Visit www.bc.edu/mybc today to vote in the UGBC primary election. olaa’s GANGLAND
The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College Established 1919 Vol. XCII, No. 10
who let the dogs out? college VIDEO GAMES explored
arts and review
sports
Features
OLAA culture show portrays a community struggling to escape ‘Gangland,’ A10
Men’s hockey earns just one point against local foe Northeastern this weekend, B1
Some childhood hobbies are just too hard to let go of, even in college, B10
The Heights Monday, February 21, 2011
www.bcheights.com
UGBC ELECTION 2011
Teams accused of elections violations
Elections committee has received five reports of campaigning violations so far this election season By Michael Caprio Editor-in-Chief
Since this year’s UGBC primary campaign season began on Feb. 8, the elections committee has received five reports of campaigning violations, none of which have yet resulted in disciplinary action against a candidate team. Because sanctions have not been issued, the candidate teams charged by the viola-
tion reports have not been identified. Last year, the elections committee reported four sanctions given to presidential teams and two sanctions given to Senate candidates. Violations that candidate teams can be sanctioned for include, but are not limited to, the use of copyrighted material in campaign videos, improper solicitations via Facebook, and expenditures adding up to more than $500 of each candidate team’s
own funds during the primary season. While some rules are easily enforced by tracking Facebook and Internet activity, other activities are hard to monitor, said Ben Hall, chair of the UGBC elections committee and LGSOE ’12. “I think that we try to keep the rules common sense rules,” said Hall, adding that it is sometimes difficult to audit candidates’ financial activities when reporting is based on the good faith of each team.
“It is difficult. We only know how much they spend based on how much they put on their financial form. It’s more up to the candidates to be honest.” Regarding Facebook use, the elections committee mandates that teams do not use mass e-mails or gather voter information from online directories. Each candidate team must add a member of the elections
See Elections, A4
sang lee / heights staff
Class of 2014 leaders unite for exchange By Elise Taylor Heights Editor
Freshman leaders came together last week for the first time through a new program called the Leadership Exchange. Designed to unite members of prominent campus groups, the Leadership Exchange featured a talk by Mike Durkin, CEO of the United Way of Massachusetts and BC ’77. The freshman groups participating in this exchange were: the Emerging Leader Program (ELP), the Mentor Leadership Program (MLP), the AHANA Leadership Academy (ALA), Freshman Academy (FA), the Jenks Leadership Program, and the Sankofa Leadership Program. At the event, freshmen were encouraged to mingle and approach members of different groups, in hopes of being able to form connections and find common ground. The freshmen were also asked to sit at a table with at least one person from every other leadership group. At these tables, participants discussed ways to unite their organizations, as well as their similarities and differences. “It was great meeting other people from leadership groups and seeing what they do and making connections,” said Jon Geary, ELP member and A&S ’14. “I learned that there were more leadership groups than I thought.” Some tables even discussed specific proposals to help make Boston College’s leadership groups more efficient, including Sarah Bleicher’s, ELP facilitator and A&S ’13. With her group, she said they conversed about finding a cause and organizing a community program in combination with other programs. “I think it’s important for the BC community to have some of the rising leaders come together
See Leadership, A4
sang lee / heights staff
Elizabeth Peter, A&S ’12, (right) won this year’s BC Idol competition with her rendition of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep.” Last year’s winner, Pat Vale, A&S ’13 (left), made a guest appearance.
BC Idol proceeds benefit grade school By Tanner Edwards Heights Staff
Robsham Theater played host to the seventh annual BC Idol Thursday night, in an event that featured 14 vocal acts interspersed with a few special guest performances from students attending St. Columbkille Partnership School in Brighton. The gala was sponsored by the Emerging Leader Program (ELP), the Lynch School of Education Senate, the
Fighting Cancer on the Court
Boston College Office of Community and Governmental Affairs, and the UGBC. The $3,635 in ticket proceeds from the event benefitted St. Columbkille, a Catholic grade school that has received economic support from BC since 2006. William Gartside, headmaster at St. Columbkille, opened the evening’s events with a speech thanking the BC community for its continued support of the school. “[University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J.] and the Lynch School of
Education stepped in and rejuvenated the school,” Gartside said in his address. The headmaster indicated that the proceeds from the event would be directed into developing a co-curricular music program at the school to expand its programs in the arts. “The proceeds from tonight are very important to us,” Gartside said. “Just coming here tonight will make some dreams possible.” The event’s set list showcased 14
musical acts from BC undergraduates and three special performances from students at St. Columbkille Partnership School, which ranged from renditions of Beyonce and Christina Aguilera to a piano performance. Acts from BC students spanned decades and genres. The gala featured songs from artists like Otis Redding, Barbara Streisand, John Legend, Aretha Franklin, and Alicia Keys.
See BC Idol, A4
Relay raises $140,000 for cancer
Fourth annual BC Relay for Life was held this past Friday in the Plex By Ji Hae Lee For The Heights
nick rellas / heights staff
The women’s basketball team plays in support of breast cancer. For more, see page B2.
Last Friday’s fourth annual Relay for Life event on campus raised $140,000 to go toward cancer research, meeting the organizers’ goal. The proceeds will go to the American Cancer Society. “Our goal for this year was to raise $140,000,” said Katie Kearsey, one of the Relay committee members and A&S ’11. “Since 2008, we have raised $430,000.” It was in 2008 that BC began hosting an on-campus Relay for Life event. “BC has been participating in Relay for Life for a while, but it was not until 2008 that we split off from other universities and started having our own Relay for Life night,” Kearsey said. “Compared to other schools, BC [typically] had the highest proceeds and number of participants, so we thought we could host the event on our own.” “BC has the second highest proceeds in Relay for Life in New England area,”
Pampan zhang / heights staff
Over the four years that BC has held its own Relay for Life, it has raised over $430,000. said Danielle Rosato, a Relay committee member and A&S ’11. “The school that ranks higher than us is Northeastern, but they have about 16,000 undergraduate students, whereas our school has about 9,000. So, technically, BC has the highest proceeds per capita in the New England area, and the third highest per capita in the nation.” Many participants came to commemorate their loved ones who succumbed to
cancer. “Both of my grandmothers died from cancer,” said Samuel Eaton, A&S ’14. “One of them died from lung cancer just two weeks ago. So that made me keenly aware of the pangs of cancer, and I feel that I can relate to this event.” “One in two men and one in three women get diagnosed of cancer in their lifetime,” Rosato said. “Cancer is unfor-
See Relay, A4