The Heights April 25, 2016

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SING IT TO THE HEAVENS CARDINAL SIN

CROWNED FEATURES

ARTS & REVIEW

SPORTS

Mr. BC Elio Oliva talks impressions and male pageantry, A5

University Chorale came together in Trinity Chapel this weekend for its Spring Concert, B8

BC took two out of three from Louisville over the weekend to return to the playoff picture, B1

www.bcheights.com

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The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College Monday, April 25, 2016

Vol. XCVII, No. 22

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Andres Pastrana Arango, the president of Colombia from 1998 to 2002, spoke at Boston College Saturday about the four components of successful leadership: conviction, courage, confidence, and communication. The event was part of the day-long third annual Latin American Leadership Conference and was sponsored by the Latin American Business Club of BC. The Conference also included talks by Ernesto de Lima, CEO of Organizaciones De Lima, Dr. Daron Acemoglu, MIT economist and author of Why Nations Fail, Santiago Pena, minister of finance of Paraguay, and Juan Pablo Garcia, Guerilla Demobilizing Campaign leader. Arango’s talk closed the event. He wanted, he said, to show the audience how Colombia has been dealing with terrorist groups within Colombia from his side, the side of the government. He also emphasized how global problems impact his country. Today, oil, gas, and other commodities are cheap, just as they are across the world. But there are also many problems that exist specifically in Colombia. “In 65 years, I never have lived one day in peace,” he said. Over the past few years Colombia has worked to create a strong middle class, decreasing the percentage of Colombians living in extreme poverty. “We have a real, real challenge in going back and bringing these numbers up,” he said. “We need to grow 6 or 7 percent if we want to

With the completion of his first season as the head coach of Boston College’s men’s basketball came the release of Jim Christian’s 2014-15 salary. According to the University’s Fiscal Year IRS Form 990, Christian, who was hired in April 2014, received a salary almost twice that of his compensation at Ohio, the school he worked at prior to BC. Christian received a base salary of $930,215, with a total compensation of $1,140,225 when including various additional fees, according to the 2014-15 report. That’s about a $100,000 increase from Steve Donahue’s salary in his final year as head coach at BC. Donahue, however, still appears on the report. He received $685,234 in total compensation as a result of his firing on a six-year contract. Donahue will also likely receive a similar amount in the next fiscal year. Director of Athletics Brad Bates and football head coach Steve Addazio received similar salaries to their first year on the books. Bates’ total compensation was $643,739, a $50,000 decrease from 2013-14—however, Bates received nearly the same salary ($516,715 in 2014-15 vs. $516,701 in 2013-14). Like Bates, Addazio also had a slightly lower total compensation. His $2,333,628 intake in 2014-15 was $200,000 less than what he earned total in 2013-14. Yet, also like Bates, his base sal-

ary remained mostly the same ($1,890,130 in 2014-15 vs. $1,810,964 in 2013-14). For the second year in a row, Addazio was the highest-compensated employee at BC. The biggest jump in compensation went to men’s hockey head coach Jerry York, who signed a contract extension in December 2013 that kicked in after 2013-14 and will last until the 2019-20 season. York earned a base salary of $491,259, yet received $677,311 in “other reportable compensation.” That, combined with other figures, led to a final total of $1,249,617. That total represents a 100 percent increase from his 2013-14 compensation of $626,953. For the first time since he was fired in 2010, former men’s basketball coach Al Skinner was not on the books in 2014-15. He was paid $585,069 in 2013-14, the fourth consecutive year he had been paid after leaving BC. BC released the information this week detailing its fiscal year, which stretches from June 1, 2014 to May 31, 2015. The section of the 990 that includes the compensation for BC’s 20 highest-paid employees, however, ends in December 2014 at the conclusion of the calendar year. An employee’s total compensation is calculated by the combination of what is reported as base compensation, “other reportable compensation,” “retirement and deferred compensation,” and nontaxable benefits. Federally tax-exempt organizations such as BC are required to fill out Form 990s with the IRS every year.

change those numbers.” He ran for president in 1994 after serving as a senator but lost the election. He ran again in 1998, however, and won at 42 years old, making him the youngest president of Colombia. The are several parts to being a good leader, he said: what he calls the “four C’s.” “The first one is conviction—the leader has to be convinced on what he wants to do,” he said. He pointed to the drug problem. They had to change the strategy in how to deal with the drug problem when he came into office. Colombia is the largest producer of cocaine, he said. In 1998, it planted 180,000 acres of coca. Looking at these figures, he said he was convinced to change the strategic efforts in combatting the drug issue. He also knew that he needed to talk to Europe and to the U.S. about the drug problem. He came to the U.S. first to convince President Bill Clinton that the U.S. and Colombia needed to work together on the issue because Americans were the largest consumers of cocaine. The plan gave Colombia bombs, helicopters, and other equipment to combat the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (RAFC), which was at the time the largest terrorist group in the world. They successfully strengthened the army, he said. Colombian forces numbered 10,000 in the beginning, and today they have over 110,000 soldiers—the largest army in the region. The U.S. gives Colombia $750 million a year, which he credits with helping to change the country. Next, he aimed to strengthen Colombia’s justice system. Arango knew that if the government wanted to end the drug issue, it needed to give the peasants and farmers a different way

to make a living. For guidance, the president looked at other nations that had dealt with similar issues. They found that Malaysia also had drug problems and that they had turned people off of the drug industry by establishing a palm oil industry. The Colombian government then decided to begin growing palm oil. When the president first began there were only 120,000 acres of it, but when he left office, there were almost 500,000 acres. The palm oil industry has proven to be a successful alternative to the drug industry, Arango said. Now, farmers and peasants are making much more money than they were before and are less involved in the drug cartel. A good leader also needs courage, he said, to defend his ideas and fight for what he believes in. In between his two elections for president, Arango knew he needed to make a change in his message. He saw that many people in Colombia wanted the government to work toward establishing peace in the country, so he told the voters that if he were elected president, the first thing he would do was go into the jungles where the leaders of the RAFC were stationed and talk to them. When he was elected, Arango escaped from his bodyguards to go into the jungle. He explained that during his presidency he had 60 bodyguards with him at all times. His friend, who was the head of his security, accompanied him on the trip and helped him get away from his bodyguards. When they landed, the people who met them in the jungle kidnapped the pilot and the co-pilot of the plane. The president was driven

See Arango, A8

21 and the finish line, but when I asked him that, he got a little quieter and thought a bit. Um, he said, it’s his best experience as an individual. He didn’t want to be unfair to the other stuff he’s done. Fair enough.

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uring an admissions panel last Tuesday, Russell Simons, next year’s Undergraduate Government of Boston College president and MCAS ’17, started crying. He was talking about his favorite BC tradition, the Marathon, and—well, he got a little overwhelmed. “It’s become such a big part of who I am, which is a big, sweeping statement to make, but I’ve never had a happier day in my entire life,” he said Friday morning. Simons ran the Marathon last year, on a whim, to raise money for Wellspring, a small social services center in Hull, Mass. that got a bib last-minute and was looking for a runner. Simons jumped at the opportunity to run Boston and raised $6,500 for the organization. He didn’t start training until after Winter Break—a tight schedule, but he got it done. “I literally felt like I was the only person running down Boylston, and I didn’t even recognize myself,” he said. “I was screaming at the top of my lungs—26 miles in and I was literally jumping up and down.” Meredith McCaffrey, next year’s UGBC executive vice president and MCAS ’17, laughed and looked at me: “I personally have no plans to run the Marathon.” I asked Simons if it’s the best thing he’s done at BC. A second before he was animated, jubilant, visibly nostalgic for the rush of Mile

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n terms of sheer length and complexity, this year’s election was messy. Candidates had to declare their intent to run in early February, but when two of three teams dropped out, the Elections Committee reopened the ballot and postponed everything until after Spring Break. After five more teams got in it, there was a primary and, finally, a general election, which didn’t wrap up until April 1. Simons and McCaffrey were one of the teams that got in it after the extension. McCaffrey was going to run with Olivia Hussey, UGBC’s current EVP and MCAS ’17, but Hussey dropped out for personal reasons. So she asked Simons instead. “It was very clear from the beginning that we had the same vision on everything,” McCaffrey said. Simons is the current UGBC vice president for student organizations, which means he meets with prospective clubs and helps decide whether they should be referred to the administration’s approval process. McCaffrey is a senator in the Student Assembly, where she has done a lot of work on the free-expression proposal. And yeah, they said, of course they’ve thought about leading UGBC before this year. It was hardly spur-of-the-moment. “I don’t think there’s anyone who doesn’t

See McSimons, A8

AMELIE TRIEU / HEIGHTS EDITOR

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THE HEIGHTS

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things to do on campus this week

The Boston College music department and Islamic civilization and societies department will hold the BC Middle East Ensemble on April 26 at 7:30 p.m. in Fulton 511. The program will consist of music from across the Eastern Mediterranean, from al-Andalus, to Egypt, to Lebanon.

NEWS BRIEFS :XdgY\ccËj :<F ?fefi\[ Denise Morrison, BC ’75, is the 2016 President’s Medal for Excellence recipient. The award was given at the 28th annual Boston College Wall Street Council Tribute Dinner on April 21. Morrison, who serves as the president and CEO of Campbell Soup Company, received the honor for her successful career and professional contributions to society. Before working for Campbell’s, Morrison worked as the executive vice president and general manager of Kraft Foods’ snacks and confections divisions. Morrison helped manage Planters nuts, Life Savers candies, and Altoids mints while at Kraft. Morrison was also listed as Forbes’ 80th most powerful woman in the world in 2011 and the 21st most powerful woman in business by Fortune Magazine. Between August 2012 and August 2013, Campbell’s launched 50 new products under Morrison’s direction. The Tribute Dinner, at which Morrison was honored, has raised over $24 million for the Gabelli Presidential Scholars Program at BC throughout its histor y. University Board of Trustees Chair John Fish, University Trustee Mario Gabelli, and University Trustee Steven Barry, BC ’85, all attended the dinner on Thursday evening. “To survive in this environment, companies must be agile to identify trends, make decisions and try new things quickly,” Morrison said in an article she wrote for Fortune Magazine. “My biggest worry is if we can go fast enough—patience is not one of my virtues.”

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Patrick Downes, BC ’05, a survivor of the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013, completed this year’s marathon on a prosthetic blade. He is the first Boston bombing amputee to complete the Marathon on foot. Downes ran to raise money for the BC Strong scholarship, which will be awarded to a student with a physical disability or a student who gives back to the community. The scholarship was created by the Class of 2005 in honor of Downes and his wife, who also lost a leg because of the bombing. Downes was featured in a panel discussion in Robsham Theater last year and credited the BC community with providing support during his recovery. “As the miles pass, he thinks of everything he loved about the sense of community and the spirit of service at Boston College, and imagines the first scholarship recipient arriving at the Heights to a warm welcome,” The Boston Globe reported, regarding Downes’ training for this year’s marathon. Downes finished the race in 5 hours, 56 minutes, and 46 seconds, which was three minutes before the first bomb detonated in 2013. He ran alongside his brother, his sister-in-law, and a BC friend, as well as a member of the military and amputee. “I ran with the city in my heart,” Downes said in an interview with CBS just after he finished the race.

Monday, April 25, 2016

On April 27, the Winston Center is holding a lunch with Robert J. Morrissey, during which students can meet with leaders in society. The lunch will take place in the Lynch Executive Center in Fulton Hall and will be held at 12 p.m. Students are asked to register as space is limited.

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Boston College is holding a Social Media Webinar on April 27 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. The webinar will address the current trends in social media usage, ways to increase engagement through social media, the implications of social media on teenagers, and teens’ usage patterns.

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9P 8E;I<8 F:8J@F =fi K_\ ?\`^_kj It takes about 660 gallons of water to produce one hamburger. The meat and dairy industries use about one-third of Earth’s fresh water. At Boston College’s second annual Earth Day Fair on Friday, stands displayed these facts, among others. The fair aimed to educate students about their impact on the Earth and was sponsored by the Undergraduate Government of Environmental Caucus. The Earth Day Fair hosted different stations of food organizations, clubs, vendors, and academics that students could visit to learn how to make an impact on the Earth. Students could grab a “passport” listing the different tables and organizations and check them off as they visited each table, with the opportunity to hand the passport in at the end and earn a free T-shirt or water bottle. The food stations included Equal Food Exchange, Every Bite Counts, Real Food, and BC Dining. Here, students could sample different food items and learn about where they came from and how they were produced. The BC Dining station had more vegetarian options that they hope to incorporate into BC’s regular meal options. “I didn’t know red meat was not that sustainable, so I liked the initiative of bringing more vegetarian options to our dining halls, and they actually tasted pretty good,” Ravi Dhouni, CSOM ’18, said after trying the Greekstyle pasta salad. The clubs at the fair included

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The Earth Day Fair was held on Stokes Lawn on Friday and featured student organizations, like EcoPledge. RHA, EcoPledge, Charity Water, Catholic Relief Ser vices, the Geology Club, and BC Bikes, all displaying how students could get more involved on campus in different ways. At the Charity Water table, students pledged to reduce their water footprint by eating less meat, taking shorter showers, and turning off the faucet while brushing their teeth. “The intention of the Earth Day event was to make students more accountable for their impact on the environment, particularly their consumption of water,” Maggie Gorman, vice-president of Charity Water, MCAS ’18, said. Other tables included L.L. Bean, Save that Stuff, BC Architect, the Office of Health Promotion, BC Energy Department, Earth and Environmental

Sciences and Environmental Studies, Student Research, and Sea Semester. “The main purpose of the Earth Day Fair is to educate students about sustainability and communicate that every human on the planet has the inherent responsibility to take care of the Earth,” said Carolyn Townsend, MCAS ’17 and director of environment and sustainability programming in student initiatives of UGBC. “And the way we’re doing that at BC is to show that it’s really easy to be sustainable and ‘be green’ and that there are a lot of resources on campus to do that.” To educate students, organizers set up signposts on the Stokes Lawn that students could read on their way to class. One of these posts stated that the average American produces more than

four pounds of garbage per day. Over the course of a year, that is more than 1,600 pounds of garbage per person. “We really just want people to be aware of what’s going on in the world and how they can contribute, and that’s something as simple as composting, eating less meat, learning about climate change, about how BC recycles, and about what energy they can use,” Anxela Mile, MCAS ’17, said. The UGBC student initiative of environment and sustainability programming worked closely with the administration to make the event as successful as possible. Particularly, they collaborated with Bob Pion, the sustainability program director. “It’s not just student clubs,” Townsend said. “It’s about BC as a whole.”

D@K Gif]\jjfi KXcbj DfY`c\ Dfe\p `e 8]i`ZX 9P :?I@J ILJJF 8jj`jk% E\nj <[`kfi As smartphones become more prevalent in the United States, countries in Africa may finally be catching up with the use of mobile technology, according to Tavneet Suri, a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management. Suri, who was named one of the world’s 40 best professors under 40, gave a talk titled “Technology and Poverty Alleviation” on Thursday evening in Fulton 511. The event was sponsored by the Shea Center for Entrepreneurship and the Tech Trek Ghana program. Suri discussed the rising popularity of mobile devices that support the money-transfer service M-Pesa, which she studied in 2009. M-Pesa primarily functions on old, secondhand Nokia phones, she said. “You know, the ones where you have to press a number three times to type the letter ‘C,’” Suri said. M-Pesa has become quite popular in Kenya in the last few years, she said. Suri herself is a fourth-

generation Kenyan and studies the impact of technology in developing countries in Africa. She stressed the importance of finance in poor countries when it comes to credit, saving, and insurance. M-Pesa has created an easier system by which poorer Kenyans can manage their money. Through the Nokia phones, M-Pesa allows people to transfer emoney between each other via text message. The virtual money is backed up by real money in a bank account not owned by the user. This is a great service for people who do not want to manage a personal bank account because the bank is too great a distance from their home, Suri said. Users withdraw cash by selling the e-money, or deposit cash and receive e-money through M-Pesa agents. The agents are usually small-business owners or microfinance institutions, and they receive small commissions when managing transactions. According to Suri, 96 percent of households where M-Pesa was available had an M-Pesa account by 2014 in Kenya.

POLICE BLOTTER

the Middle Lots.

11:57 a.m. - A report was filed regarding a larceny from Roncalli Hall.

12:24 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a larceny from Maloney Hall.

10:17 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a medical transport from Medeiros Hall.

Thursday, April 21 9:16 a.m. - A report was filed regarding a trespass warning in

“I decided to study how this affected people’s’ lives,” she said. Mobile money has created a safer and cheaper financial intermediation process, Suri said. Before M-Pesa was popular, many people would have to travel for miles to reach a bank. To avoid this journey, people would give their cash to someone in a van who would drive it to the bank and deposit it for them. This was a risky process, however, as drivers could steal money for themselves or be robbed at gunpoint. For years, she said, people did not feel safe with their finances. “M-Pesa lowered transaction costs dramatically,” she said. M-Pesa has also helped Kenyans create local businesses and take other financial risks by allowing for the creation of comprehensible insurance plans, Suri said. Users can make insurance plans that allow family members or friends to assume liability for the user. Often, family and friends will insure each other through their M-Pesa accounts. The process of linking insurance plans with trusted family and friends, Suri said, has created a more

entrepreneurial spirit. People are now more likely to use their money to create their own businesses and help grow GDP, as failure has become less risky. Suri has noticed a shift of a population of poor farmers to local businessmen driven by the economic incentive of profit. She was surprised when she discovered that unfortunate events lead M-Pesa users to increase consumption. For example, if a disease is spreading around a village, M-Pesa users will spend their money to purchase medicine, thus increasing consumption. People who do not use M-Pesa tend to save money for future food purchases to combat an expected decline in health. Users, however, are willing to take the financial risk and purchase medication, stopping the contraction of the disease early on. Looking toward the future, Suri believes that e-payments will reduce corruption between the government and private businesses. “Mobile mone y has really improved financial resilience,” Suri said.

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CORRECTIONS

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

4/20/16 - 4/22/16

Wednesday, April 20

12:43 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a traffic crash at an offcampus location.

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3:03 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a fire alarm in Stayer Hall. 11:16 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a medical incident in McElroy Commons.

—Source: The Boston College Police Department

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THE HEIGHTS

Monday, April 25, 2016

A3

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JULIA HOPKINS / HEIGHTS EDITOR

:fcfi]lc KiX[`k`fe Xk Jkfb\j 9P 9I@>@; B<CC<P =fi K_\ ?\`^_kj Colored powder ďŹ lled the air as students donned in white celebrated the Hindu religious festival of Holi on Stokes Lawn Saturday at 1 p.m. Organized by the South Asian Student Association (SASA), the Holi festival has been celebrated at BC for the last 10 years. One thousand students were expected to attend the event, co-president of SASA, Suraj Mudichintala, CSOM ’16, said, but the turnout this year ended up being just over 250 students. “Most students don’t know too much about the festival’s meaning, but that isn’t a problem,â€? Mudichintala said. “It is really just

about having fun, embracing the culture, and having a good time.� Holi is a celebration of spring and a festival of color, usually taking place in March or April. It is primarily celebrated in India and Nepal, but many universities across the U.S. celebrate, and students of all religious backgrounds are invited to attend. The powder, which was made of 500 pounds of flour and 500 pounds of chalk material, was distributed among the crowd in buckets. The participants then took the powder and threw it at each other. “At least we are providing a good Saturday,� Mudichintala said. “It fosters a sense of community. Everyone is throwing powder at everyone. It’s just everyone having fun.� „

From escaping the Rwandan genocide to jumping onto the tracks in front of an oncoming train, eight graduate students shared their stories and passions in the fourth annual Grad Talks event on Friday afternoon. Three judges—Scott Britton, associate university librarian for public services; James Burns, the dean of the Woods College of Advancing Studies; Vice Provost for Faculties Patricia De Leeuw, and Nekesa C. Straker, director of residential education—chose Bolun Chen, GMCAS ’17, as the winner of a trophy and $500 honorarium. Chen has published six papers in peer-reviewed journals and has received more than 60 citations. Erin Doolin, LGSOE ’17, currently serves as a graduate assistant at the Boston College Women’s Center and runs the Stand Up BC program, an educational program intended to teach students about bystander intervention. Doolin’s talk was titled “Stand Up BC: A Four Year Approach.â€? Doolin started by referencing her relationship with her brother. Growing up, the siblings did everything together: participated in the same activities, took the same classes, and attended the same school, Emerson College. When Doolin’s brother was called in to be the single witness on a sexual assault case at Emerson, she realized that rape culture is prevalent everywhere, even at her tiny, quirky college, she said. “This was happening to our friends, our classmates, to random people I was passing on Boylston Street,â€? Doolin said. When Doolin came to study at BC, she became involved with the Women’s Center under the University’s Title IX coordinator, Katie O’Dair. Doolin shared her story working with Stand Up BC, and referenced the growth of the program, which now has over 50 student volunteers and gives over 70 presentations a year. Doolin shared the upcoming goals of Stand Up BC, including tackling domestic abuse, focusing on LGBTQ issues, and implementing a separate program for athletes and seniors. Chen, the winner of the event, followed Doolin. Chen discussed the synchronized patterns of ďŹ reies ashing in a national park in Tennessee. Chen explained that neurological pat-

terns are responsible for their “internal clockâ€? and ashing in unison. He then spoke about the eects of neurological patterns on other animals in nature. Justin Cambria, who is currently pursuing a joint MBA and MSW, spoke about the problem of addiction in America. Cambria, who is now 2,451 days sober, spoke about how the United States needs to ďŹ nd alternate solutions to jail time for addicts. Rather, Cambria said that we need to start viewing it as a public health crisis rather than a a moral failing. Society needs to take steps to oer holistic support, integrative care, and treatment for addicts, Cambria said. “Recovery really unlocks the true beauty in life,â€? he said. Marcel Uwineza, a Rwandan Jesuit priest and theology Ph.D. student who expects to graduate in 2020, shared his narrative of escaping the Rwandan genocide, which took place in 1994. Uwineza ed from a church when it became a place of slaughter, leaving behind his parents and siblings, who were killed in the massacre. Uwineza shared his path to forgiveness when he travelled back to Rwanda to visit the burial ground of his family. While paying his respects, Uwineza came face-to-face with his family’s murderer, who had been released from jail. The killer got down on his knees and begged for forgiveness, Uwineza said. “‘I forgive you,’â€? he said. “When I uttered those words it felt as though the chains were cut from my legs. I felt free.â€? After his confrontation, Uwineza decided to drop out of medical school and become a Jesuit priest. Bobby Wengronowitz, GMCAS ’19, who is currently an organizer, teacher, and sociology Ph.D. candidate at BC, then gave a talk titled “Climate Justice Demands Compassionate Activism.â€? He emphasized the fact that people have known about climate change since before the Civil War, and yet not enough has been done to combat global warming. Wengronowitz also looked at the political history of climate change and showed how the issue has become more partisan in the last 10 years. He emphasized the need for activism surrounding global warming, but stressed that it needs to be done with compassion. “We are our own worst enemy in many ways,â€? Wengronowitz said. “But we are also our only hope.â€?

Erlinda Delacruz, LGSOE ’16, who is currently working on her master’s in mental health counseling, spoke next about how makeup shades perpetuate the idea of colorism in society. Colorism is discrimination based on one’s own skin tone, in one’s own ethnic or racial community. Delacruz shared her struggle of trying to ďŹ nd makeup that matches her skin tone as a Filipino women. She talked about how only the most expensive brands of makeup have created shades dark enough for her skin. Delacruz believes that this perpetuates white privilege, and weakens equality eorts. Danielle Heitmann, GSSW ’16, talked about the DSM-V, a manual that diagnoses mental illness. The guide, however, tends to perpetuate a negative stigma behind mental illness, Heitmann said. “Illness is only a piece of the human experience and never the entirety of one’s identity,â€? she said. Heitmann then attempted to put mental illness into a Catholic perspective. She believes that a Catholic voice is needed to combat the negative stereotyping of those who struggle with mental illness. “People are always more than their problems,â€? Heitmann said. Adam McCready, a second-year Ph.D. student in the higher education program who hopes to graduate in 2018, closed out the night with this talk, “What I learned by Jumping in Front of the Red Line Train.â€? McCready is currently studying the behavioral tendencies of college men, including hazing, alcohol abuse, and vulnerability. McCready shared a story that incited his work on the lack of emotion and vulnerability of men in society. On his way home from work one day, McCready witnessed a man fall onto the tracks in front of an oncoming train. McCready jumped onto the rails and rescued the unconscious man. “I can distinctly recall the adrenaline running through my veins,â€? he said. It took over a year for McCready to speak about his experience and every time he attempted to share the story, he broke into tears. He realized that men are taught to be strong and not show emotion. “I want my sons to be able to live in a society, to go to school and eventually college, where they can be intimate and vulnerable with others,â€? McCready said. „

8Zk`m`jk <ogcfi\j Jk\i\fkpg\j `e 9\pfeZ\Ă‹j ĂŠGXik`k`fe#Ă‹ ĂŠA\XcfljĂ‹ 9P JFG?@< I<8I;FE E\nj <[`kfi When Beyonce’s “Partitionâ€? came out in 2013, the singer received backlash for the sexuality in the video. Many critics questioned why she would release such a provocative video when she had just become a mom and had a largely teenaged fan base. Kevin Allred, a professor at Rutgers University and a speaker and writer, came to Boston College Thursday and addressed the three stereotypes of black women—mammy, a stereotype based in history in which the black woman cares for white men, women, and children; jezebel, a hypersexual, animalistic stereotype; and sapphire, an angry black woman stereotype—in Beyonce’s music and music videos. The AHANA Leadership Council hosted the event in lieu of ďŹ eld day, which had been cancelled due to inclement weather. Students who attended the event had the opportunity to win tickets to a Beyonce concert this summer. Allred aims to dismantle what is seen as “normalâ€? in order to create a more integrated society. He focuses on a wide array of topics from gender and sexuality to class and race. His presentation on Thursday was “Politiciz-

ing Beyonce,â€? an analysis of the singer’s role in dismantling the stereotypes of black women. The talk, he said, would be like a condensed class lecture. The ďŹ rst part of the talk was the part that would’ve normally been homework for his students. Instead of readings, he gave the audience some background information on the stereotypes of black females. Allred began by explaining the intersectionality of black women in that they cannot be reduced to simple and/ors. Black women are both black and female, not one or the other. “You cannot just analyze Beyonce’s work as the work of a woman,â€? he said. “Beyonce is a black woman.â€? Melissa Harris-Perry, a writer, professor, television host, and political commentator with a focus on African-American politics, wrote a book called Sister Citizen in which she describes how when you walk into a crooked room, you tend to bend your head to ďŹ t accordingly. This is done, Allred said, because it takes a lot of money and time to completely tear down the room and rebuild it. This, Allred said, is how black females face the world—like they’re walking in a crooked room. Allred pointed to other examples of black female artists’ work and how the public reacted to it.

Artist Kara Walker created a sculpture, A Subtlety, that was a black woman in the pose of a sphynx and made out of sugar. Walker knew that the response to the sculpture would exhibit the stereotypes that people place on black women. What Walker did not tell the viewers, Allred said, was she was ďŹ lming all of them reacting to the sculpture. Many of the viewers took inappropriate photos with A Subtlety and posted them online. Walker then took these responses and turned it into another exhibit. “What is the interaction with black women and the general public?â€? Allred said the sculpture asks its audience. The Nicki Minaj wax ďŹ gure at Madame Toussauds in New York City got a similar response from the public. Allred showed the audience several Instagram pictures, all of which were viewers posing with the singer’s body in sexually explicit ways. “Beyonce’s performance in ‘Partition’ might also have to do with the interaction between people watching what she’s doing,â€? he said. Allred then showed both “Partitionâ€? and “Jealous,â€? asking the audience for its reactions to the two music videos. In the “Partitionâ€? video, audience mem-

bers explained, Beyonce seems to have a lot of control over the unidentiďŹ ed male. In the opening scene of the music video, she is seated at the head of a long table, opposite the person—presumed to be a male—reading a newspaper. Beyonce also exhibits her power when she purposefully drops her napkin on the table. When she drops it, the beat drops, showing that she is in control of the music. The video, Allred said, demonstrates the diďŹƒculty that black females have with the jezebel stereotype insofar as they want to express their sexuality without conďŹ rming the stereotype. Just as the three stereotypes about black women can divide people, so can a partition. Allred asked the audience to identify some of the partitions within the music video. Many of the partitions that the audience pointed to were of Beyonce’s clothing in the video. For example, her glasses and her high neck collar both are partitions, creating a sort of wall between Beyonce and the viewer. As the music video progresses, however, she takes them o. Another scene in “Partitionâ€? shows Beyonce dancing on a stage with a light projecting a leopard print onto her. This light acts as a partition, Allred and the audience

concluded, and serves as a metaphor for the animalistic stereotype that people project onto black women. “This is a stereotype she’s pointing out to us rather than just being,â€? he said. The audience found that “Jealousâ€? is also riddled with partitions. The most glaring of all would be the partition between the two videos themselves—“Jealousâ€? and “Partitionâ€? could be one long video, as “Jealousâ€? is a continuation of “Partition,â€? but are segmented into two dierent videos. The person sitting at the table in the opening scene of “Partitionâ€? and the man who gets out of the car and runs to Beyonce at the end of “Jealousâ€? remain anonymous. Beyonce purposefully did this, Allred said, so that the audience members could assume this unknown person’s role. In putting the audience in the video, Beyonce makes the members of the audience guilty of objectifying her. She does this, Allred said, to show the audience that it continues to see black females as these stereotypes. “It’s not like she solved the stereotypes by doing this artistic performance of ‘Partition,’â€? he said. “But she calls out the questions and then she asks us... to unlearn the stereotype and break it down ourselves.â€? „

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Over 200 students participated in the first Boston College Dance Marathon in over 10 years this past Friday night through Saturday morning in the Plex. The event, which raised $17,000 for the Boston Children’s Hospital, involved 12 hours of dancing along with visits from local pediatric cancer patients and performances from an array of BC dance groups. “Our goal was simply to bring Dance Marathon to the BC community as a great cause and fundraiser,� Emmy Ye, the executive director of BC Dance Marathon, the social chair for the Sophomore Class Council and MCAS ’18, said in an email. “This is our way of raising funds and awareness for pediatric illness while having fun at the same time.� While dance marathons have become

massive fundraisers at many universities across the country, BC has not had one since 2005. The idea for the event started through the Sophomore Class Council back in October. This led to connecting with Children’s Miracle Network (CMN), the parent organization for the nationwide Dance Marathon organization. CMN connected BC Dance Marathon with the Boston Children’s Hospital as part of its fundraising model to keep the money raised close to the community and to have a local impact. Starting the process was daunting, Ye said, because the event was so open-ended, and there was no real precedent for what the event should be like. “We could have made Dance Marathon into anything we wanted, it was simply hard to ďŹ gure out what we wanted,â€? Ye said. For this whole school year, the Sopho-

more Class Council worked with the OďŹƒce of Student Involvement to contact local business sponsors, plan every detail of the event, and spread the word around campus. The Boston Red Sox, JP Licks, Whole Foods, and Marriot Hotels were a few of the many local businesses to donate to the event, and participants raised funds through contacting friends and family and posting donation links on social media. The event began on Friday at 10 p.m. with BC dance teams Aerok, Phaymus, and Conspiracy Theory performing at the opening ceremonies of the event. Then DJ Darren Roy, who has played several other dance marathons in the Boston area, spun records until 1 a.m. Throughout the night, the swing dance team Full Swing and Indian dance team Masti taught the participants lessons in their respective styles of dance. As the sun rose Saturday morning, ďŹ ve

children currently being treated at Boston Children’s arrived at the Plex with their families. The children joined the participants for games of Red Light Green Light and Simon Says, and were led in some dances by members of the Pom Squad and the BC Irish Dance team. The closing ceremonies included the children running through a Tunnel of Hope, a Dance Marathon tradition, and a testimonial from one of the families whose daughter was treated at Boston Children’s. Finally, participants formed the Circle of Hope, another Dance Marathon tradition, and the children went around the circle, cutting the hospital bands each participant wore for the entire night. “Seeing the kids in the morning made the entire process worth it,� Jack Donahue, the financial chair for the Sophomore Class Council and MCAS ’18, said.

“When you see those kids’ smiling faces, you forget about how tired you are or how much your feet hurt, and remember why you’re doing it.� The organizers hoped to leave a legacy for future dance marathons at BC. The plan, Donahue said, is to have the Dance Marathon be the signature event for the Sophomore Class Council every year. Donahue described how large and well-attended other schools’ dance marathons have become. Although they did not get the turnout they thought they would, Donahue hopes the BC Dance Marathon can become a staple on campus for years to come. “We hope that in the future, BCDM will grow to be a regular part of campus life, the way other fundraisers are, such as the Relay for Life,� Donahue said. “I would love to come back one year and see the Plex packed with dancers.� „

THE HEIGHTS

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Monday, April 25, 2016

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Kevin Eidt, BC ’00, only had eyes for the basketball net looming over his head. Only a second-semester freshman, Eidt was already involved in the men’s intramural basketball team and competed regularly in the Plex. He had his heart in the game, but little did he know just how much of an impact his heart would have on the Boston College community. While playing a game, Eidt went into sudden cardiac arrest and collapsed on the court. His close friend, Mark Ritchie, BC ’00 and a certified EMT, witnessed the fall and immediately began to perform CPR on Eidt, accompanying paramedics as they transported Eidt to the nearest hospital. Despite their attempts to revive Eidt, he ultimately passed away because of heart failure. Heartbroken, Ritchie founded Eagle EMS to care for BC students, and over the past 16 years, the student organization has developed into a respected on-campus authority while maintaining a casual student air. After acquiring its own first-response vehicle in 2012, Eagle EMS began 24/7 coverage of the local community and changed its name to BC EMS in Nov. 2014. Boasting 76 current members, BC EMS remains a completely student-run organization that holds the same state certifications as professional ambulance companies. The organization is divided into the departments of education, operations, and organizational development. The president and vice president oversee the organization as the members of the departments plan specific tasks. E MTs work both vehicle shifts , responding to emergency calls and performing on-site medical care, and standby shifts, attending games, concerts, and other major campus events and monitoring the audience. BC EMS works closely with University officials, such as the offices of the Dean of Students, Student Health Services, Student Involvement, Emergency Management, and BCPD, as well as with professional ambulance companies from the local community. These established relationships are best seen in their involvement in the Boston Marathon. “Our involvement in the Marathon has greatly increased throughout my time here,” said Kevin Zirko, LSOE ’16 and current president of BC EMS. He recalls the Marathon bombing in 2013 as a definitive moment for BC EMS that elevated the student organization to a new professional level. Until that point, BC EMS had mainly focused on monitoring campus, running a medical tent to treat BC students and distributing foot teams throughout Main, Newton, and Brighton campuses. In the aftermath of the bombing, all available medical resources were requested to treat the wounded at the finish line. The Boston Athletics Association (BAA) stopped the Marathon and housed runners at St. Ignatius Church.

PHOTO COURTESY OF KEVIN ZIRKO

BC EMS teams were stationed throughout campus and along the marathon route to provide emergency medical care for both students and runners, ensuring the safety of the community. With medical resources already spread thin, it was up to the remaining members of BC EMS to triage over 400 patients in the makeshift clinic, bringing new meaning to the place of healing. “For an hour or so, we were completely in charge, which was a huge test for the organization,” Zirko said. “We were able to step up, and it definitely makes you realize how important we are and how [we’re more than just for] BC.” Because of its performance that day, BC EMS has been included in the BAA planning committee each year, with

would dispatch the team closest to the location of the call to take care of the patient. This responsibility necessitates discipline and organization, which Jarmoc said has benefited her work ethic as a student. Being busy has helped her stay organized, she said. “One of the more difficult things of being an EMT, especially at BC, is also being a student,” Jarmoc said in an email. “I’m always trying to find the right balance between my life at school and my passion for BC EMS.” Hannah Bowlin, MCAS ’17, and Oliv-

“The pressure to perform is definitely there, and although it is stressful, I think it also helps motivate me to provide the highest quality care possible.” —Nicholas Favazza, MCAS ’18

members from the organization helping to plan the medical response along the entire route of the Marathon. In addition to its usual campus coverage, BC EMS staffs five to six students at three medical tents at the end of College Road, in front of St. Ignatius Church, and by the Chestnut Hill Reservoir for the Marathon. Grace Jarmoc, MCAS ’18, worked as the command post representative for BC EMS in the BCPD office, supervising the crews throughout the day. Before the Marathon, Jarmoc debriefed the EMTs working the event on Marathon Monday protocols, teaching them what illnesses to expect and running through practice scenarios. Once Jarmoc received an emergency call in the BCPD office, she

ia Spadola, CSON ’17, were in charge of BC EMS’ first-response vehicle and answered calls from the BCPD office. The most common locations for EMTs to go to on Marathon Monday are the Lower bathrooms, the Mods, and along the BC side of the Marathon route, to treat for alcohol-related head injuries. The EMTs would immobilize the patient’s head to prevent further injury to the neck or spine, look for other wounds, take vitals, and decide with BCPD if hospital transport is necessary. “The most difficult part of being an EMT is tailoring my subjective assessments for each patient I encounter, because no two people or medical issues are the same,” Spadola said in an email.

“[You have to make sure] you don’t miss any red flags,” Bowlin also said in an email. “Many patients are fairly routine and treating them can be normal, but staying on my toes and making sure we don’t miss anything important for a more serious issue can be difficult.” Nicholas Favazza, MCAS ’18, treated Marathon runners at the BAA tent in front of St. Ignatius. His team was responsible for assisting a physician, a physician’s assistant, and a physical therapist by performing initial patient assessments for runners who stopped by the tent. The most common health problems marathon runners faced with the warm weather were heat-related, such as fatigue, heat stroke, dehydration, and hyponatremia. The EMTs were tasked with massaging cramped muscles, providing ice baths, and supplying beverages high in electrolytes to replace necessary water and nutrients. “Working in medicine, your actions have an obvious effect on patient outcome, good or ill, and you always want to do right by your patient and give them a shot at recovery,” Favazza said in an email. “The pressure to perform is definitely there, and although it is stressful, I think it also helps motivate me to provide the highest quality care possible.” Throughout their time with BC EMS, the students agree that having an EMT license has meant more than another credential to put on a resume. BC EMS encourages personal and professional growth, with the students’ exposure to the love and dedication of professional EMTs shining light on a side of health care that is often overlooked. “Pre-hospital care still has a significant effect on patient outcome,” Favazza said. “Being a member of that

pre-hospital team and seeing that my actions allowed a patient to make it to definitive care and recovery is one of the most rewarding things I have ever experienced in my life.” Under the pressed uniforms, pounds of medical equipment, and crackling radios, the EMTs are still students at heart. For Zirko, the hardest and most rewarding aspect of being in EMS is helping his peers. He regards being a student EMT as an advantage for the patient, as he or she can advocate for both student and patient rights, and this belief has been supported by the patients’ gratitude at receiving treatment. “I was so surprised by how rewarding the job is,” Jarmoc said. “Hearing someone genuinely say ‘thank you’ after you cared for them makes the job worth it 10 times over.” It is also part of BC EMS’ mission to advocate for public health, teaching first-aid classes and providing first-aid kits for other organizations throughout Boston and the surrounding area, such as the Horace Mann School for the Deaf and various homeless shelters. Though most students initially join BC EMS for medical exposure, many fall in love with the administrative and community aspects of BC EMS, all in the effort to provide care for the whole person. “There’s so much more to our organization that I’d love for people to recognize,” Zirko said. “Yes, we may be there when your friend is drunk, but we aren’t there to get them in trouble—we’re there to help them get out of trouble.” For such a young organization, BC EMS has come far—from the initial heartbreak on the basketball court to the top of Heartbreak Hill. The organization remains just one call away.

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Like most Boston College students, I had originally planned to study abroad. But plans change, and now I find myself in a cubby in O’Neill, writing papers and cramming for quizzes, procrastinating by watching Snapstories of my best friends vacationing together in Greece. I only recently found out what FOMO means, but man, is it real. First semester of junior year was a blur. At some point I blinked and woke up with norovirus during finals, watching my friends pack their rooms into cardboard boxes to leave me behind. At least that’s how I felt at the time, and it’s how I’d been feeling for months. I felt static—physically, in my decision to not go abroad, and emotionally, in my failed attempt to cling to my status as an underclassman. All of a sudden I could hear the clock ticking, and I had the unfortunate realization that my time at BC is ephemeral. I’d been going through the motions, day after day. Lift, class, practice, library. Lift, class, practice, library. I wasn’t particularly happy, but had no real reason not to be, and the fact that most everyone I was close to was leaving on these grandiose adventures made me all the more anxious and nervous for what next semester would bring. Come January, my squad left for Lon-

don and Paris and Sydney, and I returned to Stayer with six random roommates and a direct I hardly knew. At first it was lonely, especially in the dead of a Boston winter. But their leaving forced change upon me, and for that I’m so thankful. I’ve used this semester as an opportunity to get to know myself outside the context of my closest friends. I’ve known these people since freshman year, some even longer. I’ve grown up with these people, adjusted to life away from home with these people. When I thought about it, there really hadn’t been a time at BC that I hadn’t had these friends available to me whenever I needed or wanted them. Because of this, I’ve spent significantly more time alone in the past few months, more than I probably ever have in my life. At a place like BC, where you’re surrounded by your best friends constantly, it’s hard to find, or even realize you need, a minute alone. While it’s wonderful to be able to turn to the people you love in times of sadness, laughter, anger, or excitement, there’s also something to be said for learning to process these feelings alone. To deal with these emotions on an individual level develops a deeper understanding of these emotions and has ultimately helped me become more in touch with who I am and what I want in my last year at BC. I’ve learned the importance of doing things for me. It’s all too easy to get caught

in the motions of everyday life—the clubs we’re part of, the sports we play, the classes we take, the social lives we choose to lead. This fall, I did the things that made me comfortable. I couldn’t tell why I didn’t feel like myself because I was doing everything I normally do, everything that had made me happy in the past. Everyone goes through times when he or she feels “off,” but can’t figure out why. We’re growing up, and change is imminent, even when we can’t see that. People argue that going abroad instigates this change, that being far away from a familiar place forces you out of your comfort zone and fosters personal growth. For many, this is undoubtedly true. I do believe, however, that it’s possible to have that experience without going abroad. In fact, I’m not sure I would have grown the same way that I have over the past four months had I been in Europe as I’d originally planned. There are certainly aspects of being abroad and traveling that can’t be experienced at BC. I think that the real sell for studying abroad, however, is to broaden your horizons and see the world through a different lens. While this may be harder to accomplish at BC, it’s certainly not impossible. I do feel left out almost every time I see pictures on Facebook of my friends abroad. Although I had the opportunity to spend a summer session in London, the experience is inarguably different. A semester allows for more travel and exploration, more familiar-

KELSEY MCGEE / HEIGHTS EDITOR

ity with the host city. These are experiences that I want to have, but it just wasn’t the right time for me. It’s a personal choice, and different for each individual, but I am confident at this point in the semester in my decision to stay at BC. I think about the new relationships I’ve formed. I think about the fear, sadness, anxiety, and pain that I’ve learned to overcome on my own. I think about my roles as a teammate, captain, student, friend, and sister, and how I’ve grown in these roles in more ways than I could have possibly imagined. And perhaps most importantly, I think about the clarity I’ve gotten on what I want out of my experi-

ence here at BC. I think that by junior year, what we need is a change. We need something new and exciting to get us over the wall of anxiety standing between now and graduation. For some of us this is an experience overseas, and for some of us it’s not—and that’s okay. We’re all going to be back on the Heights come September, revitalized, smiling through the fear of the future as we soak up the last two semesters we get to spend at the greatest place on earth.

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THE HEIGHTS

Monday, April 25, 2016

A5

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF ZOE ZHAO

9P 9I@>@; B<CC<P ?\`^_kj JkX]] Boston College Irish Dance formed a kaleidoscope of patterns on the stage, first in a perfect phalanx, then seamlessly transitioning to form concentric circles in homage to the arena of the Hunger Games. After an eight-minute routine as mesmerizing as the mockingjay’s haunting song, the dancers stomped their last step and broke the spell. The stunned audience rose to its feet in thunderous applause, and BCID team knew that the odds were definitely in its favor. “The crowd was in it for the whole dance,” said Madeline Jacob, LSOE ’16 and captain of BCID of the non-stop energy of last week’s annual ALC Showdown. “There was really no silent moment for them. It was really cool. Immediately when we finished they all stood up, which was crazy. And even the dancers stood up, which was such a huge compliment

for us.” Last week, BC’s most talented dance groups performed at a sold-out Conte Forum and celebrated the best of the school’s student dancing. With two titles at stake, BCID took home the coveted dance title of Showdown winners while, Presenting Africa to U (PATU) brought home the cultural dance award. Each team dedicated its schedule toward intense preparation for this showcase event, and its work paid off with highly coveted titles. BCID is led by co-captains Madeline Jacob and Betsy Hughes, MCAS ’16. With 26 members—25 girls and one boy—they practice three nights a week for a total of 10 hours on Brighton Campus. This was its second year competitively participating at Showdown after showcasing in the past. In 2014, BCID competed for the title and gave the now-senior captains a taste at what a title could feel like. “We didn’t have a theme that year, two

years ago,” Jacob said of its first competitive performance. “We didn’t have a lot of experience with the event. During our freshman year there was a part of the dance that got the crowd engaged and people were energized afterwards. From that moment on they wanted to win.” Siobhan Dougherty, MCAS ’17, cut the music to give its theme, the Hunger Games, a collective, exciting feel. The serious tone of the theme challenged the dancers to work on their facial expressions. The assistant choreographers Aine McGovern, MCAS ’17, and Bridget TeeKing, MCAS ’16, helped head choreographer Doughtery give this dance its unique touch. “[Facial expression] was not easy for most people on the team,” Hughes said. “We are not used to theatrically performing. Usually for Irish dance we smile, but this dance was serious and we had to look angry at some of the parts. We made everyone look in the mirror

and make themselves look angry.” As the dance began each member gave it his or her all. Intense preparation, excellent music, and passion drove them all into a crowd-engaging performance. The win will add more pressure to them for next year, the captains concluded. They credit their team’s unique determination for the win—they could see visible improvement between the first and third hours of their practices. The team has only existed for nine years, and Hughes feels that the win will help it be taken seriously. BCID’s main event each year is its Spring Showcase, during which the group performs 20 dances. Additionally, throughout the year it dances on campus, at cultural events, at a Red Sox game, and, especially near St. Patrick’s day, around Boston. PATU, BC’s only African dance troupe, won the cultural dance award. Kadeajah Goslin, the group’s captain and LSOE ’16, helped

bring the small but determined dance group to its first Showdown award. PATU was created in 1996 and focuses on Western African, Caribbean, and African diaspora styles. This group of nine dancers comprises the smallest number, but with five seniors there was a special emphasis on bringing back the title this year. Like BCID, PATU has one male dancer. PATU performs year-round at BC with a recruitment and try-out process after the fall Student Involvement Fair. It also performs around Boston throughout the year at locations including Rosie’s Place, a shelter for battered women, and other colleges like BU, MIT, and Brandeis. Come January, PATU began to practice every day in anticipation of Showdown. “Everyone is very dedicated, there is a lot of hard work,” Goslin said. “A lot of pain, blood sweat and tears, but it is worth it once the show is here.”

:_Xe^`e^ 8d\i`ZX# Fe\ 9`b\ I`[\ Xk X K`d\ 9P ;A I<:EP =fi K_\ ?\`^_kj Daniel Sundaram, MCAS ’16, has a big summer ahead of him. Partnering with the Bike and Build program, Sundaram, along with about 25 others, will cycle across the United States while stopping to assist in the construction of affordable homes. Ahead of the bikers lies the open road and the chance to form friendships in the name of community service. Four thousand miles separate Sundaram’s starting location in New Haven, Conn. from his destination of Half Moon Bay, Calif. Bike and Build, which has been an active organization since 2003, organizes and supervises cross-country bike trips that incorporate elements of service. Required to raise at least $4,500 prior to the beginning of the trip, riders contribute to and raise money for the program, which in turn supplies the riders with food, planning, and service opportunities for the summer while they ride from coast to coast. The elements of service provided by Bike and Build are as they sound—riders take an expected 12 days off of biking to work construction on an affordable housing build site. This element gives the riders an opportunity to provide service while they experience great swaths of American countryside. “I think this trip is the beginning to a commitment to service that I hope to continue for the rest of my life,” Sundaram said. As well as doing Bike and Build, Sundaram is currently applying to Officer Candidate School to be an officer in the US Coast Guard. Sundaram said that his commitment to service began as a student

in high school and has continued at Boston College. “I did Habitat for Humanity in high school, and I figured that this trip is a logical continuation of that,” Sundaram said. “Looking back on my experiences at Boston College, these experiences of teamwork and service is what made college [great] for me.” A former member of men’s club rowing at BC and an active athlete, Sundaram is no stranger to the teamwork lifestyle. But, the physical aspect of biking more than 4,000 miles is not something that he underestimates. Sundaram has been spotted by many riding on a trainer outside of Fulton Hall to raise awareness for his ride. He hasn’t exactly been a cyclist for a long time. Sundaram said that the only form of cycling he has really done is riding his bike around the neighborhood as a kid. But, this hasn’t stopped him. Sundaram has some very long roads ahead of him. Though he is concerned, he knows that he is riding for a cause greater than simply turning over the pedals. “Like I’ve said earlier, this trip is a beginning to that commitment to service, and I’m really excited to get out on the road,” he said. Thinking even longer-term, Sundaram said that this trip is a culmination of how he has lived life here at BC. “I feel like I’ve enjoyed myself and created a great spot and have learned how to succeed here,” he said. “The transition away from it is going to be really weird, but this adventure is going to be a great way to do that and is an affirmation of this lifestyle.”

JULIA HOPKINS / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Sundaram plans to bike across America in an effort to raise money for Bike and Build.

JULIA HOPKINS / HEIGHTS EDITOR

?fn Fc`mX 9\ZXd\ K_`j P\XiËj Di% 9: 9P A8D<J CL:<P =\Xkli\j <[`kfi I was running a few minutes late getting to the residence hall of Elio Oliva, CSOM ’17, to speak with him about his recent coronation as Mr. BC, so I sent him a frantic text letting him know I was a bit behind schedule. His response set the tone for the rest of our conversation. “No worries bro. I’m just chilling here in my room.” After an eccentric winning performance at the RHA’s annual “Mr. BC” pageant earlier this month, it was pretty unsurprising to find that the finance and English double major was a type-A people person. In another unsurprising move, Oliva showed little hesitation at our request for a photo-op—within minutes he had donned his crown and cape from the pageant, and began nobly making his bed. “I don’t want my mom to see these pictures and think that I have an unmade bed,” he joked, but with a drop of conceded seriousness. He proceeded to smooth out his sheets, rearrange his pillow, and brought us to a lounge to get down to the serious stuff. Fortunately for us, the cape and crown would remain for the rest of the interview. A newcomer to the Mr. BC pageant, and to male beauty pageants more

broadly, Oliva was candid in describing his lack of knowledge of the program— and furthermore his lack of odd talents. In fact, his own nomination took him by surprise. “One of my friends texted me saying, ‘Hey, a little birdie told me that you’re going to be in Mr. BC,’” he recalled of his first time hearing about his soon-to-be pageant debut. “I was like, ‘Uh who is this birdie?’” Though blindsided by this proposition, Oliva noted his response was succinct. “Why the hell not?” Though Oliva himself is humbly dismissive of his own talents, others would beg to differ. Along with those in the crowd, Oliva won the approval of the RHA—the student organization that hosted the event—in his interview beforehand. “RHA could not have been happier,” said Catherine Duffy, MCAS ’17 and RHA co-vice president of the student programming committee. “When we interviewed Elio, we knew that his personality and impressions were going to take him to the top—while all the guys gave it their all, it was Elio’s talent that got him the crown.” Certainly, his talent, a knack for celebrity impressions (many of which, naturally, managed to slip into the interview) is what earned Oliva the title. Ranging from Breaking Bad’s Jesse Pink-

man to presidential candidate Donald Trump, Oliva’s massively popular impressions, however, didn’t come without practice. Beginning as nothing more than a side hobby, Oliva explained that at some point last year, he captivated the room as he let a killer Jesse Pink impression slip at a party. “I let it slip, and I was like ‘Yo Bitches!’” Oliva said, slipping briefly into the Breaking Bad character he was imitating. “I was like wow, I can actually kind of do that.” As it turns out, Oliva most certainly can “do that.” His scripted stand-up performance of impressions during the talent portion of the show even carried into the Q&A portion, where he channeled the spirit of Matthew McConaughey to define beauty, among other triumphs. Adding to the confusion, however, was the stiff level of competition he faced as a contestant. A humble parodist in the midst of singers, dancers, and even a rollerblading accordion player, Oliva was keenly aware that any victory would have to be a hard-fought one. Admittedly nervous, Oliva felt the pressure from all sides—even his own camp. Receiving feedback from his friends in the audience while backstage, Oliva claimed that one threat in particular stood out as a contender for the

See Mr. BC, A8

THE HEIGHTS

A6

EDITORIALS

QUOTE OF THE DAY

;XeZ\ DXiXk_fe <]]fikj J_flc[ :fek`el\# <ogXe[ The first Boston College Dance Marathon in over 10 years, sponsored by the Sophomore Class Council, was held this past Friday and Saturday. It consisted of 12 hours of dancing and performances by various BC dance groups such as Full Swing and Phaymus, as well as other activities including visits by local pediatric cancer patients. In total, the event raised $17,000 for the Boston Children’s Hospital. Roughly 200 students participated in the marathon, which was held in the Flynn Recreation Complex. Since the event was the first dance marathon in many years, this relatively low turnout is understandable and should not discourage the continuation of this event in future years. This year should serve as the launch for future events, and students should continue to both promote and attend these events. The money goes toward a good cause, and the event effectively promotes awareness of pediatric illness. Dance marathons have found great success on other college campuses, but many of these other colleges are larger state schools such as Pennsylvania State and the University of Florida. These schools have different cultures than BC as well as much larger student bodies. The same methods used at these schools will most likely not generate the same levels of success at BC. Because of this, the event should be adjusted to bring in a greater number of students in the future. One way to do this is by looking at past events that have achieved great success. These events normally involve a high-level administrative group or something that involves a great portion of the student body, such as Showdown. Partnering with multiple groups would allow the Sophomore Class Council to attract more students. One of the reasons Showdown has achieved such success in the past is due to the wide range of groups involved and the connections many students have to at least one of these groups.

Monday, April 25, 2016

This year’s dance marathon involved partnership with a number of dance groups, as well as cooperation with local businesses. In the future these same efforts can be expanded to on-campus administrative and high-profile groups. Those planning the Dance Marathon in the future should look to partner with a powerful group on campus that can provide other outlets for promotion as well as other incentives for students to attend. This could include athletics, whose support could help generate interest in the event. At Northwestern University, for example, students have hosted a dance marathon for the past 42 years. In that time, the university has raised over $16 million. This kind of success could be replicated at BC, with time and a creative look at high-powered resources.

9p Yi`e^`e^ kf^\k_\i mXi`flj ^iflgj# k_\ ;XeZ\ DXiXk_fe nflc[ dfjk c`b\cp Y\ XYc\ kf XkkiXZk dfi\ jkl[\ekj% Showdown, which was held on Saturday, April 13, presents another issue in relation to the Dance Marathon. Two dance-related charity events within one week of each other could easily have caused apathy toward the second event. Because of the shared features of each event, this could present another possible partnership for the Dance Marathon. Partnering with Showdown, or another powerful event, would allow for advertising and promotion through multiple outlets, generating increased interest. By bringing together these various groups, the Dance Marathon would most likely be able to attract more students. This possibility should be seriously considered in order to increase turnout for the Dance Marathon and raise more money for the Children’s Hospital in the future.

“Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.” -G.K. Chesteron, Alarms and Discursions

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR A Reponse to “The End of Democracy” Joshua Behrens, The Heights’ resident Bernie Sanders cheerleader, wrote an astonishing piece yesterday, one about which all advocates for those American virtues of liberty and self-government should be angered. Though I have no desire to get myself again entangled in something like the relentless back-and-forth inspired by my LTEs on race issues earlier this year, Mr. Behrens’s piece is so extraordinary that I can’t help but write. Mr. Behrens admits that “the founding fathers did not plan for us to have a democracy,” for which I suppose I can be thankful. Many individuals erroneously but unapologetically believe that the United States is a democracy and hold to “Democracy! Unchecked democracy! Democracy everywhere and always!” These people evidently do not value the virtue of prudent restraint, but maybe that is to be expected. Fine—Mr. Behrens agrees with us that the framers of our Constitution never intended a democracy. Yet his claim is even more offensive to the American spirit, I think, than the absurd belief that the United States is an unrestrained democracy (just so you know, our country is a constitutional republic with some democratic elements), so beloved of others of his progressive-liberal-radical bent. Succinctly, he believes that, yes, the framers did not want democracy—and so the framers were wrong. The American’s mental warning-bells should be ringing like crazy here. So the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights were wrong? The old argument for democracy grounded it, however erroneously, on our Constitution. The new argument, Mr. Behrens’s, grounds

it on chucking the Constitution out the window and letting wild jackals eat the poor old thing. Saying that the rest of Mr. Behrens’s argument is nonsensical is offensive to nonsensical arguments. We have to chuck the Constitution because it has created an “oligarchy” ruled by money (begging the question of “Why stop at socialism? Why don’t we go on to full-on Soviet communism, Mr. Behrens? Would that make you happy?”). He cites one Princeton study and claims that it “empirically” establishes something that cannot be empirically established, namely that the U.S. is in fact this oligarchy that he so greatly dreads. He then briefly sketches a look into this year’s presidential election, mounting a democratic defense of his beloved Sanders and warning about that opaque and apparently omnipotent “establishment” (could somebody please give me a good definition?). Mr. Behrens does not believe in the founders’ republic. He wants a democracy. Well, Mr. Behrens, the founders experienced a near-democracy under the Articles of Confederation. It was a disaster. The Jacobins in France and the Bolsheviks in Russia slaughtered and destroyed nations in the sainted name of unrestrained democracy. (Might I suggest reading Burke?) We need to preserve and conserve, not destroy, our (small-r) republican values. We are either the last, best hope for the earth, Mr. Behrens, or else we go out into the final darkness, screaming hopeless platitudes about “Equality,” “Democracy,” and “Progress,” and not with a bang but with a whimper.

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During the Boston Marathon, Boston College EMS students lined Comm. Ave. manning tents and walking the campus in order to help students and runners. After the Marathon bombing in 2013, security was heavily increased along the marathon route, and BC EMS was given an increased role in providing medical attention along Mile 21. This includes runners who are dehydrated or suffering from cramps as well as students suffering from alcohol-related injuries. During the sometimes-chaotic day, it attended to these medical issues and handled the situation well. It set up medical tents and patrolled the campus in the BC EMS ambulance. B C E MS is a certified ambulance company, meaning that the services it provides are on par with professional ambulance drivers. The students themselves have all received extensive training that they are often unable to use due to the fortunately low frequenc y of emergenc y medical events on campus. After undergoing considerable training in many different medical techniques and procedures, BC EMS students often respond to calls that do not warrant the use of any of these newly learned skills. Working the Marathon allows these students to use the skills they’ve learned while providing a necessary service for both students watching the Marathon and the runners themselves. It is a good way to ensure that BC EMS students have the opportunity to put their learning into action while also helping the student body.

The views expressed in the above editorials represent the official position of The Heights, as discussed and written by the Editorial Board. A list of the mem-

These BC EMS students are also often better able to deal with students they serve because the students relate to them and find a mutual understanding. This was evidenced by the lack of serious issues regarding BC EMS during this year’s Marathon. Its work was necessary and performed well. With the increased post-bombing security, it is extremely important that medically trained workers are available for the Marathon.

9: <DJ _Xe[c\[ k_\ dfi\ _`^_$gi\jjli\ j`klXk`fe m\ip n\cc# Xjj`jk`e^ jkl[\ekj gif]\jj`feXccp Xe[ kXb`e^ ZXi\ f] k_\ mXi`flj d\[`ZXc `jjl\j Yifl^_k XYflk Yp k_\ DXiXk_fe% BC EMS handled the more high-pressure situation very well, assisting students professionally and taking care of the various medical issues brought about by the Marathon. After the Marathon BC EMS and the important medical services it provided can easily be forgotten, but students should be thankful for the work it contributed. These BC EMS students deserve commendation for taking on the increased responsibilities well and providing an important service. During future Marathons, this level of success should be replicated, as BC EMS students continue to serve.

bers of the Editorial Board can be found at bcheights. com/opinions.

HEIGHTS

THE

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THE HEIGHTS

Monday, April 25, 2016

A7

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J<8E JL;FC CLASSES WITHOUT FINALS - As we approach the final days of class, when studying for finals becomes a priority, it’s important to acknowledge those good folks who don’t give final exams. I’ll up a thumb for you beautiful people any day. A SELECT FEW PARTICULAR BRANDS OF HOT SAUCE - Some hot sauce tastes like failure. Some hot sauce tastes like justice. Other hot sauces taste like concepts that are referenced where you would normally expect a more tangible taste-related word for some not-fantastically-executed comedic effect. But generally, when you get a good hot sauce it can keep your meal engaging, interesting, fascinating, and maybe even a little stupendous.

GETTING LOST - In the spirit of the great explorers of ages past, you decided to go for a little stroll through Boston. With no particular guiding force, you got off the T downtown and headed in a direction you supposed might be sort of oriented toward the east. About 20 minutes later, you’re in some never-beforeseen area of Dorchester and some vaguely threatening Girl Scouts are trying to foist unwanted cookies into your hands. “Stay away from me,” you cry, running off, flapping your arms as though you are a majestic sea fowl. Grabbing your phone you realize that your battery has dropped to 5 percent. Confound your foolish need to listen to hours and hours of Polish club music on the ride over. With no map in sight, and far too much pride to ask for directions, you continue to wander. Hours later you realize that you are surrounded by buildings covered in symbols that are clearly not English. You’ve entered Chinatown. Your shoes begin to overflow with blood, leaving a ghastly trail behind you. A small, scraggly beard has covered your face. Stumbling onward, you finally see something you recognize. You’re almost downtown again. It all becomes clearer. The Pru! The Common! The State House! You see the T stop and rush forward. Falling to your knees you kiss the floor of the subway station and immediately contract a virulent cold sore. SUN-HEADACHES - These are also known as happiness headaches in some parts of the world. They occur when the subject is walking through a grass-covered area and observes other subjects enjoying the warm weather and bright sunlight. This causes immediate negative effects in the subject: dizziness, cramps, blurred vision, an inexplicable sound of locust buzzing filling the ears. Too much enjoyment, too much happiness, too much satisfaction. An immediate retreat into a subterranean, badly lit place is the only known cure. CLOSED COURSES - For one moment your naive, childish mind thought you would actually be interested in what you were learning for next semester. While planning for registration, you saw a class that vaguely stimulated that long-dormant part of your brain that gains satisfaction from education. But then the course filled up the day before you registered, and that was that. Time to slog through another semester.

Divestment is not the final answer to the climate crisis. The holdings of all American university endowments in fossil fuel companies account for less than 1 percent of these companies’ total market capital. No one actively campaigning to make this change believes that it will ruin the fossil fuel industry economically, and thus automatically lower the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. But divestment cannot be considered in economic terms alone. It is more importantly a political, social, and moral movement that speaks to a vision of a just and sustainable world—and it is gaining traction among more and more students across the country. It is a step in a process that begins with saying that a fossil-fueled future that wrecks the planet is not one in which to invest. It is a bold first move, despite the staggering challenges humanity collectively faces and the fact that there is an unsure path of how exactly to solve it. It is meant to force a moral analysis of how our financial and political institutions are structured, and to introduce a foundational ethics of sustainability and justice for them. Luckily for Boston College, the University already has a strongly worded ethic based on Catholic social teaching set down in its mission statement, which is meant to carry over into all aspects of how the University is governed. This includes how the University invests its endowment. The Ethical Investment Guidelines read, “In the management of its investments, Boston College reflects the ethical, social, and moral principles inherent in its mission and heritage. In particular, the University is firmly committed to the promotion of the individual, personal freedom, and social justice.” But how do these guidelines apply to climate issues? The leader of the Catholic Church provided a powerful answer to this question with the

publication of Laudato Si last summer. In recognizing the immeasurable value of the world’s natural resources and the market’s inability to justly protect these common goods for all humanity, Pope Francis’ encyclical unequivocally calls for purposeful action to combat the ills facing the planet today. Specifically, he writes, “Here too, it should always be kept in mind that ‘environmental protection cannot be assured solely on the basis of financial calculations of costs and benefits. The environment is one of those goods that cannot be adequately safeguarded or promoted by market forces.’ Once more, we need to reject a magical conception of the market, which would suggest that problems can be solved simply by an increase in the profits of companies or individuals.” BC is just one of the entities that continues to make profits from companies that literally fuel the wrecking of the environment.

;`m\jkd\ek `j X Yfc[ ]`ijk dfm\# [\jg`k\ k_\ jkX^^\i`e^ Z_Xcc\e^\j _ldXe`kp Zfcc\Zk`m\cp ]XZ\j% This statement calls for radical action in that it asks believers to reject the socioeconomic orthodoxy that places profits over humanity. In fact, the changes that BC would have to make to completely divest from fossil fuels would not harm its financial dividends because global energy equities have not outperformed other investment categories since 2012, according to a 2014 report by Cambridge Associates, a financial advising company to BC. This is even truer today with the current weakness of oil markets and the advancement of nextgeneration power technologies. Now is a powerful time for new momentum in this movement. The divestment movement is not simply a campaign to end the use of fossil fuels. It is a call for reinvestment in the planet that provides all our resources, the reordering of the political and financial institutions that are too

slowly addressing the climate crisis, and the reinvigoration of a social structure that places humanity and the planet over the pursuit of profits. How could this reinvestment work at BC? Firstly, it involves the divestment of all University funds from fossil fuel companies or portfolios that contain these companies. In its place, BC can follow the call of U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz, the 2016 Commencement speaker, to “double down on our clean energy innovation investments” and request that its funds be reinvested in companies focused on sustainable technologies or renewable energy. Secondly, it means that the University can reinvest in the power of its students. This involves opening the processes of University governance to greater transparency and student input. Societies lose so much potential when they let voices go unheard, and the University administration would gain greatly by allowing students’ energy and ideas to enter its systems. Thirdly, BC can incorporate environmental stewardship into its strong programs of service to those most in need. Society must recognize that ecological issues are human issues and vice versa, and this is best learned through direct encounters with those most vulnerable, in this case the planet and people affected by environmental disasters. The divestment from fossil fuels at all universities will not leave much of a mark on the industry. Rather, this decision is steeped in powerful symbolism that sends a message to the country’s political and economic elites that the next generation of world leaders, as well as the powerful centers of knowledge that bring them together, is calling for the swift divestment from a system that profits off the exploitation of the planet and the silence of the world’s most vulnerable, and demands in its place purposeful reinvestment in a sustainable system that safeguards the world’s resources over profits and empowers all individuals to have their voices heard.

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M8C<I@< :?<I9<IF Last night, as I huddled over a container of cookie monster ice cream, melted dairy dripping down my bruised forearms, I started to think about service. It’s hard not to think about service at a school whose community service clubs are as competitive as its academics. But I don’t mean to talk about that kind of service. I want to talk about food service, in all its unforgiving, unglamorous, and minimum-waged glory. I started working at White Mountain Creamery two years ago. A friend convinced me to apply despite my complete lack of food service experience. “Free ice cream!” she said. “Great tips!” I was sold. But I was also woefully unprepared. My first night, I unknowingly underserved all my customers. “Just one more scoop,” my supervisor goaded me on, eyeing the growing line behind the counter. I dug into the container of coffee ice cream with all my strength, cursing my weak arms and every customer in sight. By the end of the night, my arms were aching, my wrists were bruised, and a thick layer of dishwater and melted ice cream covered me like a blanket. I felt like I had survived a war. I’ve learned a lot from this job. I’ve learned to scoop and frost. I’ve learned to put up with rude customers and low tips and broken blenders. I’ve even learned the art of mental math, though I still freeze up as soon as I stand behind the cash register (what’s 20.01-4.76?). More than anything, I have learned the value of a dollar and the inestimable power of everyone who stands behind a counter and makes your food. Having served and scooped for minimum wage for two years, I am starting to see the horrors of the food service in-

dustry. Things are not always greener on the other side of the counter. Yet when I try to think of my most rewarding experience at BC, I don’t think of tutoring or making care packages. I think of every exhausting, messy, soul-crushing night at White Mountain. Those nights have done so much more than just fuel my sugar addiction. They gave me a sense of purpose and achievement, as well as an acute, and sometimes painful, sense of humility. And now I have one tip for anyone looking to broaden his or her worldview or set the world aflame or become a man or woman for others. You don’t need to apply for a prestigious volunteering position or travel to an underdeveloped country. Just get a low-paying, low-dignity job. You will be exposed to more service than you could have ever dreamed.

@ _Xm\ fe\ k`g1 >\k X cfn$gXp`e^# cfn$ [`^e`kp afY% Pfl n`cc Y\ \ogfj\[ kf dfi\ j\im`Z\ k_Xe pfl Zflc[ _Xm\ \m\i [i\Xd\[% Of course, I don’t mean to knock community service. Volunteering is kind and generous and extremely important. I’m down with the Jesuits. Yet there’s something that’s difficult to learn unless you’ve worked in the food industry yourself. You learn more than just how to count change and clean counters and restock topping containers. You learn about respect. Respect for servers and cashiers and dishwashers. And that respect changes everything. Each disrespected hostess and untipped waiter becomes a personal outrage. I abhor complicated orders and impatience and people who complain about their food. Every tired, grumpy, overwhelmed server is just someone trying to get

through the night. I remember walking into an ice cream parlor shortly after starting at White Mountain. Somehow I thought the girl behind the counter would sense my experiences and we’d share an intangible bond. “One scoop of cookie dough in a cup, no toppings please,” I requested cheerfully. She gave me a tired nod and retreated to the freezer to scoop my ice cream. At first I was disappointed. I wanted recognition. I wanted a bond. At the very least, I wanted a smile. But then I remembered the aching back and the overwhelming lines and the lack of “thank you’s” and “please’s.” I remembered the blank stares from familiar faces, as if the counter created a sort of disguise for each service employee, stripping them of their identity and value. I remembered the exhausting feeling of disrespect and silently slipped a dollar into the tip jar in solidarity. As spring rolls in, campus seems to buzz with stories of internships and service trips. These are both noble and valuable experiences, but in the midst of all this buzz, I can’t help defending my small, unglamorous part-time job. In the grand scheme of things, this job isn’t small at all. In terms of my own self-awareness and understanding of the world, this job has been everything. In fact I’m starting to think we should all be embracing the unglamorous. It certainly doesn’t set the world aflame, but I like to think each server and scooper and washer contributes to a steady, slow-burning fire. We can do more than just serve customers. We can spread the respect and the humility that our minimum wage jobs instill in us, and we can truly become men and women for others. At the very least, we can count our tips with pride and eat our well-deserved ice cream with a sense of purpose.

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:?8J< J:?8L9 The Republican Party has already lost the presidency, but if the party wants to save itself for future elections, it has two unfortunate options. If you have paid any attention to the political media at any time over the past few months, the prediction has been clear—the Republican Party is headed for a brokered convention that could potentially lead to its downfall. The first part of this statement is true, but the latter half does not have to necessarily be so. If no candidate has clinched the 1,237 delegates needed to become the Republican nominee, the party can pick its poison and elect Donald Trump or Ted Cruz to the ticket and can hold the party together. As counterintuitive as it may seem, picking either Cruz or Trump in the long run is likely to help moderate Republicans in the future, by showing those on the far right that their extreme candidates cannot win a general election. As tempting as it is, it would be seen as a validation of both Trump and Cruz to let the party elites choose another candidate like Paul Ryan, who received no votes and no support from the electorate. A choice like this would only further anger those who support Trump and Cruz and would indeed likely cause the split in the Republican Party that many have been predicting. Perhaps it would be good for the party to regroup and rebrand as one with less extreme views than those of Trump and Cruz, but if the party hopes to remain relevant in the contemporary period, it is best served with either Trump or Cruz as its nominee for president. By the time the convention rolls around, it is almost certain that Trump will be far closer to clinching the nomination than any other candidate. This presents the party’s first option: let Trump be the nominee and show the voters that the primary process does work. In this case, the GOP willingly sacrifices any chance at a general election victory over Hillary Clinton, but it holds together the party by telling voters that their votes actually mattered and the candidate with the most votes is the one who will get the nomination. If anything, the Republican Party could use this opportunity to clean up a murky primary process and open the process up to more transparency, reassuring voters that their voices are being heard. By doing this, however, the Republican Party will be also sacrificing more than just the presidential election. With Trump at the top of the Republican ticket as the figurehead of the party, the Republicans will also likely lose control of the House and Senate due to Trump’s unfiltered and often controversial remarks that will likely damage many Republicans’ chances of winning reelection. This leads us to the second option. Though no easier to swallow, the Republican party’s other choice is to let Cruz be the nominee. It would be well within reason and within the rules of the convention process for Cruz to be the nominee if Trump is still shy of 1,237 delegates. By electing Cruz at the convention, it is still possible that many Trump voters will walk out in anger, but the rules do make clear that Cruz would be equally legitimate and the fallout of a Cruz nomination would likely be less severe than the convention choosing another candidate. Cruz received many votes, which gives him credibility as a candidate. Furthermore, it would teach all those in the Tea Party and other far-right factions within the Republican organization what have long felt the reasonable candidates like Mitt Romney and John McCain lose is because they are too liberal that their ultraconservative candidate can and will in fact lose. Cruz would be the most conservative and clear-cut manifestation of the extreme right’s desires, and his defeat at the hands of Clinton would squash the extremist views that have long hindered moderate Republicans’ efforts. Beyond this, if Cruz were the nominee, the Republican Party might still lose some House and Senate races, but it is unlikely to lose both houses of Congress as it likely would with Trump. Though extreme, Cruz tends to be more tight-lipped than Trump and is less likely to offend as broad a voting bloc. Only then will the party be able to quiet the calls of those on the far right, and perhaps the party would unite around a more moderate, more electable Republican candidate to emerge as a contender to Clinton running for her second term, if that’s what it comes down to.

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THE HEIGHTS

A8

K_\ B\p kf C\X[\ij_`g1 Jk`Zb kf k_\ È=fli :ËjÉ Arango, from A1 into the jungle and delivered to the leaders of RAFC. They all sat around a table, wearing masks and holding guns. Despite the risks, he knew that the most productive way to address the drug issue was to start conversations with the drug lords. The third characteristic for a good leader is confidence, he said. Pablo Escobar, then the biggest leader of the drug cartels in Colombia and one of the wealthiest men in the world, killed 400 people personally and 1,400 indirectly. Before Arango was president, he was a journalist who supported the government crackdown on the cartel. Since he began work as a journalist in 1982, he had received numerous death threats from Escobar. “The only thing people feared at the time was extradition to the United States,” he said. The Colombian government decided to begin punishing cartel members who fought extradition. In response, the cartel began to target, kill, and kidnap politicians. Arango was kidnapped in 1988 and put in a small jail. It was during this time that he met Escobar. “He said he was going to kill me, and so we had a long conversation—a six-hour conversation,” he said. During the conversation, he tried to instill confidence in Escobar. When Escobar went to leave, he told the guards to give Arango anything he wanted but that if he tried to escape, they should shoot him. Escobar told him that on Friday he was going to kidnap the attorney general of Colombia.

They wanted to release a photo of the president and the attorney general handcuffed to show the cartel’s power. A week later, the authorities showed up, but Arango thought that his kidnappers would kill him before they were taken by the police. When one of the kidnappers came in, he told the president that he was his “insurance policy” and would not shoot him. In all of the commotion, Arango was able to escape from the jail. He later learned that the men fled to the Amazon rainforest just after he left. “If I had stayed there another three or four minutes I don’t know if I would have survived,” he said. The last essential characteristic of a good leader is communication, he said. Before social media, getting his message out to the general public was much harder. By traveling to Venezuela and talking with the local people, he said, he was able to learn about the humanitarian crisis for the first time. After discovering the need that existed in the country, he set out to educate others on the crisis. He attributes the power of communication to the improvements in Venezuela since his visit. He also decided to make a digital presidential library available to the public. The site includes photos of his family, videos, and other personal documents. He then built a large library with documents and books about history and Colombian politicians. “All of you are here listening to my stories and that shows a lot about you—the great leaders that you’re going to be in the future,” Arango said.

AMELIE TRIEU / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Monday, April 25, 2016

Di% 9: KXcbj 8Yflk Fne`e^ @k Mr. BC, from A5 talent portion of the show. “The pants one,” he recalled decisively when questioned about his biggest threat. “That was so impressive because practicing standup is one thing, but practicing putting your pants on without hands is unheard of.” Building off of this success, another make-or-break moment in the show was professionally handled with elegance by the future Mr. BC—the swimsuit portion. “I told myself I was going go to the Plex for the whole week,” explained Oliva of his preparation, along with listening to the original Superman theme several times. “I went for the first two days, and I was like, ‘No I’m not doing this’.” The solution? Own it. “I figured I might as well own up to what you’ve got and make a joke of it, instead of go in serious and have this weird dad-bod,” admitted Oliva with a touch of pride. Though his first foray into the standup comedy genre, Oliva has ambitions to take his newfound talents farther and perform in the future. Adjusting his crown and meditating on the experience briefly, Oliva reflected on the experience of standup comedy as an exercise in vulnerability as well. “So often, people, myself included, can be like, ‘Wow, that guy sings poorly,’ or, ‘Wow, his jokes are terrible,’” he explained. “After doing Mr. BC, I can step back and realize that you shouldn’t rush to some review of a performance without considering that what they are doing on stage takes so much courage. So I want to give a big shout out to all the other contestants—I tip my hat.” This victory for Olivia is, in a lot of ways, a victory for virtue. Though my personal knowledge of the male beauty pageant landscape is fairly limited, I can’t imagine that many characters as genuine as the new Mr. BC emerge victorious from competitions of this nature. In fact, Oliva has a hard time believ-

ing he is Mr. BC himself. “Its funny because I’m not that involved on campus,” Oliva responded when asked about how he felt with regards to this new title. “I try to be nice to everybody, so I have a good amount of friends and stuff. But, overwhelmingly, people don’t really know me.” For now, however, the title of Mr. BC will have to fit—and deservedly so. When asked if the newly coronated Mr. BC had plans for the future, Oliva burped, excused himself graciously, and answered graciously. “Mr. BC is going to make the other people at BC feel like they can be Mr. BC,” he said with an impish smile. “Yeah, that’s a great quote.”

Former Colombian President Andres Pastrana Arango talked to students about leadership.

J`dfej DZ:X]]i\p =XZ\ ;`jgXjj`feXk\ <c\ZkfiXk\# Kfl^_ 8[d`e McSimons, from A1 think about the idea of being student-body president,” Simons said. Even people who aren’t in UGBC must think about it, they said. But it’s also a natural byproduct of having been in the organization for a long time, having lots of friends in it, and feeling like they can do the best job of running it. The position of the president is generally considered the top spot, but the two view themselves as equals. McCaffrey wanted to be EVP because it allows her to run the Student Assembly (SA), which she thinks needs some changes, having spent two years in it. For example, two months ago she helped pass a resolution to reduce the size of the SA from 50 members to 35. She said that in her time in UGBC, the SA has only had 30 to 35 active members. Wait, some people run and get elected and don’t show up? “Yeah, essentially,” she said. That says a lot about what they’re up against.

S

imons and McCaffrey are both from New York, he from Larchmont and she from Lockport, opposite ends of the state. Simons studies biology and hopes to go to medical school. He’s doing a medical humanities minor, too, which he said helps give him a perspective on the day-to-day, human aspect of medicine that the sciences don’t quite provide. McCaffrey is a political science major and plans on going to law school after graduation, though she spent last fall in Geneva studying international relations. Simons said that in high school, he couldn’t have been less interested in student government. “I didn’t think that the students had a voice in anything beyond a nominal presence,” he said. But that changed when he got to BC. He joined the UGBC Leadership Academy (ULA), a program for about 40 freshmen that has a competitive admissions process, and said he fell in love with giving back to the organization and the ability UGBC gave him to make change on campus. He’s stuck with it ever since. Simons and McCaffrey are exceedingly sure of themselves. They were almost too cool when we talked, chilling in Hillside with break-

fast as I tried to wake myself up. They were articulate and candid. Mark Miceli, an associate director in the Office of Student Involvement, called Simons pragmatic. Hussey called them both charismatic. I feel that. “Russell seems super type-A, but he’s really approachable,” said Kyle McCormick, MCAS ’17, who ran outreach efforts for the campaign and is one of Simons’ roommates. “He’s megacompetent. … He’s one of those people who gets 600 likes on his profile picture.” Speaking of Facebook, they ran a pretty slick online campaign. One shot on their site’s home page has the whole team hanging out on the Million Dollar Stairs, looking like an album cover for a preppy, up-and-coming folk band. McCormick’s job as the outreach coordinator was mostly based on social media, so maybe he’s to credit for that. They had a pretty good handle going into it on the networks and friend groups in the junior and senior classes— and besides, he said, the seniors for the most part don’t care—so he and the team tried to pinpoint freshmen and sophomores who they thought had large and diverse networks and could spread the word quickly. McCormick’s ideal model was having supporters in a lot of group chats encouraging other students to vote for Simons and McCaffrey, to change their profile pictures, and to come help out at dorm hours, when candidates campaigned in residence halls. “It’s not my speed to be so camp counselor-ish, and I had to send all these emails to 300 people, but I wound up loving it,” McCormick said. According to Hussey, part of Simons’ and McCaffrey’s appeal was that they have big roles in UGBC but also outside it, where McCaffrey, for example, was in the Emerging Leader Program (ELP) as a freshman. McCormick called ELP a “huge untapped network,” which is weird considering that it’s just 50 students. But they know people. Combine that with the freshmen in ULA, another target group, and that’s a lot of underclassman networks.

T

hat all sounds perfect, but let’s just throw this out there: it’s probably not going to be very easy for them. The extended length of the election means they have four weeks to do what incoming

administrations usually do in eight or 10. More importantly, Simons and McCaffrey inherit a UGBC that is somewhat uncertain and concerned about its current role on campus. The length of the election also means that turnout was extremely low: just 2,592 students voted, down from 3,411 last year, and 4,332 two years ago. Lots of people seem uninterested, and some, like Anthony Perasso, LSOE ’17, who ran a satirical campaign, are openly opposed and calling for some changes to the system. When I talked to Hussey last week, she said fixing student disillusionment is something UGBC has to be focused on. “In my three years here nobody has ever said, ‘UGBC is so awesome, we love all the work that you do,’” she said. She paused for a second. “I think that’s also part of the deal that goes into it, that people who do UGBC aren’t doing it for the recognition in the first place.” Simons thinks about students’ disinterest a lot like Hussey does. They both said the reason turnout was so low was the length of the election season and the number of candidates: it’s always a little more high-stakes when two teams are going at it, rather than six. They also both acknowledged that there may be more to it. Simons said fixing disinterest is about communication, making sure students know that some of the good things that get done on campus are UGBC initiatives. McCaffrey cited healthy food at late night and the bus to the Chestnut Hill Mall as projects that students don’t give UGBC enough credit for. “I think many would argue that we’re doing almost too many things on campus,” Simons said. Next year they hope to make clear connections between initiatives to give students a better sense of goals and themes. Another issue is the potential that, because Simons and McCaffrey come from within UGBC, perception of the organization will continue to be that it is inefficient and insular. Their slick social media might not help them out much on that front. “Throughout their campaign they were struggling to seem less establishment-ish, just because they were the favorites and they’re polished,” McCormick said. But Perasso tried to run a campaign, with Rachel Loos, MCAS ’18, that made fun of that establishment vibe and argued that UGBC

wastes some of its $328,000 budget, and look what happened: they didn’t make it through the primary. Simons and McCaffrey got almost twice as many votes as the runners-up. It seems like people aren’t anti-UGBC—lately, anyway, they’re over UGBC. They won’t vote against it, but they won’t vote for it, either. And Simons and McCaffrey see that. “I don’t think students have much reason to believe the elected leadership at this point,” Simons said. “[Being insiders] doesn’t mean that we’re okay with the way everything’s been done.” Adam Rosenbloom, co-chair of the Elections Committee (EC) and MCAS ’16, said that it’s generally true that students who are more involved are the ones who vote—hence the coveted ELP/ULA bloc. Maybe they feel more invested in UGBC’s goals. It’s also true that participation decreases as students get older—last year, 1,004 sophomores, 840 juniors, and just 419 seniors voted. It’s unclear why. Students might get more apathetic over time, Rosenbloom suggested, feeling like UGBC plays a smaller and smaller role in their lives as they get closer to graduation. He said there isn’t much the EC can do to increase interest. After a certain number of emails and a certain number of town hall meetings and debates, people stop showing up.

T

he biggest obstacle Simons and McCaffrey face might be the administration. Their platform includes a sexual health initiative, which they say is a reflection of BC’s Jesuit values and should be considered part of cura personalis, educating and caring for the whole person. One of the goals of the initiative is to make sexual health pamphlets readily available in University Health Services. Hussey said that, as with a lot of complicated issues, getting the whole plan approved would be tough. That’s part of the job. “It is really difficult to make change, and change on any college campus in general happens slowly,” she said. “You just have to focus on what can you accomplish in one year and also what bigger things you can move the needle on.” Simons and McCaffrey have to be okay, in other words, with sowing seeds for the long

term. In the past, like with this year’s administration led by Hussey and Thomas Napoli, UGBC president and MCAS ’16, some issues have gotten off the ground too fast. One of the biggest focuses for Napoli and Hussey is a comprehensive free-expression policy that would create more avenues for unregistered groups to have a presence on campus—unregistered groups can’t put up flyers or reserve meeting space. It passed through the SA, and then stalled going through the approval process in the Office of the Dean of Students. “I think [the free-expression policy] was one of those cases where we probably needed to have a lot more dialogue before the policy was put out,” said Vice President for Student Affairs Barb Jones, who oversees the office. Simons and McCaffrey hope to keep that conversation going, and Jones said she’ll be having breakfast with them every other week next year to talk. They both said that BC Looking Forward, a dinner hosted by UGBC and administrators to discuss student concerns, is a good first step. But the key is action, Simons said. As UGBC president and EVP, he and McCaffrey will make four presentations next year to a group from the Board of Trustees, though Simons said they’ve historically led to few concrete changes. “It’s hard to say what’s gone on after those conversations,” he said. They’d like to meet with University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J., who hasn’t met with UGBC in the past year. One of their goals is to improve students’ perception of the administration and try to be a bridge between the two. McCormick said that on one hand, Simons wants to be progressive and push the University on difficult issues, while on the other hand, his roles on campus make him very well-known to administrators, and he might hesitate to clash with them. Navigating that balancing act will be tricky, but they can do it. “If someone’s gonna find that middle ground, it’s gonna be them,” McCormick said. Maybe that experience and confidence are what it’s all about, kind of like running down Comm. Ave. at Mile 21—a couple miles to go before you cross the finish line, with a few goals in mind, a lot of road behind you, and (at least some) students cheering you on.

SPORTS

B1

MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2016

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D@:?8<C JLCC@M8E To the untrained eye, it looks like a good thing. That is, if you hate Jim Harbaugh. I can understand if you do. This man is brash, cocky, fearless, sometimes mouthy, and, worst of all, the leader of the Michigan Wolverines—a program that I am obligated to remind you has won one national championship since full integration, (1997) yet whose fans act as if they are the kings and queens of the college football world. The way he screams at officials and pouts up and down the field is irritating to an unreal level. And Harbaugh himself hasn’t even won anything yet! It’s Harbaugh’s recruiting that gets under the skin of most people in the college football world. He accepted a challenge to climb a tree. He has slept over the house of a kicker who had already committed to Penn State. Hell, he even Netflixed and Chilled with a 4-star recruit! No, not the kind you might (hope to) do when your Walsh 8-man is empty. The actual one. With cookies and milk. Nothing pisses off college football’s establishment more than Harbaugh’s insistence to set up satellite camps across the country to sell the already well-known Michigan brand. But, while they cannot control Harbaugh’s individual actions, the old and cranky men who run the sport—namely, those from the Southern schools— could shut him down. About two weeks ago, a slight majority of the FBS conferences—namely, the SEC, ACC, Big 12, Pacific-12, Mountain West, and Sun Belt—voted to permanently ban satellite camps, against the wishes of Harbaugh and the Big Ten, American Athletic, Conference-USA, and Mid-American. (Note that the Pac-12 claims its representative voted incorrectly.) The ban means that all conferences will likely follow the rules of the ACC and SEC, in which, even when invited, coaches could not step outside a 50-mile radius of campus. Naturally, Harbaugh was upset. So were several other coaches, even ones in the ACC. Wake Forest’s Dave Clawson said that the camps only help his program, which, despite playing in talent-rich North Carolina, isn’t as nationally known. “I don’t think we should do anything that makes us less competitive nationally,” Clawson said last year, when legislation was first proposed. Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick echoed Clawson’s state-

BASEBALL

BACK IN THE HUNT JULIA HOPKINS / HEIGHTS EDITOR

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If someone told you before this past weekend that Boston College baseball would take two of three games from the No. 4 team in the 6 Louisville country, anyone Boston College 2 would be thrilled. Well, that’s just what happened—BC won its weekend series against the University of Louisville, No. 4 in the country. Despite that, though, a disappointing 6-4 loss on Sunday left a sour taste in the Eagles’ mouths. The Eagles (21-15, 7-12 Atlantic Coast) might have fallen to the Cardinals (31-9, 14-7) 6-2 in the final game of their threegame series, but they still took the series with two wins on Friday and Saturday. So while BC head coach Mike Gambino was disappointed with Sunday’s result, he took positives away from the series as a whole. “Ultimately, looking back on the weekend, two out of three is great,” Gambino said following the loss. “But right now, I’m thinking about the fact that we just lost a baseball game.” Junior Mike King had an unusually poor start against the Cardinals, as he didn’t make it through five innings. Over a dozen scouts were in attendance to watch King duel with opposing starter Kyle Funkhouser, who is projected to be a late-first- or early-second-round pick in

the 2016 MLB First-Year Player Draft. On this occasion, Funkhouser had the upper hand. King had problems locating his fastball throughout the start, as he walked three batters, beaned another, and threw two wild pitches. King was yanked immediately after giving up a home run to shortstop Devin Hairston for the fifth run of the game, but the bullpen settled down nicely to keep the Eagles in it. Lefty Zach Stromberg threw two innings of relief surrendering only a run, and freshman John Witkowski tossed the final 2 2/3 innings to keep the Cardinals at bay. In his best outing of the season, Witkowski was excited by the team’s performance over the weekend and the promise that the young arms of the bullpen showed in the defeat. “A loss is a loss, but looking at the weekend as a whole, it was very good for us,” Witkowski said. “We won the series, and we’re taking that as a positive going into this week.” Though it was going to be very tough for the Eagles to sweep a team as good as Louisville anyway, they didn’t do themselves any favors with a number of mental gaffes in the field and on the bases. With a runner on first base and nobody out in the top of the fourth inning, Louisville’s Danny Rosenbaum hit a screaming line drive directly at Gabe Hernandez in

See Sunday Baseball, B3

ALEC GREANEY AND JULIA HOPKINS / HEIGHTS EDITORS

See Satellite Camps, B4 SOFTBALL

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Pitching for Boston College softball has been one of its consistent strengths all season. Coming into its weekend series against North Carolina State, sophomore Allyson Frei ranked fourth in the Atlantic Coast Conference in strikeouts with 139, and eighth in the conference in opponent’s batting average at .230. Sophomore Jessica Dreswick ranked sixth in the conference in ERA at 2.22. Those two have shouldered the bulk of the innings for the Eagles so far, and while the BC season has been up and down, you can always expect Dreswick and Frei to give a quality outing. Sometimes, that quality outing ends

up being something special. Throughout the whole season Dreswick has been confusing batters and making them look silly through her repertoire of pitches, but she herself had been eluded by a goal that every pitcher hopes to accomplish. That is, until Saturday, when Dreswick pitched the first no-hitter in conference play in BC (24-20, 7-8 Atlantic Coast) history against NC State (21-29, 4-14), the highlight of the Eagles’ weekend sweep of the Wolfpack. The Wolfpack did manage to get five baserunners against Dreswick off of walks, but she was not flustered and shut down any opportunity that NC State managed to muster. She kept the Wolfpack batters off-balance with an impressive mix of speed and loca-

INSIDE SPORTS THIS ISSUE

tion, and the Eagles played an errorless defense to back up the best pitching performance of the season. The Eagles finished the sweep on Sunday, beating NC State 5-2 behind another impressive pitching performance from Frei. Eight out of the nine BC starters recorded hits, and the Eagles exploded for four runs in the top of the second after falling behind early, 2-0. Freshman Danielle Thomas walked to force in the first run for BC, and Loren DiEmmanuele and Allyson Moore followed across the plate on a throwing error. Thomas then scored on a groundout from Murphy. This was all Frei needed, as she kept the Wolfpack TAYLOR PERISON / HEIGHTS STAFF

See Softball vs. NCST, B2

Jessica Dreswick, a sophomore, shut out the Wolfpack while walking five and striking out six.

Baseball: Catching Up with Pete

Lacrosse: Swansong on Senior Day

The Frates family attended Wednesday’s Beanpot, giving updates on Pete’s progress...B2

BC couldn’t handle Johns Hopkins in its second meeting with the lacrosse powerhouse....B2

TU/TD...................................B2 Sports in short............................B2 Baseball.................................B3

THE HEIGHTS

B2

Monday, April 25, 2016

SOFTBALL

THUMBS UP DRESWICK DEALS  Jessica Dreswick threw BC softball’s firstever ACC no-hitter on Saturday, but somehow she finished the weekend with a higher ERA than she started with. How? She allowed four earned runs in two relief appearances over the series’ final two games. HE KNOWS HOW TO SCORE  Birdball’s Nick “Scors” Sciortino has been on a tear as of late, scoring seven runs in his last six games. Over that stretch, the junior catcher also has nine hits—including his first career home run—and four RBIs. ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS - Salary details revealed this week for BC’s coaches showed Jerry York nearly doubled his paycheck in 2014-2015, raking in about $1.2 million. With 45 years of coaching experience, 1,012 career wins, and five national championships, it’s safe to say he has earned his share.

<X^c\j Jn\\g E: JkXk\ 9\_`e[ ;i\jn`ZbËj Ef$Ef Softball vs. NCST, from B1 scoreless for the remaining six innings. Junior Taylor Coroneos scored an insurance run on a wild pitch for the fifth run of the game. While the story of the day on Saturday was Dreswick’s no-hitter, Frei also came in clutch in the second game of the doubleheader. Dreswick started the second game, but the Wolfpack appeared to figure her out early, scoring two quick runs. Frei came in and tossed 6 2/3 innings of scoreless and hitless relief. The Wolfpack only had two hits over the doubleheader, as BC’s pitching was dominant for all 14 innings. The offense took a while to get going during game two on Saturday, but scored three runs in the fifth inning, starting with a home run from Jessie Daulton to left-center field. Moore and DiEmmanuele followed with RBI singles that scored Tatiana Cortez and Chloe Sharabba respectively. The Eagles added a fourth run in the top of the seventh on a

Cortez home run. Daulton went 6-8 with a home run, a triple, five RBIs, and four runs scored throughout the day, and Cortez went 4-7 with a home run, three RBIs, and two runs scored. In game one on Saturday, the Eagles broke through in the top of the fifth after four innings of scoreless softball from both teams. Daulton ripped a single to left center that scored DiEmmanuele, followed by Cortez, who drew a bases-loaded walk that forced Thomas home. Sharabba knocked in Daulton on a linedrive single to left-center field. Cortez homered in the top of the seventh to make it 4-0, more than enough for Dreswick. On Thursday, BC faced off against a tough UMass softball team, and were unable to come up with a win. Errors were the deciding factor, as the Eagles made a key error in the fifth inning that allowed the Minutewomen to go ahead for good. UMass struck first powered by a two-run home run from outfielder Tara Klee off starter Jordan Weed in the bottom of

the first inning. The Eagles were held scoreless for the first three innings, but fought back to tie the game in the fourth. Cortez hit a leadoff double, and was then singled in by Jordan Chimento. DiEmmanuele pinch ran for Chimento and later scored on a single by Moore. The Minutewomen scored again in the fifth inning to take the lead back. Jena Cozza led off with a walk, and was followed by a single to left field from Taylor Carbone. BC rightfielder Murphy misplayed the ball, which allowed Cozza to score the go-ahead run from first. UMass scored again in the bottom of the sixth, and the Eagles were unable to capitalize despite out-hitting the Minutewomen nine to seven. The Eagles’ dominant pitching performance this past weekend against a solid NC State team will hopefully lend even more momentum to them as they enter their last games of the season and the ACC Tournament. It will be hard to bet against them if Frei and Dreswick continue pitching like they have been.

BASEBALL

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THUMBS DOWN SENIOR-DAY DOWNER - After building a 7-3 halftime lead behind strong play from the team’s six seniors, BC lacrosse surrendered six straight goals to Johns Hopkins before finally losing 12-9 in the regular season finale. Not the best way to send off the squad’s seniors, but at least they got some delicious food at the postgame banquet. SPRING SPORT DIVERSITY - The weather’s finally becoming perfect for spring sports, but there’s not enough athletic action going on at the moment—especially if you’re not a baseball fan. How about some soccer, or football, or outdoor streetball to satisfy our spring sports desires? NO LOVE FOR SCOTTY - Birdball’s Scott Braren has come up clutch for the Eagles on multiple occasions this year, and sports a .476 average in 21 at bats this year. But therein lies the problem: Gambino has only given him 21 at bats. Maybe it’s time for him to escape his pinch-hitting role.

SPORTS in SHORT

Like Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down? Follow us @HeightsSports

DREW HOO / HEIGHTS SENIOR STAFF

Coaches from the four Beanpot schools presented Pete Frates with a $5,000 check before last week’s game. 9P 8C<: >I<8E<P ?\`^_kj <[`kfi

Ten years ago, Boston College baseball needed a spark. The team had gone 34-20 in its final season in the Big East the year before, but started just 4-11 against ACC opponents. With a 6-5 win over the University of Connecticut, BC moved one game above .500, but a difficult schedule the rest of the way threatened to give the Eagles their first losing record since 1998. Then, on April 25, 2006, BC took on Harvard in the Beanpot Championship. Eagles’ starter Ted Ratliff allowed two runs in the first inning, putting the team

in an early hole, but BC struck back. The team put up four runs in the second and a total of 10 in the game, while Ratliff settled down for a complete game threehitter, striking out nine along the way. But no one shined like Pete Frates. The junior soon-to-be captain of the Eagles went 4-4 on the day, tallying four RBIs and blasting a home run out of Fenway Park. It wasn’t even Frates’ best career game—that more likely came in a game the next year, when he went 4-6 with a grand slam, three-run homer, and eight total RBIs—but it was no doubt one of his most memorable. “I haven’t had a 4-4 day since high school,” Frates said after

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TAYLOR PERISON / HEIGHTS STAFF

The dugout watches as a BC baserunner prepares for the pitch on third base.

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that game. Since then, life has changed for Frates and his family, who learned of his diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in March 2012. Yet, that hasn’t meant the Beanpot has became any less important in their lives. Pete’s parents, Nancy and John, both came out to Northborough, Mass. this past Wednesday to watch BC beat Northeastern for the program’s 12th championship in the 26-year history of the tournament. “It’s kind of a melancholy night for us,” Nancy said before the game. “We’re excited that BC is in the championship, we follow the Beanpot every year. The fact that 10 years ago, Pete was

Numbers to Know

-

standing there with the iconic Beanpot over his head—every kid’s dream. A lot has happened in 10 years.” Frates couldn’t make the game this past Wednesday since his health makes it difficult to travel, but his impact is still present. All proceeds from the $10 tickets to the game went to benefit the Pete Frates No. 3 Fund. Before the championship game, the coaches of the four schools in the Beanpot—BC, Harvard, Northeastern, and the University of Massachusetts—presented Pete’s parents with a check from the New England Baseball Complex for $5,000 toward ALS research. Although $5,000 is barely a drop in the $115 million bucket raised by the Ice Bucket Challenge in 2014, it isn’t all about the money. The biggest inspiration for the Frates family’s effort has been the fact that before Pete was diagnosed, they had no idea what ALS was. “As Pete calls it, we’re the cool disease now,” Nancy said. “We knew we couldn’t raise money unless people really understood [what it was] ... So, the fact that the Ice Bucket Challenge not only raised all that money, but people know what ALS is now. They know the unacceptable situation of this disease, that for 75 years had no progress. Well, we’re here to tell you that there has been tremendous progress. Since the Ice Bucket Challenge, lightningspeed progress.” Nancy said that three months ago, top doctors in the field of ALS had met in Boston and announced that they expect a treatment within four to five years. Much of their fundraising right now is focused on getting in a position to spread a treatment when it is found—and

many involved are optimistic it will be soon. “We’re hoping by the 10th anniversary of Pete’s diagnosis, they’re doing things to help cure ALS, and maybe we can stop having these ALS games,” BC head coach Mike Gambino said. “That’s the goal. Doing all this stuff for ALS is not something we hope is with our program. We’re hoping in 10 years people say, remember when we used to have to make ALS a cause and now it’s gone?” His impact has also been spreading around college baseball. One of the family’s’ latest projects, Band Together to Strike Out ALS, has been to encourage ACC teams to wear wristbands for a weekend in May that reads “STRIKE OU T ALS,” with a small “PF3” in tribute to Pete. Even though Pete can’t travel with the team to every game as he did for the first couple years after his diagnosis, the players still recognize Nancy and John, and they’ll still exchange tight hugs whenever the family shows up. “I mean, that’s family,” Gambino said. “It’s hard to explain how much that means.” After the game, senior Logan Hoggarth, who went 2-3 with a homer in his final Beanpot, spoke with confidence about BC’s future in the Boston. “I know they’ll keep winning the Beanpot,” he said. “We’ll never give it back.” Frates could hardly have said better himself how important winning the Beanpot is for Birdball—after that game for 10 years ago, sometime after hoisting the trophy above his head, he wrote about how thrilled he was to be “bringing the Beanpot back to BC, where it belongs.”

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THE HEIGHTS

Monday, April 25, 2016

B3

BASEBALL

;\jg`k\ Cfjj# >XdY`ef =`e[j Gfj`k`m\j `e N\\b\e[ mj% Cfl`jm`cc\ Sunday Baseball, from B1

ALEC GREANEY / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Behind starter Kyle Funkhouser (NP), the Cardinals salvaged Sunday’s game against BC.

left field. A hard-hit ball directly at you is one of the toughest to read off the bat. Hernandez learned that the hard way. He took a few hard steps in before freezing as the ball sailed over his head and off the bottom of the wall. The run scored from first, the Cardinals added another run in the inning, and Hernandez was pulled in favor of freshman Dominic Hardaway in the next inning. On the bases, BC was picked off first base twice. The first time, Johnny Adams had just reached first on a single to right field, but Funkhouser caught him leaning. He faked a throw to third base before wheeling around and gunning Adams at first to end the BC rally.

Gambino is never one to defend baserunning mistakes by his players, but he went to bat for Adams following the game. “I think it was a balk,” Gambino said. “I’ll defend Johnny on that one. The umpires didn’t think so, but we’ll agree to disagree.” The second occasion, however, had Gambino much less accepting of the mistake. Logan Hoggarth led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a walk, and the Eagles were looking to string together a few hits in a row off of new pitcher Anthony Kidston. With Hardaway at the plate, Kidston threw a pitch in the dirt that catcher Will Smith blocked, but the ball settled a step or two away from him. Hoggarth took an aggressive lead off

of first base, and Smith threw a dart to Rosenbaum at first to nab Hoggarth. Though Hardaway eventually struck out, BC loaded the bases later in the inning, only for Louisville to escape the jam unharmed yet again. “Logan’s [baserunning error] can’t happen,” Gambino said. With the remainder of its schedule against local non-conference opponents and lower-tier ACC opponents, the Eagles have a chance to string together enough wins to make some noise in the ACC Tournament—and, perhaps, the NCAA Tournament. If the series against Louisville is any indication, the Birds might be getting hot at just the right time. Sunday’s result might have been a single step back, but the series overall was a few steps forward.

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Clutch players shine in big moments. With runners on first and third in the bottom of the ninth inning, Nick Sciortino knew that he was in a big moment. 1 Louisville He capitalized, Boston College 2 blasting a base hit up the middle for the game-winning run. In a low-scoring game with few opportunities, Sciortino didn’t let his moment slip away. For the second day in a row, Boston College baseball (21-14, 7-11 Atlantic Coast) shocked No. 4 Louisville (30-9, 13-7). This time, the final score was 2-1 after Sciortino’s walk-off single. The first four innings were a scoreless pitcher’s duel between BC’s Justin Dunn and Louisville’s Drew Harrington. Dunn, a former relief pitcher, started to get tired and allowed Danny Rosenbaum to crush a home run over the left-field wall in the fifth inning. The fastball was a bit more elevated than Dunn probably would have liked, and Rosenbaum made him pay. “We’re still stretching him out a little bit,” head coach Mike Gambino said about Dunn after the game. “You could see him starting to tire in that last inning. Fastball started coming up.” The next crucial moment of the game came in the top of the seventh inning. BC’s offense was struggling mightily and surrendering an insurance run would have been costly. Reliever Brian Rapp allowed Will Smith to smash a ground ball right at third baseman Gabe Hernandez to start the inning, who made two phenomenal diving plays earlier in the game. But on this one, Hernandez was a bit off-balance, falling backward and attempting to snare a scorcher that took a tough hop. Smith took advantage of this opportunity to get on base, stealing second base to put a potential insurance run in scoring position for the Cardinals. After Rosenbaum flew out to right field, Louisville head coach Dan McDonnell elected to send Colby Fitch to the plate as a pinch hitter. During the at bat, Smith advanced to third because of a passed ball. Fitch ended up drawing a walk, but Rapp struck out Logan Taylor with a tough breaking ball on the outside corner. Taylor was visibly frustrated with the call, sending a glare toward home-plate umpire Olindo Mattia before sauntering back to the dugout. With runners on the corners and two outs, Gambino sent right-handed relief pitcher John Nicklas to the mound. Nicklas was very careful with dangerous leadoff hitter Corey Ray, making sure that he did not give him anything good to hit. He walked Ray on five pitches, opting to attack right-handed batter

Drew Ellis instead. After getting behind on the count 2-0, Nicklas knew that he had to give Ellis something to hit because the bases were loaded. Ellis was sitting on the fastball and drove it to deep left field. A grand slam would have all but ended the Eagles’ chances, but the ball did not carry far enough. Left fielder Dominic Hardaway tracked it down to record the final out and end the rally. Through six innings, the Eagles had managed a measly three hits off Harrington. Logan Hoggarth began the seventh inning with a base hit that just got past the shortstop. Devin Hairston made a Derek Jeter-esque play earlier on a similar ground ball, but this one snuck by him as he attempted to make the backhand play. The next batter, Hernandez, laid down a sacrifice bunt to put the gametying run in scoring position. Gambino sent pinch hitter Stephen Sauter to the plate, and his ground ball to the shortstop allowed Hoggarth to make it to third base. Hoggarth’s speed and instincts were key on this play, as many baserunners would have safely stayed at second base. His efforts were rewarded, as leadoff hitter Jake Palomaki laced the payoff pitch into left-center to tie the game at one. That full-count pitch, which was Harrington’s 101st, ended his outing. Though Eagles had tied the game, they were hungry for more. Jake Sparger entered the game with a fresh arm, so continuing the two-out rally was going to be difficult. When Palomaki attempted to steal second base, Smith threw the ball past the second baseman and into center field. Palomaki advanced to third on the play and stood 90 feet away from giving BC the lead. Sciortino, no stranger to big moments in this game, drew a walk on five pitches. Michael Strem, the next batter, hit a deep fly ball to left-center, but Taylor was able to track it down. Strem got just a bit under the ball, barely missing a potential home run pitch. In the top of the eighth inning, Louisville responded to BC’s rally by putting together a similar one. In fact, a sacrifice bunt and a ground ball to shortstop which moved the runner to third base occurred once again. Gambino decided to start the inning with left-handed relief pitcher Dan Metzdorf because he liked the matchup against lefthanded hitter Brendan McKay. He worked a full-count walk, but the fourth ball was close to the strike zone, sending the BC crowd into an angry frenzy. With a right-handed hitter coming to the plate, Gambino replaced Metzdorf with right-handed pitcher Bobby Skogsbergh, who recorded the final six outs of the game. After the sacrifice bunt and ground ball out, Smith stepped up to the plate with a runner on third and two outs. Smith had been making solid contact all game, as he

had one single and two deep flyouts. This time, however, he hit a slow ground ball to shortstop. Johnny Adams charged the ball, kept his glove down, and fired a throw to first base that barely beat Smith. Sparger got the best of the Eagles in the eighth inning, quickly racking up two strikeouts and a foul out to the third baseman. In the ninth inning, Louisville threatened to score the team’s second run again by putting another runner in scoring position. Rosenbaum started it off with a base hit to right field. Ryan Summers was asked to lay down a sacrifice bunt, but after failing twice, he struck out swinging. Taylor followed with a sacrifice bunt that moved Rosenbaum to second base. Leadoff hitter Ray stepped up to the plate, but Skogsbergh blew a fastball right by him on the 1-2 pitch. McDonnell sent right-handed reliever Zack Burdi to the mound for the ninth inning. Gambino countered by sending Scott Braren to the plate as a pinch hitter. Gambino’s strategic decision paid off, as Braren—who came through in the clutch for BC twice against defending national champion Virginia—smashed a ball that diving third baseman Blake Tiberi couldn’t glove. Another pinch hitter, Anthony Maselli, was sent to the plate, but Burdi quieted the crowd a bit by recording a three-pitch strikeout. Palomaki was the next batter, and he ripped another huge base hit in between the first and second basemen. With runners on first and third, Sciortino attempted a safety squeeze on the first pitch, but he could not make contact with the ball. Gambino decided to call off the play and let Sciortino hit. He certainly delivered. The base hit up the middle emptied the dugout, as his teammates met Sciortino at first base to celebrate. “He always seems to get the big hit, you know,” Gambino reflected. “Scorsy is the guy you want in that big spot. We were looking at a safety squeeze on that first one, and they kinda crashed it so hard I said ‘Alright, go get ’em Scorsy.’” Sciortino remained humble and grateful after the game, giving credit to his teammates for the win. “It feels nice to get that hit, but props to the pitching staff for keeping us in that game,” he said. BC baseball has gone through its fair share of ups and downs this season. After taking two games from Virginia, the Eagles were swept by Notre Dame. Now, BC has taken two games from one of the nation’s best teams and has a chance for a sweep on Sunday. It will be interesting to see if the Eagles can be consistent and finish strong down the stretch in a very difficult conference to try to earn their first postseason berth since 2009.

ALEC GREANEY / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Catcher Nick Sciortino (7) hit his first career walk-off on Saturday afternoon to clinch a series win for BC against No. 4 Louisville.

ALEC GREANEY / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Freshman ace Jacob Stevens (44) tossed seven innings of one-run ball to beat Louisville.

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With a runner on first, only one man out, and black clouds rolling in, Louisville threatened Boston College baseball in the seventh inning. The Eagles 1 Louisville appeared to have Boston College 6 a commanding five-run lead, and should have prepared to coast for the remaining three frames. Yet when you’re up against a lineup like the Cardinals, whose one through six hitters all bat at least .324—yeah, you heard me—there’s never an opportunity to coast. Unless you’ve got a battery like BC’s. On a 3-2 count with the runner going, the man on the mound kicked and delivered a 92-mile-per-hour high heater that rung up cleanup hitter—and Louisville’s starting pitcher—Brendan McKay. Nick Sciortino, the man behind the plate, leapt up and fired down to second base. Johnny Adams slapped the tag down on Devin Mann with a body length to go before he reached the bag. Strike ’em out, throw ’em out. Threat over. Yes, there was a storm on its way to Chestnut Hill on Friday evening, and its name was Jacob Stevens. Riding high after a Beanpot victory over Northeastern on Wednesday, BC put up its best performance of the season thanks to its freshman stud and some timely hitting. With 102 pitches and a career-high seven innings of one-run ball—an unearned run, at that—Stevens lifted the Eagles (20-14, 6-11 Atlantic Coast) over No. 4 Louisville (30-8, 13-6) in a 6-1 final at Shea Field on Friday evening. Typically, Stevens has stymied his opponents with an 88-to-90 mph fastball that can clip both corners with ease. But with a Louisville attack that ranks third in the nation (first in the ACC) with 320 runs scored entering the day, relying on one key pitch can’t cut it. Throughout the week, Stevens worked with pitching coach Jim Foster to refine his sharp, biting slurve, complemented by a changeup that he has begun to experiment with while at BC. “Kid can just pitch,” head coach Mike Gambino said following the game. “It’s fun to watch, isn’t it?” It’s not without a little bit of struggle. Stevens, one of the nation’s leaders in WHIP, rarely pitches with runners on. The Cardinals, however, spread nine baserunners across Stevens’ seven innings. No matter. Stevens handled pitching from the stretch just as well, helped by some slick plays from his infielders. In fact, the only run of the game scored because of a questionable call at first, in which first-base umpire Olindo Mattia ruled Cronin was off the bag (even though The Heights’ own photographer’s shot says otherwise). And after the game, Stevens was asked what was working for him. “Pretty much everything,” Stevens said of

his stuff. “It was a nice warm day, had all my pitches going, so it was all good.” The day truly belonged to the BC offense. The Eagles have struggled of late at the plate. BC has fallen into a tie for 219th in the country, with only 165 runs scored entering the day—almost half of what Louisville has done this year. Middle infielder and senior captain Joe Cronin has the highest batting average on the team in ACC play, a mere .250. And if you add up the RBI numbers of BC’s top three hitters—Jake Palomaki, Nick Sciortino, and Michael Strem—they equal the output of Louisville’s leadoff man, Corey Ray, alone. From the get-go, BC was able to tee off against McKay, Louisville’s ace. The left-handed sophomore with a 2.15 ERA, 7-1 record, and impressive 73-to-22 strikeouts-to-walks ratio simply couldn’t hit his spots. He consistently missed on the outside corner with a four-seam fastball that typically hits 94, but on Friday only got to the 89-91 range. His erratic throws led to 35 pitches in the first inning, in which he allowed solid hits to Sciortino and Strem and walked Cronin and Adams to force in the game’s first run. Given his inability to claim the outside corner, McKay was forced to move inside. Initially it worked, but when he consistently had to stay inside, the Eagles pounced. With the bases loaded and one out in the third, Adams poked a single to the outfield to score two. His team’s ability to get on by spraying the ball around the field or forcing McKay to throw a lot of pitches was his key to the game. “That was huge for us, just working counts, stick to our approach, and trying to hit that fastball,” Adams said. For Gambino, it was the at bat immediately after Adams’ that solidified BC’s place in this game. As Gian Martellini, a catcher by trade, danced on third, Logan Hoggarth lofted a fly ball to right field on a 2-2 pitch. Louisville’s Colin Lyman lined it up and fired home, yet the tag by Colby Fitch was too late. “If we don’t score there, not getting that run would’ve changed things,” Gambino said. With McKay done after five, the Eagles turned their attention to getting insurance off the Cardinals’ bullpen. That came in the sixth, when BC used a mix of good hitting and small ball to tack on two more off Sam Bordner. The first came on a double by Palomaki that scored Gabe Hernandez from first. The latter run came after Palomaki stole third and Strem placed a perfect safety squeeze to get him home. With starters like Stevens and hitting from the entire lineup, Gambino’s crew has the perfect storm to go up against any team in the ACC, even No. 4 Louisville. What the Eagles now need to do is prove if they can use that consistency to propel them to a berth in the ACC Tournament for the first time since 2009. If they play like they did on Friday going forward, there’s reason to believe it’ll happen.

THE HEIGHTS

B4

Monday, April 25, 2016

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ALEC GREANEY / HEIGHTS EDITOR

BC is heavily disadvantaged because of the NCAA’s ban. Someone tell that to Steve. Satellite Camps, from B1

ments through the most basic and classic reasoning: It’s another reason that gives backing to the national narrative that the NCAA is a bunch of crooks. Preventing coaches and student-athletes from freely having an opportunity to go on the open market and choosing their school or players may open up another round of antitrust suits. If anyone should be leading the outrage charge, it’s Steve Addazio and Boston College football. (Note: Addazio has been reached for comment and has not yet responded by time of publication.) There’s a few reasons for this, and it starts with proximity. As a member of the ACC, Addazio has

already been burned by his inability to stretch outside that 50-mile mark thanks to the conference’s self-imposition. The ACC does this because, at its core, it’s a Southern league with schools smack dab in the middle of some exclusive recruiting hotbeds. No, they’re not from the big three— Texas, California, and Florida, save for Miami—but there’s still a load of blue-chip talent in places like North and South Carolinas, Georgia, and even Western Pennsylvania. That’s not the case in BC’s 50-mile radius. Thanks to SB Nation’s Nebraska affiliate Corn Nation, we can see exactly how many recruits from 2002-14 fall into that sweet spot. Hint: it’s not many. First, we must adjust for

“blue-chip recruits,” or those who received a 4- or 5-star from some arbitrary scaling system. These are the guys who are supposed to make or break a program with their incomparable amounts of physical strength and athleticism (A quick reminder that we are rating 17-year-olds). In some areas, there’s no problem in restricting coaches to that 50-mile radius because of how big the talent pool is. If you examine the radii around North Carolina’s four ACC schools—Wake Forest, Duke, North Carolina, and North Carolina State—you’ll find that there were 27 blue-chip recruits (20 were 4-stars, seven were 5-stars). Down near Miami, there were 22 blue chippers (five 5-stars). Around Georgia Tech, there were a whopping 41 who qualified (28 were 4s, 13 were 5s). Not all of them went to the schools in their areas, but the coaches there had easier access to them. Meanwhile, BC is screwed. In its 50-mile radius, which stretches as far west as Worcester, as far north as Manchester, N.H., and as far south as Providence, there have only been 10 “blue-chip prospects,” all of them 4-stars. Of those 10, BC has successfully recruited five of them: Will Blackmon, Albert Louis-Jean, Gosder Cherlius, Jim Unis, and Mark Spinney. The other five were snatched by Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, Vanderbilt, and Maryland. On the other hand, BC has struggled in attacking entire states in which ACC schools lie, much less its direct radii. The

Eagles have only had four bluechip recruits come from the 50mile radius of another school in the ACC. All four of them—John Elliott, Will Thompson, Steele DiVitto and Brian Toal—came within the reach of Rutgers, a school that isn’t even in the conference anymore. After that, BC has stolen two blue chips in Pennsylvania and two in Virginia. Now, let’s take a couple of things away from that. There are some unavoidable factors here that absolve BC of some blame. Four of those five schools had to work under those rules limiting coach travel (at the time, Maryland was in the ACC). No matter where you go, people are going to know Michigan and Georgia football. Moreover, we can’t blame Addazio for any of these shortcomings—none of those blue chippers within the wall were from the time when he recruited at BC. Yet Addazio’s strategy of a BC coach building that wall around Massachusetts and the New England area isn’t one that was unique to him. The truth is that it’s hard to find reason to build a wall when there’s nothing to keep inside. Now, when you open it up to 3-star recruits—which, mind you, are a big dropoff in the recruiting world—BC performs a lot better given the amount of solid prospects there are in New England. Additionally, BC has shown an ability to snag incredibly talented 3-star recruits from states in which ACC rivals reside. For example, Andre Williams is from Maryland, Harold Landry

from North Carolina, and Kamrin Moore from Virginia. BC’s coaching staff should be commended for developing these players (and others) into elite prospects. But given that New England high school football isn’t as highly regarded in the national eye—nor should it be—it’s hard to say how these kids will perform going up against players who spent their time in the South or West smashing each other. And relying solely on a coaching staff without mixing in the occasional elite and natural talent can come back to bite some players. It’s Harbaugh’s main objection, however, that should be a factor in Addazio’s argument. Harbaugh’s brother, John, the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens, weighed in on that issue to ESPN.com. “What are we arguing against?” the elder Harbaugh said. “An opportunity for young athletes to take a look at colleges from other parts of the country, especially those that aren’t in a socio-economic situation where they can travel all over the country with their parents and look at schools.” These camps provide an opportunity for coaches from across the country to access areas they’d never get a foot in. It’s especially helpful for ones that don’t have as large a footprint. Perennial Big Ten bottomfeeder Northwestern and the MAC’s Ball State both struggle to attract high-end recruits. Yet when Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald and Ball State’s Pete Lambo spoke at a camp hosted by Harbaugh in Ann Arbor, they

helped spread their message and get to recruits that Michigan might not be interested in. That’s something that would help BC greatly. Addazio has a unique recruiting pitch shared only by Northwestern and, in a little more of a stretch, Stanford. At BC, you can get a top-flight education, better than many other FBS schools, while still being in a large city and not a farm village in rural Indiana. Since so many of the best recruits don’t live in the area, it’s expensive for them to make the trip to Boston. Giving Addazio the opportunity to go down South—or, honestly, even to New Jersey, BC’s hottest and most exclusive recruiting bed of late—benefits the program and the players who want to be seen by as many recruits as possible. Just ask the hundreds of players, former and current, who have tweeted out how ridiculous this ruling is. It’s just information and opportunity, that’s all. Then again, when has the NCAA ever taken into account the well-being of its players? (No, free Wi-Fi doesn’t count.) As a Northern school allied with Southern schools by conference and forced to play under their rules, Addazio and BC must stand up for what’s good for themselves. It’s the only way BC will have any chance of making the jump to becoming a great program.

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TAYLOR PERISON / HEIGHTS STAFF

Though BC built up an 8-3 lead in the first half, Hopkins ultimately prevailed.

Six seniors took the field for the last time at Boston College on Saturday, as lacrosse finished off its Johns Hopkins 12 regular Boston College 9 season against Johns Hopkins in front of a spirited crowd. This was just the second time the two teams have met, with the Eagles taking the first-ever meeting in last year’s season opener against the Blue Jays. BC came in riding a threegame winning streak at the most crucial point in the season. With big wins previously coming against Dartmouth, Virginia Tech, and Harvard, the Eagles appeared to be clicking at the right time. But BC (10-7, 2-5 Atlantic Coast) faltered after a strong start, falling 12-9 to the Blue Jays (10-7). The Eagles came out firing in the first half on their way to a 7-3 lead at the break. Sarah Mannelly powered BC’s attack, as she tallied a goal and three assists. Seniors Kate Rich and Caroline Margolis each tallied a point as

well for BC in their last game at the Newton Lacrosse Field. Zoe Ochoa held down the fort in goal with five terrific saves in the first half for BC. Ochoa’s play was key in helping the Eagles stretch their lead out to a four-goal margin, despite the immense pressure provided by the Blue Jays’ attack in the first half. BC carried its momentum into the second half, as Tess Chandler scored 3:28 in to make it 8-3 Eagles. But Johns Hopkins responded ferociously with three unanswered goals, two coming from Shannon Fitzgerald and the third from Emily Kenul, making it an 8-6 game with 20 minutes remaining. The Eagles called a timeout to gather themselves, and Mannelly won the draw out of the timeout, taking the ball quickly all the way down the field before Hopkins goalie Caroline Federico denied her shot. This short sign of life by the Eagles was succeeded by two more goals for the Blue Jays, making it an 8-8 game with 16 minutes remaining. Just a minute later, Johns Hopkins took its first lead, 9-8. The veteran Mannelly responded

with an immediate goal to tie the game once again, igniting the crowd of Eagles’ faithful. Fitzgerald silenced the crowd with yet another goal for the Blue Jays, sneaking a shot past Ochoa in the upper right corner to make it 10-9 with 12 minutes remaining. Hopkins then added two more goals, each coming from Miranda Ibello, to stretch its lead to 12-9 with seven minutes remaining, forcing head coach Acacia Walker to replace Ochoa with Lauren Daly in net. Looking to chip away at their deficit, Carly Bell won a ground ball for the Eagles, and they controlled the ball deep in Johns Hopkins’ zone. After throwing the ball back and forth for close to two minutes while looking for a shooting lane to open up, Mannelly finally fired a shot on goal with 5:20 remaining in the game. The ball went wide and out of bounds, and Johns Hopkins won back possession of the ball. This was the Eagles’ last chance to make it a game down the stretch. BC struggled mightily in the second half, as its high-powered offense was held to just two

goals. The game was lost in draw controls, as Hopkins dominated BC 14-9 on draws, resulting in the Blue Jays controlling possession for much of the game. The Eagles were unable to get anything going down the stretch, with the ball in their defensive zone for almost the entire last 15 minutes of the game. Kenul was the key to Johns Hopkins’ potent second-half attack. The Brookeville, Md., native tallied three goals and two assists on six shots. For the Eagles, Mannelly was the star as she scored two goals and added two assists. Junior Kate Weeks scored her 38th goal of the season for BC, giving her the team scoring title for the regular season. The Eagles will head down to Blacksburg, Va., for the ACC Tournament on Thursday, where they will take on Syracuse on Thursday at 5 p.m. on ESPN3. They’ll look to strengthen their resume for the NCAA tournament. But even as the No. 16 team in the nation, the Eagles may need to do a little more work in order to guarantee a spot in the 26-team field.

CLASSIFIEDS

THE HEIGHTS THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, January 17, 2014

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THE HEIGHTS

B6

Monday, April 25, 2016

DXe 9\_`e[ K_\ B`e^ G\Zlc`Xicp <ogcfi\[ `e Ê<cm`j Xe[ E`ofeË 9P :?I@J =LCC<I 8ikj I\m`\n <[`kfi Jerry Schilling needs to get home. His girlfriend’s parents are going to be in L.A. in the next couple hours, and he wants to ask her father for his permission to marry her. He goes to tell his buddy, Elvis Presley, that he can’t stay in Washington, D.C., anymore. He needs to get home now. Presley, coating his hair with black hair spray, is baffled ELVIS AND NIXON th at h i s Amazon Studios friend would leave him in his time of need. In his calm, seductive tone, Presley tries to explain to Schilling why he needs him by his side. “When people see you, they see Jerry,” said Presley, “When they see me, they never see the boy from Tennessee. They see an object. They buried that boy Jerry. They buried him in gold. You see that boy, Jerry. I need you here.” As time goes on, Presley continues to recede into the memories of older and younger

generations. He’s often portrayed as the radical, hip-thrusting youth that led rock and roll to new frontiers and significance in the ’50s and ’60s. But beyond Presley’s many hits and television appearances lies a man with ideals and opinions that one might not expect from the king—the “object”—of rock and roll. Elvis & Nixon, the latest film from director Liza Johnson and Amazon Studios, explores the mindset of the famed rock star in the midst of the changing political and cultural landscapes in 1970, and is based on true events. Watching newsreels and films from his home, Graceland, in Memphis, Tenn., Presley (Michael Shannon) decides that he has a part to play in maintaining what he considers traditional American principles. He flies to Washington, D.C., with the intention of meeting President Nixon (Kevin Spacey) and asking the president to make him a federal agent-at-large for the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. Elvis & Nixon’s goldmine is found in its climax, where Nixon and Presley come together in the Oval Office. According to a People Magazine interview with the actual Jerry Schilling—a producer for the film—much of what

happened at the meetings was exaggerated. Regardless, seeing these two iconic figures brought together with a comedic tone is amusing to say the least. Seeing Nixon curmudgeon about the office, while Elvis performs karate routines with his friends, is a beautiful sight, despite knowing the actual meeting was a little less saucy. While the famous meeting is the goldmine of the film, Elvis & Nixon’s exploration of the aging, surprisingly conservative rock star, as well as Shannon’s performance, make up the film’s heart and soul. Shannon, at first glance, might not be the first person a viewer would expect to see playing Elvis, but the actor’s soothing, almost melodious whisper is enrapturing and very much in the surmised persona of Presley. Seeing the “object” of Elvis dismantled—the well-read man under glamorous outfits and golden sunglasses is actually vulnerable—reminds viewers that even the most composed celebrities have their own daily gripes to trudge through. The rest of the cast and, honestly, the rest of the film lack substance and feel useless next to Elvis’ character and Shannon’s performance. Spacey presents a predictably accurate, hu-

AMAZON STUDIOS

Michael Shannon brilliantly brings life to a man often overshadowed by his immense legacy. morous portrayal of Nixon, but Nixon only really serves as a vehicle to explore more of Elvis’ personality. Aside from their meeting, Nixon is in the film very little. Pettyfer does fine with his part, but the film doesn’t do a great job of making audiences sympathize or care about him getting back to his girlfriend. It’s still hard to tell why Knoxville’s character is in the film, other than that there were two of Elvis’ friends in the Oval Office in a few pictures from that day. The film might have purposely left the focus off of these supporting characters, but this decision leaves the scenes without Shannon feeling immensely lackluster.

To say the least, Elvis & Nixon is a bizarre film. Running at under an hour and 30 minutes and produced by Amazon Studios, the film feels like it should be found on the streaming service’s web site, not in a movie theater. It serves an interesting depiction of rock god Presley, framing this engaging characterization in a charming, yet unimportant moment in history, which leaves Elvis & Nixon feeling trivial. Elvis & Nixon would work well as an Amazon short film that one finds browsing Amazon Prime on a Saturday morning, but for viewers trekking out to a theater for the film, the movie seems barely worth the effort.

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1 WALT DISNEY STUDIOS

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE REPORT TITLE

WEEKEND GROSS

WEEKS IN RELEASE

1. THE JUNGLE BOOK

60.8

2

2. THE HUNTSMAN: WINTER’S WAR

20.0

1

3. BARBERSHOP: THE NEXT CUT

10.8

2

4. ZOOTOPIA

6.6

8

5. THE BOSS

6.0

3

6. BATMAN V SUPERMAN

5.5

5

7. CRIMINAL

3.1

2

8. MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING 2

2.1

5

9. COMPADRES

1.3

1

10. EYE IN THE SKY

1.2

7

AMC STUDIOS

A lack of narrative direction in AMC’s ‘Fear’ may leave viewers craving brains and substance as much the hordes of undead from which they flee. 9P :?8E;C<I =FI; ?\`^_kj JkX]]

Over the past 20 years, American society’s obsession with the dead returning to life has increased tenfold. Zombies are at the forefront of pop culture, and there is no greater evidence of this than the coexisting television shows The Walking Dead and Fear The Walking Dead. Unlike the former, Fear The Walking Dead does not have the benefit of prior source material, meaning that it is blazing new plot trails for AMC’s zombified empire. And with the recently announced 43-percent increase in viewership for the latest season of the show, it is easy to see why Fear The Walking Dead has been renewed. Of course, therein lies the big question: why and how does it FEAR THE WALKING mainDEAD tain such AMC Studios a large viewer base? The answer to this question, unfortunately, is difficult to uncover. It certainly does not lie with the writing of the show, because much like its big brother, The Walking Dead, Fear struggles to offer a believable skeleton story that fleshes out its characters. The spin-off explores the origins of the living-dead apocalypse that wrecked the world of The Walking Dead, but with very little of the gumption normally offered in the creations of Robert Kirkman,

the writer of The Walking Dead’s comics. Fear The Walking Dead feels skewered by its own normalcy, an ironic twist for a television program seeking to depict the very downfall of normalcy. A perfect example of this paradox is the plotline of the first episode of the show—fleeing the apocalypse by boat. Especially for a television show set in Los Angeles, making a run for the coast is not particularly compelling. Both Walking Dead shows explore the lives of characters rather than the world around them. But still, there is no denying that setting sail to flee the apocalypse is not an original or interesting idea. Perhaps, then, the popularity of the show lies with its actors and actresses. This is the more believable scenario— AMC, for all its flaws, has an undeniable knack for finding the best and brightest of unknown talent. Cliff Curtis, playing Travis Manawa, is arguably the star of the show in terms of ability. Though he does not maintain center stage with much consistency, it is clear that his acting prowess matches the higher elites of Hollywood. Kim Dickens as Madison Clark and Frank Dillane as Nick Clark make strong backing performances as well, proving once again that a strong cast of characters may not save a show, but they undoubtedly improve it. Colman Domingo, as Victor Strand, is the definite sleeper cell of Fear The Walking Dead’s cast—known for his work in Lincoln, Lee Daniels’ The Butler, and Selma, Domingo is unaccustomed

to working on a television program, but he makes the transition flawlessly. His talent, combined with the refreshing inclusion of many new cast members, makes for a rather enjoyable cast all around. Those who are attentive to cinematography will also find reason to keep tuning in every Sunday. Though it may not carry the visual mastery of its predecessor, the color palette of Fear The Walking Dead is still appealing. Glowing yellows and oranges make for a nice backdrop to the impending doom of humanity. As it goes with visuals, so it goes with music as well—the score of Fear delivers in the highest degree. Much like The Walking Dead, Fear The Walking Dead has the inner workings of a good show. Though the writing struggles a good deal, the minds behind the magic are strong, meaning that Fear very much has the potential to become a household AMC classic. As the situation currently stands, the truest fans of the show will be the ones already invested in the worldbuilding of Kirkman’s original masterpiece, and truthfully, this is an acceptable reality. Pulling in 3.5 million viewers a night is no small feat. Problems fester, however, if they are not solved. If Fear The Walking Dead is ever to find success like a litany of AMC’s programs that have come before it, it must shore up its errors in writing and originality, or else it will go the way of the world it depicts—straight into the fire.

3

2 UNIVERSAL PICTURES

3 NEW LINE CINEMA

HARDCOVER FICTION BESTSELLERS 1. ONE WITH YOU Sylvia Day 2. THE BEAST J. R. Ward 3. AS TIME GOES BY Mary Higgins 4. FOOL ME ONCE Harlan Coben 5. FAMILY JEWELS Stewart Woods

6. THE 14TH COLONY Steve Berry 7. THE NEST Cynthia Sweeney 8. ME BEFORE YOU Jojo Moyes 9. VIRGINS Diana Gabaldon 10. FAKING JAKE Bryan Reardon SOURCE: New York Times

<jg`feX^\ Gfj\j GifYc\dj# Gf`jfej ?fd\ C`]\ `e ÊK_\ 8d\i`ZXejË 9P IP8E ;FN; ?\`^_kj J\e`fi JkX]] Early in “The Rat,” the most recent episode of The Americans, Phillip turns to his gruff, scientific operative William. Phillip doesn’t look too good. Matthew Rhys’ rogue, Welsh good looks have leaned more and more rogue-ish this season. William, played with a certain boredom by Dylan Baker, sighs. These are the quiet moments in The Americans, the moments just before a character mutters something THE AMERICANS inessenAmblin Television tial that speaks of truth, the show’s webbed and intersecting conflicts. “It eats you up inside … this job,” William sympathizes. The job has become more and more difficult, to say the least. Things used to be simple and easy in the good old days. In The Americans, Phillip and Elizabeth are Soviet spies living in plain sight among the suburban

whigs and wasps. They’re married to each other and to the cause. Their accents, cars, and even kids are all American. They carry out dead drops and kidnappings across D.C., and they’ve been at it for a while. The show explores, as many critics have noted over the past few years, the Cold War of the American marriage. Now, in the middle of its fourth season, The Americans is still one of the finest shows on television, hiding in plain sight like Phillip and Elizabeth. In a nice suburban house, with nice kids and nice things, The Americans asks the question… who is this person lying next to me? Can they, can this refuge, save me from a job that might (metaphorical made literal in this case) kill me? The tentpole operating principle of The Americans is marrying micro and macro tension, emotional and geopolitical stakes. It explores the emotional consequences of being a spy and not only being a spy, but being married to a spy. One of the main threads the past season and a half has explored, running along the uber-thread described above, is whether you can be a good spy and a good person. Phillip is trying. Elizabeth, played by Keri Russell,

still carries a more Soviet disposition. “The Rat” finds Martha, Phillip’s operative within the FBI counterintelligence office, compromised or near compromised. Phillip is also “married” to Martha, first for his cover, but now Phillip really seems to care for Martha. And if the FBI figures it out, questions her, then Philip and Elizabeth are blown. Show’s over. Phillip brings her in, and the FBI plans to ship her out as soon as possible. And as Philip is trying to figure out what to do with Martha, and Elizabeth is trying to figure out if she should be worried about Phillip and Martha, back at the FBI office they’re trying to parse Martha’s possible betrayal. “I think Martha’s bad,” Stan Beeman, played with a twitching stillness by Noah Emmerich, says. His boss, the gleefully stereotypical G-man Frank Gaad mutters, “Martha’s worked here over 10 years…that’s crazy.” The question Beeman and Gaad are struggling to climb is a simple one. How could our secretary betray us? How can Martha be good and bad? While “The Rat” is surely a harrowing (in a good way) hour of television, it doesn’t have

AMBLIN TELEVISION

‘The Americans’ continues to amp up the tension as the KGB operatives’ covers begin to falter. the spy craft that usually makes The Americans a wee bit of fun. Spy stuff is fun, but the show doesn’t seem to care for that side of the equation anymore. The Americans is brutal and stressful—a wallop to the gut and needle inching its way through your eyeball in the best way. And sometimes a nice car chase or bit of spy craft set to Fleetwood Mac or Genesis can be rewarding for the viewer. In the beginning of the season, the Jennings were forced to bring a sample of Glanders (a horrible chemical weapon) into their

garage. It was a perfect metaphor to start the season—Phillip and Elizabeth bringing poison into the home. And much of the fun—maybe not fun—tension of the season has been to see how in even subtler ways the work Philip and Elizabeth affects the home. And one has been Phillip’s idealism. Can I be a good spy and a good man? And the answer has been a resounding no. And Martha is surely “the rat,” the informant. But she’s also the tragic, unintentional subject of Phillip’s trial-but-mostlyerror with this new way of living.

THE HEIGHTS

Monday, April 25, 2016

B7

AMELIE TRIEU / HEIGHTS EDITOR

:lij\ Nfi[j# :cfnej# Xe[ :_XiXZk\ij DXb\ =fi ?`cXi`flj :_Xfj ]fi ::< :i\n CCE, from B8 then cheer for their favorite household animal. As the room warmed up, the crew announced their first game: an improv musical. Calling this performance a game somewhat trivializes it, and this is a true tragedy because CCE’s level of ingenuity this time around cannot be overstated. There is something to be said for the abilities of an improv actor who can write cohesive songs—ones that are rhyming, no less—without any pre-existing plan. In fact, the CCE improv musical was

impressive even without the merit of the songs. Telling the story of an idyllic, plastic-flamingo-loving community, the musical explored the relations between each of the town’s citizens. Nothing is off-limits for CCE—incest, clowns, and calling your children ugly were all topics that were broached over the course of the night. The unnamed musical even had a redemptive arc and a moral, too: “family is more important than f—k.” Yes, seriously. As the show progressed, CCE moved on to more short-form games. Classics such as “growing-shrinking machine” and “pan left” were brought out and

executed with precision and poise. In particular, the growing-shrinking machine is of g reat interest— the game begins with only two actors, but progresses upwards at an alarming rate. More and more actors enter the scene, and each time someone enters, the scene must change to something new. Finally, once the limit has been reached, actors leave the stage, and the scenes begin to progress backwards to their original states until only two performers are left. This improv game is typically a fan favorite, and with good reason: not only is it hilarious chaos, it showcases the ability of the actors extremely well.

Toward the end of the evening, CCE launched into long-form improv. This consists of a long-running series of routines, each of which is connected to another. In this instance, CCE’s long-form improv told the story of a man with rectal cancer, plagued by an overbearing daughter, a fame-seeking surgeon, and an eerily obsessive ex-wife. This, perhaps, is when improv becomes most interesting—when it becomes humorous, improvised storytelling. It is enjoyable for all involved to follow the stories and lives of freshly created characters, and when the scenarios are injected with the perfect dose of humor,

there is all the more reason to love the experience. Strangely enough, the best part of the night was not the comedy, but rather the reason for the show itself: the departing seniors. Seeing them cycle out of the Committee was a genuinely sad sight. It is clear that the CCE underclassmen feel much the same way, as some tears could be seen in the eyes of both performers and audience members at the close of the show. Goodbyes are never easy, and the members of the Committee for Creative Enactments are more than just actors—they are a family.

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KRISTIN SALESKI / HEIGHTS STAFF

9: :_fiXc\Ëj E`^_k f] C`^_kj Chorale, from B8 Frideric Handel’s spirited song “Let Their Celestial Concerts All Unite.” Majoring in music and biochemistry, Seo is also the director of the Madrigal Singers at BC. Having started his singing, composing, and conducting career when he was 16, Seo put his skills to the test in front of a large crowd of classical music lovers from the BC community. Titled “Sunrise Mass,” Gjeilo’s fourpart blend of mesmerizing instrumentals and vocals was the final piece performed, spanning a period of nearly 30 minutes. The students’ voices, lifted in harmonious exaltation, provided the audience with a rousing and inventive rendition of a typical Christian Mass. Latin lyrics, synchronized voices, and the various string instruments combined to create an evocative musical experience for all in attendance. The piece began with “The Spheres,” a calming opening to an emotion-evoking piece marked by a melange of beautiful harmonies. The soft voices blended perfectly into the beginning of the euphoric “Sunrise.” Sharply contrasting its lighthearted tone was “The City,” a powerful and compelling piece made

possible by the male singers’ booming vocals. The triumphant tone of this portion transitioned nicely into the final part of the piece titled “Identity & The Ground.” A rather long song, the varied nature of the four parts broke “Sunrise Mass” into manageable pieces for the audience to enjoy. Though the University Chorale’s Annual Spring Concert marks the final formal performance for the Chorale members graduating this year, the group will take the stage to perform at BC’s annual Arts Fest on Thursday afternoon at 4:30 on O’Neill Plaza. As usual, it will also be featured at the Commencement Mass and Graduation Ceremony. The University Chorale’s choice of music pieces was wonderfully suited for the warm spring season—jaunty and enthusiastic as well as serene and mellow, the tone of the performance kept audience members engrossed in the Chorale’s classical performance. The inclusion of Gjeilo-composed songs as well as the celestial and religious themes incorporated into the program contributed to the rejuvenating nature of spring—a season marked by rebirth, rejoicing, and the overpowering prevalence of nature.

throughout history, the exhibit calls to mind the kind of expansive and varied history found in the community. It is apparent that the experiences had by people of the past and of today are as varied and unique as the individuals the images represent. The visual representation follows an abridged timeline of AsianAmerican history in the United States, from migration to the modern age. The progression follows not only the trials, but also the triumphs of the community throughout history. Though the products of racial issues can be seen in many of the pieces, a sense of resilience remains just as pervasive. One image depicts the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. The action was seen as a preventative wartime measure to ensure the safety of Americans. What is often forgotten is that 62 percent of those interned were American citizens. The blatant disregard and invalidation of civil liberties of these Americans can been seen in the photo as a crowd of Japanese-Americans stands behind a barbed-wire fence. This divisive and unconstitutional internment led up to the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, through which reparations were made to the interned and their heirs. Despite this, the event will forever mark a dark

moment for Asian-Americans, due to the loss of material goods, reputation, and in some cases, life. On the theme of inclusion, one photo depicts Filipino-American stewards accompanying President Harry S. Truman to the Potsdam Conference in Potsdam, Germany following the defeat of the Nazis, as well as a photo of an all Japanese American battalion around the same time period. These images reflect the positions of Asian-Americans at crucial points in world history, as these people were strong, active participants in history, rather than ineffective, standing idly by. Another image shows the masses of Chinese workers as they constructed the Transcontinental Railroad in the 19th century, experiencing different hardships of an earlier time. These new immigrant workers represented around 90 percent of the workforce as they laid down ties, ballasts, and steel. In building the network that spanned and connected the country, the low-paying, high-risk environment cost many of the workers their lives. Cutting through mountains and driving spikes proved to be arduous work that claimed the lives of many of the Chinese workers along the Central Pacific section of the railway stretching from Utah to California. They also remain active makers of history, despite the brutal, sometimes fatal costs.

During the 1992 Los Angeles riots, Korean-American establishments were the targets of looting and vandalism following the acquittal of four officers involved in the beating of Rodney King, leading many to feel abandoned and unprotected by law enforcement. Many Korean-Americans thought to leave the area as a result of such express violence toward them. An image showcased in the gallery is striking, as it depicts men armed to defend themselves in solidarity. Showing a storefront enveloped in flames acutely shows the severity and impact of the situation. In the current age, the exhibit chooses to address the topical issue of diversity in regards to the Oscars, criticizing the 2016 host Rock for his jokes utilizing Asian stereotypes. This is represented through a shot of Chris Rock cracking a joke perceived by many as racist while gesturing to several Asian boys on stage. In this way the exhibit shows how such conversations regarding inclusion and respect remain as pertinent today as they have been in the preceding decades. The Asian-American History exhibit follows the trials and journeys of many Asian peoples in America. In many cases, the forces at work were great and seemingly unsurmountable. But as the exhibit suggests through its provocative images, people, no matter

SAVANNA KIEFER / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Attesting to histories often overlooked, the O’Neill One exhibit calls to mind the trials and triumphs of peoples from across the Pacific.

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:?I@J =LCC<I It’s a strange thing as a Lord of the Rings fan to confront the idea that the film adaptations’ best and worst qualities are their visuals and special effects. I would say that the epic battle scenes in Peter Jackson’s trilogy were the most sublime spectacles I had ever seen when the films were originally released. Though today some shots and the films’ CGI don’t look as crisp and clean as

they might have back in the early 2000s, the Lord of the Rings films arguably hold their own against the last couple years’ blockbusters and even Peter Jackson’s subsequent Hobbit trilogy. This notion, presented at the opening of Boston College philosophy professor Peter Kreeft’s lecture “What Lord of the Rings Tells Us about America” in Higgins 310 Thursday night, left the room silent, probably giving Kreeft his desired effect. While Kreeft let this idea ruminate in our heads for a bit, he went on to explain that he felt the Lord of the Rings’ visuals expressed what he views as an abhorrent quality in our nation: our obsession with technology, grandiosity, and violence. Though Kreeft acknowledged that Lord

NEW LINE CINEMA

of the Rings is a violent series capturing a fantastical war, he felt that the films went unnecessarily out of their way in a few instances to heighten violent scenes, like when Frodo and Golem struggle over the ring in Mount Doom in Return of the King. This idea, while the first analogy Kreeft made between The Lord of the Rings and American society, was not the last or most striking. Looking at the colorful cast of characters in The Lord of the Rings, Kreeft chose the one character he felt best encapsulated American society: Sauron, the antagonist of the series. Sauron, Kreeft feels, is the perfect candidate to represent America in the story because of his obsession with conquest, his focus on crude and efficient manufacturing, and above all, because of his, as Kreeft puts it, “external materialization of his power in the one, true ring.” The ring, in Kreeft’s view, isn’t just one manifestation of America’s strength, but has many facets. The ring could represent our military, our technological feats, or even apathy. There is one social construct, however, that Kreeft decided, above the others, is the ring’s truest form for America: artificial immortality by genetic engineering. Kreeft feels that this is the most accurate representation of the ring for American society because it mirrors Sauron’s purpose for creat-

ing the ring: conquering death. Kreeft believes that, if American society is to persist and grow, it must cast this metaphorical ring into the fire. This all may seem a bit confusing, and that’s both because there’s a very substantive argument to grapple with and because Kreeft presented it in a very roundabout manner, leaving a few of his points under-developed. Kreeft didn’t really explain who would destroy his metaphorical ring, or how you could convince people to stunt technological growth. Instead, he left that to the lecture’s attendees to decide, and focused on examples of how societies within the book handle technology. He pointed out that the blissful Hobbits ignore technological growth, the Elves have refined their productions through art, and that the dwarves are plagued by their greed. These examples gave the attendees a picture of how Kreeft imagines America could look if it focused less on technological superiority, but at the same time, they did nothing to explain how Kreeft envisions us reining in technology’s might. After Kreeft’s lecture, a Q&A with the professor commenced that lasted nearly as long as the lecture. While one might think this Q&A would allow students an opportunity to ask Kreeft to clarify and expand on some of the points

he made in his lecture, it more devolved into students asking Kreeft for his interpretations of certain scenes or themes found in the novels and in the films, like whether or not Lord of the Rings is racist. These types of questions were interesting, and it was engaging seeing how interested Kreeft is in the series. But the Q&A didn’t do much to clear up some of the points in Kreeft’s lecture that were muddled. It’s difficult to assess how I really feel about Kreeft’s lecture and thoughts. His comparisons and metaphors he drew out of that beloved, fantastical world are interesting to consider and have kept me working through them days after the lecture. Seeing such a large Lord of the Rings fan base congregate in Higgins was lovely, as I haven’t been in a room with as many avid followers of the series since the movies came out. Leaving Kreeft’s lecture, though, I felt like I had more questions about “What Lord of the Rings Tells Us about America” than I had walking in. Maybe that was the point. Literary works and societal issues of an epic nature deserve an epic analysis, and maybe Kreeft’s lecture is just scratching the surface of both.

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B8

ARTS&REVIEW MONDAY , OCTOBER MONDAY , APRIL19, 25,2015 2016

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CALEB GRIEGO When you are on the road, so many things pass you by. The mindlessness of driving needs to be uplifted by things like the radio, lest the driver go insane. On long road trips out to New Mexico, or up to northern Maine, I was always amazed by my parents’ ability to know virtually every song that made its way onto the radio. From station to station, they not only knew the songs being played, artist, album, and year, but were able to sing, say, or poetically recount all the words. As a kid, I didn’t think I was capable of housing so much knowledge, but as I grew I began to add, song by song, lyrics I knew by heart to my mind. The words meant something, but the more I think about it, the more I wonder if lyrics are important at all. Some say they are the first thing they notice, finding each word instantly and letting it wash over them. Others say that lyrics come second to the sound and movement of the song, adding embellishment to an instrumental showcase. Much of the time, I agree with the latter sentiment, because oftentimes instruments or nonhuman sounds capture feelings and emotions that words never could. Words have a distinct meaning. Though over time they may change, they remain, at least in one moment in time, stagnant. Notes, on the other hand, require more context. Chords, harmonies, progressions, and keys all play important roles in shaping a song. A single note needs the context found within the rest of the piece, which can give that note a whole new feel or meaning from song to song. That sensation of goosebumps one gets when hearing a favorite song is often, for me, brought about through the first couple notes or chords rather than the first verse. But we are drawn to lyrics still. Words. Something compels us to sing along or at least, in our minds, follow the train of thought in the song. I find that this has to due with our innate need to find something tangible and comprehensible to latch onto. We can understand the meaning of the words in this moment and extrapolate meaning based on definitions and cognitive inference. But I also find another reason, one that speaks to the core of humanity and people. When we are first born, we cannot see anything more than shadows. We can, however, hear. And the first tangible thing we may latch onto, our introduction in the world is often a sound. A voice. The voice of a doctor or our mother or father is the first sensory experience we get. When we gravitate to voices, I believe it is because it is one of the first things we do and one of our first experiences. And the sounds are human. There is no guitar or keyboard to function as a medium between the two. It simply is one person’s voice and another’s ability to hear it. Lyrics, words, and poetry speak to that connection between people that we have been building since we were born. The voice of another person is enticing to listen to. It is not so much what they are saying, so much as the fact that they are saying something. In this way, lyrics interject a concrete, unadulterated human element into music that resonates with our primal inclinations to associate ourselves with the sounds of another person. I find myself drawn to lyrics more and more now, not because they are saying anything in particular, but because they are saying something. The meaning behind lyrics is a discussion for another time, but I think their place in songs is solidified and needed in today’s age. As we become more dissociated from other people through various means, having songs that continue to maintain a human element is even more important. When I drive now, during the summers I find myself with the music. The radio blaring, I find songs everywhere that I know the lyrics to. Quietly to myself, I may sing along, knowing that, in all likelihood, someone somewhere is doing the same.

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SING IT TO THE LIGHTS

KRISTIN SALESKI / HEIGHTS STAFF

The eclectic setlist at Chorale’s Spring Concert kept audience enchanted. 9P ?8EE8? D:C8L>?C@E 8jjk% 8ikj I\m`\n <[`kfi

Sometimes, after hours of painstaking practice and when performed just right, music has a funny way of perfectly imitating the inconceivable majesty of nature. The shrill whistle of a flute is evocative of wild prairie winds at one moment and calming bird calls the next. A flurry of brassy horns fused with a sudden crash of Zildjian cymbals have the power to audibly illustrate the ferocity of a storm at sea. Most astounding, however, is the human voice’s shocking ability to accurately encapsulate the bold, evanescent spirit of the Northern lights. In an astounding feat of musical talent and vocal finesse, the University Chorale of Boston College entranced its audience with the eerie beauty of aurora borealis. Performing Norwegian-born Ola Gjeilo’s “Northern Lights,” the chamber singers of the chorale treated their sizeable audience to

an enjoyably transcendental musical experience, an otherworldly ode to the natural, luminescent phenomenon. Airy and light, the vocals of this particular song served as the perfect lead into the intense and impassioned sound of the next number, which was a Latvian folksong composed by Eriks Esenvalds. Yet another nod to the unbridled beauty of the Northern lights, the song tells of the simultaneous waves of overwhelming awe and horror which must have tormented the souls of those who first discovered the natural light show. The Chorale singers deftly conveyed Esenvald’s message of conflicting sentiments, their voices ebbing and flowing in pitch and volume as the tone shifted from blissful serenity to palpable panic. The students played with the power of vocal crescendos and fluctuation, their efforts ultimately culminating in a rather realistic impression of the elegantly dancing lightwaves—that is, if the aurora’s graceful

dance across the night sky could be translated from the visible to the audible realm, a moving image encapsulated in sound. While the Northern lights’ pieces were a defining portion of the performance, the show featured other captivating numbers from the Chorale singers. The group’s signature songs, Camille Saint-Saens’ euphoric “Tollite Hostias” and Lodovico Viadana’s jaunty “Exsultate Justi,” were well-received by the audience members, who sat attentive and intrigued by the students’ showcase of musical prowess throughout the entirety of the show. Immediately following “Exsultate Justi,” Chorale’s director introduced Kyung won “Josh” Seo, MCAS ’17, the show ’s featured guest conductor. With great poise and the precision of a seasoned conductor, Seo led the Chorale in George

See Chorale, B7

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Improvising a complete song in under 10 seconds, and then proceeding to get said song stuck in the heads of one hundred audience members, is a rather impressive feat. The ability to do it well, six times in one night, is mindboggling. The ability to design an entire musical around them entirely on the fly is essentially impossible. And yet, the Committee for Creative Enactments managed to pull it off.

I N SI DEARTS THIS ISSUE

An incredible rendition of improv was unveiled last Saturday night in Stokes Auditorium, and CC E ha s yet again proved that it is top-tier in the world of Boston College comedy troupes. The “Senior Leaving Playbook,” a final show to celebrate the departing Class of 2016, illustrated exactly why so many people enjoy the work of CCE. To introduce themselves to the audience, the actors had onlookers shout out their favorite curse words and

‘Elvis & Nixon’

See CCE, B7

Michael Shannon and Kevin Spacey star as the icons in this pseudo-historical comedy, B6

See SASA, B7

SAVANNA KIEFER / HEIGHTS EDITOR

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In the 20th century, America represented a place in which people of all kinds could flourish. On the East Coast, we hear often about the migration of the English and Irish, Spanish and Italian, or Germans and Slavs. At least in this area, the history of such migrations is taught, discussed, and analyzed readily. On the other side of the country, across the Pacific, other Americans made a similar trek to that of their Atlantic counterparts.

‘The Americans’

Family and patriotism are continually explored in season four of the FX drama, B6

Rooted in a rich and influential history in the Americas, Asian-Americans have left their mark through cultural, industrial, and social contributions to the nation. The Asian-American History exhibit on display in O’Neill’s first-floor lounge highlights just some of these contributions, while calling to mind the significance of celebrating the vast diversity within the Asian-American community. With images of various Asian-Americans

See Asian-American, B7

Weekend Box Office Report.........................B6 Hardcover Bestsellers....................................B6 ‘Fear the Walking Dead’.................................B7

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