Library lies waiting for any intrepid and explorative student to stumble upon. Dreams of Art & Glory: Book Craft by the Roycrofters focuses on the art of printing and bookbinding by the Roycroft community around the turn of the 19th century.

Elbert Hubbard founded the Roycroft community, basing his ideas on those of William Morris, an English printer and thinker. Lining the hall to the library of special collections and archives are glass cases filled with rare editions of hand-made books, along with some of the tools used to make them. Spaced along the exhibit on both sides of each glass case are large pieces of printed text, lending additional historical context to the books nearby and to the exhibit as a whole.

KAITLIN MEEKS / HEIGHTS EDITOR

One such wall text details the work of Frederick C. Kranz, a Roycrofter whose work in leather modeling was second to none. This text is positioned next to multiple books whose ornate covers appear similar to sculptures done in bas-relief. This very effect was intentional on the part of the Roycrofters, and they certainly succeeded. Book covers feature scenes that look as if they were pulled directly from the myths and legends of ancient Greece. This bas-relief-like artistry was achieved by Kranz and other Roycrofters through the use of calfskin. These books, and others like them, were bound in the material, and then sections of it were cut away in order to create the appearance of depth in the scene. The collection also features many famous books and series. One such book is an 1893 edition of Thomas More’s Utopia, bound in limp vellum. The text card explains that the gold spine on this edition of Utopia was made by T. J. Cobden-Sanderson, a British lawyer who befriended and shared the views of William Morris. The collection also features the author’s edition of The Complete Writings of Elbert Hubbard. This

edition was signed with a handwritten note to Boston millionaire and notorious stock promoter Thomas W. Lawson. An additional object of interest in the collection is Biblia Aurea Veteris ac Noui Testamenti Vocitatus, a 1495 theological work on the Bible. This book was published in Strassburg by Johann Grüninger, as the text card explains. The book directly adjacent is a Roycroft-made book called Sonnets from the Portuguese. The text card next to this book draws parallels between the style of the earlier work and this more modern work from 1898. These parallels lie with the bold and colored large letters that begin paragraphs, as well as with the layout and general style of the later book. While the exhibit might not seem like much, and while it may seem a little off the beaten path, Dreams of Art & Glory: Book Craft by the Roycrofters is well-worth a visit to Burns Library. Surrounded by the artwork, wood paneling, and softly carpeted floors, a quick and quiet stroll through the peaceful hall offers a welcome respite from the heat and a chance to learn about a niche specialty from Boston’s past. 

Humor Calms Disturbing Details in ‘Klansman’ BY JACOB SCHICK Arts Editor If this movie didn’t make sure to tell the audience that it was based on some “fo’ real shit”—as it’s put in the trailers and on screen in the first few minutes of the film—the premise of BlacKkKlansman would be hard to believe or even take seriously. There’s no way that a black detective could really infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan, become a certified member, and personally befriend Grand Wizard David Duke. If this movie wasn’t based on a book written by the man who did it himself, Ron Stallworth, BlacKkKlansman would play more like a comedy than anything else. But it is true. That’s the best and the worst part. The newest Spike Lee joint is true. BlacKkKlansman, simply as a film, is very good. It stars John David Washington as Ron Stallworth—the eponymous detective and undercover agent. Stallworth is assisted in his investigation by Detective Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver), the white face of Stallworth that meets with the KKK in person. In the midst of his investigation, Stallworth begins a romantic relationship with Patrice Dumas (Laura Harrier), the president of the Black Student Union at the local university, after meeting her at a speech given by Kwame Ture (born Stokely Carmichael) (Corey Hawkins), a prominent and influential member of the Civil Rights Movement. Stallworth and his team manage to infiltrate and befriend top members of the local chapter of the KKK, as well as David

Duke (Topher Grace) by phone. Throughout their investigation, Stallworth grapples with a dual identity—a black man and a police officer—and the stigma attached to both. He, as he tells himself and Patrice, walks the line between doing his job as a cop and fighting for the liberation of black people. But BlacKkKlansman is not just a film, and it should not be judged as such. BlacKkKlansman is rife with social commentary, biting call-outs to the world and people of today, and sharp reminders that these problems and these people who seem so ludicrously racist it’s almost laughable are not gone. Certainly, BlacKkKlansman has comedy, and comedy aplenty. The movie is funny. But the movie is deeply disturbing. These members of the KKK, like Duke himself, who called and shouted for the annihilation of black people and Jews (as focused on in the film, although the hate group targets anyone who is not a white American Protestant), are not long gone. They are still very much alive. They are the ages of parents and of grandparents. These events are not long gone, buried in history. They are the events of the last generation, and the one before that. BlacKkKlansman makes no bones about pointing the finger at people who tolerate, or even applaud the efforts of this hate group and others. In a scene that would be funny if it wasn’t so poignant, Stallworth expresses disbelief at the notion that the American

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people could ever elect someone like Duke to the government, to the presidency. BlacKkKlansman also manages to avoid falling into common traps that await movies like this. Often, in movies that tackle racism, especially through the narrative of slavery, it’s easy for audience members to do two things. First, audience members can watch what is going on—slavery, Jim Crow, lynchings, police with riot shields, nonviolent protesters being beaten—and reassure themselves that these things are long behind us. It’s been so long since any of this happened, look how far we’ve come. BlacKkKlansman makes sure to show you present-day footage of events not so dissimilar to the ones that we might brush off as “ancient history.” The second thing that audience members do when presented with characters who are racist is distance themselves

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from them. Because they don’t own slaves, or they aren’t in the KKK, they aren’t racist. Slavery and Jim Crow are gone, so racism must be over and done with—why are we even talking about it anymore? BlacKkKlansman reminds us that these people in the KKK are some of our parents and

grandparents, while the people they were screaming obscenities at and plotting the murders of are the parents and grandparents of some of us. These people were there, and they are still here, passing on their prejudices and biases to their children. The movie is well-directed, well-shot, well-mixed, and well-acted, but these aspects pale in comparison to its message. BlacKkKlansman is a good movie, but it’s a better work of art containing bitter truths and biting commentary. Unfortunately, the people who disagree with its message probably won’t see it anyway. 

‘Operation Finale’ Spotlights True Nazi Story BY PETER GAVARIS Heights Staff

Handcuffed and blindfolded, the elderly Adolf Eichmann (Ben Kingsley) awaits his ultimate fate in a small bedroom of a safehouse in Buenos Aires. “They will try the man they think they know,” he mutters to one of the other characters tasked with keeping an eye on him. Taken out of context, this simple but affecting plea for empathy and understanding carries with it a tragic air. Could there have been some kind of misunderstanding? He’s been taken from his family in the dead of night and gagged, drugged, and successfully kidnapped by a legion of foreign special agents. For much of Operation Finale, Eichmann is a helpless

character, dragged around from place to place without any semblance of authority or power. Now might be the time to mention that he was also one of the men responsible for carrying out Hitler’s Final Solution. Circa 1960 and long after the arraignment of Nazi war criminals, a team of Mossad agents is informed of a man suspected of being Eichmann living in Buenos Aires under a pseudonym. After an investigation on the ground confirms this suspicion, the team—helmed by Peter Malkin (Oscar Isaac)—decides it’s worthwhile to attempt an extraction, to capture and transport this man to Israel where he will finally stand trial for his heinous crimes against the Jewish people. But before they can go, they must first assemble a team (as one does in

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INSIDE ARTS

‘Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan’

films of this kind): Rafi (Nick Kroll), Hanna (Melanie Laurent), and Isser (Lior Raz) make up the supporting cast. Memories of the camps rush back into these characters’ consciousness as they prepare to confront the man known for orchestrating this human catastrophe. Above all else, Operation Finale captures a sense of Jewish identity in the conversations between Mossad agents commiserating together over the family they lost and the tragedies they witnessed. In spite of a strong enough premise, Operation Finale quickly devolves into an amalgam of a few critically lauded period dramas dealing with post-war moral ambiguity; featuring principled, middle-aged men tasked with making a difficult decision in a time of crisis. Director Chris Weitz and screenwriter Matthew Orton take a lot of structural, aesthetic, and conceptual ideas from the likes of Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies and Munich, along with Affleck’s Argo, and the film’s reverence won’t go unnoticed if only because it isn’t too difficult to figure out what Orton’s screenplay is doing. In truth, Weitz appropriates the look and feel of these films to give this story the appearance of moral heft when, in fact, there’s very little. Kingsley endows Eichmann with an eloquence and humor that’s meant to surprise us, springing on us the harsh truth that evil people are people too. Evidently, this sort of technique is better suited for something like Bridge of Spies

‘Bloom’

where the character in question is not a homicidal Nazi organizer, but instead, a Russian spy whose morality and motives are significantly more shrouded. Kingsley turns in a genuinely good performance, but Eichmann never garners any lasting sympathy from us because the film doesn’t really allow for any. His words carry weight, but his psychology never renders into anything unexpected or nuanced. It doesn’t help that Oscar Isaac isn’t given anything to do—he’s often relegated to sitting pensively in the corner of a room, or piping in at the end of an important conversation to make an unfunny wisecrack. For much of the runtime, Operation Finale goes through the motions—it looks and feels like the films it aspires to be, but something about it is lacking. Maybe it’s the writing. Even after setting aside the contrivances and character clichés, the dialogue often feels unnatural and awkward (and not in any way that would suggest subversiveness). It also could be the jangly, out-of-nowhere score from Alexandre Desplat that feels considerably more playful than the film wants or to be, creating a tonal dissonance that does the work no favors. Or maybe it’s just the simple fact that Operation Finale doesn’t want to get its hands dirty, preferring instead to hide behind the sheen of its slick, manufactured images that recall but fail to emulate the better films that came before it. 

John Krasinski debuts his refreshing Jack Ryan performance in Troye Sivan expands his musical palette on new album Amazon’s installment of the Tom Clancy original ................. A11 ‘Bloom’ but lacks lyrical creativity......................................... A11

Brightside KAYLIE RAMIREZ

Here at Boston College, one of 28 Jesuit universities in the United States, students are challenged to reflect on Rev. Michael Himes’s three questions before they graduate: What brings you joy? What are you good at? And what does the world need from you? These questions are aimed at guiding students through the process of “vocational discernment,” or essentially helping seniors figure out what they are supposed to do after dishing out upwards of $280,000 for a degree in communication. While these questions are certainly important to individual students’ vocational discernment, I started to think about whether we can apply these questions to BC students as a whole. At last, I have uncovered the single common thread that unites all BC students under one big, fuzzy, overpriced BC bookstore blanket: “Mr. Brightside.” In 2004, The Killers set the world aflame with the angsty adolescent anthem, and even 14 years later, the building guitar progression and pounding drum beat continue to boom out of the thin walls of packed Mods and not-so-packed doubles in Fitzaga alike. Does “Mr. Brightside” bring BC students joy? Absolutely. (As a truly dedicated fan, I may have cried actual tears of joy when The Killers gave an explosive performance of the song at Boston Calling this past May.) Are BC students good at singing “Mr. Brightside”? In regards to pitch, Juilliard probably has us beat. The overwhelming lack of concern for the technicalities of music does not inhibit droves of drunkards from belting out the lyrics on weekend nights, however. I’ve even witnessed a few get creative with the song’s sometimes cryptic lines, screaming “Open up my eagle eyes” rather than “eager eyes” to demonstrate just how easily the song can be molded to reflect our unwavering school pride. At football games, it is easy to see how important “Mr. Brightside” is to the student body—while the second verse of our fight song “For Boston” becomes less and less coherent with each line, the lyrics to “Mr. Brightside” remain audible and clear. Who needs “wisdom’s earthly fame,” anyway? Like the CSOM student I am, I am more than willing to settle for “doing just fine.” Finally, does the world need countless service-minded scholars from one of the finest Jesuit institutions to dedicate an incalculable amount of hours to learning and reciting “Mr. Brightside”? Just as much as CSOM boys and MCAS economics majors need Vineyard Vines to feel a sense of belonging. One of the cornerstones of a Jesuit education is community—BC not only educates men and women for others, but also men and women for each other. Everyone can relate to the unexpected pain that sometimes accompanies an imaginary voyeuristic invasion of privacy. While watching two oblivious people hook up from the shadows may be a little extreme by some measures, we all have sorted through someone’s likes on Twitter or tagged posts on Instagram to find exactly what we were hoping to never see. This shared experience of romantic jealousy, too oft felt while staring down your imaginary boyfriend and his very real girlfriend canoodling in the line at Late Night (Rest in power Lower Late Night.), helps us connect with each other and really get to know the whole person behind the pristine LinkedIn profile picture. Cultishly chanting the lyrics in perfect synchrony is the easiest way for us to cura each others’ personales. So Eagles, here is to another year of drinking the Jesuit Kool-Aid, killing off countless brain cells during Natty Lightfueled nights, and “going off of that” in Philosophy of the Person. Alexa, play “Mr. Brightside.”

Kaylie Ramirez is the assoc. arts editor for The Heights. She can be reached at arts@bcheights.com.

‘Searching’..........................................A11 ‘Sittin’ Pretty’...........................................A11 ‘High Hopes’.......................................A11