EXTRA MAGIC
‘DEAR BOSTON’
SPRING FASHION BUZZ
SPORTS
METRO
SCENE
Softball topped UMass on a walk-off hit to recover from its loss to Pitt, A8
Makeshift memorial exhibition is on display for Marathon’s anniversary, B8
Students showcase their personal style and favorite trends for the spring season, B1
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HEIGHTS
THE
The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College
established
1919
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Vol. XCV, No. 21
Students ‘Take Back the Night’ for C.A.R.E. Week BY ARIELLE CEDENO
BCAAUP petitions for faculty senate
violence within the Boston College community. The week consists of events that raise awareness about sexual assault while creating a community of support and solidarity for sexual assault survivors. The programming addresses a plethora of topics surrounding the issue of sexual assault, including the prevalence of sexual assault on college campuses, the definition of consent, the ways to navigate unhealthy relationships, the resources available to sexual assault survivors, the stigma associated with survivors of sexual assault, and bystander education. The aim of “Take Back the Night” is to create a community of support among students,
Heights Editor
On Wednesday evening, hundreds of students, survivors, and supporters gathered on O’Neill Plaza for “Take Back the Night”—a night of awareness, support, and solidarity for those affected by rape and sexual assault. “Take Back the Night,” a nationally recognized event that began in 1978, was a part of Concerned About Rape Education (C.A.R.E.) Week, hosted annually by the Women’s Resource Center (WRC) in conjunction with numerous other campus organizations. C.A.R.E. Week is a week of programming dedicated to fostering discussion and education on sexual assault and intimate partner
BY CONNOR FARLEY News Editor
JOHN WILEY / HEIGHTS EDITOR
See Take Back The Night, A3
The Clothesline Project features shirts created to show support for sexual assault survivors.
ADMISSIONS IN FOR THE CLASS OF 2018
See 2014 Admissions, A3
500
5,900
target enrollment by school
1,600
Asst. News Editor Dean of Students Paul Chebator and his wife Mer Zovko, an assistant director of the Students Programs Office (SPO), concluded this year’s Agape Latte series on Tuesday evening with a discussion about relationships, trust, and faith. In their talk, hosted by the Church in the 21st Century and Campus Ministry, the two offered students a rare look inside their relationship and how their faith developed over time. Chebator and Zovko met at Boston College in 1989, when Zovko accepted a position in SPO. Chebator was an associate dean in the Office of the Dean for Student Development
number of applicants by school
2012 16,000
2013
2014
A&S CSOM LSOE CSON
2012
24.8% 28%
2013
yield and acceptance rate
28%
34,051
24,538
23,200
EA* 2014
7,850
7,800
5,585 2,200
9,200
32%
Applications
total applications total accepted
target yield and acceptance rate 2014
30% 33.6% yield acceptance
Between 2012 and 2014, the acceptance rate has risen. The yield is anticipated to rise for 2014.
Chebator, Zovko talk relationships at Agape BY NATHAN MCGUIRE
800
This year, Boston College received approximately 23,200 applications from prospective undergraduates, 7,800 of whom were offered admission. Of the total number of applications received, approximately 16,000 were allotted for the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S); 5,900 for the Carroll School of Management (CSOM); 700 for the Lynch School of Education (LSOE); and 800 for the Connell School of Nursing (CSON). In 2012, BC received 34,051 undergraduate applications, of which more than 9,200 (or 28 percent) were offered admission. Prior to 2013, applications for admission to BC were based solely on criteria requested by the Common Application. Last year, however, the Office of Undergraduate Admission added a 400-word supplemental essay—the first instance of an additional essay since the University joined the Common Application in 1998. Of the approximately 9,300 admitted
700
News Editor
90
120
BY CONNOR FARLEY
at the time. Before Chebator and Zovko crossed paths at BC, Chebator had only ever been in one serious relationship—he dated a peer in college at 19 and married her at 23. Their friends and family expected them to get married after dating for four years, and so the two accepted that they would, Chebator said. But 13 years into their marriage, after Chebator was hospitalized with a life-threatening illness, he began to reflect on his life and on his marriage. In what he described as the most difficult time of his life, he realized that he no longer felt joy in his marriage, that he was generally dissatisfied with life, and that he felt alone. Chebator and his wife separated soon after.
See Agape Latte, A3
NATHAN MCGUIRE / HEIGHTS EDITOR
On Tuesday night, husband and wife Paul Chebator and Mer Zovko spoke at Agape Latte.
BOSTON MARATHON
Between 2012 and 2014, BC has seen a decrease in applications but an increase in yield. *Early Action applicants, 2,200 of whom were accepted.
2014
In 2010, members of the Boston College faculty mobilized to form a BC chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP)—an organization with a mission to “advance academic freedom and shared governance,” according to the organization’s website. For members of BCAAUP, an increased role in shared governance has led to a petition for two main initiatives: forming a standing committee for the faculty handbook, and reinvigorating a faculty senate. Susan Michalczyk, a professor in the College of Arts and Sciences honors program and the current president of BCAAUP, recently began a petition that calls for both of these to be instituted within the University. As of publication time, the petition has garnered more than 200 signatures from a wide range of faculty. “Our faculty are committed, and they want the best for our University, and they want to maintain the best practices,” Michalczyk said. “I think this is an opportunity for us to stand up as faculty.” The first resolution of the petition calls for the formation of a standing committee to monitor the faculty handbook. According to Michalcyzk, a substantial number of other research universities, including numerous other Jesuit institutions, have unified committees that monitor and enhance university handbooks on a semi-annual basis in an effort to foster faculty input by making revisions to it when needed. “This is not about politics,” she said on
See BCAAUP, A3
BC students stand against sweatshops BY JULIE ORENSTEIN Assoc. News Editor
The Next Marathon
“I get out there and I say, ‘Why did I do this in the first place?’ It wasn’t for fun. It was because I was sitting in this office last year when the bombs went off at the Marathon after having been there an hour before watching it with my wife, and feeling that this is something I want to do to honor the victims and the first responders.”
Prof. Peter Krause’s road to the Boston Marathon. See B8
EMILY FAHEY / HEIGHTS EDITOR
Although thousands of miles and drastically different lifestyles separate them, college students across the U.S. are pledging to stand in solidarity with factory workers in Bangladesh, where poor working conditions threaten their lives daily. United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS), a national student labor organization that fights for workers’ rights, hosted a worker speak out at Boston College on Wednesday night. The organization, working through the newly formed BC chapter, brought to campus two Bangladeshi garment workers who are traveling throughout the country to raise awareness about the unsafe working conditions and low wages that affect millions of factory workers not only in Bangladesh, but worldwide. Their ultimate goal is to persuade brands to sign the Bangladesh Safety Accord—a legally binding agreement between retailers, labor organizations, and non-governmental organizations to maintain minimum safety standards in Bangladeshi factories. On a local level, BC students have started a campaign for the University to do business only with brands that sign the accord. “The reason we started this organization at the core was to bring the issue of conscious consumption to the table for BC’s campus,” said Achilles Aiken, A&S ’14. Garrett Strain, a national coordinator for USAS, began the event by asking those in the audience to name brands they see in the BC
See Bangladeshi Labor, A3
A2
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Top
things to do on campus this week
The Heights David Cowan, the visiting scholar at the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life, will speak today at 5 p.m. in Fulton 511 about business ethics in Saudi Arabia. Cowan’s research is in American foreign policy, with a focus on Christianity and Islam.
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Thursday, April 10, 2014
Tonight at 7 p.m. in McGuinn 121, Elizabeth Smart will speak at the Second Annual Women’s Collaboration. Smart was abducted in 2002 at the age of 14 and was held captive for 9 months. She has since advocated for measures to help prevent child abduction.
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On Friday at 1 p.m. in the Heights Room, Margaret Guider, an associate professor in the School of Theology and Ministry, will present about the dynamics of families with disabilities and their relationships with communities of faith.
Be human, Revamped 5K race will benefit Jimmy Fund be alive By Carolyn Freeman Heights Staff
Alex Gaynor It can often seem like the values of society are not consistent with how we as humans actually function. We are constantly expected to achieve, to succeed, to never back down, to be strong, and always to “be okay.” Concurrent with the cultural heritage of the American character, the notion that we are supposed to have it all together all of the time seems slightly perverse when we think about our inherent natures—and this is especially apparent on a college campus. When is the last time you admitted to having a problem? To feeling some sort of pain? To struggling in some way with the lights and darks that color the lives that we live? We don’t want to burden people with our baggage, or we don’t want to admit our own human realities and weaknesses to ourselves. If asked casually how we’re doing, the answer is almost always, “I’m okay,” which may not always accurately depict how we’re feeling. So what do we do? We bottle it up and keep it a secret, sometimes even to ourselves. Vulnerability is an emotion often not touched even by ourselves, let alone shared with others. To open up to our own issues is to acknowledge the humanity inside of us. The popular website PostSecret has attempted to tackle this situation for the past few years. The project publishes postcards from anonymous individuals that contain secrets that he or she keeps, or pain that the individual has experienced, or some sporadic comedic relief and joy. The intent is to aid people in freeing themselves from these internalized feelings. As a dedicated follower of the project, I have always kept my favorite postcard in my daily thoughts. It’s a simple one. Just a picture of two people arm in arm with writing underneath: “be gentle, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” It speaks to me in a way that so many retreats and reflection groups attempt to mimic. It acknowledges that despite how much we may want to cover it up at times, our brokenness is an integral and real part of our humanity, in addition to the happiness and fulfillment that we also feel. Much of our time is spent thinking about ourselves. How we perceive things, what we’re going through, and how we respond to it. And this is perfectly normal! However, the danger arises when we forget that our problems and struggles are not limited to ourselves. Chances are that someone else, perhaps even someone close to us, may be going through a similar situation. And, these are not always painful situations, sometimes they may be filled with wonder, joy, and clarity. Regardless, when we are just so lost and confused in the world that we can’t make sense of anything, we could approach it alongside our fellow humans trying collectively to fight this battle of ups and downs in the game of our lives. We are often so hesitant to admit our weaknesses. But, a part of being human is the struggle to make sense of ourselves, our role in our society and environment, and life itself. We’re never going to get it right on the first try, despite what we project outward, and when it comes down to it, perhaps we’re actually not always okay. We are messy and broken but also simultaneously authentic and alive, and that, in itself, is okay.
Alex Gaynor is a senior staff columnist for The Heights. She can be reached at news@bcheights.com.
This weekend, droves of students listening to ’80s hits will descend upon the Heights—but this time, they won’t be in the Mods. Instead, they will be participating in the Eagles For a Cause 5K Run/Walk. For the first time in its 15-year history, the 5K this Saturday will have a theme: the 1980s. The 5K was previously called the Boston College MBA 5K challenge, and it raised money for the Doug Flutie Autism Foundation. This year, the event has been rebranded—it has a new name, a theme, and a different organization to support. All proceeds will go to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute through the Jimmy Fund. The 10-person committee decided to change the event in order to increase participation rates. The old name alienated people who thought it was just for MBA students, said event co-chair Billy Duffey. “We wanted to promote the event and get as many people involved as possible, so that’s why we changed the name, and we’ve mixed it up this year a bit,” he said. The Dana Farber Cancer Center was chosen as the charity this year because of the strong connection many BC students have to it—many alums and family members have been treated there, and many CSOM graduates work there. In addition to the new charity, this is the first year the run is ’80s-themed. Duffey got
Like everything, the path to a comedy-writing career is tricky starting out, said Boston College alum Tracey Wigfield, a writer for 30 Rock and The Mindy Project and BC ’05. Wigfield spoke April 7 to a packed Devlin 008. Wigfield won an Emmy in 2013 for her work on 30 Rock. Wigfield, who double majored in English and theatre, had trouble right after she graduated Boston College. She spent the summer applying for the page program at MSNBC, but was ultimately rejected. After five post-grad months applying for jobs, her mother’s cousin eventually helped her land a job as a page on the Late Night With David Letterman. While working as a page, which she described as more of an usher than anything else—she said her main job was pointing people to the bathroom—she met producer Rob Burnett who became a mentor to her. Burnett helped her land a job on a short-lived TV show that shared a building with 30 Rock. From there, she submitted her resume to 30 Rock and worked her way up to be a writer and producer. The two years she spent on 30 Rock as a writer’s
Photo Courtesy of Billy Duffey
the idea after spending a weekend at an ’80s-themed winter carnival at Dartmouth, he said. “I just was inspired by the energy that getting dressed up in that type of garb promotes,” he said. “I just think it adds an element of fun to a great day.” The committee has also been working on raising more money this year. It has been selling neon green t-shirts with “Eagles Say Relax” in black—a nod to ’80s catchphrase “Frankie Says Relax”—and sunglasses that say “Boston College” on the side. In addition, the event organizers will be holding a raffle after the race. Prizes include an iPad mini, a “Bostonian package” that includes Red Sox tickets
assistant—then script coordinator before becoming a staff writer—taught her how to make a television show, she said. “Little by little, I started pitching jokes,” she said. “I would take all the writing jobs on that no one else wanted to do. I would write Twitter accounts for the characters. It was like I got to go to college for sitcom writing for two years.” When 30 Rock ended, a friend of Wigfield’s recommended she go to work for The Mindy Project. She started writing with creator Mindy Kaling halfway through season one, wrote for Season Two, and will continue to write for Season Three. The writing process for one episode is long , and writers and producers end up spending most of their time in the writers’ room, where they start the process by bouncing ideas off of one another, Wigfield said. The process ends with a table read and a round of rewriting based on which jokes worked during the table read. Despite this lengthy process, there is a lot of material that never makes it onto television. This tends to happen more often at the beginning of a series, when the story is just getting started, she said. “For everything you see on TV, there are hundreds of pages
and dinner for two at the Boston College Club, and an Athlete’s Package that includes sports apparel and a gift certificate to Marathon Sports. A DJ will be playing ’80s music at the start and finish line on the Bapst line. While the committee spent more money this year than last on the raffle prizes and the DJ, Duffey said that he hopes that the higher prices will pay off in the form of more participants. It currently costs $25 to register online before the event on active.com and $30 to register the morning of the run. Last year, the event raised $5,000. “We want to break that, and we think we will with our higher registration this year,” he said. “We’ve taken an approach to spend a little bit more on
things like the raffle prize, but we feel like that will hopefully pay back. We’re shooting for $6,500 or $7,000.” Duffey, who said he isn’t much of a runner himself, applied to be on the committee last year because he wanted to do something non-academic and simultaneously give back and help out. Seeing the BC community support the cause by volunteering, racing, or donating was the most meaningful part of the event, Duffey said. After last year’s Marathon, the 5K this year will have a different significance, he also said. “With all that happened last year with the Marathon, it has a new meaning this year,” he said. “It celebrates the sport.” n
Tuesday, April 8
12:43 a.m. - A report was filed regarding vandalism in the Mods.
1:11 a.m. - A report was filed regarding issuing a trespass warning in Maloney Hall. 5:20 p.m. - A report was filed regarding medical assistance provided to a BC student who was transported to a medical facility.
10:53 a.m. - A report was filed regarding a past larceny from Rubenstein Hall. 12:53 p.m. - A report was filed regarding suspicious circumstances in 66.
of not just notes, but scenes, that we write and then will be thrown in the garbage,” she said. “You have stories like that all the time, especially in the first season of the show, that you think will work and then when you hear people reading it, you’re like ‘oh, no, this isn’t anything.’ That happens all the time to the joke and the storyline. We’ve thrown out whole scripts.” While at BC, Wigfield acted in several productions. Starting in 2007, she studied improv and sketch at Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City. This background in improv and acting has helped her write comedy. She will be guest starring on the second-to-last episode of this season of The Mindy Project—Kaling knows she is interested in acting, so they wrote in a part for her to try out. The audition was nerveracking, Wigfield said. “I spent all of my career as a writer, and even though that’s something I’m very passionate about and interested in, I was very excited for me to be able to do this,” she said. “And it’s interesting, in a weird thought experiment way, to be on the other side and not be the person giving notes, but the person getting notes.” In addition to acting, her
improv training helped her learn to collaborate with other people when writing for television. There are two parts to the kind of writing Wigfield does: The first part is the kind of solo writing a theatre student would do in a screenwriting class, but the larger part is sitting with other writers at a table and building ideas off of each other, she said. “If you’re fantastic at writing drafts, but you can’t really collaborate with people, you shouldn’t be doing this,” she said. “So much of it is improv-based.” There is a temptation to write an excess of jokes on these types of shows, but on The Mindy Project, Kaling avoids jokes that have nothing to do with the characters and insists that all the jokes in the show also work to move the plot forward, Wigfield said. “You have to be very disciplined. I got into this because I like writing jokes and I love writing stories, and it’s something that I’m continuing to try to get better at, but the real fun of it is just cracking jokes,” she said. “It can be tricky sometimes. You have to make sure that you’re telling a coherent story that is satisfying and that your characters are behaving in a way that is how human beings behave and still making it funny.” n
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. 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.
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Alumna and writer Wigfield talks ‘30 Rock’ By Carolyn Freeman Heights Staff
3
—Source: The Boston College Police Department
What is your favorite ‘Meanemployee? Girls’ quote? Who is your favorite BC Dining “On Oct. 3rd, he asked me what day it was ... It was Oct. 3rd.” —Mike O’Connell, CSOM ’16
“Stop trying to make ‘fetch’ happen.” —Meghan Herring, A&S ’17
“She’s fabulous, but she’s evil.” —Eric Roy, CSOM ’16
“I want my pink shirt back!” —Kyle Kavanaugh, GCAS ’17
The Heights
Thursday, April 10, 2014
A3
Enrollment yield expected to rise for admitted class of 2018 2014 Admissions, from A1 students in 2012, 2,300 enrolled—generating a yield of 24.8 percent and an overall acceptance rate of about 28 percent. Predominantly the result of the supplemental essay, the total number of applications for 2013 dropped to approximately 24,538—a decrease of about 28 percent (or 10,000) of applications. Of the 24,538 accepted, about 7,850 were offered admission, and 2,250 of admitted students enrolled— producing a yield of 28 percent. Despite the number of applications decreasing by nearly 10,000 between 2012-13, and about another 1,300 between 2013-14, John L. Mahoney, director of the Office of Undergraduate Admission, noted that comparable universities are still receiving fewer applications than BC, but are also maintaining a focus on a high yield. “Two of our chief competitors are Georgetown and Notre Dame—Georgetown has 19,000 applications this year, and Notre Dame has 17,000 applications this year,” Mahoney said. This year, the University is targeting a class size of about 2,280, or an increased
yield of 30 percent—a figure that, according to Mahoney, is a more accurate reflection of engaging admitted students than the acceptance rate. “In the college admission world, there are a lot of people who just say ‘more is better,’ and there are lots of schools out there that are driving up applicant pools with all kinds of tactics to improve their position with U.S. News and World Report,” he said. “I’m passionate about Boston College, and I’m very competitive, so I’m hoping that we’re going to reach 30 percent this year on the yield.” The breakdown of the target class size budgets roughly 1,600 students enrolling in A&S; 500 to CSOM; about 120 to LSOE; and 90 to CSON. “I think what BC did last year was to right-size its applicant pool in the context of our position in the selective college hierarchy,” Mahoney said. “Yield is the most important thing. You want yield to be strong—you want the right students to be applying. “Last year’s yield went up almost four percentage points,” he said. “So, the yield went up and the quality of the enrolling
class went up.” This year, 5,558 students applied Early Action (EA), and 2,200 (or 40 percent) were offered admission. The remaining 5,600 available acceptances were admitted during the regular decision period. According to Mahoney, the University anticipates that CSOM—given its selectivity and recent No. 4 ranking in Bloomberg Businessweek—will be the most competitive of the four undergraduate schools for enrollment. Although the Office of Undergraduate Admission doesn’t release finalized specific figures on the number of denied or waitlisted students until the beginning of the 2014 academic year, Mahoney noted that the majority of students not admitted at this time have been turned down outright. “Waitlist offers are extended in the hopes that there will be an active waiting list on May 1 of about 1,000 students,” he said. With 2,280 set as the final target for the number of enrolled students, the Office of Undergraduate Admission will then use the wait list to account for yield fluctuation. “If we land short of our enrollment, [the Office of Undergraduate Admission] will go to the waiting list … If we’re a bit over, we’ll
Faculty seeks senate reform
drop in applications last years. To me, the essay was a success. With electronic applications, the Common Application, and many colleges driving up applicant pools by waiving fees, students are applying to too many schools. The essay clearly eliminated applicants who were not serious enough about Boston College to complete a 400word essay. “I think those people sort of disappeared from our pool, and we have a smaller, more focused applicant pool, and I think a more serious, more intentional applicant pool,” Mahoney said. “We’re trying to enroll the highest quality student body we can and the most diverse student body, from the standpoint of geography, ethnicity, and we’re trying to attract more international students.” The recent trend in an increased undergraduate yield has also reflected a growing population of international students at the University. This year marked the sixth consecutive year BC’s international student population has risen. The 1,227 combined undergraduate and graduate international students now comprise 7 percent of the Class of 2017. n
Zovko and Chebator discuss trust and faith
BCAAUP, from A1 the maintenance and perpetual revision of a faculty handbook. “This is about best practices at a Research I university and remaining competitive and in good standing compared to other [Research I universities] across the country.” The second resolution of the petition calls for the reestablishment of an independent faculty senate within the University to help govern internal policies and to improve school representation among faculty members throughout the University. Although a senate currently exists within the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), Michalczyk noted that it has remained largely dormant for several decades, and, in the long run, she hopes it will encompass members from all schools, not just A&S. “If you’re going to elect people and they don’t do what they’re elected to do … then you’re not having any kind of governance,” she said. While BC is now an officially chartered branch of the AAUP, however, its executive board is comprised of faculty members who are elected by the AAUP national council, not University faculty, and thus are not official representatives of faculty decisions. Responsibilities—regarding a standing committee for a handbook and an active faculty senate—called into question by the BCAAUP are currently administered to by the Provost Advisory Council, which consists of about 27 faculty members from each school at BC. According to Michalczyk, discussion of the potential resolutions has been tabled at the past two PAC meetings on, Feb. 27 and March 27, and has yet to gain significant attention from the PAC. Although the petition has not been formally recognized or approved by the administration, Michalczyk and other members of the BCAAUP hope the two resolutions put forth in the petition will gain the attention of administrators and fellow faculty members. “This is small,” she said. “Having a faculty handbook is not that earth-shattering—it doesn’t offend anyone’s sensibilities, and it does demonstrate a real commitment to engaging our faculty.” n
still go to the waiting list, because of those students who commit to us by May 1, some will be admitted from other waiting lists, so there will be some attrition after May 1 … Typically about 5 percent of students who enroll by May 1 will decide to go elsewhere after May 1,” Mahoney said. The University also employs a nonbinding EA application, which allows students who apply EA to do so at other institutions. Mahoney noted that the Office of Undergraduate Admissions anticipates roughly 700-750 admitted EA students will enroll at BC, and maintains a goal of the overall incoming class to consist of no more than approximately 30 percent EA students—the remaining enrollees are admitted during the Regular Decision period. For this year’s 2200 accepted EA students, the average SAT score is 2,125 out of a possible 2400, and the average ACT was a 32 out of a possible 36. For the overall admitted class of 7,800 students, the average SAT score is a 2100 and the average ACT is 31. “Applications rose to 34,000 two years ago,” Mahoney said. “The addition of the supplementary essay produced a 28 percent
Agape Latte, from A1
emily sadeghian / Heights Editor
On Wednesday, Bangladeshi garment workers discussed unsafe working conditions.
Workers talk unjust labor Bangladeshi Labor, from A1 Bookstore, and countries of manufacture for the clothes on their backs. Jansport, Under Armour, and Champion were some of the brands that were mentioned, and Strain explained how companies such as these use subcontractors to employ factory workers in developing countries, including Bangladesh, Taiwan, Thailand, and China, for the lowest possible cost. Speaking through a translator, two women who worked in Bangladeshi factories then spoke about their experiences as workers and now advocates for their fellow laborers. First to speak was Aklima Khanam, a 20-year-old survivor of the Rana Plaza factory collapse that occurred in Bangladesh in April 2013 and killed over 1,100 workers. She began working in a factory when she was 14 years old, and, like her coworkers, she was frequently met with verbal abuse if she did not meet production quotas. She told the story of the factory collapse, and specifically how workers heard that the building was going to crumble, yet were still forced to go to work. “The workers didn’t want to go in, but the management became physically abusive and forced us into the factory,” Khanam said. That day—April 24—the factory collapsed, and those who were not killed were trapped. Khanam and three others were trapped under machines and rubble for 12 hours until they were rescued.
“We haven’t received any compensation from the brands that sourced to the factory or from the government,” she said. “If all of the brands that sourced to Rana Plaza had signed up for the accord for building safety in 2010, then so many workers would not have died.” Following Khanam, Aleya Akter, the general secretary of the Bangladesh Garment and Industrial Workers Federation, spoke on the process of organizing workers to demand better rights. In 2006, she helped form a workers’ association, and when her company found out, she was suspended, observed under extreme scrutiny, threatened, and physically abused. Conditions in factories, Akter said, are worse than ever, and the accord requires officials to inspect factories. “What we have come here to ask of you is this: if companies like Jansport and Columbia are willing to sign up to the accord, then fine, continue to do business with them,” Akter said. “But if they are not willing to sign up to the accord, then please, ask your universities to cut ties with them. We are requesting that everywhere along the supply chain … that you put pressure on them so that they sign the accord.” Since last fall, 16 universities, including Duke, Georgetown, Brown, and Virginia Tech, have required their apparel brands to sign the accord as a condition of producing university apparel, and 10 brands that produce apparel in Bangladesh, including Fruit of the Loom and Adidas, have signed the accord. n
“But it was also a time where I realized that I did have some kind of inner strength—that I could reach down into my core and find this sense that I called faith, with a small ‘f,’” he said of his separation. “Being able to walk forward and move along, I realized and began to understand afterward that that faith was God working within me and helping me through this period,” said Chebator. Zovko had a similar experience with a relationship. In 1989, when she left Boston University to accept the job offer at BC, she was in a serious relationship with a musician. The two lived together in Boston and she felt certain that they would spend their lives together. She loved him, until she realized one day that he didn’t love her for who she was. She said he was bothered by her enthusiasm—an important part of who she was. “There were times during that time of my life where I would [think] … ‘I don’t need to be married. I can just go life solo,’” Zovko said. “But I think I would say that on the outside, but deep in my soul I was thinking, ‘Am I really ever going to find this forever person for me?’” Zovko carried that question—and the disappointment of a failing relationship—with her when she arrived at BC in 1989. She was tasked with working to develop the Emerging Leaders Program (ELP), which the University had just created the year before. That was how the two met. “I found Mer to be unlike anyone I had ever met before,” said Chebator, who also worked on building the program. “We understood and shared kind of a common vision about what a relationship should be. And it kind of began to grow and develop from there.” Despite her enthusiasm in most situations, Zovko was never enthused about coming to BC. She was intrigued about the opportunity at first, but soon felt a little uneasy about working at a Catholic school. “I thought I knew what God was, but everything they were showing me was very confusing to me and it seemed like it was what God wasn’t,” Zovko said. “[But] I just thought, ‘I’ll repress this. That’s the easiest way to do it,’” she said of her
negative feelings. When Zovko decided to take the job at BC, she said all those feelings resurfaced, and she felt overwhelmed. Two months into her employment, she and some other colleagues met and had a conversation with Rev. Bill Barry, S.J., who was the University’s rector at the time. During the whole conversation Zovko said Barry talked about God and spirituality. She felt immense anxiety—she had always felt so odd about God—and she asked Barry to stop using the word. “Father Bill Barry looked at me and with the most gentle eyes said to me, ‘You know, I really never cared much for that name, either,’” Zovko said. “He said, ‘You know, it’s just not what I imagine when I imagine this being.’ He said, ‘I think it should be called the mystery.’” “For me I continued on never, ever again having an issue with the word ‘God,’” she said. Barry was the same Jesuit who helped Chebator acknowledge that God was helping him through his divorce. It was with similar feelings about their faith and their past relationships that Chebator and Zovko met. After working on the ELP project together the two started to become friends, and then something more. They both realized that they shared a strong connection—they loved to spend time together; Chebator loved Zovko’s enthusiasm—a plus, considering her last boyfriend’s dislike of it; and Zovko felt genuine ease around him. They got married in Florence, Italy in 1997. Zovko said there are three important questions to ask about a relationship: “Does my partner accept me for who I am? Do they inspire me to be the best version of who I can be? And do they bring joy to my life?” “Joy is not the same as happiness,” Chebator said. “Sometimes Mer doesn’t make me happy, sometimes I don’t make her happy. But, in the core of our relationship there is an undercurrent and an essence of joy.” Both agree that that fundamental joy— fused with a set of core values that the couple shares and a genuine enjoyment of being in each other’s company—is what has allowed their relationship to flourish. Both Chebator and Zovko plan to retire from BC at the end of this semester. n
Community gathers to recognize survivors during C.A.R.E. Week Take Back The Night, from A1 united through shared solidarity for those affected by sexual assault. The event brings together students and faculty—men and women alike—to hear the inspiring stories of survival from students who were victims of sexual assault. The event commenced with a performance from student a cappella group, the BC Sharps, followed by an introduction and brief history of the event given by representatives from the WRC. The event’s featured speaker was faculty member Regine Jean-Charles, an assistant professor in the romance languages and literatures and the African and African diaspora studies departments. Jean-Charles recently published a book that addresses violence toward women in Francophone Africa, entitled Conflict Bodies: The Politics of Rape Representation in the Francophone Imaginary. She is also a board
member, lecturer, and performer for A Long Walk Home, Inc., a non-profit organization that uses visual and performing arts to end violence against women and girls. “My academic research, my activism, my personal life, and my politics have been informed and defined by the struggle to end sexual violence,” Jean-Charles said. Jean-Charles began her speech with a powerfully emotional rendition of the poem “Do You Know What Rape Feels Like,” composed by her friend and colleague. The poem is a part of the show, “Story of a Rape Survivor” (SOARS), a multimedia arts performance by A Long Walk Home, Inc. “SOARS tells one woman’s story about how she reclaimed her body, her sexuality, and her self-esteem after being sexually assaulted in college,” Jean-Charles said. “It was through this poem, written by my friend, that I became involved with the movement to end sexual violence. “What began as a poem written in one
woman’s journal became a movement to end sexual violence, a movement to help survivors,” Jean-Charles said. “I share this with you today because it speaks to the importance of how student initiatives can impact individuals.” Jean-Charles continued her speech by noting the prevalence of rape and sexual assault on college campuses. One in five college students is sexually assaulted, a number higher than any other group, which makes the issue of sexual assault one especially relevant to students. Noting the significance of the event, Jean-Charles called for the continued active participation of students in the ongoing movement to end sexual violence. “Today, over three decades since it began, all over the country on college campuses, people are taking back the night,” JeanCharles said. “People are breaking silences, speaking their stories, taking steps towards healing, committing themselves to eradicat-
ing gender violence, sexual violence, violence against women and men.” The event was culminated when two students affected by rape and sexual assault shared their stories of survival in front of their peers. “Tonight our BC community has the opportunity to voice what might otherwise be experiences left in silence and in the shadows, and to break that silence by publicly denouncing sexual and intimate partner violence,” Jean-Charles said. The event continued with a discussion on the meaning of consent, given by three representatives from BC’s Freshman League—they defined sexual consent as an explicit, non-presumptuous, educated, and verbal agreement between two parties. The discussion ended with the Men’s Pledge, for which the men in attendance gathered at the stage, vowing to be active participants in ending sexual assault and violence against women.
Following the pledge, Andrea Giancarlo, CSOM ’15, and Joey Palomba, A&S ’15, discussed the importance of bystander education. Ines Maturana Sendoya, director of the Office of AHANA Student Programs (OASP), discussed the resources available to students through the Sexual Assault Network (SANet). The event concluded with each person in attendance receiving a glow stick, symbolizing the efforts of individuals coming together to break the silence surrounding the issue of sexual violence by “lighting up” in support of survivors. “Student activism has been, and will always be, crucial to sustaining this movement towards disrupting silence of this issues,” Jean-Charles said. “Regardless of your situation, I hope that listening to these stories allows you to see yourself as someone who can take part in an ongoing historical movement to eradicate sexual violence and to be an agent of transformation against rape culture.” n
The Heights
A4
Editorials
Thursday, April 10, 2014
QUOTE OF THE DAY
Christian must deliver on vision for BC basketball
The sea never changes and its works, for all the talk of men, are wrapped in mystery. -Joseph Conrad (1857 - 1924), Polish novelist and short-story writer
New coach is impressive so far, but decision to keep terms of contract private is disconcerting Director of Athletics Brad Bates introduced Jim Christian, formerly of Ohio University and Texas Christian University, as Boston College’s new men’s basketball coach on Tuesday, completing a threeweek process to find a replacement after Steve Donahue’s firing. Bates cited Christian’s passion for BC, ability to articulate a vision for the program, track record for winning championships, and fit with the institution as the four key elements which contributed to his hiring. Christian impressed during his introductory press conference. He showed a knowledge of the University, its basketball program, his current players, and what will be required to turn things around after a dreadful 8-24 record in the 2013-14 season. The press conference came after a morning filled with individual meetings with players and introductions to the BC faculty and staff. Afterward, Christian was seen buying dinner for students at Corcoran Commons. As Bates referenced, Christian spoke clearly about his vision for the program in a way that should give some optimism to the BC fanbase, especially after the widespread sentiment upon the announcement of Christian’s hiring that the athletic department had brought in a coach with an underwhelming career resume. With essentially all of Christian’s success coming in the MAC conference, one with talent inferior to that of the ACC, that opinion is understandable, but Christian showed an understanding of what will be required
to bring the Eagles back to the postseason and bring fans back to Conte Forum. It’s imperative, coming off of three sub-par basketball seasons, that Christian’s plan turns into an executed reality, because the program can ill afford yet another rebuild if this one is unsuccessful. Asked two separate times about the terms of Christian’s contract, the athletic department—Associate Athletics Director Chris Cameron last Thursday and Bates on Tuesday—said they were undisclosed, citing BC’s status as a private institution, which allows the department to keep that information confidential. It’s both a disconcerting and unfortunate move. On the day that Steve Addazio’s hiring was announced in the fall of 2012, Bates willingly shared that the new head football coach had been signed to a six-year contract, while choosing not to disclose his salary. BC has every right to keep the terms of Christian’s contract private, but the discrepancy here is noteworthy. The BC fanbase was largely underwhelmed by the initial announcement of Addazio’s hiring as well, but Bates showed his support in the new head coach by openly displaying his commitment to Addazio. Either a short contract is being hidden to quell the notion that Christian is on a short leash, or the athletic department, for some reason, does not want it released that Christian is signed through an extended period. Either way, the decision kicks off the new era of BC basketball with, at the very least, a discouraging sign.
System changes make class registration easier New course numbering system and Agora Portal upgrade show clear improvement over old system The University announced last fall that the course numbering system was going to change from the two-letter, three-number system to a new four-letter, four-number Kuali catalog management system beginning with the Fall 2014 semester. Although class registration is still done through the UIS system, the platform for searching for courses—Agora Portal’s “Course Information and Schedule” section—has been updated and is a significant improvement from the old system. So far, only rising seniors and some juniors have registered for classes, but it is already clear that the changes are positively impacting the student registration
experience. The new numbering system has been effective in delineating a clear hierarchy of course levels, with departments having more flexibility to make course numbers correspond with the level of difficulty of each class. The new search platform on Agora Portal allows students to change search criteria while viewing search results without having to start a new search. It is also possible to filter the search results easily by using the tools on the left sidebar of the website. Further, the site has been upgraded visually, making it easier to obtain information from the listings. In every way, the new interface is a vast improvement over the old one.
Admissions’ long-term focus supported by stats Two years in, admissions statistics reinforce BC’s decision to add a supplemental essay Despite a relatively steep decline in the number of applications received for the Class of 2017, the decision to add a supplementary essay was, and remains, both commendable and strategic in an effort to attract students with deeper interest in the University. Although the decreased number of applications also raises the acceptance rate—a highly weighted factor in U.S. News and World Report’s annual list of top-100 national universities—the office of undergraduate admission, led by Director John L. Mahoney, should be applauded for the effort to increase the yield, and for not employing cheap tactics to decrease the acceptance rate. Since the addition of the supplemental essay, the yield (or the percentage of admitted students who enroll) has risen, and the admission office anticipates another increase from the incoming Class of 2018.
An enhanced yield not only reflects well on the quality of academics and prospective students’ perception of the University, but also on the efforts the admission office has implemented to screen out less interested applicants. With increasingly high admittedstudent test scores, the supplemental essay has also proven its effectiveness in attracting students with more initiative while retaining applicants with equally high measures of academic performance. Although the decreased number of applicants may affect the University’s acceptance rate in the short-term—and thus its position in some rankings of U.S. colleges and universities—BC’s long-term focus on engaging interested students as opposed to rejecting as many applicants as possible reflects a sustainable and effective approach for attracting high-quality students.
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Letter to the Editor Reflections of a college conservative I am a card-carrying Republican. As a Catholic, Asian-American, and Millennial student government leader, my conservative political beliefs mark me as a rarity. From Maryland to Massachusetts, my political stance elicits expressions ranging from disdain to disgust. The most common reaction is confusion. Here’s how a typical conversation plays out: “Did you support initiatives related to gender issues and equality?” “Yes, I have.” “Did you work with groups campaigning for a more sustainable BC?” “Yes, I did.” “Did you work to support minority advocacy groups at BC and beyond? “Yes, and I continue to do so.” “Then, how can you call yourself a conservative? It seems like you care!” This is the central problem for all conservatives— they do not seem to care. Conservatives cry foul—“Of course, we care!” they declare. Research supports them. Conservatives give more in charitable donations and are just as active in community organizations, if not more than, their progressive counterparts. AEI President Arthur Brooks in 2006 estimated that conservatives donate 30 percent more than their progressive counterparts, despite earning less. They are clearly interested in supporting the civil society organizations that underpin any well-functioning community. Conservative positions are not cold, capitalist caricatures. Their policy stances resonate with a concern for others and society as a whole—ensuring that fairness is upheld, attempting to protect the sanctity of life, and supporting the well-being of our veterans. Rather than the harsh, unfeeling light in which conservatives have been portrayed, research from NYU Professor Johnathan Haidt’s Righteous Mind reveals that the conservative credo may have a broader moral foundation than that expressed by progressives. Conservatives do care. This is not an argument over who cares more, but who appears to care more. In this regard, progressives win hands down. This is nothing new and shouldn’t surprise anyone, but the recent national dialogue suggests that conservatives are still flat-footed. They are losing touch not only with the growing minority community, but also a sizeable amount of millennial conservatives. The core moral language that conservatives have relied on no longer resonates with Millennials—here at Boston College and elsewhere. The most recent Pew Research study on Millenials from March underscores this point. Sixty-one percent support same-sex marriage. Forty-nine percent say that they are a patriotic person. And in a trend that we see especially at BC,
only 36 percent see themselves as a religious person. Conservatives are not so much actively warring against a younger and more diverse America as they are just failing to connect entirely. Conservatives have mostly resisted change or disavowed their moral language entirely. Both approaches are misguided. They will result in conservatism becoming a marginalized point of view—either the purview of a shrinking minority or a voice with no grounding. Conservatives need to become multi-lingual. Their thought should remain grounded in its original moral foundations, but they should be able to translate those principles within the context of the times. Conservatives must become more adept at utilizing the language of compassion. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) has delivered moving speeches about the challenges facing everyday, working-class Americans, and Gov. Jeb Bush, while recognizing that undocumented immigrants are still illegal, has stated that the act is closer to an “act of love” rather than a felony. Younger conservatives should be vocally supporting folks like these, instead of letting the talking heads describing such approaches as “bizarre.” If conservatives fully invest in adopting the terms of compassion, then they will also be able to understand the mindset of those who use it already. We become less likely to use the harsh language of judgment, and we become more able to relate what we do to supporting basic human dignity. When we can speak the same language we can learn to agree. We need all Americans to be active and contributing members of society, regardless of their backgrounds. We need to be thriftier with our financial and natural resources. We need to help others still seeking the American Dream. Conservatives at BC are well positioned to understand this. We have a role model in the Pope, who demonstrates that the central components of compassion are listening and humility and that our identity is defined by how we care for others. Conservatism is a deep-set skepticism about changing the status quo, but when change is inevitable, conservatives are tasked with preserving the best of before in a new setting. Conservatives, especially those in college, must recognize this. The people are different. The language is new. But, as a college conservative, I am not afraid to confess my belief in the principles that got us this far and will continue to drive our country in the future. Matthew Alonsozana Executive Vice President of UGBC A&S ’14
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The Heights
Thursday, April 10, 2014
A5
The art of etiquette today
Patrick Angiolillo Skirt Day - Although we are not the highest authority regarding the official skirt day (a former Heights editor still at Boston College lays claim to that title and we at TU/TD are not about to dispute her claims), we do believe that yesterday was the day. It is a magical day, replete with pastel colors, shorts, and, most importantly, skirts. What designates Skirt Day as such, you might ask? Well, gentle readers, let us tell you about this most glorious of days. First and foremost, Skirt Day is the first day of spring in which the weather is pleasant enough to justify attiring oneself in a skirt (or shorts, for our male compatriots). By this definition, some might argue that Skirt Day happened one day last week, in which the mid-day temperatures were about as warm as they are today. There is one important qualifier, however, that must be noted. It is not enough for it to be warm in the middle of the day—it must be warm enough in the morning to convince the average BC girl to eschew that pair of leggings that have clung to her legs all winter long in favor of a free and flowing skirt. Although we were not wearing a skirt yesterday—business attire was unfortunately necessary for our scheduled appointments—we nonetheless commend all of you who donned your skirts for the day. It was a day of optimism, one that points forward to a warmer future. It was a day of Frisbee playing on the Stokes Lawn and lounging in O’Neill Plaza, and we are loath to pass up the opportunity to engage in such relaxing activities. Last Full Week Of Classes - Rather belatedly, it has come to our attention that this is the last full week of classes. Next week, we have two days off for Easter. The week after that, we have a day off for Marathon (and Easter) Monday. Then we have the last week of classes, in which Friday is off for a study day. We cannot believe how quickly this has come. It seems like just yesterday the semester was beginning and we were getting the syllabi for our classes. Now, we are already thinking about final papers and final projects—a prospect less savory than the subpar sushi they serve in the dining halls. French Phone Ban - In a move reminiscent of one our high school teachers would pull during their classes, President Francois Hollande has banned cell phones during his cabinet meetings. We are more amused than anything else—we thought that this sort of thing stopped when you went to college. It is a sign of maturity and increased responsibility—in college, we are old enough to handle having the distracting device that is a cell phone and still focus our minds on the presenting professor. Apparently, French cabinet ministers, on the other hand, have regressed and are not mature enough to keep it in their pants during meetings. How embarrassing. Given the amount of work that needs to be done to return life to a moribund French economy, this is probably a good call on Hollande’s part.
When I was younger—about 12 or so—my brother and I were having dinner with our father at a restaurant in town. When we were finishing up, a colleague of my father, a female judge, saw us leaving as she was entering. When my father introduced my brother and me to her, I was at the same time removing my baseball cap to adjust it. No sooner had I done this than the judge said how impressed she was with my manners as a young man, removing his hat in the presence of a lady. I took the compliment—a compliment to my father, too, for having raised us boys so well—but I did not realize at the time that this was a common courtesy to be honored in the presence of a lady due my respect. The problem of etiquette today is a trite topic in some sense. The older generations chide the younger, and the younger rebel against the older. It’s cliche. The question ties into a number of lectures and events we see plastered across campus on an annual basis. Etiquette and manners play a role in Kerry Cronin’s yearly talk on dating and Fr. McNellis’ annual lecture on how men can be good men and good leaders. UGBC’s campaign “Dress with Respect” every Halloween also involves many layers of modern etiquette. Numerous Letters to the Editor of The Heights have pointed out the (sometimes appalling) behavior of undergraduates who ride the Boston College buses. And there is always the infamous problem of partying on campus and the behavior associated with the late night culture at BC. In short, there is no lack of attention paid to various issues across campus all of which involve, to one degree or another, the question of modern etiquette. What are we to do, then? Should we cram
ourselves into the narrow sense of propriety touted by the likes of the Downton Abbey folk? Or do we need crash courses in the art of holding a fork and setting a table? I do not think so. I am not proposing we all attempt to seek out the wisdom of some ancient knowledge of high court conduct. Nor do I think we should carry ourselves in an uptight Emily Post-esque way. Equally so, there are certain conventions and norms that have been culturally (if not universally) established and by which we must live in order to be properly functioning members of modern American society. What is more, I think such convention is demanded of us as members of a great academic institution like BC, and we are (and should be) expected to live up to and by these standards. As many of the talks, lectures, and events hosted across campus have emphasized, the kind of behavior associated with the drinking and party culture on college campuses is unbecoming of students at BC—indeed, it is unbecoming of good, smart, inspired, and promising young people like ourselves. It should not be necessary that we have campaigns about “dressing with respect,” or about treating women as our sisters in the human species and not objects of desire, or about refraining from foul-mouthed language on the buses and at sporting events, but with things the way they are, these campaigns are necessary. So, then, what are we to do? I think one resource has tried to tackle this tricky contemporary issue with a level of boldness and tact unlike others. The blog Art of Manliness was founded in 2008 as a resource for “reviving the lost art of manliness.” Not only do they provide tips on hunting, shaving, dressing, and do-it-yourself projects, but they also offer advice on relationships, money management, and occupation, as well as long discussions on virtue, the essence of masculinity, and the question of what it means to be and act like a man in modern society. Art of Manliness has repeatedly posted articles on how men should be contemporary
gentlemen. Some of the suggestions are familiar trends, seen even as posts across Facebook—the classic pick a lady up for the date, bring flowers, hold the door for her, stand street-side when walking down a sidewalk, etc. But the blog has also pursued a series on Jack London as a case study in thumos, or spiritedness, a characteristic dimension of virility. Sometimes using the words and thoughts of ancient men like Seneca and other Greco-Roman figures, the blog treats questions of how a man gives advice, grieves with a companion, protects his family, and shows gratitude for his blessings. Perhaps there is the risk of reductionism in this project, but it is at least a start for those who wish to investigate more than the tip of the iceberg of modern manly etiquette. Often the Art of Manliness will point readers in the direction of further reading or inspirational models of manliness. I am unaware of a comparable blog or resource for women. I hesitate to make suggestions because I do not come from a female perspective. Darling Magazine might provide some suitable suggestions for women seeking to reclaim womanly character, but I would suggest looking around. All of this is to say that BC and other colleges need to respond to the lack of etiquette across campuses today. The many events, programs, and resources provided by universities offer insight into and sometimes practical advice for this problem. We do not need to recreate Downton Abbey in every academic hall, but we do need to react to the kind of behavior that has entrenched itself as the norm among college students. I think a blog like the Art of Manliness (and, if there were one, the Art of Womanliness!) might offer the quick, online resource that could start the conversation on behavior and etiquette for many people. But until then, I tip my hat good day to you!
Patrick Angiolillo is a staff columnist for The Heights. He can be reached at opinions@bcheights.com.
A tale of two immigrants
Jovani Hernandez In the time it took to write this paragraph, three people have been detained for illegal entry on the border between Mexico and the U.S. Once, two of these people were my parents. Nicolas Hernandez left Mexico and his family of 11 when he was only 15, the current age of his second son. As the oldest son, Nicolas was expected to help his father tend the livestock they raised and carry out other farm tasks. Thus, he could not focus on his education—Nicolas never made it past the third grade, even after his third attempt. When he wasn’t out in the field, Nicolas took on jobs such as painting doors and delivering groceries in order to support his family’s needs, which were too demanding for his father to support alone. As a result, Nicolas was forced to mature at a young age. In the U.S., 15-year-olds are traditionally sophomores in high school, planning their sweet 16, and taken care of by some guardian. Nicolas, however, was not as privileged as many teens in the country to which he immigrated—he shared a twobedroom apartment with almost 10 people, including his uncle, during the first few years after arriving to the U.S. He was overworked and underpaid as a dishwasher and lived in constant fear that he would be reported to Immigration Services. He was 2,691 miles away from his family, his community, and the only language he spoke. Nevertheless, the difficulties Nicolas had experienced living in New York City were nothing compared to traveling through the desert and avoiding border patrol. Being a foreigner did not prevent Nicolas from being a decent human being and conforming to certain expectations in his new home, as is oftentimes thought about immigrants by mainstream America. Julia Lucero, the youngest of nine, left
Lecture Hall
Mexico at the age of 20. Unlike Nicolas, Julia made it past the third grade, but she did not continue her education after finishing the sixth grade. Seeing that opportunities were scarce within her village in Puebla, Mexico, Julia had aspirations to join her two siblings in the U.S., but first she traveled to Mexico City—four hours away from Puebla—in order to work as a housekeeper while staying with her oldest sister. Though Julia was making enough money to eat at least two daily meals, she was not making enough to help support her parents, so she decided to journey to the U.S. with the hope of sending money back once settled. Similar to Nicolas, Julia was unauthorized to enter the U.S. and was caught by border patrol twice before rejoining her sister and brother in New York. Upon arriving in “The Big Apple,” Julia, too, shared a three-bedroom apartment with five families, sleeping in the same room as her brother, sister, sister’s husband, and newborn niece. Julia, like her sister, began working in factories where the working conditions were dangerous, lunch breaks were rare, and the pay was below minimum wage. Still, Julia was making more money in a week working in factories in New York than she would have been making in a month cleaning houses in Mexico City. Knowing the struggle of earning a dollar, Julia led a humble life, sporting secondhand clothing and eating tortillas and rice more often than she’d like, all while putting some money aside for herself and some to send back home to her parents, similar to Nicolas. Although both had siblings and other family members in the U.S., Julia and Nicolas wanted to start a family of their own. Because of the many responsibilities of both of my parents, such as sending money back to Mexico, a relative or family friend babysat me while my parents worked, so when it came time for parent-teacher conferences, my parents were not always able to attend. If one of them did, it was my mother and only after taking a day off from work, which meant losing out on money. The common misconception is that immigrants such as my mother do not care about their children’s education because they
rarely show up to school functions—plays, recitals, and parent-teacher association meetings—but those who make these claims fail to realize that there are outside factors impeding immigrants from being as engaged as they’d like in their children’s educational lives. Both of my parents have been in this country for over 20 years and they still are not fluent in English—some might perceive their inability to speak the dominant language of the U.S. as personal defiance towards their new home, but the reality is that learning a new language is difficult as an adult. My mother has taken English courses, which she’s paid for out of pocket, but she struggles to balance school and the other motherly duties that she has. Regardless of their lack of academic accomplishments, the importance of education was always emphasized in my household—my mother has always told me that she isn’t able to give me much, but that she’d do her best to give me an education because no one could take it away from me. Although my father never expressed these sentiments verbally, his commitment to working more than 40 hours a week as an underpaid cook in order to get me through a Catholic high school is evidence that he values my education. Many immigrants do not have the opportunity to become educated, but a lack of opportunity does not stop them from encouraging their children to work toward a better life than their own. If immigrants did not have families to support in their native countries, fear of being deported, and get scrutinized for being foreigners but instead were embraced, they’d invest in their own education. In case you were wondering, 10 more people have been detained for illegal entry into the U.S. since you started reading. Like my parents, many of these people are only searching for better financial and educational lives than those they’d lead in their native countries not only for themselves, but more importantly for their loved ones.
Jovani Hernandez is a staff columnist for The Heights. He can be reached at opinions@bcheights.com.
BY PAT HUGHES
Classes That Fill Up In The First Half Of The First Day Of Pick Times - Yeah, we don’t like it when this happens.
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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.
Congress and ‘Cards’ Emma Vitale Frank Underwood, of the Netflix hitseries House of Cards, is the kind of politician you hope doesn’t actually exist in the reality. He is ruthless, stopping at nothing— bribery, intimidation tactics, deception, and even murder—to get where he wants and what he wants. Even beyond Underwood, other members of the House of Cards’ Congress and White House are abusing alcohol and drugs, trying constantly to outperform each other on a sly and vindictive level, and willing to cause a government shutdown rather than cooperate with the other party. At least viewers can take solace in the fact that it’s just a television show and that these things don’t actually happen in our real government … right? Although we don’t know what goes on behind closed doors, it’s probably safe to assume that the majority of the crazy things that happen in the show are fabricated to make good TV. There is one fault, however, that the characters and storylines exhibit that is glaringly similar to reality—the gridlock of party politics. Last October, the U.S. government shut down for 16 days because Republicans and Democrats in Congress could not agree on a spending bill for the fiscal year. In this specific instance, the primary issue was the Republicans’ desire to defund or at least delay Obamacare, but there have been 17 previous shutdowns—technically termed “spending gaps”—in the government, as well as countless times when a shutdown was imminent because of party gridlock. This is such an unnecessary and unfortunate part of our political system, and it is a direct result of the rigid party polarization characterizing Congress. No Labels, a national organization that has a Boston College branch, is dedicated to solving this exact problem. As a bipartisan group, its motto is “Not Left. Not Right. Forward.” It works to end the gridlock in Washington through campaigns like “Make Congress Work” and “Make the Presidency Work” that involve policy reform efforts such as requiring Congress to pass a budget before its members are paid. It has the support of many members of Congress who pledge to work across party lines, and while these ideas are not the most concrete or specific, what they represent is extremely important. No Labels is about encouraging collaboration and understanding between members of different parties so that they can do their jobs and fix the problems facing our nation. This cooperation is not a difficult task, and it should be a given in such a progressive democracy as ours. Although this is most visibly an issue with politicians, ordinary Americans fall prey to this trap as well. A study by psychologist Geoffrey Cohen in 2003 examined the policy preferences of selfproclaimed liberals and conservatives to see whether those preferences were determined by content or party label. The participants evaluated generous or stringent welfare policies that were labeled as supported by either the Democrats or the Republicans, and despite the opposing liberal or conservative content of the policies—liberal ones were marked as Republican, and vice-versa—participants favored the policies associated with their party. It is pretty appalling that people care more about the party label than the actual substance of the issue, and this does not bode well for elections. What does it say about our electoral process when people are voting strictly on party lines even if the candidates’ views are not in line with their own? Why do we even have debates (debates, bear in mind, that only include the two polarized parties) for the presidential elections if people have already decided for whom they are voting based simply on the party to which the politician belongs? No one benefits from party polarization, and issues are not going to be fixed when politicians are too caught up in themselves to look at the bigger picture. We shouldn’t have to worry about a future government shutdown occurring—let alone a 19th—and we certainly shouldn’t be finding similarities in our own government to that of House of Cards. We need to find a way for Congress to work again, because no good comes from the politicking of the real Frank Underwoods.
Emma Vitale is a staff columnist for The Heights. She can be reached at opinions@ bcheights.com.
THE HEIGHTS
A6
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Christian taking next steps after formal intro
Bedoya essential for US Soccer
From Christian, A8
From Column, A8 against the Iberians, having beat them in the group stage of the 2002 tournament. The U.S. made it to the quarterfinals that year before crashing out to the Germans. Portugal has a strong core. Pepe and the masculine Bruno Alves have chemistry as the team’s center back pairing. They will play behind two well-functioning shuttlers in midfield, who are glued together by an experienced anchor in Miguel Veloso. The team’s 4-3-3 is headed by Nani and Real Madrid’s Ronaldo. Klinsmann’s team matches up well in the midfield. Michael Bradley is in top form for club and country, and he drove at Mexico’s midfield like James Young through a pack of Huskies. Defenders Omar Gonzalez and Matt Besler have done well when they have a first-choice squad in front of them. The game will be decided on the wings. Nani can be neutralized by an attacking defender like Fabian Johnson or DaMarcus Beasley, thus, it’s likely Ronaldo will be the man in charge of winning the game. An organized defense at the international level can hold the Portuguese back for a while, but the U.S. has no established pairing. In fact, the U.S. does not have an outand-out right back. Massachusetts native Geoff Cameron has not worked out there, while Michael Parkhurst has never been a part of Klinsmann’s plans. Brad Evans has been the best of the bunch, but that is not his
AMEL EMRIC / AP PHOTO
Alejandro Bedoya will be tasked with stopping Cristiano Ronaldo, if selected by Klinsmann. natural position, which is a why a midfielder who can track back will be essential to the team’s success. With Ronaldo’s power and pace down the left posing a threat, Bedoya’s defensive abilities will come in handy. “He’s got a fantastic work rate and they are lacking, in my humble opinion, somebody to protect the full backs,” said BC men’s soccer head coach Ed Kelly of his former player in the fall. Bedoya’s role on the team will be just that. It may not be creating or scoring goals, which he has done playing as an advanced center midfielder from Ligue 1 Nantes this season, but it will be defensive. Graham Zusi is the player most similar to Bedoya, who is in the running for that spot, but the Sporting KC man does not possess the ability to make the lung-busting runs the ex-Eagle makes. Bedoya has proven that he can perform that role as well—he crippled the movement of Ukrainian winger Yevhen Konoplyanka in the U.S.’s friendly against the European up-
and-comers last month. Green would not come close to matching up with Ronaldo, as he struggled to get back against Mexico, and his defensive lapse played a part in the Americans conceding an equalizer to El Tri. His skill and youth may assist the U.S. in giving the team pace off the bench against a side like Ghana, but Green would be a liability against the world’s best attacking winger if he were to be placed on that right side, especially without a solid back to have his rear. Bedoya is a scrappy player who possesses the creative talent going forward and the will to chase a speedster down the flank. For Klinsmann’s first World Cup with the U. S. to be a success, a 5-foot-10 midfielder with a marketing concentration will be a necessity on the pitch.
Alex Fairchild is the Asst. Sports Editor for The Heights. He can be reached at sports@bcheights.com.
recruiting. So those two things have to tie together.” He may have found those qualities in current Maryland assistant Scott Spinelli, who is engaged in “serious talks” with BC, Terrapins head coach Mark Turgeon told The Washington Post. Spinelli, a Boston University graduate, is a New England native and is known for his strength in recruiting the area. Spinelli made $202,000 during the 2012-13 season at Maryland, The Washington Post reported. Christian is also looking for a strong national recruiter, and one who can help him rebuild a winning culture in Chestnut Hill. “With another spot, I want a guy who can prove he can get players nationally,” Christian said. “With a name like the ACC and the academic reputation of our school, you have to attack it in both ways. I think if you have too many New England guys they almost get in each other’s way. You have to spread yourself out as much as you can, because the growth of the ACC is incredible. One thing I know is great players want to play against great players, so it is our job to go open up as many doors as we can. If you rush right away, you just get talent, and you don’t cultivate the culture in your program. It is just talent. You have to catch people twice. You aren’t just catching the talent pool. The guys that you are bringing in better be able to fit the culture pool as well.” Although the recruiting season for 2014 players is closing and the transfer season is well underway, Christian said hiring his staff will not be a rushed process. “I’m going to do it as quickly as possible,
but I’m not going to hurry,” Christian said. “I’m excited about the quality of people interested in this job.” Contract notes, Anderson, and schedule When asked about the specifics of Christian’s contract on Tuesday, including its length, Director of Athletics Brad Bates said the terms were undisclosed, citing the University’s ability to withhold the information since it is a private institution. When Steve Addazio was hired as BC’s new football coach, Bates cited the same reasons for not announcing Addazio’s salary, but he did state that Addazio had been signed to a six-year contract. Bates also said that he and Ryan Anderson, the rising senior who announced this week that he will transfer from BC, had a conversation about the possibility shortly after former head coach Steve Donahue was fired, but that the decision was reached on Monday. Anderson received his release on Tuesday, according to ESPN. He will have shoulder surgery and sit out next year before being able to play again in the 2015-16 season, according to his Twitter account. Anderson is restricted from transferring to a school in the New England area. Christian also briefly talked about scheduling on Tuesday. “A lot of it is done already, I’m going through all of that now,” Christian said. “Obviously, you’re playing in one of the elite basketball conferences in the country, and you want to have as much confidence going into that as you can have. When you play in a great conference there’s going to be a lot of hits, so you’ve got to have the built in confidence to get through that.”
FROZEN FOUR 2014 28
30
WINS
160 148
.24 .21
.90 .83
GOALS
PP
PK
ALL-TIME
THIS SEASON
SEMIFINAL: UNION VS. BC. TONIGHT, 5 PM, ESPN2
24
FROZEN FOURS
2
5 0
BC UNION
NATIONAL TITLES
UNION BEAT BC IN LAST YEAR’S NORTHEAST REGIONAL, BUT TWO VERY DIFFERENT TEAMS MEET TONIGHT.
BOSTON COLLEGE
HOCKEY EAST REGULAR SEASON CHAMPION
IN A FEW WORDS...
KEYS TO VICTORY WHILE THE TOP THREE WILL LEAD, THE EAGLES NEED CONTRIBUTIONS FROM ALL LINES
NE REGIONAL 2013
22%
61%
GOALS SCORED: 160
HAYES
GAUDREAU 17% EVERYONE ELSE
WHAT WENT WRONG? THE EAGLES FAILED TO PRODUCE ON SEVEN POWER PLAYS
UNION
BC PLAYS HIGH-TEMPO HOCKEY, BUT RELIES HEAVILY ON ITS TOP LINE FOR OFFENSE. THATCHER DEMKO HAS BEEN SOLID IN NET SINCE GAINING THE STARTING POSITION. IF IT’S CLOSE, LOOK FOR THE TOP LINE TO PLAY EXTRA SHIFTS, CHIPPING AWAY AT UNION’S DEFENSE.
ECAC HOCKEY TOURNAMENT CHAMPION
KEYS TO VICTORY THE DUTCHMEN NEED TO BE ORGANIZED ON DEFENSE AND KNOW WHEN TO ATTACK
NE REGIONAL 2013 WHAT WENT RIGHT? IN CONTRAST TO BC, UNION STUCK ON THREE OF ITS POWERPLAYS
IN A FEW WORDS...
3% POWERPLAY
24%
GOALS SCORED: 148
EVEN STRENGTH 73%
SHORTHANDED
UNION IS FAVORED BY MANY TO WIN IT ALL. SHAYNE GOSTISBEHERE IS AN OUTSTANDING TWO-WAY DEFENDER AND DANIEL CARR IS THEIR TOP SCORER. THEY SCORE 24 PERCENT OF THEIR GOALS ON THE POWER PLAY, BUT BC HAS THE BEST PK IN THE COUNTRY.
THE HEIGHTS
EDITORS’ EDITORS’PICKS PICKS
Thursday, April 10, 2014 The Week Ahead
Standings
Softball will look to pick up where it left off in a weekend series with Maryland. Men’s hockey heads to Philadelphia to play Union in the semifinals of the Frozen Four. The women’s lacrosse team takes on Virginia Tech on Saturday. Liverpool and Manchester City play in a pivotal match on Sunday that could decide the league title.
A7
Recap from Last Week
ALEX FAIRCHILD
31-13
MARLY MORGUS
28-16
CONNOR MELLAS
26-18
HEIGHTS STAFF
26-18
Eagles’ baseball took one of three from North Carolina over the weekend, while softball won its series against Pittsburgh. Women’s tennis was able to win another match in ACC play against North Carolina State. UConn’s magical run to the Final Four ended with it emerging victorious over Kentucky in the national title game.
Game of the Week Women’s Lacrosse
Boston vs. Virginia Tech College
Guest Editor: Andrew Skaras Opinions Editor
“I do not belong to any generation.” CONNOR MELLAS
This Week’s Games
Sports Editor
Softball: BC vs. Maryland (3-game series)
MARLY MORGUS Assoc. Sports Editor
ALEX FAIRCHILD Asst. Sports Editor
ANDREW SKARAS Opinions Editor
Maryland 2-1
BC 2-1
BC 2-1
Maryland 2-1
M. Hockey: BC vs. Union
BC
BC
BC
BC
W. Lacrosse: BC vs. Virginia Tech
BC
BC
BC
BC
Man. City
Liverpool
Liverpool
Man. City
EPL: Liverpool vs. Manchester City
Coach Acacia Walker’s team is ranked No. 6 in the nation, but has stumbled against the nation’s top sides, which are all within its conference. North Carolina and Maryland are the Eagles’ two most recent defeats. UNC and the Terps are perched in the top two spots in the conference and in the rankings. Virginia Tech comes into the matchup sitting at the bottom of the ACC standings. The Hokies are yet to win a conference contest this season. Megan Will, who has recorded 36 goals and 17 assists, leads Virginia Tech in those categories. Mikaela Rix has had an eye for goal all season for BC, tallying 33 finishes on the year.
Saturday, 12 p.m., Newton Campus
BC taken down by Dartmouth in low-scoring regional play BY TOM DEVOTO Heights Staff Thomas Roulis was everywhere. Or, so it seemed. The Dartmouth second baseman had three hits, one run, and eight assists in the field as he powered the Big Green to a 2-1 victory over Boston College. He looked like a magnet on the diamond, routinely moving left and right to retire BC batters with ease. Freshman Mike King received the start in the game from head coach Mike Gambino, his third start of the year. He was opposed by righty Chris England of Dartmouth.
The Big Green had no trouble jumping on King early, knocking two hard singles to the outfield in the top half of the first inning. An impressive diving catch from left fielder Nick Colucci wasn’t enough to help him escape the inning, as Joe Purritano came to the plate next and slapped a double down the line to bring two runners home. It gave the Big Green a quick 2-0 lead. The Eagles went down quietly in their half of the first, starting with a leadoff walk but failing to bring the runner home. After a rough first inning, King settled down to retire the Big Green, thanks in part to a smooth, 5-4-3 double
EMILY FAHEY / HEIGHTS EDITOR
John Hennessy started at first base and had one of the Eagles’ hits against Dartmouth.
play. The Eagles’ bats couldn’t back him up, though, as they went down in order in the bottom of the second. Following another quick inning from King, BC got its first hit of the day thanks to Colucci, who beat out a hard grounder up the middle. Colucci then stole second and advanced to third on a fielder’s choice, only to be stranded there after a Blake Butera fly-out to centerfield. In his next at-bat, Purritano crushed the ball to right field, but Chris Shaw was able to track it down. Despite putting two runners on base in the top of the fourth, King and the Eagles escaped the inning with no damage as the score remained 2-0. The Eagles finally got on the board in the bottom of the fourth. Following a single from designated hitter Joe Cronin, Tom Bourdon crushed a double that bounced off the right field fence to bring a run home. The hit cut the Big Green’s lead in half, bringing the score to 2-1 after four innings. Colucci led off the bottom of the fifth with a walk—England’s third of the game—but a double play took him off the base paths. First baseman John Hennessy came up next and slapped a double into right-center field, but he wasn’t able to advance as the Eagles were retired. After the fifth inning, King was pulled in favor of righty Luke Fernandes. The freshman gave up a walk and a single but found his way out of the inning without surrendering a run. With two outs in the top of the seventh, Fernandes plunked right fielder Jeff Keller to load the bases for cleanup hitter Dustin Selzer. He would end up escaping the jam by forcing Selzer to pop out in foul territory.
EMILY FAHEY / HEIGHTS EDITOR
The Eagles had six hits on the way to their eventual 2-1 loss to Dartmouth on Tuesday. Following an uneventful bottom of the seventh, Jesse Adams came on to relieve Fernandes. He made quick work of the Dartmouth hitters, retiring them in order to put the Eagles back at the plate. Hennessy led off with a walk in the Eagles’ half of the eighth, bringing last weekend’s hero Butera up to the plate. He grounded into a double play to stunt the Eagles’ momentum. Shaw followed him with a deep fly to right field, but Keller had enough room to make the catch and end the inning. The Eagles had a prime opportunity for some more late-game heroics, as they had runners on first and second with no
one out in the bottom of the ninth. Following a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners, a fielder’s choice at the plate and a suicide-squeeze play gone awry did the Eagles in. “That’s not a team that we want to be,” Gambino said. “The way we played today … there wasn’t life, there wasn’t energy, there wasn’t enthusiasm, and that’s not good enough.” Gambino hopes that his team will come out with more to prove going forward. “Win or lose, if we go out and play hard, I can handle it,” he said. “I can’t handle [the effort against Dartmouth].”
Eagles fall to Crimson in first round of Baseball Beanpot BY MARLY MORGUS Assoc. Sports Editor Yesterday, the Boston College baseball team crossed over the river into Cambridge to face Harvard in the first round of the Baseball Beanpot. While the Eagles leapt out to an early lead, their offense stalled and the defense couldn’t hold onto the lead, as BC eventually fell by a final score of 6-5. In the top of the first, John Hennessy, Blake Butera, and Chris Shaw quickly loaded the bases, Hennessy walking, while Butera and Shaw hit singles. In the next at-bat, Joe Cronin doubled down the right field line to bat in both Hennessy and Butera, giving the Eagles a 2-0 lead. Cronin and Shaw would also score, BC going up 4-0 before the end of the first inning. This would be the end of the offense for the Eagles until the ninth inning, though. The next inning and a half went hitless for both teams with Eric Stevens on the mound for BC, but then, in the bottom of the third, Harvard managed to put up the first bit of a response to BC’s early offense when, after the Eagles committed an error allowing runners to enter scoring position, the Crimson put its first mark on the board, making it 4-1.
While the Eagles’ hitting struggled, the Crimson managed to chip away at the BC lead, scoring one in the fourth and one in the sixth, then having a prolific inning of its own in the bottom of the eighth, as the team scored three runs to bring the score to 6-4—finally gaining its first lead and effectively putting the Eagles away as they failed to put up enough of a response in the top of the ninth. The one hit that the Crimson had in the fourth would be the only that Stevens allowed in his four-inning performance before being relieved by Bobby Skogsbergh, who pitched the next two, allowing two hits. In the bottom of the seventh, Tyler Hinchliffe took over on the mound, but in his one-and-one-third innings pitched, he allowed two hits and two runs, earning himself the loss. BC fought back to within one off of Shaw’s second RBI of the day, but the Crimson eventually managed to end the game while still grasping onto the one-run lead. With the loss in the first round of the tournament, the Eagles will face Northeastern in next week’s game for third place. The Huskies lost to UMass yesterday by a score of 5-3, and the Minutemen and the Crimson will meet in the final.
softball
scoreboard
BC BU
CHESTNUT HILL, MA 4/3
W. TENNIS
5 DAULTON 5 RBI BC HYNES 1 H WAKE 2
8 0
RALEIGH, NC 4/3
M. TENNIS BC NC STATE
EMILY FAHEY / HEIGHTS EDITOR
Eric Stevens started on the mound and pitched four innings, giving up just one hit and allowing two runs. He was relieved by Bobby Skogsbergh.
1 6
W. LACROSSE
13 CHILDREE 1 E BC MUDGE 2 W DUKE 11
CHESTNUT HILL, MA 4/5
DEDHAM, MA 4/4 BASEBALL WACNIK 2 W ASCH 2 W
BC UNC
CHESTNUT HILL, MA 4/5 SOFTBALL MANNELLY 5 G SMESKO 4 G
BC PITT
10 9 0 2
SHAW 4 RBI RUSSEL 3 RBI
CHESTNUT HILL, MA 4/6 D’ARGENTO 7 SO MANUEL 2 H
w. tennis BC 7 NC STATE 0
baseball BC UNC
2 12
DEDHAM, 4/6 Boston, MaMA 11/11 BORR 2 W NO WINS
Newton, MAMA 11/09 CHESTNUT HILL, 4/6 HOGGARTH 1 H JORDAN 3 RBI
SPORTS
A8
THURSDAY, APRIL 10, 2014
SEMIFINALS TONIGHT, SEE A6
Send Bedoya to World Cup
BREAKING BACK BY ALEX STANLEY | HEIGHTS STAFF Relief pitcher Jordan Weed stepped up to the plate to bat as sunlight began to fade on the windy Shea Field and the softball game against UMass Amherst stretched into 10 innings. Weed gripped the bat—the Eagles were down 3-2—and swung, sending a hard line drive into center field. Two players touched home base, and Boston College immediately defeated the Minutewomen 4-2 in a walk-off win Wednesday night. The game began with the Minutewomen taking an early lead in the third inning. In the third inning, UMass took a 1-0 lead. With Cote Clark on second base and Taylor Carbone on first base, UMass outfielder Lindsey Webster hit a curving line drive into right-center field, bringing Clark home and putting Carbone in scoring position on third. BC pitcher Nicole D’Argento caught a shallow fly ball to close out the top of the third inning. The Minutewomen would add one more to their tally in the sixth inning when Bridget Lemire led off and hit a solo homerun with a full count, putting UMass up 2-0. In the same inning, the Eagles leveled the score line when Alana Dimaso drove the ball into left field, batting in two runs. With no further runs scored, the game was sent into extra innings after seven. Both sides of the mound proved to be dominant on the night. D’Argento pitched a little more than seven innings for the Eagles, allowing five hits, while Minutewoman Caroline Raymond pitched the entire game, only letting up three hits. Those hits came from D’Argento, Daulton, and Weed. The scoring picked up in the 10th inning when, by the rulebook, each team starts with a runner on second base. UMass managed to bring that runner home after a sacrifice bunt and a single. Daulton had trouble snatching up a hard hit, and Quianna Diaz-Patterson ended up scoring for the Minutewomen. After a double play from the Eagles, they stepped up to bat in dramatic fashion. With one out and the bases loaded, junior Annie Sommers hit a fly ball, which was caught by Diaz-Patterson in the infield. Weed stepped up to the plate with Raymond starting the count at 3-0, coming close to a walk, and putting the score line at 3-3. Raymond managed to throw two strikes in a row, putting Weed at full count. Then, Weed made solid contact to win the game for the Eagles accompanied by a cacophony of cheers from the sidelines, and a rushing of the field from the BC players.
ALEX FAIRCHILD A graduate of the Carroll School of Management should be breathing down the neck of Cristiano Ronaldo in about two months. If it happens, it will not be at some Nike public relations stunt in Europe, but on a field in the heart of the Amazon rainforest at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Alejandro Bedoya, who played for the Boston College men’s soccer team in 2007 and 2008 after transferring in from Fairleigh Dickinson University, must be on the U.S. National Team’s plane to South America. Decision time looms for U.S. manager Jurgen Klinsmann, who must pick 30 men to consider by May 12 and a final 23 before June 2 for his World Cup roster. With just a few spots available for wide midfielders, especially those who can play down the right, Bedoya’s placement on the squad is essential, but by no means a guarantee. His spot will be threatened by a wild card 18-year-old phenom named Julian Green. The Bayern Munich youngster has played a few minutes for the club’s first team outside of its summer tour, but for the team’s reserve outfit in Germany’s third division, Green has scored 15 goals in 23 games, in addition to assisting on eight finishes. Green has played for Germany’s youth national teams, though he filed a one-time switch with FIFA to pledge his international ties to the U.S., the country of his father and his birth. The chase for Green’s commitment to the U.S. was a controversial process, though, as rumors swirled that the Munich player signed on to play with the U.S. on the condition that he would be on the 23-man roster for Brazil. While both the player and the coach have denied those rumors, sacrificing the spot of an experienced player, in order to put in Green, would be a dangerous proposition for the team. Arguably, the U.S.’ s Group G, which contains Germany, Portugal, and Ghana, will be the most difficult group to escape of the eight in the competition. It is the group of death. But the good news for the Americans is that a win and a draw from three games are all that is necessary to advance. Therefore, Klinsmann must plan accordingly to get those points. A win must come against a talented and stout Ghana, who has defeated the U.S. in the previous two World Cups. While Ghana will be strong again with maestro Kevin Prince Boateng patrolling the Black Stars’ attack, it will be difficult for its style to matchup with that of the U.S. Klinsmann’s team must steal points from Ghana to have a chance to advance, as it leaves them needing a result against either Germany or Portugal. A tactically and technically sound Germany boasts a solid midfield and excellent rearguard. With Real Madrid’s Sami Khedira likely to be out of the team due to injury, Bastian Schweinsteiger is capable as one of world’s top field generals. With Marco Reus, Mario Gotze, Toni Kroos, and the lethal Andre Schurrle at the disposal of manager Joachim Low, the squad should be able to overpower the Americans. But the U.S. will not have to face one of the tournament favorites until the final game. The most winnable of the games against the European powers comes against the Portuguese. For what it’s worth, the Americans have a favorable history in the competition
See Column, A6
EMILY FAHEY / HEIGHTS EDITOR
Christian: Staff to play large role in recruiting BY AUSTIN TEDESCO Heights Editor The first question that new Boston College men’s basketball coach Jim Christian received during his introductory press conference on Tuesday was about his staff. It was also one of the first questions during a teleconference last Thursday when he was hired. Between stops at Kent State, Texas Christian University, and Ohio University, the general assumption is that the Bethpage, N.Y. native is going to need help at the ACC level, especially with recruiting in both New England and beyond. “I am doing all my due diligence because I do think it is important that I get people that understand the level that we are recruiting,” Christian said. “I have not recruited as an ACC head coach so I’m trying to get guys who have already proven and established that they can do that. I want to do it as quickly as possible, but I am not going to hurry. I want to have as many conversations and talk to a lot of different people, because to me it is the most important decision.” That staff is starting to take shape. Chris-
I NSIDE SPORTS THIS ISSUE
tian is bringing Ohio assistant Bill Wuczynski with him to BC, according to The Boston Globe. Wuczynski worked closely with the Bobcat guards for the past two seasons, including MAC Player of the Year D.J. Cooper and All-MAC second team senior Nick Kellog. He came to Ohio with Christian after serving on his staff at TCU as an assistant coach during Christian’s tenure. Prior to that, Wuczynski spent three seasons at Florida International and three at Loyola-Chicago, both as an assistant. He started his career as the director of basketball operations for UNLV for four seasons before being promoted to an assistant position in his fifth year with the program. Christian said he’s looking for three things with his staff. “Number one, I want a proven recruiter from New England, someone who has gotten high-major talent from this area,” he said. “This is a talent-rich area and I want someone who has strong ties. With that, you have to have great evaluators. If you look over the course of Boston College history, it hasn’t been just recruiting. It has been great evaluating and
See Christian, A6
Baseball: BC falls twice in mid-week play
EMILY FAHEY / HEIGHTS EDITOR
Jim Christian, BC’s new men’s basketball coach, was officially introduced on Tuesday.
The Eagles dropped games to two Ivy League foes this week, on the road at Harvard and at home against Dartmouth...............................A7
Scoreboard.............................................................................................................A7 Editors’ Picks...........................................................................................................A7
COLUMN
‘Girls’ Fashion
THE LOOK OF DUNHAM’S SHOW REFLECTS ANXIETIES OF 20-SOMETHINGS, PAGE B3 COLUMN
Watch the ‘Throne’
SEASON FOUR’S PREMIERE CROWNS ‘GAME OF THRONES’ KING OF TELEVISION, PAGE B4
ALBUM REVIEW
SZ A ’s ‘Z’ JERSEY NATIVE SIGNS ON WITH TOP DAWG LABEL AND RECORDS EXCEPTIONAL DEBUT, B3
THURSDAY, APRIL 10, 2014
the busy student’s guide to spring fashion at B C
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John Wiley | Arts & Review Editor, Ariana Igneri | Assoc. Arts & Review Editor Michelle Tomassi | Asst. Arts & Review Editor As the spring semester winds down, Boston College becomes a hive of activity. Once-empty Quads populate with students. Jackets are shed, and the “BC look” is confounded by a mix of spring styles—fashion on campus becomes less of a fleece monolith, and more a marker of the individualistic identities of the University students. The Scene explores the new looks on campus this spring, and the motivations behind these styles. What gets the busy student dressed in the morning?
SEE FASHION BUZZ, B2 JORDAN PENTALERI / HEIGHTS PHOTO ILLUSTRATION
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Spring fashion
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“I did a service trip to Jamaica, and my kids ended up not eating for a day so they could pool their money together to get me this necklace.” -Jose Altomari, A&S ’16
“It’s what the people want. It’s all about appearance, and you can’t put appearances into words.” -John Lamoreux, A&S ’16
“I love color, and I want to appear anything but stodgy. My swag is all about Perspectives.” -Brian Braman, Director of the Perspectives Program
“What does this shirt symbolize? It symbolizes love ... which is Agape.” -Jonah Caparros, A&S ‘16
Thursday, April 10, 2014
“I’m not used to the cold, I’m from Brazil. My shirt? It’s in Brazilian—it says, ‘The fauna and the flora of Brazil are in the reserve.’” -Thomas Averbuck, A&S ’15
“People are very expressive in Amsterdam, but here everyone is very normal. A lot of girls wear those leggings. In Holland there are none at all.” -Karel Zegers, International student
“I love floral, printed scarves, and I love to wear bows. And since I came back from Spring Break, I refuse to wear oots.” -Liz Viruete, CSOM ’14
“I like to switch it up and keep people guessing. That way, I get the best of all styles, all worlds.” -Trey Amar, CSOM ’15
Smart social media in BC admissions JOHN WILEY The Office of News and Public Affairs has gotten considerable flak for its #BC2018 campaign— an initiative aimed at attracting admitted students to Boston College through a series of social media videos. The University’s efforts to present itself as “the best school ever”—as one student in the “Welcome #BC2018” video puts it—come across as overenthusiastic, to say the least. That said, it’s naive for anyone to expect a video running a little over three minutes to successfully articulate the identity of a university. When I begin to sift through the intentions of the Office of News and Public Affairs, it’s clear this video is meant to serve as nothing more than a snapshot—a quick glimpse of people that prospective Eagles could meet. Once we accept this video as simply a look at the University—a means of putting faces to the numbers that high school seniors are left to swim in during the admissions process—these social media initiatives start to make sense. The way BC leverages its identity through social networking sets it apart from most other American universities. When it comes to likes on Instagram, BC is third in the national rankings, falling just behind University of Wisconsin Madison and Stanford. When we consider how capable BC administrators typically are when it comes to using technology, “Welcome #BC2018” should have been a brilliant play. “Welcome #BC2018” was not in the least bit negative, and in
part, that was the problem. The whole ordeal felt slightly like an embarrassingly positive comment on the students at BC. Think of that relative everyone seems to have who comments on near everything posted on Facebook. At its heart, “Welcome #BC2018” wasn’t all too different from the proverbial aunt, commenting “How handsome” or “You look just like your mother” on that picture you were tagged in over the weekend. Heights opinions columnist Victoria Mariconti remarked in her column, “The Problems With #BC2018,” last week that the video was a tacit endorsement of underage drinking. While this might be true, we also have to remember, again, this is our embarrassing aunt we’re talking about here. I’ve seen plenty of grandparents commenting on weekend drinking pictures, ignoring the red Solo cups, and instead mentioning how proud they are of their grandchildren. This brings us to the second common misconception regarding the video. As much as we’d like to think high school seniors have full autonomy when it comes to college decisions, they don’t. “Welcome #BC2018” will probably matter a lot more to parents than to students. Unlike all the 17-yearold Machiavellis out there scrambling for power in the last days of their high school careers, most parents aren’t looking to overtake the world come college decision time. They care for the rankings, but perhaps second only to that, they’re looking for a place their child will be happy, and if little else, “Welcome #BC2018” gives a strong impression of that. Considering the limited purpose of this video, there are still critiques to be made. For one, the #BC2019 campaign should show
more, and tell less. Last weekend, the Undergraduate Government of Boston College hosted the Annual Showdown—something I consider to be one of the most impressive events at BC. The dance competition, which featured 13 of the University’s premier acts, demonstrated a lot of what “Welcome #BC2018” only superficially managed to do—it showed off an active, supportive, diverse, and extraordinarily talented student body. BC administrators should be fawning over the possibility of showing off an event as unique to BC as Showdown. More importantly, however, Showdown was a snapshot of the University that the students themselves will be happy to have shared. Showdown, of course, hardly breaks the surface when it comes to BC traditions worth showing off to admitted students. The issue with the proverbial embarrassing relative on social media is she’ll be proud of whatever you do. “Welcome #BC2018” is framed from an adult’s perspective of what college should be, with those sentiments reflected in the comments of actual BC students. It’s a smart idea, and I’d be remiss to discredit the gains this University has made through its social media presence. What makes a video so powerful, however, is that it can show something an admission brochure or college guide cannot. This is what made last month’s “Happy” video a viral hit. Unlike for-profit colleges—which have no choice but to create superficial identities for themselves—BC should be confident enough to shave away the veneer of admissions puffery when it comes time to show its true fabric.
John Wiley is the Arts & Review Editor for The Heights. He can be reached at arts@bcheights.com.
JOHN WILEY / HEIGHTS EDITOR
The Heights
Thursday, April 10, 2014
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Fashion Forward
Outside the lines
The down-to-earth wardrobe of Dunham’s ‘Girls’ next door Because I’m How the style of the characters in the hit HBO show reflect authenticity and individuality
Therese Tully With graduation looming just around the corner, I am trying to stay positive. I am looking for all of the silver linings that will come with finally graduating: a solid income, my first real apartment, no more homework, more brunch? I don’t know. It’s not a great list. It’s hard to see life beyond Chestnut Hill right now. But sometimes, when I watch Girls, I feel like life beyond college can be great, exciting, and beautiful. Lena Dunham takes me out of my present and plops me in New York—full of dreams and crazy fashion choices. Not only do the characters in the show make some bold fashion statements, but the show’s creator, writer, and director Dunham has her own fabulous fashion sense, and reminds me that post-grad, I too can write a fabulously popular award-winning show, and become wildly successful (maybe someday). Anything is possible when you don’t have homework due for your 9 a.m. on Friday. Fashion, it can be argued, really makes this show. From Hannah’s illfitting, quirky, cutesy, vintage inspired looks, to Shoshanna’s lovably tragic Juicy Couture sweatsuits, the show is a sartorial treat, a real and complicated glimpse into what it means to dress as a 20-something living in New York and trying to figure it all out. Their outfitting feels honest and not overdone. The clothes feel real and accessible for the characters as they are portrayed. I have never once looked on and thought that Hannah wouldn’t have been able to afford something that she is wearing, or that Marnie’s outfit wasn’t matching her state of mind. It’s always done to a T. Jennifer Rogien, the show’s costume designer, is quoted as saying, “The overall theme of the show is all the mistakes we go through when we’re trying to find our footing.” As someone desperately trying to find her own footing while wading deep in
the waters of second semester senior year, I can’t help but feel connected to these characters. Even when they try and they fail, sartorially or otherwise, you can’t help but root for them. Even looking from the first season to the present, the characters’ styles have changed individually and evolved, but no one has struck that perfect chord yet. No one has her style perfectly defined and executed at any given moment, I would argue. The show’s wardrobe is a mirror of the authenticity that each character strives for in their own way, whether misguided or not. Dunham has created a world that is not filled with caricatures—she has created complex and emotional characters that feel so resonant because they are fleshed out, and beautiful even in their ugliness. Each character is dressed so perfectly believably. Adam, in his jeans, plain no-nonsense t-shirts and perfect heavy, leather boots; Ray in his awful ironic t-shirts, working at Grumpy’s; Marnie the picture of someone trying so hard to look like an adult, but often getting it all wrong; and the ethereally
eclectic Jessa, who can wear a fulllength gown in the middle of the day, a bathrobe out in public, or a completely sheer dress to go and babysit. These characters feel like people that Dunham has plucked off the streets of New York and given to us. I can’t say that these looks are much different from ones I have seen with my own two eyes while wandering Brooklyn. In the latest episode, “Two Plane Rides,” Hannah is accepted to the Iowa Writer’s Workshop, one of the most prestigious in the country. She receives and celebrates her acceptance letter in a perfectly Hannah-esque outfit that shows that even when bits and pieces of her life are coming together, she still doesn’t have it all figured out. During her victory dance, she dons chartreuse pleat front pants that are so bad that they are somehow amazing, paired with a blue, jersey halter top with few coordinating stripes. Hey, despite the absurdity, the colors do go. The outfit carries an innocence and a joy to it. And while to the average on-looker, it may seem that it was a shabby ensemble that was
thrown together in a moment of not caring, under a closer investigation this is the sort of outfit that someone like Hannah would purposefully put together, and think looked nice. The colors go, it’s fun and bright and quirky as all hell. It’s a fashion treat that wants a cross-body bag and a slip-on mule. Some days, don’t we all feel like Hannah Horvath? Some days, isn’t the best we can do, or aspire to do, wearing coordinating colors? The visual interest is always there with Hannah’s wardrobe. She is an artist in her clothing and her craft, while Dunham tends to follow the same suit. I may not have it all figured out yet, my fashion or my future, but I am excited for all of the exploration along the way. Also, to look back and laugh at all of my fashion gaffes I will make in the process, though I hope I never give in to pleat front pants.
Therese Tully is a senior staff columnist for The Heights. She can be reached at arts@bcheights.com.
photo courtesy of HBO
Lena Dunham’s characters may not have their lives or their outfits all together, but ‘Girls’ show them figuring it out one step at a time.
This weekend in arts
By: Ariana Igneri | Associate Arts & Review Editor
Emily Sadeghian / Heights editor
This weekend, Boston College’s sketch comedy group, Hello ... Shovelhead! is presenting ‘EELS Backwards is Love’ and raising money for the BC Campus School.
Annual Art Showcase (Thursday 4/10, 7 p.m.) In honor of its 43rd annual Black Family Weekend, the Black Student Forum is presenting an art showcase themed “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop” in the Vanderslice Cabaret Room. The event will feature Harlem spoken word artist Zora Howard, among other talents.
British Invasion Cafe (Friday 4/11 7:30 p.m.) The Sharps invite you to “keep calm and sing along” for the group’s spring a cappella cafe, to be held on Friday night in McGuinn 121. The concert will include renditions of Justin Timberlake’s “Drink You Away” and One Direction’s “Story of My Life,” just to name a few. Admission is free.
Chorale’s Spring Concert (Saturday 4/12, 8 p.m.) Works including “Magnificat,” “Te Due,” and “Jubilate Deo” will be among those performed by the University Chorale in Newton’s Trinity Chapel on Saturday evening. Tickets are $10 through Robsham.
Culture shock (Friday 4/11, 7 p.m.) The International Club of Boston College is hosting an evening of free desserts and dance performances from around the world in Gasson 100 on Friday night.
‘EELS Backwards Is Love’ (Friday 4/11 and Saturday 4/12, 7:30 and 10:30 p.m.) Sketch comedy troupe Hello … Shovelhead! is hosting its spring show, featuring both veteran and new members, this weekend in Fulton 511. Admission is $5, with all proceeds benefitting the Campus School.
Music Guild Rocks Faneuil Hall (Sunday 4/13, 12 p.m.) From noon to 4 p.m., BC student musicians will be playing outside of downtown Boston’s Faneuil Hall near Quincy Market. The free event, sponsored by the Music Guild, will include performances by JUICE, Bobnoxious & The Mastercraftsmen, Free Alley, Luiza Prochaska Justus, Thomas Harpole, and many others.
‘Quilts and color’ (Ongoing) The Museum of Fine Arts has stitched together a selection of vibrant, eye-popping American quilts from the Pilgrim/Roy Collection for its latest display, which opened last week. In conjunction with the colorful exhibit, the MFA will put on light shows each of the nights the museum stays open late—Wednesday through Friday at both 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. Admission is free with a BC ID.
Senior Showcase Improv Show (Friday 4/11, 7 p.m.) The Committee for Creative Enactments, BC’s murder mystery improv group, is spotlighting its senior members as they participate in their last show with the CCE. The event will take place in Cushing 001. Admission is free.
Stix & Stones 2014 (Friday 4/11, 6:30 p.m.) The Acoustics and The Bostonians are teaming up for their annual free Stix & Stones show. Doubling the a cappella, the two groups will be singing outside of Lower Dining Hall. If it rains, the concert will be held in the Vanderslice Cabaret Room.
‘Under the skin’ (Ongoing) Scarlett Johansson plays a seductive female alien who preys on human men in Jonathan Glazer’s new sci-fi drama. Under the Skin opens at the Coolidge Corner Theater this weekend.
Voices of Imani concert (Sunday 4/13 at 5 p.m.) BC gospel choir Voice of Imani is hosting a concert on Sunday evening in Gasson 100, coinciding with the release of their new album Road to Heaven on iTunes. CDs will be available for purchase at the event.
happy: planning your senior year
Michelle Tomassi It was 4:15 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon, and UIS stared me down from my computer screen, begging me not to quit. As a rising senior with a first day pick-time, my class registration took all of 35 seconds, and when I typed in the word “DONE,” I felt as though UIS was reminding me that soon enough, I really will be done—with my undergraduate career at Boston College, that is. “Are you sure you want to quit?” the blinking cursor seemed to ask. “This is your second to last chance to take the best classes with the best professors at the best times of day. You can’t possibly be DONE just yet.” UIS was right. It hit me that I had just completed my penultimate course registration, and I suddenly felt like I had to hold onto the archaic-looking black box on my screen and never let it go. I spent the next hour searching through courses from all different departments, sifting through course evaluations, and reworking my schedule over and over again. I looked through spring courses, in an attempt to strategically plan my next and last year at BC. Going into the process, the only thought on my mind was, “I want to take these classes.” After completing the registration, all of my determination was replaced with doubt, and I couldn’t help but wonder, should I really take these classes? Before registration, I thought I had a pretty good sense of what I like and what I don’t. I had already done my “experimenting,” taking classes in disciplines such as business law, sociolinguistics, and fashion, and I was prepared to just stick with what I love: my English classes. I couldn’t think of anything better than to sign up for writing workshops and literature courses, making zero attempts at diversifying my schedule. It seemed easier to ignore the 40 other subjects, because that opened up too many possibilities. After meeting with a professor to discuss my decisions, I expected her to applaud my commitment to the English department. Instead, she uttered the one word that I may fear the most, the one word that drives so many of my choices: regret. During her own college years, my professor regretted not taking more diverse courses to supplement her writing classes, such as history and psychology. Despite what I may have believed growing up, creative writing requires more than just a pen, paper, and an idea: it involves reading work from other disciplines, and sometimes even a great deal of research. If my own writing professor was cautioning me against taking two writing workshops, where did that leave me? What I wanted to take seemed to lose precedence over what I should take, and just thinking about how many courses I missed out on, and whether or not I made the right decisions, left me with a feeling of panic and, of course, regret. The debate of doing something out of desire versus obligation is a daily struggle of mine, and I’ll admit that choosing one over the other never seems to end in complete satisfaction. It mostly occurs in trivial moments—I want a Honey Q or New England Classic for lunch, but I should just get a salad or grilled chicken. It happens on Saturday afternoons—I want to watch another episode of Friday Night Lights or take yet another BuzzFeed quiz to find out what type of cheese I would be (to my disappointment, I’m American cheese), but I should be powering through my 200 plus page reading assignments, or at least attempt to be educational and watch that film I was supposed to see for class. In both cases, I’m left feeling content, either for making the “good” decision or just for having fun, but I also have that slight tinge of regret for the one I rejected. It’s sad, but true: I experience tiny moments of regret every day of my life. I can’t pretend that I’ll just do what I want my last year at BC, and I probably won’t make all the choices that I should, either. It’s easy to tell someone to do what makes her happy, but the truth is that there is more than one kind of happiness—sometimes it comes from intentional planning, and other times it arises from a spontaneous, go-with-the-flow mindset. One thing I know for sure is that I’m not going to restrict myself to a certain type of happiness, whether that be in my course selections, my weekend plans, or my dining hall dilemmas. I still have one more year to balance the smart decision-making mentality and the carefree, do-what-I-want attitude, and the best I can hope for is a happy medium. I can’t promise myself that I’ll have no regrets. At least when I do type in my final DONE on UIS, I’ll be able to say that I made my choices not only because I wanted to or because I knew I should, but for the ultimate sake of being happy.
Michelle Tomassi is the Asst. Arts & Review Editor for The Heights. She can be reached at arts@bcheights.com.
THE HEIGHTS
B4
Thursday, April 10, 2014
THE STREAM
CHART TOPPERS
Hail to the king: how ‘Game of Thrones’ became TV’s crown jewel
TOP SINGLES
1 Happy Pharrell Williams 2 All of Me John Legend 3 Dark Horse Katy Perry feat. Juicy J 4 Talk Dirty Jason Derulo feat. 2 Chainz 5 Let It Go Idina Menzel 6 Pompeii Bastille 7 Team Lorde
TOP ALBUMS
PHOTO COURTESY OF FORBES
Sunday’s season premiere of ‘Game of Thrones’ solidified the show’s standing as the exemplar of television’s supposed Golden Age, with its characters radically changed following ‘The Red Wedding.’
RYAN VON OHLEN [Disclaimer: This column may have slight spoilers regarding the first episode of the fourth season of Game of Thrones.] In an age of instant information, massively budgeted smallscreen shows have become the few remaining “watern cooler” events. For all that has been said ad nauseam about the Golden Age of television, however, it’s hard to not pin HBO’s Game of Thrones as the current champion. While many welcome the binge-watching now possible with Netflix shows like House of Cards, the fact that entire seasons are released at once takes away the charm of suspense generated by having to wait in anticipation to see what’s next. True Detective, on the other hand, was an unmatched thriller that would have many at the edge of their seats, waiting for
the next installment—but Season One lasted just eight episodes before its conclusion. And while Breaking Bad may have held supremacy over cable ratings for a solid five seasons, its conclusion last fall means Game of Thrones is in the perfect position to dominate our Sunday nights (and subsequent workweeks, sharing spoilers on the show). As evidenced by Game of Thrones’ premiere of Season Four on Sunday, this show has a staying power that has not been matched by anything since HBO’s The Sopranos, the cable network’s previous series about power struggles between warring families. Coincidentally, this season’s Game of Thrones premiere netted HBO’s highest ratings since 2007’s series finale of The Sopranos. The viewership numbers are staggering: a total of 8.2 million viewers (not counting the thousands of pirated live streams) tuned in on Sunday. For
comparison, last year’s Season Three premiere only drew some 4.4 million viewers. From the minute-by-minute updates on Twitter to the volume of traffic to HBO, GO’s live stream that crashed its servers (and prevented viewers like myself from catching the initial airing), the event had a particular aura of cultural significance. Game of Thrones is also a unique case in that it remains so popular despite the presence of decades-old books that essentially double as leaked scripts for fans of the show unfamiliar with George R. R. Martin’s body of work. Yet, it’s becoming evident that Game of Thrones is nearing a point where all of its characters morph into something more compelling than Martin’s originals. It’s analogous to the moment Walter White became less “Walter White” and more “Heisenberg”—all of the main characters, save for those intro-
duced this season, are at a point where they are too broken to be brought back to their original state. Some may call this a nadir, and following the collective blood-curdling, blindsiding stab-in-the-guts (literally and figuratively) that was Season Three’s “Red Wedding,” it’s tough to argue that viewers can ever treat the show’s characters in the same way. Sunday’s premiere did more than enough to indicate this with most of the principle cast, from its multiple broken lovers’ trysts to a chilling, revenge-fueled execution at the hands of a certain Stark girl. It’s the messy, chaotic unwinding of the characters that long-time viewers have grown familiar with, and it is magnificently entertaining to see where these interconnecting stories go from here. Yes, there is a question as to whether Martin or show runners Dan Benioff and David Weiss will end up writing the final
chapters of this epic fantasy drama. There are still doubts that Martin can finish the novels before HBO’s timetable of seven seasons is up in 2018, and this will remain a question that will linger over the show. But for all the surprises that the show throws at its viewers, Game of Thrones has become the gold standard for the network original series. It has grown from an ambitious and risky investment into a boon for its parent network, and no matter how HBO’s crown jewel concludes, there’s little doubt that it’ll do so with higher viewership than those it drew in this week—the numbers will continue to rise. If there’s anything to glean from Game of Thrones’ return, it’s that its popularity is open to increase. The stakes have been raised.
Ryan von Ohlen is a guest columnist for The Heights. He can be reached at arts@bcheights.com.
‘Z’ EP shows off SZA as smart addition to Top Dawg label BY HARRY MITCHELL Heights Staff The California based hip-hop collective Top Dawg Entertainment is already known for some of the hottest emerging hip-hop artists in the game. With the successful releases of Kendrick Lamar’s good kid, M.A.A.D. City, Schoolboy Q’s Oxymoron, and Isaiah Rashad’s Cilvia Demo all in the last year, the label has made a permanent mark on the rap game. With the recent signing of 23-year-old Maplewood, N.J. native Solana Rowe, better known as “SZA,” the collective extends its reach to the genre of R&B. Just eight months after signing with TDE, SZA releases Z, her first major label EP, and the third installment in Top Dawg’s planned release of six albums in 2014. The electro R&B record features 10 extremely well-produced tracks; guest appearances from independent Chicago artist Chance the Rapper and label-mates Kendrick Lamar and Isaiah Rashad; as well as powerful, enchanting vocals from SZA that will have you hitting the replay button over and over again. A year ago, SZA was less focused on music, as she was more occupied with her work at the popular cosmetic chain, Sephora, in New York City. Twelve short months later, and the artist is
working with some of the most widely appreciated artists and producers in the music industry. She first made contact with Terrence Henderson, president of Top Dawg Entertainment, at a Lamar show that her boyfriend’s clothing company sponsored. Henderson heard some of her stuff and was immediately intrigued. Shortly thereafter, a contract was signed, and SZA was officially added to the Top Dawg Entertainment roster. When considering the rest of the Top Dawg crew, SZA seems like somewhat of an anomaly. Being the first singer, the first female, and the first East Coast native to become a member of the collective, SZA is a noticeably different animal than the others in her pack. While some difference exists between her and her label mates, it did not stop her from creating a remarkable debut album—capitalizing on the innovative production techniques of Top Dawg. Every track on the album can be described as a success, and the variety of sound demonstrated throughout the compilation shows off SZA’s tremendous versatility. The album begins with “Ur,” a slow-moving, emotional track produced by rapper Mac Miller, and quickly moves into a more upbeat, energetic set of songs. The third track, “Julia,” has a spirited, up-tempo beat that pairs beauti-
Z SZA PRODUCED BY TOP DAWG RELEASED APR. 8, 2014 OUR RATING
PHOTO COURTESY OF TOP DAWG ENTERTAINMENT
As the first female to join the Top Dawg collective, SZA adds a unique, diversified sound with her first label EP ‘Z.’ fully with SZA’s entrancing voice. The song has true potential to become a hit, as its danceable, energetic vibe makes it appeal quite broad. The most intimate moment of the album comes on the track “Green Mile,” in which SZA describes the difficult ending of a relationship. The dark, shady beat sets SZA up perfectly to describe this “massacre” of love, through meaningful lyrics and emotionally-driven vocals. The true highlights of the album, however, are the two songs that garnered the most hype before the record’s release: “Child’s Play” featuring Chance the Rapper and
“Babylon” featuring Lamar. “Child’s Play”—produced by XXYXX—is a smoothhypnotic track with SZA’s gorgeous voice putting listeners in a trance. Chance adds one of his signature spastic verses with incredibly sharp lyrics, filled with double entendres and thoughtprovoking references. The song concludes with the two artists working in a true collaborative style—balancing vocals, reminiscing about the past. Those who noticed SZA’s label mate Lamar featured on her track “Babylon” likely assumed that Lamar, as he often does, would dominate the track—yet SZA is
the main attraction on this selection. The track’s eerie interlude sets her up to absolutely crush the song with an infectious chorus and striking melody. Kendrick adds a pensive, minute-long verse that supplements the track beautifully. With her first major-label release Z, SZA independently proves that Top Dawg is no longer just an all-male, all-rap label. Her hypnotizing and captivating voice adds another layer of awesome to the collective. While just 10 tracks long, Z serves as a remarkable debut album, showing great promise for SZA’s career.
1 Frozen Soundtrack Various Artists 2 She Looks So Perfect 5 Seconds of Summer 3 La Gargola Chevelle 4 Head or Heart Christina Perri 5 Shakira Shakira Source: Billboard.com
MUSIC VIDEO OF THE WEEK BY RYAN DOWD
“SUMMER”
CALVIN HARRIS Calvin Harris is looking to book a corner of the summer song market. He’s seen the recent career boost that summer hits have given the gentlemanly Robin Thicke and French disco-men Daft Punk, and he’s ready to cash in on summer’s promise. Furthermore, the Scotsman—best known for “Feel So Close”—probably watched in horror as what used to be his young audience skewed away from the techno sound to more pop sound over the last few months. Harris is all about riding trends. And so Harris has returned with the aptly named “Summer.” The video has the right feel—like a montage of the Fast and Furious series with an appearance from professional action, driving, and fighting man Jason Stratham. But “Summer” lacks what every summer splash has had before it—that “I can’t get this damn song out of my head” quality. In his vocals and acting, Harris just doesn’t seem very excited for summer. Director Emil Nava seems to be enjoying himself with the production of “Summer.” The video starts to roaring engines as the camera flies across the road before soaring over the scene. And the scene sure looks fun—full of ladies in short jorts and thankfully not much else. The video cuts from racing cars, frolicking, and Harris wandering around the desert occasionally partaking in said frolicking. The beat seems less than inspired, especially compared with his other recent single, “Under Control.” The video ends at a lavish house party whose girl-to-guy ratio would make any freshman guy faint. We see Harris and his racing squeeze gazing out into the festivities. He’s always pensive, contemplative, and never seems to be having much fun. And if you want to contend for the title of “song of the summer,” you’ve got to make it fun.
SINGLE REVIEWS BY ABIGAIL FARR ED SHEERAN “Sing”
HUNTER HAYES “Storyline” Ed Sheeran’s new single is far poppier than any of his other work, as he’s most famous for his ballads. “Sing” sounds like something Justin Timberlake would, well, sing. Sheeran showcases his rap skills, which we’ve seen briefly in “You Need Me, I Don’t Need You,” but he raises the stakes in this new song. This change of pace isn’t a bad thing—it’s
FOXES “Holding onto Heaven” Hayes is nothing if not consistent. His most recent single “Storyline” is similar to just about every other song the countrycrooner has put out: it’s upbeat and all about Hayes’ good lovin,’ and well, can you blame him? It works. The new track is reminiscent of his mega-hit “I Want Crazy.” It’s lots of fun, but it’s nothing new.
24-year-old British pop singer Foxes is known best for her vocals on Zedd’s “Clarity,” but her latest release, “Holding onto Heaven,” from her upcoming album Glorious shows off an emerging pop entity to be reckoned with. The song shows off much of what there was to like about “Clarity,” while also showing Foxes’ greater range as an artist.
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Bennet’s Banter
Boston Marathon
Thursday, April 10, 2014
2014
Synthesizing Kabacinski prepares to run Marathon for a cause math and baseball By Bennet Johnson Asst. Metro Editor
Bennet Johnson Baseball and math junkies, if you’re looking for a creative, new way to enhance your passion in 2014, then you’re in luck. This spring, Boston University is leading the way in engineering a new method of learning. Starting on May 8, baseball analytics professor Andy Andres will teach Sabermetrics 101: An Introduction to Baseball Statistics. BU will host the class through the online learning platform EdX, according to BostInno. What’s remarkable about this online platform is that it is pioneering the way we change our education system. Rather than host a small lecture with a limited number of students, this course will be available to a massive online audience and it is free of charge. Growing up in Minnesota, I was always passionate about baseball. Ever since I could pick up a bat and glove, I fell in love with the sport. Whenever I wasn’t out on the baseball diamond constantly working to improve my game, I was watching my favorite players Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau on the television—imitating their batting stances in hopes of one day filling their shoes. My passion continued throughout high school, and to this day I still love taking in a Twins or Red Sox game in the summer. I myself have dabbled in the analytical side of baseball. As if constantly practicing and thinking about the game wasn’t enough, I felt it necessary to meticulously study the stats of each player in order to better understand the game. In my geeky middle school days, there were times where I would calculate Derek Jeter’s batting average or David Ortiz’s slugging percentage in order to decide if they were worthy of my fantasy baseball team. My point here is that I—like many other enthusiastic kids and baseball junkies—find value in both the practical and analytical sides of baseball. Recently, the ideas of sabermetrics and statistics in professional sports have become increasingly important. Part of this is the whole Moneyball idea—explored by Michael Lewis in his book and in the 2011 film starring Brad Pitt—that you can find places where there’s value that the rest of the marketplace doesn’’t recognize. Technology and analytics are constantly improving, and knowledge is gained throughout the sport with placing values on players based on their numbers. Teams in all sports are going to try and find value where other teams don’t see it, and hopefully improve their performances. This is the whole idea that Lewis outlines in his novel, and has been taken up by major league teams across the country—including the Red Sox and Yankees, who are both using their financial resources to fund an analytics department within their clubs. Over the past years, hundreds of people have been asking Andres to take his class. Andres is a datacaster for Major League Baseball and the lead instructor and head coach of the MIT Science of Baseball Program. With a new demand for these sabermetric skills, it is no mystery that so many people have contacted the reputable professor about his course. Besides the baseball aspect of the course, Andres intends to teach statistics through the SQL or R programming language as an introduction to mathematical work. “The real purpose of this class is an introduction to data science,” Andres told BostInno. “Big data is a buzzword now. Data science is becoming a common course of study in universities everywhere, and this is an introduction to it.” Through the online software EdX, the Boston-based course will be open to anyone in the world with an Internet connection. It is no surprise that the course has already seen immense popularity, and is expected to have thousands of viewers. Looking back, my younger days of practicing and studying the game of baseball were very entertaining, but they also served another key purpose—making sure to know how to analyze complex information and statistics. This skill is crucial in the game of baseball and in our daily lives.
Bennet Johnson is the Asst. Metro Editor for The Heights. He can be reached at metro@bcheights.com
Chris Kabacinski, A&S ’16, was sick of his twin sister outmatching him in sports. A lanky kid from Scranton, Pa., basketball and soccer were mostly out of his range during his childhood, and, hoping to find himself a group of friends, he joined the cross-country team on a whim in the sixth grade and eventually found something he did not expect—a sport that would eventually become his niche. Kabacinski was never the best runner in a group of sixth-grade athletes. In fact, he finished in last place, or near the bottom of the standings, in almost every race. Rather than sulk about his lack of running prowess, however, Kabacinski, then only 12, decided he wanted to become faster and stronger. He joined the Holy Redeemer Junior High cross-country team in the seventh grade, though he knew he would struggle to keep pace with his peers. He hit the track nearly every day, though— getting stronger, sharpening his form, increasing his speed—in order to prove that he could run. Kabacinski wanted nothing more than to place in the top eight runners on his crosscountry team in order to go to the state tournament. Working from the absolute bottom, he focused on one objective—the two-mile track district race. After years of work, he finally qualified for the race during his senior year of high school. Despite all of the doubts and last place finishes, Kabacinski’s work paid off. He earned a medal.
If you asked Kabacinski whether he imagined himself running the 26.2 miles of the Boston Marathon—one of the most competitive races in the world—he would probably look at you like you were crazy. “In my sophomore year of high school, I was running 5Ks at the same pace that I run my marathons now,” he said. “If you told me then that I would run a marathon in my sophomore year of college—let alone the Boston Marathon—there is no way I would have believed you.” Kabacinski first experienced the Boston Marathon as a senior in high school. He visited Boston College on Admitted Eagle Day and immediately fell in love with the incredible spirit and passion displayed by the BC community, screaming and cheering for runners passing Mile 21. Kabacinski was eager to continue his passion for running at BC. After his first marathon experience, he grew fascinated with the idea of running the long distance races. He decided to pursue running throughout his freshman year of college. After considering walking on to either the cross-country or track teams at BC, Kabacinski decided to make his dream of running marathons a reality by gradually increasing his distance each day. Five miles led to 10, and gradually to 12, 15—the number continued to rise. The events of April 15, 2013 opened a door to numerous possibilities for Kabacinski, putting his ideas about running a full-length marathon into new perspective. The bombings. The chaos. The screams and cries for help. All of these images remained with Kabacinski in the aftermath of last year’s marathon. This tragedy, however, drove Kabacinski
to reach a new level. He focused his energy not on hatred, anger, or fear, but on motivation. He wanted to make a difference by doing what he feels he is meant to do—run. Not for himself, but for the victims of the marathon, the families of those victims, fallen MIT police officer Sean Collier, and the city of Boston. Kabacinski began putting in the work needed to run a 26.2-mile race. Throughout the summer after his freshman year, he trained every day in hopes of completing the long distance of the Steamtown Marathon in October. The result was better than he could have imagined. Although he missed officially qualifying for the Boston Marathon by just two minutes, Kabacinski completed the race and was hungry for more.
Emily Fahey / Heights Editor
Kabacinski wanted to run for a purpose. During high school, he ran with his team and had the support of each member as they all trained together, day in and day out. As a sophomore in college, though, Kabacinski wanted a new team that would motivate him to run for a good cause. He began looking for various charity teams that would sponsor competitive runners in the Boston Marathon, and he decided to apply to the town of Wellesley’s program, which had a limited number of spots and did not specify which charity would be given to individual runners. The whole process would take a few months. So he waited. Just when it seemed like there was no hope, no possibility of running for a greater cause and fulfilling his long-term goal of racing in the Marathon, Kabacinksi received an email on a brisk fall afternoon in November, offering him a sponsorship with the Wellesley Education Foundation (WEF). He was ecstatic. After months of waiting, Kabacinski was lucky enough to be given an opportunity to accomplish his dream finally. His assignment was to raise $4,000 for WEF. After sharing the news with his parents and friends, Kabacinski accepted the offer and began working with the organization, a private foundation that mainly funds innovative and creative projects within Wellesley’s public schools in order to enhance the learning experience for children. Kabacinski personally is passionate about education. The BC sophomore is studying English and Medical Humanities, and he is also president of BC Reads—a club that promotes literacy within the greater Boston area. Running for WEF, then, creates a crucial bridge between the action of running and his purpose for doing so. Along with his love of words and literature, Kabacinski decided that the best way to raise awareness for WEF and accumulate $4,000 of donations was through an online blog titled “Run the Course.” With the help of Twitter and Facebook, Kabacinski has disseminated information about his cause and WEF, accumulating over $3,000 in donations, and nearing the $4,000 mark as the marathon edges closer. Aside from working to gain donations, Kabacinski’s blog serves as an outlet to reflect on his training and share his running experiences. His blog features various short posts, ranging from “Running from, Running for,” wherein he outlines his motives for running the marathon, to “Running Christmas List,” as well as his personal Twitter feed. “I like having a place to go to describe what
Chris Kabacinski, A&S ’16, is raising money for the Wellesley Education Foundation. I’m going through and how I’m feeling,” he said, “because a lot of people do not see or experience the other side of training. Marathoning is about the miles, not just the time, and about how you’re feeling and the support you’re getting along the way.” Indeed, Kabacinski said that he has received much enthusiastic support from Boston’s running community as he works to complete his 16-week training program. Last weekend, Kabacinski enjoyed a run on a cloudy Saturday morning up Comm. Ave. As he trudged up the steep hill that makes up Mile 21, hundreds of people decked out in compression shirts and neon-colored shoes were high-fiving each other and giving out words of encouragement to other passing runners. Another group of people was handing out cups of water. Still another was handing out gels. The palpable energy and enthusiasm on Comm. Ave. that overcast morning allowed Kabacinski to run by BC with a huge smile on his face. “The community up here is amazing and so supportive,” Kabacinski said. “I don’t get that back at home, and it’s invigorating.” Although training has gone well for Kabacinski over the past 16 weeks, there was a time where he was unsure if he would be ready for the race. For a period of two weeks, Kabacinski battled a combination of strep throat and foot injuries, and he wasn’t even sure that he would make it to the starting line. Perhaps his biggest hurdle this season occurred last week—when Kabacinski was not only recovering from his illness, but was compromising a balance between school and fitness also. “Last week, there was too much going on with school and other activities,” Kabacinski said. “I have to get out there every single day and train. I don’t ever take a rest day. My training is about getting in the mileage each day, and last week was a struggle, running a lot of miles and making sure I had the time for it.” During those difficult times, Kabacinski was motivated by the various people who allowed him to reach this moment. WEF has been an influential resource to Kabacinski throughout his training, and the people who run the organization refer to themselves as his “Massachusetts Moms.” The organization is always eager to speak to Kabacinski and discuss his training at any time. He regularly communicates with the organization through FaceTime, and the women frequently offer him water and support throughout the week. Kabacinski is also very involved in the organization’s activities. He visited a technology exposition hosted by WEF last weekend,
and he hopes to attend more educational events in the future. One of the individuals who has worked with Kabacinski over the past seven years is his friend and coach Dave Levandoski. He is just a few years older than Kabacinski and a former teammate from the cross-country team in high school. Levandoski has remained a powerful influence in Kabacinski’s life and has given him the inspiration to perform at his personal best. Levandoski coached Kabacinski during his senior year of high school when Levandoski returned as a distance coach on the track team. From December until March, Levandoski coached Kabacinski through personal workouts, stretching, foam rolling, icing, reading, and eating in order to train properly for a twomile race that would last about 10 minutes. “Being his coach, the first thing I noticed about Chris was his character,” Levandoski said. “He has always had a great attitude, no matter what he was doing—he was never mad, angry, grumpy, or whiny. You could say jump, and Chris would ask how high. The work ethic I saw that year was unmatched, and still is.” Although Levandoski is slightly older than his friend, he looks up to Kabacinski for his personal character and ethics, and for his ability to see the true beauty in running. He is proud of Kabacinski’s training over the years and believes that he will make a tremendous impact on WEF. “If something has meaning or purpose, Chris will put his heart into it,” Levandoski said. “This year, running for Boston means a lot more than a marathon. It means remembering those who were affected by last year’s tragedy. Chris is not only running for himself and for WEF, who he’s put in so much time fundraising for, but he is also running for his city, for Boston.” The 118th Boston Marathon is set for April 21. Through all of the long runs, vigorous training, and fundraising over the past five months, Kabacinski has reached his athletic peak—a far cry from a kid struggling with sports in Scranton. Still, his focus is less on running than it is on purpose. WEF gave him that chance, and Kabacinski is thankful every day that he can run to promote education. “The race is not about me,” he said. “This race is about raising money for this great program. My hope is this race will help kids question how they see the world.” n
Krause sees Marathon as chance to build community Krause, from B8 is conducting research with him. “He treats us like actual scholars,” she said, “not just as students.” This sense of scholarship is important to Krause. Knowledge, he believes, can alleviate fear. To that end, Krause gave a public lecture this past Tuesday night called “Terrorism and the Boston Marathon: Fear, Hope, and Resilience.” Wearing a black suit and a bluecheckered shirt, Krause demonstrated his strong professorial presence as he paced in front of the lecture hall, delivering the same message espoused in the letter he wrote almost a year ago. If a community can come together and channel its emotions into meeting positive goals, such as doing service work or, of course, running commemorative marathons, then terrorism is a failure. He exhorted those attending the lecture to support this weekend’s Campus School Bandit Run, designed to replace the Boston Marathon in which students like Bademosi will now not be able to complete. “I’m going to be out there cheering them on,” he said. Sitting in his office last week, Krause looked like the scholar that BC knows him to be—a collar and a tie, a wall of books behind him with titles like Arms and Influence by Thomas Schelling
and Inside Terrorism by Bruce Hoffman. But the shoes he wore underneath his desk—an older pair of blue Nike Pegasus 30s— identified him as the dedicated marathoner that he’s become. He hoped that wearing the shoes would help his knees recover from his triumphant 20-mile run around the Reservoir, about which he was still feeling good. “If you’d talked to me two weeks ago I would still have thought I would have run, but I would have been very worried about if I had to walk a lot, or whatever else,” he said. “But now I feel that, barring some big thing, I’ll be able to run at a pretty good clip, which is good.” Being able to train on the dirt path around the Reservoir has been better for his knees than the pavement forced on him for the majority of the training season by a harsh Boston winter. The carriage road between BC and the Newton fire station was one of the few sufficiently cleared paths, and he joined a slew of other aspiring marathoners looking to take advantage of the seven-mile stretch. There, they were together in their struggle, and a friendly nod or encouraging thumbs-up was good for Krause—the solitude of running is not like the team sports he knows so well. In sports like basketball, Krause can focus on several tasks at once, but while running, he has to work hard to quiet the voices in his head that tell him to slow down or take a break—no one would know if he stopped running on any of those random, blistering cold days in January.
Emily Fahey / Heights Editor
Peter Krause is an assistant professor of political science at BC and an expert on terrorism. “I get out there and I say, ‘Why did I do this in the first place?’” he said. “It wasn’t for fun. It was because I was sitting in this office last year when the bombs went off at the Marathon after having been there an hour before watching it with my wife, and feeling that this is something I want to do to honor the victims and the first responders.” For Krause, those people are the team with whom he runs. “We get to decide if we respond to these terrible acts with fear and hatred or with renewed community spirit,” he wrote in his letter last year.
When Krause experiences the culmination of his efforts on Marathon Monday, the support of his wife and family, who plan to make posters and be at more than one spot along the route, will serve as evidence of the community spirit that Krause hoped his letter would help inspire. While he is running, Krause yearns for the crowd not to cheer his name, but the names on the white shirt he will be wearing during the race—Krystle, Lingzi, Martin, and Sean. It is those names—the names of those lost but still remembered—that will carry him to the finish line. n
THE HEIGHTS
Thursday, April 10, 2014
B7
‘Dear Boston’ exhibit commemorates Marathon BY SARAH MOORE Heights Editor Currently, the Boston Public Library’s McKim Exhibition Hall holds 150 pairs of running shoes, tattered from the 26.2-mile stretch they endured before being left in Copley Square. These shoes, Sharpietattooed with messages of support and inspiration, were just a few of the items left in the makeshift memorial that arose in downtown Boston after last year’s Marathon and are now the centerpiece of a BPL exhibition entitled “Dear Boston: Messages from the Marathon Memorial.” In the wake of the Marathon bombings, hundreds of t-shirts, flowers, posters, and shoes accumulated in Copley Square to create a makeshift memorial that offered support to both the victims of the attacks as well as to Boston in general. Now, in preparation for the Marathon’s quickly approaching anniversary, select items from the memorial are on display in the Central Library, aiming to provide viewers with a place for reflection. The “Dear Boston” exhibition opened on April 7 with a ceremony led by Mayor Martin J. Walsh, WCAS ’09, and will continue to highlight the hope of the people of Boston until May 11. The exhibition, curated by Rainey Tisdale, is a collaborative effort between the BPL, the New England Museum Association, Iron Mountain, the Boston City Archives, and the Boston Art Commission. It is divided into three major sections that transition viewers from memories of the attacks to examples of courage and hope in their aftermath. The original memorial was carefully dismantled in June of 2013 and preserved by the Boston City Archives from where Tisdale selected noteworthy items that now make up the exhibition. Among the
Heights Staff For almost a decade, adaptations to climate change and reduction of greenhouse gas emission have been some of Boston’s major goals. Considered to be one of the most sustainable cities in the nation, Boston is already over halfway to reaching the outlined goal in Boston’s Climate Action Plan—to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2020. The city is well on its way, according to a Climate Action Plan update on the city’s official website, currently boasting a 14 percent reduction since 2005. Recently, the city’s commitment to environmental responsibility has been recognized globally, and Boston was invited to join the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group. Cities are invited to join the organization based on population size, economic output, and commit-
MATT ROURKE / AP PHOTO
Boston citizens compiled their condolences last year in memory of the bombing victims, Martin Richard, Lu Lingzi, and Krystle Campbell. posters and running shoes are numerous handwritten notes and sentiments establishing the thoughts and words of people as the display’s focus as opposed to commentary by the curator. Included in these words are the condolences from a Sandy Hook mother, a pair of maroon sunglasses with “BC hearts Boston” sketched on the frame, and multiple suggestions of hope from areas across Massachusetts and the rest of the nation. Though only running into early May, the “Dear Boston” exhibition is a portion of a larger series of events entitled “#BostonBetter,” in which Boston-area culture centers, such as museums and libraries, will host various programs geared toward helping Boston be “better” throughout April for the first anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing. This effort, which encompasses more
than 35 events in April alone, hopes to achieve a sense of healing, reflection, and connection throughout the Boston community culminating in a series of discussions and community outreach on April 15. In addition to the participants of “Dear Boston,” the participating partners of #BostonBetter include the Boston Children’s Museum, the Cambridge Public Library, Design Museum Boston, and the Museum of Fine Arts, among others. The “Dear Boston” exhibition and #BostonBetter have already seen a positive response within the community as viewers lined the library an hour before the display opened on Monday, which is hoped to continue throughout the remaining events scheduled up to and following the one-year anniversary. After the May 11 ending date, all of the items displayed in “Dear Boston: Mes-
sages from the Marathon Memorial” will be preserved by Iron Mountain, a storage and information management service, and will be available to the city at any time if needed. In addition to preserving the items that created the makeshift memorial in Copley Square, viewers of the display are encouraged to leave notes on a tree as they exit, designed to emphasize the sense of community that the exhibit is working to establish. “Dear Boston represents our strength and solidarity not only as a city, but also as a community that supports one another through even the most difficult of times,” Walsh said in a March 31 press release. “I encourage people—residents and visitors alike—to visit the exhibition, experience the resilience of the people of Boston, and view the messages of hope and healing.”
ment to and leadership in taking action on climate change. Originally founded in 2005 by former mayor of London Ken Livingstone, the group is an invitationonly coalition of the world’s largest cities, working to implement meaningful and sustainable climate change locally in order to affect change on a global scale. In 2006, the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group formed a partnership with the Cities Program of former president Bill Clinton’s Climate Initiative. The two organizations work together to address climate risks and impacts and increase energy efficiency in cities around the world. The current chair is Mayor of Rio de Janeiro Eduardo Paes, and former C40 Chair Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York serves as president of the C40 Board of Directors. Mayor Martin J. Walsh, WCAS ’09, has acknowledged that climate change has serious implications for the city, and he has expressed excitement to
be named as the 67th city to become a member of C40. “The City of Boston is proud to join the C40,” Walsh said in a press release. “Boston has set out to be an example to cities in the region and across the country in setting aggressive greenhouse gas reduction goals, preparing for unavoidable changes in climate, and working closely with our residents, businesses, and institutions to ensure that climate action promotes economic vitality and social equity.” C40’s global field staff works directly with the governments of the cities within the group to facilitate effective change and active exchange across the world’s megacities. Walsh hopes that Boston’s new partnership with the organization will not only provide valuable insights and partnerships with other cities in the C40 network, but will also serve as an opportunity to share with the world what Boston has already done.
The Boston Climate Action Plan provides an outline for the city’s past and future endeavors in the fight to reduce emissions and prepare for climate change in the years to come. The plan stresses the importance of action by both the community and the individual. Boston has installed an extensive bike path network, and there are 50,000 fewer registered vehicles in the city than there were five years ago. Citizens have installed over 11 megawatts of solar energy in their homes, and the city has set a goal of 35 percent tree canopy coverage by 2020. Although emissions have b e en reduced significantly in the past nine years, the switch from coal to natural gas brought about over 50 percent of that reduction. As a result, the city encourages citizens to turn off lights, utilize recycling receptacles, and lower thermostats by two degrees in the winter.
BOSTON FOODIE Restaurant brings city a taste of Greece Gyro City offers traditional Greek cuisine near the Fenway T stop BY KATIE BU
For the Heights Peterborough St. near the Fenway T stop offers a diverse array of restaurants, including the beloved El Pelon Taqueria, traditional Thai food from Rod Dee, and coffee and crepes from Neighborhoods Cafe. Just three weeks ago, this impressive collection of restaurants welcomed its newest addition—Gyro City. Gyro City offers fresh, authentic Greek food at college-friendly prices daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Prepwork begins at 6 a.m. in order to
LOCATION: Peterborough St. CUISINE: Greek SAMPLE DISH: Gyro City Salad
Reminder to love what is old MAGGIE POWERS
Boston joins C40 Climate Leadership Group BY MAGGIE MARETZ
THE HEART OF THE CITY
ensure that all of the food—which is handmade on site—is ready for the lunch crowd. Friends and owners Paris Skarlatos and Paul Christopher first came up with the idea for Gyro City about two and a half years ago. Christopher’s father, Jimmy Christopher, has enjoyed a successful career in the restaurant business since he opened his first restaurant in his hometown of Kalamata, Greece when he was only 18 years old. In 1972, he opened his first Americanbased restaurant in the Boston area, which served traditional Greek food. Paul Christopher has been exposed to the restaurant industry his whole life. Mediterranean chef Skarlatos has extensive cooking experiences as well—prior to opening Gyro City, Skarlatos most recently worked as a chef at the Omni Parker House Hotel in Boston. Skarlatos and Christopher share a long history of passion for food. Gyro City promises “a taste of Greece in the heart of Boston” and pro-
vides it well. The traditional Greek menu and the establishment’s use of ingredients imported from Greece prove that the restaurant is focused on authenticity and quality above all else. Its consists of classic favorites and is kept intentionally small in order to develop a more specific identity. Skarlatos describes the restaurant as a “meat paradise” given its various gyro (rotisserie), souvlaki (skewer), loukaniko (sausage), and bifteki (burger) options. The traditional pork gyro is served with tomatoes, onions, parsley, and tzatziki sauce wrapped in warm pita bread. Fries are served inside the pita, the traditional way they should be served. The menu also includes various salads, including a special “Gyro City Salad” dressed with their special Gyro City sauce. Even the interior design mirrors an authentic Greek grill. Customers can watch their food being carefully prepared from start to finish through the glass that separates the grill from the customers. Wrapping pita for the sandwiches is an acquired skill, which must be done carefully so that it won’t fall apart as the customer is eating it. The current staff consists of people who personally know the owners, including family and in-laws, until new employees can be fully trained. Gyro City looks to serve its customers with a new type of “fast food” that
is fresh and made to order. Moving away from the traditional American notion of fast food, Gyro City offers a healthier and tastier meal that is still efficient in terms of cost and time. The prices are reasonable—gyros and pitas start at just $6.99—and quick service appeals to mostly young professionals and college students. Skarlatos and Christopher were excited to open their restaurant in the heart of Boston. Gyro City’s Logo combines a Greek-styled typeface with four images of iconic Boston features, including the Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge, 111 Huntington Ave., the Prudential Center, and the Citgo Sign. Skarlatos said that the idea for the logo came from the recognition of people’s love for the city. Although Skarlatos considers word of mouth to be the most important avenue for popularizing the restaurant, Gyro City is also already on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram in order to promote itself. The owners are holding their first annual Marathon Monday Gyro Eating Contest on April 21 and hope to organize future events as well. Skarlatos is happy with the quick success of Gyro City, and he described the experience of opening as “really exciting.” He urges people to come in and try their food. “It’s nothing like you’ve tried before,” he said.
The orange highlighter hopscotched across the pages in my hand as the B-line rattled up and down the hills of Allston. From my Converseclad feet propped on my backpack, to the reusable water bottle in my left hand proclaiming that I “support love” and that “consent is sexy,” to the dozen or so other passengers in the car I was a caricature of a college student. Across the aisle was a much older woman, probably in her 70s. At every stop, she would shakily rise to her feet and use the metal poles in order to advance to the front of the train, almost reminiscent of a child on the monkey bars. With all the arrogance expected of a 20-year-old, I mused to myself how awful it must to be to get old. How terrible it must be to be alone, physically weak, and no longer as beautiful or agile as you once were. As the B-Line wheezed to a stop, this woman unsteadily stepped off the train. To my surprise, she was not alone at all, but instead stepped into the waiting arms of her husband. For once, the agonizingly slow progress of the Green Line was a blessing—while the train was stalled, I was briefly allowed to intrude on her reunion with her husband. He gently kissed her hand with the cheesy tenderness expected in madefor-TV movie. Her eyes danced as she laughed at him. They turned and walked, shaky stride and steady arm, side by side. Only then was I ashamed of my original presumptions. Only then did I observe the grace in the way she carried her head and shoulders—a grace that only comes from years of living—or the beauty of the laugh lines I can only imagine her husband helped to etch into her face. On Monday, demolition crews in the Government Center station peeled back a wall of the station and a modern Blue Line sign only to find a mosaic reading “SCOLLAY UNDER,” according to The Boston Globe. Before it was dubbed Government Center in 1963, this central point of the city was called Scollay Station. The mosaic dates back to 1898. The tiny maroon tiles create an intricate background for the elegantly seriffed typeface. “It’s really a piece of craft. It’s a beautiful, creative thing,” Brian Howland, resident engineer for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, told the Globe. “As soon as they saw it, they knew it was something important.” In the push to modernize the city, the discovery of subway sign is not only a palpable reminder of the city’s history, but perhaps another illustration of what that elderly couple reminded me of the other day. In Boston, a place where skyscrapers have risen up around the Old State House and cobbled roads are known to peep through cracked pavement, islands of history in the sea of modernity are nothing out of the ordinary. Yet, as one of the major transportation hubs in the city is renovated, the cliche lesson is clear. As the modern overtakes the historical, one must regret that a mosaic, a work of art, was covered up with a garish, industrial plastic sign. In some ways, Boston can share the arrogance in which I found myself while observing the elderly woman on the T. According to the U.S. census, Boston, with a median age at 30.8— 6.8 years below the national average— is a youthful city. Predictably, there is a popular desire for innovation and development. However, there is great beauty in age. Just as I needed to reassess my attitude of the old woman on the T, Boston needs to remember not to sacrifice the elegance of the old for the temptation of the new and innovative. As a city and as a college student, the T can remind of a reality it is rather easy to forget. Growing old is a privilege denied to many—don’t take it for granted.
Maggie Powers is an editor for The Heights. She can be reached at metro@bcheights.com.
METRO
B8
THURSDAY, APRIL 10, 2014
BOSTON MARATHON
2014
PROMISES KEPT
There are few events that bring communities together more than marathons.
I am running the Boston Marathon next year.
Who is with me? - Professor Peter Krause Letter to the Editor, 4.15.2013
EMILY FAHEY / HEIGHTS EDITOR
Running the Marathon with Professor Peter Krause BY RYAN TOWEY Metro Editor Peter Krause is usually a cautious athlete. If he finds himself hurting during a basketball game with friends, he quells his competitive nature and takes some time out—no use making it worse. The 34-year-old Boston College assistant professor of political science applied the same mentality to his training for the Boston Marathon. When he pulled his hamstring while preparing for a half marathon in the fall, he spent a month healing. When an IT band injury started plaguing his right knee after Spring Break, he took two weeks off from his 18-week Hal Higdon running program. But as he began his 20-mile run around the Chestnut Hill Reservoir—his first run in two weeks and his longest before his first marathon—the time for caution was running out. The Boston Marathon was 23 days away, and he had a promise to keep, a promise made to the thousands of people who read a letter he sent to The Heights last year in response to the bombings that rocked the city. When his right knee started throbbing by the 4-mile mark, Krause knew he was at a crossroads. He ran through the pain. On the same day that he promised to run the Boston Marathon, Krause swore that he never would. He and his wife, Alissa Goldhaber Krause, a Suffolk County assistant district attorney who grew up in Chestnut Hill, were at a party in Washington Square hosted by one of
Alissa’s high school friends to watch the 2013 Marathon. As they cheered for the passing runners, Alissa asked her six-foot-four husband whether or not he would ever consider running the race. “Not in a million years,” Krause said. Though he could play team sports like basketball for as long as he wished, Krause had never run more than five miles in his life. The last time he tried was at Frisbee practice in college, and it nearly killed him—he was more than happy to remain a Marathon spectator. “I respect those who do,” he said, “but running 26.2 miles just isn’t for me.” Four days ago, Alissa called these her husband’s “famous last words.” After spending an hour at the party cheering on the runners, Krause left to finish some grading in his McGuinn 229 office at BC. His wife stayed behind. Alissa did not remain at the party for much longer than an hour after her husband left, leaving to run a couple quick errands. She made her way through spectators along Beacon Street to make sure their taxes were postmarked on time at the post office, and she stopped by a Trader Joe’s near their Coolidge Corner apartment. Then her phone rang. It was her mother, calling to alert her to the first rumblings of news that something was not right at the finish line. Alissa looked through the windows of the Trader Joe’s to see the runners still moving at a normal pace and the spectators still cheering—everything seemed okay at mile 24. Her mother, however, was insistent. After immediately calling her husband to relay her mother’s message, Alissa left the grocery store to find a very different atmosphere
on Beacon Street. Police officers were on the road, rerouting the marathoners and shouting at the crowd to get off the streets and return to their homes. “I actually started to run to get back to our building,” she said. In less than 15 minutes, Alissa was back in the sixth-floor apartment that she has now shared with Krause for about four years. She turned on the television and heard her husband’s voice. Krause was already conducting a phone interview with one of the many news stations that would call him on Marathon Monday and during its aftermath—New England Cable News, MSNBC, ABC-Boston, CNN. Krause, who earned his Ph.D. at MIT, has a strong background in Middle East politics and the causes and effects of terrorism. He frequents local news stations that are looking for an expert opinion on the topic. Alissa called Krause again, and they agreed that he should stay put at BC until more information came to light. “I remember feeling the same way on 9/11,” she said. “Is something else going to go off in an hour? What else is happening?” While Alissa sat frightened on one end of the Reservoir, Krause sat on the other end in his BC office—preparing to craft a response to her fear. He had put his grading to the side, but his students were still on his mind. In his 15week Introduction to International Studies class, which every sophomore in the major takes, one week is dedicated to the study of the causes and effects of terrorism. That week of study would begin the next day. He dreaded having to teach his students about
terrorism in a way that was not abstract, but that had immediate and personal implications. A native New Englander from Connecticut, Krause knew that Boston had been largely exempt from the threat of terrorism in the past, and he recognized that this was about to rapidly change. He understood that his students would, to some extent, have the same feelings that he had during his senior year at Williams College, when his friends woke him up (ever the academic, he had spent a late night working on his thesis) and told him about the first plane colliding with the World Trade Center. Together with his housemates, Krause watched the events that brought the nation to a standstill. His students would feel uncertain, Krause decided, about both the nature of the situation and how they could respond. “Maybe I should try to do something about this,” he thought. To ease their uncertainties, Krause penned a letter to the editor that was published through The Heights that afternoon and would receive substantial attention from local media outlets. “I don’t have any inside information about who the attackers are,” Krause wrote. “But I can say with confidence that they made a huge mistake.” A professor who prides himself on his objectivity, this letter was a departure for Krause. No longer just a professor who presented the facts, he had injected himself into the scenario as a participant. “I hate to run and have never run more than five miles in my entire life, but I am running the Boston Marathon next year and
I am raising money to send to the victims of this tragedy and the first responders who prevented an even greater one,” he wrote. “Who is with me?” Adejire Bademosi, A&S ’14, is one of the many BC students who aligned themselves with Krause’s call to action. When the bombs went off, Bademosi was studying abroad in Venice. After spending a harrowing Marathon Monday detached from her peers in Boston—she was restricted to using iMessage and Snapchat to learn about their well-being—Krause’s letter to the editor was just what she needed. Although she had never met Krause, she decided to email him in gratitude. Bademosi opted to follow his lead and run the next Boston Marathon herself by signing up to run with the Campus School. While Bademosi’s plans have encountered trouble as a result of the Boston Athletic Association’s stricter rules against bandit runners, Krause avoided this obstacle by raising money for the Children’s Advocacy Center, which strives to alleviate the trauma undergone by the victims of child abuse and their families during the legal process. Krause’s wife, who works for the Child Abuse Unit in the district attorney’s office, is heavily involved with the organization. Despite the uncertain future of her own Marathon run, Bademosi said that Krause was consistently a source of support during her training, asking about her progress and advising her to take some time off when she hurt her ankle. Now, Bademosi has a class with Krause and
See Krause, B6
RUNNING FOR A CAUSE WITH CHRIS KABACINSKI TO LEARN ABOUT THE RUNNING THE MARATHON BC SOPHOMORE’S ROAD WITH CHRIS TO THE MARATHON, KABACINSKI SEE B6 SEE B6