www.bcheights.com
Monday, February 10, 2020
Steinberg Appointed First Director of Schiller Institute Laura Steinberg will leave Syracuse to start her role at BC in May. By Scott Baker News Editor Boston College named Laura Steinberg the first director of the Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society on Thursday morning, according to a University release. Steinberg, who will begin her role in May, is currently serving as the interim executive director of the Syracuse Center of Excellence for Environmental and Energy Systems at Syracuse University. Steinberg is also the founding director of Syracuse’s Infrastructure Institute. “I am delighted to join Boston College as
the founding Seidner Executive Director of the Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society,” Steinberg said in the release. “With a new state-of-the-art building, funding for 22 new faculty members, and the enthusiastic support of the University community, the Institute offers the perfect opportunity for faculty and students across all of BC’s schools and colleges to collaborate in addressing complex global challenges.” With the hiring of Steinberg, four of the last five non-athletics senior administrators hired by BC have been women, according to a conversation with another administrator. In July, Karen Muncaster began her role as dean of the Woods College of Advancing Studies and then-interim Vice President of Student Affairs Joy Moore permanently
See Schiller, A3
OIP Releases Class of ’22 Study Abroad Decisions 72 percent of applicants were placed in their first-choice programs. By Madeleine Romance Assoc. News Editor The Office of International Programs (OIP) released its study abroad placements to students on Tuesday morning on the Agora Portal. Seventy-two percent of students received their top-choice program in both location and semester—a slight increase from last year’s rate of 70 percent—according to Nick Gozik, director of OIP. Of the 945 students who applied to study abroad, 85 percent received one of their six choices, Gozik said in an email to The Heights. All applicants who fulfilled the eligibility requirements were assigned a program. For those students not placed in their six initial choices, OIP placed them in a program of their choice during the fall semester. Nearly all students were admitted to a program they requested, if not their semester of choice. An imbalance in the number of students going abroad in the fall and spring semesters prompted the University to introduce limits on the number of students who could study abroad each semester in 2018. The year prior, 72 percent of students applying for study abroad requested the spring semester, while 28 percent requested the fall.
On account of the limits, last year, OIP required students to list three programs on their applications and rank them in order of their preference—rather than simply apply for one program, as was done in years prior. Students also had to include at least one fall-semester program among the three on their applications. Before the limits were applied, students only applied to one study abroad program at a time, reapplying if they were not accepted. In response to the feedback OIP received from last year’s process, students this year were allowed to apply to six programs. Students were also not required to list the fall as an option during the application process. “We wanted students to have the maximum ability to give us an indication of their preferences,” Gozik said in the email. “At the same time, we were honest about the need to balance our numbers and encouraged students to consider the fall semester.” In early fall 2019, all sophomores were notified of these changes, which were communicated through mandatory Study Abroad 101 sessions, online updates on the OIP website, and in advising sessions. Students must decide whether to accept their placement by Feb. 25. This year, OIP is also giving students the opportunity to be placed on a waitlist for various spring programs after Feb. 25. “We are cautioning students that the availability of spring programs is very slim, especially if they have been placed in the fall,” Gozik said. n
MAGGIE DIPATRI / HEIGHTS EDITOR
Teams Face Off in Final UGBC Debate The event exposed sharp divisions between candidates’ campaigns. By Jack Miller Heights Senior Staff and
Megan Kelly
Asst. News Editor The four teams competing for the Undergraduate Government of Boston College presidency and vice presidency met for the final debate on Sunday night. Unlike last week’s Diversity and Inclusion Debate—where candidates largely agreed on their ultimate goals—the meeting featured head-on criticism of both platforms and opponents.
In their opening statement, Christian Guma, CSOM ’21, and Kevork Atinizian, CSOM ’22, promoted their slogan, “Making the Heights Home,” arguing that the University hasn’t lived up to expectations. “This past year, BC received 5,000 overall less applicants for the Class of 2024, simply showing how even prospective students are falling by the day and BC needs to keep up,” Atinizian said. The Class of 2024 is the first group to apply since the University moved to an Early Decision policy, which requires early applicants to commit to attending BC should they be accepted. The University has said that the number of applications fell within its expected range, given the new policy.
Guma and Atinizian also reiterated their pledge to not accept the stipends offered to UGBC president and vice president, which total $7,500 each year. Along with the other executive officers, who Guma and Atinizian have said in the past will forego the stipends, the funds would total $19,500. Czar Sepe, MCAS ’21, deferred his opening statement to his running mate, Jack Bracher, MCAS ’22, who compared serving the student body to playing hockey—as both endeavors require commitment and communication between every person involved. Dennis Wieboldt, MCAS ’23, anchored his opening statement in his status as a freshman, which he said
See UGBC, A3
Black History Month Mass Celebrated Rev. Davidson, S.J. led the Mass in St. Ignatius Church Sunday night. By Nadine Akkawi Editorial Assistant Boston College Campus Ministry held a Mass at St. Ignatius Church in honor of Black History Month on Sunday night. The Mass, which was celebrated by Rev. Michael Davidson, S.J., was centered around overcoming the cycle of racism, valuing all humans equally, and commemorating black history. Davidson began and ended his homily with the lyrics of “Imagine” by John Lennon. He asked his audience to imagine a world of peace, where race was no longer a determining factor in friendships, relationships, and day-to-day interactions. Davidson’s homily included references to the gospel readings, in which Jesus urged his disciples to be the “salt and light of the earth.” He related the message of the gospel
KAITLIN DEVIR / HEIGHTS STAFF
to the struggles of black history, explaining that the words of Jesus apply to the treatment of others, regardless of race. “We are called to be brother and sister. We are called to be salt and light,” Davidson said. Davidson emphasized the primary purpose of the Mass, that in memory of the hatred and oppression black people have endured, love must be celebrated.
“Tonight we are celebrating hope, tonight we are celebrating love, tonight we are celebrating reconciliation,” said Davidson. Delving further into the symbol of salt, Davidson described his time in Zimbabwe, where he witnessed people without access to proper refrigeration use salt to preserve their meat, similar to the mechanism used
See Mass, A3
Datamatch Pairs Eagles With Valentines ‘The New England Classic’ brought the service to BC in 2019. By Kaylie Ramirez Heights Senior Staff BRADLEY SMART / HEIGHTS SENIOR STAFF
Lacrosse Falls to UMass 15-11 in Season Opener
BC hadn’t lost a regular season game since 2017.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
FEATURES: Gale Straub
Straub highlights women in the wilderness in her new book ‘She Explores’....................A4
In today’s dating climate, there’s no shortage of companies who claim they will help you find your next date. Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge allow you to swipe through an endless list of candidates until you settle on a slightly different iteration of the same econ-major “Mike” or “Matt” you exchanged
ARTS: Liturgy Arts Group
small-talk DMs with last week. Datamatch, on the other hand, affords you no such agency. Created by the Harvard Computer Society (HCS) in 1994, Datamatch will deliver 10 potential matches to your email inbox if you give the algorithm-powered matchmaker 20 minutes of your time. After dating for a few weeks this fall, one Boston College couple realized the Datamatch algorithm predicted their relationship months in advance. The two had matched on Datamatch in February 2019, the first year the platform was available to BC students. After realizing they had a missed connection, the couple emailed Datamatch
The on-campus musical ensemble engages worshippers through song................................. A9
INDEX
to request their original survey responses and praise the HCS team for its accuracy. Unfortunately, the enthusiastic emailer is no longer with his Datamatch and declined to be interviewed for this piece. But The New England Classic, BC’s resident satirical newspaper and the organizer behind the BC branch of Datamatch, doesn’t view a relationship as the end goal of using Datamatch in the first place. “The way we presented it last year, we had no intention of running it like you’re going to meet your husband or wife,” said
See Datamatch, A3
NEWS.........................A2 OPINIONS................. A6
Vol. CI, No. 4 MAGAZINE..................A4 ARTS........................ A9 © 2020, The Heights, Inc. METRO........................ A5 SPORTS.................... A12 www.bcheights.com
The Heights
A2
TOP
3
things to do on campus this week
1
Russell Miller of Washington and Lee School of Law will be giving a talk Thursday at the Barat House. The event will begin at 12 p.m., and lunch will be provided.
2
T Mhursday onday, F , ebruary August 10, 29, 2020 2019
Ellen Winner, a psychologist and professor at BC, will be giving a lecture on Thursday in Devlin 425. Winner, who specializes in psychology of art, will begin her talk at 12 p.m.
3
The Undergraduate Government of Boston College will be celebrating Valentine’s Day in O’Neill Plaza on Friday with chocolates and valentines from 1 to 3 p.m.
NEWS UGBC Passes Resolution on Coronavirus Outbreak BRIEFS UCS Extends Hours on Tuesdays University Counseling Services (UCS) has extended its hours on Tuesdays in an effort to expand access to students looking to use its services. The new hours, which are from 5 to 7 p.m., are primarily intended for scheduled appointments with clinicians. UCS is piloting this change in availability to see whether the new time is better utilized than the standard hours, according to Craig Burns, director of UCS. If there is value added, Burns said, UCS plans to stick with the change. The UCS offices are typically open from 8:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Services available during these times include in-office emergency appointments, which will not be available during the extended hours, according to Burns. The after-hours emergency clinician will still be available over the phone, just as before. UCS also launched an interpersonal process group—a less-structured group counseling session—specifically directed at LGBTQ+-identifying students this semester, Burns said. The Office of Student Outreach and Support Services additionally offers two separate community support groups for LGBTQ+ students called Horizon and Prism. Horizon supports gay, bisexual, queer, and questioning men, and Prism supports queer, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning women. The goal of both new initiatives is to expand accessibility and the scope of services offered by UCS, Burns said, citing the addition of consultation appointments within the last year, which has increased entries to treatment by 10 percent.
Thompson Wins MLK Scholarship Shakalah Thompson, MCAS ’21, was awarded the Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship on Thursday. The scholarship is awarded yearly to a junior who has “demonstrated superior academic achievement, extracurricular leadership, community service, and involvement with the African American community and African American issues,” according to a University release. In addition to Thompson, the candidates for the scholarship were Kathryn Destin, Berlindyne Elie, Langston Swafford, all MCAS ’21, and Daniel Adedeji, Lynch ’21. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Committee announced Thompson as the winner at its annual banquet. Now in its 38th year, the banquet is held to bring together students, faculty, and administration to celebrate the scholarship and its recipient. David R. Williams, a professor of public health, African and African American Studies, and sociology at Harvard University, gave the keynote address of the evening. Williams is also the chair of the department of social and behavioral sciences at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and an internationally recognized social scientist, according to Harvard’s website. Williams has authored more than 450 scientific papers and has helped to develop health policy at a national level. He hosted a TEDMED Talk titled “How Racism Makes Us Sick” in April of 2017 and was a top scientific adviser for the PBS film series Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick? Williams developed the Everyday Discrimination Scale, “a comprehensive series of questions to assess an individual’s experiences involving potential discrimination in various situations and contexts, including education, housing, and the workplace,” according to a University release. It is one of the most widely used methods to measure discrimination in health studies.
By Jack Miller Heights Senior Staff
The Undergraduate Government of Boston College Senate passed a resolution on Tuesday advocating for a University response to the possible risk of an on-campus coronavirus outbreak. The resolution, proposed by senators Crystal Pu, Senate president pro tempore and Lynch ’20, and Dennis Wieboldt, UGBC presidential candidate and MCAS ’23, called on the BC administration to adopt a list of health and safety precautions and provide mental health resources for students. It garnered 19 votes in support and one abstention—narrowly clearing the 17-vote requirement, as several senators arrived late from campaigning for the UGBC presidency and vice presidency. “Despite the fact that members of every other President/VP campaign chose to (1) not show, or (2) arrive with less than half of the meeting left, we have remained focused on working diligently for the student body, not our own interests,” Wieboldt posted on Facebook. Wieboldt, coming from an internship, also arrived late to the meeting, and Lorenzo Leo, his vice presidential running mate and MCAS ’23, missed the meeting due to illness. The members of the other three teams were campaigning, missing all or part of the meeting. The measure comes in response to the
recent coronavirus outbreak that began in Wuhan, China. There have been more than 31,000 confirmed cases in China, and the virus has killed over 600 people, according to The New York Times. Although more mild strains of coronavirus are comparable to the common cold, the new Wuhan strain is more severe. As of Sunday, there have been 12 confirmed cases in the United States, according to the Times, including one Boston resident. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health announced on Saturday that the risk to the public remains low in Massachusetts. Thomas Nary, director of University Health Services, sent an email to The Heights that there were no suspected cases at BC. While presenting the resolution, Pu noted the large number of Chinese international students who may have had contact with coronavirus or have family members at risk of infection. The first part of the resolution asked the University to help prevent or restrict the spread of illnesses on campus, beginning with academic and medical accommodation for students who chose to self-isolate for the 14-day incubation period. It also advocated for the creation of a travel disclosure form similar to one launched at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for students who have recently traveled from China or been in contact with those who have.
The final provision concerning preventative measures called on the Office of Health Promotion (OHP) to make hand sanitizer, tissues, and facemasks more conveniently available across campus. It also called on OHP to advocate for strict sanitary practices among the student body. The remaining sections of the resolution addressed anxiety felt by Chinese students, many of whom have had racist and xenophobic remarks directed at them, Pu said. She noted that students with families in China might be in need of expanded mental health resources. “There is a culture among the Asian students not to not talk about mental health problems,” Pu said. “It is important for the University to reach out actively to them and make sure they’re okay and provide treatment if possible.” The resolution suggested the University encourage faculty and staff proficient in Mandarin Chinese or familiar with Chinese culture and values to make themselves available to students. Pu also drew attention to the risk of bias against Chinese students—saying that she has overheard other BC students making jokes about international students being contagious. The final part of the resolution called on the University to take proactive measures and commit to a firmer stance against incidents of discrimination against Asian and Asian American students. “We need to make sure that the coro-
navirus is not being used as an excuse for students to make any racist or xenophobic comments and protect the safety of all students,” Pu said. Several senators raised concerns about the resolution, including the risk that it could unnecessarily stoke fears despite the low risk the disease currently poses to BC students. In response, Pu argued that the resolution only added extra security measures and provided an opportunity for students to educate themselves about coronavirus. Wieboldt noted that the presence of racist and xenophobic sentiments around campus was proof that there was already significant fear. Ultimately, just one senator—Matthew Holcomb, CSOM ’20—chose to vote against the resolution. In an interview with The Heights, Holcomb explained that his abstention from the vote was in response to the self-isolation provision. Holcomb took issue with the self-isolation provision, believing that the original version signaled that students ought to self-isolate if they have been to China recently or had returned from China since Jan. 20. “I think that the UGBC Senate is an advisory committee that represents students in advising the administration in matters involving said students, but I don’t think our body has any authority nor jurisdiction to compel students to some action,” Holcomb said. n
Founder of Black Lives Matter Canada Speaks at BC By Brandon Kenney For the Heights The AHANA+ Leadership Council and GLBTQ+ Leadership Council of the Undergraduate Government of Boston College hosted a lecture on Thursday from Janaya Khan, social justice activist and co-founder of Black Lives Matter Canada. Khan—whose pronouns are they/them/theirs—has received a number of awards for their activism, including the 2015 Bromley Armstrong Humanitarian Award. To begin the lecture, Khan discussed a recent incident on a flight in which an older man questioned Khan on whether they belong in first class due to the color of their skin. This incident, Khan said, was the result of a deep societal problem—one rooted in the way white people are taught to perceive and act in society. “It’s what happens when you’ve been taught your entire life that you belong everywhere and that everything belongs to you,” Khan said. “It’s why, every time, there’s a new video coming out, some video about some person, some white women or white man or someone that’s telling some black child that she can’t sell lemonade on the corner,
or that a cookout happening on a Sunday is a problem.” Khan discussed the controversial 2019 confrontation between the Covington Catholic High School students and activist Nathan Phillips in front of the Lincoln Memorial. After giving their version of what happened during that confrontation, Khan gave their reasoning as to why the students of Covington Catholic High School deserved to be reprimanded, rather than celebrated. Because the kids received significant praise for their actions, Khan said, this normalizes entitled behavior. “These are the same kids who are groomed to become the next Brett Kavanaughs,” Khan said. “And if they aren’t taught something other than that contempt, then they become grown-ups, they become adults and people who’ve [wielded] a lot of power and [wielded] that privilege, not responsibility.” A significant problem Khan identified in today’s America is racially homogenous communities that have no contact with each other. When those in power never have to interact with those who are harmed by their actions, Khan said, they become content with the reality of the world, even if major changes
Aneesa Wermers / For the Heights
Janaya Khan, hosted by UGBC, spoke about solidarity and white entitlement.
may be needed. “Segregated countries, segregated neighborhoods, lead to segregated thinking,” Khan said. “It’s very easy to be contemptuous of someone you never have to interact with. You learn to be contemptuous to anything that doesn’t look like you or sound like you.” Khan pointed out a surprising statistic they said Democrats need to consider if they want to win the 2020 election. The greatest indicator in telling who a person will vote for is not race, class, or wealth, Khan said—it is zip code. “We know that zip codes tell a lot in this country: what kind of funding schools get, what kind of police presence you have, how
many prison cells are going to be built in nearby prisons,” Khan said. “But it also told us, if we we’re looking, who would have voted for someone as casually cruel as this person in the highest office in the country.” Khan argued that Democrats must focus on making their way into neighborhoods and winning votes in groups, rather than individually. If Democrats want to win the votes of individuals and keep their support for a prolonged period of time, candidates must win over entire neighborhoods, as one’s neighbors also play a significant role in who they will vote for, Khan said. “It’s not just about what you stand for, it’s about who you sit with,” Khan said. n
Laura Steinberg Currently Works at Syracuse Schiller, from A1 stepped into her position. Amy Yancey began her role as vice president for development in October, and Rev. James Keenan, S.J., was named the vice provost for Global Engagement in February. Multiple senior administrators expressed excitement with the hiring of Steinberg as the new director of the Schiller Institute, including Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences Dean Rev. Greg Kalscheur, S.J.; Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley; and Vice Provost
for Research Tom Chiles. “Her leadership will engage faculty, students, and the larger Boston College community as we work to bring our vision for the Schiller Institute to life,” Quigley said in the release. Currently in construction, the Schiller Institute is a five-story project that is expected to cost $150 million and will house 11 classrooms, one 188-seat auditorium, two “active learning spaces,” multiple labs, offices, “maker-spaces,” and a café. The project is a major part of BC’s efforts to expand into STEM education,
as it is intended to enhance the quality of STEM programs such as computer science and physics. “The mission of the Schiller Institute at Boston College is to create new initiatives in basic and applied science, educate the next generation of science and technology leaders and innovators, develop new tools to address crucial societal problems, and promote partnerships with industry and the public and private sectors,” the release said. “Through the Schiller Institute, Boston College will advance new interdisci-
plinary academic programs in integrated and applied sciences, computer and data science, and human-centered engineering, to complement the global public health program that was launched in 2018.” Schiller is also intended to receive the LEED Silver Certification, an indicator of environmental sustainability, which two of BC’s most recent constructions— Stokes Hall and 2150 Comm. Ave. —have also received. The LEED Silver Certification is given to buildings with a high score in environmental efficiency. n
CORRECTIONS What are your plans for Valentine’s Day? “Probably sleep.” — Jay Moon, MCAS ’23
“Sadness.” — Cate Hamalian, MCAS ’23
“I’m going to cry on my bed.” — Maggie Sjostrom, MCAS ’22
“Dinner with my girlfriends.” — Bella Smith, LSOE ’23
Please send corrections to eic@bcheights.com with ‘correction’ in the subject line.
The Heights
Monday, February 10, 2020
A3
‘The Classic’ Brings Datamatch Back Datamatch, from A1
Peter Zogby, managing editor of The Classic and MCAS ’21. “If you did decide to date or marry the person you met on Datamatch, that would be absolutely crazy.” In fact, Zogby took the survey last year and did not match with his current girlfriend, Shea Rulon, marketing and business director of The Classic and CSOM ’20, who is also in charge of the Datamatch project this year. Rulon reported that she matched with Zogby’s roommate, however. The process requires users to answer 22 survey questions that the Datamatch team runs through its nebulous “Algorithm”—which HCS refers to with a capital A as if it’s some omnipotent deity—to determine the matches. Since launching 25 years ago, HCS has expanded Datamatch to 25 other schools through Datamatch clubs at other universities or recruiting pre-existing clubs to write surveys and market the platform on their campuses. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tufts University, Wellesley College, and, of course, Harvard University are the other Boston-area schools that participate in Datamatch. Last year, 1,572 BC students, or 16.8 percent of the undergraduate student body, took the survey, according to the Datamatch team. From the moment Datamatch approached The Classic with a pitch to bring the platform to BC in the fall of 2018, The Classic had its own vision for the matchmaking service’s role on campus. Rather than designing the questions to yield insights about romantic compatibility, The Classic aimed
to match people based on their sense of humor. While the HCS Datamatch website specifies that the service’s original purpose was to be “humorous and casual,” some of The Classic’s submissions still received pushback from Datamatch last year. “They had some feedback that was like, ‘Oh, maybe have an answer that makes sense,’” Rulon said. “And we were like, ‘No, that’s not our brand.’” Aside from aligning the sur vey questions with The Classic’s irreverent, BC-specific comedic style, Zogby said he views Datamatch as a way to “let people into the joke.” Taking the survey allows BC students to interact more closely with The Classic than, for example, liking one of its Instagram posts. Permitting the publication to be the potential progenitor of your next fling or relationship requires at least a modicum of trust. Rulon and Zogby said the platform suits The Classic’s brand on another front: sex. Zogby described the questions for this year’s survey as “sexually explicit.” The Facebook event description declares that “some nerds at Harvard” and “some goblins” at The Classic are “going to get you laid (or at least some over-the-pants stuff )!” This year, The Classic entered into a partnership with RubberHub, a condom-delivery service operated by Students for Sexual Health (SSH). The final question on the survey allows students to opt into the free service. The partnership replaces last year’s partnership with Snackpass, which offered students a coupon to get mac ’n’ cheese at Crazy Dough’s if they went on a date with their match. The RubberHub
offer, however, does not have to be redeemed with a match. MaryElizabeth Mooney, editor-in-chief of The Classic, vice president of SSH, and MCAS ’20, was the liaison between The Classic and RubberHub. “They’re both not registered clubs at BC,” Mooney said. “[The Classic has] a lot more reach, just being a lot more well-known on campus. I’m happy to lend that clout to anything that is a good cause like SSH. … It’s a no-brainer.” Aside from the new partnership, Datamatch will have a couple of other changes in its second year at BC. Datamatch will not match BC students with MIT and Wellesley students as it did last year, and HCS is planning to launch a chat feature on its websites for all schools. The BC survey launched on Friday and will be open until Feb. 14, at which point students will receive their matches. As of Sunday night, over 300 BC students had taken the survey, while over 3000 students had taken the survey at Harvard in the same three day period. Rulon and Zogby, however, are confident that BC’s Datamatch will see a higher turnout this year than it did in its first year. “I think pushing it as a Classic project and a BC cultural thing rather than this cool matchmaking thing that we imported from across the river changed how people approached it in the first place,” Zogby said. “Which I think gave us an edge over the other schools who are trying to push it as like, ‘Harvard gave us this and it’s sick ’cause it’s Harvard.’ No. It actually sucks ’cause it’s Harvard. It rocks because it’s [BC] and we sexualized it.” n
Black History Month Mass Celebrated at St. Ignatius
Kait Devir / Heights Staff
Davidson Calls for Peace Mass, from A1 in the time Jesus lived. He invited members of the congregation to reflect upon what they would choose to preserve. “My question today is, to all of us, black, white, pink, or green: What are we going to preserve?” asked Davidson. “Are we going to preserve the past injustices?” Davidson also incorporated the symbol of light into his homily to emphasize Jesus’ message of building one another up. “All of us are called, every day, to bring light to each other’s lives,” Davidson said. “We must ask ourselves: How are we being a light to one another? And if we are not doing that my brothers and sisters, we are living in darkness.” To further expand on his point of integrating the gospel into one’s life, Davidson spoke about a time when someone asked him how he responded
to instances during which he was disadvantaged by racism. “I responded, ‘I trust the man who walked on the water: Jesus Christ,’” Davidson said. “So judge people not by the color of their skin. Judge people not by where they come from—because Jesus looked upon all of us with love and compassion and calls on us to do the same. So, I’m a dreamer. I believe. I believe in peace and a world where we live with love.” After the homily, a group of students led petitions in which they asked, among other petitions, that those present pray that the world would accept the challenge of breaking the cycle of ignorance and prejudice. The lectors announced that the donations from the collection basket would go to the mission of breaking the wheel of poverty. The Mass concluded with the choir’s voices filling St. Ignatius with the song “We Are Marching,” sung in English, and in Zulu, as “Siyahamba.” n
Undergraduate Government of Boston College Holds Final Debate Debate, from A1
provides him and his running mate, Lorenzo Leo, MCAS ’23, with the “fresh energy” UGBC needs this year. “We’ve seen how an organization that is supposed to be devoted to advocating for the student body doesn’t even talk to the student body,” Wieboldt said. “The reason we’re running right now and not in two or three years is because we think we’re at a critical point in BC’s history.” John Gehman, MCAS ’21, said that he and his running mate Leonardo Escobar, MCAS ’22, hope to fight for “the BC that [he] was promised.” Gehman said that before he arrived on campus, BC failed in its duty to make everyone feel welcome, specifically pointing to the lack of an LGBTQ+ resource center. “When I came here as a queer student of color, I was promised by a Jesuit that Boston College was first a university and not a church,” Gehman said. “I thought I was going to be as supported as any other person here, but the fact of the matter is … the lack of a queer resource center is just a testament to why BC is not following its commitment to cura personalis.” Much of the direct back-and-forth between teams came after the moderators asked questions tailored to specific policy proposals, beginning with Guma and Atinizian’s promise regarding stipends. Guma, speaking first, acknowledged that he and Atinizian were in positions to use the funds for other purposes. He said that their budget proposal would allocate the stipend funds to creating Uber or Lyft discounts for students, mental health resources, and an LGBTQ+ resource
center. He went on to address Sepe and Bracher, who he said have attacked the stipend pledge as potentially excluding future candidates who might need the money. He also challenged the pair, twice, by asking them what they knew of his economic status. “If you think that standing up for LGBTQ+ students, for Uber and Lyft discounts for students, and for mental health resources is exclusionary, I have a problem with that,” Guma said. “And Kevork and I didn’t appreciate the fact that we were trying to help the student body and we were attacked based on our need characteristics.” In his rebuttal, Bracher asked how they planned to fund their proposals in the long term if future executives opt to accept the stipend. Sepe said that the stipend was a necessary part of ensuring students from low-income backgrounds can have a role in the executive branch. Wi eb o l d t p r a i s e d G u m a a n d Atinizian for not accepting the stipends, although he said that he had not taken a position on the issue himself. He disagreed with Sepe’s point that it could set a precedent for future candidates and admonished him for “using socioeconomic diversity on campus to score political points.” The candidates also diverged on their approach to the Board of Trustees. Sepe and Bracher said that while they would be cooperative, they would also acknowledge any fundamental disagreements between the board and themselves—especially regarding BC’s devotion to sustainability campaigns and unwillingness to end investments in the fossil fuel industry. Sepe said that environmental consciousness in particular has been overlooked as an important Jesuit value.
On a referendum item in last year’s UGBC elections ballot, over 2,000 students—84 percent of those who voted—voted “Yes” on the question of whether BC should divest from fossil fuels. At the time, Associate Vice President of University Communications Jack Dunn said that the University believes that the most effective method of limiting the effects of climate change is a commitment to reducing energy usage and improving sustainability on campus. Wieboldt and Leo said that they would engage the board as partners, rather than confront them with demands. Wieboldt outlined a list proposals that the pair would immediately demand, such as revising the student conduct process to include a hearing panel, restructuring the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences advising system for first-year students, and creating a group of students and faculty that could work toward divestment. Gehman and Escobar emphasized that they would approach the board as advocates for the student body, regardless of whether or not they agreed on topics such as divestment and sustainability. Social pressure, they said, would be the most effective tool for bringing about change. Guma and Atinizian highlighted their commitment to creating an LGBTQ+ Resource Center, saying that on day one they would sit down with members of the GLBTQ+ Leadership Council to create a plan and present it to the Board of Trustees. The candidates were also asked about the relationship between UGBC and student activism, including whether or not student government should remain neutral, stay behind the scenes, or act as an agent of social
Maggie Dipatri / Heights Editor
Dennis Wieboldt, MCAS ’23, spoke about his fresh perspective as a first-year student.
change. Leo said that he hopes to fully support activism while staying mindful of UGBC’s role as a liaison between students and administrators. By the nature of its role, UGBC should not confront the administration, he said. Sepe talked about the two major incidents of racism that have occured at BC over the past two years: the defacing of “Black Lives Matter” signs in Roncalli Hall and former student Michael Sorkin’s racist vandalism in Welch Hall. “UGBC, as a vehicle for student advocacy, needs to channel that legitimate fear, that legitimate anger, that legitimate pain … to create that plan for it with the administration,” Sepe said. Throughout the night, Wieboldt made a point of contrasting his tenure in the Senate with the other men on stage. Wieboldt repeatedly highlighted two accomplishments in his first term as a senator—the additions of water fountains in Medeiros Hall and printers in Stuart Dining Hall—which he said contrasted with the Senate’s
inward focus. He mentioned that in his first Senate meeting, he and Leo proposed a resolution that would make recorded minutes of UGBC meetings open to the public. The resolution, which was intended to increase transparency, was not passed, he said. Wieboldt criticized the other candidates for arriving late or skipping last week’s Senate meeting, which resulted in a successful resolution advocating for a University response to the recent coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China. Gehman, Escobar, and Sepe arrived late after campaigning elsewhere on campus during hours set by the Elections Committee, while Atinizian and Bracher did not show up. Wieboldt arrived late from an off-campus internship and Leo, who was sick, did not attend. “Oftentimes we hear from UGBC that our biggest challenge in getting things done is the administration. We fundamentally disagree with that,” Wieboldt said. “The biggest issue that UGBC has is itself.” n
The Heights
A4
Monday, February 10, 2020
Alumna Gale Straub Empowers Women in the Wilderness By Haley Hockin Copy Chief Gale Straub, BC ’08, was working as a financial accountant at a biotechnology company in Cambridge when her partner, Jon Gaffney, suggested they quit their jobs and go on a road trip. After saving for 15 months, putting in their notices, and renovating a van, they did—and in 2014, they spent the year living out of the van and exploring the United States. Today, Straub is the founder, editor-in-chief, podcast host, and producer of She Explores, a media platform that includes written features, podcasts, and artistry centered around women in nature. Straub grew up in New Hampshire surrounded by nature, but not in the most conventional way. Instead of camping and hiking, she tended to the sheep and pigs her family owned and to the vegetable garden her father looked after. Straub said that she spent most of her childhood outdoors with her two siblings. “The three of us spent a lot of time playing outside in a way that seemingly kids don’t always have the ability to do, as it’s a lot more structured today,” she said. When Straub was 16, she and a family
After pondering many different majors—possibly too many, Straub said—she landed on psychology. When asked to pinpoint the class with the largest influence on her work today, however, Straub said it was an experimental photography class she took as a sophomore. Specifically, she said, the class shifted her perspective about what it means to photograph nature. “We learned different methods and just different ways of thinking about how we can use film and photography as an art form versus just getting good at doing techniques in an art room,” she said. “That class taught me I could think out of the box a bit.” Straub graduated from BC in 2008 with a psychology degree, the same year as the stock market crash. She then went on to get a master’s in accounting at Northeastern University and took a job at the accounting firm Ernst & Young. The state of the economy, Straub said, had a considerable influence on the career path she chose to take. “It was something that I did because I felt like it was the right thing to do, but it wasn’t the right thing for me in the long run,” she said. Straub quickly realized that her job neither was fulfilling her, nor was what she
PHOTO COURTESY OF GALE STRAUB
Straub’s podcast, ‘She Explores,’ focuses on women and their experiences in nature. member embarked on a road trip traveling from New Orleans all the way up to Idaho. She pinpointed that event as being one of the most important in cultivating the unique relationship she has with nature today. “That was a big life changing [experience] for me as a 16-year-old to get to see a lot of the expansiveness of the West,” Straub said. Straub came to Boston College in the fall of 2004. As a freshman, she took great advantage of the variety of course offerings in the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences, experimenting across disciplines, she said. “I was one of those freshmen that didn’t really know what I wanted to major in,” Straub said. “The beauty of a liberal arts college is that you get to try different things.”
was looking for, and took a different job at a venture capital firm in Cambridge as an accountant and finance analyst. “I actually had an all-female team and an awesome female CFO that I reported to,” Straub said. “That was really a great learning experience as well, but I was also spending a lot of time inside, so I was kind of dreaming about those times I had getting to go for hikes more often, getting to experience places.” It was during this time that her partner suggested the two quit their jobs and take a year long road trip around America. “He suggested that, and I still very much had my accountant finance hat on and I was like, ‘Well, if we do that we can’t be stupid about it,’” she said.
PHOTO COURTESY OF GALE STRAUB
Alongside Chronicle Books LLC, Straub wrote a book about women in nature.
The two planned for over a year before Straub gave her job a notice. Straub also said that, after quitting her job, she knew she wanted to focus her energy into something meaningful to her, and she decided to start She Explores. Straub started interviewing people before the road trip and launched She Explores the day she and her husband started on the road. Before they set out, Straub interviewed multiple women for a section of her blog called “Women on the Road,” where she wrote about women who were currently traveling and exploring. “I was interviewing people who were [already] traveling like that, partially because I hadn’t hit the road yet, and I was nervous and wanted to hear from people and also because it’s such a fascinating dynamic,” she said. Throughout the yearlong road trip, Straub continued interviewing the people she came across on the road, and she wrote blog posts throughout. As she and her husband returned home, they faced the challenge of having to transition from living in a van and traveling the United States to returning to their home back in New Hampshire. “It was challenging, but at the same time it was really nice,” Straub said. “I was ready to have an oven again, ready to have a couch, ready to have some of the luxuries.” In the end, she found a unique balance between living at home and still embracing her curiosity to travel and explore, she said. “People like easy narratives,” Straub said. “They like the idea that you’re on the road or you’re off the road. I was still traveling and getting opportunities to work on different projects, and it wasn’t like I was stuck in New Hampshire or something.” As She Explores grew in popularity, Straub looked to expand the platform to produce more than blog posts. “I was feeling a little burnt about what I was doing and feeling like that wasn’t much room for growth with [the current blog],” she said. That gave Straub the idea to produce podcasts to post on her website. Straub said that as a beginner, she worked a lot with figuring out the small details about podcasts, such as how to create clear audio, but ultimately, she found success and fulfillment. “I found that it was a great way to deepen the connections I was making with people and also the stories we were able to tell,” she said. “There’s a real connection that can be paid through an audio story.” Straub partnered with the car company Subaru in 2018 to help create and organize a retreat and invite different women to get together and create a podcast episode. “It ended up being one of my favorite podcasts we’ve gotten to work on,” she said. “It’s about sometimes feeling like you’re on a path and you have to stick with it to have determination but [there] are those pivot points in your life—when it is right to change the path you’re on and to push for something different.” The particular podcast episode, called “Are You Allowed to Change your Dream?,” embodies a lot about what She Explores stands for, Straub said. “It’s something that definitely resonates with the target of She Explores,” she said. “There’s so many different pivot points, whether you’re in your 30s and kind of grappling with whether or not you want to start a family or … if you’re someone who’s a little younger and wants to do a yearlong road trip.” After experiencing success with her blog posts and podcasts, Straub was approached
MAGGIE DIPATRI / HEIGHTS EDITOR
Molly has been featured on numerous BC-related Instagram accounts.
PHOTO COURTESY OF GALE STRAUB
Straub and her partner spent a year living in a van and traveling across America. by Chronicle Books LLC, who wanted to work with her on creating a book. Initially, Straub wanted the book to document women in a manner similar to her “Women on the Road” series—throughout the process, though, the book began to take a different direction. “I felt like that wasn’t what I was doing anymore,” Straub said. “I really honed in on and focused on She Explores in terms of the way women experience and interpret nature.”
“I think it’s important for people to say ‘I want to learn about people who are different from me,’” she said. “If we don’t, we’re closing ourselves off to so many different types of people and also a lot of growth.” These two values Straub used to write her book, an emphasis on allowing people both to recognize themselves in the included stories and to learn from them, also extend to She Explores today Straub explained. Today, She Explores has featured more
PHOTO COURTESY OF GALE STRAUB
Straub worked with Subaru in 2018 to organize a women’s retreat. A few months from the day the book was due to the publisher, Straub and her team made some major changes to the book and decided to center the book around the stories of 40 women, many of whom Straub had already interviewed for some of her other blog posts and podcasts. “I made a big spreadsheet and thought about where there [were] gaps in terms of representation and … ‘How can a lot of different people open up this book and either see themselves or feel inspired by what someone’s doing?’” she said. In addition to having readers be able to relate to women included in the story, Straub also emphasized that she worked to include diverse stories that people could learn from.
than 500 women’s stories through podcasts, writing, and artwork that embody a sense of curiosity and respect for nature. Straub said the inquisitive nature that drove her to start She Explores and write a book is important to strive toward across all walks of life. When asked what advice she would want to give college students, Straub said that she would urge them to push past their comfort zones academically, as one of her most meaningful college experiences arose from doing just that. “Take an art class: Push yourself to take something that maybe you thought that you might enjoy doing but you’ve been afraid to,” Straub said. “You’re still in school—take advantage of that.” n
On His Own Time: Altieri Takes His Company to the Next Level By Anna Lonnquist Asst. Magazine Editor From a small desk deep within the office building of DKC, one of New York City’s top public relations firms, Michael Altieri, MCAS ’20, spent the beginning
of his sophomore summer bored out of his mind from 9 to 5, he said. But instead of slogging away at low-level intern tasks all summer, Altieri capitalized on this on-the-job downtime by starting his own watch company. As a self-described “schemer,” Altieri had always wanted to
IKRAM ALI / HEIGHTS EDITOR
Altieri is in the process of adding limited-edition watches to his collection.
find his big idea, he said, but it wasn’t until the summer of 2017 that he decided what that would be. “I was thinking, I really don’t need to invent something new, I don’t need to do something that has never been done before,” Altieri said. “I just need to do something that’s already been done either better, faster, or cheaper, or maybe two of the three or all three of those things. “So eventually I was like, ‘Okay, why don’t I start selling watches?’” Flash forward just two years, and Altieri was again in contact with DKC, but this time to get into contact with a New York Times reporter who wanted to feature his watch brand, Luxana, which he had dreamed up during his long hours as a low-level PR intern. Her piece was about up-and-coming watch brands taking a stand against huge trends, such as the Apple Watch. As someone who started his own watch brand, Altieri was a perfect fit for the story, he said. Altieri’s initial desire to create something new began at age 17, when he started
running an “investment club” at his school, in which he convinced friends and peers that he could get a great return on their investments in the stock market. The idea was ridiculous, he said, but it worked. “I was smart enough to realize that we got lucky, so we took the money out right away,” Altieri said. “It was seven or eight grand, and that was on top of my summer work money. I sat on that for a while waiting for some big crazy idea.” He thought he would design an app, but that idea never came to fruition. Eventually, his realization that he didn’t have to create an entirely new product, but could instead improve upon an already existing one, melded with his interest in watches, he said. His father, Paul Altieri, has spent the last seven years buying and selling used Rolex watches with his company Bob’s Watches. Although his father’s work gave him some exposure, his father’s luxury market and the vision Altieri had for his own affordable watches were practically two different industries, Altieri said. “It obviously influenced me a little bit,”
Altieri said. “But more so what’s influenced me is when he tells me like, the real money, the real following, the real clout is from starting your own brand. And that’s what I always wanted to do.” Altieri created Luxana in June 2017, when he was given too little to do during his DKC internship. He spent much of this summer coming up with designs for his first watch, the Dadi. Initially, his biggest challenge was communicating with his manufacturers in China who only spoke Mandarin, he said. He recalled sending videos of him signaling with his hands the exact degree of outward angle that he wanted on the metal around the Dadi’s face. The design phase was also costly, as each prototype cost $300 to $400. The third prototype wasn’t perfect, he said, but he had to take a leap of faith since he lacked the funds to secure another prototype.
See Altieri, A8
The Heights
Monday, February 10, 2020
By Francesca Giangiulio For The Heights
Breaking what is affectionately called the “BC Bubble” may seem daunting, time consuming, and not worth the trouble when everything needed to enjoy the weekend is right here on campus. I mean, what more could you want from a weekend than an afternoon CoRo Cafe coffee, chicken and two sides dinner, and a Mod party followed by late night at Addie’s or a slice of Pino’s? Even though I’m always up for fries with chipotle mayo, the weekend is a full 48 hours, which provides plenty of time to get off campus, take a break from the usual
routines, and still be back in time for a Rubi pregame or other on-campus evening adventures. Coffee at Thinking Cup Tired of the crowds and can’t wait another minute for a seat at Fuel America? This might be your new favorite weekend café and study spot. The dark, semi-underground shop with rows of small tables and comfortable cushioned seats makes Thinking Cup the quintessential weekend café, reminiscent of Central Perk from Friends. Thinking Cup serves high-end specialty coffee roasted with coffee beans from regions around the globe to create what both The New York Times and Food & Wine Magazine
call the “Best Coffee in the World.” Along with coffee and a full espresso bar, Thinking Cup also serves a variety of breakfast foods, sandwiches, and baked goods including French macarons and other fresh pastries, many of which come in gluten- and dairy-free options. Find a New Favorite Outfit at The Garment District Just a short walk from the Kendall/ MIT stop on the Red Line is one of the most unique clothing stores in Boston: The Garment District. You are bound to find some hidden gems for your closet at The Garment District, selling both new and used, contemporary and vintage clothes. New items are
A5
put out daily, so the store is never the same. Whether you’re looking for an outfit for that ’80s-themed party or just the perfect pair of vintage Levi’s, The Garment District is sure to have everything for the perfect look. Drinking ’Ritas at Sunset Cantina Sunset Cantina is the perfect place to get dinner with friends this weekend, especially since it’s right on Comm. Ave. Sunset offers a wide selection of mixed drinks and liquors, including three rotating margaritas on tap. With a large dance floor and bar area, Sunset is a great place to grab a bite to eat, drink, and socialize with other members of the BC community. It does get crowded quickly though, so
make sure to get a reservation ahead of time. Casablanca at The Brattle Valentine’s Day is this Friday, so I can’t properly end the Weekend Guide without at least one romantic date idea. The historic Brattle Theatre, which calls itself “Boston’s Unofficial Film School,” is screening the classic love story Casablanca this Thursday through Saturday. The small, oneroom theater is one of the few left in the country to still screen movies on 35mm. Tickets are $12 for general admission or $10 with a student ID. If romance isn’t your thing, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood will also be shown this weekend. n
Boston Beginnings: The City That Inspires Adam O’Day
By Rebecca Speer For The Heights
Adam O’Day knows what a party looks like: people dancing on top of a bar, booze flowing freely, and paint brushes moving. When O’Day’s friend Louis DiBiccari’s restaurant, Tavern Road, was closing, he painted a picture to celebrate the closing night. O’Day captured the frenzy in the kitchen at the party for the closing night—painting from real life is his forte. With people dancing and him painting the chaos, O’Day mixed business and pleasure—it just so happens that this painting was at “one of the craziest parties” he’s been to. O’Day is more than just the life of the party, though. He has been making waves ever since his entrance into the art world. In 2005, O’Day earned his bachelor of fine arts from Lesley University’s College of Art and Design. He chose Lesley University not only because of his interest in art but also because of the computer science program the school offers—he wanted to learn to code as well as paint. “It was one of the only places where I could take both art and computer classes, which was really important to me,” O’Day said. Beyond gifting him with a degree, Lesley University’s proximity to Boston also helped to jump-start his career. In 2014, O’Day won the Portrait of a City competition, in which citizens of Boston voted for their favorite piece of art inspired by metropolitan Boston. Released in 2015, O’Day’s winning piece,Transit, depicted the Boston skyline with vibrant colors and bold strokes. His name popped up in the media, bringing attention to his work. Commissions started rolling in: 30 prints of the piece were bought by the mayor’s office and distributed to visiting dignitaries. From that moment on, O’Day’s career was on an upward trajectory. Following his win in a city-wide competition, his next stop was TD Garden, where he painted a mural of the Boston skyline for the Boston Bruins. “The most badass commission was this one that I did for the Bruins because of the celebrities that posed in front of it,” O’Day said. “They also gave out signed prints of the mural and I must’ve signed 300 to 400 prints. It was cool because it was the widest reach I’ve had.” After that, O’Day had a bit of trouble keeping his email inbox empty—the attention he received from this commission garnered him new business. While capturing the attention of the general public, O’Day’s work especially caught the eye of Shane Leonard’s mom. Leonard, CSOM ’20, soon became one of O’Day’s two interns,
PHOTO COURTESY OF ADAM O’DAY
Adam O’Day’s career started in the city of Boston following his success in the Portrait of a City competition, which he won for his piece titled ‘Transit.’ learning about art under O’Day’s wing. Later, Leonard had the opportunity to participate in a painting at TD Garden with O’Day. The two painted a bear and whiskey glass together for Jack Daniel’s at Game Seven of the Stanley Cup. As two self-taught artists, the pair gelled. “His art was cool, and he was making outside art and I know what that’s like,” O’Day said. O’Day passed his tricks of the trade onto Leonard. Before O’Day, Leonard had never worked with oil paints before. But O’Day transformed Leonard from the self-taught artist that he was to a more refined student of art, according to Leonard. “Everything I know is due to him, like the whole process of starting and finishing a painting,” Leonard said. While subjects in Boston mainly comprise the portfolio of O’Day’s comprehensive murals, he also works in his studio. In order to get into a productive mindset in the studio, he uses music. If things are hectic and frustrating, O’Day puts down the paint brush and picks up a pair of drumsticks—he will play drums to loosen up and end up painting until late at night. For him, music is essential to the artistic process. “Music and art are like this,” he said, intertwining his fingers. “Bad music is not good for the creative flow.” For O’Day, any type of powerful music influences his creative process, whether it be sad cowboy music or heavy metal. Music is also the product of his artistic process—he has designed
posters for music groups such as Dave Bruzza of Greensky Bluegrass. For Leonard, music helped him mesh with O’Day—their shared taste in music and humor bonded the two, helping them work in tandem. For O’Day, the influence music has on his art stems from his personal involvement in the craft. When he’s not painting, O’Day is a part of a metal band called Mollusk, which draws its inspiration from groups such as Black Sabbath. If he weren’t an artist, he’d be a full-time musician, O’Day said. His family also influences his artistic and music career, O’Day said. Since he is a self-employed artist, he tries to paint a little bit each day to maintain his business. Sometimes, O’Day paints for a commissioned job. Sometimes, picking up a paint brush simply means painting with his family. Often, O’Day gains inspiration for his professional works on outings with his family, even from events as simple as going to the park. O’Day’s art heavily focuses on the world around him, as evidenced by his Boston and New York City landscapes on his website and in his gallery. He does not set up shop in the street to capture images that spark a painting. Rather, he snaps pictures to paint later. A lot of his inspiration also comes from his fellow artists, from those around him to the greats of the art. He said that whenever he goes into museums, his “creative bank comes out chock-full” of ideas to paint.
Even though O’Day’s portfolio features works predominantly based on real life, he has also done other unique projects. For example, he has worked with the Aeronaut Brewing Company to create IPA label designs for a project titled Baby Dictators with fellow artist Andy Jacob. O’Day designed a lithograph-style label for the IPA Balloon Factory, a type of beer, featuring a picture of President Donald Trump in response to a Pro-Trump supporter who popped a balloon of the president as a baby at an anti-Trump protest earlier in the year. The profits from the beer go toward balloons for future protests against the president. When O’Day collaborates with other artists, the process often involves both artists taking a singular topic with each having their own interpretation of the concept, he said. He has collaborated with many people—including an Iranian astrophysicist. In the upcoming weeks, O’Day will release another beer design, Pilsner of Peace, as a response to the recent conflict between the United States and Iran. The design features scenes in space, described by the astrophysicist which he then drew. “We wanted to depict how world peace could be so easy if the world realized how small it is,” O’Day said. O’Day created three images for the project. One image is green, depicting a futuristic Persepolis, the past capital of the Persian empire, as a nod toward Iran’s history and the impermanence of civilizations. Another has a blue color
scheme with a deer and a blue radiating light in it to represent the Carl Sagan quote that says, “Look again at that dot. That’s here. That’s home. That’s us.” The third featured a red color scheme with images of a satellite. O’Day noted that the project was to remind everyone to “not screw up” peace—and the recipe for the beer would be made available for any breweries around the world so that the message could spread globally. A Netflix special on the project is possibly in the works, he said. His next lithograph collection will also include some subjects that he has not covered extensively before. His spring collection will feature a look at Cape Cod. The two lithographs, one with the color scheme blue and the other orange, will pay homage to the sea and the summer lifestyle in Cape Cod. In one of the lithographs, a camper van is in front of a campfire scene with various objects that one would expect to see at a Cape Cod beach, such as an octopus. While he loves Boston, O’Day said his dream place to have his art shown would be Europe. By drawing inspiration from the world and following his artistic process, he continues to try to grow as an artist so he can get to Europe someday. “The product is sometimes my favorite part of a painting, but the process is always my favorite part because I’m not always there for the product,” O’Day said. “I paint everything for myself.” n
THE HEIGHTS
A6
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2020
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
EDITORIAL
‘The Heights’ Endorses John Gehman and Leonardo Escobar for UGBC President and Vice President The Heights endorses candidates John Gehman, MCAS ’21, and Leonardo Escobar, MCAS ’22, for the 2020 Undergraduate Government of Boston College president and vice president. The endorsement is based on each group’s policy proposals and the 45-minute meetings The Heights had with each of the four teams running. Out of the four teams, Gehman and Escobar best understand the workings of the University and how to effectively advocate for their policy ideas. The other teams—Christian Guma, CSOM ’21, and Kevork Atinizian, CSOM ’22; Dennis Wieboldt, MCAS ’23, and Lorenzo Leo, MCAS ’23; and Czar Sepe, MCAS ’21, and Jack Bracher, MCAS ’22—lacked the knowledge and understanding of student issues and administrative processes to be as successful in the role. Gehman and Escobar said that conversations are not enough and acknowledge the challenges past UGBC administrations have had with putting their proposals into effect. They emphasize working collaboratively with administrators, not combatively, while utilizing social pressure to ensure their ideas are realized. Their policies are a mix of short-term goals and long-term plans that may extend beyond their time in office. They propose expanding the Cura Personalis Period project to all femaleidentified and gender-neutral bathrooms to increase free access to menstrual products. They are the only candidates to propose an “ABC” grading system, which would drop grades below a C from students’ transcripts for classes taken during their first semester freshman year, allowing students to discover new passions without the fear of it damaging their
transcript. Gehman said he has created the “Being Not-Rich at Boston College” resource guide, which the team plans to circulate to all Montserrat and first-generation students. The team plans on advocating for subsidized transportation for Montserrat students in the Lynch School of Education and Human Development and Connell School of Nursing who must travel for education practica and clinicals, respectively. Students are currently required to pay on their own, which presents a financial hardship to some. Gehman and Escobar demonstrate a clear understanding of challenges students from low-income backgrounds are facing at BC and how UGBC can advocate for them. Gehman and Escobar are a dynamic team who The Heights believes will work effectively for the entire student body if elected. The two are compatible running mates who each prioritize different policies and complement each other well—they are capable of working together at the executive level because they have shown an understanding of each other’s strengths, weaknesses, and areas of interest. Out of the four teams, they are the most informed and most aware of a variety of student needs. By highlighting intersectionality and making it a priority throughout their campaign, the pair plans to implement policies that can positively affect nearly every member of the student body, especially students who have been historically marginalized. UGBC is a body that can make suggestions via resolutions or meetings with the BC administration—there are few things that UGBC can simply do. Its role is one of advocacy. UGBC can and should speak for student interests
as an aggregate. Through resolutions and meetings with the administration, UGBC puts pressure on BC to implement certain policies and campaign promises. It is through this method that UGBC can effect change on campus. Most of the policies Gehman and Escobar propose will most likely not be implemented—and the same goes for each of the other teams’ platforms. Gehman and Escobar presented the most well-thought-out, well-researched platform of each of the four teams. They are the most likely to be able to effect change in the areas they seek to. They also demonstrate awareness of the fact that larger projects take multiple years of lobbying before the administration feels enough pressure to act on those projects, if it does so at all. As such, they plan to continue work that previous administrations have done. They also recognize that pressures on the administration must come both from UGBC and from the student community as a whole. Gehman and Escobar have the institutional knowledge and personal experiences to be advocates for all students. While the other teams demonstrated passion, they did not have the same understanding of what policies need to be implemented and how to carry them out. Many had not thoroughly researched their plans, and were misinformed or unaware of crucial information related to their proposals. Gehman and Escobar are informed about important administrators with whom they will need to work on a weekly basis as president and vice president. Both have UGBC experience, and they have the best ability to improve the University for all students.
“Put me somewhere, tell me what to do, and I can get it done.” - Cynthia Erivo
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
In Response to ‘To Be Pro-Life, Be Pro-Climate’ I pity the one-trick pony. For all he knows, the trick he does is the finest in the world, and he does it with all his might. That’s why I write, on his behalf, in his defense. Even if he knew more than one trick, ponies don’t write LTEs. In “To Be Pro-Life, Be ProClimate”, author Kyle Rosenthal writes: “I am not necessarily telling pro-life individuals to stop advocating against abortion, but why not first tackle a larger and more easily preventable life issue?” First, I want to point out that the first part of the sentence contradicts the second. Second, I want to make it clear that I am here neither to rebut each of Rosenthal’s points nor to debate whether climate change or abortion is a more urgent life issue. For fear of belittling either, I will not construct a hierarchy of life issues. Human lives, because they have infinite worth, are not subject to the same calculations as other things; No calculus can tell you which life issue is more pressing. Third, I will share a reflection on gifts. Every person has a unique set of gifts. Perhaps every person is a gift. The fact is that no one, in the entire universe and wholeness of time, will ever be you. A unique genetic makeup, yes, but also a unique set of abilities, shaped by more than genetics: No one will love the way that you were created to love. No one can occupy the narrow window of space and time that you have been granted, and no one will ever do with a lifetime what you
will do with yours. So, what will you do? Whatever you choose, you are the only one who will do it in your particular way. There is a diversity in the gifts of the human family that lends itself wonderfully to the diversity of its struggles. Every person carries humankind’s sorrows, but no person carries them alone. The delusion that one must solve every problem leads to despair. Instead, we are given a share of sorrows, a set of gifts, and a calling in the giving of the gifts. What is it that sets your heart on fire? Follow it. If everyone were to have the same set of passions, the world would suffer. If I were to take Rosenthal’s proposal and apply it to another cause, (the fight against racism, homophobia, sexism, you name it), one of the many important facets of human advocacy would be lost, and the brilliance of the whole reduced. To label any movement as a onetrick pony leads down a path in which all forms of advocacy go extinct, leaving…one species of one-trick pony. We need one-trick ponies, a richly diverse population of them. This does not excuse anti-abortion activists from recycling. But to insist that we all squeeze into the “right” vocation is a mistake. It often seems a dark world, but when it is lit by the gifts of 7.7 billion people, hope can be found. One-trick ponies, unite! Signed, Annemarie Arnold MCAS ’21
CUSTOMER SERVICE Clarifications / Corrections
The Heights strives to provide its readers with complete, accurate, and balanced information. If you believe we have made a reporting error, have information that requires a clarification or correction, or questions about The Heights standards and practices, you may contact Colleen Martin, Editor-in-Chief, at (617) 552-2223, or email eic@bcheights.com. Delivery
To have The Heights delivered to your home each week or to report distribution problems on campus, contact Sophie Lu, General Manager at (617) 552-0547 or email at gm@bcheights.com.
The views expressed in the above editorial represents the official position of The Heights, as discussed and written by The Heights reserves the right to edit for clarity, brevity, accuracy, and to prevent libel. The Heights also reserves the right to write headlines and choose illustrations to accompany pieces submitted to the newspaper.
EDITORIAL
THE
Established 1919
HEIGHTS
The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College
COLLEEN MARTIN, President, Editor-in-Chief SOPHIE LU, General Manager ABBY HUNT, Managing Editor
Advertising
The Heights is one of the most effective ways to reach the BC community. To submit a classified, display, or online advertisement, call our advertising off ice at (617) 552-2220 Monday through Friday.
The Heights is produced by BC undergraduates and is published on Mondays during the academic year by The Heights, Inc. (c) 2020. All rights reserved.
the Editorial Board. Comments on the editorial can be sent to opinions@bccheights.com. Letters and columns can be submitted online at www.bcheights.com, by email to editor@bcheights.com, in person, or by mail to Editor, The Heights, 113 McElroy Commons, Chestnut Hill, Mass. 02467.
BROOKE KAISERMAN, A1 Editor MEEGAN MINAHAN, Visual Director SCOTT BAKER, News Editor EMMA HEALY, Sports Editor JILLIAN RAN, Arts Editor MAEVE REILLY, Magazine Editor ISABELLA CAVAZZONI, Metro Editor MADDIE HADDIX, Opinions Editor OWEN FAHY, Special Projects Editor MAGGIE DIPATRI, Photo Editor HALEY HOCKIN, Copy Chief EMILY ROSATO, Layout Editor
GRETCHEN HAGA, Social Media Director MADDIE PHELPS, Online Manager ÉAMON LAUGHLIN, Multimedia Editor STEPHANIE LIU, Outreach Coordinator MADELEINE ROMANCE, Assoc. News Editor MEGAN KELLY, Asst. News Editor OLIVIA CHARBONNEAU, Assoc. Sports Editor ASA ACKERLY, Asst. Sports Editor GRACE MAYER, Assoc. Arts Editor NATHAN RHIND, Asst. Arts Editor DANNY FLYNN, Assoc. Magazine Editor ANNA LONNQUIST, Asst. Magazine Editor
BUSINESS AND OPERATIONS GAVIN ZHANG, Assoc. Metro Editor JULIA REMICK, Asst. Metro Editor IKRAM ALI, Assoc. Photo Editor JESS RIVILIS, Asst. Photo Editor SOPHIE RAGANO, Asst. Multimedia Editor JULIA KIERSZNOWSKI, Copy Editor RACHEL PHELAN, Copy Editor LAUREN WITTENMYER, Copy Editor NADINE AKKAWI, Editorial Assistant ERIC SHEA, Editorial Assistant
ASHLEY YOON, Operations Manager AMY VANDERSCHANS, Alumni Outreach Coordinator EMILY QIAN, Collections Manager MAC MCGEE, Local Accounts Manager ANISH WARTY, Local Accounts Manager CHRISTINE ZHANG, On-Campus Accounts Manager GINA FRANKIS, National Accounts Manager
THE HEIGHTS
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2020
LIBERAL
Bernie Sanders for President 2020 and put all Americans on a single government health care plan, almost every single other developed country in the world guarantees health care to its citizens. In addition to this, the United States still spends more per capita on health care every year than 69
countries that do guarantee health care as
BRENDAN ILNITZKI
a right. The effects of the United States’
With the conclusion of the first Demo-
health care system are staggering—as of
cratic caucus, and the first step in nominat-
2018, nearly 28 million people did not
ing the Democratic presidential candidate,
have health insurance, and as of 2016 an
Bernie Sanders has become a front-runner
estimated 41 million people between the
to winning the Democratic nomination.
ages of 19 and 64 have inadequate health
Sanders’ movement originated as a small
insurance.
grassroots campaign in 2016, but that small
The concept of a business model is
campaign now has Sanders consistently
to generate the most revenue and reduce
polling among the top two candidates na-
costs. Therefore, the business model for
tion-wide.
a health insurance and drug agencies is
Sanders’ positions on health care,
to create the most revenue, by increasing
climate change, and LGBTQ+ rights, were
premiums and increasing the prices of
viewed as radical just four years ago, but
necessary drugs (such as insulin). Because
most of his policies are now mainstream
of this profit-maximization system, millions
positions within the Democratic primary.
of Americans are not able to afford these
Many of the other nominees, such as
increased prices, forcing people to not seek
Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg, now
out treatment when they are sick—in an ef-
support similar policies. Sanders is the best
fort to not go into medical debt—or forcing
candidate to represent the American people
people to ration their drugs to make them
not only because he resonates well with the
last longer. This concept is not humane: For
working class and many voters who voted
people who are unable to afford insurance,
for Donald Trump in the last election, but
it could cost them their lives.
because he has fought his entire life in order to promote economic and social equality.
Since Sanders was first elected, he has been advocating for universal health care.
Four years ago, universal health care
Throughout his time as senator he has
was seen as a radical socialist idea that
introduced multiple bills that would expand
would never work. But this “radical” idea
Medicare and Medicaid. The Trump
has become a staple of Sanders’ cam-
administration, however, has made every
paign. Throughout his career, Sanders has
effort to undermine any expansion to these
endorsed this idea of universal single-payer
programs. The contrast between Sanders
health care, arguing health care is a basic
and Trump is remarkable. Sanders has been
human right. While people argue that it is
reiterating the same ideas about health care
not feasible to eliminate private insurance
and contradicting the myths that are cre-
ated to convince people it’s not feasible since he was a mayor in Burlington, Vt. On the other hand, the current presidential administration has continuously attempted to roll back provisions within the Affordable Care Act. Another one of Sanders’ top issues is climate change. Sanders recognizes that climate change is the biggest threat to the United States’ national security, due to increased conflicts over natural resources. Sanders is also right when he asserts that if the world does not come together to solve this crisis, increased amounts of people will be displaced, creating one of the greatest humanitarian crises the world has ever seen. Our society has already begun to see just some of the effects of climate change. In the last five years, the world has experienced catastrophic weather, such as the fires in Australia and California, the droughts in Central America, and massive hurricanes that have severely damaged coastal American states. These types of catastrophic events will only get worse and more frequent if a bold plan is not enacted. In order to tackle climate change, Sanders has endorsed the Green New Deal, which is the boldest and most aggressive plan on record. All these reasons are why I’m proud to support Sanders for the Democratic nomination. These are radical times—and we need radical solutions. Sanders is, without a doubt, the right man for the country.
Julia Canzano is an op-ed columnist for The Heights. She can be reached at opinions@bcheights.com.
Timmy Facciola is an op-ed columnist for The Heights. He can be reached at opinions@bcheights.com.
CONSERVATIVE
No Top Democrat Can Beat Trump
The Iowa caucuses kicked off the 2020 election cycle on Monday and were met with delayed results, technological difficulties, and coin tosses to decide the winner in many precincts when the count was too close to call. Pete Buttigieg pulled away with the highest percentage of votes, but Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren weren’t far behind and will likely continue their momentum going into the rest of the 2020 election cycle. One of them will likely be the Democratic nominee, and regardless of which one is chosen, they face a very difficult challenge in winning the presidential election over Donald Trump. Joe Biden, the most moderate of the top three candidates who are polling nationally (a group that also includes Sanders and Warren), has found success in reaching Republicans. His focus has been on strengthening and growing the middle class with plans to invest resources in improving the American education and health care systems—his areas of importance are not too far off from what Republicans want. However, he faces a more personal problem—he’s simply too old for the Oval Office. He first entered the national political scene in 1972 when the biggest issue on the political scene was the Vietnam War. At 77, he has plenty of political experience, most importantly as former vice president, but at some point you have to realize that you’ve had your chance to make an impact in politics and the best decision is to call it quits. Bernie Sanders is in the same situation—he’ll be 79 on Election Day and has been active in politics since his college days in the 1960s. Since then, he has been
TIMMY FACCIOLA
Those three things are definitely the same and definitely can be solved in similar ways. In fact, it makes perfect sense that the depression and anxiety from which students suffer in this age of technology could be solved with more technology. There is a shortage of counselors on this campus, and the time it takes to get an appointment is disgraceful. What I don’t want my student representatives to do is petition the administration for more Band-Aid solutions instead of face-to-face time with counselors. Not only would the idea be a gross waste of money, but worse, it would signal to the administration that these kinds of impersonal, 30,000-feet-in-the-air solutions are what students want and need. Though they’re not the only team with proposals to familiarize incoming students with mental health resources on campus, Sepe and Bracher are the only team foolish enough to package their idea into an online module and slap an “Edu” on the end of it. And it’s the only reason one needs to realize that they lack the critical judgment necessary to lead the student body. Christian Guma, CSOM ’21, and Kevork Atinizian, CSOM ’22, are running on the promise to not accept the $4,000 and $3,500 stipends that come with winning serving as UGBC president and vice president, respectively. Guma’s résumé is untainted by UGBC positions while Atinizian is a senator. Their promise to find a way to get discounted Lyfts and Ubers for the student body is refreshingly outside the box, although perhaps questionably feasible. But they still managed to disappoint at the Diversity and Inclusion Debate when they toed a traditionally UGBC line. Guma naively said that if they just wrote down the plans for the LGBTQ+ resource center and handed them to Joy Moore, the vice president for Student Affairs, BC would have no choice but to do the thing it has vowed not to do on multiple different occasions. At best, it demonstrates an ignorance of Leahy’s past comments. At worst, it’s a bad-faith argument intended to win over uninformed voters and isolate candidates who did not waste their breath on such a false promise. I support BC designating a space on campus for LBGTQ+ students. I don’t support lying to the student body about its feasibility to win votes. The administration has never budged in response to students who have advocated for this in the past, and there are a number of more practical initiatives that could be accomplished this year. This leaves us with one team: the freshmen. Dennis Wieboldt and Lorenzo Leo, MCAS ’23. Though both have been contaminated by UGBC membership, it’s not too late to save their souls. After just a semester inside the bloated corpse of student representation, Wieboldt and Leo realize that UGBC needs change from within. Their website features a number of comprehensive PDFs with policy proposals for restructuring the sluggish UGBC bureaucracy, increasing fairness in student conduct hearings, and releasing the weekly UGBC meeting minutes to improve transparency. And their lack of experience should be seen as an asset in this election. It’s time for BC students to reject self-important career bureaucrats. A vote for the freshmen is a vote to shuffle UGBC and to see if a fresh approach can rejuvenate a tired organization. And besides, dear reader, as the freshmen’s website asks you as you scroll to the bottom: What’s there to lose?
nor Warren voters for Biden or Sanders nor Biden voters for Warren or Sanders. In politics, money is speech—and Trump has continuously outraised every Democratic candidate. For as popular as Bernie Sanders is, he only raised $34.5 million in the last three months of 2019, the most out of all the Democratic candidates. Compare this to the Trump campaign: the campaign has raised $46 million alone. Combined with money raised by the RNC, Trump will have raised a whopping total of $308 million during the same period as Sanders has raised that $34.5 million. The massive difference between fundraising numbers will continue to play out during campaign season. No matter who the nominee is, this significant amount of fundraising shows just how strongly Republicans believe Trump is making the country better, rather than worse. If there’s one thing the Democrats should have learned from the Republicans in 2016, it’s that just because you have a larger field of candidates, doesn’t mean you’re going to get the ideal outcome. Instead, the loudest voices and boldest ideas are going to stand out. Sanders’ plan for universal health care and Warren’s plan to cancel student loan debt all seem like great ideas—it’s hard not to like a solution that shows compassion. It’s why they’ve been able to stay on top of a loaded field of candidates for so long. While all of the Democratic candidates recognize what America’s problems are, how they plan to solve them is simply bad economics. Let the DNC learn from the Iowa Caucus. Let them go into the New Hampshire Primary with renewed hope that the results from that event will come more smoothly. But to the Democrats, just know that the biggest fight lies ahead—beating Donald Trump.
Brendan Ilnitzki is an op-ed columnist for The Heights. He can be reached at opinions@bcheights.com.
Democratic CanDidates
JULIA CANZANO
In a Tired Election, Vote Freshmen
Conversations. Meaningful impact. Improvement. Pushing for. Lifting up. Elevating. These are just some of the vapid terms UGBC candidates are using to compensate for the lack of substance in their platforms as they beckon for your vote ahead of Tuesday’s election. And you, dear reader, should do nothing but roll your eyes and carry on with your day. If you haven’t noticed—and it’s completely forgivable if you haven’t— UGBC elections are this week and the acronym slingers are at it again. Somehow, the number of people who want to do this job has doubled, and so this year there are four teams. The ballot features some old, some new, some insider, some outsider. The establishment UGBC senators running deserve little attention, as they have plans for nothing more than virtue signaling with unmeetable demands that have been shot down in the past. John Gehman, MCAS ’21, and Leonardo Escobar, MCAS ’22, both UGBC members, are running on a platform of “Universality, Intersectionality, and Boldness”—a platform that, for starters, could have been improved with a thesaurus. Gehman identified their central campaign platform as, “not necessarily a policy but a collection of policies,” called the “Intersectional Social Progress Pledge,” composed of 17 points, 14 of which begin with the ever-radical, “Push for.” And the fish rots from the head down—what follows in each sentence is equally as mushy and substanceless. Number one reads, “Commit to condemning all systems of advantage…” and then goes on to list all of the bad -isms and -phobias in the lexicon. I encourage Gehman and Escobar to find the last UGBC president who didn’t condemn racism, sexism, transphobia, etc. Number two—divestment from fossil fuels—is not something Gehman and Escobar would have the authority to accomplish as UGBC president and vice president. Nor is number three—increasing funding for the Thea Bowman AHANA and Intercultural Center, Women’s Center, and Montserrat Coalition, among others—or four—an LGBTQ+ resource center—or five—more gender-neutral bathrooms—or six—creating an associate dean of diversity in the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences. And it goes on, all the way up to 17. It’s a list of baseless speculations that misunderstands the role of UGBC leadership. Gehman and Escobar have tried to make appeals on social media by highlighting the diversity within their cabinet. But any campaign that relies on the diversity of its team instead of the content of its policies deserves nothing but a BC-look-away. Czar Sepe, MCAS ’21, and Jack Bracher, MCAS ’22, revealed why they’re not worth your vote with one simple policy position: MentalHealthEdu. Presumably, it would feature e-quizzes and video lectures like the other Edu programs. We all know AlcoholEdu has done such a great job over the years educating students about the dangers of irresponsible consumption, especially when one considers what healthy and normal relationships BC students have with alcohol. And DiversityEdu was also a hit. So why not try to tackle the widespanning and complex mental health crisis in manners similar to racism and underage drinking?
National Political Columnists:
calling for plans to transform American society and politics into those resembling a socialist country. The biggest issue with his plans is asking where the money will come from. Studies have shown that universal health care could cost the United States $36 trillion over 10 years—money we simply don’t have, no matter how much we increase costs to taxpayers. Additionally, if the management of the Iowa caucuses is any indication for how a government-run system of health care would turn out, we’re all in for an even worse situation than we’re currently in. Elizabeth Warren has been quietly leading on the debate stage and campaign trail since declaring her candidacy in February 2019. She benefits from being the youngest of the top three candidates and from not being a career politician like Sanders or Biden. However, she too falls into the trap of making bold promises to gain news attention, though not quite as left as Sanders. Should she be the Democratic nominee, we’re likely to see a repeat of the Trump versus Hillary scenario on the debate stage. The Democratic Party is focused on being the party of the youth of America and in bringing a new future to America and advertises itself as such—why then, are the top three candidates all in their 70s? They also claim to be the party of diversity, but the top three candidates are all straight and white. Trump also fits into these categories, but the Republican Party isn’t advertising itself the same way the Democratic Party is—instead the Republicans have focused on the goals of the candidates, rather than how diverse the field of candidates is that they present. The Democrats also face a bigger problem. While Republican votes are split between the small group of Never-Trumpers and the much larger group of Trump’s strong supporters, Democratic voters are split between 11 different candidates. Supporters of Sanders aren’t willing to compromise and vote for Warren or Biden,
A7
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.
The Heights
A8
Monday, February 10, 2020
Lynn Nottage’s ‘Sweat’ Examines Economic Struggle
By Isabella Thorpe
For The Heights
The curtains of Huntington Theatre pull back, and headlights directly beam down on a man’s facial tattoos—one of a swastika and the other an iron cross—as he sits with a parole officer on his side. Sweat, a play written by Lynn Nottage and directed by Kimberly Senior, confronts disillusionment, racism, and the tribulations of the working class from the moment the play begins. Based on on-the-ground interviews by Nottage of Reading, Pa., residents, the 2017 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama takes place in the same location from 2000 to 2008—exploring economic stagnation and insecurity as a result of shrinking blue-collar jobs and deindustrialization.
The play starts in 2008 with Jason (Shane Kenyon)—a black-eyed man with white power tattoos—unresponsive and ill-tempered toward his parole officer Evan (Maurice Emmanuel Parent). Following his meeting with Jason, Evan speaks with the soft-spoken, religiously devout black man Chris (Brandon G. Green) about his first encounter with Jason since Jason and Chris completed their eight-year prison sentence. Leaving the audience guessing as to what landed the two men in jail, the drama flashes back to 2000 in a local bar. The bar reveals itself as a blue-collar hangout full of witty banter, self-assertion, and revelations for those who proudly identify as descendents of factory workers. The cliché bar set makes the audience feel as if they are intimately
eavesdropping on the conversations with Stan (Guy Van Swearingen), a former factory worker who had a bad injury on the assembly line and is now a bartender giving cautionary advice to the regulars who come in. The play focuses on two customers who have been working at the town’s steel-tubing mill together for more than 20 years: Tracey ( Jennifer Regan), a stubborn widow and mother of sullen Jason, and her best friend Cynthia (Tyla Abercrumbie), the mother of the driven Chris and wife to the estranged, selfabused Brucie (Alvin Keith). When they were old enough, the two sons joined their moms in the plant. After Cynthia moves on and receives a corporate position as a supervisor at the factory, job insecurity at the mill rises as
milling machines move to Mexico. Additionally, the recently dismissed Tracey and Jason target Stan’s Colombian-American assistant, Oscar (Tommy Rivera-Vega), who gets hired for their old job since he is willing to work for less than union wages. When the factory starts letting its workers go unexpectedly, it begins to target immigrants who will accept a lower pay than the white workers. This leads the friends to fight over how race and money impact job availability—especially since some of the white workers had been working at the factory for decades. As the play jumps from day to day in 2000, news sources overwhelm the audience’s ears: news of the presidential race featuring candidate George W. Bush, the weather forecast, and typically a crime or
casualty that took place in Reading. This audio that plays during transitions stirs frenzy and addresses that the passage of time has brought the blindsided factory workers a new set of challenges. Sweat invokes conversation of the inhumane impacts of globalization and capitalism on union workers. Through the drama, Nottage capitalizes on her idea that xenophobia stems from economic concerns, such as unemployment, carrying political overtones that resonate with problems in today’s world. The play delves into the impacts of working in a factory—emotionally, financially, and ideologically—as workers navigate their struggles in the era of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Sweat will play at Huntington Theatre Company until March 1. n
Altieri Watches Brand Grow, Find Success With Time Altieri, from A4 “The last prototype I had wasn’t right,” Altieri said. “Typically, you’ll get a final prototype and be like, this is perfect, let’s make 300 of these. Nope, I had one that was really close, and I had to trust them. … [I told them] I want this changed, then once you do that, you can make 300.” His junior year was the most labor-intensive in terms of getting Luxana up and running, as Altieri was preparing for the company’s soft launch in February of 2019. Between finalizing designs, building his website, and getting his trademark in place, Altieri estimated that he spent four or five hours each day working on Luxana, on top of doing school work. All of these facets of building his brand were entirely new for Altieri. Though he sought out advice from connections he had with brick-and-mortar entrepreneurs, he lacked mentors in e-commerce. “I was super lost,” he said. “I didn’t know if I was doing anything right, and I didn’t really have anyone to ask.” One completely unexpected challenge arose while Altieri was securing his trademark. Altieri said he filed to trademark “Luxana” without realizing how unlikely it is to get a six-letter trademark. Right after he filed it, other people on the internet filed similar names—“Luxana Watches,” “Luxana International,” and “Luxana LLC”— knowing that Altieri’s request for the six-letter trademark likely wouldn’t get approved, he said. “Some guy probably spent two grand filing all of these other names just so I’d be screwed and have to buy it from him,” Altieri said. Nevertheless, Altieri’s trademark was approved—and is itself now worth about $5,000, he said. After his soft launch in February 2019, sales picked up the following summer, when Altieri sold over 300 watches. With the Dadi, Altieri focused on versatility—the straps can be interchanged between the black and white models—and maximizing quality while keeping the price at just $99, he said. A year later, he has less than 40 of his original model left in stock. Compared to other affordable watch brands geared toward millennials, Altieri’s profit margin is much lower. MVMT, a watch brand Altieri said was dominating the market, typically spends only about $3.99 on each watch, he said, which are priced at $99. “I spend way more money on each watch than any other company making a $99 watch for sure,” Altieri said. “That’s why I started this whole thing.” From observing successful brands such as MVMT as well as his own trial
PHOTO COURTESY OF MICHAEL ALTIERI
After feeling frustrated with summer internship boredom, Altieri started his own watch brand to provide luxury timepieces at affordable prices. and error, Altieri began to realize that a quality product wasn’t enough—he needed much heavier marketing campaigns if he wanted to be successful, he said. He upgraded his website from Squarespace to Shopify, another website-building platform, which he had to outsource to a web developer since the platform is far more complicated. With nearly all of his purchases coming from Instagram ads, he focused heavily on visual advertisements that were engaging and would present well on phone screens. His first major ad campaign, which included pictures and videos of the Dadi shot in Bali, has racked up over 80,000 views on some of its videos. He also quickly encountered the world of social media influencers, with creators such as Teddy Baldassarre and Anthony Watson asking for free watches to post on their Instagram accounts, which he gave them. Last fall, Altieri was in contact with the manager of Jay Alvarrez, a model with 6.3 million Instagram followers, about a potential collaboration, but turned it down due to a wildly high asking price, he said. Altieri was also in contact with Zac Efron’s manager, but that deal didn’t pan out either. “Emailing him was great—everything seemed awesome,” Altieri said. “But then he called me, and I think he realized I’m a college student, and I didn’t get a call back. It’s tough dealing with celebrities.” Soon after learning the importance of paid marketing, Altieri also realized
he needed to capitalize on free marketing, he said. His knowledge about Facebook and Instagram ads was extensive, but Altieri hadn’t ventured into free publicity—which was ironic, he said, after spending an entire summer interning at a PR firm. H e c o n n e c t e d w i t h Vi c t o r i a Gomelsky, the author of the NYT piece, through someone at DKC. Unknowingly, he stumbled into a wealth of similarities: She was from Huntington Beach, just six miles from Altieri’s home in Newport Beach, and she also had a background in investments. With his name and brand right at the top of the piece, Luxana’s site had over 8,000 daily visitors in the weeks following the article being published. November soon became as demanding for Altieri as his previous year was, and he sold over 100 watches after the feature hit the press. Altieri said he hopes to capitalize on Luxana’s increasing presence in the watch market by releasing a series of seven or eight limited edition watches. By switching his watches from their current battery-powered design to a Japanese automatic movement model, they will be higher quality and more expensive. Altieri said he will only stock 10 to 15 of each watch, hoping to increase Luxana’s exclusivity. Altieri recently was one of 14 seniors to be selected for the Shea Center for Entrepreneurship’s Accelerator Program, which gave him $1,500 that he plans to use to fund the marketing campaigns for his limited-edition watches. The first limited-edition watch,
called the Lucia, will be released in March. He drew inspiration from a more vintage style for the Lucia, which he plans to sell for $395. “This is definitely not something he’s trying to just push, then get an exit and go on to the next gig,” said Luke Sanabria, Altieri’s sophomore year roommate and MCAS ’20. “He’s invested in Luxana and the watch industry and really hopes to build it bigger and have multiple models and crack into new markets.” While playing off consumers’ desire for exclusivity is what drove Altieri to work on this limited edition line, he also doesn’t want to make his watches unavailable to those who want them. He said he plans to create a waitlist button, and he will restock watches that prove to be more popular. “Hopefully the sold-out, limited-edition ones will fuel the exposure to the one that’s mass-produced,” Altieri said. “Then I will keep building on the ones that are mass-produced, and then eventually I’ll have a collage of watches I know people like, not that I’m guessing [they like].” Across all stages of Luxana’s growth, Altieri said he has remained committed to fostering brand loyalty, especially among his early customers. He offers free one-to-two-day shipping and has given full refunds to customers when this promise is not met. Once, a Chicago snowstorm prevented a watch from getting to a customer within this time frame, so Altieri refunded her payment and delivered the watch within two
more days, he said. “I also offer a one-year warranty,” he said. “You have to add credibility to a brand that’s not credible. You have to realize that nobody knows who the hell you are, like I’m even in The New York Times, and I’m still making sure that people trust us.” Altieri now sells an average of three or four watches a day, which he pays a friend to ship from his office in Newport Beach—although Luxana’s growth may necessitate hiring a fulltime employee to take over this role soon. After nearly two years of investing huge amounts of energy and money into building Luxana, Altieri has finally seen his effort come to fruition, he said. “The best part was when I didn’t have to put any more money into Luxana,” Altieri said. “It was like I created this little machine that is running on its own, and even though it’s not remarkably profitable yet, it’s running on its own.” Luxana is built around the idea that there is a formula for building watches that his customers want, Altieri said. With his brand largely geared toward his own demographic, Altieri said he hopes to continue tapping into what those around him want, as they reflect the tastes of his broader audience. “The transparency differentiates Michael,” Sanabria said. “He is making a watch for the audience that he surrounds himself with. … It’s a watch for him, by him, that he then releases for other people to wear, and I think it’s resonating with his target market.” n
ARTS
A9
@BCHeightsArts
Monday, February 10, 2020
The Sound of Worship
The Liturgy Arts Group sets the tone of Catholic services at Boston College, and through performance, members reflect on and develop their own faith. By Nathan Rhind Asst. Arts Editor Unlike Boston College’s main church, St. Ignatius, which occupies pride of place on Commonwealth Ave., St. Joseph’s Chapel is nestled away on Upper Campus, built into Gonzaga Hall. It’s easy to miss on
“For me to have that special moment with [another LAG member] who I’ve been with for four years and to make that box for me really built community and really kind of strengthened the bond of the group,” Roehm said. For Davis, strengthening this already-close community and ensuring
doing or she is doing a commercial for what you’re about to hear,” Chambers said. “It’s them saying, ‘Hey, listen everybody, whatever you’ve been doing, you need to stop now and pay attention, Jesus is about to talk.’” While remaining committed to serving the church community on Sundays on
MAGGIE DIPATRI / HEIGHTS EDITOR
Composed of vocalists and students who play piano, guitar, brass, woodwinds, and strings, LAG performs a variety of genres.
walks from dinner at Mac after a long day of classes. Yet on Wednesday and Friday afternoons, if you inch closer to the sturdy, wooden doors guarding the entrance, you may be able to make out people singing hymns, and sometimes even feel the energy radiating through the walls. The voices and instruments heard inside belong to the students of the Liturgy Arts Group (LAG) of Boston College. Falling under the umbrella of Campus Ministry, the group provides liturgical music for Masses on campus intended to make the readings and services resonate more deeply with all gathered in worship. With a multitude of singers alongside pianos, guitars, brass, woodwinds, and strings, the group plays songs of varying styles, but all are centered on praise, worship, and reflection. Beyond a passion for music, the members of LAG share a commitment to cultivating meaningful relationships and a tight-knit, supportive community. President Matt Davis, MCAS ’20, and vice president Elizabeth Roehm, Lynch ’20, discussed the impact of the retreat to Cape Cod where new members are welcomed into LAG, and the group forms closer bonds and develops a sense of community. While there are admittedly fun, goofy activities such as telling embarrassing stories, there are also more serious ones such as the Faith Walk, where members are paired randomly and then spend quality time in conversation. For Davis, one of the especially meaningful experiences of his last retreat was giving a faith speech. “It was all about ... how you keep that faith in difficult times,” he said. “And it was a very emotional and a vulnerable thing
new members feel welcome, regardless of their religious affiliation, was one of his goals this year as president. LAG currently counts those who practice other religions or are not religious at all among its members. Despite religious differences, these members find a supportive and welcoming community in LAG. “We’re more than just a church choir,” Davis said. “I think we’re very much, I already said, like a family. And families don’t necessarily agree with everyone and everything, but we’re very open, we’re very welcoming.” The collective energy was palpable during a recent LAG rehearsal. The singers flashed smiles at one another in between verses while the musicians on the other side of the room focused intently on their instruments, moving and playing as one. All eyes were on campus minister Meyer Chambers, who conducted gracefully and pulled the different parts of the piece together with ease. Chambers has served in this role since 2003, preparing the group for weekly Masses as well as helping members of the group navigate their college experiences and spiritual journeys. For Chambers, music is an integral part of Masses on campus. He said that even though the liturgy is still the primary focus, music can enliven it and enhance the quality for those in attendance, making it resonate more deeply. “As Saint Pius X said, ‘Music is the handmaid of the liturgy.’ They go hand in hand together. One supports the other,” Chambers said. “You know, the psalms were written and attributed to David, but they were never meant to be spoken. They were meant to be sung.”
campus, the group does have some opportunities to reach a wider audience and receive applause for its hard work and diligence. Every year, LAG performs at Arts Fest along with other BC music groups. As the song they were rehearsing reached its swelling chorus of “Lord, make
MAGGIE DIPATRI / HEIGHTS EDITOR
me an instrument of thy peace,” Chambers’ passion was written across his face as he moved around the front of the room, signaling for the instruments to come in and for the singers to give it their all. At the peak of the song, Chambers abruptly
MAGGIE DIPATRI / HEIGHTS EDITOR
Building on the idea of music serving the liturgy, Chambers made the distinction that LAG’s role is to enhance the collective worship experience and to give praise to God, rather than strive for applause or acclaim. According to Chambers, music functions as a guide, moving the Mass from one stage to the next. “When the cantor chants the gospel verse before the priest or deacon reads the gospel at Mass, it’s actually like he’s
LAG was the place for them. A “burden walk” was an especially powerful moment for Roehm, as the LAG members wrote down something that was burdening them and stuck it in a glass bottle before throwing it in the ocean. She said it was a powerful moment of relief and a shared experience of closure with the rest of the group. Last spring, the death of LAG member Patrick Gregorek, BC ’19, tested the strength of the group, whose members came together to honor his memory and support one another in the especially difficult time. Chambers, Hanlon, Davis, and Roehm all touched on the impact Gregorek’s sudden passing had on the community. “The day that we found out he passed away, I was actually leading Taizé later that night,” Davis said. “Even though it was probably the most difficult thing that any of us have had to do in college—to cope with in college—we were able to come together as a family and mourn together. … And that’s when I think I realized it’s those people, those people in LAG and those people that you’re comfortable to cry with or to be vulnerable and emotional with, those are the ones that care about us.” As the rehearsal that Wednesday afternoon in St. Joseph’s drew to a close, e-board members made their way to the front of the chapel. Among the announcements made by the e-board were that they were preparing for an upcoming trip to
Campus minister Meyer Chambers not only directs LAG, but he also serves as a mentor, leading students through their college experience.
On a retreat in Cape Cod, LAG members have the chance to form close bonds with one another and reflect on their faith.
for me and I was worried at first to do it but … it was so nice to see all of the love and friendship and connections that kids give back to me, just by being vulnerable.” A different activity, an art project based on the theme of that year’s retreat, “Keep the Faith,” resonated deepest with Roehm. The group constructed compasses inside boxes to remind themselves where they are headed and to have faith in the direction their life is taking.
time with an upbeat number, showcasing the wide range of sounds the group covers while retaining an emphasis on worship. “Watching them grow, being a part of their formation and developing them into pastoral ministers, pastoral music ministers who can take my place ultimately someday—I think that’s a pretty good bet and something that gives me excitement,” Chambers said. Davis and Roehm spoke highly of Chambers and his role as both a leader and mentor for the group. Social media liaison Keara Hanlon also gave high praise to Chambers and how he has shaped her time in LAG and helped strengthen her faith. As a member of the e-board along with Davis and Roehm, she was able to speak on his interactions with the student leadership. “He puts a lot of trust in us, especially on the e-board,” Hanlon said. “He is incredibly supportive of the decisions that we make and is always looking for feedback. And I think that type of leadership is something that I really respect and strive to kind of incorporate into my own life.” As social media liaison, Hanlon helped make one of Davis’ goals as president a reality, namely continuing to develop LAG as an inclusive, welcoming setting by bringing in new members. Using Instagram and other platforms as recruiting tools, Hanlon connected with incoming students in the summer, creating content to spark their interest in LAG.
interjected: “Wait, wait, wait.” All were silent, looking around wondering what happened. He moved toward the pianist, broke a smile and said, “You can’t lead us to water and not let us drink,” casually letting the pianist know to continue playing through the swelling chorus of the song. The room erupted in laughter and excited chatter before Chambers summoned the group’s attention and started the piece again—this
“We have everyone from people who sang in high school, to the people who did band, to people who would have almost no musical experience at all,” Hanlon said. “So we just wanted to make sure everyone knew all were welcome.” Despite LAG’s success in drawing in new members each year, the larger Catholic Church has struggled in recent years with declining Mass attendance and involvement. Hanlon believes that music is a way to engage more young people in the Church and create a sense of community. Hanlon said that the group understands that everyone is at a different place on their spiritual journey and tries to meet people where they are. After hurting her shoulder and being forced to quit marching band as a result, she said she is thankful to have found a supportive community in LAG that shared her passion for music and helped strengthen her faith. Although there are numerous special events throughout the year, one in particular motivated her decision to join LAG and rekindle her love of music. “I love the Advent Mass,” Hanlon said. “My freshman year, I wasn’t in LAG, and I saw the Advent Mass, like several times… and that was really special, and I wanted to be a part of it.” For Davis and Roehm, their sophomore retreats were an opportunity to fully experience the LAG community after not attending the retreat their freshman years. While before, they may have been hesitant about commiting to the group long-term, their sophomore retreats solidified that
California and excitedly bringing LAG apparel back. Looking to the future, Davis and Roehm said they are excited to carry on their commitment to LAG. Roehm, through the Notre Dame Alliance for Catholic Education program, is planning to teach for two years at urban Catholic schools, applying her education major at BC and getting her master’s in the process. Davis is going to Ireland to serve parishes as a youth and music minister. Coincidentally, it is also through the Notre Dame program. The torch will be passed to Hanlon along with other younger members of the group to carry on the LAG tradition of community and connection. Chambers will still be there to guide students into the next chapter of their BC experience—playing with LAG at Masses every Sunday, each and every one of which is special in its own right, according to Chambers.As he nears his fateful graduation date, Davis spoke about how the themes LAG chooses for each year have influenced his faith journey and will hopefully continue to provide guidance for younger members. “Our freshman year was ‘Companions on the Journey,’ to then ‘Courage and Kindness,’ to ‘Light the Darkness,’ to now ‘Keep the Faith,’’’ Davis said. “And I think when you look at that holistically, it really shows this is the journey, and we don’t know where it’s going to end up, but we’re together—we’re companions on that journey.” n
The Heights
A10
Monday, February 10, 2020
ASO Fashion Show Weds African Style With Music Elon’s New Invention
By Grace Mayer
Assoc. Arts Editor
The Boston College African Students Organization (ASO)’s 25th annual fashion show, “The Royal
modeled designs by three African designers: Omooba Fashions , By Attaa, and Eldior Sodeck. Posing in geometric prints in shades of yellow, gold, red, green, and blue, the models embodied power and elegance. One
The event also included dance performances by Boston University’s Afrithims and BC’s own Presenting Africa To You (PATU), in which the dancers incorporated step and hip-hop into their routines. After the fashion
LEO WANG / HEIGHTS STAFF
Regally dressed couples modeled formalwear, hammering home the ‘Royal Wedding’ theme with mock proposals and dance moves.
Wedding ,” was a regal ceremony that celebrated African culture and community through music, dance, tradition, and fashion. Held Saturday night in Robsham Theater, the sold-out event emphasized the beauty of African marriage traditions, telling the fictional story of the union between two BC students, Dami and Kawsi, played by Rose Delva, MCAS ’22, and Michael Appiah, MCAS ’23, through a series of videos. Comedian Ebaby Kobby emceed the night, introducing the current ASO President Omonosagiagbon Owens, MCAS ’20, and Vice President Nina Bombole-Boimbo, CSON ’22, before segueing into the first video clip depicting the wedding. Three more clips outlining African marriage traditions and introducing additional characters, comedically portrayed by other BC students, broke up the fashion show. While DJ King Collins blasted music from the speakers, BC students
of the standout designs was a blue sequined dress layered over a black undershirt, with the model finishing the look with a white headscarf. The final fashion walk played off the theme of unions, featuring power couples who worked the runway together. The male models were dressed in monochromatic tunics and pants accented by pops of color, while the female models wore elaborately patterned dresses detailed with sequins, ruffles, tulle sleeves, and voluminous skirts. During the final walk, a young flower girl dressed in a white lace gown dusted flower petals across the stage. Closing the fashion show, two models strutted onto the stage, the bride wearing a pleated white top fastened to a blue and purple patterned skirt, and the groom outfitted in a green and gold tunic with black pants and loafers. Before exiting the stage, the groom got down on one knee before his bride, commencing the ceremony.
component of the night ended, the event transitioned into a concert when Prince Lucas, MCAS ’22, sang his
Afro B brought the whole crowd to its feet, drawing audience members to the stage as they sang and danced. The audience members, which included students and family members, dressed their best for the occasion. Some draped themselves in vibrant patterns and headscarves, while others wore formal dresses and suit jackets with dress pants. According to the ASO e-board members, they had been preparing for the event since October. The board cast models, connected with designers, and invited performers to the event, bringing the diversity of Africa’s cultures, traditions, and customs to the Boston College community. Before the show began, quotes from ASO alumni flashed across a projector, answering the questions: What does ASO mean to you? Familiarity, family, and connecting through culture were recurring themes in the quotes, mirroring the sense of community that enveloped the theater on Saturday night. Co-founder of ASO Nampeera Lugira, BC ’95, said in one of the quotes, “We started this club to unite students from the continent who did not have an official affinity group. Being [a]
LEO WANG / HEIGHTS STAFF
Models walked the runway in warm-toned outfits created by African designers.
original songs “Kind Love” and “Back It.” British DJ and singer-songwriter
part of the club made us proud of our strong African heritage.” n
Ten-Minute Plays Display Students’ Writing Chops By Julia Landwehr Heights Staff
The Boston College theatre scene proved that it was alive and thriving Friday night at Contemporary Theatre’s presentation of “A Night of Student-Written Ten-Minute Plays.” The event, which featured five plays written by, directed by, and starring BC undergraduate students, took place in the McMullen Museum’s front lobby. These big performances shined in the small space, giving the students in the packed audience an intimate showing of their peers’ work. Each of the plays was executed simply but effectively. Props were minimal, and the actors read from scripts. Nancy was the first performance of the night, written by Gerry Menna, MCAS ’20, and directed by Devyn Itula, MCAS ’22. The play focused on a couple, Janelle (Rachel Chan, MCAS ’20) and Peter (Will Dooley, MCAS ’22), in the evening after a day
of work. Their simple small talk suddenly became eerie as Janelle started talking to a baby doll named Nancy and admonishing Peter for going into the basement. The audience was left without a firm conclusion about what’s truly going on with Janelle and Peter, and the ambiguity helped reinforce the thrilling tension of the piece. Nancy was followed by A Girl, A Boy, A Bed, written and directed by Lyana White, MCAS ’20. The characters, named simply Girl (Elyse Gaertner, MCAS ’21) and Boy (Nico Borbolla, MCAS ’21), sat on a bed, trying to talk through and understand love, sex, and growing up. The play covered a lot, even within the constraints of the 10-minute time slot. White’s dialogue was authentic yet poignant, the tension growing between Girl and Boy as they discussed relationships and societal expectations for young people. The third short play presented, I Got You, was written by Jules Marti-
comes to peace with it all after she sees the ghost of her dad. The final play was written by Garrett Gagnon, a senior at Pine Manor College, and directed by Borbolla. Courier New followed Timothy (Ben Errichetti, MCAS ’21) and his girlfriend Ingrid (Riley Mushkin, MCAS ’21) as Timothy tried to write a play. Courier New fell into hilarity as it was revealed that Timothy’s play chronicled a dream he had months prior, in which he told Benjamin Franklin such a funny joke that the founding father keeled over and contracted polio. The audience was laughing out loud as Benjamin Franklin (Matthew Dolly, MCAS ’21) entered wearing a colonial-era powdered wig and told Timothy to abandon the play. The audience heaped applause on every 10-minute play, and the variety of plotlines, passionate acting, and creative ideas from each of the students involved made the night one to remember. n
iEdit
The Playlist “10/10” Rex Orange County
Olivia Charbonneau, Assoc. Sports Editor
“Treat People With Kindness” Harry Styles
By Jess Rivilis Asst. Photo Editor
“Does Your Mother Know” Mamma Mia! The Movie Soundtrack “High Horse” Kacey Musgraves “Quesadilla” WALK THE MOON “Unbelievers” Vampire Weekend “Circles” Post Malone “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” Whitney Houston “Rich Girl” Daryl Hall & John Oates “The Calendar” Panic! at The Disco
nez, MCAS ’21, and directed by Lexie Slotterback, Lynch ’22. It followed two friends, Elouise (Mollie Bourne, SSW ’21) and Sophie (Emma Thompson, MCAS ’23), during a phone conversation as they tried to support one another. The performances offered many hilarious moments as Sophie and Elouise navigated awkward situations, weathering the storms of life together even though they’re miles apart. We D o n’ t H a v e T h e P o t Fo r Poached Eggs Anymore packed an emotional punch, showing siblings Angelina (Rosa Miller, MCAS ’21) and Joe (Henry Knowlton, MCAS ’21), deal with the passing of their father (Andrew Oglesby, MCAS ’22). The play, written and directed by Nicole O’Connor, MCAS ’22, featured dialogue about God and the role of spirituality in the midst of pain. Joe, a priest, told Angelina that he sees God most in moments of forgiveness, while Angelina struggled to accept what’s happening to her family. Angelina
GRAPHICS BY MEEGAN MINAHAN AND IKRAM ALI / HEIGHTS EDITORS
Olivia’s overly upbeat personality is clearly reflected in her music taste. The blend of country, indie, and oldie hits makes for an interesting listen. The playlist starts off optimistically, with “10/10” by Rex Orange County. “Treat People with Kindness” by Harry Styles mimics the same cheerful energy. The real twist comes when the playlist shifts to ABBA without warning or reason. Olivia made the bold choice to use the Mamma Mia! soundtrack version of “Does Your Mother Know” instead of the original, but it makes sense considering her passion for musicals. I have mild whiplash from the transition from ABBA to “High Horse” by Kacey Musgraves, although I have no complaints about the sassy country
bop. Both “Quesadilla” by WALK THE MOON and “Unbelievers” by Vampire Weekend have the same vibe that you would expect from an intro to indie 8tracks playlist straight from my early high-school years. “Circles” by Post Malone brought me the sense of joy that comes when I sit in bed curled up watching TikToks. The playlist shifts to a blast from the past with ’70s and ’80s hits—“Rich Girl” by Daryl Hall and John Oates and “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” by Whitney Houston—which gives me reason to believe that Olivia may be a grandmother trapped in a college student’s body. The playlist concludes with arguably one of Panic! at the Disco’s best songs, “The Calendar.” Olivia’s music taste is full of spunk and funky-freshness that blends together both Generation Z and Baby Boomer energy in one.
Jillian Ran Forget Tesla and SpaceX—South African-born entrepreneur Elon Musk made his greatest contribution to humanity yet on Jan. 31. It was on this fateful day that Musk posted a song to his SoundCloud account, Emo G Records. The EDM track, titled “Don’t Doubt ur Vibe,” is, simply put, transcendent. Musk promoted the single on Twitter and confirmed that he both “wrote the lyrics & performed the vocals!!” The song isn’t Musk’s first foray into the music world. In March 2019, Musk released “RIP Harambe,” also through SoundCloud. Yet Musk didn’t have much involvement in the actual song—it was performed by rapper Yung Jake and written by Jake and songwriter Caroline Polachek. While “Don’t Doubt ur Vibe” shares the heavily autotuned vocals and electro production of “RIP Harambe,” this latest single is a creative tour de force for Musk. It digs deep into the entrepreneur’s psyche, reaching new levels of emotion. A simple lyrical structure serves as the backbone of the song. “Don’t doubt your vibe because it’s true,” Musk repeats insistently, leaning into each syllable. This is valuable wisdom that Musk is imparting, and he wants us to know it. Musk’s commanding vocals are modulated and twisted as they recite the mantra reassuringly over steadily pulsing synthesizers. This line, “don’t doubt your vibe,” is coming from the man who called a cave explorer involved in helping the trapped Thai soccer team a “pedo guy in 2018,” who got booted from his position as chairman of Tesla by the Securities and Exchange Commission over a half-baked tweet, and who a good friend of mine once speculated might be the Antichrist—he is, after all, planning to implant computers into people’s brains in the near future. Has he ever, just once, doubted his vibe? Not a chance. He knows in his heart that it’s true. And now, with this song, Musk is passing on his zen attitude to us all. It’s a priceless gift. But Musk doesn’t stop there. The tension ratchets up as fuzzy synths hammer faster and faster, then suddenly drop out. “Don’t doubt your vibe because it’s you,” he sings, revealing the full extent of his philosophical genius. The beat drops, and Musk gives us a minute to ponder his words as a gentle melody floats over waves of computerized sound. And there is much to ponder. The simple yet powerful move from “true” to “you” hammers home Musk’s message of self-affirmation. Not only should we be confident in our vibes, we should feel secure in the knowledge that we are living our most genuine lives. Your vibe is you. It’s your essence, one might even say your soul. To doubt your vibe is to doubt your very existence. Musk is famous for his bold innovations, his ability to think outside the box. His approach to music follows a similar path. He does away with the traditional verse-chorusverse precedent, instead opting for a minimalist structure that consists of a combination of his two mantras—”Don’t doubt your vibe because it’s true” and “don’t doubt your vibe because it’s you”—interspersed with instrumentals. Musk cuts through old, outdated models and offers up something fresh. With 2.9 million streams on SoundCloud to date, it’s clear that Musk has touched on something big. The age of anxiety means doubt, not only doubt about the future, politics, and the general well-being of the world, but doubt about ourselves. Our vibes are in a state of disarray. With “Don’t Doubt ur Vibe,” Musk offers us an antidote to the uncertainty. Now more than ever, we must be reminded not to doubt our vibes. Thank you, Elon.
Jillian Ran is the arts editor for The Heights. She can be reached at arts@bcheights.com.
The Heights
Monday, February 10, 2020
A11
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Guy, Dickens Lead Eagles in Win Over Clemson on the Road WBB, from A12 BC in the fourth period, 14-11, but luckily because of the Eagles’ domination on offense in the first half, Clemson was not able to come out on top. Overall as a team, the Eagles shot a staggering 47 percent on offense, including 32 percent from behind the arc, compared to Clemson, who had 42 percent and 33 percent in those same categories respectively. Sunday’s shooting is a marked improvement on the Eagles’ season averages, as they have shot 44 percent from close range this season.
Sunday’s win included an impressive 36 points in the paint and 19 points off of turnovers. Though they matched their season average 3-point percentage with 32 percent, it is still an impressive clip for the young squad. From the free throw line, BC made just 58 percent of its shots compared to Clemson’s 75 percent. Dickens went 4-of-6 from the line, while Soule was close behind at 3-for-5, adding to a team total of 7-of-12 from the free throw line for the Eagles. Guy led BC in both scoring and rebounds, with a total of 24 points and eight grabs off of the boards,
including three on offense and five on defense. This season, she has scored an average of 13.2 points per game and remains a key contributor for the Eagles. Trailing Guy, Dickens had a total of 21 points in the game, 15 of which were made from behind the arc. She also ended the game with seven rebounds and three assists. The game marked the 17th meeting between the Eagles and the Tigers. The last time the two teams faced off was last year in Conte Forum, where the Tigers defeated BC in a devastating blowout, 91-58, but a much different story played out on Sunday afternoon. n
Leo Wang / Heights Staff
BC sophomore guard Marnelle Garraud looks for an opening to charge the paint.
MEN’S HOCKEY
Eagles Lose Second-Straight Game, Fall to UMass Lowell MHOK, from A12 Quickly, though, the Eagles were firing back. BC drew first blood on Alex Newhook’s shorthanded wrister that went through the legs of a Lowell defender and into the top corner of the net with 15 minutes to play in the second. But the Eagles’ lead was short lived. Then, Newhook went to the penalty box, and Lowell was de-
termined to capitalize after giving up a goal in its previous chance with an advantage. As the time on Newhook’s penalty expired, Carl Berglund poked one past Knight in the top corner to tie the game up at 1-1. Then, with just over two minutes left in the middle frame, Kenny Hausinger gave Lowell its first lead of the game on another top-corner shot, and the Eagles headed into the
locker room for the final intermission down by one. In a manner similar to the previous period, any lead in the third from either team would prove to be short lived. After less than a minute on the ice, Ben Finkelstein scored the equalizer during a 4-on-3 for BC. The River Hawks nearly regained the lead a few minutes later, but the puck popped up and landed inches from the right goalpost, but
Marshall Warren cleared it out just as a Lowell attacker came crashing in. Lowell finally pulled ahead once again as Marek Korencik beat Knight from a distance to take a 3-2 lead. Unfortunately for the Eagles, that lead was the one that stuck. “I think in every loss you’ve got to find the key to what can make us better,” said York. “We knew right away that composure cost us the
[BU] game, but I thought our composure was better tonight. We kept battling.” This is the second game in a row for the Eagles where an early lead ended up in a narrow loss, and Jerry York’s squad is sure to be disappointed. With the consolation round of the Beanpot tournament coming up on Monday, BC will have to get into the right headspace to bounce back. n
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Eagles Defeat Virginia Tech 77-73 in Overtime Thriller By Michael Quain For the Heights
With 12 seconds left in the game, Boston College men’s basketball had tied Virginia Tech at 73-73. Steffon Mitchell was able to get the go-ahead bucket after posting up and making an athletic spin move from the Boston College 77 paint to find Virginia Tech 73 the rim. The Hokies were unable to answer, missing what would have been the game-leading three with seconds left, allowing BC to hold on for the win with a final score of 77-73. Heading into this game, BC (12-12, 6-7 Atlantic Coast) stood at seventh in the ACC. In the Eagles’ last game, they took on No. 7 Duke at home, losing a close game 63-55. A win against the Hokies would be crucial for BC, who had lost four of its last six games. Both the Eagles and the Hokies
came out hot, each making multiple threes early in the first half. Virginia Tech (14-10, 5-8) has proven to be skilled from behind the arc this season, leading the ACC with an average of 10 threes per game. Five minutes into the half, the Hokies took a slight lead after going on a brief 8-0 scoring run. The Eagles were able to match Virginia Tech’s scoring after putting an end to that run, but they found themselves down nine halfway through the first. The Hokies struggled on the defensive end late in the half with five team fouls, putting BC in the bonus. The Eagles became more aggressive on offense and limited the Hokies, scoring much better as they switched to a 2-3 zone offensive strategy. Virginia Tech was held to shooting just 3-of-11 in the final eight minutes. Going into the half, the Eagles found themselves down five with a score of 33-38. As the teams returned for the
second half, the Eagles’ offense started to come together with the majority of the scoring led by Mitchell. The junior dominated on the boards all game, totaling 15 rebounds and a career high of 21 points. With 16 minutes remaining in regulation, the Eagles were down by six. Over the next 4:50, the Eagles went on a 12-0 scoring run led by Mitchell and freshman guard Jay Heath, who contributed two 3-pointers to fuel that run. Derryck Thornton also contributed with a three of his own. Virginia Tech regained the lead late in the half, after holding BC to just five points over a five-minute period. The Hokies’ scoring was led by redshirt freshman Landers Nolley II, who tore up the Eagles’ defense with 29 points and 11 rebounds. With just under half a minute left in regulation, the Eagles regained the lead once more. After putting in work in the paint, Mitchell helped boost BC 66-64 over the Hokies. Unfortunately,
Ikram ali / Heights Editor
Steffon Mitchell charges past a defender in the Eagles’ win over Virginia Tech.
the Eagles ended up fouling Virginia Tech’s Nahiem Alleyne as he was driving through the lane with four seconds left. Alleyne hit both free throws to send the game to overtime. Virginia Tech began the overtime period by outplaying the Eagles, taking a 73-70 lead coming off a 3-pointer by Nolley. After that basket, BC’s man defense
was able to lock down Virginia Tech’s offense, forcing the Hokies to remain scoreless for the rest of the game. Once the Eagles tied the game at 73 points apiece, it was all over for Virginia Tech. Mitchell sealed the victory with a layup that put BC ahead of the Hokies and then added two good free throws to further secure the win. n
LACROSSE
Lacrosse Drops First Regular-Season Match Since 2017 By Jeremy Khangi Heights Staff To no surprise, Boston College women’s lacrosse begins its 2020 campaign as the No. 5 squad in the nation. Boston College 11 Serving at the Massachusetts 15 helm of the powerhouse program year after year, head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein entered Saturday evening’s contest against the instate rival UMass Amherst touting a perfect 7-0 record in season openers. To much surprise, the Eagles (01-0) were unable to extend that streak to an eight-game stretch, falling in their season debut by a score of 11-15. The tilt marks BC’s first regular-
season loss since 2017 and its first season-opening loss since the Eagles’ 2008 campaign. It is no secret that BC will miss many of its game-changing playmakers from last year’s squad, such as Sam Apuzzo, Kenzie Kent, and Dempsey Arsenault. Nevertheless, it welcomes back IWLCA Preseason All-American honorable mentions in Cara Urbank, the team’s returning lead scorer, and goaltender Abbey Ngai, who ranked in the top five of national rankings for save percentage. The additions of Duke’s previously leading goalscorer Charlotte North and Oregon’s former top-tier goalkeeper Rachel Hall built onto that firepower. Hall struggled in her first contest
as an Eagle, registering nine saves on 24 tests. North, however, wasted no time introducing herself, netting the first tally of the game with a free position goal to give BC an early lead. After two straight responses from the opponent, she tied things up with a second goal three minutes later. After another couple of strikes from Haley Connaughton and Kelly Marra, UMass found itself reestablishing a lead that BC was unable to overcome for the remainder of the first frame. The Eagles dug themselves into a deeper hole in the opening minutes of the second half, trailing by a score of 5-9 at their worst. But its lowest point was when BC began to develop a valiant comeback effort—one
that saw North improve to a hat trick and teammates Jenn Medjid, Jordan Lappin, and Urbank register multi-point games. The Eagles found themselves regaining control of the contest after scoring five unanswered goals that were spread out over the span of nearly 10 minutes. North, Lappin, Medjid, and Urbank combined for 12 points, as they will look to become familiar names on the scoresheet throughout the progression of their season. Unfortunately, the lead they mustered up was far too short-lived—a mere 24 seconds, to be exact. After Connaughton tied the game up at 10 apiece, Stephanie Croke, Olivia Muscella, and Kaitlyn Cerasi joined in on the scoring. Struggling to maintain
solid possession in the draw circle, the Minutewomen were able to ice things up with a 6-1 run to conclude the contest. Oddly enough, the Eagles edged the Minutewomen in nearly every notable area of the stat sheet—they led in draw controls 16-12, forced five turnovers to UMass’ four, and held their own in the ground ball game throughout the majority of the contest. Despite striking first and playing what seemed to be a well-rounded game on both ends of the field, the Eagles simply could not get enough shots past Minutewomen goaltender Lauren Hiller, whose 13-save performance proved to be enough for UMass to snap its four-game losing streak against the Eagles. n
SPORTS in SHORT Women’s basketball STANDINGS Conference overall NC State 11-1 22-1 Louisville 10-2 21-3 Florida State 9-4 20-4 Virginia Tech 7-5 17-6 Duke 7-5 13-10 Georgia Tech 7-6 16-8 North Carolina 7-6 16-8 Boston College 6-6 13-10 Syracuse 6-6 12-11 Notre Dame 5-7 10-14 Wake Forest 5-8 12-12 Virginia 5-8 10-14 Miami 4-8 12-11 Clemson 3-10 7-17 1-11 4-19 Pitt
Numbers to know
36
Consecutive regular-season wins by BC lacrosse from the end of the 2017 season through the 2019 season.
2
Wins out of five games by BC softball to open its 2020 campaign, after the Eagles defeated both Long Island and Georgetown this weekend.
15
Total recruits signed by BC football by National Signing Day last Wednesday, including QB Phil Jurkovec and DB Jiovanny Holmes.
QUote of the week
“I made it my first priority to meet [the recruits’] families and welcome them and thank them for honoring their commitment.” — Head football coach Jeff Hafley, on connecting with his 2020 recruiting class
A12
Monday, February 10, 2020
SPORTS
@HeightsSports
SKATING ON THIN ICE MEN’S HOCKEY
Ikram ali / Heights Editor
Thanks to UMass Lowell’s solid work in goal, BC struggled to capitalize on numerous chances in its offensive zone, falling 3-2 to the River Hawks. The Eagles have now lost four of their last five games by one point. By Emma Healy Sports Editor
After any loss, Boston College men’s hockey is hungry for revenge. But something about a loss to Boston University in UMass Lowell 3 the B e anp ot Boston College 2 tournament warrants an even bigger return to the ice than most games. Unfortunately for the Eagles, UMass entered the night off a split weekend with BU and needed revenge just as much.
After a scoreless first period, BC (16-8-1, 10-6-0 Hockey E a s t ) c a p i t a l i z e d o n L o w e l l ’s miscommunication to grab a shorthanded goal to open up the scoring, but the River Hawks (14-75, 8-4-4) wouldn’t go down without a fight. After three eventful periods, BC fell to Hockey East rival UMass Lowell 3-2. “We’ve got to find a way to take these close losses and shift them a little bit,” head coach Jerry York said after four of his team’s last five
games were each decided by one goal. “It’s just the one inch in front of our faces.” The first period was short on goals but not short on excitement, and the Eagles nearly tapped in goal after goal. Lowell’s goaltender Tyler Wall, whose name was fitting for his style of play in the first period, robbed the Eagles of plenty of chances through the first 20 minutes with seven saves. Spencer Knight grabbed five of his own saves in the first as well. BC dominated possession of the
puck throughout the entirety of the first period but couldn’t capitalize. With just four combined penalty minutes in the first for the Eagles and the River Hawks, neither team had much of an advantage, and it showed in the scoreline. But an uneventful first frame seemed to fire the Eagles up even more, and after a few brief moments spent in their own zone, the Eagles took control and never looked back. Lowell packed as many as four players behind the puck at all times, but
BC’s skaters were elusive and made their way through the high-pressure defense. Two minutes into the second, BC saw its closest chance yet, as Marc McLaughlin took a shot from behind the goal line that narrowly deflected off a Lowell defender and found its way out of danger. Just a minute later, Knight stopped a near goal as he faced a one-on-one and turned it away to keep the score at zero apiece.
See MHOK, A11
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Eagles Edge Out Narrow Victory Over Conference Foe Clemson By Hayley Rieman Heights Staff With just a few seconds left on the clock and the game all tied up Boston College 70 at 68 p oint s apiece, ClemClemson 68 son’s Destiny Thomas fouled Makayla Dickens to send her to the freethrow line. The crowd stood with bated breath as Dickens stepped up and promptly sank both of her two free throws, clinching the game for the Eagles at a final score of 70-68. It was a much-needed win for Boston College women’s basketball (13-10, 6-6 Atlantic Coast) after falling to Syracuse by double digits last
Thursday 89-79. The game played out to be a tougher matchup than the teams’ records could have predicted. Before the contest on Sunday, Clemson (717, 3-10) was on a five-game losing streak, making the prospects for a conference win on the road even more probable for the Eagles. Even so, the Eagles didn’t seem to have much of an advantage in the conference battle in South Carolina. The Eagles dominated possession and scoring in the first half, but Clemson snuck up on them in the second, making the final seconds of the game the deciding factor. Despite the game’s final tally, it wasn’t always so close for the Tigers.
The first period started off well for the Eagles, as Emma Guy scored an early 10 points and Dickens had a nice 3pointer to get the Eagles off to a good start with a 21-14 lead. Defensively, Taylor Soule aided the Eagles with three rebounds inside the paint as well as three assists. In the second period, Marnelle Garraud and Dickens both made great shots behind the arc, and Guy gave the Eagles another 10 points to comfortably go into halftime with a 15-point lead. The second half featured some key plays by Dickens once again, including more 3-pointers, to bring her a total of 11 points in the third period alone.
Guy and Dickens continued to make key contributions not only on offense, but also on defense, grabbing four rebounds each in the second half. Clemson’s Kendall Spray and Kobi Thornton gave the Eagles the most trouble, scoring a total of 17 and 15 points, respectively. The Tigers really got the best of the Eagles in the third quarter, and their lead started to slip away as Clemson began to outscore them. Spray scored 12 points alone in that quarter to add to a team total of 28 points in the period. With that, the Tigers outscored the Eagles in a period for the first time all game, cutting BC’s lead down to 59-54.
In the last 10 minutes of the game, the Tigers proved to be especially tough and tested BC’s fortitude. The Eagles just barely pulled out a win in the final seconds, but regardless of the close game, any win on the road is a good win, especially against a conference opponent. With just a little over 30 seconds left to play, BC head coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee called backto-back timeouts, as the two teams sat tied at 68. In the final seconds, Clemson fouled Dickens and gave the Eagles two foul shot opportunities to secure the game. Once again, the Tigers outscored
See MHOK, A11
WOMEN’S HOCKEY
After First-Round Beanpot Loss, Eagles Look Ahead to Harvard By Olivia Charbonneau Assoc. Sports Editor Second Round: Boston College vs. Harvard University, Feb. 11 at 5 p.m. Boston College women’s hockey continues to struggle this season, falling to No. 8 BU 4-0 last week in the first round of the 42nd Women’s Beanpot tournament. As a result, the Eagles now look toward the consolation game against No. 10 Harvard this upcoming Tuesday. The Eagles had been unbeaten through the first 10 games of their season, including a 3-2 victory over the Professional Women’s Hockey Players’ Association (PWHPA) on Sept. 21. Since that incredible streak, however, the Eagles have been inconsistent in their play, going 5-12-2, including a frustrating seven-game losing streak that stretched from the end of November to the beginning of January. As such, the Eagles weren’t nationally ranked or coming off an incredible win streak going into their game against the Terriers as they were at this time last year. And now, it seems as though the Eagles’ performance in the Beanpot is on a downswing. This will be the Eagles’ second year in a row playing in the consolation game, after last year’s devastating 4-1 loss to Harvard in the first round. The loss marked the first time in seven years that the Eagles
failed to make it to the championship round of the tournament. By the Numbers Since their emergence as a varsity program, the Eagles have gone 32-17-2 in the Beanpot, including their recent loss to the Terriers. Against Harvard, however, BC has a 9-17-0 record. The Crimson is historically a highly competitive team in the Beanpot, with 14 championship wins—second only to No. 3 Northeastern with 16 wins. Prior to this matchup, the Eagles have only faced Harvard once this season, in a 1-7 blowout on home ice. The Crimson (13-10-1, 12-5-1 ECAC) currently sits in the No. 10 spot of the NCAA rankings this season, while BC (14-12-3, 13-9-2 HEA) failed to crack the standings, struggling in its own highly competitive conference. While the Eagles’ most recent tournament win came in 2018, Harvard has not regained the title since 2015, when the Crimson beat BC 3-2 in the finals. Since that game, the two teams have faced off only twice, both times in the first round. The Eagles took the first game in 2016, and the Crimson took the second in last year’s tournament. Key Players: Delaney Belinskas, Boston College Belinskas has had a standout season for her senior campaign, leading the Eagles with 16 goals and often making
Leo wang / Heights Staff
BC defender Alexie Guay looks out for a pass from her teammate during the Eagles’ 4-0 loss to BU in the Beanpot.
herself known on the scoresheet, totaling 20 points in 28 games played. The senior alternate captain has currently matched her career high in goals and is on pace for an excellent season after going through a scoring slump her junior year. Belinskas had collected nine points in the five games leading up to the first round of the Beanpot, but she has not found the back of the net since, with the Eagles shut out by both BU and New Hampshire. Anne Bloomer, Harvard University
The last time Harvard played against the Eagles, Bloomer made an incredible impact, opening the scoring for the Crimson only a minute and a half into the contest. After only scoring five points her freshman year, Bloomer has more than tripled her point total, netting 12 goals and seven assists in fewer games played. Bloomer has amassed four points in the Crimson’s last three games, including two goals in Harvard’s shutout against Dartmouth.
Alexie Guay, Boston College With the Eagles stacked with stars like Belinskas, Kelly Browne, and Hannah Bilka, players like Alexie Guay can often go under the radar. Guay has totaled 18 points so far this season, second among freshmen behind only Bilka. In the Eagles’ blowout victory over Holy Cross, Guay collected three assists on the night, boosting her to lead BC defensemen in assists. Guay had also assisted on Maegan Beres’ lone goal against the Crimson on New Year’s Eve. n