The Heights 04/07/2014 by The Heights

C.A.R.E. WEEK

SHOWDOWN

TWO STEPS BACK

FEATURES

ARTS & REVIEW

SPORTS

A preview of the WRC’s biggest C.A.R.E. week yet, B8

Over 3,000 people showed up for Showdown in Conte Forum on Saturday night, A8

Eagles baseball dropped two of three against UNC after midweek success, B1

www.bcheights.com

HEIGHTS

THE

The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College

established

1919

Monday, April 7, 2014

Vol. XCV, No. 20

Arrest made in McConville murder case links to BC Belfast Project BY CONNOR FARLEY News Editor Last Wednesday, an unnamed 56-yearold man was arrested for questioning in connection to the abduction and murder of Jean McConville, a widowed mother of 10 who disappeared from her apartment in December 1972 and was later revealed to have been shot by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). The suspect was detained in west Belfast and transported to an Antrim police station for questioning, according to statements released by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and reported by the

Irish Independent. He was released hours after being taken into custody at the Antrim police station, according to The Guardian, and upon his release, a spokesman said that inquiries were continuing. Reportedly shunned by her neighbors for suspicion of being an informant for the British army, 37-year-old McConville was taken from her home in the Divis Flats of west Belfast by a group of about 12 IRA members, and subsequently shot in the back of the head, according to a report by The Chronicle of Higher Education. Having been secretly buried by the IRA following her execution, McConville’s remains would not be discovered until August

2003 in Shelling Hill Beach, approximately 50 miles from her home. One week prior to the latest arrest related to McConville’s death, alleged former IRA commander Ivor Bell, 77, was also charged with aiding and abetting the murder, according to BBC Northern Ireland. Bell’s arrest is being linked to the Belfast Project, an oral history initiative started by Boston College in 2001. According to the same BBC report, the case against Bell is based on an interview he allegedly gave as part of the Belfast Project. The project was dissolved in 2011 after the U.S. Department of Justice issued subpoenas

on behalf of the PSNI ordering the University to release the tapes of interviews conducted with Brendan Hughes and Dolours Price, two former Northern Irish Republican militants. Organized by Executive Director of the Center for Irish Programs Thomas Hachey, then-Burns Librarian Robert O’Neill, Irish journalist Ed Moloney, and former IRA member and project interviewer Anthony McIntyre, the Belfast Project was begun as an oral history project that would document the severe political conflict in Northern Ireland known as “The Troubles” by interviewing former members of the IRA and other paramilitary groups.

Semester Online to end in 2014 After just one year at BC, 2U will dissolve its Online Consortium

EMILY SADEGHIAN / HEIGHTS EDITOR

On Saturday night, 12 of BC’s dance organizations competed for charity at the AHANA Leadership Council’s Annual Showdown.

Dance teams compete at Showdown

Heights Staff

BY KAYLA FAMOLARE Heights Editor

See Semester Online, A3

See McConville Case, A3

SPORTS

BY CAROLYN FREEMAN

After the spring 2014 semester, Boston College will no longer offer online classes as a part of Semester Online. The Online Consortium hosted by online provider 2U has dissolved its Semester Online program following a vote of the Arts & Sciences Faculty at Washington University in St. Louis. The ultimate decision to end the program was made jointly by the Consortium schools and 2U. This pilot program was initially started to gather information about online education, and when Washington University decided to opt out, it was unclear if continuing the program would yield more worthwhile information, said Chief of Staff in Boston College’s Office of the Provost Anita Tien. 2U, which was founded in 2008, is an education technology company that partners with universities around the world to bring their classes online. The Online Consortium the company formed with BC also included Brandeis University, Emory University, Northwestern University, UNC, Trinity College Dublin, the University of Melbourne, Notre Dame, Wake Forest University and Washington University in St. Louis. Courses are divided into 80 minutes of prerecorded lectures and one live discussion group each week. The cancellation of the program will have no impact on students who are taking the courses now or who are enrolled for the summer semester, Tien said. This semester, BC is offered the course How To Rule The World, taught by political science professor Robert Bartlett, and Vietnam: The War That Never Ends, taught by history professor Seth Jacobs. This summer, BC will offer sociology and history course Eco-Challenges and Sustainable Solutions, taught by professors Juliet Schor and Prasannan Parthasarathi, and forensics course Violent Crimes: Forensics and Victimology, taught by Ann Burgess. Although Bartlett’s experience working with Semester Online was positive, he found in-class teaching to be far superior to online. Despite Semester Online’s effort to imitate an in-class lecture, his style of teaching did not lend itself well to the online tools, he said. “Although Semester Online tried its best to imitate the classroom experience, complete with live video discussion sec-

By recounting the series of terrorist acts and sporadic outbreaks of riotous violence between the IRA, other paramilitaries, and the British army from the late 1960s until the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, the Belfast Project chronicled the activities of ex-IRA members through taped interviews conducted by McIntyre—a former IRA member who spent more than 16 years in prison himself for killing a loyalist paramilitary soldier. The audiotapes of interviews were housed in BC’s John J. Burns Library. Contracts signed by the interviewees stipulated that the tapes

The noise emanating from Conte Forum could be heard throughout campus on Saturday night as over 3,500 people attended the sold-out Annual Showdown featuring various dance troupes of Boston College. Presented by UGBC’s heritage programming department, the Annual Showdown featured 12 of BC’s dance groups, displaying a variety of dance styles. Teams competed for the top two places in either the cultural category—featuring different ethnic and cultural dance organiza-

tions—or the dance category. Teams competing in the cultural category included the Vietnamese Student Association (VSA); Presenting African to You (PATU), a traditional and modern African dance troupe; Vida de Intensa Pasion (VIP), a Latin dance team; and Masti, the South Asian Student Association’s official dance team. The remaining eight teams—Synergy; UPrising; BC Dance Ensemble (BCDE); BC Irish Dance (BCID); Phaymus; FISTS; Fuego del Corazon; and Sexual Chocolate—competed in the dance category. Each team represented a charity of its choice, and the winner of each category would

receive $500 to donate to its charity. The show opened with a performance by Conspiracy Theory, BC’s street dance crew, which did not compete in the Showdown. Hosts for the evening’s events Alisha Wright, A&S ’15, and Denise Pyfrom, A&S ’14, then introduced Lil’ Phunk, the official junior dance team of the Boston Celtics, to entertain in a pre-competition performance. Each team was introduced by videos with footage from its practice sessions and introductions from team leaders on each individual group’s mission and the charity

See Showdown, A3

JIM CHRISTIAN JOINS THE HEIGHTS After the firing of Steve Donahue, BC Athletics named Ohio University’s Jim Christian the new head coach of the BC men’s basketball team last week. See B1

CSOM ranked No. 4 by ‘Bloomberg’ BY CONNOR FARLEY News Editor After having risen in rank from No. 16 to No. 9 in 2012 and again to No. 6 in 2013, the Carroll School of Management (CSOM) has been ranked the fourth best undergraduate business school in the U.S. by Bloomberg Businessweek. The ranking is based on calculations from student surveys, employer surveys, MBA feeder school rankings, academic quality, student-faculty ratios, and median starting salaries for 132 national undergraduate business programs. According to Bloomberg, the only other schools to precede the University are the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business, the University of Virginia’s McIntire

School of Commerce, and Cornell University’s Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management. Although 152 colleges and universities were invited to participate in this year’s rankings, 13 submitted too few student responses, six were discounted for submitting too few employer surveys, and one failed to provide required data, resulting in 132 total programs evaluated. The criteria for Bloomberg’s ranking algorithm are weighted differently, with approximately 30 percent of the ranking dependent on the results from student surveys over the past three years; 30 percent on academic quality; 20 percent on recruiter rankings; 10 percent on the university’s MBA feeder school ranking; and 10 percent on the starting salaries of

graduate students. For the student surveys that comprise 30 percent of the ranking, Bloomberg distributed 91,603 44-question student assessments to graduating seniors— 28,842 of whom submitted responses—on topics regarding academic quality, facilities quality, and career services, among others, and graded on a one-to-five scale. Fifty percent of the overall student assessment ranking is based on 2014 responses, 25 percent on 2013 responses, and the remaining 25 percent on 2012 responses. Bloomberg then averages the scores for each year and uses them as an estimate for student valuation of overall quality.

See CSOM Ranking, A3

BC Model United Nations hosts annual conference BY NATHAN MCGUIRE Asst. News Editor Boston College Model United Nations (BC MUN) welcomed over 500 delegates from around the world to its second annual Eagle Model United Nations Conference (MUNC) at the Westin Copley Plaza hotel in downtown Boston last weekend. Scott Brown, former senator from Massachusetts and BC Law ’85, delivered the keynote address to the conference, which was held off-campus for its second year and attracted over 300 more delegates than it did in its first year. Schools came to the Westin from as far away as India and Turkey, and many

of the schools represented were Jesuit institutions, said Braeden Lord, secretary general of Eagle MUNC, secretary of BC MUN, and A&S ’15. In a little over two years, BC MUN has grown from 15 members to over 280 members and is now the largest student organization on campus. Eagle MUNC has grown at an equally fast rate. In its second year, the conference had more than 100 staff across four departments—external affairs, finance, administration, and political affairs. Lord credits that growth to the organization’s ability to attract students from all majors and its aggressive publicity strategy. For the conference,

See Eagle MUNC, A3

PHOTO COURTESY OF BC MODEL UNITED NATIONS

BC Model UN hosted its second annual Eagle MUNC conference at the downtown Westin hotel.

Top

things to do on campus this week

The Heights Tracey Wigfield, comedy writer, producer, and BC ’05, will return to BC tonight at 7 p.m. to speak about her role as a co-writer of 30 Rock. Wigfield won an Emmy in 2013 for her work on the show’s final episode, which she co-wrote with Tina Fey.

Monday, April 7, 2014

As part of the Women’s Resource Center’s Concerned About Rape Education (C.A.R.E.) Week, Rachel Lloyd, author of Girls Like Us and a survivor of rape, will speak on Tuesday at 4 p.m. in McGuinn 121 about the sexual exploitation and trafficking of girls in the U.S.

On Wednesday at 4 p.m. in Fulton 511, CSOM’s Manager’s Studio will welcome Bernt Ullmann, the president and CEO of global branding company Star Branding, to participate in a discussion about his professional and personal experiences.

More than Kuznick, Stone defend history documentary a paycheck By Julie Orenstein Assoc. News Editor

Adriana Mariella My major is useless. Or at least that’s what I’m told—“An English major isn’t practical,” or “There’s no money in journalism.” I’ve heard it a thousand times. And yet it hasn’t made me question my choice to study the thing that excites me and what I knew would make me happy, even if that meant I might end up making less money. I’m not sure what makes a major practical. I would argue that neither potential earnings nor job availability after graduation make a major any more or less practical, partly because your major doesn’t necessarily restrict your job search and partly because I think it’s dangerous to think of knowledge as valuable only insomuch as it relates to its potential to beef up your bottom line. Luckily, we go to a school where knowledge isn’t reduced to its practicality. If it were, we English majors would be struggling to prove that poetry is “practical” beyond its artistic and cultural (and sometimes political) value. I can think of a few ways, but none that would convince someone only interested in my future salary potential. Sure, I can write well after four years in our English department, but my major has given me more than just good grammar. I have gotten lost in dense theory that has not only challenged my comprehension ability but also the way that I perceive the world. I have been able to find 14 pages’ worth of meaningful things to say about a 14-line sonnet. I have seen how far-reaching English can be, and I have a far more eloquent understanding of the world because of it. But none of that really matters. Each so-called “useless” major can produce a similar list of its merits and that’s why I have a problem with evaluating knowledge in the way that these “Top 10 Useless College Majors” lists do. Classically, education was “impractical” by modern standards, with most education devoted to imbuing you with knowledge of classic literature, language, history, music, mathematics, and philosophy. In its highest form, education was more about the worthwhile quest for knowledge than it was about preparing its subjects for work. Every (very expensive) minute of my education has been worth what I paid for it, even if I don’t use what I learn in whatever job I resign myself to doing after I leave Boston College. Although I half believe the joke that what you pay for is a diploma, I have to disagree that what I’ve learned here hasn’t been valuable beyond its ability to get me a job. I’m one of those people who see the value in pure thinking, in pursuing a life that’s about something higher than a paycheck. Maybe I’ll change my tune when I realize that I can only afford two more months of rent, but I don’t think I will. Being at BC has helped me to discern what kind of things I believe in. To borrow words from a Father Arrupe prayer and from a friend who turned me onto it, “Nothing is more practical than finding God, than falling in love in a quite absolute, final way … It will decide … what you read, whom you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude … Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.”

Adriana Mariella is a senior staff columnist for The Heights. She can be reached at news@bcheights.com.

Two prominent commentators on American political and cultural issues, particularly those pertaining to war, visited Boston College on Saturday to discuss the rise of the American empire and national security state under the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations. Academy Award-winning filmmaker Oliver Stone joined American University historian Peter Kuznick to screen an episode of their documentary series, The Untold History of the United States, in Robsham Theater, as well as respond to comments and questions on their project. Stone is best known for films such as Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July, and JFK. The event, co-sponsored by the Institute for the Liberal Arts and the sociology department, also featured professor of sociology Charles Derber as a moderator and professor of history Seth Jacobs, who took part in a panel discussion with Stone and Kuznick. The basis of the series, which includes 10 episodes that aired on Showtime as well as an 800-page companion book, is to use newly uncovered material to re-examine some key—and often controversial—events in the last century of American history. The episode screened on Saturday was the final episode of the series, focusing on Bush, Obama, and what the filmmakers call “the age of terror.” The Sept. 11 attacks opened the episode that outlined Bush’s response

and launch of a global war on terror. As the war expanded, an American empire grew, creating its own reality through doublespeak—broad, vague terms such as “preventative war” and “homeland security”—and media that glorified American heroism in movies and video games. Bush, emphasizing American exceptionalism, called for a “moral crusade to protect liberty and justice,” and the war became polarizing throughout the U.S., just as the Vietnam War had several decades earlier. After Obama took office, the episode outlined the financial crisis and the rise of the American surveillance state. The killing of Osama bin Laden in 2011 renewed Obama’s image as an effective war president intent on taking down terrorists. The episode closed by questioning the U.S.’s actions and its approach to world affairs throughout the 1900s and early 2000s. “We must ask ourselves, humbly, looking back at the American century, have we acted wisely and humanely in our relations to the rest of the world?” Stone, the series’ narrator, asked. “Have we been right to police the globe? Have we been a force for good, understanding, and peace? We must look in the mirror. Perhaps in our self-love, we’ve become the angels of our own despair. “Can we not surrender our exceptionalism and our arrogance, can we not cut out the talk of domination, can we stop appealing to God to bless America over other nations? Hardliners and nationalists will object, but theirs is proven not to be the way.” Following the screening, Jacobs

critiqued Stone’s and Kuznick’s assertion that whoever is president of the U.S. truly matters in a given situation. The filmmakers had argued that events might have turned out differently if, for example, Henry Wallace had become president upon Franklin Roosevelt’s death in 1945 rather than Harry Truman, or if John F. Kennedy had not been assassinated in 1963. “It troubles me to see Stone and Kuznick argue, at least implicitly, that the chief executive can control the overall trajectory of U.S. foreign policy, especially when the evidence they present seems to suggest otherwise,” Jacobs said. Kuznick responded by arguing that there is, in fact, some continuity in American foreign policy throughout different presidencies, yet there have been times in which presidential leadership has made a significant difference in immediate policy choices. “Had Barack Obama been president in October 1962 instead of Kennedy, and we’ve seen how Obama has stood up to his military advisors, that invasion [of Cuba] would have taken place, and we wouldn’t be here now,” Kuznick said regarding Kennedy’s decision to avoid an invasion during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Stone, who fought in and protested against the Vietnam War, noted that it was depressing to see the repetition of mistakes throughout American history, from Vietnam to the conflict in Kuwait to Iraq. He also responded to Jacobs’ criticism by commenting on specific presidential elections that, if they had turned out differently, could have affected the course of foreign policy, specifically mentioning the

1972 election between Richard Nixon and George McGovern and the 2000 election between Bush and Al Gore. In answering questions from the audience about foreign relations and the struggling economy, Kuznick pointed out the disparity in wealth that characterizes this age of American domination. “The richest one percent has more wealth than the poorest 90 percent in this country, and on the world scale it’s even worse,” Kuznick said. “An Oxfam report says that the richest 85 people in the world have more wealth than the poorest 3.5 billion. That’s the legacy of the American empire—this massive, disproportion and inequality that is not sustainable. “The future is potentially very, very grim, unless we mobilize—as we say in the episode—as people, collectively, to take control back in our hands as a collective human society to decide what’s really in people’s interests,” he said. n

Three million hits appear when one searches for “leadership academy” or “leadership training” on Google. Amazon has 22,000 titles in stock relating to leadership. Websites offer quick lessons and simple skills to become a charismatic leader in 24 hours or less. At Boston College, there are close to 20 leadership programs and over a dozen leadership awards offered for students. On Thursday night, Rev. Paul McNellis, S.J. cited these facts to open his discussion “How Men Become Good Leaders (And Why Women Should Care),” sponsored by the Sons of St. Patrick and the St. Thomas More Society. Although he decided to address men primarily, McNellis said he was not doing so exclusively. “I do believe that there are some differences between men and women … [and] I have something to say that I hope would be of interest to women as well,” he said. Being a leader is related to having authority and responsibility, McNellis said, but it is not the same, nor is it the same as management. He offered a working definition of a leader—a person others are willing to follow

POLICE BLOTTER Wednesday, April 2 8:31 a.m. - A report was filed regarding larceny in Williams Hall. 11:44 a.m. - A report was filed regarding medical treatment provided to a BC employee in Lyons Hall.

Thursday, April 3 1:22 a.m. - A report was filed regarding a fire alarm activation in Higgins Hall. 10:14 a.m. - A report was filed regarding harassing phone calls in the BC Law Library.

because they respect him or her. He went on to offer three examples of leadership that he has witnessed, beginning with a commanding officer with his unit when he served as a lieutenant in the Vietnam War. After a South Vietnamese ally was injured, the officer called for an air evacuation, yet the only aircraft in the area was an upscale helicopter made for transporting important military figures. The officer knew that the pilot would only transport a wounded American in this kind of helicopter, so when the pilot asked whether the soldier was American or South Vietnamese, the officer replied, “Neither, he’s a human being.” The man was rescued by the helicopter. The second instance of leadership McNellis shared was from 2010, immediately following the BC men’s hockey team’s victory in the national championship game. McNellis noticed that the first thing assistant captain Ben Smith, BC ’10, did after the final buzzer was skate over to the BC band and thank them for being there. “It was the classy thing to do, I thought,” McNellis said. “Something he hadn’t planned on.” The final example was from when McNellis was 16 years old in his high school cafeteria, and his friend, upon feeling uncomfortable at the conversa-

tion topic that made fun of women, had the courage to get up and leave the table. In all three cases, McNellis said the men showed elements of character, none of them having had trained for the responses they ultimately had in those particular moments. McNellis then went on to discuss why people respect leaders, and he determined that it was because they were good men. “Men become good leaders, but first become good men,” he said. “How do you become a good man? It’s a difficult, lifelong task. It’s not done once and for all. There’s no one course you can take.” Several aspects of today’s society, particularly on college campuses, discourage commitment and virtue, making it more difficult to become a good man, he said. Among these elements that McNellis said to avoid are addictions to alcohol and pornography. McNellis also cited an unrealistic outlook on life as detrimental to becoming a good man. “The most insidious, harmful thing about the college experience is thinking of college as a bubble that puts real life on hold,” he said. “How unreal is this really?” Some suggestions he offered to become a good man included being honest, never lying or cheating, be-

A Guide to Your Newspaper The Heights Boston College – McElroy 113 140 Commonwealth Ave. Chestnut Hill, Mass. 02467 Editor-in-Chief (617) 552-2223 Editorial General (617) 552-2221 Managing Editor (617) 552-4286 News Desk (617) 552-0172 Sports Desk (617) 552-0189 Metro Desk (617) 552-3548 Features Desk (617) 552-3548 Arts Desk (617) 552-0515 Photo (617) 552-1022 Fax (617) 552-4823 Business and Operations General Manager (617) 552-0169 Advertising (617) 552-2220 Business and Circulation (617) 552-0547 Classifieds and Collections (617) 552-0364 Fax (617) 552-1753 EDITORIAL RESOURCES News Tips Have a news tip or a good idea for a story? Call Connor Farley, News Editor, at (617) 552-0172, or email news@bcheights.com. For future events, email a detailed description of the event and contact information to the News Desk. Sports Scores Want to report the results of a game? Call Connor Mellas, Sports Editor, at (617) 552-0189, or email sports@ bcheights.com. Arts Events For future arts events, email a detailed description of the event and contact information to the Arts Desk. Call John Wiley, Arts and Review Editor, at (617) 552-0515, or email arts@bcheights.com.

emily sadeghian / Heights editor

Peter Kuznick joined Oscar-winning filmmaker Oliver Stone on Saturday.

McNellis addresses effective male leadership By Julie Orenstein Assoc. News Editor

ing on a budget, being considerate, spending time with friends whom you respect, developing a sense of honor, treating all women with respect, and accepting responsibility. A key example McNellis shared of being both a good leader and a good father was Don Shea, a 1918 graduate of BC and the namesake of Shea Field. A sailor during World War II, Shea wrote a note home to his young son telling him to be brave, take care of his mother, and heed his advice for his future. “Study hard when you go to school,” Shea wrote. “Be a leader in everything good in life. Be a good Catholic. And you can’t help being a good American. Play fair always. Play to win, but if you must lose, lose like a gentleman and a good sportsman.” In acknowledging female leaders, McNellis said that leadership for both men and women is based on character, and the virtues of good male and female leaders are basically the same, but some are emphasized differently. Men, for example, might be ashamed of being called cowards, yet this would be seen differently for women, who might feel worse about being called cold or heartless. “Character is the most interesting thing about another human being and what you can admire the most is character,” McNellis said. n

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 Eleanor Hildebrandt, Editor-inChief, at (617) 552-2223, or email eic@bcheights.com. CUSTOMER SERVICE Delivery To have The Heights delivered to your home each week or to report distribution problems on campus, contact Marc Francis, General Manager at (617) 552-0547. Advertising The Heights is one of the most effective ways to reach the BC community. To submit a classified, display, or online advertisement, call our advertising office at (617) 552-2220 Monday through Friday.

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

4/2/14-4/4/14 11:32 a.m. - A report was filed regarding medical assistance provided to a BC student who was later transported to a medical facility by cruiser from the Mods.

Friday, April 4 1:39 a.m. - A report was filed regarding medical assistance provided to a BC student who was later transported to a medical facility by ambulance from the Newton roadways.

—Source: The Boston College Police Department

What the favorite first signs springemployee? at BC? Who are is your BCofDining “Chubbies. Everywhere.” —Mike Kotsopoulos, A&S ’17

“When people start sitting outside.” —Kelly Wallace, LSOE ’16

“Booty shorts.” —Riley Kete, A&S ’17

“When you notice how pale everyone actually is.” —Bill Lavelle, A&S ’17

The Heights

Monday, April 7, 2014

Semester Online to cancel online consortium courses

BC’s Belfast Project tied to arrest

Semester Online, from A1

McConville Case, from A1 would be sealed until each individual’s death due to their sensitive nature. The legal salience of those contracts was called into question in a Jan. 26 article from The Chronicle of Higher Education, which reported that “no lawyers vetted the [contracts’] wording, and no one at Boston College other than Mr. O’Neill and Mr. Hachey reviewed Mr. Moloney’s contract or the one drawn up for interviewees.” The four project organizers received an initial subpoena for the tapes on May 5, 2011. While initially able to maintain possession of the Dolours Price recordings, the University was required to turn over the interviews involving Hughes given his death in 2008, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. Three months later, U.S. federal judge William G. Young issued another subpoena, which ruled that BC had to turn over all tapes relevant to the death of Jean McConville to the Police Service of Northern Ireland on the basis of a mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT) between the U.S. and the United Kingdom that maintains both countries act in full compliance with each other during criminal investigations. Audiotapes of particular interest to the PSNI were those of Price, who reportedly divulged information about the death of McConville and attributed her planned execution to Gerry Adams—the current leader of the Sinn Fein political party, who denies having ever been a member of the IRA, according to The Guardian. The tapes were presumed to implicate Adams for coordinating McConville’s murder. On Jan. 23, 2013, Price was found dead at her Dublin home at 61 due to unknown causes. Several months after her death, BC released Price’s tapes in full to the PSNI. Due to inconclusive details on the case as disclosed by the PSNI, the University has declined to comment on the most recent arrest made in the McConville case. “Boston College is not privy to any details of the ongoing investigation being conducted by the Police Services of Northern Ireland, and is not commenting on the matter,” said University Spokesman Jack Dunn in an email. n

emily sadeghian / heights editor

More than 3,500 students filed into Conte to watch 12 dance troupes compete at Showdown.

Fuego wins 2014 Showdown Showdown, from A1 it was representing. Each group was given eight minutes to showcase its routine to a panel of three judges. The judge’s panel included Merli Guerra, director of Luminarium Dance Company in Cambridge, Mass.; Sarah Katarina, director of Static Noyze Dance Company and faulty member at the Jeannette Neill Dance Studio in New York; and Reia Briggs-Connor, director and choreographer of Lil’ Phunk. Sexual Chocolate, BCDE, PATU, Synergy, BCID, and VIP performed in the first half of the show, which led into a 15-minute intermission. The remaining six teams finished off the show, followed by the judges’ deliberation and award presentation. Masti was named the victor of the culture category, winning $500 for its charity CRY America—an organization that strives to support underprivileged children in India. PATU and its movie director-inspired dance received second place in the category. In the dance category, Fuego del Corazon took the title with its West Side Story routine and donated its winnings to the Veronica Robles Cultural Center in Boston, with Synergy taking second with its upbeat, Disney routine. Pyfrom, the vice president of program-

ming for UGBC, noted that this year’s Showdown was a success, crediting the heritage programming members for their hard work. “It takes a lot of logistics,” she said. “Half is preparation before and half is being a quick thinker the day of the show.” Although the final expenditure of the show has not yet been calculated, Pyfrom believes that the show was as successful as last year’s—both events were sold out. About 3,300 tickets were sold at $15 each, with the remaining 200 spots given to participants within the various dance groups. Pyfrom declined to comment on specific expenses of the event. “Some of the money we make on revenue pays for the event,” Pyfrom said. “The programming board has been working very diligently, and we’re not entirely sure on how the budgeting will be divided.” As a four-year member of the programming board, Pyfrom said she is most proud of the growth of Showdown in recent years. “Tr youts are new … [they] came about because this event has been growing in popularity, and before my time, it wasn’t a huge event,” she said. “It actually started in Robsham, and then the Plex, then recently moved to Conte because so many more people wanted to be a part of it and involved with this and wanted to see the show.” n

tions that met once a week, I generally found the medium to be an obstacle to be overcome rather than a help in teaching,” Bartlett said. “I do not rely at all on visual aids of any kind, and classes that do might be better suited to the online tools.” Despite feelings that an in-person course is better, the Online Consortium was a good learning experience for the schools involved, said Tien and Donald Hafner, vice provost for Undergraduate Academic Affairs. Tien, Hafner, and their colleagues now have a more in-depth understanding of online learning, they said. “The students and faculty who participated, we believe, also have a lot more information about what online teaching and learning can be about,” Tien said in an email. “Online education is not going to go away, and like any new format, it has its strengths and weaknesses. So I think that many people are glad that we had this opportunity to learn firsthand about it.” Though the program was always an experiment, it was ultimately informative and helped 2U develop an instructional model for future online learning, like the forthcoming undergraduate nursing program at Simmons College, said Shirley Chow, public relations manager at 2U, Inc. “Semester Online was an experiment,” Chow said. “The pilot program experienced significant challenges related to the complexities of a consortium structure.” Students who participated took a survey designed by the Semester Online Assessment Committee. About half of these students saw online and on campus courses as comparably intellectually challenging. About one-third of the students found their Semester Online courses to be more challenging and more successful in accomplishing class objectives, and about one-sixth criticized the program for not being as intellectually challenging or as successful as on campus classes, Tien and Hafner said. “While not all students had the same response to Semester Online, a good num-

ber thought that their online courses were academically challenging and substantial,” Tien said in an email. In addition to students’ findings that online courses were equally or more effective, many of the faculty of the courses found online learning to be comparable to their traditional classroom courses, Tien and Hafner said. “There is no question, however, that teaching and taking online courses present challenges that are different from the traditional classroom, and both students and faculty need to be adaptable and up to the challenges,” Tien and Hafner co-wrote in an email. BC decided to join Semester Online in order to learn more about online classes. After nearly two semesters in the program, the school has compiled a large amount of information about online education. Tien and Hafner hope that students who chose to participate found the program beneficial. “The online education arena is still very much a work-in-progress, but it is not going to go away,” they said. “We wanted to better understand what is involved in online education, survey its potential to enhance the learning and teaching experience, and—from the experience—have an informed foundation on which the University’s position with respect to online education could be further developed.” Although the administration found Semester Online to be a beneficial learning experience, Bartlett believes there is no substitute for in-class learning. The University agreed to join Semester Online as an experiment, and experiments are only worthwhile if there is a possibility of failure, Bartlett said. “It seems to me to be a very distant second to the real thing,” Bartlett said. “For those who can be taught by actual human beings face-to-face, there’s no comparison. I have yet to see a digital substitute that can capture or reproduce the electricity that occurs when teacher and students join together in the serious discussion of a question or problem that really matters.” n

BC Model UN welcomes 500 delegates to second annual conference Eagle MUNC, from A1 Lord and other executives created a unique 40-hour simulation program that assigned delegates specific roles and immersed them in those roles for two days. During the simulation, delegates were subject to all the complexities of political life—at any time during the conference they were called to give press conferences or interviews, attend subcommittee meetings and crisis councils, or attend fundraising galas. Each delegate even had his or her own website account. This real-life simulation, coupled with a keynote address by Brown, who is expected to bid for New Hampshire’s senate seat in the fall, made the conference internationally attractive. Lord said the conference is the largest student-run financial event outside of UGBC concerts. “As [Brown] became more and more of a relevant figure with the New Hampshire campaign, it helped drive registrants to our conference,” Lord said.

Planning for the conference usually begins the spring before, so the organization has an entire year to plan the event’s logistics. School registration began on May 1, 2013, but teams could register as late as March 1, 2014. “Before we knew it, it was conference time and we packed one of Boston’s largest hotels full of 14- to 18year-olds,” Lord said. “It was an amazing experience.” The first Eagle MUNC, held oncampus for one day last year, registered 162 delegates. This year’s conference welcomed over 500 delegates, and was close to being financially self-sufficient, according to Lord. Unlike the conferences hosted by Harvard and Boston University (BU), which bring together thousands of delegates, Eagle MUNC aims to keep the experience smaller. The average committee contains about 20 delegates, which allows students to have a more hands-on experience. “We try to be more accessible financially, but also more experiential with the educational content we create so that it’s a more realistic experience,”

Lord said. Simulations included general assemblies that simulated world organizations such as the World Health Organization, modern day committees that simulated the UN Security Council, the U.S. Senate, the Asian Joint Forum, and crisis committees that simulated specific historical crises. Topics ranged from regulating international banking to de-

bating energy policy bills to responding to King Phillip’s War. Each delegate was assigned to a specific simulation and played a specific role during the entire conference. Lord is stepping down as Eagle MUNC’s secretary general after helping to grow the conference for the past two years. Mike Keefe, Student Assembly member and A&S ’16, will take over for

photo courtesy of bc model united nations

In only its second year, the Eagle Model United Nations Conference (MUNC) saw over 300 more participants than last year’s event.

‘Businessweek’ ranks CSOM No. 4 undergrad program CSOM Ranking, from A1 The academic quality portion of the ranking, which accounts for another 30 percent, is based on five measures: average SAT score for the most recent entering class; the ratio of full-time students to full-time faculty; average class size in core classes; percentage of students with business-related internships; and the average number of hours students spend preparing for class per week. All of the metrics used in the calculation were either reported directly by the school or by students. To account for employer opinion in its rankings, Bloomberg partnered with Cambria Consulting to gather data from 301 of 922 contacted employers to identify preferred schools for recruiting in the last five years and to assess the quality of graduates. Similar to the student surveys, the 2014 employer assessments were measured over the last three years, with 50 percent of the score

next year’s conference. Lord said the executive board will focus on evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of Eagle MUNC II and then move onto planning the third conference. “The drive never stops when you have to compete with schools like Harvard and Boston University that have 60-year-old conferences with 3,000 delegates,” he said. n

based on 2014 results, 25 percent on 2013 results, and 25 percent on 2012 results. The MBA feeder school portion of the ranking—which accounted for 10 percent of the overall ranking—was designed to determine which schools send the most undergraduates to top MBA programs and is based on surveys completed by MBA students in 2008, 2010, and 2012. This year’s ranking also comes just months prior to the beginning of CSOM’s inaugural Summer Management Catalyst Program—a 10week business program running from May to July designed for non-CSOM students to gain an understanding of business practices, and slated to accept about 45 students for the first summer. The program was created for students with interests in business, but who may not be able to enroll in management school courses during the academic year due to increasingly limited student capacity in CSOM. n

emily sadeghian / heights editor

CSOM’s ranking has risen from No.16 to No. 4 since 2011.

THE HEIGHTS

EDITORIALS

Monday, April 7, 2014

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Students should attend C.A.R.E. Week events

While I am describing to you how nature works, you won’t understand why nature works that way. But you see, nobody understands that. -Richard Feynman (1918 - 1988), American theoretical physicist and Nobel Laureate in Physics

This year’s C.A.R.E. Week adds high-proﬁle lecture, male-focused event to help spread the message Concerned About Rape Education (C.A.R.E.) Week is the time of year when the entire Boston College community is called to face the problem of sexual violence, and students and faculty are encouraged to take advantage of the myriad events that the Women’s Resource Center (WRC) and its co-sponsors plan throughout the week. This year, the WRC—along with Science Club for Girls, R.E.A.C.T., F.I.S.T.S., Sharps, To Write Love On Her Arms, I Am That Girl, the Winston Center, UGBC, and Strong Women, Strong Girls—will bring Elizabeth Smart to campus

Although students should attend as many events as possible, they ought to make a special effort to attend the centerpiece event of the week, Take Back the Night. on Thursday for a lecture encouraging perseverance in times of extreme adversity in light of her personal story of abduction and sexual abuse. This high-profile event is the result of the collaboration between several organizations and departments. In this case, the collaboration was necessar y to bring such a prominent speaker to campus, and in the future, other departments’ awareness initiatives should also be collaborative in order to bring other big speakers to campus.

New to this year’s C.A.R.E. Week is an event focused around the male perspective on sexual abuse on campus entitled “Man Up: What Does it Mean to be a Man at BC?” The luncheon event will take place today at noon—while this may be a difficult time for most students to attend, the WRC and Bystander Intervention should nonetheless be commended for fostering a small group environment for males suitable for serious, personal discussion about sexual violence issues. Male students should seriously consider attending the event and discuss another perspective of such an important issue on campus. Although students should attend as many events as possible, they ought to make a special effort to attend the centerpiece event of the week, Take Back the Night, on Wednesday evening in O’Neill Plaza. The event offers BC students the opportunity to hear from their peers. The students who make the difficult decision to speak are courageous for doing so, and it is important that the BC community shows support and respect for the speakers. The event also serves as a reminder that sexual assault happens here on BC’s campus and is a reality for many students. The messages of C.A.R.E. Week should be extended far beyond the confines of a few days of events. Sexual assault education should be a continuous topic of discussion at BC, and students should take the sentiments they gain from the events this week and use them to keep the conversation about sexual violence on campus going throughout the entire year.

BC Career Center needs new director, location Career Center staff have worked admirably without director, but center needs vision for future As the Boston College Career Center approaches the two-year anniversary of its last official director’s departure, the pressure mounts to choose a new leader who can take the center forward. Although many students have undoubtedly used the center’s services to refine a resume or land an internship opportunity, many other undergraduates still find themselves navigating the murky waters of cover letters and job interviews by themselves. This can be attributed, in large part, to the location of the Career Center, which sits next to the St. Ignatius Church on Commonwealth Ave. and is well-remove d from the paths frequently traversed by BC students. As a result, in the words of Associate Director of Employee Relations and Recruitment Lou Gaglini, the Career Center becomes a “destination” rather than a place at which students can regularly stop in on their way to or from classes or meetings. Both Gaglini and Vice President for Student Affairs Barbara Jones recognize the problems posed by location, and it is essential that these are remembered as plans for the new student center—the ideal place for a career center, according to Jones—become more defined. In the meantime, however, the Career Center must continue its push to become more accessible to students. It has recently begun many programs

that set a good precedent—hosting hours in Campion for Lynch students, in Stokes for students of the humanities, and in residence halls in conjunction with the Office of Residential Life. Off-site hours like these should certainly continue, and they are important indications that the Career Center continues to evolve even without a director. These improvements come at a cost, however, as staff members have been working extra hours and picking up additional responsibilities in the absence of a director. Although unforeseen obstacles, such as the departure of former Vice President for Student Affairs Patrick Rombalski, do account for making the search for a new career center director longer than usual, 19 months is a strikingly long time to leave a university’s career center leaderless. Jones and Gaglini both have strong ideas about where the center needs to go in the future, and the realization of this vision will demand many changes of the center. While it is certainly important that great care is taken to pick an individual capable of implementing this vision, it is also true that changes of the scope in which Jones and Gaglini intend take time, and the rapidly changing landscape of career services, which both of them fully acknowledge, will not wait for the appointment of a new director of the BC Career Center.

HEIGHTS

THE

The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College Established 1919 ELEANOR HILDEBRANDT, Editor-in-Chief MARC FRANCIS, General Manager JOSEPH CASTLEN, Managing Editor

EDITORIAL

KAYLA FAMOLARE, Copy Editor CONNOR FARLEY, News Editor CONNOR MELLAS, Sports Editor KENDRA KUMOR, Features Editor JOHN WILEY, Arts & Review Editor RYAN TOWEY, Metro Editor ANDREW SKARAS, Opinions Editor MARY ROSE FISSINGER, Special Projects Editor EMILY FAHEY, Photo Editor MAGGIE POWERS, Layout Editor

EMILY DEVLIN / HEIGHTS ILLUSTRATION

THE ONLINE BUZZ Printing reader comments from www.bcheights.com, the Online Buzz draws on the online community to contribute to the ongoing discussion. In response to “A Defense of UGBC’s Failed Concert Legacy” by John Wiley which ran on 4/3/14: “Wiley’s argument rests on his perceived notion that UGBC will defend putting on the concerts, but he fails to acknowledge the immense planning failures that occurred within its own Programming Division—not just this year but in years prior. These are the real reasons why SPO has taken gradually more and more control of the concerts. And furthermore, what is often left out of these debates is whether concerts are something students actually want to have, given UGBC’s resources. Other than The Heights, it remains to be seen whether there is really any valueadded with these ridiculous events that lose a lot of money, bring in mediocre performers, and less and less people attend. With all due deference to the UGBC programmers, a paradigm change was needed, and I am glad a programming board is being created. Thank God UGBC will no longer be associated with events that even ‘defenders’ of its record also seem to be stinking of backroom politics.” —AN ALTERNATE VIEW In response to “Responsible Feminism” by Tiffany Ashtoncourt which ran on 3/23/14: “Great [column]. Good for you to raise these issues. When I was an editor at The Heights I was horrified to see an ad for a cleaning service named “BC Mom” in The Heights. The ad said “for the comforts of home, just like Mom used to do, cleaning and laundry.” This was a maid service, not a counseling or life coaching service. Motherhood is undervalued by non-feminists and feminists. You might be interested in some information I learned about in a holistic health book several years ago about how birth control pills and other interventions can increase your risk

The Heights welcomes Letters to the Editor not exceeding 400 words and column submissions that do not exceed 700 words for its op/ed pages. The Heights reserves the right to edit for clarity, brevity, accuracy, and to prevent libel. The Heights also reserves the right to write headlines and choose illustrations to accompany pieces submitted JORDAN PENTALERI, Graphics Editor NICOLE SUOZZO, Blog Editor AUSTIN TEDESCO, Online Manager CORINNE DUFFY, Assoc. Copy Editor EVAN D. GATTI, Asst. Copy Editor JULIE ORENSTEIN, Assoc. News Editor NATHAN MCGUIRE, Asst. News Editor MARLY MORGUS, Assoc. Sports Editor ALEX FAIRCHILD, Asst. Sports Editor SAMANTHA COSTANZO, Asst. Features Editor

of cancer and how this information is not discussed because it might limit women’s freedom. I’m all for women’s freedoms but I am really interested in holistic health and I was amazed read about how these things affect the body. I didn’t know about the opposition to maternity leave that you explain in the article. During my pregnancies I was told by a number of women from Asia that women are given a lot of time to rest after delivery in their countries and that they get a lot of extra help at this time so that they recover. I remember thinking what a great idea and something we could do a better job of in the U.S.!” —PATTY HAMILTON PRICE BC ’86 In response to “On Quitting The Marathon,” a Letter to the Editor from Jim Andersen which ran on 3/31/14: “As someone who is very involved in the Campus School, I want to thank all of the runners who have committed themselves to staying with our organization and finishing what they have started. I know that it was disappointing to hear that you would not be able to participate in the Boston Marathon this year. In light of this, I not only appreciate, but commend, those who have decided to continue on. Our students face these setbacks every day, and just like them, you are pressing forward. You have decided to support your city, Boston College, and the Campus School by shortening your training and running the marathon a week early. You remind us that it is how you act in times of adversity that truly shows the strength of your character. As Josh Wallace says, ‘the key is to be stronger than your situation, not run away from it.’ Thank you for showing us what true dedication looks like. We will be cheering you on the entire way!” —ANONYMOUS

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

ARIANA IGNERI, Assoc. Arts & Review Editor MICHELLE TOMASSI, Asst. Arts & Review Editor BENNET JOHNSON, Asst. Metro Editor EMILY SADEGHIAN, Asst. Photo Editor JT MINDLIN, Asst. Layout Editor BRECK WILLS, Asst. Graphics Editor ARIELLE CEDENO, Editorial Assistant SARAH MOORE, Executive Assistant

BUSINESS AND OPERATIONS

MUJTABA SYED, Business Manager CHRIS STADTLER, Advertising Manager TRICIA TIEDT, Outreach Coordinator DONNY WANG, Systems Manager PAMELA TAYLOR, National Advertising Manager KATIE O’CONNOR, Account Manager JESSICA TURKMANY, Account Manager CATHERINE DUFFY, Collections Manager RUSSELL PULEO, Project Coordinator

The Heights

Monday, April 7, 2014

Reaching for a higher education

Tiffany Ashtoncourt Lower Omelets - The omelet line at Lower runs like a well-oiled machine. You give the chef there your choice of toppings and in very little time you have a delicious omelet for your eating pleasure. But that isn’t even the most important part of the equation there—the choices are fantastic. You want sausage or bacon in your omelet? No problem. You want cheddar cheese instead of the standard American? Also not a problem. As people who do not much like American cheese and enjoy bacon in their omelets, we really appreciate these choices.

Mac Omelets - You know everything we love and cherish about Lower omelets? Yeah, all of that isn’t present in the Mac omelet experience. The line there runs about as slowly as molasses in the Canadian winter. The choices … what choices? It’s as if they have never heard of freedom … Communists. Do you want bacon or sausage in your omelet? Too bad! You can’t have it. Never mind that both the bacon and the sausage are right next to the omelet line. You want cheddar cheese instead of the standard American? Absolutely not! You are going to have American cheese and you are going to like it. In Communist McElroy, you don’t choose omelet—omelet chooses you. Paper Fringe - This has been plaguing us since kindergarten, circa 1999, when the teacher would ask us to rip out a sheet of paper from our notebooks for our coloring assignments (tough stuff, right?). There are few things more annoying that we have to deal with on a daily basis than that paper fringe. You see, it presents a moral conundrum, of sorts. You have two basic, fundamentally exclusive choices—each of which reveals something deep down in the soul of the chooser. You either violently rip the paper out of the notebook with the energy and emotion of Godzilla on a rampage in Tokyo and simply turn the paper in as such, fringe and all. Or, you can calmly press on the left of the notebook and try to ease the paper out of its natural habitat. Inevitably, there is going to be some fringe left on the sheet, but it can be dealt with civilly—like one might deal with an English ne’er-dowell. You sit down, have some tea and crumpets, and explain the situation like the honorable gentleman you are. Then, you gently tug at the loose ends and, voila, the paper is as smooth on the edge as a baby’s bottom. In dealing with such an anguishing problem, we do believe the latter course of action is the best to achieve the optimal result of a reputation as a clean and upstanding citizen.

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During the 2012 presidential campaign, Mitt Romney spoke at a rally in Virginia where he described an ideal America as a place “where everyone has a fair shot. They [Americans] get as much education as they can afford and with their time they’re able to get, and if they have a willingness to work hard and the right values, they ought to be able to provide for their family and have a shot of realizing their dreams” (Huffington Post). Many would say that the issue with Romney’s campaign was that he was out of touch with the average U.S. household, but most people would agree with the underlying belief behind his statement—apart from the word “afford”—which is that education is the sole product and reward of personal responsibility. After all, the alarmingly un-alarming truth is that the U.S. still has some of the highest high school dropout rates among OECD countries despite being one of the most democratic and economically developed, according to The New York Times, which makes the accomplishment of completing an education in the “Land of Opportunity” all the more a testament to personal responsibility.

But, as graduation approaches and Boston College’s Class of 2014 reflects on how far our hard work and dedication has brought us, we are also becoming increasingly aware that the road to higher education was not just a matter of personal dedication—we also used the resources available to us. And, regardless of socioeconomic background, those resources were only made accessible in two ways—our parents or the government. For this reason, I believe that the emphasis on personal responsibility has subconsciously clouded our views and legislative priorities regarding education. First, higher education within the criminal justice system has long been a point of contention. After all, according to the Department of Justice, states spend more per capita on prisoners than on school children. For example, Michigan pays about $34,000 for every inmate and about $11,000 for every student, and New York spends about $56,000 per inmate and $16,000 per student. These statistics are initially shocking and make you wonder where the funds are going, but these figures probably include expenses such as security, medical services, food, legal fees, etc., which are vital to running the facilities. What I find to be more of an issue is the emphasis on private and public programs aimed at giving higher education to prisoners—not because education should be withheld from anyone, but because of the rationale behind it, which is that the solution to lowering crime in the long run is to help

individuals once they’re incarcerated and not before. In a piece for Forbes entitled “How Educating Prisoners Pays Off,” the author argues that educating prisoners is vital because they are most likely to be college dropouts and will thus need a college degree to make it in today’s job market, and it then details how a particular program in Ithaca, N.Y. from Cornell University gives prisoners an Ivy League education at relatively little cost. “[Cornell Prison Education Program] CPEP is supported by a $180,000-ayear grant from the Sunshine Lady Foundation, which was founded by Doris Buffett, sister of investor and philanthropist Warren Buffett. Cornell waives tuition, provides office space, and makes a modest financial contribution. Given the relatively low cost—roughly $1,800 per CPEP student—and manifold benefits, it’s hard to fathom why there isn’t a national, fully funded prison education program in every facility,” the article reads. The dedication of the Cornell professors who largely volunteer their time is admirable, and the inmates who receive this education must appreciate it, but they must also wonder why there wasn’t a national program like this for high school students from low-income areas in every state when they needed it the most—before they dropped out of high school. If all high school students in the U.S. knew that they would have guaranteed, free-tuition at a state college, they would have access to opportuni-

ties that could drastically change their lives for the better. When personal responsibility becomes the ruling view behind legislation, people are unfairly punished. Scholarships are wonderful, but it’s not enough to cover tuition. In addition, they don’t offer a guarantee. Why can’t the Land of Opportunity be like Germany, France, Denmark, or Scotland, all of which have now become havens for EU students since university is free to all residents of the EU member states? This is not a blue vs. red argument—no administration has been truly effective in addressing this issue. I understand that there are fiscal difficulties with providing free university, but I believe that this is a fundamental issue that cannot be reduced to “work hard, have the right values, and get as much education as you can afford,” because the road to higher education for everyone in this country has been a journey of reaching beyond expectations based on socioeconomic stereotypes that could range from allegations of nepotism to allegations of being the product affirmative action, and our own personal doubts. Our achievements are ours, but we all needed help to reach them, so let us not keep it out of reach for others.

Tiffany Ashtoncourt is a staff columnist for The Heights. She can be reached at opinions@bcheights.com.

Rethinking mental health in the armed forces

Jaclyn Susskind For the third time since 2009, the U.S. has witnessed yet another horrific shooting at a military base. Among an unfortunate number of other shootings nationwide, this is the second occurrence on the Fort Hood grounds. Army Specialist Ivan Lopez served in Iraq for four months in 2011, and just days ago, he was responsible for the murder of three fellow soldiers and the injury of several others. The media is swarming with reports addressing the unfortunately familiar, yet sensitive, topic of gun control in the U.S. At the same time, many target and blame the influence PostTraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) may have had in Lopez’s rampage, and, therefore, they simultaneously question the role PTSD plays in the lives of other war veterans. On a U.S. military base, it seems quite unrealistic to create an environment in which those in the armed services do not carry weapons. Many believe that there have been poor security measures taken at Fort Hood, yet having extremely thorough spot checks—requiring people to walk through metal detectors or having every vehicle searched—would create congestion in a place where thousands of individuals commute. Since the last shooting at Fort Hood in 2009, when Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan reacted poorly to the news of being deployed to Afghanistan and ultimately killed 13 people, Fort Hood has made a conscious

Bird Flew

BY DOLAN BORTNER

effort to set higher restrictions on possessions of weapons on the grounds and also to identify those most troubled due to their time in service. Reports show that the military base requires all soldiers to register any weapons in their possession to their commanders, with such weapons stored in the arms room, according to The Washington Post. While Lopez killed himself shortly after his rampage, like many other shootings before— such as the Newtown, Conn. tragedy—Lopez’s motives remain unknown. In fact, it seems unlikely that we will ever be able to understand why accurately. The surge of shootings in the U.S. over the past few years is both tragic and inexplicable. What is it that differentiates the U.S. from the other countries? Why is it that there are again and again such horrific rampages? As a nation, we have ultimately grown fixated on the topic of firearms and how to better control the use of guns. At the same time, is it not obvious that the country with the most guns per capita will inevitably have the most tragedies inflicted by guns? According to a report in The New York Times, the U.S.’ murder rate is “roughly 15 times that of other wealthy countries.” Yet, for the country with the most firearms in circulation—approximately 300 million civilian firearms, or one for every adult—it is questionable that our gun laws are not stricter. It seems that, though we have experienced countless incidents and homicides that have involved firearms, unlike other countries, we do not respond by imposing stricter laws to prevent such rampages from occurring again. In 1996 in the UK, a school shooting led to the death of 16 children in Scotland, spurring some of the toughest anti-gun statutes across the world. Similarly, a massacre in Australia in

1996 left 35 people dead, leading to stricter gun regulations. And the U.S.? Still, we wait. Steering away from the topic of gun control, I question what prompted yet another gun massacre. Many have sought to delve into Lopez’s personal medical history, seeking to unearth some answer explaining the cause of the incident. While Lt. Gen. Mark Milley, the commanding general at the post, has reported that he does not believe Lopez’s “underlying medical conditions … are the direct precipitating factor,” Lopez’s own father has expressed a different opinion, claiming that his son “could not have been in his right mind.” Although one can question whether Lopez’s father is making such claims to create a less negative view of Lopez, it is hard not to believe that one’s time spent in war could not have caused any damage. Although Lopez’s records reveal that he had no injury or “direct involvement in combat” while in Iraq, it has been publicized that Lopez self-reported to be suffering from a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Yet, Secretary of the Army John McHugh reported that, because Lopez was said not to have been involved in any combat, there had been no investigation into the possibility of Lopez suffering from traumatic brain injury. When our own soldiers return home from wars abroad, what is the care given to them, I ask. Such questions cause me to hearken back to Dana Priest and Anna Hull’s report on the Walter Reed Hospital and the horrendous lack of care provided to those who had recently returned from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. What is it that we do not know? Studies have shown that, since 2008, more U.S. soldiers have committed suicide than those who have died while in combat, according to The Guardian.

Last year, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs issued the startling figure that 22 veterans killed themselves every day. Why aren’t our own veterans being better taken care of? The largest dilemma seems to be the high demand for soldiers created by fighting two wars simultaneously, ultimately lengthening the soldiers’ time spent abroad. Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer, however, recently told Fox News that it is not fair to blame PTSD for Lopez’s actions— rather, Meyer claims Lopez bears traits that better resemble psychosis, not PTSD. Meyer himself underwent the tumultuous battle against PTSD, and he declared that, by blaming PTSD for Lopez’s rampage, we are creating a stigma for others who suffer from the disorder and will make them think they, too, are a danger to those around them. It is undeniable, however, that the treatment of our soldiers needs to be bettered. At the same time, our military and veterans’ health care systems are overwhelmed by the all-too-familiar struggle of mental disorders exacerbated by more than 12 years of war. One thing is certain—we must change the way in which we treat those who fight on behalf of our nation, providing them better treatment to transition back into society in a healthy manner. They cannot be left to fend for their own, and we must better honor their time spent abroad. Since Sept. 11, our nation has consistently feared the rise of terrorism and yet, we seem to ignore those that perilously roam our homeland terrors.

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

THE HEIGHTS

Monday, April 7, 2014

REASONABLE DOWD

‘Game of Thrones’ is coming: embracing the unexpected in fourth season

PHOTO COURTESY OF HBO

As the HBO hit ‘Game of Thrones’ reaches its halfway point, fans of the action-drama will have to change the way they watch it, deciding how to react to author George R. R. Martin’s decisions to either kill off or save the show’s characters.

RYAN DOWD Much has been written about Game of Thrones over the past 15 years—the five lengthy novels themselves, three supplementary novellas, a burgeoning graphic novel, countless scripts, fan fiction, book reviews, television recaps, blog posts, Facebook statuses, tweets, and last but not least, this column. Much has been written about the story’s past, present, and future. In the deepest, darkest caves of the interweb, you’ll find theories upon theories about who Jon Snow’s real parents might be, how the story might end, and what, by the old gods and the new, might reside in dear George R.R. Martin’s head. So, how do you say something new about a phenomenon that has already marshaled millions (a vastly conservative estimate) of words? What hasn’t been said? Yes, it’s a prestigious show about dragons and political power. Each season

costs HBO a moderate movie budget— and HBO makes up for it with those damn expensive HBO GO accounts. There’s little you can say that hasn’t been said by a Dungeons and Dragons grandmaster or some clever yet anonymous Boston College sophomore in Lower. There’s not much left to say about the show that has it all. Game of Thrones draws from both high and low culture, that anchors both the end of television’s golden age of Sopranos and Heisenbergs and the wave of fantasy fiction inspired by Lord of the Rings. You could say that HBO has found itself in a bit of a bind, as the show progresses at a rapidly faster pace than 65-year-old Martin can write his novels. The earliest Martin could finish the series would be 2018. Meanwhile, HBO has affirmed that it’d like the show to run only three or four more seasons. That gives Martin three or four years to finish the series. Basically, he has to finish the series by 2018, and HBO can’t wait for him. It has revenues

and aging child actors to think about. Are we a little worried? Sure, but we’ve been heading down this road for a while now, as soon as HBO booked the series back in 2010—when just four of Martin’s sevenbook series had been published. HBO is not shocked by this development. It will have a plan. There’s too much money and reputation at stake. With that dilemma eliminated, there’s little to worry about when it comes to Game of Thrones. The show has accrued an untarnished reputation of quality. It has an epic series of novels to fall back on. The show can focus its energy on execution, not plot and story arcs. We have no choice but to expect that the fourth season will be great and full of dragons, kings, and plots. But if Game of Thrones has taught us anything, it’s to expect the unexpected—to kill your darlings before it delightfully beheads them. It devours our conceptions of what a story is allowed to do and who our heroes should be, or if we even need

heroes. We’re at the halfway point in the series now, and we have two options. We can continue to care deeply about each character and be crushed when they get the sword, or we can buckle up and throw our hands up in the air like we just don’t care. I’m still not sure which direction I’m leaning toward. As a fan of the original novels, which I’m surprised took me 700 words to mention, watching the show has always been a stressful process. It’s like meeting an old friend decked out in a fancy suit. Each twist and turn the show took that shocked viewers reminded me where the show would eventually have to go: “The Rains of Castamere,” commonly known as The Red Wedding, was a shocking event that exemplified the series style of storytelling. The series wears you down. Without Wikipedia as reference, I’m not sure I could really tell what happens in the fourth and fifth books. You can only get

burned by Martin so many times before a sense of apathy seems to take over. The quality of the series does not change. It’s the reader that changes. The show has reached this tipping point, at which those who watch must now either walk the path of apathy or empathy. The quality of the show will not change, but rather how we watch it. Choosing to empathize with the show’s characters seems absurd, but I would caution us about embracing apathy. Remember what Tyler says in Fight Club: “It’s only after we’ve lost everything that we’re free to do anything.” I would expand and say that only after a story is free to do anything is it really worth our attention—only then can we truly appreciate its characters. Don’t let the man (Martin) get you down.

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

‘The Winter Soldier’ rescues superhero genre

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Directors Anthony and Joe Russo successfully balance superhero genre elements with more realistic ones in Marvel’s ‘Captain America’ sequel. BY HARRY MITCHELL Heights Staff Unlike the majority of theatre audiences, I tend to feel left out when it comes to the Universe of Marvel—my only interactions with it have been through the star-studded, action-packed films based on its long list of original stories. These films cater to those who already know the story, assuming modern audiences have a working understanding THE WINTER SOLDIER of heroes, villains, Anthony & Joe Russo and the backstories to these films. Not this time, though. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is the highly anticipated sequel to Captain America: The First Avenger, directed by brothers Joe and Anthony Russo. The film was welcoming to us strangers of the Marvel Universe. Superhero aficionados and naive moviegoers were equally accommodated by the film—even we degenerates who find ourselves confusing Captain America and Superman were met with open arms. In six years, Kevin Fiege, president of Marvel Studios, has produced nine Marvel movies with eight different directors, all connected in some way, despite the stark variance in time, location, and attitude from film to film. His massive success continued with 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger. Marvel’s foray into the American cinema will continue for at least the next decade, as

Fiege has releases already planned up until 2028. Captain America: The Winter Soldier, taking the cue of its predecessor, highlights the best of what the ever-expanding Marvel Universe, and more broadly, the superhero genre, has to offer. The Russo brothers’ latest is a success by any measure—the 136-minute tale features Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson as the classic bad-guy-killing protagonists. The two are easy to appreciate as a duo. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), the director of global spy service S.H.I.E.L.D., deploys Captain America (Evans) and the Black Widow (Johansson) on a mission to rescue a S.H.I.E.L.D. ship overtaken by pirates. While it appears the mission is a routine rescue procedure, it turns out that Fury himself is in danger, as it’s revealed that S.H.I.E.L.D. has been compromised at a high level. Fury is viciously assaulted in broad daylight by an assassin called The Winter Soldier. Captain America and the Black Widow quickly discover that no one within S.H.I.E.L.D. can be trusted, as they attempt to expose the individual who controls the assassin. The protagonists begin to understand that the villain they are fighting is actually the military organization they have been instructed to defend. The film does well expanding its surreal plot to deal with realworld issues, playing off the actual fears of audience members. The movie is reminiscent of The Dark Knight film series, with terrorism and modern-day concerns adding substance to the film’s central conflict. The casting for the film was particularly

successful. The powerful role of Fury, the flirtatious yet ferocious Johansson, the cutthroat, callous, and merciless character of a S.H.I.E.L.D. leader played by Robert Redford, and the powerful and stoic Evans as Captain America work together seamlessly to produce a thrilling product and myriad exciting, well-directed action scenes. While they have very little experience in the action/adventure genre, directors Joe and Anthony Russo do exceptionally well with creating a stimulating action piece. The brothers’ experience mostly lies in television, as they are known best for their direction of comedy series Arrested Development and Community. The extremely well-choreographed live stunts and action scenes in The Winter Soldier come as somewhat of a surprise from the brothers. The Russos incorporated less CGI and more live stunts into the film, creating a product more realistic than most in the superhero genre, acting more as a thriller than one of the overdone, special-effect-ridden action films many in the genre have been. While the film can feel somewhat long at times, the final product makes good on the film’s $170-million budget, including captivating visuals to complement Winter Soldiers’ well-staged plot. Of all the Avenger films, this is likely the most successful, as the plot, casting, and production come together to create an entertaining and exciting picture. Captain America: The Winter Soldier provides a thrilling, realistic, and thoughtful superhero movie that truly anyone can enjoy. 

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BESTSELLERS OF HARDCOVER FICTION 1. MISSING YOU Harlan Coben 2. RAISING STEAM Terry Pratchett 3. THE GOLDFINCH Donna Tartt 4. POWER PLAY Danielle Steel 5. THE INVENTION OF WINGS Sue Monk Kidd

6. BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR Jeffrey Archer 7. THE BOOTLEGGER Clive Cussler and Justin Scott 8. WORDS OF RADIANCE Brandon Sanderson 9. STONE COLD C.J. Box 10. NIGHT BROKEN Patricia Briggs SOURCE: New York Times

The Heights

Monday, April 7, 2014

jORDAN pENTALERI / hEIGHTS pHOTO ILLUSTRATION

Twelve dance groups compete for top honors at Annual Showdown From Showdown, A8 Lil’ Phunk, we are not worthy. The first category the dancers were judged on was cultural. Under this category, groups associated with a culture club— PATU, BCID, VIP, and Masti—thrived. PATU (an acronym for Presenting Africa to U) offered a welcome change of pace, countering the previous mechanical hip-hop beats with a more tribal route—the dancers awed the audience with their strong identity as a collective group as well as their individuality, and for theses reasons, among others, they took home a second place trophy in the culture category. BC Irish Dance (BCID) members charged the stage with their calves of steel (it was hard not to notice), their legs prancing in almost complete disconnect from their well-postured torsos. The girls (and one guy) complemented the music they chose with the calculated, percussive rhythm of their feet. BCID closed its act

with an impressive display of amoebic circles merging and splitting, never once breaking stride. Newly formed Latin dance crew Vida de Intensa Pasion (VIP) gave the audience a lesson in passion, and the Vietnamese Student Association (VSA) slowed things down with a delicate and beautiful display of Vietnamese culture. The true ruler of the cultural category, however, was Masti— the South Asian dance troupe took home first place in the category for the second year in a row, after taking the stage with its electric-blue energy (and costumes), visibly elated as it executed Bollywoodstyle dance moves alongside meticulous acrobatics (such as a human staircase and a backflip over a couple of sticks). The second category of Showdown was dance, and the top honor in this field was a crown well fought for. Sexual Chocolate stepped away from the Willy Wonka theme of its Big Show this semester, reaching instead for a Frankenstein-meets-Alien-

Takeover theme, including full-body suits (which resembled both the Terminator and dementors without their cloaks). The members continued to surprise their spectators by bringing out the big guns—which in this case were two very little dancers, who fought the invasion with their adorable moves. As usual, Sexual Chocolate got everyone clapping, but didn’t quite top the legacy it built with its Big Show. Following Sexual Chocolate was the Dance Ensemble—the all-female dance troupe staged a battle between top female artists (such as Beyonce and Nicki Minaj) with moves so sensual that the little members of guest group Lil’ Phunk were pulling Mickey Mouse ears over their eyes at this point of the show. Synergy responded with choreography that earned the group second place in the dance category—settling on a Disney theme, Synergy used its iconic costumes to trigger seamless transitions (i.e. Sneezy sneezing to change the music) and con-

trasted Disney innocence with hip-hop dance motifs in an innovative routine, setting princesses and parades to hip-hop beats. To complete the spell, Synergy even crafted a glow-in-the-dark roller coaster, which spun and wound about the stage, much to the delight of the audience. F.I.S.T.S. followed suit with the Disney idea, toying with Alice and Wonderland with a red queen vs. white queen face-off, displaying their step skills under a pretense of the unordinary. In contrast to Synergy’s fairytale throw-down, UPrising brought the real world back to Conte. In place of castles and glitter, UPrising used the theme of corporate America—the routine was complete with allusions to office romance and the hazing of interns. UPrising poked fun both at college life and the illusory work world college students dread, linking the two with coffee and rapid dance moves, surprisingly fierce in business casual. Phaymus also touched on the idea of the

workplace, presenting a combination of Barber Shop and Step Up, bringing to life a hair salon where the dance moves were even sharper than the shears. The first place dance trophy was rightfully awarded to the grace and valor that is Fuego del Corazon, whose West Side Storythemed Latin dance battle completely cancelled out Conte Forum’s air conditioning. Fuego managed to tie together romance, ferocity, culture, and contagious energy in its epic rendition of the classic love story. Clapping along became a task rendered impossible, for undivided attention was required so as not to miss a single soaring girl, or a rapid twist of one of many Fuego hips. By the time Fuego struck its ending pose (a girl held high by her teammates in a split position, reaching out to a suitor extending a rose from atop a human staircase), virtually all of Conte was on its feet. If BC is indeed out to set the world aflame, Fuego certainly was off to a good start with Conte Forum. n

Fleabag’s Big Show shows off improv games, sketches From Fleabag, A8

emily sadeghian / heights editor

The Dramatic Society’s ‘Dancing at Lughnasa’ paints a portrait of a family in rural Ireland, incorporating traditional dance into performance.

‘Lughnasa’ examines relationships, culture From ‘Lughnasa,’ A8 quickly becomes apparent that Fr. Jack has gotten a little too comfortable with the African rituals for a Catholic priest, which makes him a pariah in the village. This event coincides with the family getting its first radio, which it calls Marconi, though it hardly works half the time. While none of the women are married, Chris Mundy (Sarah Mass, A&S ’15) has a son named Michael, who serves as the narrator for the story. Michael’s father, a drifter and a Welshman named Gerry Evans (Joseph Manning, A&S ’14) also reappears for the first time in over a year during this Lughnasa season, and he adds to the chaotic change that the family undergoes. In Gerry, Manning creates a smooth and charming drifter, and it’s no surprise that Chris can’t resist him despite his flaws. Michael, played by Billy McEntee, A&S ’14, is an old man by the time he tells the audience his story, but he is a young lad of 7 in the summer of 1936. Billy, who has made quite a career out of playing older characters in his time at Boston College (Lysistrata is one example), played both the man and child and transitioned quite gracefully between the two. Michael’s memories catch the fam-

ily just as Lughnasa is beginning, and each sister’s personality is revealed in turn. Rose (Aryn Mello Pryor, ’16), the youngest of the group, seems always to have her mind on other things and is constantly daydreaming and disappearing when it comes time to do chores. Pryor embraced her free and fiery spirit, transforming completely when Rose snapped at her older sisters for telling her not to spend time with a boy. Agnes (Cassie Charpados, A&S ’17), was a gentle soul who provided for the family by knitting gloves, though she clearly dreamt of getting away. Chris’ true nature was revealed when her love Gerry showed up, and she went from being dreary and somber to a giggling, carefree woman in his arms. Kate, the matriarch of the group and a stern schoolteacher, had an air of authority before she even entered the set—each of her sisters was terrified of crossing her. When Kearnan entered the stage she had all of the command of a staunch Irish Catholic woman, but she softened toward her sisters with a little persuasion. The best performance of the night was undoubtedly that given by Maggie Maguire, LGSOE ’15, as the hilarious, spit-fire Maggie Mundy. Maggie was always the first to break the tension with

a well-timed joke, such as responding to “What’s going on?” with, “We’re burning the most exciting turf we’ve ever burned!” Together, the women of the group had great chemistry, with fastpaced conversation that kept the play moving and a sisterly bond that swayed between love and annoyance, piety and irreverence—even as modernization, war, and disease start to create cracks in their quiet world. As the title suggests, one of the highlights of the play was the dancing. The sisters, spurred on by their faulty wireless radio set Marconi, would often burst into dance in their kitchen. One of the best scenes was when Marconi started to play an Irish step dance for the first time. Maggie’s foot began to pound with the music, and slowly the rest of her body joined in. She gathered her sisters as the sound began to spread into the atmosphere and hundreds of invisible feet started to pound around the theatre. And suddenly, the sisters were one with the music, spinning and stepping and twirling through each other’s arms without a care in the world. This scene epitomized the spirit of Dancing at Lughnasa, a play that brought the intimate charms of Ireland to its audience with a delicacy and warmth befitting an Irish cottage. n

game involving Christian rock, smooth jazz, southern hip-hop, and traffic news. Each host incorporated bugs into his or her broadcast and got laughs. The Fleabaggers also took on the Oscars with their low-budget, straightto-DVD trailers for Oscar-nominated films, a recurring sketch that would help with the night’s transitions. Gravity was the first of many to be lampooned in this recurring segment. Another improv game followed, requiring audience volunteers to finish the lines for the Fleabaggers on stage. Then an Oscar parody of Her brought down the house with lines like “Scarlet Johansson’s voice is hotter than anyone could possibly be.” Another audience volunteer was brought into the next game and was asked to finish the performers’ lines. Like many of the improv games, it escalated into a dramatic and hilarious scene—this time, a potential gun battle. Thankfully, the situation was defused, and no actors were visibly hurt in the production. One of the staples of the Big Show is a game called “185 blanks.” The setup is that 185 “blanks” walk into a bar, which is followed by a punchline. The first blank on Friday was filled with “boy scouts,” followed by 185 “cigarettes”

and finishing with 185 “Kardashians.” The Kardashian jokes left the audience wanting more. My Mother’s Fleabag took on 12 Years A Slave by actively not taking it on. The final Oscar parody of the night was followed by another improv game about or inspired by a raccoon. The cast transitioned to a game called “Bing” in which the actors have to change whatever they’re saying or doing when the moderator yells “bing.” The Fleabaggers also played a game called “Five things in four minutes,” which was an improv version of charades. Suggestions were taken from the crowd, and two actors were required to act out five phrases in four minutes, with another actor guessing. The highlight of Friday’s later performance? “Getting matched with Morgan Freeman on Tinder.” The final act of the night was “the opera.” The cast of My Mother’s Fleabag took to the stage in boxer shorts and tights, singing ’90s hits adapted to life at Boston College. Following a show like Friday night’s the line around the door started to make a good bit of sense—My Mother’s Fleabag really is just that good. It was big laughs and big crowds for this semester’s Big Show, and the performance was well worth the wait for a lucky few to get seats in the O’Connell House. n

lIZ HOLMAN / heights sTAFF

In one sketch, Fleabag put together low-budget remakes of Oscar movies, incuding ‘Gravity.’

ARTS&REVIEW MONDAY, APRIL 7, 2014

THE FINER THINGS

‘Social media is tricky’

ARIANA IGNERI James Franco’s Instagram incident this weekend paints a dismal picture of our generation’s current state of relationship. It’s just one of many cases exemplifying how social media has distorted the lens through which we perceive and interact with the world—complicating the way we see ourselves and others. On Friday, Franco confessed on Live With Kelly and Michael that he flirted, via Instagram, with a 17-year-old Scottish girl he met after performing in New York City. He took a quick video with her outside of his stage door that night and told her, “You gotta tag me”—of course, she did. She received a number of private messages and texts from the Spiderman actor not long after, asking her if she wanted him to get a hotel room so they could meet up. The girl was hesitant, wanting “proper evidence” confirming Franco’s identity—and she got it. He sent her a selfie, in which he held up a piece of paper with her name, “Lucy,” written on it. Despite Franco’s request that she “don’t tell,” screen shots of the entire conversation found their way online. The hookup never happened. The situation seems a little “dodgy,” as Lucy put it in one of her texts. What is most alarming, though, is not Franco pursuing a young, teenage girl—since 17 is the legal age of consent in N.Y.—but, rather, the fact that Franco thought that this was a good way for him to start a relationship. In his televised admission, Franco said, “I’m embarrassed, and I guess I’m just a model of how social media is tricky. It’s a way people meet each other today.” While his actions were debatably wrong, his explanation was definitely right—social media is indeed “tricky.” Things like Instagram and Snapchat are changing the way we relate to each other, and not for the better. Franco isn’t the only one who has recently fallen victim to the threats of social media, however. Last month a photo of Miley Cyrus, naked and in a bed with an unnamed male fan, circulated the Internet. The fan took a Snapchat, sent it, and captioned it, “Miley Cyrus F—ers,” triumphantly claiming to have slept with the pop star after a concert. Everyone believed the image was real until this week when a rep claimed, “It’s not her,” but someone who closely resembles her. The fan may have impressed his friends for a short while, but what did they think when they discovered the picture was a scam? It’s hard to deny that this whole thing places him in a poor light. Incidents like these demonstrate how, as a generation, we’re relying on our camera phones to create connections. We’re taking selfies, but are we really showing people our selves? Not really. People are seeing either what we want them to see—our lives filtered and cropped, like with the fake Cyrus Snapchat—or, as in Franco’s case, what we don’t want them to see, interpreting the image of ourselves we put forward differently from how we would have wanted them to. These two examples may make it seem as if only celebrities are influenced by the “trickiness” of social media, but new data by Edison Research and Triton Digital suggests that the majority of 12- to 24-year olds are frequent users of photosharing applications and sites, too. Forty three percent of us use Snapchat, and more than half of us use Instagram. That’s a lot, and it’s scary to think about just how many people our age have fallen into the same trap that Franco and Cyrus’ fan did, taking advantage of social media in the worst ways. Friends and family may be seeing a lot more of us, since it’s not hard to share pictures, but often, they’re not seeing who we actually are. A picture is said to say 1,000 words, but perhaps that’s not enough, especially when a Snapchat lasts for no more than 10 seconds, or when an Instagram is edited to the point that it’s difficult to tell what the original image even looked like. Because it’s so easy to misconstrue, social media may not be the best way for us to present ourselves to other people, even though we’re all using it. The Franco and Cyrus’ fan happenings prove that we need something less “tricky.” We need a more direct angle.

Ariana Igneri is the Assoc. Arts & Review Editor for The Heights. She can be reached at arts@bcheights.com

SHOWDOWN 2014

BRECK WILLS / HEIGHTS PHOTO ILLUSTRATION

A crowd of approximately 3,500 ushered 12 of Boston College’s premier dance groups into Conte for Saturday’s competition. The winners donated $500 to a charity of their choice.

Fuego del Corazon and Masti win in dance and cultural categories at Saturday’s show BY CATHERINE MALCYNSKY For The Heights Just around 7 p.m. on Saturday night, Conte Forum was pulsing with pop music and 3,500 people—the audience for Boston College’s largest, sold-out dance competition: the Annual Showdown. The competition, which featured 12 BC dance groups, was sponsored

by the BC Student Programs Office, UGBC, and Heritage Programming. Each group had selected a charity, and the two winning groups, from the dance and cultural categories, were awarded $500 to donate to their charities of choice. The two-anda-half-hour Showdown contained impeccable talent, dedication, a dazzling set, and lively hosts, but the key element of the show was that

everyone supported one another. Each dance team was met with overwhelming applause from all other teams as well as from the audience, redgardless its ranking, and members from different teams could be seen hugging one another as they stepped off the stage. It was easy to see that, while each team hoped its practice would pay off in a win, no one had lost sight of the overarching goal: to help others. Although it was not technically part of the competition, proper homage must be paid to Lil’ Phunk, the 4-

foot-and-under dancers that warmed the stage up for the rest of the teams. The stampede of mini dance prodigies performed tirelessly for a crowd of gaping young adults (who found themselves suddenly contemplating their own lack of comparable skills). Despite their Mickey Mouse ears and Pixar hats, members of Lil’ Phunk proved themselves to be breakdancing grenades far beyond their years. That being said, perhaps their robot moves were almost too convincing …

See Showdown, A7

Students ‘Flea’ to O’Connell House for weekend Big Show My Mother’s Fleabag incorporates sketch, improv in comedy show BY ABIGAIL FARR For The Heights

EMILY SADEGHIAN / HEIGHTS EDITOR

‘Lughnasa’ tells the humorous tale of five Irish women living in the fictional town of Ballybeg.

‘Dancing at Lughnasa’ warms Bonn with spirit of Ireland BY ANNIE MCEWEN For The Heights It was a good sign when I walked into the Bonn Theatre on Friday night and “Galway Girl” was playing. On the small stage was the interior of an Irish cottage, filled with trinkets and fixings—it reminded me of my own Irish grandfather’s farmhouse, down to the picture of Jesus above the hearth. The scene was idyllic—it was the place you think of when you hear mention of Ireland, where families burn peat bog and knit wool sweaters and say their prayers together. The director of the play, Sarah Kelley, A&S ’14, went to great lengths to make the play as historically accurate as possible, bringing in a dramaturg, dialect coach, and even a smell designer to nail down the details of 1930s Ireland. The family that inhabited the small Irish cottage in the Bonn Theatre this

I NSIDE ARTS THIS ISSUE

‘Captain America’

weekend, however, was far from the stereotypical clan we tend to picture on the green hills of Ireland. The Mundy sisters of Dancing at Lughnasa and their young child Michael reminded this young Irish American of the struggles of rural life in the 1930s, with poignant humor and great dancing. Dancing at Lughnasa is the tale of five Irish women living outside the fictional town of Ballybeg. The sisters—Kate, Maggie, Agnes, Rose, and Chris—have a collectively sharp wit and even sharper tongues, but rely on each other for support. The year is 1936 and the feast of Lughnasa—the summer harvest feast of a pagan god, has just begun. The women’s uncle, Fr. Jack (Ted Kearnan, A&S ’17), has just returned home with malaria after working for the British army with a tribe in Africa for the last 30 years. It

Half an hour before the performance, the O’Connell House was packed, the audience waiting for My Mother ’s Fleabag’s Big Show to start at 10 p.m. Even though the doors were closed, there was a line wrapped around the building. Those who did find a seat were beaming with energy and excitement as they waited for the show to start, with many in the crowd there for over an hour by the time the lights dimmed and Fleabag took the stage. The show opened with a “Special Report from NBC Nightly News.” After tying up Brian Williams (and later killing him), the cast of My Mother’s Fleabag took over the studio. They reported on the “Krisis in Krimea,” hosted a cooking show, and acted out the weather. They even took on Disney’s Frozen, with their film correspondent declaring it was “the best thing to happen to cinema since Citizen Kane.” The sketch included a bogus medical correspondent, as well as a sports reporter who focuses solely on cricket. The first improv game of the night came in the

See ‘Lughnasa,’ A7

The latest Marvel ﬁlm, directed by brothers Anthony and Joe Russo, is both realistic and exciting, A6

Game of Thrones

Viewers of the popular ‘Game of Thrones’ series should expect to reevaluate how they watch the show, A6

form of a “Freeze Game.” The game, like many of the other short-form improv games of the night, got very physical—physical and funny are the two best words to sum up the start of the show. The next game the cast played, “the Growing and Shrinking Machine,” started with a fanny pack and evolved into something very elaborate, and like everything else of the night, sat well with its crowd. Fleabag’s next sketch was about saints in heaven. The premise was that the condos for the saints living in heaven had become overcrowded due to the work of the patron saint of making people patron saints, played by Matt Hession, CSOM ’16. The cast of newly anointed saints ranged from a man hawking Tide-Packets-to-Go (Lou Wilson, A&S ’14) to the patron saint of chauvinism in the workplace (Amanda Hoffman, A&S ’17)—Mother Theresa was shocked and horrified by the new saint elects. The patron saint of making people patron saints even canonized the devil. Unlike Mother Theresa, however, Jesus (Ben Halter, A&S ’16) took no offense and approved all of these new saints. Following the sketch, the show continued with more improv games. One game, about or inspired by a mop, had the Fleabaggers switching characters with the other actors in the middle of the scene. The next game was a radio station

See Fleabag, A7 Bestsellers...............................A6 Box Office Report........................A6

SPORTS

MONDAY, APRIL 7, 2014

Christian set to change direction of BC basketball ICP: I could play ... No, you couldn’t BY ALEX FAIRCHILD Asst. Sports Editor

After firing head coach Steve Donahue in mid-March, Boston College Director of Athletics Brad Bates was tasked with changing the direction of his men’s basketball program. With Donahue in charge of an 8-24 season, the problem was obvious–his man in charge was not winning games. “We want to win,” Bates said during BC’s Thursday teleconference, which introduced Jim Christian of Ohio University as the new head coach of the men’s basketball team. Bates took the pulse of the program when beginning his hunt for a new leader. He started putting names up on a board before contacting potential candidates, he said. Others got in touch with BC to inquire about the opening before Bates began to narrow down the field. Two rounds of interviews were held and the decision to hire the former Bobcat was made. The length of Christian’s deal is undisclosed, according to Associate Athletics Director Chris Cameron. “He emerged pretty early on as a strong candidate and certainly separated himself in

the home stretch,” Bates said. Christian has been able to pile up victories in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). He is the winningest men’s basketball coach in conference history, boasting a 187-80 record. His career hit a rough patch after six consecutive 20-plus-win seasons at Kent State, though—four years at Texas Christian University saw Christian compile three straight losing campaigns before taking the team to the College Basketball Invitational in his final season. TCU gave Christian the opportunity to resurrect a program stifled by consecutive seasons of losing basketball. Christian left the school with the team’s core graduating and its athletics set to enter the Big 12. The school’s football program often overshadowed the team’s efforts on the court as well. “I think it’s so much better to walk into an established program where there’s a culture of winning and an expectation of winning, where the university wants your particular sport to be the front porch of the university,” Christian told Yahoo! Sports upon taking the

See Basketball, B2

CONNOR MELLAS

quickly established the upper hand. Thanks to their three leading point scorers—Stanwick, Sarah Mannelly, and Mikaela Rix—the Eagles scored five goals in a row to go up 8-4 with 8:30 to go in the first half. At that point, it looked as if the Eagles were primed to take control of the game, but the Blue Devils would not go down so easily. In just four and a half minutes, Duke managed to tie the game back up with four goals from four different players, an impressive display of depth from the Blue Devils. The Eagles responded to Duke’s toughness with their own resilience. Mannelly gave the Eagles the lead just before halftime, scoring with just 12 seconds to go before the horn. When the second half started, Brooke Blue was able to beat sophomore goaltender Kelsey Duryea to give the Eagles a twogoal lead. Four minutes later, Stanwick put the Eagles up by three. Then, in a span of 23 seconds, Duke’s quick-strike offense would bring the Blue Devils back to within one. Mannelly scored again to give the Eagles a two-goal lead, but Duke’s Kelci Smesko beat Eagles goalie Emily Mata for her

In fifth grade, I watched as a part-man, part-beast with soulless eyes and a dirty jersey killed a kid by heinously using a radioactive collection of bones, sinew, and cartilage clinging to a military-grade rotator cuff to gun a fireball from no farther than 60 feet away. Well, he didn’t actually murder my unlucky teammate—more or less just dinged him in the ribs a little bit with a hard leather ball—but as I watched from the on deck circle and considered my terrible hitting ability and worse dodging ability, I was certain that a sixth-grade fastball to the jaw would be my untimely doom. So, exuding a pathetic weakness similar to that of a wobbling newborn duck, I stepped into the batter’s box, stomped my spikes into the shallow clay, smacked my bat against the plate twice, and swung feebly at the first three pitches I saw before making a beeline for the safety of the tilted metal bench we called a dugout and the comfort of my half-eaten bag of BBQ sunflower seeds. The majority of my rec baseball career was about as glorious as this scene. I spent most games neurotically spitting on my batting gloves, locking down the sixth or seventh slot in the order, desperately digging out infield singles, and doing everything in my power to avoid pitchers the size of small mountains that finished puberty at age 12 and threw wildly in the high 60s and low 70s. And yet, when I retired from baseball three years later, short-term memory of my struggles faded into the sunset along with my sub-.200 batting average: for God’s sake, I could hit anything; I played second base like a young Alfonso Soriano; I must have been chronically underrated. In reality, I was merely a sufferer of “I Could Play” syndrome. “I Could Play” (ICP): noun 1. A plague of the brain afflicting former athletes, a loathsome state of mind and speech in which the victim declares that they could exceed the athletic abilities of the players they are watching. Synonym: Asshole. People with ICP are ridiculous, they are everywhere, and they are idiots. (Not to be mistaken by members of the Insane Clown Posse, who are also ridiculous, everywhere, and idiotic.) Earlier this year, during Boston College men’s hockey’s 9-2 beat down, goal bonanza trouncing of Wisconsin, a friend of mine watching in Conte Forum declared: “I could play fourth line for Wisconsin.” In the moment, my friend, who played three years of high school hockey, was asserting he could log minutes for the Badgers, the D1 team that finished 24-11-2 and made the NCAA tournament. Surely, there are worse types of spectators at all level of sports: mouth breathers, weird old guys who seem too interested in high school track, that dude who wears a Red Sox jersey when the Yankees are playing the Orioles, and the meat-head dad fully convinced his second grader has an MLB swing and needs to be leading off, for Christ’s sake! Still, there’s just something relentlessly frustrating about the person who cheapens what they’re watching by consistently insisting they could keep up, or perform better, than the athletes in front of them. And in the interest of full disclosure and the virtue of honesty, I too am a victim and can barely watch a Manchester United game, let alone a youth soccer match, without entertaining ICP thoughts. The reason I bring this up in the first place is because I aim to help myself, all

See Lacrosse, B3

See Column, B3

NATI HARNIK / AP PHOTO

Jim Christian will be formally introduced as men’s basketball head coach tomorrow.

UNC strikes back to bury BC BY MICHAEL HOFF Heights Staff Coming off its best win of the season Saturday, the Boston College baseball team staved off North Carolina for a while Sunday. Then the top of the sixth 12 North Carolina happened, Boston College 2 and seven runs, five hits and an error later, UNC had the series sealed, and would go on to take the weekend finale 12-2. “In the ACC, all these teams are so good,” said BC head coach Mike Gambino after the game. “And you give them a little bit of a window, you make a little mistake, and sometimes they’ll capitalize. We saw it yesterday, they made the mistake and here we go, we get the W, that’s the way baseball is, that’s the way baseball in the ACC is.” Eagles starter Jeff Burke quickly loaded the bases in the top of the first inning, necessitating a visit from Gambino before the game’s first out. Cleanup hitter Tom Zengel plated Michael Russell on a sacrifice fly to left field before Burke escaped any more trouble on a rare 6-4-3-2 double play. BC’s John Hennessey couldn’t pick Blake Butera’s throw from second, but hosed down UNC’s Wood Myers at home with the help of

catcher Nick Sciortino, who blocked any path Myers had to the Tar Heels’ second run. “That was an unbelievable play,” Gambino said. “It was an unbelievable play by Hennessey in the beginning of that, you know, to continue that play, and then Nicky gives us so much toughness, and that was a really good example of that, he plays so hard, and for him to make that play, block the plate, catch the ball, and he got trucked pretty good. That was a big time play.” UNC doubled its lead in the fourth but again failed to pull away, thanks to Butera’s run saving range to his left and a generous called strike three awarded to Burke to end the frame. BC didn’t waste time capitalizing. Chris Shaw doubled to left center, Joe Cronin followed with a full count laser up the middle, and both later scored to tie the game. Despite the two jams, Burke held the UNC offense reasonably in check, until everything got away from Burke and the entire BC defense. Tar Heels third baseman Landon Lassiter, leading off the sixth, jumped all over a 1-0 offering from Burke and sent it to the base of the fence in right center, under the 366 feet marker, powering an eventual seven run inning for the visitors. Burke surrendered two

more hits and a sac fly before Gambino pulled him for reliever Steve Green. The s ophomore r ig ht hander f inishe d with a line of five runs on a third innings pitched, but his coach was nonetheless impressed. “I thought (Burke) threw the ball really well today,” Gambino said. “He was very good, caught some tough breaks there. He threw better than his numbers were going to look like. His stuff was good, his fastball was down, he commanded two pitches. He was very, very good today.” Green didn’t record an out before getting yanked for Bobby Skogsbergh, and would be charged with three runs after Hoggarth misplayed Syke Bolt’s fly to left under the bright Sunday sun. Two batters later, Lassiter sailed a double completely over Loggarth, one-hopping the left field wall to push the lead to 9-2. The Eagles op ene d to o

many windows in the sixth, and the Tar Heels shoved them skyward and ripped off the screens, just in case, before plowing

through toward daylight. UNC added three more runs in

the eig hth when Skogsbergh loaded the bases with no outs before John Nicklas and Jesse Adams mopped up the last six BC outs. Reilly Hovis delieved four hitless, scoreless innings after relieving starter Zach Gallen in the bottom of the sixth to close out the dominant Tar Heels victory. 

Women’s lacrosse exorcises Blue Devils in Durham BY TOMMY MELORO Heights Staff

GRAHAM BECK / HEIGHTS SENIOR STAFF

No. 6 Sarah Mannelly and No. 8 Covie Stanwick each had five goals against the Blue Devils.

I NSIDE SPORTS THIS ISSUE

After its victory over Holy Cross, Boston College women’s lacrosse head coach Acacia Walker talked about “climbing a mountain,” referencing the Eagles’ quest Boston College 13 to constantly Duke 11 i m p r o v e a s they approach the ACC tournament and the NCAA tournament. On Saturday, a 13-11 victory over eighth-ranked Duke showed that the Eagles have taken the next step on that journey. It was a game that contained everything, from runs of continuous offense to a goalless final six and a half minutes and everything in between. The game began with a heated back-and-forth. Covie Stanwick kicked off the scoring two and a half minutes in when she converted on a free-position shot, but Duke scored just 22 seconds later to tie the game up—the beginnings of a see-saw battle between the two teams. The first seven goals of the game led to a 4-3 Duke lead, but that would be the first and last lead the Blue Devils would have. After Duke took its lead, the Eagles

A closer look: Christian’s history Analysis of the style of basketball used by BC’s new head coach, Jim Christian..........B2

Football: Eagles play spring game It was offense vs. defense in Saturday’s Jay McGillis Memorial Spring Game....B4

Roundup...................................B4 Sports in Short.........................B2

THE HEIGHTS

Monday, April 7, 2014

Inside the numbers: What is Jim Christian bringing to BC? BY AUSTIN TEDESCO Heights Editor During his introductory teleconference last Thursday, Jim Christian gave little indication of the type of basketball he’ll be bringing to Chestnut Hill. The new Boston College head coach—who will be replacing Steve Donahue after a two-year stint at Ohio University—said he doesn’t see just one way to win in the ACC. Instead, he preached defense and versatility. “I think that there are a lot of different ways that basketball’s played in the ACC,” Christian said. “There’s not one particular style that’s been winning. There are some teams who just grind out—defensive teams who are opportunistic offensively. Virginia this year, they won that way. “Everybody’s got their own niche, but I think you have to be versatile. One thing that happens is, to be good you have to be able to guard. I think that’s the one thing my teams have been pretty consistent at. We’ve always been physically tough, we’ve always been able to guard, and I think—looking at the current roster—I think that’s one area we have to improve in, is on the defensive end of the floor.” Christian’s comments show he at least knows his new team decently well. The Eagles finished the season with the 297th-ranked defense last year (out of about 350 teams), posting an adjusted defensive efficiency of more than 111 points per 100 possessions, according to KenPom.com. So, is Christian a defensively minded coach? Does he run more man or zone? What is his offense like? And, most notably, can his success in the MAC transfer over to the ACC? After some film review of his team at Ohio and looking back on his 12 years as a head coach, a better look at Christian has started to take shape. Defense Christian’s team have recorded an average adjusted defensive efficiency of 99 points per 100 possessions during his career. The statistic, compiled by KenPom.com, is an estimate of how a defense would do against an average Division-I offense. He has primarily stuck

to a man defense, but, like he said last week, versatility is important. In the regular-season finale against Miami (Ohio), Christian had his team come out in a zone to better match up with the Red Hawks, and it worked. The Eagles have been atrocious when running a zone defense the past few years, mainly because they’ve had serious issues with rotations and communication, allowing teams to shoot a high percentage from behind the arc and at the rim. Whereas teams shot nearly 38 percent on 3-pointers the past two years against BC, a mark that ranked 317th and 316th in the country, Christian’s teams have a career average of holding opponents below 34 percent. That’s not an incredible total, but it’s good and it’s consistent. Besides his last season at TCU, in 2011-12, and one season at Kent State, Christian’s teams have never allowed opponents to shoot better than 35 percent from deep. During that one down year at Kent State, teams shot 35.2 percent. The biggest strength of Christian’s teams has been their ability to force turnovers. At Kent State, the Golden Flashes never finished outside of the top-50 in forced turnover percentage, measuring the amount of an opponent’s possessions that end in turnovers. The Bobcats had a top-10 ranking two years ago, but then dipped to 172nd last year. The turnovers mainly come off of very solid, team defense—taking away good shots from opponents until they make mistakes, rather than taking hyper-aggressive risks like long lunges into passing lanes or swipes at the ball-handler that would put a defender out of position. Offense Christian’s teams have a tendency to move the ball very well in the half court. At Ohio last year, the Bobcats assisted on 58.9 percent of their baskets, and that mark was at 66.8 percent the year before, which ranked third in the country. There was a lot of cutting and sure movement by Ohio under Christian last year, with a healthy mix of post touches, pick-and-rolls, and swinging the ball around the perimeter. The offensive possessions worked less like set plays and more like the constant, yet effective motion

SPORTS in SHORT

Record 15-6 1-4 1-1 2-1 0-4 0-2

Over the course of Christian’s career, 3-pointers have accounted for 30 percent of his team’s points. At TCU, his win percentage took a hit, and he was unable to make an impact in the postseason.

WIN %

EFF. FG %

DEF. FG %

TURNOVER %

TCU

.434

49.6

52.6

Non-TCU

.699

51.6

48.2

19.9

Overall

.605

50.8

49.8

19.9

that put pressure on different parts of the court and different matchups, looking for the best possible shot. Ohio ranked in the top-50 in effective field goal percentage both years under Christian, shooting better than 52 percent. There isn’t much consistency to the tempo of Christian’s teams throughout his career. His teams have never been particularly high in the tempo-rankings, according to KenPom.com, but they instead fluctuate between middle of the pack and slow. This, again, shows that Christian will look to mix things up both offensively and defensively to best fit the current opponent and his current roster. One consistency, though, has been a lack of priority on offensive rebounding. Christian’s team’s have an average ranking of lower than 224th in offensive rebounding percentage. Last year at Ohio, it was more intentional that a result of poor execution. If a forward or center was near the rim when a shot went up, he’d go for the ball, but everyone else would run back in transition on defense.

Personnel and transition to ACC It’s important to remember that pretty much all of Christian’s success came in the MAC conference—which is significantly below the talent level he’ll face in the ACC—and that at Ohio he was primarily working with talent compiled by the very successful John Groce, who took the Bobcats to the Sweet 16 the year before Christian took over. Christian was primarily working with Groce’s players during his first season in Athens when the team went 24-10 and got blown out by Akron in the conference tournament championship game, missing out on an NCAA Tournament bid. Last season at Ohio, the team was led by senior guard Nick Kellog, one of Groce’ recruits, but Christian brought in two very effective JUCO transfers in Maurice N’dour and Javarez Willis, and freshman Antonio Campbell, who Christian recruited, had a decent season. The biggest knock on Christian, and the most worrisome thing for his ability to rebuild in Chestnut Hill, is his time spent at TCU. Christian brought in JUCO transfer Zvonko Buljan and freshman recruit Ronnie

Moss. That duo as well as incumbent senior Kevin Lanford led the team. By Christian’s second season with the Horned Frogs, he was primarily rolling with his players, and things didn’t go well. Playing in the Mountain West—all four years of Christian’s tenure came before TCU’s move to the Big-12—he had a career record of 56-73, with only one winning season. Pretty much everything Christian’s teams did well at Kent State and Ohio took a statistical nosedive while he was at TCU. That was Christian’s only real rebuilding project, and he couldn’t get it to work. When he’s introduced officially on campus tomorrow, he’ll get his second start at a rebuild. He’ll have to keep this team intact and prevent any transfers while hoping for a delay in Olivier Hanlan’s departure for the NBA Draft to improve on last year’s 8-24 season. If they stay, he’ll get a year under his belt with a talented, but underachieving, roster before heading into a full rebuild, losing six scholarship seniors. If he can’t get the core of this team to stick around, that dramatic rebuild may begin even earlier. 

Christian excited for future Basketball, from B1

Heights Staff

EMILY FAHEY / HEIGHTS EDITOR

BC is 18-16 on the season and 4-8 in ACC play with four more wins than last season’s total. “Throughout the entire year, she has clearly been our go-to pitcher,” said head coach Ashley Obrest. “She has got a lot of heart out on the mound and has thrown a ton of innings … She sets the tone with her pitching—we kind of all feed off of her.” In the first game against Pitt, the Eagles offense racked up four runs in the fourth inning to take a sizeable lead. Having already gone up 1-0, two walks from Panthers pitcher Savannah King gave the Eagles a 3-0 lead. Then, freshman Tatiana Cortez singled to center field, earning two RBIs in the process. Pitt fought back toward the end, as a two-run homer in the sixth and another run in the seventh saw out the game at 5-3. The second game on Saturday was highlighted by a sixth inning that featured 11 BC runs. Pitt was leading BC 4-2 when the sixth inning started, but pitchers Alexa Larkin and Lauren Vinson gave up 10 hits and 11 runs.

ACC Softball Standings

Florida State NC State North Carolina Virginia Tech Notre Dame Syracuse Georgia Tech Pittsburgh Boston College Maryland Virginia

MAC Mountain West CBI CIT NIT NCAA

FREE THROWS 19%

BY ALEX STANLEY

Team

Tournament

2-POINTERS 51%

BC slaps three wins on the board The Boston College softball team emerged with three wins over a four-day stretch, in which it played four games that started on Thursday, April 3 with a visit from Comm. Ave. rival Boston University. The Eagles comfortably defeated the Terriers 8-0 in a game starred by sophomore Jessie Daulton, who had five RBIs, including a two-run home run. In the first inning, Daulton sent a double to far right center, which let three players score. Then, she was sent to home plate when Alana Dimaso hit a home run, making the score 5-0 at the end of the first inning. Following another run in the sixth inning, Daulton sent a ball far into left field to finish the game off at 8-0. After one day of rest, the team played a three-game series against visiting University of Pittsburgh. The Eagles proved victorious in both Saturday games, winning 5-3 and 13-4, but ended up with a 0-2 loss on Sunday. After pitching seven innings against BU, Nicole D’Argento started in every game against Pitt. She pitched a total of 26.2 innings over the four-day period, racking up 23 strikeouts.

POSTSEASON PERFORMANCE

3-POINTERS 30%

Conference

Overall

15-2-0 12-4-0 12-5-0 11-6-0 3-3-0 6-7-0 8-11-0 4-7-0 4-8-0 2-9-0 1-16-0

38-4-0 32-10-0 21-16-0 22-16-0 22-7-0 13-18-0 19-15-0 13-17-0 18-16-0 3-28-0 4-32-0

Cortez hit the game-winning single, which gathered two RBIs, and the game ended on a mercy rule. Despite letting up 11 runs in the second game of the series, Larkin started the third game, with starkly different results. Larkin pitched three innings on Sunday and only allowed two hits. Larkin was replaced by King, who only allowed one hit in four innings. Taylor Coroneos, Annie Sommers, and D’Argento were the only Eagles to manage a hit on the day. Pitt scored off of a Carly Thea solo homerun in the second inning in addition to a Ashlee Sills run home, and she was helped by a pair of errors from Eagles second baseman Madi Paulson. The week boosted the Eagles to an 18-16, 4-8 ACC record, just behind the Panthers in the ACC standings, who have a 13-17, 4-7 ACC record. 

Ohio job in 2012. In looking at BC, Christian seems to see something different in the program. “I’ve always looked at programs historically, not just the way they are right now, and I think that if you look at Boston College historically, the things that they’ve accomplished—it excites you,” Christian said. “Any coach wants to have his chance to compete against the very best, and obviously, the ACC is the very best.” Christian noted that the conference is as strong as ever, and that many styles of play are working out for different sides. He said that, as a program, BC has the potential to compete. “The opportunity for growth—and that’s what excites you,” Christian said. “Throughout my whole career that’s kinda the situation that I wanted, the situation that I think can grow or become successful, or success can be maintained, and I think that’s been proven at Boston College.” Although BC’s program is in a state of disarray at the moment given the rumored exit of several players, the coach will have to get to know his new troops to get them on board with what he is trying to achieve. “It’s a situation where you wake up every day and you just can’t wait to get to work and roll your sleeves up,” Christian said. “I can’t wait to get up there, and you

know, players, spend as much time getting to know them as possible and just go attack the things that we want.” To build off the current team, which Bates described as relieved to hear of a decision on the matter, Christian and his staff will have to hit the recruiting trail. With an ACC pedigree now to his name, Christian’s understanding of basketball in the nation’s northeast corridor and beyond will be put to the test. “Boston College has had so much success nationally,” Christian said. “If you look at some of their best players, they come from other parts of the country, so I think you kind of have to go in all directions. With that door—the ACC—a lot of people want to hear what you have to say.” Finding players and coaching them is not always conducive to developing success, though. Christian will need the backing of the University to take the program in a new direction, and the level of commitment from Bates and his administration was very important to Christian in his decision-making process. “I feel like Brad and I have partnered up in this along with the rest of the administration because, in reality, that’s how it has to work,” Christian said. “It’s not just coaching, and it’s not just players—it has to be a great partnership with all parties, and that’s what great programs have, and I know that’s what we’re trying to become.” 

Numbers to Know

Quote of the Week “If you look at some of their best players, they The number of Frozen Fours men’s come from other parts hockey will have participatedEmily in after Fahey / Heights EditorCupicatuidet L. Fulessedo, querfecta, nihilicii ineri fic this weekend’s event of the country, so I think you kind of have to go in all directions. With that The numer of tackles senior linedoor—the ACC—a lot backer Sean Duggan tallied in the Jay McGillis Spring Football Game of people want to hear what you have to say.”

EMILY FAHEY / HEIGHTS EDITOR

The number of hits conceded by the baseball team in its three-game series against No. 30 North Carolina

New men’s basketball coach Jim Christian on recruiting

—

THE HEIGHTS

Monday, April 7, 2014

BC continues to scale the ‘mountain’ Lacrosse, from B1 fourth goal of the game to bring Duke back to within one. That was with 10:48 left, and that would be the last time Duke would score. Stanwick added her fifth goal of the game with just over six minutes left to give the Eagles their final two-goal cushion, 13-11. Offensively, BC was efficient, effective, and aggressive. The Eagles had 22 shots, 18 of which were on net. In the second half in particular, BC was ruthlessly efficient on offense. The Eagles took four shots, put four shots on goal, and all four hit the net. BC turned the ball over five times in the game, just once in the first half, and converted on six-of-nine free positions. Duke fouled the Eagles 31 times in total throughout the game. Defensively, BC had its ups and downs, but by and large, it was a solid

performance by BC. Duke was able to score twice in under a minute four separate times. The statistics show an otherwise steady performance from BC’s defenders—the Eagles forced six turnovers in the first half and eight overall, only fouled the Blue Devils 12 times, gave the Blue Devils just three free position shots, and collected 13 ground balls to Duke’s six. Duke tallied 17 shots in total and 14 on net, with Mata making three saves for the Eagles. Duke did beat BC in one category for which the Eagles generally maintain dominance—draw controls. BC has won 59 percent of draws on the year, but Duke managed to win 15 of the 26 draws in the game. Perhaps the most important aspect of the defensive performance, however, was the shutout the defense pitched over the final 10 minutes of the game to preserve the win. All year, the Eagles have relied on a

combination of their big-name scorers as well as contributions from key role players to power their offense. Against Duke, it was Stanwick and Mannelly who accounted for 10 of BC’s 13 goals on the day, each scoring five. Stanwick scored three in the first half, with Mannelly accounting for four. Rix refused to be left out, scoring twice, with Brooke Blue scoring to make it 13 for the Eagles. While BC has shown throughout the year that its scoring can come from anywhere in its lineup, the Eagles’ top scorers thoroughly dominated the Blue Devils. Walker saw progress from the Eagles’ win over Holy Cross. Previously 0-3 against top-10 teams, the Eagles went to Durham, N.C. and beat the Blue Devils on their own turf. It’s safe to say that on Saturday, the Eagles took another step toward climbing that proverbial mountain. 

Walk-off wonder: Butera delivers for BC BY JOHNNY CAREY Heights Staff Saturday afternoon at Shea Field saw possibly the craziest game in recent memory for the Boston College baseball team. Down at multiple points Boston College 10 in the game, BC North Carolina 9 ground out a 109 come-from-behind win against the University of North Carolina. A pitcher’s duel was the expectation as Andrew Chin took the mound for BC against Benton Moss of UNC. Chin entered the game with a 1.95 ERA while holding opponents to a .171 batting average. Moss hasn’t been too shabby himself this season, sporting a 2-1 record with a 3.23 ERA. Through three innings, both teams were held scoreless. In the fourth inning, however, the pitcher’s duel died. The Tar Heels struck first, mashing out four hits and capitalizing on a throwing error by the Eagles en route to a four-run top of the fourth inning. UNC looked to be well on its way to another blowout victory. “We started off a little rough,” said Blake Butera. “But the guys did a really good job of

battling through and sticking in all the way from the first inning to the ninth inning.” As Butera noted, the team simply would not give up. Through the first three innings, Moss was nearly perfect, allowing only one base runner who reached on an error. In the fourth inning, however, BC looked like a new team. John Hennessey tallied the team’s first hit to start off the inning, which was followed up by four more consecutive singles. Chris Shaw, Joe Cronin, and Nick Sciortino got the Eagles on the board with an RBI single apiece and drew the Eagles within one run. In the sixth inning, UNC looked to pull away again, scoring four runs on two hits and a costly error in center field. The team held a comfortable 8-3 lead in the bottom of the seventh, until Moss’ successors out of the bullpen proved incapable of finding the strike zone. Tar Heel pitching allowed five walks, which left the door open for a two-RBI double by Blake Butera and a Chris Shaw sacrifice fly. Once again, BC managed to keep itself in the game with a score of 8-6. In the eighth inning, UNC tacked on an insurance run with a Tom Zengel RBI single. Again with their backs against the wall, the

Eagles responded in a big way. After three walks, the bases were loaded with one out for Chris Shaw, who ripped a single up the middle, scoring two and bringing the Eagles within one run. Taking a very calm approach at the plate against an extremely wild pitching staff, BC’s Logan Hoggarth drew a walk, which tied the game at nine. After a quick 1-2-3 top of the ninth pitched by Mike King, it was winning time for the Eagles. Again, UNC’s pitching was erratic, allowing a devastating leadoff walk to Sciortino. The BC catcher was replaced by pinch runner Nick Colucci, who was able to steal second base and put himself in scoring position for the win. Down to his last strike with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Blake Butera delivered for the Eagles, smoking an opposite field single, scoring Colucci, and sending the BC dugout into a frenzy. Chris Shaw noted the importance of gritty wins as something which should help the team throughout the rest of the season. “Past four games, 3-1,” Shaw said. “A lot of character wins. For us to come out and swing the bat like we did and play baseball the way we did was really good, and it’s going to help us going forward.” 

JON SUPER / AP PHOTO

Sports Editor Connor Mellas suffers from ICP and believes he could block a Rooney free kick.

ICP cure recently discovered Column, from B1 those suffering from ICP, and everyone who knows someone with ICP. I’ve found the beginnings of a cure: Humiliation Reinforcement For Rehabilitation (HRFR). The next time someone makes a ridiculous ICP claim, force him or her to back it up. Get them on the field, court, or ice in a competitive scenario, and make them sink or swim, prove it, or shut up. For me, all it took was multiple strikeouts and a dropped fly ball in a coed softball game to realize that I am truly a blight on the beautiful game of baseball, softball, and probably cricket.

Of course, this method is far from foolproof. If the ICP sufferer succeeds, you’ve created a far stronger monster that will continue to grow and grow until his or her head explodes, or they pull some sort of Rookie scenario and become a professional athlete. And even worse, HRFR has to be done sport by sport—it’s not a one-stop fix all. And I know this for sure, because anyone who thinks that Wayne Rooney can score a free kick on me is a total, stupid moron.

Connor Mellas is the Sports Editor for The Heights. He can be reached at sports@bcheights.com.

Eagles break loss streak BY MARLY MORGUS Assoc. Sports Editor The Boston College women’s tennis team played two matches this weekend, snapping a two-match losing streak with wins over Wake Forest and NC State. The Eagles took on the Demon Deacons on Friday in Dedham, coming away with a convincing 5-2 victory. In doubles, the top team of Lexi Borr and Jessica Wacnik won its match, but BC lost a point when the other two teams of Heini Salonen and Jennifer Ren and Katya Vasilyev and Wan-Yi Sweeting both lost their matches, the point for doubles play going to Wake Forest. In singles, the Eagles dominated,

winning all but one match. No. 1 Wacnik defeated her top foe of Andrea Retolaza Andrade for her second win of the day, and Borr did the same by defeating Luisa Fernandez in the third spot. Vasilyev, Sweeting, and Emily Safron also won their singles matches, Salonen becoming the only Eagle to drop her individual matchup. The success in singles gave BC the edge it needed for the 5-2 win. The Eagles were back in action on Sunday night in another match against an ACC foe, this time the NC State Wolf Pack. Once again, the Eagles pulled off the victory, this one even more convincing by a score of 7-0. The Eagles did not lose a single competition in doubles or singles play. 

THE HEIGHTS

Monday, April 7, 2014

Eagles football hosts Jay McGillis Memorial Spring Game DEFENSE OFFENSE Playmakers emerge and fill the gaps Murphy plays above his competition BY TOMMY MELORO Heights Staff The Boston College football team lost a huge chunk of its production from last year. No, not Andre Williams. The Eagles’ defensive front will look much different than it did last year with the graduation of seniors Kaleb Ramsey, Kasim Edebali, Steele Devitto, and Kevin Pierre-Louis. In the annual Jay McGillis Memorial Spring Football game, however, some new players did their best to assuage any fears BC fans may have had about the high turnover. Leading the charge was linebacker Sean Duggan, who led the defense with eight tackles, including one for a loss. Duggan was all over the field, taking on numerous responsibilities for the Eagles. On several plays, defensive coordinator Don Brown sent Duggan on a linebacker blitz. Duggan timed his run almost perfectly nearly every time. On one occasion, Duggan bowled over the offensive line, then introduced himself to running back Tyler Rouse. On the next play, Duggan was able to shed his blocker and make another play to take down Rouse. BC’s offense was determined to spread the field, often sending Rouse, Myles Willis, and Dave Dudeck out wide. Duggan was asked to cover them 1-on-1, and he was consistently able to keep the smaller, faster players in front of him. The only thing Duggan wasn’t able to do on the day was join BC’s sack party. The defensive line took some early steps to fight off perceptions of a lack of depth, as a host of players stepped up to make plays for BC. Kevin Kavalec led the way with three sacks and five total tackles, but he wasn’t alone in having a solid game for the Eagles. Defensive end Malachi Moore also contributed with five tackles, and Nick Lifka also had a solid game defensively, picking up a sack. With senior defensive lineman Mehdi Abdesmad sidelined for the game along with the absence of highly touted freshman Harold Landry, others could showcase their talents. Josh Keyes looked like a starting-caliber linebacker and a potent pass-rusher, especially when he had a blind-side sack of Tyler Murphy late in the first half. The defensive line may not end up having any standouts like Edebali or KPL, but the spring game showcased the fact that BC does have a number of serviceable players on the defensive front. As the game went on, the defensive line began dominating the offense, which head coach Steve Addazio attributed to a number of factors. “We will have a good front,” Addazio said. “The problem today was that we have eight offensive linemen here so some guys are taking play after play, and you just wear down. It gets sloppy because of that.” The biggest defensive weakness for the Eagles last year

were the defensive backs that let up nearly 270 yards per game and allowed 26 passing touchdowns. Time and again, opponents burned BC deep. With Al Louis-Jean leaving to turn professional, the secondary for the Eagles looks dangerously thin. On Saturday, it had its ups and downs. John Johnson led all defensive backs with five tackles, and both Manny Asprilla and Dominique Williams both seem poised to bring some veteran leadership to the group. The offense was very depleted at the wide receiver position. Charlie Callinan led the wide receivers with seven catches for 98 yards, so while it was an encouraging sign of improved play from the DBs, the competition was very inexperienced and unfamiliar with each other. There were some areas of concern for the defense. First was a lack of turnovers forced. Several times, defensive backs had a pass slip right through their hands. Other times, the defensive backs were caught giving too much cushion to the wide receivers, resulting in an inability to get a jump and make a play on the ball. Quarterbacks Darius Wade and James Walsh consistently overthrew their receivers, but the defense was unable to capitalize. The defense also gave up big plays. In the first half, Tyler Rouse scampered for a 41-yard touchdown run, on which no defender came close to touching him. The offensive line opened up a shipping lane right through the heart of the defense, and Rouse delivered. The offense didn’t look to take many shots down the field, but on one of the few occasions it did, it delivered with a long completion to Callinan, who found a soft spot in the zone. The most encouraging aspect of the defense’s performance was its performance against the read-option. Murphy, Wade, and Walsh all ran the read-option offense, with Willis, Rouse, and Dudeck their backfield companions. The defense kept a potentially potent offense under wraps for the most part. Whenever the backs tried to bounce it outside, the defense did an excellent job keeping its respective lanes, while sliding toward the sideline, not leaving any holes for the smaller backs to shoot through. Defenders that got into the backfield reacted well to whatever looks were thrown at them from the quarterbacks. The defensive line showed great ability to get pressure on the offense while not over-pursuing, an attribute that could be very helpful next year when facing offenses featuring Heisman-winner Jameis Winston and other mobile quarterbacks. It was an impressive and encouraging performance for a unit that made great strides from 2012 to 2013. Although the defense lost several starters and key players, the spring game gave BC fans at least a glimpse at some possible replacements and gave them hope that the future isn’t quite as bleak as some may have thought. 

BY ALEX FAIRCHILD Asst. Sports Editor A cool, calm, and collected handoff to Myles Willis was the first action followers of the Boston College football team saw of 6-foot-2, 214-pound quarterback Tyler Murphy. While he tossed the ball out of bounds on his first passing attempt, the transfer was able to settle into the game when he found David Dudeck through the air. He then hit Drew Barksdale to move the chains, before scrambling for 16 yards on a 2nd and 20. Murphy had found his groove. He looked like an experienced quarterback ready to lead an ACC offense. After coming out in white on the opening drive, he put on a protective black vest for the remainder of the exhibition. Redshirt freshman James Walsh and early arrival Darius Wade switched off with him, but each struggled to move the offense down the field. Murphy swung into full throttle when he took the offense over before the break. He rolled out to his right to find Charlie Callinan. His quick feet got him out of trouble in the pocket. His rhythm in place—the footwork he put on display in his time with the Gators—made him hard for the defense to contain. After finding Rouse on sidelines via a bootleg, Murphy snuck through the line of scrimmage for a large gain. Gains like those were similar to the ones Wade had made in high school, though when he was put under center on Saturday, he was limited to handing the ball over to Rouse and Willis to start. During his first few looks into the secondary, he appeared tense and nervous. He was jammed up in the pocket and struggled to find space in which to throw. Wade nearly found Callinan on a play-action fake, but the outstretched arms of the redshirt freshman could not reel the ball into his grasp. In both halves, Walsh was able to show off his athleticism. The redshirt freshman scrambled to the perimeter of the field to pick up first downs and found Callinan over the middle for a sizable completion. Head coach Steve Addazio wanted to use the spring game to experiment with his offense. “We’re not doing everything we did,” Addazio said. “With how these spring games go right now, I wanted to let the young guys get out and see how these freshman quarterbacks played a little bit.” He spread the team’s offense out in the scrimmage, putting each of his quarterbacks into situations with empty backfields. With Murphy, Walsh, and Wade being

athletic, dual-threat quarterbacks, those five-receiver sets gave them time and space to hit a man downfield or scamper out of the pocket if the defense blanketed their options. “You’ll see more of that,” Addazio said. “We wanted to work on that a bit today. We still have a strong power game that we didn’t need to run much here today. I wanted to see some of the other things today.” Addazio established the Eagles as a smashmouth offense last season, primarily through Doak Walker Award downhill running back Andre Williams. Willis and Rouse have big shoes to fill come fall in the way of their mentor. The former of the backs totaled 75 yards on the ground, after returning the opening kickoff, relatively uncontested, for a touchdown from 95 yards. “Both [Myles Willis] and Tyler Rouse had great springs,” Addazio said. “They did a lot of good things. They’re still young, and they still make mistakes, but they are really progressing. Those are two great guys that love football. They’ll both play. They aren’t the style of running back that Andre [Williams] was. You have to split them up. We have a few young guys, and I’m sure we will play three or four backs.” Willis was able to match Rouse’s earlier, longdistance effort by breaking down the sideline when the offense was pinned against its end zone. While defensive back Bryce Jones was able to get an angle on the sophomore to catch him just before the 50-yard line, the explosive burst from Willis was one of the highlights of his day. He also turned the corner well in the second half to pick up a significant piece of yardage for the offense. With the running backs kicking into gear, and Murphy sidelined after the brief halftime period, Wade and Walsh were handed the offensive reigns. Walsh seemed to play with a bit more freedom than his counterpart, who struggled to find his speed and quickness. Wade overthrew multiple receivers and found it difficult to be mobile under pressure. The true freshman struggled with the timing on his reads and was nearly picked off when he slung a pass by the head of tight end Michael Giacone before the junior could complete his curl route. Toward the end of the game, Callinan was able to bring in a pass from the freshman with one hand to pick up a solid chunk of yardage to add to the freshman’s 82-yard total. Although it may not have been Wade or Walsh’s ideal introduction to play at Alumni Stadium, they were able to pick up experience, while Murphy got his bearings, which should bode well for the trio come the fall. 

Tar Heels plunk Eagles in series opener BY JIM HILL Heights Staff

EMILY FAHEY / HEIGHTS EDITOR

BC struggled to hit with consistency against UNC, much as it has all season.

ROUND U P TRACK

The Boston College men’s track and field team competed in the Princeton Sam Howell Invitational over the weekend, an event that was highlighted by the third- and fourth-place finishes by seniors Anthony Belitti and Joseph McConaughy in the 1,500-meter run, respectively. The women competed in the UConn Invitational. Junior Kathy O’Keefe (1,500 me ters), f re shman Christina Zelenoy (400-meter hurdles), and fellow freshman Fallyn Boich (javelin) all won their events, which proved to be the bright spot on a day that would see the Eagles finish with 101 points, good for fourth place in the four-team meet. 

SAILING

B C ’s sailing team is coming off an active week in which it placed seventh at the 33rd Lynne Marchiando Regatta and third at the BU Trophy in-conference regatta. Additionally, the women’s sailing team finished in seventh place at the Dellenbaugh Women’s Trophy intersectional regatta. The race at the BU Trophy, an in-conference regatta, was particularly competitive, as the top three teams finished within six points of each other, with Northeastern taking first with 106 points. The women’s team finished its regatta with 213 points, whereas MIT emerged as the winner, having registered 134 points. 

The bleak tone of the Boston College baseball team’s series opener against No. 30 North Carolina was set within 7 North Carolina the first Boston College 0 few plate appearances’ time. After yielding two runs to the visiting Tar Heels in the first inning, the Eagles were unable to respond effectively, and an early advantage grew into an enormous lead, as UNC won the contest 7-0. For the BC team, particularly starting pitcher John Gorman and left-hander Nick Poore, the problem that resulted in the rout was one of balls and strikes, or early walks and too little, too late strikeouts. When their team needed outs, the two pitchers were unable to deliver. In the first inning, UNC’s second

BY SCOTT HILL HEIGHTS STAFF

ROWING The BC rowing team had a solid showing in the regatta against Rhode Island and Massachusetts on the Narrow River last weekend, placing second in the second varsity eight, second varsity four, and third varsity eight. Additionally, the Eagles finished third in the first and fourth varsity eight races. Ultimately, Rhode Island came away with the Resolute Cup, which goes to the winner of the varsity eight between URI and BC. The most dramatic action of the day was observed in the contest of the third varsity eight, which saw the Eagles pull ahead of UMass’ A boat in the final few strokes. 

baseman Wood Myers and centerfielder Skye Bolt consecutively and respectively avoided outs in full count situations: Myers was walked, and Bolt sent an arching double over Chris Shaw, and the ball tumbled past the player’s outstretched glove. Cleanup hitter Tom Zengel, who was batting .346 and slugging .635 going into Friday’s game, drove the two runners home with a double of his own, giving UNC a 2-0 lead. The Tar Heels widened the gap between the two teams in the second inning. Tyler Ramirez was able to hit an infield single then steal second, and he darted home after UNC shortstop Michael Russell singled to center field, increasing his team’s lead to 3-0. UNC reemerged as an offensive presence in the fifth, and it did so decisively. In a situation that reflected the setup of the first inning, Myers and Bolt once again evaded outs in full-

count situations, as both drew walks off Gorman. BC head coach Mike Gambino then brought reliever Nick Poore to the mound. The substitution brought little aid, though, as Zengel, the first batter whom Poore faced, hit a towering homerun and extended the lead to 6-0, all on a full count. The final run for UNC would come in the sixth inning against Tyler “Cheese” Hinchliffe. After Poore loaded the bases, Myers plated Landon Lassiter and put the Tar Heels ahead 7-0. Following this sixth inning score, for the rest of the game, the BC pitching staff prevented UNC from tallying additional runs. Hinchliffe, who entered the game with the bases loaded, was able to disrupt the Tar Heels’ offensive attack, giving up only one run over the course of three innings and striking out four. “The bright spot was Cheese,”

Gambino said. “He threw the ball very well for us. That’s something we can take away and build on.” UNC pitcher Trent Thornton performed outstandingly through the entire nine innings. His final pitch, which struck out swinging pinch hitter Tom Bourdon, was clocked at 90 mph, but the strikeout itself was only Thornton’s fifth—the same amount that Gorman collected over the course of 4.1 innings. Instead of dominating the BC lineup with power pitching, the wily UNC right-hander employed precision. While Thornton walked three BC batters during the game and occasionally struggled with his control, he always recovered and focused and improved his pitch placement “Eight walks today, four of them scored, [is] too many against a good baseball club, and North Carolina is a good baseball club,” Gambino said. 

CLASSIFIEDS Thursday, January 17, 2014

The Heights The Heights

Monday, April 7, 2014

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Directions: The Sudoku is played over a 9x9 grid. In each row there are 9 slots, some of which are empty and need to be filled. Each row, column and 3x3 box should contain the numbers 1 to 9. You must follow these rules: · Number can appear only once in each row · Number can appear only once in each column · Number can appear only once in each 3x3 box · The number should appear only once on row, column or area.

B5 B5

THE HEIGHTS

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Monday, April 7, 2014

PROFESSOR PROFILE

Comfort in Ravalico brings passion for language to lectures community BY CORINNE DUFFY

CATHRYN WOODRUFF The giant bowl of steaming couscous is placed in front of us—garnished with a colorful array of boiled vegetables and a scattering of mystery meat. Our host mother smiles, motioning for us to pick up our spoons and dig in. There are no plates, no portions—just a group of people sitting around a table sharing in the soul-warming flavors of the Moroccan dish together. Since arriving in Madrid in mid January, I have been on a constant journey of trial and error. I have had magical days—stumbling upon an adorable cafe in a neighborhood I never knew existed, and returning home to an incredible dinner conversation with my host parents about Spanish politics. There have also been real lows, like getting lost at night during a rainstorm, feeling that sinking sense of helplessness. I have had moments of feeling completely alone—in my room, yearning for the comfort of a trip to Eagle’s Deli for brunch with my people back at Boston College. But for all the moments of loneliness, there have been so many more moments of joy and accomplishment. I have learned to cherish the small triumphs—successfully giving a stranger directions to the closest metro in Spanish, being able to chat with my host dad about the morning news headlines. My moments of isolation and frustration have made me so much more self-aware. I have learned how to be alone and to actually revel in walking through the city by myself, discovering something new every time, or seeing it in a different way. I no longer expect to order a coffee and receive it within five minutes. I am slowly becoming more patient, because what’s the hurry anyway? My hours of alone time have taught me how strong and independent I have become. But, they have also made me realize how important it is to be weak sometimes. While I have learned to cherish loneliness, I have also learned how vital community is in holding us up when we need to lean. In my most vulnerable times, I turn to my support systems back in the U.S. And, of course I turn to my BC community in Madrid—we hold each other up. But, I also look to my host parents, whom I have come to trust and love like family. My understanding of the power of community was reinforced during my trip to Morocco. One afternoon, we hiked up to a small village embedded in the Rif Mountains. We spoke to two women, a mother and her daughter, who invited us into their modest home. They prepared couscous and Moroccan tea for us, and through a translator, we learned about their lives, and they asked us questions about ours. In their village, arranged marriages are sometimes still secretly coordinated, schooling is encouraged but not really enforced, and illiteracy is common. There is no running water, no technological distractions, only their devout faith, their family, and their community. Before we left, the older woman offered us a piece of advice that I think back on sometimes. She told us to hold on to our families and to never let them go, because they are the most important things in our lives. This trip really reinforced the idea that tangible possessions do not foster happiness. These women live a completely sparse life, but they were bubbling with life and glee, smiling, laughing, and holding our hands. Right before we packed up to descend the mountain, they said we are family to them now. Sometimes I think it’s easy to get wrapped up in the individualist culture thatis inculcated in us. It’s so easy to feel like we deserve more, that we have been treated unfairly, that our problems are clearly more important than those of the guy next to us on the metro. Being selfish is so easy. But really, above all, we are all human beings. We are all part of a community, and we all need that sense of camaraderie. Without being able to communicate in Arabic with these women in the village, we were still able to laugh together, to share stories, and to form a bond in which we all felt comfortable opening up to each other. They immediately embraced us, and I can say I have never felt more welcome somewhere than in that tiny mountain village in Morocco. My bouts of loneliness here have taught me the power of being part of something greater than myself—the lifeline that my loved ones are for me, and that I hope I am for them. In digging into that bottomless bowl of couscous together, and in using body language to express extreme gratitude, I have expanded my definition of community. I will always remember that random stranger on the streets of Madrid who offered me the Google Maps App on his phone during the torrential downpour. I no longer felt completely alone. When we look up more, and think outside of ourselves more, there is so much we can give, and from that, so much we will receive.

Cathryn Woodruff is a senior staff writer for The Heights. She can be reached at features@bcheights.com

Heights Editor

WHO: Lauren Ravalico

From studying Chinese, Spanish, and French in high school and adding Italian and German to her skill set in college, to working for the government of Monaco and eventually marrying a man from Milan, for Lauren Ravalico, a visiting assistant professor within the romance languages and literatures department, language encompasses all aspects of life. Ravalico was born in Denver, Colo. within what she referred to as “a very monolingual family.” In seventh grade, she began her French studies, thus fostering her interest in language and culture. “I loved it from the first day,” she said. “I can remember sitting in class, and my Mademoiselle, whom I loved, said ‘architecture’—which is spelled the same way in English—in a French accent, and I found it so beautiful. I knew I was in the right place.” Following middle school, Ravalico went to the largest high school in Colorado, which, due to its size, offered a great number of foreign language courses. She seized the opportunity, becoming very involved in language by learning Chinese and Spanish in addition to continuing French. For her undergraduate education, she departed for the Northeast to attend Cornell University, where she spent a long time attempting to determine her major. Eventually, because applications to study abroad required her to declare a major, Ravalico chose French. “I really made the decision under duress—the day before the application deadline,” she said. Subsequently, through a program with Wellesley College, she studied abroad in the south of France in Aix-en-Provence during the second semester of her junior year. “A lot of people talk about how study abroad changes your life, and it really does,” Ravalico said, “I loved it—and my French

TEACHES: Marriage and Modernity EXPERIENCE: Graduated from Cornell University with a degree in French, from Tulane with a master’s degree, and from Harvard with a Ph.D. FUN FACTS: Employed by the Consulate General of Monaco to promote American tourism and knows ﬁve languages: English, Spanish, Chinese, German, and French PHOTO COURTESY OF LAUREN RAVALICO

was so good when I came back.” In 2000, Ravalico graduated from Cornell with a bachelor’s degree in French in the midst of a booming economy, but without definitive ideas regarding her career path. “I didn’t really know what I wanted,” she said. After moving to New York City to live with friends, she looked in the newspaper under “bilingual” and found a listing for a job opening with the Consulate General of Monaco. Ravalico then applied and was accepted for a position in marketing for American tourism, a job requiring that she speak French, work in an office on Fifth Ave., and frequently travel to Monaco on business trips. While she enjoyed her employment with the government of Monaco, she left New York in 2001 right before Sept. 11 for New Orleans, where her boyfriend was starting law school at Tulane University. Although “the boyfriend didn’t last,” Ravalico decided to continue her graduate education at Tulane and obtained her M.A. in 2004, realizing thereafter that she desired to pursue a Ph.D. “Learning French again in the classroom had an intellectual

aspect that marketing didn’t have,” she said, discussing the difference between speaking French at her previous job and using it in her graduate and doctoral studies. Ravalico returned to the East Coast to attend Harvard University, and she graduated in 2011. Subsequently, Ravalico moved again, this time to teach courses in French literature and composition at Ohio State University after never having visited the Midwest. Following the year she spent instructing in Ohio, in 2012 she began teaching at Boston College, where she now specializes in 19th-century French cultural studies, women in the arts, gender and sexuality studies, political equality, and visual culture. Here, she mostly instructs 300- and 400-level fundamental French classes, as well as many 400-level seminars of her own design. Currently, she offers Marriage & Modernity, a course that investigates through literature and film how heterosexual marriage has shaped French culture, from the 1789 Revolution to the Sexual Revolution of the 1960s. The French Revolution, for example, surrounded the idea of

equality for all and led to the legalization of divorce and prevalent feminism, thereby facilitating controversy over the sanctity of marriage. “The subject is very interesting to me,” Ravalico said. “We’re looking at women in society, feminist thought, cultural history, good literature—the students really respond to it.” Further, Ravalico discussed her enthusiasm for marriage and its implications. “Marriage is one of the main things we pursue in life, and we deal a lot with deconstructing assumptions about it,” she said. In the future, she hopes to continue instructing courses on the concept of equality—the ideal vs. the lived reality—as well as offer classes on taste and the French table. “I want to keep French relevant,” she said. “It was relevant for me, and I really want it to remain relevant for students today.” Regarding her initial reasons for coming to the University, “I mean, what didn’t draw me to BC?” Ravalico said. “It’s a great department; I have the opportunity to teach interesting classes; the student body is smart and engaged; and Boston is a city I’ve come to consider home.” 

Conference connects American, Emirati students From Insight Dubai, B8

Snapchat, love taking photos, but can’t share photos of themselves the same way that we do,” Iacampo said. Members of the conference also got to sightsee around Dubai. One visit included a trip to Heritage Village, a town that the Emirati are trying to preserve as an old village from before Dubai was modernized 40 years ago. Iacampo said it was interesting to experience the different perspective of being in a relatively new country. She described going to museums and seeing office chairs from the 1970s treated with the same care and importance that Americans might give to chairs from the Revolutionary War era. By visiting Heritage Village, Iacampo stated, “I saw efforts to preserve and create their history, maintaining old-style buildings with the hope that they will grow in history.” The conference sat in on the Federal National Council, where Emirati council members convene to talk about different

esting to talk about a more specific form of human trafficking. Other small group discussions focused on common values. “[Participants] engaged with a buddy on what values we all have,” she said. “ We reached points where things aren’t familiar.” For example, Iacampo described not being able to take pictures of the Dubai women unless she asked permission first. When Iacampo asked her buddy about this, her buddy replied that if they put pictures of themselves on the Internet, it could ruin their chances for marriage if the boy or his family saw the pictures. Iacampo was surprised that the Emirati women didn’t have any pictures of themselves posted on their Facebook accounts, but instead had pictures of other things, like cartoons. “I was surprised because they love Instagram,

political topics. That day, the council was discussing instating compulsory military service in the United Arab Emirates. Although the entire council was in Arabic, Iacampo was able to understand a few parts and thought it was a great experience to be able to witness that part of the UAE’s history being made. Other tours included going to the top of Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, and going on a desert safari, where the girls rode the dunes in land cruisers, which Iacampo described was like being on a roller coaster. Iacampo’s favorite part of the trip was going to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, the largest mosque in the UAE and a key center for Islamic worship. The conference members had to borrow an abaya (the full-body robe) and a shayla (the head scarf ) from their Emirati buddies, because women must be covered when entering the mosque. “I liked

CLUB SERIES

wearing the clothes to be anonymous in that way,” she said. The mosque is huge, with a capacity for 50,000 worshippers, and Iacampo said it was simply remarkable. Iacampo described the reflection pools, white marble, and gold leaf embellishments. The mosque also hosts the largest carpet in the world and the third largest chandelier in the world. According to Iacampo, “the most valuable thing I got from [the conference] was just realizing how similar I really am to some of these Emirati girls, who have extremely different personal values in some cases.” Iacampo also enjoyed being able to experience the Emirati culture firsthand. “I gained more from the relationship part of it than I expected,” she continued. Students interested in attending the conference next year can apply in the fall. Kathleen Bailey, a professor within the political science department, can be contacted with any questions. 

FEATURING BC’S STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS

Slavic Club brings diverse heritages together through language, food, and current events BY CAROLINE KIRKWOOD Heights Staff

With the recent crisis in Ukraine, many people may have heard the word “Slavic” used in the media as an ethnic categorization that unites not only the Ukranians and Russian people, but also many people in Eastern Europe and the Balkans, including the Czechs, Croats, Serbians, Yugoslavians, Bosnians, Poles, and Bulgarians, to name a few. The Slavic Club at Boston College aims to educate students about their own personal Slavic heritage as well as excite non-Slavic students about this diverse, unique culture. Because there are so many different countries that fall under the umbrella term of Slavic, the club aims to include as many of these individual heritages as possible into its programming. “Slavic is a broad term, so we want to have as many people as possible to be involved, and we want to be able to have events for everyone,” said Madina Smetankina, Slavic Club president and CSOM ’14. “This way we can bring all of these heritages together.” The members of the Slavic Club e-board all had differing paths that sparked their interest

in the organization. Smetankina, who is originally from Russia, moved to the U.S. 10 years ago and has always been involved in her Russian heritage. “When I found out there was a Slavic Club, I joined right away because I wanted to meet people of similar backgrounds,” Smetankina said. “There was a sense of creating a community of people so they can come together.” Monika Dworakowski, Slavic Club secretary and A&S ’16, has strong ties to her Polish heritage, as Polish was her first language and all of her extended family still lives in Poland. “Freshman year at the activities fair I was walking by the Slavic Club table, and it was the first time I saw a Polish flag somewhere,” Dworakowski said. “I was therefore drawn to Slavic Club right away.” To help foster some of those ties to familial heritage, the Slavic Club informally gets together and has lunches with conversation in Russian or Polish. “We would like to expand that and have as many people participate in it as possible,” said Matt Schlanger, Slavic Club vice president and A&S ’15. “When you come to BC, if you are Russian or Polish and spoke your heritage language at home, there are not that many op-

portunities to practice. [The Slavic Club] is a great outlet and place to practice.” It is through different culture events that the clubs hosts throughout the year that it aims to spread the Slavic culture and facilitate conversation around it. The club has regularly hosted “Slavic Movie Nights,” including films in Polish and Russian with English subtitles. Events that the club will be hosting throughout the remainder of this year include egg painting on April 15 for Orthodox Easter. For those students who may be more interested in trying Slavic food, the club is putting on a blini workshop on April 27, where students can make this Russian version of pancakes. The Slavic Club just recently hosted a “Crisis in Ukraine: A New Perspective” event, wherein different professors from the political science, Slavic and Eastern languages & literatures, and history departments, including Gerlad Easter, Paul Christensen, and Andrey Ivanov, offered different viewpoints on the current situation in Ukraine. The event had a great turnout, as the topic is garnering significant attention. The aim of this event was to show all of the different sides of the conflict in an unbiased way. Schlanger viewed this event as a

“microcosm” for the Slavic Club in general, as it illustrated the different perspectives and views. “This event showcased a really positive part of the Slavic Club,” Schlanger said. “You don’t necessarily have one view. You don’t have a ‘Crisis in Ukraine’ event that is purely from a Russian perspective that is bashing the U.S. Even though all these countries are Slavic, obviously Ukraine and Russia have very different views on what is going on in Ukraine. You are able to get a good taste of both of those perspectives.” With this plethora of events that the Slavic club has hosted and planned for this year, it is becoming a more visible organization on campus. “Slavic Club has historically been a small organization on campus,” Schlanger said. “I think there are a lot of people who would be interested in doing more things with the Slavic Club if it were more active. We want to show those people that we are active and encourage them to join us.” Whether one is hoping to brush up on his or her language skills, further explore his or her own heritage, learn about a new culture, or just eat some amazing food, the Slavic Club offers opportunities for all students. 

The Heights

Monday, April 7, 2014

Still looking for director From Career Center, B8 that the mission of the Career Center fits in well with the mission of BC as a whole. Jones remarked that the three questions she heard Rev. Michael Himes, S.J. pose to the incoming class at orientation last year describe perfectly the approach a successful career center should take: What do you like to do? Are you good at it? Does the world need it? In order to be truly effective in implementing this philosophy of leading students to the right career, however, the Career Center must reach more students and reach them earlier. It has already begun making strides toward accomplishing this by partnering with other departments, such as the Office of Residential Life or academic departments, to bring its services to more students. In addition, it has begun holding office hours in 825 Centre St. on Newton Campus in order to make become more accessible to the 700 freshmen there. The staff of the Career Center also works hard to expand the number and variety of companies that recruit at BC, according to Gaglini, so it can cater to all students’ interests. He spoke of recent career fairs that focused on jobs in education, non-profits, and “green” businesses. Still, he and Jones both admit that more must be done to reach students. While Jones stressed the need to improve their use of technology to connect with undergraduates, Gaglini cited the location of the Career Center as the primary hindrance to making it a significant fixture in a students’ time at BC. “It would be terrific to be a centralized location, where students do not have to make the Career Center a destination,” Gaglini said. “It could be on their way to class or on their way from class.” Currently, the center is housed in Southwell Hall, a small brick structure located on Comm. Ave. just between 66 and St. Ignatius Church. The building is over 100 years old and still very much resembles a family home, which it was until about 20 years ago. Gaglini remarked that more than once, an old resident of the home has stopped in asking to see the upstairs because that was where his or her bedroom was as a child. Due to a combination of age, an original purpose very different from the one it serves now, and the rapidly changing landscape of career services, Southwell Hall is in constant need of updates. Added to its out-of-the-way location, these factors make Southwell Hall a place that some students never set foot in before graduation. Jones, too, hopes to change this. “Eventually, the University is going to build a new student center where the Rec Plex is now, and I’d love to see the Career Center as a part of that new building,” she said. For now, however, the main search is not for a new location, but for a new leader. The staff members have put in extra hours and taken on extra responsibilities over the past 19 months to ensure that nothing fell behind in the absence of a director, according to Gaglini, and Jones recognizes the need for the role to be filled soon. She has high standards for the person who will eventually fill the position, though she jokingly remarked that her ideal time to hire someone new is “yesterday.” n

The Heights throughout the century Baseball Season at Boston College

is over, however. “I spent a lot of the fall semester researching different male leadership groups on campus, and I want to use this new one to create a less formal setting for different members of all of the leadership groups,” he said. Palomba plans to use the attendance at the Man Up event to determine an interest level for this potential, new organization. Currently, Palomba and a few other students have already successfully facilitated four meetings that follow a similar structure to the Man Up event, but they hope to expand with different chapters on different days of the week. “I want to see if other males want to have a long-term involvement in this,” Palomba said. “So, if anyone is interested in continuing the conversation, keep an eye out in the future.” To further extend the sentiments of Man Up and C.A.R.E. Week, Bystander Intervention has extended its deadline for leadership applications. “We will have tabling in the dining halls, Lyons, and the Quad to sort of extend C.A.R.E. Week to any interested students,” Palomba said. Tomorrow at 4 p.m. in McGuinn 121, CEO and founder of Girls Education and Mentoring Services (GEMS) Rachel Lloyd will be giving a lecture titled “Girls Like Us: The commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking of girls in the U.S.,” to be followed by a questionand-answer session. “We are incredibly excited to bring Rachel Lloyd’s expertise and experience to this

Pets are the best friends

Despite turbulent past seasons, BC’s baseball team remains constant amid Boston’s ballpark tradition By Samantha Costanzo Asst. Features Editor Boston College, like Boston itself, has always had a place in its heart for America’s pastime: baseball. BC’s team has had a long history full of homers and strikeouts, both on and off the field. In January of 1920, BC appointed David White, who had been the assistant coach for BC’s football team the previous season, as head coach of the baseball team. Despite his experience as a pitcher for the then-New York Giants and the team’s rosy outlook for a championship run, White resigned suddenly in April of that same year. An article in The Heights speculated that his resignation stemmed from the “dissatisfaction [that] existed, owing to the poor showing of the team, which is a squad of much better calibre than those of the last few years.” In May of the same year, BC’s radio club set up a telephone pole near the field so that it could have one member phone details about the game to another member, who then would broadcast them from the radio room in a different location on campus. “The club is to be complimented on its fine work as this is only another means of ‘Boosting B.C.,’” the editorial read. In 1922, a small ad in the paper implored students not to fail to attend the opening game, perhaps in response to a few turbulent years of baseball. In 1925, a comic strip featured a player with “southern teams” emblazoned on his jersey telling a BC player that he’d been playing baseball all winter thanks to the warm weather. The BC player in the strip responds by threatening to send the southern player’s fastball “sailin’ straightern’ the Mason-Dixon line, over the snowy cotton fields.” During Easter break of 1927, the team left for a preseason series to take on the boys down south. It traveled to Annapolis via a two-day boat trip for the first athletic contest between BC and the Naval Academy in years. “They have one of the most promising ball clubs of the eastern colleges and desire to test their mettle with the much heralded Eagles,” the article said of the Naval Academy’s team. More recently, BC undergrads Ken Carty, John Valente, and Mark Tarallo represented the University in ESPN’s “Boardwalk Baseball” trivia game in 1988. BC met Duke on the field for the first time in April of 2006, but it went 1 for 2 in the series. Baseball season in

general was featured as a “thumbs up” in the Opinions section’s Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down section anyway. “While other things in our lives may change from April to October, we can always count on baseball to be there,” it said. “Besides, there’s nothing like a summer afternoon at Fenway.” BC has always had a special relationship with America’s most beloved ballpark. The football team played its home games there until 1958, and in 2006, the baseball team won its Beanpot there by beating Harvard 10-6. Since 1993, the Eagles have played a pre-season exhibition game against the Red Sox. The closest BC has ever gotten to beating the pros was in 1999, when the Eagles led the Sox 3-1 until the ninth inning, when a two-run triple put the Sox ahead. BC kicked off its sesquicentennial year with a Mass at Fenway Park in September of 2012. Nearly 20,000 people attended the Mass, including 100 members of the Jesuit community. “I look out, and it occurs to me that Red Sox Nation has become Jesuit land,” joked University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J., who led the Mass. In May of 1997, BC’s own diamond at Shea Field was renamed in honor of Eddie Pellagrini, who coached the team from 1957 to 1988. He led the team to a total of 359 victories and to three College World Series appearances during his career. After the Virginia Tech massacre in April 2007, BC’s baseball and softball teams paid tribute to the victims. The baseball players wore caps that featured the school’s VT logo on them, and the softball players wore orange ribbons, Virginia Tech’s school color, in their hair during a game. In 1931, Francis McCrehan became the first of BC’s head baseball coaches to have attended BC and played on the team himself. “Many of the applicants had the edge over the new coach in the matter of experience, but those in this class were not graduates of the college,” Ed Hurley wrote. “The splendid success of the graduate coaching idea in football has brought about this change in Boston College athletic program.” In 2010, BC named another graduate and former player as head coach. After a stint in the Red Sox’s minor league system and as BC’s assistant baseball coach, Mike Gambino stepped into the role in 2010. That year, the Eagles went on a nine-game winning streak. Gambino is currently in his fourth year as BC’s head coach. n

C.A.R.E. Week plans outlets for personal discussion From C.A.R.E. Week, B8

Editor’s Column

year’s C.A.R.E. week program initiative,” said Director of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program Sharlene Hesse-Biber in an email. Lloyd aims to share her experiences with the sex-trafficking industry in the hopes that her story will enlighten students on the global impact of this issue. “She aims to uplift individuals and advocate for a transformative perspective at all levels of society, encouraging a perception of trafficking of young girls that moves beyond a framework of victimization toward one of empowerment,” Hesse-Biber said. “Her advocacy promotes the well-being of trafficked girls through education and social and economic support.” Perhaps the most unconventional event planned for this week will take place on Wednesday at 12 p.m. in McElroy 237. The WRC’s BCPD Community Resource Officer Katrina Thompson will instruct Healing With Yoga, another new way the WRC attempts to include different student interests into the themes of the week. “My students who don’t know me as a police officer will laugh in surprise when they meet me on my patrols as I explain that I’m a yogi by day and a patrolman by night, smiling and bowing to them, ‘it’s my yin and yang,’” Thompson said in an email. Thompson hopes to bring her personal experiences to the yoga session. “As a survivor, advocate, sexual assault investigator, and avid yogini, I bring my daily practice off the mat and into my world as much as I possibly can,” she said. Take Back the Night is the centerpiece of the week, and it will take place on Wednes-

day night at 6 p.m. in O’Neill Plaza. “Take Back the Night is an internationally recognized event … which focuses on raising awareness about rape and sexual assault through the powerful stories of survivors,” said Jenny Phan, Care Week co-leader and LSOE ’14. Historically, Take Back the Night attracts the most attendance for the week due to its focus on BC student stories. “We have advertised for speakers for Take Back the Night, but within the past few years, speakers have been very proactive about coming to our office and expressing their interest in speaking at the event,” Phan said. “Students who are interested in speaking at Take Back the Night have the opportunity to meet with our SANet [Sexual Assault Network] Graduate Assistant, who works very closely with survivors in preparation for Take Back the Night.” Both Phan and Bly confirm the importance of this event in their own experiences during C.A.R.E. Week. “Attending Take Back the Night really solidified my passion for human rights and sexual violence prevention,” Bly said. “I think it’s a night that opens the BC community’s eyes to the fact that sexual assault and rape happen at BC.” “I have to admit that Take Back the Night is an event that I look forward to every year—it brings me joy to see our community rally in support of these courageous survivors,” Phan said. To end the week, on Thursday at 7 p.m. in McGuinn 121, the WRC, along with several other co-sponsors, pres-

ents Elizabeth Smart, perhaps the most high-profile speaker to lecture for this C.A.R.E. Week. “Megan Sulciner, our president at the founding of our club, Science Club for Girls, envisioned this event to be an annual undertaking to promote collaboration between women’s clubs on campus,” said Cathy Guerrier, secretary for Science Club for Girls and A&S’ 14, in an email. “We had wonderful success our first year: the First Annual Women’s Collaboration in March 2013 featured Erin Brockovich, who spoke about perseverance.” This year, Smart, who was abducted at knifepoint in 2002, will focus on perseverance during times of extreme adversity. “Her speech not only tells her personal story, but also discusses topics such as overcoming extreme adversity, the importance and process of recovery, and not allowing your past to dictate your life’s future,” Guerrier said. An event as large as this takes a full academic year’s worth of planning. Science Club for Girls began compiling a list of potential speakers early in the fall semester. “Our advocacy officer … began speaking with these speakers’ representatives about quotes and availability,” Guerrier said. “Next, other Science Club members began reaching out to presidents of women’s clubs to gauge their interest in supporting the event.” Like all of the events planned for C.A.R.E. Week, the Smart lecture will encourage BC students to consider their own role regarding sexual violence on campus. n

Kendra Kumor Americans have taken the phrase “a dog is a man’s best friend” to a whole new level— and I can’t say that I’m not one of them. Until my junior year of high school, half of my friends thought Todd was my brother, not my rescue Beagle-yellow Labrador Retriever (and God only knows what else) that I got for my 11th birthday. “You take walks with your brother?” my friend asked. “That’s so cute.” “Nope—Todd is my dog,” I replied, completely unembarrassed that my relationship with my dog could have passed for a relationship with my sibling. Even when I got to Boston College, it took my roommate a few weeks to figure out that when I whined, “All I want to do is watch a movie with Todd,” I wasn’t missing my ex-boyfriend, but my canine friend who is the only one who would watch Superbad with me for the eighth consecutive Friday night without complaining. To my surprise, I’m not the only one who shares an intense emotional relationship with a dog. Recent statistics show that millions of Americans feel the same way I do. A recent study conducted by researchers at George Regents University reveals that in a hypothetical situation in which a bus was hurtling out of control, bearing down on a dog and a human, it depended on the kind of human or dog that was in danger for the participant to determine whom to save. Everyone who was given the choice between his or her dog and a close friend, sibling, or grandparent would choose the loved one. But when the participant became less connected with the person, he or she began to save the dog over the human. A surprising 40 percent of participants, including 46 percent of female participants, chose to save their dog over a foreign tourist. Many participants even opted to save their dog over a distant relative or hometown stranger. While some people criticize these honest participants, I can’t say that I would choose someone I’ve never met over my life-long companion, who has stuck with me through countless hours of awkward backyard family reunions and Boy Meets World reruns. Perhaps even more interesting than the study’s findings is how recently these attitudes toward pets have intensified. In 1994, a mere $17 billion was spent on pets in the U.S. per year. Only 18 years later, in 2012, pet spending nearly doubled to $53 billion. To put that into perspective, the Sochi Olympics cost Russia about $53 billion. Now, I’m telling you this for two reasons: the first being to prove that I am not alone in my obsession, and the second to ask why. Why is it that Americans feel so strongly toward their pets? I think it’s because pets are starting to replace people, specifically significant others. If you think about it, over the same period of time, the amount of people, particularly women, who opt to remain single in America has increased significantly. Pets can provide many things that people long for in a relationship without many strings attached. Pets, especially dogs and cats, provide unconditional affection no matter what you look like or how much money you make. Most dogs, no matter what size, give a sense of protection and safety to their owners, something that many seek in a long-term relationship. (I say most dogs, because Todd could not be a watchdog if I bribed him with a life-long supply of Bacon Bites—which I provide for him anyway— but I digress.) Pets are never afraid to display their affection for their owners no matter who is watching, another quality that significant others may yearn for. I could keep going, but it is easy to see why judges are no longer taken aback when there is a custody battle between divorcees over a pet in addition to their children. In general, pets’ love makes their owners feel special and wanted, and isn’t that what people are looking for in relationships anyway? I’m not saying one should abandon all hope of a human relationship and head to the Humane Society for a rescue dog. What I am saying, though, is that maybe people should take some notes from their canine counterparts. Maybe if everybody treated each other how pets treat their owners, the world would be a little better place—certainly filled with more loyalty, affection, and security than it is now.

Kendra Kumor is the Features Editor for The Heights. She can be reached at features@bcheights.com.

FEATURES

MONDAY, APRIL 7, 2014

Concerned About Rape Education (C.A.R.E.) Week is an annual wake-up call to the Boston College community regarding the local and global issue of sexual violence and abuse. The Women’s Resource Center (WRC), along with its co-sponsors have prepared a week of serious yet engaging events that incorporate these themes through everything from yoga to luncheons. Due to the importance of the week on campus, the WRC begins planning the events months in advance. The C.A.R.E. Week planning committee is composed of several different offices and student groups to ensure that the events cater to a wide audience. “The entire WRC staff and C.A.R.E. pl anning committee are incredibly invested in everything that C.A.R.E. Week stands for, and so we are striving to make sure that our passion for and commitment to preventing sexual violence come across in each event,” said Lauren Bly, C.A.R.E. Week co-leader and A&S ’15, in an email. After months of careful planning, it is equally important to get the word out to the student body nearer to the beginning of the actual week. “The Women’s Resource Center has a publicity blitz on the Sunday before C.A.R.E. Week, and that is a time when volunteers and WRC staff can post all the flyers for the week and hang banners around campus,” Bly said. “We also have volunteers stationed at McElroy and Lower, so that they can hand out buttons, stickers, and the C.A.R.E. calendar.” In addition, the WRC is employing social media publicity strategies to further promote the events. The WRC is asking students to use #ICARE to share the different programs with friends and download the Facebook-friendly CARE logo from its website to use as profile pictures or cover photos for the week. The official start of C.A.R.E. Week was a healing Mass last night in the Heights Room celebrated by Rev. Jeremy Clarke, S.J. To kick off the programming portion of the week, today at 12 p.m. in McGuinn 334, the WRC and Bystander Intervention present “Man Up: What Does it mean to be a Man at BC?” a brand new event initiated by Joey Palomba, lead trainer for Bystander Intervention and A&S ’15. The event will take the form of a casual luncheon with an all-male crowd. “We are expecting anywhere from 10 to 30 students,” Palomba said. The goal of the event is to create a forum where males can talk about how they relate to the culture at BC. “The event will begin with a grad student speaker speech, and then one of the undergraduate leaders will pose a series of questions for the students to answer together,” Palomba said. “There’s a real emphasis on students talking to other students.” Palomba does not intend for the conversation to stop after the Man Up event

STRENGTH IN SPEAKING OUT C.A.R.E. WEEK 2014

KENDRA KUMOR | FEATURES EDITOR

See C.A.R.E. Week, B7

BC Career Center still lacks leader Center seeks to become more community-based BY MARY ROSE FISSINGER Special Projects Editor

The Boston College Career Center is approaching its second full year without a director. As Vice President for Student Affairs Barbara Jones and Career Center Associate Director for Employment Recruiting and Relations Lou Gaglini, along with many others associated with the center, understand better and better what direction the Career Center must take in the future, the trouble is finding the right person to steer it there. The former director, Theresa Harrigan, left BC in July of 2012, and the position has remained vacant since. According to Jones, the prolonged absence of a director has been the result of circumstance. Harrigan left in the middle of the summer—a bad time to start the hiring process in higher education. Then, in early November of 2012, Patrick Rombalski, former VPSA, announced he was leaving BC. The University decided to make the hiring of a new VPSA its first priority, and the Career Center, which falls under the larger division of student affairs, remained director-less. Jones was hired to replace Rombalski and arrived at BC in July of 2013. At the start of the school year, she decided to bring in a consultant to evaluate the career center and give her a better idea of where it needed to improve. Also in the fall, a search committee to find the new director was formed. “We brought a couple of applicants in late January, early February, and we are still looking at the pool,” Jones said. “The people we brought in were very talented, just not quite what we were looking for.” Jones wants the right person to establish and implement the vision for the center—a vision that both she and Gaglini believe should take a more well-rounded and complete approach to the process of helping students find a career. Traditionally, career centers have taken a more “transactional” approach to helping students, Jones said. They were places where students would come in, receive information, and leave—maybe once, maybe regularly, maybe never. Both Jones and Gaglini see the Career Center at BC moving away from this model by focusing on fostering a “career community,” in which the process of discerning one’s career will not be limited to time spent within the physical Career Center and talking to its staff. “A career community is what we’re all a part of,” Gaglini said. “That means the faculty have input, the administration has input, I want the students to have input, the employers have input, and I want to see a Career Center director who can bring all that together. As career development professionals, we do have expertise in certain areas, but we certainly do not own the business of careers here. It’s the whole University that really plays a big part.” Both Jones and Gaglini believe that the Jesuit process of discernment is inextricably linked with the process of deciding which career path to pursue. In this way, they believe

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BC students engage in cultural exchange at Insight Dubai BY CAITLIN SLOTTER Heights Staff

Two weeks ago, 75 college-aged girls from around the world traveled to Dubai to participate in the Insight Dubai Conference. From March 2327, each participant was matched with an Emirati buddy from the Dubai Women’s College. Throughout the week, these women worked in small groups, listened to guest speakers and panelists, went on field trips, and took part in simulations and role-plays in order to gain a deeper understanding of such topics as shari’ah law, Arabic government, peace, and human trafficking. This year, four Boston College students attended: Diane Bernabei, A&S ’14; Shannon Inglesby, A&S ’15; Bridget Manning, A&S ’15; and Christina Iacampo, A&S ’16.

Iacampo, who first heard about the conference from an email from the Islamic Civilization and Societies listserve, said, “I was interested in it because I hadn’t traveled to the Middle East, so it was a good opportunity to do that, and I was really hoping for some kind of cultural experience.” She was also attracted by the international nature of the program, as college women from all over the world attend. When the participants arrived at the Dubai Women’s College, they were each matched with one or two Emirati buddies from the college. These Emirati women helped introduce and assimilate the conference members to their culture, and participated in the various group discussions and activities. On the second day, the conference participated in an Islamic court simulation. “We were introduced to a fictional

I NSIDE FEATUR E S THIS ISSUE

case and had to decide based on shari’ah law if the mother or father would be given custody of these three children. I was one of the judges,” Iacampo said. “It was interesting because there were a lot of intricacies in shari’ah and differences in the different schools of Islamic law.” For example, depending on the school of law, the age of reason, when a child can pick which parent he or she wants to live with, varied from when the baby stopped breast-feeding to the age of 13. Participants also discussed various aspects of human trafficking with their small groups. “My small group focused on forced marriage,” Iacampo said. “That was more global, a broad, surfacelevel discussion of human trafficking.” She then described how it was inter-

See Insight Dubai, B6

PHOTO COURTESY OF CHRISTINA IACAMPO

Four BC students experienced Emirati culture and society at the Insight Dubai conference.

Heights Through the Centuries America’s pastime, baseball, has been a staple on BC’s campus since the 1920s............................................................ B7

Foreign Affairs.........................B6 Editor’s Column.........................B7