Heights 4-29-10

The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College Established 1919

THE HEIGHTS THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 2010

Vol. XCI, No. 23

www.bcheights.com

Amendment challenges state aid

Mass. senate to vote on legislation to end aid for students at private colleges

BY LUCAS HARTY For The Heights

A proposed amendment to the Massachusetts House Budget, which would completely cut financial aid for students attending private colleges and universities in Massachusetts, will be voted on this week.

Amendment 393, filed by Representative John Quinn (D-Dartmouth), is an attempt to shrink the House Budget deficit by cutting $20 million from need-based financial aid programs for colleges statewide. The proposal is aimed exclusively at private universities and would completely eliminate state financial aid for low and middle-income families with children attending any independent college or university in Massachusetts.

“While it is a significant step in trying to balance the budget, [the State] needs to realize that it would be counterproductive,” said Bernie Pekala, director of student financial strategies at Boston College. “Massachusetts is the hub of education. It’s the only state in the union that has more private colleges than public ones. It just doesn’t make sense to isolate the biggest sector of it.”

Rich Doherty, president of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in Massachusetts (AICUM), said the main programs that would be affected by the cut in aid would be the Gilbert Matching Student Grant Program and the MASSGrant Program.

“It will affect a lot of students. Both these programs provide support for around 22,000 students in Massachu-

setts,” Doherty said. “The proposal would reduce the line item for need-based financial aid by 23 percent. Just about $20 million.”

This proposed cut, which only affects students attending independent colleges in Massachusetts, will go to a vote within the week and will likely have an impact on the hundreds of BC students who receive need-based aid, also putting pressure on private school students who rely on statefinanced support. While the amendment would prevent all BC students from receiving state financial aid, Pekala said that the administration is committed to providing funds that meet the student’s full demonstrated need.

“BC will do what we can to make up

MICHAEL SALDARRIAGA / HEIGHTS GRAPHIC

Payments Boston area universities would make if taxable, compared to PILOT payments.

University makes Micaela and Pat sworn in payments to city at formal inauguration See Budget Cuts, A4

University officials stand by BC’s commitment to service, decision to forgo more PILOT payments

BY PATRICK GALLAGHER Assoc. News Editor

BC, as a non-profit university, has been criticized for making significantly fewer voluntary payments in lieu of taxes to the City of Boston than institutions such as Harvard University and Boston University. But the University defended its commitment and contributions to the community as having a far greater impact than so-called PILOT payments.

The concept of non-profit institutions making payments in lieu of taxes, known as PILOT payments, to the City of Boston came to a head in January 2009, when Mayor Thomas Menino formed a task force to address disparities in the contributions made by various non-profit organizations located within the city, according to a press release.

KEVIN HOU / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Micaela Mabida, above, was sworn in as president of the UGBC while Pat Raab, below, was sworn in as vice president at a ceremony last night.

BY MICHAEL CAPRIO News Editor

Senators, Cabinet members, and offer leaders from the Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC) gathered last night to honor the inauguration of Micaela Mabida, CSOM ’11, and Patrick Raab, A&S ’11, as UGBC president and

INSIDE SPORTS

The baseball team won its ninth straight Tuesday, A10

THE SCENE

The Scene makes the case to stay in Boston this summer, B1

MARKETPLACE

vice president, respectively.

Michael Boyarsky, chief justice of the UGBC and A&S ’12, presided over the procedures, beginning the ceremony by swearing in the UGBC judicial members for the 2010-2011 academic year.

Harvey Simmons, president of the UGBC Senate and A&S ’11, then swore in Michael Joyce as the UGBC Senate vice president before turning toward the Senate as a whole. “This is a good looking group of people over here,” Simmons said, grinning as he swore in the members of the Senate.

During her inaugural address, Mabida said that she was grateful for her friendships and time with the UGBC. “I stand here tonight extremely humbled and extremely grateful,” she said to the group of about 200 students.

Turning to Raab, she said, “Ya, buddy!”

“We’ve shared some incredible experiences,” she said.

She wasn’t always as excited about working for the UGBC, though, she said.

Court orders that U. Wyoming host Ayers

BY MICHAEL CAPRIO News Editor

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the University of Wyoming must allow William Ayers, a former leader of the radical Weather Underground group, to speak at the University of Wyoming, where he gave a speech on education issues yesterday.

U.S. District Judge William Downes issued the ruling Tuesday after a Monday court hearing.

Ayers was scheduled to speak at Boston College last March before the University canceled his appearance, citing safety concerns. A group of protesters with connections to the Boston Police Department were planning a protest of Ayers’ appearance, administrators said.

Administrators at the University of Wyoming cited similar threats, which arose from e-mails promising protesters if Ayers were allowed to speak. These worries, however, were not found sufficient.

Downes told reporters that such threats cannot be used as a reason to deny Ayers’ right to speak on campus.

GERALD HERBERT / AP PHOTO

Bill Ayers was scheduled to speak at BC last spring before his appearance was canceled.

Downes served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, the same period during which Ayers’ radical organization was active. Yet, he said, the law surpasses his own personal feelings.

“Even to this day, when I hear that

See Ayers, A4

University pledges to make final decisions by July News Editor

Classifieds, B6 Crossword, A5 Editorials, A6 Editors’ Picks, A9 Forecast on Washington, B8 Politico of the Week, B7 Police Blotter, A2 Thumbs Up / Thumbs Down, A7 Videos on the Verge, B2 Weather, A2

See Inauguration, A3

See PILOT, A4

Admissions wait list at 2,500 students

BY MICHAEL CAPRIO

Iranian President goes to Uganda to seek oil deal, B10

Mabida recalled being in her room freshman year, contemplating the activities with which she planned on becoming involved. “I remember sitting in my room, and I decided that I definitely did not want to join the UGBC,” she said. “I took my pen and I crossed it off my list.”

But, she said, her hall mates eventually convinced her to join the Mentoring Leadership Program (MLP) – a decision which started her UGBC career and eventually led to the presidency.

“The UGBC provides the opportunity to find what you believe in and work toward that in any way that you can. Let us follow in the great BC tradition of entrepreneurship and, as is always the goal, make this a year to remember,” she said in her closing remarks.

As Al Dea, president of the UGBC and CSOM ’10, and Alex Hirs, vice president of the UGBC and A&S ’10, approached the podium, the two turned, whispered in each other’s ears, and then turned

When budget shortfalls threatened to close Allston-Brighton’s St. Columbkille Elementary School, Boston College administrators partnered with the school and the Archdiocese of Boston to provide the school with $700,000 annually, which allowed the school to remain open. Buried in between the lines, however, were savings of $3 million annually by the City of Boston. This is just one example of BC giving back to its neighbors, according to University Spokesman Jack Dunn.

“We will continue this commitment because we know it is effective and believe that it is the best way for us to make a meaningful difference in the lives of Boston’s residents,” Dunn said.

“This task force is not just about generating new revenue,” Menino said in the

With the University’s application and acceptance rate up this year, the number of students on the wait list has remained steady, admissions officials said.

“Last year, we had approximately 2,500 students on our waiting list, and the number is about the same this year,” said John Mahoney, director of undergraduate admissions, in an e-mail.

While the wait list may prolong the anxiety of potential freshmen, it serves as an “insurance policy” to the admissions office, Mahoney said. “Particularly in today’s volatile college admission climate, and with so much uncertainty about the economy, we need to ensure that we meet our freshman enrollment target.”

The University received 29,900 applications this year, a 2 percent rise from the year before.

The admissions office expects 2,250 students to enroll for the class of 2014.

The office requires that students commit to the University by sending deposits by May 1.

“The arrival of May 1 each year sets off all kinds of analysis and maneuvering by all colleges,” Mahoney said. “We know that a certain percentage of those who have committed to Boston College will decide to go elsewhere if they come off another school’s waiting list. But we don’t know what the exact attrition rate will be. So, based upon what we learn about waiting list activity at other schools, we

See Wait List, A4

KEVIN HOU / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Students gather information and take tours of universities while making enrollment decisions.

TopFive

Thursday, April 29, 2010

THE HEIGHTS

things to do on campus this week

12th Annual Arts Festival

1

‘The Threepenny Opera’

Today Time: 12 p.m.

Location: O’Neill Plaza

Beginning today, the campus will be transformed for the annual Arts Festival, which showcases student artists who express themselves through music, dance, and other artistic endeavors.

Today Time: 7:30 p.m.

Location: Robsham Theater The Threepenny Opera, a play by Bertolt Brecht satirizing bourgeois society, incorporates music by Kurt Weill, and introduced jazz into theater.

2

Slam Fashionation

3

A Taste of the Festival

Dance Showcase

Friday Time: 8 p.m.

Location: O’Neill Plaza

Join artists in O’Neill Plaza for a poetry slam and fashion show. The show focuses on undergraduate talent, with student designs, student models, and student-written poetry.

FEATURED ON CAMPUS

Health kits distributed

4

Saturday Time: 1 p.m.

Location: O’Neill Plaza

As part of the Arts Festival, a selection of dance groups on campus will be performing over the three days. Groups include: F.I.S.T.S, Fuego del Corazon, and Synergy.

Saturday Time: 5:30 p.m.

Location: Yawkey Center Enjoy cocktails, dinner, and dessert with alumni, neighbors of the community, and friends. The dinner will feature bOp! Classic, the BC bOp! alumni band.

5

IntheNews

FOUR DAY WEATHER FORECAST TODAY

61° Partly Cloudy 41°

FRIDAY

72° Mostly Sunny 53°

SATURDAY

75° Mostly Cloudy

University President of the University of Washington to lead NCAA Mark A. Emmert, president of the University of Washington, has been named the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s next chief executive. Emmert will be the second college president to lead the NCAA, according to a report by the Chronicle of Higher Education. He is expected to take over his new position on Nov. 1. Emmert has been the president at Washington since 2004 and was formerly a chancellor of Louisiana State University. To have a hand in shaping the experiences of more than 400,000 NCAA athletes is “a compelling position,” he said in the report.

58°

SUNDAY

73° Mostly Cloudy 58°

SOURCE: NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE

A Guide to Your Newspaper The Heights Boston College – McElroy 113 140 Commonwealth Ave. Chestnut Hill, Mass. 02467 Editor-in-Chief (617) 552-2223

Local News MBTA to invest $91.5 million in much needed rail line repairs

COURTESY OF SCOTT JELINEK

As part of a sexual health campaign, BC Students for Sexual Health are giving out “Responsible Party Kits.”

BY DANIEL TONKOVICH For The Heights

Partygoers at Boston College may soon be finding a small surprise attached to the bottom of the red Solo cups that are so often a part of the stereotypical college party scene. As part of a new effort for sexual health, BC Students for Sexual Health (SSH), a student-run, non-University funded organization, is now distributing free “Responsible Party Kits” around campus, which include red Solo cups with condoms attached to their base.

“The ‘Responsible Party Kits’ are an additional way of reaching students, particularly upperclassmen, and also include informational and educational material,” said Scott Jelinek, president of SSH and A&S ’10, in an e-mail. “Having a condom discretely tucked under the Solo cups removes the additional barrier of finding and knocking on the door of a Safe Site. Having information posted on the wall at the party encourages students to at least think about some of their safer sex practices.”

The kits are distributed

by SSH for both on- and off- campus parties, and the organization has a policy of only distributing the kits to those who are at least 21 years of age.

Members of the organization said they are solely providing a service that meets the present alcohol and sexual reality that exists on the BC campus, and that the distribution of Solo cups with condoms does not encourage the drinking and sexual culture.

“We do not support or endorse the unhealthy drinking culture that exists at BC,” Jelinek said.

“We merely acknowledge it as the reality.”

“All BC students have gone through the University-sponsored AlcoholEdu program, which doesn’t encourage students to drink, but realizes that they are more likely to drink while at college than not. Thus the program helps students develop strategies to keep them safe while drinking, including monitoring the spacing of drinks and remembering to eat beforehand.”

Jelinek said, “Our campaign to provide condoms attached to Solo cups is just another strategy to attempt to make BC as healthy as it can be. If having a condom on a Solo cup stops one person from being infected with an STI this weekend, we have accomplished what we set out to do.”

University health officials disagree with the practice of the organization, mainly due to statistics illustrating the impact of alcohol on sexual

interactions.

Thomas Nary, director of Health Services, said, “I cannot think of a public health official that would endorse the encouraging of the consumption of alcohol and sexual activities at the same time.

Statistics show that nationwide, on all college campuses, incidents of unwanted sexual actions and assaults increase with the consumption of alcohol.”

SSH said that their response to the issue of sexual health is more effective and does not promote or encourage others to have sex solely by attaching a condom to the base of a cup.

“It is important to be realistic and meet students where they are,” Jelinek said. “Partying has historically led to increased rates of unprotected sex, leaving young people exposed to deadly sexually transmitted infections. SSH is giving party organizers the opportunity to make their party a little more responsible by educating attendees and providing the vital resources necessary to ensure that when, and if sexual activity takes place, it is done so in a safe way. SSH is trying to be proactive and prevent the dangerous connection between partying and unprotected sex. We are not encouraging people to have sex.” 

The MBTA is investing $91.5 million in emergency replacements of thousands of concrete ties that hold its rails together, according to a report by The Boston Globe. The work will cause delays and disruptions for thousands of people who ride the T between Boston and suburbs to the south. As a result of the weakening ties, the T has already had to impose speed restrictions on two Old Colony branches, the report said. Although the repair project will not affect rush-hour traffic, it will require cancellations to weekend service.

On Campus Bill Cain, award-winning alumnus, to be honored at Arts Festival Rev. Bill Cain, S.J., a renowned playwright and screenwriter and BC ’70, will be on campus this week as the guest of honor at the 12th annual Arts Festival, taking place today through Saturday. On Friday, April 30, Cain will participate in a career-related interview program called Inside the BC Studio, during which he will be interviewed about his profession. As part of the festival, Cain will be presented with the Boston College Arts Council Alumni Award for Distinguished Achievement.

National Immigration may not be addressed in the near future, despite the need (AP) — President Barack Obama says Congress may “have no appetite” to deal with immigration after going through a tough year. Obama told reporters traveling with him on Air Force One that Congress has been working hard this year and may not be ready to take on another controversial issue.

The president says there’s work to do on energy, midterm elections are coming up, and he doesn’t want to do something “just for the sake of politics.” But he says there needs to be a lot of work done on immigration and he wants to come up with solutions that can get broad support from the American people.

Editorial General (617) 552-2221 Managing Editor (617) 552-4286 News Desk (617) 552-0172 Sports Desk (617) 552-0189 Marketplace Desk (617) 552-3548 Features Desk (617) 552-3548 Arts Desk (617) 552-0515 Photo (617) 552-1022 Fax (617) 552-4823 Business and Operations General Manager (617) 552-0169 Advertising (617) 552-2220 Business and Circulation (617) 552-0547 Classifieds and Collections (617) 552-0364 Fax (617) 552-1753 EDITORIAL RESOURCES News Tips Have a news tip or a good idea for a story? Call Michael Caprio, News Editor, at (617) 552-0172, or e-mail news@bcheights.com. For future events, e-mail, fax, or mail a detailed description of the event and contact information to the News Desk.

Sports Scores Want to report the results of a game? Call Zach Wielgus, Sports Editor, at (617) 552-0189, or e-mail sports@bcheights.com.

Arts Events The Heights covers a multitude of events both on and off campus – including concerts, movies, theatrical performances, and more. Call Kristen House, Arts and Review Editor, at (617) 552-0515, or e-mail review@ bcheights.com. For future events, e-mail, fax, or mail a detailed description of the event and contact information to the Arts Desk.

Clarifications / Corrections The Heights strives to provide its readers with complete, accurate, and balanced information. If you believe we have made a reporting error, have information that requires a clarification or correction, or questions about The Heights standards and practices, you may contact Matthew DeLuca, Editor-in-Chief, at (617) 552-2223, or e-mail editor@ bcheights.com.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

Police Blotter 4/24/10 – 4/27/10 Saturday, April 24

Monday, April 26

12:51 a.m. - A report was filed regarding the confiscation of a fraudulent identification from an underage party in Vanderslice Hall. The identification and an affidavit were forwarded to the Registry of Motor Vehicles for a hearing.

3:39 a.m. - A report was filed regarding a party who was acting in an aggresive and disorderly manner due to intoxication in Ignacio Hall. After calming down the party was released to the custody of his parents.

1:00 a.m. - A report was filed regarding a party who committed an act of vandalism.

The suspect was identified and Boston Police took over the investigation due to jurisdictional issues.

Tuesday, April 27

11:58 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a motor vehicle that struck an MBTA train. Several parties were transported by ambulance to a medical facility. MBTA police are investigating.

Sunday, April 25 12:29 a.m. - A report was filed regarding a fire alarm activation in Lyons Hall.

The alarm was triggered due to a faulty vending machine that was sparking and creating smoke. Newton Fire responded and the unit was shut down.

1:08 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a past sexual assault that occurred on campus. Victim and perpetrator are known to each other.

12:33 a.m. - A report was filed regarding assistance provided to an underage intoxicated student in 66 Commonwealth Avenue. The student was transported to a medical facility.

5:11 a.m. - A report was filed regarding assistance provided to the Newton Police regarding an incident involving an attempted larceny of a street sign.

Newton Police stated that a BC ID and a wrench were located next to the stolen street sign.

12:45 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a student who alleges that they were being harassed by another student in Vanderslice Hall. The ODSD is reviewing the situation.

—Source: The Boston College Police Department

Voices from the Dustbowl “What are your plans for the summer?”

“I’m going to be a camp counselor in my hometown.”

—Conor Sullivan, LSOE ’13

“I’m going to drive an ice cream truck in Brewster.”

—Jennifer Corcoran, A&S ’13

“I’m going to be a camp counselor.”

—Cali Martin,

A&S ’13

Delivery To have The Heights delivered to your home each week or to report distribution problems on campus, contact John O’Reilly, General Manager at (617) 552-0547.

Advertising The Heights is one of the most effective ways to reach the BC community. To submit a classified, display, or online advertisement, call our advertising office at (617) 552-2220 Monday through Friday.

The Heights is produced by BC undergraduates and is published on Mondays and Thursdays during the academic year by The Heights, Inc. (c) 2010. All rights reserved.

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

A3

The Heights

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Eastern languages may be more than just a fad at BC

Students study popular, in-demand Eastern and Slavic languages for both academic and practical purpose, driving class demand News Feature

By Daniel Tonkovich For The Heights

Though Eastern languages, such as Chinese and Arabic, are identified by the U.S. State Department as critical need languages, not all students studying the language do so solely for career prospects. But, given present needs, knowledge of Eastern languages can be a booster to student resumes.

Demand for Chinese is so high that the National Chinese Language Conference met last week in Washington, D.C., bringing together more than 800 educators, policymakers, and language advocates for a three-day meeting to discuss key issues in language instruction and research in a field that is currently experiencing dynamic growth, according to report from the Chinese People’s Daily News and the College Board, which cosponsored the conference.

“The primary drive is local communities, parents, U.S. universities, and businesses deciding that the U.S.-China relationship is going to be critical to the future,” Selena Cantor, the director of the Chinese Language and Culture Initiative program at College Board told reporters.

“Like most things, it’s very much driven by economics, and looking

at where the future of business is going to be.”

Professors at Boston College said they agree, and acknowledge that student interest in Chinese is more than just a periodic fad or temporary need, like learning Russian was during the Cold War years or Japanese during the country’s boom years. “While some argue against pursuing ‘trends’ in demanded languages, China is a special case,” said Sing-Chen Lydia Chiang, professor in the department of Slavic and Eastern languages and literatures. “China is unlike Japan and the Soviet Union, and the demand for knowing their respective languages during periods of their greatest heights.

China is not only a partner with the United States, but also a competitor, client, and debtor.

China will not go away easily. It is too big to fail. That is what makes the demand for Chinese language more than solely a ‘trend.’”

Beyond the business and economic needs for the speakers of the Chinese language, scholarly and cultural reasons also provide an incentive and motivation for students to study Chinese, not just as a language, but also as a culture and as a society with a rich history that transcends not just the borders of China, but extends to many Asian nations.

“I take Chinese for cultural reasons,” said Bihn Nguyen,

A&S ’13. “Being Vietnamese, I grew up reading Chinese texts translated into Vietnamese and desire to someday read the texts in their original language. Even more so, China has a huge influence all throughout Asia, both in language and culture, so Chinese is a pragmatic language to learn in general.”

Chaing said she has similar views on the benefits of Chinese study for cultural and scholarly reasons. “There are also numerous scholarly and cultural aspects to the study of Chinese,” she said. “Chinese language is unique in that China has a huge population and has the longest living written language tradition in imagistic and phonetic form.

It is a living historical language that has deep roots in the history of not only China, but also Asia as a whole.”

Chinese is not the only “critical need” language, nor is it the only one with a key cultural relationship between language and society. For those studying Arabic, an understanding of regional history and culture is necessary in order to gain a comprehensive overview of the language, its origins, and its place in modern society, students said.

“Entering Boston College, I knew I wanted to study the Middle East, and in order to really understand the region, one needs to understand the

kevin hou / heights editor

Michael Weston-Murphy, A&S ’10, said that learning a foreign language assists in learning culture and civics. language,” said Michael WestonMurphy, an international studies and Islamic civilization studies major and A&S ’10. “Furthermore, one needs to talk about culture to understand language.

If you can speak a language, that is one thing, but you need the cultural awareness. Language is so filled with culture and history

references that you need to understand all aspects of a culture and language in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of society.”

Weston-Murphy said he also sees studying Arabic as a method of civic participation. “The United States is involved in the Middle East in a major way,

and it is our responsibility to understand the challenges our government faces in the Middle East,” he said.

“One of the ways to accomplish the understanding is to take courses in language and culture to develop a regional perspective to augment general international understanding.”n

Health Services records multiple yearly pregnancies

Two to three undergraduates are reported pregnant each year

By Ji Hae Lee For The Heights

There are over 70 students every year at Boston College who take conf idential pregnancy tests through Health Services.

About six each year end up positive, said Nancy Baker, associate director of Health Services. Two or three of the six positive cases are usually undergraduate students while the rest are graduate students Baker revealed these statistics to an audience of students and community members at Monday’s Pregnancy Resource Forum, hosted by the Pro-Life Club. The forum, which was monitored by Serrin Foster, president of Feminists for Life of America, sought to inform its attendees about where BC students can look for assistance in they case they or a friend become pregnant.

Krystina Smith, CSON ’11, said she was at first insecure about getting a pregnancy test through Health Services. “I went to CVS and tested on my own at first,” she said. “Once the result came out positive, it was then when I went to the Health Services for double-check. I took a urine test because that is free of charge. Having your blood drawn is considered a lab work and is thus charged, so I didn’t do that one. I was afraid of it being on the records of my parents’ bill and my parents finding out that I took a pregnancy test.”

Smith gave birth to her daughter, Juliana, in January.

She received assistance from the community during and following her birth, she said. “My residential director was very helpful,” she said. “She arranged with the BCPD [Boston College Police Department] to escort and assist me. Also, the BC Pro-Life Club threw baby

showers for me and gave me so vices, it assists pregnant stumuch moral support.” dents using many other servicSome students said they es, Baker said. “Students who were concerned that their hous- become unexpectedly pregnant ing or financial aid status would seem to feel very vulnerable,” be in jeopardy following their she said. “We want them to feel pregnancy. “Students do not supported and will assist them. need to worry about these be- There are many places throughcause they will continue to get out the school where they can scholarships, including those seek help, such as Health Serfrom the NCAA to collegiate vices, Counseling Services, the athletes, housing, and financial Women’s Resource Center, a aid,” said Tom McGuinnes, ex- member of ResLife staff, Camecutive director of University pus Ministry, Students Affairs counseling. “For instance, if a Administration, etc. And I want student was guaranteed four them to know that the school years of housing, she will con- will not notify their parents tinue to have those four years about the test results without guaranteed. their full conAnd no student “I spend 99 percent sent.” will get expelled of my weekends at s e rBvui ct e ss ocma ne from the instituhome with Juliana. c o s t s i g n i f i tion because of pregnancy.”

I think it also made cant amounts of Baker said money and come that maintain- me more responsible w i t h c e r t a i n ing accurate stabecause I now have s t i p u l a t i o n s . tistics on pregB C C h i l d c a re someone else other Center (BCCC) nancies at BC is compounded by than myself to put as charges $20 per students’ privaand only a top priority in my hour cy concerns. “It accommodates is really hard for children who are daily life.” us to have acover 2 years and curate statistics, nine months old — Krystina Smith, though, because and are “pottyCSON ’11 I feel that stutrained.” dents try to keep “I can’t leave this as private as possible,” my baby in the BCCC,” Smith Baker said. “I know some of said. “Not only is the place a [the students] purchase preg- little exclusive with its restricnancy test tools at pharma- tions, such as age, but it also cies on their own rather than has a long waiting list.” coming to us. I would like to Smith said that she and emphasize that all pregnancy her mother share responsibilurine tests and counsels at BC ity for taking care of the child are kept fully confidential and – a task that has changed her free of charge.” college life. “It certainly does Administrators said that the keep me busy,” she said. “I University encourages students spend 99 percent of my weekto continue their education ends at home with Juliana. I following their pregnancy. “We think it also made me more want students to be able to con- responsible, because I now tinue their education,” Baker have someone else other than said. While Health Services myself to put as a top priority does not provide abortion ser- in my daily life.” n kevin hou / heights editor

Senators and cabinet members were inaugurated yesterday, as well as the leaders for the next academic year.

Inauguration introduces 2010-2011 UGBC members Collision, from A1

toward the audience with a smile. “I had prepared some things to say, but I don’t think we’re going to use them,” Dea said, drawing laughter from the audience.

Dea spoke on the tribulations surrounding his position and thanked Hirs for his support during their tenure together.

“It really takes a lot to want to sacrifice your senior year, there were times when I was struggling and Alex was there to help me.”

Dea then addressed next year’s UGBC members.

“You guys have an incredible opportunity in front of you,” he said. “The thing I enjoyed most are the people that I’ve lived with. When I look back on the UGBC, it’s not going to be the issues and the initiatives that I remember. It’s going to be the friendships and the people I’ve met.”

Taking the stage, Hirs reminisced on his earlier times in the UGBC. “I remember our first department meeting in the laundry room at Edmond’s Hall because we had no where else to meet,” he said, addressing Mabida.

“Yeah, we were a smaller organization then,” he said, drawing chuckles from the group. n

A4

Thursday, April 29, 2010

THE HEIGHTS

Ayers speaks at Wyoming following court ruling Ayers, from A1

name, I can scarcely swallow the bile of my contempt for it,” Downes told reporters. “But Mr. Ayers is a citizen of the United States who wishes to speak, and he need not offer any more justification than that.”

The controversy began when Meg Lanker, a student at the University of Wyoming, invited Ayers to speak on campus about education issues.

The University’s refusal to rent space for the event, citing safety concerns, served as the impetus for the court case.

“The heart of the issue was whether, as president of the university, I can cancel a speaking engagement if I believe there are overriding safety concerns for the University community,” said University of Wyoming President Tom Buchanan, in a statement following the ruling.

Ken Kersch, a professor in the political science department, said that he was not surprised by the

judge’s ruling. “The moment he sued that his free speech rights were being violated, I thought it was a slam dunk,” he said. “Arguments about security concerns are the most common pretext used by those who want to censor speech.”

Arguments based on security are common in First Amendment cases and are easy for judges to discern, Kersch said.

“The security argument is the first argument that everyone reaches for,” he said. “It’s easy for judges to see through this. It is no surprise he saw through this immediately.”

While Tuesday’s ruling allowed Ayers to speak at the University of Wyoming, a public university, the ruling would not apply to private institutions like BC. “BC technically is not legally bound by the First Amendment, since it’s a private institution,” Kersch said. “I think most institutions would place a high value on First Amendment principles. It is not clear that BC does. That remains to be seen.” 

Students await final decisions from the admissions office Waiting lists serve as ‘insurance policy’ for admissions officers attrition rate will be, and we hope it is correct so we will be use our waiting list to replace close to our desired number of students we lose freshmen.”

“There is no and solidify our Ka t h e r i n e freshman class.” positioning or ranking Mussalli, a proThe admisspective freshof students on the sions office has man from New pledged to comYork City, said waiting list. We municate f inal she hopes to d e c i s i o n s t o admit students based be one of those waitlisted stustudents who upon the quality dents by July 1, receive a reof their credentials will Mahoney said. sponse by July 1.

“The freshman and the needs of “BC is still my enrollment numchoice, and our undergraduate top ber is essentially it will be my top divisions.” a moving target choice wherever all summer for I go,” Mussalli, c o l l e g e s ,” h e who was accept— John Mahoney, said. “Colleges ed into Villanova enroll students Director, Undergraduate University, Barfrom their waitAdmission n a rd C o l l e ge , ing lists in May, and Boston Unibut some continue to do so even versity, said. into June and July. So we make “When I saw other schools, an assumption of what our final I saw how great BC was,” she

Wait List, from A1

said. “It’s the perfect location, the perfect size, and the students there are really down to earth.”

Mussalli said that she is planning on sending a deposit to Villanova University while she awaits a response from BC. She said she is going to be optimistic about the process, despite the competitive nature of the admissions program. “I know that it’s an extremely competitive admission program,” she said. “I feel I’m qualified to go to this school.

I have a positive outlook on it.”

While there is no hierarchy on the wait list, the undergraduate admissions office takes recent grades into consideration, Mahoney said.

“There is no positioning or ranking of students on the waiting list,” he said.

“We admit students based upon the quality of their credentials and the needs of our undergraduate divisions.” 

ROBERT MONTHEITH / AP PHOTO

Prostesters outside the University of Wyoming yesterday cited the cancellation of Ayer’s appearance at BC last year.

“As municipalities have struggled to increase revenue, some have sought voluntary payments in lieu of taxes from non-profit organizations.”

— Jack Dunn, University Spokesman

Area colleges make voluntary payments in lieu of taxes PILOT, from A1

January 2009 statement. “A new formula to ensure fairness is necessary.”

The mayor’s task force released its recommendations on April 6, which stated that the task force considered making PILOT payments mandatory, but concluded that an attempt to impose mandatory payments would “face significant opposition and [run] counter to the spirit of partnership between the City and its institutions,” according to the executive summary of the final report.

While some of Boston’s largest non-profit tenants have chosen to make these PILOT payments to the City, the majority has refrained from contributions that exceed annual payments to account for municipal services, Dunn said.

“Over recent years, as municipalities have struggled to increase revenue, some have sought voluntary payments in lieu of taxes from non-profit organizations,” Dunn said. “While some non-profits have entered into these agreements, most have remained opposed.”

BC, which has been considered tax-exempt by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts since its founding, gave the City $293,251 in 2009, which Dunn said was partially directed at offsetting BC’s reliance on the local fire departments. But, he said that BC has its own campus police force and provides for its own trash and snow removal, unlike three Boston universities that are located in the heart of the C.ity.

Dunn said that BC’s many initiatives with Boston-based schools and organizations are more in line with the University’s mission. “While we are sympathetic to the City’s financial struggles, we feel that the best way for us to make meaningful

contributions to the City of Boston is through our volunteer service, our grant procurement, and our outreach to Boston’s schools, hospitals, and community agencies,” he said.

In its executive report, the task force said it believed that community benefits are significant in determining an institution’s overall contribution to the City of Boston. The report also said, “The City must be aware that increasing an institution’s PILOT commitment may have unintended consequences – an institution may have to scale back community commitments … to meet the PILOT level.”

This year, BC students logged a combined 550,000 hours of community service within the City.

In addition to student contributions, this year BC provided $6.1 million in scholarships and financial aid to BC undergrads from Boston, as well as $9.5 million in grants and institutional gifts to Boston’s public and parochial schools, Dunn said.

Boston University had the highest tax-exempt property value in 2009 out of all the colleges and universities in the City at over $2.11 billion, and paid $4.89 million to the City in PILOT payments.

Harvard University and Northeastern University were ranked second and third in terms of each University’s tax-exempt property value in 2009, at $1.47 billion and $1.35 billion, respectively. Last year, Harvard paid nearly $2 million to the City, but Northeastern paid just over $30,000, according to a report published by the mayor’s task force.

Overall, in 2009, the colleges and universities located in Boston paid just under $8.7 million in payments in lieu of taxes on property that was evaluated to have a combined tax-exempt value of over $7 billion. 

Aid programs that serve 20,000 students scrutinized Budget Cuts, from A1

the difference and will continue to offer need-blind admissions,” Pekala said.

The proposed amendment comes at a difficult time for students in Massachusetts and around the United States. Families have a greater need for financial aid now more than ever due to the economic recession.

“We think it’s a terrible time to introduce such an amendment, given the economic difficulties families are facing,” Doherty

said. “It’s disappointing to see this proposal introduced.”

While the proposal targets private university students, public universities may see some indirect effects. “It’s a lot of students. The way [the amendment] is structured would lower the total amount of aid by $20 million, which could have some secondary effects on public universities,” Doherty said.

The AICUM has responded to Amendment 393 by encouraging students and residents of Massachusetts to voice their

displeasure with the proposal by contacting their respective district representatives. An email based letter campaign has been initiated that has already seen more than 3,300 letters sent to representatives across the state. Although the amendment may be voted on as early as this Tuesday, there is a possibility of a delay. The AICUM urges students to visit its Web site to fill out a pre-generated letter that will then be e-mailed to their district representative in Massachusetts. 

A5

The Heights

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Answers to Crossword

That’s not very Raven.

Answers to the left.

A6

The Heights

Editorials

Quote of the DAY

PILOT contributions must be voluntary

Thursday, April 29, 2010

“Between times, and when the moon gets up and night comes, he is the Cat that walks by himself, and all places are alike to him.”

— Rudyard Kipling

The annual contribution BC makes to the City of Boston is only one of the many ways the BC community gives back to the city.

Since Boston College purchased the former Archdiocese property on Brighton Campus and the apartment building at 2000 Commonwealth Avenue, questions have been raised about the properties’ incorporation into a tax-exempt institution, and whether BC would increase payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT). Such payments are made to municipalities by non-profit organizations as a way of compensating those municipalities for some of the lost tax revenue. On April 16, Brian McGrory’s column in The Boston Globe titled “BC = better contribute” reignited debate around the issue, and upset students, alumni, and other members of the BC community.

Because of the insensitive way in which McGrory developed his argument, which was essentially that BC should contribute more through the PILOT program, the debate became about the words he used and not what he meant to say. This sort of rhetoric will do little to better relations between the University, some of whose property lies within Boston’s limits, and the city itself. Since McGrory’s column, the University has reaffirmed the position it has always held in regard to PILOT contributions, making annual payments to Boston to offset the cost of municipal services, as well as payments to the city of Newton for municipal services.

We feel that the recent attacks made upon BC are unwarranted, and while we can understand that concerned citizens of Boston may like to receive more through the PILOT program, they have no right to attempt, through media coverage and public outcry, to make these voluntary payments obligatory.

The University has not backed down when confronted on the current amount it gives in PILOT contributions. BC has pointed out that the institution and its students contribute to the community through various service and outreach programs. We believe this to be true, but the same argument could be made for other universities that currently give more in PILOT payments, such as Boston University and Harvard. Also, much of this service comes from students, and is done out of a spirit of generosity and concern for the community, not to offset lost tax revenue.

More convincing, in our opinion, are the hard dollars the University has given to local schools and students through grants and scholarships. This year, BC gave $9.5 million in grants to Boston schools and $6.1 million to undergraduates from Boston. The University sees these contributions as nothing more than a part of its role as a Jesuit-Catholic institution of higher learning, and we feel that the City and those who demand greater PILOT contributions have failed to take these substantial benefits to the local community into account.

In January 2009, the city of Boston released a report by Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s PILOT Task Force. The report concluded that the PILOT program, despite pressure to rule otherwise, should remain voluntary: “As a result, while the Task Force will seek to encourage broad and uniform participation in the PILOT process, it believes that the PILOT program should remain voluntary.” We agree, and feel that continued efforts to pressure BC to give more are unfair.

BCVC is unique and fosters innovation

Boston College Venture Competition (BCVC) is the collaborative work of many groups and more support is necessary for growth.

Among the goals listed in Boston College’s Strategic Plan is to become the leading liberal arts institution in the United States. BC hopes to be able to compete with the Ivies some time in the not-too-distant future. What many students may not be aware of is a program within the Carroll School of Management (CSOM) that already has its students vying with their counterparts at MIT, Yale, and Harvard for prized internships and jobs.

Th e Te c h Tre k p rog ra m , r u n through the Information Systems department within CSOM, gives a select number of students the opportunity to learn how firms progress from start-up to blue-chip. Through the course, students are given the opportunity travel to Silicon Valley and to meet with many prominent executives in the information systems sector, which makes up the largest portion of capital spending among U.S. corporations today.

We commend CSOM, and particularly the faculty of the information systems department, for its commitment to providing its students with opportunities to learn from highly-qualified and successful business executives and people in the information systems field. The success of the department comes in a field that is widely recognized as one of the fastest-growing sectors of today’s economy, a field that relies entirely on there being a constant flow of new ideas and innovations.

The results are undeniable: BC alumni sit on the boards of many of the most prominent up-andcoming venture capitalist firms in the industry. In BC’s own version of Silicon Valley, the BC Venture

Club, competing student teams are matched with a mentor and charged with designing, marketing, and executing an actual business plan. The competition has been in existence for four years, and in that time span, two BCVC-affiliated teams have been accepted into Y-accelerator, the most elite business accelerator company in the United States – a track record that is unmatched by other universities’ respective programs.

We would like to recognize the devotion of the department’s faculty for its ability and willingness to go through leaps and bounds to help their students succeed. However, it is also important for the success of the department and its students that its growth is not inhibited by lack of support. While an admirable venture in and of itself, the TechTrek program is limited to an enrollment of 24 students due to logistical and spatial concerns. Entries to the BC Venture Competition, while not exclusive to students within the Information Systems major, are limited to students who have a viable plan going into the competition.

BC administrators need to recognize that there are more than a couple dozen students who demonstrate the potential to succeed in the ultra-competitive, Silicon Valley environment. The information systems department is made up of a core of very strong professors and contributors in the business world, and now the University owes it to students to continue assembling a world-class staff so that the department will be able to further build its reputation as one of the best programs of its kind in the country.

The Heights The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College Established 1919 Matthew DeLuca, Editor-in-Chief John O’Reilly, General Manager Darren Ranck, Managing Editor

Contributors: Molly Lapointe

Samantha Cohen / Heights Illustration

Letters to the Editor Thank you to the BC marathon Fans I just finished the 2010 Boston Marathon and have to say that the BC students were exceptional.

My experience started on my flight from Charlotte to Boston where I met a couple of the track and field student athletes heading home. They represented BC professionally and gave me my first glimpse of the support I would get when running up the Newton hills. From that point through hitting Heartbreak Hill and to the finish I witnessed what makes me so proud to be a BC alum. I am fairly active on a number of running forums, and the general consensus has been that BC was by far the loudest and most supportive crowd on the Marathon route.

Thank you so much for the support!

Paul Newnham BC ’97

Thank you for your thunderous and crazy cheering for us Boston Marathon runners. Your happy high fives and loud encouragement was really powerfully work. I had not run Boston in 10 years, my beautiful wife was a great runner. She died in a car crash in 2006. We had six kids – all great runners. I wanted to finish this race in her honor. You made it happen. After cresting Heartbreak Hill and running down the hill toward Boston, I joyously exchanged high fives with all you laughing, happy students. I almost started crying for your joy and gratitude.

Your high spirits and obvious respect for the runners really palpably give us energy, courage, confidence, and strength. You made me accomplish my dream come true, and I know I speak for countless thousands of runners when I say God bless you. Can’t wait to see you again.

Bob Crowe

Support appreciated by BC members of SEIU Dear BC Heights, The Boston College members of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 615 would like to thank the BC community for their support.

We have 270 members who try to make the campus, our huge village, as safe and comfortable as we can. We are the facility employees and do the work that sometimes you see (cleaning, repairing, replacing, moving, removing, planting, lighting, painting, mail service), and sometimes you don’t see (vehicle and equipment repair, temperature controls, steam plant, plumbing, electrical, roofing, and quite a bit of work that must be done at night).

During this past dismal economic year, we were

engaged in discussions with the University on conditions for a new contract. The meetings at times were bitter, and sometimes confusing. Negotiations went on for nine months past the expiration of our prior contract. This did not give our members a comfortable feeling. The support that we received from students, faculty, and staff kept us encouraged throughout the process, and helped us reach a final, six-year agreement with the University that included strong job security protections.

We are proud to thank each and every person who helped during our contract resolution. We once again have that feeling of support from the village!

The members of SEIU Local 615 at Boston College

Reconsider before condemning students in recent accident Julianne Wojno I was there, across the street. I saw Comm. Ave. flooded with ambulances, police cars, and fire trucks.

The relentless sirens, the unforgiving flashes of red and blue, I saw it. I kept walking. I saw stretchers in my peripheral. I saw crowds of students standing, gawking. I walked faster.

Maybe what I saw looked different because there was one thing on my mind: a friend who was killed in a car accident in 2006. Maybe I didn’t stop to gawk because I was sick for the victims’ family, friends, and the Boston College community.

Maybe that’s why, when I think about the accident, I do not think, “what stupid idiots.” Maybe that is the reason why all I can think about is how lucky they are to have survived. My friend was the only one in her car, and her life ended. These students’ lives continue.

Why do so many articles leave that out? Why do so many articles judge, criticize, and fail to see how fortunate this community is to still have those students walking through the Dustbowl?

Doesn’t anyone realize that this little scandal could have been a tragedy?

Why doesn’t anyone realize that this accident has the ability to bring our community together, rather than tearing it apart with judgment? We, who are supposed to be open to growth, should look at this accident and learn from it. We should look at this accident and begin to make better decisions in our own lives. We should build a community of students looking out for each other’s safety.

It’s easy to judge. It’s easy to say, “What stupid, irresponsible kids.” It’s easy to gossip, attack, and think, “I never would have done that.”

If we expect more from student-athletes, if we

expect them to do the hard thing, then let us take a moment to expect more from ourselves. Let us take a moment to do the hard thing, and instead of judging, let us realize that this could have happened to anybody.

I am not excusing any actions. Yes, underage drinking is wrong and against the law. But tell me, reader, did you go out and drink last Saturday night? Yes, piling a bunch of teens into a car is irresponsible, even more so with alcohol present. But tell me, reader, over Christmas break, did you pile more bodies into a car than seatbelts? Have you ever thought, “I’m driving less than a mile up the road, it’s no big deal”?

Before you judge, reader, think about your history.

Have you never, in all your 18-22 years, made a stupid decision?

When it comes down to it, all these stories are criticizing the students for being normal college students drinking on a Saturday night, getting into a car with a designated driver, and being victims of a car accident.

I always thought having a DD was a responsible thing to do. So why were these players compared to other college who were athletes involved in bribery, robbery, and murder? They got into a car with a sober driver, hoping to get a ride back to Upper.

Is it bad that some fled the scene? Yes. I couldn’t imagine leaving friends in life-threatening conditions.

But there has not been a statement released yet on the reasons for fleeing. Why does everyone jump to the most negative conclusion that they left their friends to save themselves? What if they were trying to help their friends by discarding the alcohol?

When it comes down to it, we do not know what happened in that car, and what happened is over. It is time to examine our own lives, learn from the accident, and thank God that we did not lose any members of our community.

Julianne Wojno is a freshman in the College of Arts & Sciences.

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THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, April 29, 2010

A7

OPINIONS

Thumbs Up Arts Fest – From dancers to comedians, singers to face painters, BC’s annual community-wide arts showcase and celebration kicks off this Thursday. It promises to be a weekend packed with fun for the whole family (no such thing). Catch Slam Fashionation to ogle models or Dancing with bOp! to ogle trombones. There’s something for everyone!

Study Days – The memory of last semester’s pseudo-excuse for study days still stings in the mind of many students.

This semester, however, the University has graciously allotted four whole days before exams to procrastinate. Much obliged, BC! Baseball – Although the BC boys have been keeping their nose to the grindstone, winning the last nine of their games in a row, some other college teams have been less focused on the game. From Fordham’s Superman home run to West Kentucky’s rain delay theatrics, this sometimes underappreciated sport is becoming a bit of a drama queen.

Don’t Mess – Texas Governor Rick Perry was out for a relaxing jog with his dog one morning, carrying his laser sighted pistol (of course!) when the pair encountered a wily coyote. Without skipping a beat, the governor proceeds to shoot the beast dead with one shot and keep on his merry way. For this, Gov. Perry, and his dog, are my alpha dog of the week (grrrr).

Thumbs Down Dwindling – With a little over three weeks left on campus (eek!) students on campus have been wincing with every swipe of their Eagle card (Slow Swipe, stop dragging out the process!). Time to collect on all the debts incurred by off-campus / senior moochers. Either that or befriend a freshman girl.

Study Hogs – The time honored tradition of finding a personal study hovel before finals has officially begun but TU/TD would like to remind all of the solitary scholars that the O’Neill study rooms are for groups only, so go be a loner elsewhere. While you’re at it, hands off the booths.

Innocence Lost – Former Disney stars have been having a rough couple of months, culminating with the release of Kiely Williams’ (former Cheetah Girl) new video, “Spectacular” (it has since been flagged as inappropriate on YouTube, use your imagination). Another disturbing development is Smart Guy’s (aka Tahj Mowry) foray into gangster rap. Stop ruining our childhood memories!

“Born Free” – Speaking of banned YouTube videos, MIA’s new single and video have raised controversy because of its graphic depiction of the capture and execution of … gingers. By U.S. soldiers. (hmmm) TU/TD understands that it’s a metaphor and all, but c’mon, ginger haters don’t need any more ideas.

Sunshowers – MIA songs aside, the schizophrenic weather pattern seen on Tuesday and Wednesday is more frustrating than a hurricane or drought. Be decisive, Mother Nature!

Someone give Arizona a timeout

BENJAMIN KEY I haven’t been in America for five months. When you’re not there, you tend to forget all its delightful little quirks. Seems to me that every American state has its own little obsessions, and I miss them all so. My home state, Massachusetts, is religious about the Red Sox, clam chowder, and health care.

California really digs Hollywood and In-N-Out Burger. But I was surprised to discover that the great state of Arizona has officially selected a statewide neurosis while I’ve been abroad: birthplace.

The fixation has led the state legislature to pursue not one, but two masterworks of conservative idiocy. The first bill, signed on Friday by Gov. Jan Brewer, is the most restrictive immigration legislation on the national books.

The law, enforceable in 90 days, makes being within the country illegally a state crime. As such, all legal immigrants are required to carry papers proving their status. This becomes particularly important in conjunction with the bill’s most contentious element. Arizona police are required to question any person they “reasonably suspect” of being undocumented. Previously, Arizona police were only able to question a person’s legal status if he or she were being questioned for another crime. The new legislation necessitates officers to literally stop people on the street.

Let’s get something out in the open: The people being stopped in the street will look Mexican. I don’t see Phoenix cops halting Canadian tourists. The state police department will have to create written guidelines for its officers to correspond with this new law.

Someone needs to tell them exactly who

they should be “reasonably” suspecting. That will be fun. Presumably the ACLU attorneys are already tailgating the parking lot of the Arizona State Police Head quarters. There are no words ambiguous enough in the English language to avoid the legal hammering the Arizona police are going to receive.

All it takes is one Mexican-American college professor being stopped for his papers. The second the bill was passed, the state legislature fed every town’s police chief to the dogs. People tend to forgive obvious racial profiling in airports – they’re about to get on a plane and they’re feeling a bit jittery. But the urgency just isn’t there when anyone tanner than John McCain is being stopped on the way to the laundromat.

Also, we shouldn’t pretend for a second that these “papers” are going to be hard to counterfeit. Ask any impatient freshman nervously ordering a beer at Mary Ann’s how hard it is to fake an ID. Not only is the legislation going to be torn apart on Constitutional grounds, it’s not going to work. I have three CSOMers working on a business plan right now for a company that spits out fake identification papers. They just need to look legit enough to fool an Arizona beat-cop.

I’m thinking there’s money to be made.

I’m guessing I’m not the only one. The last thing the country needs is another industry that takes advantage of illegal immigrants. How hard is it to make a green card with Photoshop?

There’s another side to the issue, though. According to a Rasmussen poll from Wednesday, April 21, the recent legislation is supported by 70 percent of Arizona voters. This is why the governor, who faces an imminent election (and has been tanking in the polls,) signed the bill despite President Obama’s open criticisms. The Arizona people are clearly desperate for immigration reform, and they seem to be willing to take whatever they can get. Recent acts of violence by illegal immigrants against residents are fresh in the state’s collective memory.

Arizona hospital ERs have lines out the

door. The Arizona people are upset and the legislature is sworn to address those concerns. But its solution is ridiculous.

The legislature is creating an easily avoidable obstacle that will cost the state millions. They might as well just build a wall. Oh wait, they already did that.

How’s that working out for them? They manage this dual failure while simultaneously infringing on the civil liberties of the legal residents. It’s a masterpiece.

The best part is, it’s also not even the stupidest thing the Arizona State Legislature has been up to lately. The Arizona House recently voted 33-21 in favor of a bill that forced candidates to submit documented proof that they are constitutionally eligible to run for president. This is to be a prerequisite for getting your name on the state’s ballot. Arizona has made “birther” nonsense a legal issue. Oh wait, I forgot, it already was. Someone needs to remind Arizona that the Constitution takes care of the whole presidential eligibility thing. Gracias, AZ, the Supreme Court has it covered. Plus no politician will ever pander to the law – left or right.

The Democrats ultimately turned the Obama birthplace tittle-tattle against the Republicans. It’s a political no-go now to all but the farthest right.

What is Arizona thinking? The state is propelling itself into some sort of Orwellian nightmare in which every person, including the president of the United States, must have their passport, green card, driver’s license, social security number, and a vial of their birth mother’s blood on their person at all times. Immigration is a grave issue, but roughing up presidential candidates and people on the street is not the way to solve it. Alienating an entire ethnicity does not solve Arizona’s problems, nor does ridiculous racial shots at President Obama. Someone needs to put Arizona in a timeout.

Benjamin Key is a staff columnist for The Heights. He welcomes comments at bkey@bcheights.com.

Bank mines customers for gold

TIM O’CONNOR Here’s a word to the wise: If you ever find yourself in front of a Senate panel investigating corruption, it might not be a bad idea to grovel. Throw yourself on the floor and beg for mercy.

Senators are a proud and finicky bunch, and they don’t take kindly to vague non-answers and dodgy avoidance when you are under a congressional oath. Of course, the poor shmucks (I use the term “poor” very ironically) at Goldman Sachs really didn’t have much of a choice but to deflect questions left and right on Tuesday, when the company’s CEO, Lloyd Blankfein, testified in front of the Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Investigations, along with embattled trader Fabrice Tourre and a number of other executives.

The Senate-backed investigation came after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed allegations that Goldman Sachs defrauded customers by failing to disclose a conflict-ofinterest to potential investors. Specifically, Goldman is accused of selling customers mortgage-backed securities that were partially designed by partner companies that were short-selling the same investment. The SparkNotes version is as follows: Investment firms worked with Goldman to create shaky mortgage-backed securities, placed huge bets that the investments would go bad, and Goldman sold the products to investors with the knowledge that all of this had transpired. Well, that’s the illegal part, at least. Goldman also shorted the same investments themselves and made a windfall as the mortgage market fell to pieces, but there’s nothing illegal

about selling a “shitty investment,” as the securities were described by an internal Goldman e-mail.

Really, the only thing Goldman is accused of, according to the rule of law, is failure to disclose information.

Just think, if the company’s lawyers had thought to include a little disclaimer at the bottom of the investment, the entire mortgage fiasco could have been averted! Generally, common sense would draw the line at “knowingly selling customers bad products,” but thanks to the wisdom of deregulation it would have been perfectly legal for Goldman to design bad investments alone, market them to customers, and short the investments with the company’s own money. It’s called “hedging your bets!”

Don’t get me wrong; The Goldman case is no more than a political witchhunt. Everyone is mad at the banks right now, and with pseudo-populist movements like the Tea Party gaining a lot of traction, it’s politically expedient to hang a couple of low-level investors out to dry. Aside from being one of the largest investment banks in the world, Goldman Sachs has a vicelike grip over our country’s economy from the inside out. The average Goldman employee spends eight to 10 years with the company building up a comfortable nest egg, and then goes on to do wonderful things for the world with their accumulated wealth. Just consider the company’s impressive list of alumni: former Goldman CEO Henry Paulson went on to serve as the 74th Secretary of the United States Treasury under George W. Bush.

President Obama appointed Mark Patterson, a former Goldman lobbyist, to serve as current Treasury Secretary Geithner’s Chief of Staff, and doled out six other major appointments to Goldman alumni.

If the lawsuit can’t cause real change at Goldman Sachs, what options do we have to prevent them from exacerbating the next economic crisis and profiting

FROM HERE TO RESERVOIR

BY SAL CIPRIANO

off of it? Personally, I’m a fan of the SAFE Banking Act of 2010, introduced

by Sens. Brown (D-OH) and Kaufman (D-DE) on April 21. SAFE would end the practice of “too big to fail” with strict size limits on investment banks, curtailing the systematic risk associated with the failure of a large institution like Goldman. Should the act pass, any existing investment bank would be required to dissolve into separate companies within three years in order to meet guidelines. Goldman, for example, would become 10 separate entities.

If that sounds good to you, I’d at least consider writing your senator to voice your support. The SAFE Act hasn’t even been formally introduced for debate, and it seems unlikely that the potential bill will ever make it that far.

On Wednesday night, Senate Republicans ended a three-day filibuster, allowing the Democrats to introduce Sen. Chris Dodd’s financial reform bill for the third time. The Republican concession came shortly after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced his plans to hold an overnight Senate session (with only 41 votes, every Republican would have had to remain in the chamber overnight to maintain the filibuster).

Although it seems likely that Dodd’s bill, hailed by the left as “the most sweeping financial reform since the Great Depression,” will make it through the Senate at this point, many critics point out that the act does nothing to decrease the size of banks, nor does it rule out the possibility of future taxpayer bailouts. Of course, that hasn’t stopped Republicans from decrying it as “a step towards socialism,” and even in the wake of the Goldman Sachs scandal the G.O.P. still insists “any regulation is bad regulation.”

You know what? They’re right. We can trust those guys at the bank to figure it out for themselves.

Tim O’Connor is a staff columnist for The Heights. He welcomes comments at opinions@bcheights.com.

Fear, threats, and cartoons TYLER HUGHES Comedy Central’s popular satirical cartoon, South Park, just hit its 200th episode, which aired in two parts over the last two weeks. In a series of clever throwbacks and nostalgic moments, the two-part episode drew from many of the show’s classic moments, including a recurring theme of poking fun at the inability of a media network to show any image of the prophet Muhammad, an offense which is considered highly blasphemous to Muslims. The episode featured the large group of celebrities who have been mocked in South Park’s history scrambling to find Muhammad in order to obtain his “power to not be made fun of.” This meant finding the prophet and dressing him up in a bear suit so he could not be seen.

Fans raved after the first part, as South Park returned to its satirical, fearless roots and poked fun at the absurd notions that led to intense controversy over cartoons printed in European newspapers in 2005 and 2007. However, radical Muslim groups were appalled. Revolutionmuslim.com, the Web site of a radical Islamist organization and movement based in New York City, responded with threats.

This Web site, which is currently down, immediately referenced Theo Van Gogh, a filmmaker who was murdered in 2004 by an Islamist extremist for making a short documentary about violence against women in Islamist countries. The Web site proudly displayed a picture of his mutilated body.

However, they insisted that this was not a threat to the creators of South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, but a warning that these two “will probably wind up like Theo Van Gogh for airing this show.”

The next part of the episode aired with heavy Comedy Central censorship, a reaction that was completely uncharacteristic of South Park.

Muhammad’s name was censored every time it was said and his bear suit was removed to show that it was in fact Santa Claus inside, while Muhammad had gone missing. If you hadn’t seen the episode the week before, you would have had no idea that the Muslim prophet had anything to do with it. Even a speech at the end of the episode, which reportedly discussed fear and intimidation in our society, was completely bleeped.

Comedy Central apparently made the censorship after submission of the second episode in response to the threats received. After years of fiercely pushing the boundaries of free speech in almost every way, South Park seemed to have backed down. But, in a sense, it had already won.

South Park’s “portrayal” of Muhammad in the first episode was made in such a mild way that to even call it a portrayal of the prophet is excessive. Nothing about the recent episodes was insulting. They were only in contradiction with a religious rule that extremist groups have tried to violently impose on the rest of the world. Parker and Stone have received significant attention for the two episodes and proven more strongly than ever in South Park’s history that free speech is often severely and unjustifiably limited.

While a small group of extremists have sufficiently intimidated Comedy Central, this only proves how disproportionate reactions to religious images in the last decade have been.

Media networks have cowered in the face of controversy from a fringe group and satire has proven once again to be a powerful tool for highlighting absurdities in our society.

South Park’s recent episodes show that the best way to fight this fear and intimidation is by ignoring it.

The rest of the media should support this notion by condemning the blatant threats made by a group that claims to operate within the law and by showing that free speech cannot be controlled by intimidation.

Tyler Hughes is a staff columnist for The Heights. He welcomes comments at thughes@bcheights.com.

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Thursday, April 29, 2010

The Heights

Roche ready for ‘bigger and better things’ From Roche, A10

worries about basketball because he loves to.

“I’ve been sticking to my same path because it’s such a habit of working out and staying in shape,” he said. “I’ve been working out with some of the guys on the team so they can get better. It’s something I love to do, and I really can’t stray away from that.”

Keeping up with the schedule he has known for four years keeps him in check no only physically, but mentally, as well.

“I miss that grind. I feel like I’m more focused, and when I have all this free time, it’s sometimes hard to manage it,” Roche said. “I’ll put this off, put off homework until the last second. I miss the structure.”

While he continues to spend almost just as much time in the weight room and in practice with his teammates, Roche has not forgotten to live like a senior for his final few weeks at Boston College.

“I’ve been able to enjoy some of the senior activities,” Roche admitted. “I don’t have stuff on Fridays anymore, so I can go to friends’ houses, barbeques. I can enjoy that stuff now.

“I can go out now, enjoy myself without having to know that practice is the next day. It’s kind of nice.”

Roche, however, is not spending all of his nights at Mary Ann’s, as some seniors boast. In fact, he has to worry about an 8 a.m. cultural diversity course on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, which he says he has yet to miss.

“Yeah, I always go,” he said. “If I don’t,

alex trautwig / heights editor

The senior captain from Hooksett, N.H., has hardly changed his daily team workout routine.

I have to write a two-page paper.”

Some of the soon-to-be graduate’s favorite nights don’t involve sampling the local bar scene. Instead, he loves relaxing with roommates Anthony Castonzo, left tackle on the football team, and Joe Trapani, his former teammate, watching a movie or playing Tiger Woods PGA Tour as their created character, Sweet Cheeks.

If it sounds like Roche is the average BC student, it’s because he is. He currently doesn’t have concrete plans for post-graduation life, but holds a lot of hopes for what could work out.

At the top of his wish list is working as a graduate assistant next season with the men’s basketball team, which would allow him to stay with his teammates for one more year as he takes classes in the Woods College of Advancing Studies.

New head coach Steve Donahue “is keen on the idea,” Roche said, but nothing is set in stone yet. All Roche knows is that he wants to stick around Chestnut Hill.

“I would love to help out with the guys,” Roche said. “I love this program, and I want to see this guy succeed. I would love to be [a manager or assistant coach].”

This will put Roche on the path to become a head coach down the road, he hopes. Though he never gave it much thought before coming to BC, the coaching profession appears to be a great fit for a former team captain.

“I never really thought about coaching, up until a couple years ago,” Roche said. “In high school, I was always focused on college and playing in college, and I didn’t think about anything after that.

The last couple of years, coaching just sounds really good to me. It just seems to click.

“I love motivating guys and seeing guys get better. Especially being a captain last year, trying to lead them, I love having that sense of leadership of responsibility.”

No matter where Roche ends up after

alex trautwig / heights editor

Roche shot 41 percent from beyond the arc and averaged 7.2 points per game last season.

May 24, he knows one thing for certain: He can’t believe how fast the last four years have flown by.

“It’s kind of scary. It’s really weird,” Roche said. “I didn’t think I would ever graduate here, you know what I’m saying?

I remember moving into Kostka Hall, freshman year, like it was yesterday. It’s

really weird.”

While hard to wrap his head around, graduation is something Roche believes he is able to handle.

“You need to move on to bigger and better things, and I think I’m ready for that,” he said. “So hopefully, everything turns out the best.” n

Honeymoon period quickly coming to an end for Donahue Daniel Popko You hear of the “honeymoon period” when teams land a new coach. Just like in relationships, the new coach can seemingly do no wrong. Even the most puzzling decisions are met with confirmation that they really do know what they are doing, they were the right choice for the job, and every other cliche the book has to offer. Steve Donahue finds himself firmly entrenched in that role after replacing Al Skinner … or so you might think.

I think Donahue may be running out of that grace period at a record pace.

Allow me to state my position here first. I was formerly a stout defender of Al, the flex, his Eastern Clothing commercial, and everything else. I even wrote, despite the Eagles’ horrid start, that as long as we didn’t lose to Bryant or Maine, everything would be fine.

Yeah. About that Maine game.

By the end of the year, I was all for Al being pushed out. Much like a baseball team will change from a rah-rah Lou Pinella type to a stoic players manager like Joe Torre, the program needed someone with more fire than Skinner.

The most successful coaching career in Boston College history had more or less run its course.

Donahue was coming in to a situation with every starter returning, a

massive senior class, and the chance to build the team he wanted behind one last year from Reggie Jackson.

Then, in the flash of an eye – I say this not intending to place all of the blame on Donahue, as he has done seemingly everything the right way since arriving on campus, hitting the recruiting trail hard and instilling a little bit of hope – the new boss’ arrival began wrecking more havoc than Eyjafjallajokull.

Rakim Sanders, the enigmatic yet talented swingman, was transferring to be with former BC assistant Ed Cooley at Fairfield. Defections should come as no surprise with a coaching change, but for a rising senior to leave is a rarity. Then, with no current freshmen on the roster, two of the three members of BC’s new recruiting class asked for releases, potentially leaving the Eagles with zero underclassmen as they head into next season.

With all of the questions for the future, the most disturbing departure is likely Sanders. For a senior to be leaving school, even after a sub-par season, could signal Donahue may be doing a little more than simply holding the door for him on the way out.

It seems puzzling until you look at the fact that this was the first chance for athletic director Gene DeFilippo to put his fingerprints on the basketball program. When it comes to dealing with coaching changes, he has shown himself to be heavy handed, handling the departures of football coach Jeff Jagodzinski and women’s basketball coach Cathy Inglese rather roughly.

Even the Skinner firing – I just don’t

buy the mutual decision thing, not with a gag order reportedly put on Skinner’s buyout – smelled a little fishy. Fool me once, Gene, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Don’t think for an instant you’re going to fool me a third time.

Of course, DeFilippo is going to want to go as far away from Skinner as possible, and who is more far away than Donahue? Maybe he saw his potential for authoritarian rule and interviewed a similar man, and that sold him on the former Cornell coach.

Whether Donahue had anything to do with the departure of Sanders or the three recruits – including the already enrolled Brady Heslip – he was at the very least marking his line in the sand, making it very clear the BC basketball was his program now.

As much as I would have liked to see a shooter like Heslip in Donahue’s motion offense, there were always questions about his defense and ability to run an offense. Papa Samba Ndao was always a project and, from what can be gathered, it looks like Donahue has done all he can to hold onto Skinner’s crown jewel in the class, forward Kevin Noreen.

With a late start, it remains to be seen how much Donahue can bring to the Heights in the 2010 recruiting class aside from Noreen, but he has been doing his best. Ben Brust, a decommit from Iowa after a coaching change there, visited Chestnut Hill last week and would be a start, but, aside from a few top players who might laugh any BC coach off the phone, all that is left of ACC value are players whose heads are

Baseball continues to roll behind near-perfect outing From Baseball, A10

Spatola stole second, designated hitter Matt Watson drove him in on a hard ground ball past the third baseman.

Watson was gunned down trying to stretch his single into a double, but the Eagles at least had two runs to show for their effort.

BC would strike again in the fourth inning. Spatola drew a walk, and Watson followed with a single past the second baseman, sending Spatola to third.

Mike Sudol then ripped a ground ball to the shortstop, but the ball bounced off his glove and into center field, scoring Spatola and moving Watson to third. After an Anthony Melchionda strikeout, Brad Zapenas laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to the right of the pitcher’s mound, far enough to score Watson from third.

Garret Smith then roped a

pitch down the right field line for a triple, driving in Sudol to make it 5-0 BC. Coming off the bench, Andrew Lawrence added a solo shot over the right-field wall in the eighth inning to make it 6-0.

“We have been able to get a few more timely hits than we have before,” Aoki said.

Clemens was back on the mound to start the ninth, hoping to finish what he had started. As the rain over Shea Field started to pick up, Clemens let up two straight hits to Quinnipiac’s Ryan Ullrich and Thomas Donovan.

While the next batter was at the plate, Smith appeared to pick off Donovan at first after a pitch, but Donovan narrowly made it back to the bag.

Clemens responded by striking out the next two Quinnipiac batters. After Clemens walked the next batter, Aoki went out to the

mound to talk with his pitcher, but left him in the game.

On his 114th pitch, Clemens walked the batter, letting up his first run of the game and leading to his departure.

“I think [Clemens] got a little tired in that last inning, unable to finish it out, which is too bad,” Aoki said.

Matt Brazis came on in relief for the Eagles with the bases loaded, but struck out Chris Migani in three pitches to secure the win for Clemens and the Eagles.

The 8.2 innings pitched and seven strikeouts were both careerhighs for Clemens, who pitched his best game of the season. Improving to 2-2 on the season, Clemens brought his best to the mound all afternoon, leading the surging Eagles to their ninth straight win of the season.

It was just what the doctor ordered. n

DAVID GIVLER / heights editor

New head coach Steve Donahue is facing the challenge of keeping players in Chestnut Hill. still reeling from coaching upheaval all over the country.

With so little time left, I think the major-conference neophyte has done admirably, though getting some kids to sign on the dotted line will fix the uneasy feeling in my stomach that makes me feel like I’ve just eaten a KFC Double Down.

Donahue’s work ethic and playerfriendly personality could do wonders, and the great beyond that lies after next season is as intriguing as it is scary. Trying to predict with an unproven coach (at least at this level) in an unknown situation with no safety

net is a proposition that makes chaos theory look easy – and I’m an English major. Though, I guess basketball is no quantum mechanics.

Only time will tell if Donahue is the right man for the job, but that honeymoon is swiftly nearing an end. When it’s truly his team, the excuses will be few and far between.

He may have yet to even coach his first practice on the Heights, but the clock is already ticking.

Daniel Popko is a staff columnist for The Heights. He can be reached at sports@ bcheights.com.

THE HEIGHTS

EDITORS’ PICKS

Thursday, April 29, 2010 The Week Ahead After a slow start, the baseball team has won nine straight to move into second place in the ACC Atlantic division. The Eagles face Virginia Tech this weekend. The softball team will also play the Hokies. Women’s lacrosse hosts Le Moyne Saturday.

Standings

A9

Paul Sulzer

42-18

Maegan O’Rourke

41-19

Zach Wielgus

38-22

Heights staff

33-27

The picks race is down to the wire for the second straight semester, as Maegan went 5-0 to pull within a game of Paul. Baseball swept NC State, while softball got swept by Virginia. Duke beat BC, 17-6, in the ACC women’s lacrosse tournament.

Guest Editor: Mike Saldarriaga Graphics Editor “I think that Homeboykris has a good shot this year. Lot of fire. Lot of spunk.”

This Week’s Games

BCnotes

Recap from Last Week

Women’s Golf Last weekend, the women’s golf team competed in the ACC Championships at the Carmel Country Club in Charlotte, N.C. For the 12th straight year, Duke emerged victorious. Duke was 35 strokes ahead of the second-place team, Wake Forest.

The Eagles weren’t so fortunate and finished in ninth place.

Freshman Meghan Martinek of Boston College had a good tournament, compiling a score of 245 over the weekend’s three matches. Her score of 76 on day two earned her the best score of any Eagle during the tournament.

Sophomores Katie Napleton and Lara Smilnak finished on Martinek’s tail with total scores of 248.

Men’s Basketball Zach Wielgus Sports Editor

Maegan O’Roruke Assoc. Sports Editor

Paul Sulzer Asst. Sports Editor

Mike Saldarriaga

Graphics Editor

Baseball: Boston College at Virginia Tech (series)

Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech

BC

BC

Softball: Boston College vs. Virginia Tech (series)

BC

Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech

Women’s Lacrosse: Le Moyne at Boston College

Le Moyne

BC

BC

BC

The 136th Kentucky Derby winner

Conveyance

Super Saver

Sidney’s Candy

Homeboykris

NBA Playoffs: Trail Blazers vs. Suns (series)

Trail Blazers

Suns

Suns

Trail Blazers

Jon Meterparel will replace Ted Serandis as the voice of the Boston College men’s basketball team, ISP Sports officials announced yesterday.

Meterparel has handled the play-by-play duties for the football team since the 2005 season, and will commentate both the football and basketball games in the upcoming year.

ISP extended Meterparel’s contract for the next three years, said Chris Ferris, senior vice president of the ISP Radio Network.

Through an agreement with Fenway Sports Group, ISP has marketed and managed the BC ISP Sports Network since 2005.

Eagles ride hot bats into Virginia Tech series

BY MAEGAN O’ROURKE Assoc. Sports Editor

After starting the 2010 season below .500, the Boston College baseball team’s chances of repeating a trip to the NCAA tournament appeared slim.

Now, in the middle of a nine-game win streak that includes series sweeps over ACC foes Wake Forest and NC State, the Eagles are peaking at the right time.

With its record at 24-17, the team will look to continue its momentum this weekend in Blacksburg against No. 18 Virginia Tech. The Hokies, who most recently took a series from No. 3 Georgia Tech, are on a hot streak of their own. With nine wins in their last 13 games, including wins over No. 9 Miami and No. 1 Virginia, the Hokies are led by their pitching staff. Justin Wright, Mathew Price, and Jesse Han are solid as Virginia Tech’s top three starters.

“They pitch it really well, they’ve got three starters who can beat anybody in the country on any given night,” said BC head coach Mik Aoki.

“We’ll have to put up quality at-bats and grind it out. We’re going to have our hands full.”

Virginia Tech also poses a challenge on the offensive end, as the Hokies own a team batting average of .322. Steve Domecus leads the team

with 10 home runs, while Ronnie Shaban is first with 45 RBIs. On the other hand, the Eagles should have no problem competing on the offensive end with Virginia Tech. Over the course of their current win streak, the Eagles have averaged nine runs a game, showcasing their hitting and slugging ability and increasing their team batting average to .297.

“I think the kids have done a very good job of working at taking what we tell them as coaches and applying that in games,” Aoki said. “If you look at it, we’ve struck out less, walked more, been more patient. We’ve been getting the good part of the barrel on the ball. We’re just putting up more quality at-bats.”

One Eagle in particular has been on an impressive hitting streak. Senior center fielder Robbie Anston was named ACC Player of the Week on Monday for his contributions against NC State over the past weekend. Anston batted .545 for the week and also led the team with 12 hits and nine RBIs, while also driving in the game-winning run on Saturday.

BC’s pitching staff has also returned to form as of late. With the return of juniors John Leonard and Pat Dean from injury, the Eagles are settling into the rotation that Aoki envisioned from the start of

Lacrosse sets wins record

BY ADAM ROSE For The Heights

Yesterday was a perfect day for the Boston College women’s lacrosse team. Despite the far from perfect conditions, the women’s lacrosse team set a single-season record for wins, Lauren Costello Boston College 12 set two individual records, and the Eagles remained New Hampshire 6 undefeated in out-of-conference play as they downed the New Hampshire Wildcats, 12-6.

“It’s a good feeling to set the record, but the season’s not over yet, and we want to win the last two,” said head coach Bowen Holden.

UNH started the action off with a goal only two and a half minutes in when Shaunna Kaplan raced in and beat Eagle goalkeeper Sheila Serafino inside the right post.

The Eagles bounced back two minutes later with an unassisted goal by Brittany Wilton. Wilton’s goal started a streak of three straight goals for BC. Costello, an All-ACC First Team selection, notched her team-leading 42nd goal of the year, which broke the single-season points and single-season goals record.

“It’s hard to put into words what Lauren has done for the team this year, but she has really embraced her role as captain,” Holden said.

The Wildcats brought the Eagles’ lead back to one with nine minutes in the half when Allie Bratton beat the BC defense and rocketed a shot that beat Serafino to her right. Serafino ended the half with five saves.

With two minutes left in the half, UNH goalie Kathleen O’Keefe committed a penalty, which allowed Jill Amo a free-position shot, resulting in a goal. At the half, the Eagles led, 4-2.

Brooke Blue opened up the scoring in the second half when she blistered in a one-timer from a pass by Amo. Less than a minute later, Blue connected for her second goal of the game off a pass from Wilton.

UNH went on a tear that began when Amo earned a penalty card. UNH took advantage of the extra player to cut the Eagles’ lead to four. Kate Keagins ran in and scored with 21:16 left in regulation. JoJo Curro added to the UNH rally eight minutes later, scoring off a pass from Kaplan.

Two more Wildcat goals from Hayley Rausch would cut the Eagle lead to just one with seven minutes remaining. Rausch scored off a pass from Curro with 8:19 on the clock, jumping on a man-advantage opportunity following a Kate Collins penalty.

The Eagles called a timeout following the goal to regroup. “Our goalie, Sheila, came in very fired up and got the team in the right mindset,” Holden said.

“All I had to say was a few X’s and O’s.”

The team responded well to the timeout, as it controlled the ball in the UNH zone until Wilton blazed in and rocketed a shot past the left side of O’Keefe’s helmet to add an insurance point. The game finished with the Eagles on top by a score of 12-6 after Costello added three insurance goals and Blue added one.

Costello led the team with five goals against New Hampshire, and Blue was second with three scores.

In an effort to support breast cancer awareness and research, the Eagles wore pink jerseys in their second annual “Power in Pink” game. The Eagles accepted donations during the game that went directly to the Susan G. Komen For the Cure Fund, in honor of former BC lacrosse mom, Joanne Fitzpatrick.

“Joanne was an unbelievable supporter of the program, so it’s important for us to continue supporting the charity,” Holden said. 

Never give up on a man who is chasing down his dream From Davies, A10

that the dream is over, but I still fully believe that he will play in the World Cup. If there’s one attribute that defines Davies, it’s determination.

Watch him play and you’ll understand. He’s the striker that pressures every back pass. Defenders can’t rest for a second when he’s on the field because he’ll make them pay. The only way he knows how to play the game is all-out.

Davies has applied this limitless drive to his rehab, and now he’s on the brink of accomplishing the impossible. Maybe he’s not as quick as before. Maybe he doesn’t have the same stamina.

But there is no way that Davies will be watching the World Cup from the comfort of his living room. The morale boost he would provide his

teammates if he traveled with them to South Africa would be invaluable.

He can be a symbol for American soccer. The rest of the world thinks we’re overrated. Slovenia is the chic pick to advance out of our group with England. He can infuse the team with the motivation and confidence it needs to advance.

Even if he’s only capable of coming on as a substitute for 20 minutes a game, head coach Bob Bradley would be foolish not to include him.

Every team needs players like Davies – selfless, resolute, and talented.

A World Cup without Davies would be incomplete.

Paul Sulzer is the Assistant Sports Editor of The Heights. He can be reached at sports@bcheights.com.

ALEX TRAUTWIG / HEIGHTS EDITOR

The baseball team’s turnaround has been a team effort, getting timely hitting and solid pitching from the whole roster. the season, which has been a significant part of the team’s turnaround.

“I think pitching is extremely critical, that’s been a big part,” Aoki said. “Getting Johnny Leonard healthy and having Pat Dean healthy, being able to pitch those guys over the course of the conference weekend, put everyone else back into the roles they’re better suited for.”

This, Aoki said, has resulted in a growth of confidence for his team, with the pitching staff backing up the Eagles’ already strong lineup.

“I think we trust each other a little bit more up and down the lineup,” Aoki said.

“I think our lineup feels like they don’t need to go out and score nine runs to win a baseball game. I think they have more confidence.” 

SPORTS THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, April 29, 2010

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THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 2010

Refusing to give up on the dream

PAUL SULZER I remember the exact date when I convinced myself that the Bionic Man was real: October 13, 2009.

It was a sad day. I remember reading the headline on ESPN in disbelief: “U.S. striker Davies injured in car accident.” It felt wrong. Accidents involving celebrities are usually much more abstract. This was, for lack of a better word, real.

I met Charlie Davies over the summer at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough when I was covering the U.S. national soccer team for my internship. He was one of the hottest names in American soccer after bursting onto the scene in the Confederations Cup. He had just completed a move to Sochaux, a team in the French league, earlier that day.

Everyone wanted to talk to him.

I had never heard of him when I set foot on campus in August of 2008. I wasn’t even much of a soccer fan. I had casually watched the European Championship that summer, but I didn’t know much about the sport.

My best friend at school, though, was an immigrant from Poland and an avid fan of the beautiful game. Within six months, I was watching Champions League matches on my laptop when my professor wasn’t looking.

It was with this enthusiasm for soccer that I prepared for my interview with Davies. I had a list of 20 questions I wanted to ask him. I had interviewed other famous Boston College athletes before, like Matt Ryan and Tyrese Rice, but this was different. Davies represented both my school and my country in the game I had come to love.

This interview meant something more to me than the others had.

I managed to get in two minutes worth of questions after 10 minutes of waiting. He was humble. He said all the right things. He praised his teammates and coaches for his newfound success.

He seemed like the kind of guy you could play FIFA ’10 with online. He had this quiet confidence about him that just inspired faith.

He tested that faith, though, on that night in the second week of October.

Davies broke curfew two nights before the national team’s final World Cup qualifier in Washington against Costa Rica. Around 3:15 a.m., the driver of the car in which Davies was a passenger lost control of the vehicle and crashed into the median. Davies was airlifted to a nearby hospital where doctors repaired his ruptured bladder and inserted a titanium rod into his broken leg. The other passenger in the car was killed.

Six months and seven surgeries later, Davies appeared on track to come back in time for the World Cup opener on June 12 against England. Against improbable odds, he had returned to practice with Sochaux. His recovery was way ahead of schedule.

All he had to do was get in a few games with his club and he would be fit enough to don the red, white, and blue in South Africa.

But those plans were shot down a week ago when club president Alexandre Lacombe announced that Davies would not play for Sochaux this season.

Head coach Francis Gillot said Davies isn’t yet strong enough to participate in full-contact training.

This is crushing news on several levels. For Davies, this is the most significant roadblock he’s faced since he began rehabbing. He’s met every timetable he set for himself, except this most recent one.

For the national team, this is a huge loss. Davies was a long shot to play in the World Cup. Still, the eternal optimist in me always thought he would be on the plane to South Africa. If Davies can survive a car crash that left him with a giant titanium rod in his leg and begin running again within a few months, he can do anything. He is the Bionic Man. Everyone at Sochaux is telling him

BASEBALL

Clemens secures ninth straight for BC

BY GREG JOYCE For The Heights

Dane Clemens nearly pitched a complete game shutout Tuesday, and the Boston College Boston College 6 baseball team 1 Quinnipiac wo n i ts n i n t h straight game, defeating Quinnipiac by a score of 6-1.

Clemens was the story of the game for the Eagles (24-17, 12-9 ACC), as he made it 8.2 innings before letting up a run, striking out seven and only allowing six hits. The righty was a dominant force on the mound for BC, and according to head coach Mik Aoki, his performance was “just what the doctor ordered.”

“He pitched great, and we needed it,” Aoki said. “We needed some length to protect our bullpen, after everything from this weekend and having a game tomorrow.”

The baseball team and its tired bullpen

earned a break when its game against Dartmouth was cancelled due to inclement weather.

Clemens allowed a hit in each of the first four innings, but was helped out by three inning-ending double plays and two strikeouts to end the fourth. In his next four innings of work, Clemens retired all 12 batters in order.

“Early on, they were on his curveball a little bit, so we just went fastball, change, and he did a great job locating,” Aoki said.

Meanwhile, the Eagles’ offense was helping out Clemens on the scoreboard right from the start.

In the bottom of the first with one out, second baseman Matt Hamlet hit a sharp line drive to right field, and went on to steal second base. One out later, rightfielder John Spatola hit another line drive to right field, knocking in Hamlet. After

ALEX TRAUTWIG / HEIGHTS EDITOR

See Baseball, A8

Dane Clemens nearly went the distance Tuesday, tossing 8.2 innings and allowing one run.

A Senior Moment

With graduation looming, Tyler Roche knows one thing: He doesn’t want to leave

BY ZACH WIELGUS Sports Editor

Tyler Roche still just needs his hands on the ball. For the first time, the senior basketball player is not preparing to play the sport he loves, and he isn’t quite sure how to handle it.

As he sits and chats about life after basketball, he lazily flips a football end over end, tossing it casually in the air as he answers questions. It seems natural to him. It puts him at ease.

But after all, he has spent the last 22 years of his life worrying about basketball every day, and suddenly, that’s gone.

“It’s really strange because, up to this point, my whole life has been based on basketball and working out all day, every day,” Roche said. “Now, I don’t have mandatory workouts, lifts, and practices, and it’s kind of weird.”

Roche has no intention of trying to train for the NBA or professional basketball overseas. That hasn’t stopped him from keeping up with his usual exercise routine, however.

For Roche, he doesn’t worry about basketball because he has to; now he

See Roche, A8 ALEX TRAUTWIG / HEIGHTS EDITOR

See Davies, A8

I NSIDE SPORTS THIS ISSUE

Vital series in Virginia Tech

The baseball team will put its nine-game win streak on the line at the 29-14 Hokies...........A9

The honeymoon may be over

New head coach Steve Donahue has a lot on his plate with two transfers and a threatened decommit.................A8

Editors’ Picks..............................A9 BC Notes.....................................A9

mike saldarriaga / heights illustration

Thursday, April 29, 2010

THE HEIGHTS

B2

+Editor’s Corner

Arts Fest blooms in O’Neill KRISTEN HOUSE Around this time last year, I was rehearsing to perform at the Arts Fest Dance Showcase. I was eyeing the tent that would pass as our all too co-ed dressing room, wondering if my pointe shoes would be able to outlast the slippery wood floor, expecting that they would not and my chiffon-clad ass would become very familiar with the floor.

To say the least, I was a bundle of nerves. On top of everything, I noticed the proximity of the audience to the stage, and it wasn’t a pretty sight. I could probably stretch the ball of my foot to give a front row observer a love tap on their forehead. We were going to be awfully close. I would see every beady eye, unable to keep them obscured.

When everything was said and done, I miraculously hadn’t fallen.

In fact, I left the show feeling even better than unscathed. My first Arts Fest had proven to be better than eating a sticky clump of cotton candy or finding out that my 9 a.m. class was canceled.

Thus, I take this column, normally reserved for entertainment of a more national scope, to laud Arts Fest. Here, in my opinion, is why it works.

Little kids: There are an inordinate number of tiny humans running around Arts Fest, which is a refreshing change from students who just act that age. They all have the energy to run laps around Alumni Stadium, Conte, the Plex, and the Reservoir, and then sit attentively to soak up all the dance, singing, and art that we have to offer. The Arts Festival is a true community event that makes the campus realize that the average age of the world’s population is not 20.

The Tent(s): The enormous white tent in O’Neill plaza serves as the Mecca of campus for the duration of the festival’s existence. It will serve as the home for fashion shows, improv comedy showdowns, culture clubs, contemporary dance, and singers, just to name a few. The aforementioned little kids and their families, as well as students, professors, and administrators can sit on folding chairs or the steps of our beloved library and take in the scene. Who says you need an ornate theater to captivate the minds and hearts of the community?

Art: Kind of goes hand in hand with what’s in the tents. Student photographs, paintings, drawings, and sculptures of every style and shape are presented throughout.

It’s like campus has turned into an oversized re-telling of From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (if you haven’t read this book, you need to do so immediately). We sleep amid the talents and wonders worthy of a museum.

Swag: In past years, kiosks with free Starbucks coffee, candy, and various confectionary delights litter the plaza and Dustbowl. Even if you’re in a position where you have to skip a few shows because of other irksome commitments (like class, for instance), you can still pick up a bit of food or drink to keep you refreshed. Keep the festive in festival, kids, and take advantage of these many corporate sponsorships.

Having Class in Gasson: Is essentially impossible. Just try talking about Nietzsche’s “God is dead and we have killed him” over an enormous sound system, whoops, and hollers. If you are due to have a final exam or equally important presentation in the next few days in said building, have a few practice rounds by studying in the middle of the Ukrainian Parliament. The noise level is probably comparable.

This year I won’t be performing in Arts Fest, but I will be attempting to make it to as many of the events as I can. When else will I be able to combine my love for free coffee and improv comedy?

Kristen House is the Arts & Review editor for The Heights. She can be reached at arts@bcheights.com.

Who knew we could amass three music videos that were this different in style. Yet, it has been done. There is ginger warfare, a new pixie punk duo that is relatively new on the scene, and then, of course, the behemoth that is Glee teaming up with “The Power of Madonna.” The common thread, however, is the boldness and, in certain respects, recklessness that they approach their art form.

Lady GaGa isn’t the only one in the universe with out of this world artistry. As you head toward en your final sun-soaked days of school, i h weighed by the immense weight of it err use w Th o final projects and papers, take a break n nH and enrapture many of your senses with o is iste the following videos. Without further ado, l Al Kr check out the week’s top three:

&

1

Sue Sylvester’s “Vogue.” Gleeks everywhere squealed gleefully at the announcement that a Madonna episode would be included in the much-anticipated second season, and the all-’80s, drama-charged installment failed to disappoint. The episode’s peak came with Sue Sylvester’s rendition of Madonna’s “Vogue.” In it, the Cheerios coach steps out of her famous track suit and into the slinky, bejeweled attire of her greatest idol. Sue does justice to the classic ’80s hit and makes it her own with a few strategic facial expressions and, of course, a dig at her self-declared nemesis, Will Schuster.

2

M.I.A. – “Born Free.” Not only is there new music from M.I.A. available, but there’s also a war on! In this nine-minute music video, there’s plenty of smoke bombs, shooting, and overall gratuitous violence. Perhaps that’s why the video was banned on YouTube soon after its release, although it has since been reinstated. Read it as a parable if you will (which you’re clearly supposed to), but a quick note for the squeamish of the pack: Avoid the last minute of the video. It could be potentially scarring.

ARTS EVENTS CALENDAR ON CAMPUS

OFF CAMPUS

THURSDAY

THURSDAY

A CAPPELLA SHOWCASE O’Neill Plaza, 4 p.m.

FRIGHTENED RABBIT Paradise Rock Club, 8 p.m.

THREEPENNY OPERA Robsham Theater, 7:30 p.m.

HALESTORM Palladium, 8:30 p.m.

FRIDAY SLAM FASHIONATION O’Neill Plaza, 8 p.m.

ALBUM LEAF Paradise Rock Club, 8 p.m.

NO COUNTRY FOR DEAD MEN O’Connell House, 9:30 p.m.

CLASS ACTRESS Great Scott, 7 p.m.

SATURDAY

PHOTOS COURTESY OF YOUTUBE.COM

SATURDAY

DANCING WITH BOP! O’Neill Plaza, 8 p.m.

SIA House of Blues, 8:30 p.m.

THREEPENNY OPERA Robsham Theater, 7:30 p.m.

RASCAL FLATTS Comcast Center, 7 p.m.

SUNDAY ASIAN JOURNEYS McMullen Museum

SUNDAY NOVEL IDEAS TT The Bear’s, 7:30 p.m.

DJ CARBO Great Scott, 8:30 p.m.

CHRIS DEWEY’S CURIOUS CHILDHOOD:

Films that shaped my childhood

3

Alphabeat – “DJ (I Could Be Dancing).” I had never heard of the band Alphabeat until yesterday, when I was spending an unproductive stint of my day on Perez Hilton reading about Lindsay Lohan’s psychotic father and his love of “Gagaloo” (Lady GaGa). But this unheard of band won me over in three minutes and 20 seconds. The guy and girl duo spin in a transfixing manner with a variety of costume changes to boot. Their mod pixie-esque pop works effortlessly. Watch the video and you, too, could fall under the spell of Alphabeat.

FRIDAY

CHRIS DEWEY Since I am more or less tapped out of childhood phenomena to wax poetic about, I have decided that for this week’s column I will give a shout out to some of the movies that best defined my childhood. Excluding any films that I have already mentioned in past columns, these five are most representative of what made me love movies in the first place.

Strangely enough, Good Burger did not quite make the cut.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom — For whatever reason, this film, which was debatably the weakest in the franchise until the most recent entry, was always my favorite Indiana Jones film as a child.

Perhaps I was young enough to not be bothered by the whiney heroine or the obnoxious child character, Short Round, but something about this movie captured my childhood desire for adventure. Gimmicky moments like the heart removal ritual or the gross-out dinner scene were perfect for any kid looking to test the limits of good taste. Though neither the best (Raiders of the Lost Ark) nor the most action-packed (The Last Crusade) movie in the series, it is still an entertaining diversion that makes archeology look a lot more exciting than it actually is.

Home Alone — Christmas movie, you say? Regardless of the film’s holiday context, I never got tired of watching the bumbling Sticky Bandits (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern) attempt to outdo Macaulay Culkin, an action star whose name should be placed alongside the likes of Stallone and Schwarzenegger.

Ample doses of perverse violence and parental negligence converge here, making this an absolutely great movie for impressionable young minds. That this movie squeaked by with only a PG rating is absolutely

astonishing.

Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure — While many will be quick to bring up Mr. Herman’s unfortunate off-screen antics, there is no denying that this is a timelessly bizarre but hilarious film. Devastated over his stolen bicycle, Pee-Wee embarks on a quest that forces him to journey to the elusive basement of the Alamo, the back lots of Warner Brothers’ studios, and come into contact with a ghostly truck driver named Large Marge. Some might call me immature for still cherishing this movie, to which I can only respond, “I know you are, but what am I?” Back to the Future — Never before had time traveling and 1950s nostalgia been so seamlessly combined. While no one will argue that Michael J. Fox’s Marty McFly is the coolest or most likely hero in cinematic history, it is tough to deny the appeal of such underdog charm.

Who knew time travel could be so tough? Between saving his dad from the bully Biff Tannen and warding off the unknowingly incestuous advances of his mother, Marty’s plight is unlike anything audiences had ever seen in a movie before. And who can forget the film’s awesome soundtrack, including “The Power of Love” by Huey Lewis and the News.

The Original Star Wars Trilogy — Though it’s a total copout for me to place three movies in the last spot, it was impossible to say that any one of these films was more important in conveying the Star Wars story than the others. Since first watching the trilogy in 1993, much has changed in the way I see the series. For instance, I now recognize that the badass Han Solo is a lot cooler than the somewhat wimpy Luke Skywalker.

At the end of the day, there’s not much I can say about these movies that hasn’t already been said — they are just as powerful and moving today as they ever were.

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

By Zak Jason Assoc. Arts & Review Editor

There are the excuses to flee and go home. This is the last summer to see my childhood friends. I need a break from this place. I hate the T. I’m making $328 an hour interning at Goldman in New York. Well, (1) you can see your friends at your high school reunion — it’s no more than nine years away. (2) Your break begins after your last final and persists for the better half of four months, regardless of where you are. (3) Boston’s public transportation system is one of the most efficient, awe-inspiring public programs in the country. (4) Goldman Sachs and your $328 will incinerate in the very near future.

But you still crave more. That prep crew job with ResLife or those $750-a-month slumlord fees seem shoddy compared to the comforts of home. This summer, however, the Hub will become the hub of culture. Unlike your hometown (unless you live in NYC or Henderson, Minn., home of the 2010 Sauerkraut Days’ sauerkraut eating competition), Boston will feature some of the world’s most renowned exhibits, performances, and festivals. Even if you scramble all summer to break even, you can find solace in these events, as many of them are free.

Before you book that flight to Middle America or trudge back down I-95 after finals, consider for a moment some snapshots of your potential summer in the city. For those of you with the shrewdness of already staying in Boston, consider this a summer checklist.

So, why stay in Boston?

Because hip-hop is not dead

Many bash the Hub for its aggressive absence of a hip-hop scene, but, for at least one day this summer, that stigma will shatter. On June 5, Boston’s premier hip-hop station, JAM’N 94.5, hosts its annual Summer Jam, featuring a Who’s Who of top-40 hit-makers, including Degrassi wheel-chaired heartthrob turned R&B sensation Drake, as well as Ludacris, Trey Songz, Bobby Ray, B.o.B., Taio Cruz, and Cambridge’s own rising emcee Sam Adams (whose single “Driving Me Crazy” is currently in the Billboard’s top 5). Held in the expansive, grass-laden Comcast Center, Summer Jam has picked the ideal venue for patrons to bug out to the beats. Tickets start at just $25.

Because sometimes you like to laugh

Throughout the summer, comedians and comedic events will saturate the city. For the anatomically curious, Improv Boston presents Naked Comedy Showcase each Wednesday night. Presented by Andy Ofiesh, a native nudist and standup comedian, the event features both seasoned and aspiring comedians giving their shtick sans-culottes. For the more traditional comedy fan, The Wilbur Theatre features big-name funny men, including Tracy Morgan on May 22, the Aqua Teen Hunger Force tour on June 2, and Aziz Ansari – one of the most innovative and indisputably uproarious comedians of our day – on July 17. Rising YouTube wonder boy Bo Burnham will perform at the House of Blues on May 21.

Because top indie acts perform in the most accessible and engaging clubs

They all release albums this spring, and they all perform throughout the city this summer. With acclaimed releases, an array of indie acts has booked shows at some of Boston’s best rock clubs. The House of Blues alone will feature The National (whose fifth album, High Violet, will be released May 11) on both June 2 and 3, The New Pornographers (whose fifth album, Together, will be released May 4) on June 18, and She & Him on July 1. At the more intimate Paradise Rock Club, located just past Boston University on the B line, Dr. Dog will perform on May 12 and Stars on June 1. And in case you missed them at Brown, MGMT comes to Holyoke on August 11. As these acts find themselves on the radar (The New York Times Magazine just ran a feature on The National last week), this may be the last chance to see some of them in such up-close clubs (that is, until they’re grizzled). Most of these shows run less than $30 for a ticket.

But even if your budget stays airtight, The Great Scott is a great venue to catch a cheap and exhilarating show. Just up the road on Comm. Ave. in Allston, The Great Scott’s side bar and cozy setting (less than 150 people max) beget crisp sound and a chance to party with the band afterward. Almost no show at The Great Scott costs more than $10, and the club will feature everything from local up-and-comers, to esteemed cover bands, to seasoned indie acts like Matt Pond PA on June 5 and Wavves on June 22.

Because sometimes you like to bask in high society, without the high prices

In case you haven’t taken an art history course, you might not know that students get free admission to the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA). Starting on July 28, the MFA takes a page out of its modern neighbor, the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), with New Works: Prints, Drawings, Collages. Featuring inventive and mixed-medium American and European art from just the last half century, the exhibit should entice the patron walking out of the Old Masters room. Speaking of the ICA, the futuristic museum just unveiled a Dr. Lakra exhibit, featuring unworldly body art, which will be on display until September.

If you like your art more kinetic, the metropolis’ preeminent dance company, Boston Ballet, continues its season next month with two dazzling shows. Ultimate Balanchine, running from May 6-16, will showcase a medley by the iconic New York City Ballet choreographer George Balanchine. Black and White, running from May 20-30, will feature more acrobatic and sensual ballet.

Rachel Gregorio & Sam Lipscomb / heights illustration

B4

Thursday, April 29, 2010

THE HEIGHTS

+Food and Fashion

Chronicles of Campus Fashion: Working out in Style

BY CARRIE MCMAHON Heights Editor

There’s a definite range of intensity when it comes to the fashion choices of faithful Plex-goers. While it’s a common misconception that a pure Under Armor suit correlates with a man’s or woman’s abilities in the gym, a certain look does signify a degree of athletic awareness. The large majority of girls who work out on a regular basis choose the lowest intensity uniforms, which consist of the Nike Tempo track shorts (yes, those two-toned neon ones that have inundated the campus) with the typical white, high school sports tournament tee.

For men, the most basic level of Plex-gear includes mesh shorts, a cut-off college tee, and high black socks. These socks are one of the most popular fashion trends to be found at the gym, because, as opposed to many other pieces of attire, they are worn mostly on the basis of the way they look. While shorts with built-in underwear let you stretch every which way and cut-off tees relieve you of potentially embarrassing sweat stains, the socks are there for style points alone.

The next level of gear, which on a significant note, involves a substantial raise in price, consists of spandex and solos for the women. Worn either with the classic white Hanes v-neck or, a step up, an athletic racerback tank with an obvious Nike check or Under Armor logo front and center, the tight black gear is not only a popular choice, but also one looked most favorably upon by male counterparts.

It’s clear from first glance, though, that brand names play a major role in Plex fashion. Forget couture, the fit on campus prefer Adidas to Azzedine Alaia. And lest there’s a belief out there that accessories are absent in the gym, it should be noted that jewelry is almost as crucial of a component to the female workout look as the apparel. The standard combo is earrings, preferably pearls, and at least a small charm necklace or claddagh ring, overly popular among the large Irish population at BC. When stylish looks come to mind, sweat and calories burned rarely accommodate the picture, but fashion is ever present, and the Plex is no exception.

CARRIE MCMAHON / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Showing off the most typical Plex look which consists of Nike Tempo track shorts and a basic tee.

A conspicuous Nike logo, neon, and color coordination make this student’s style the epitome of sporty-chic.

Solo pants like these are a popular choice sure to up the level of fashion intensity at the gym

Carrie McMahon is the Editorial Assistant for the Heights. She can be reached for comment at arts@bcheights.com.

Bite of Boston Blue Asia Cafe 113 Brighton Avenue Allston, MA 02134 (617) 202-3868

Just Desserts: P.B. Cookies

BY KARA KAMINSKI

Heights Senior Staff This monster cookie recipe comes from my first recipe trade, which was with my fifth grade teacher. She would bribe us with these cookies to keep us quiet during guest teachers or group presentations. When I brought in focaccia rolls, she was willing to trade my recipe for her own.

Like the lava cake recipe, this one can also be made in one bowl. Another plus for

Hours: Mon-Thurs:11:30-9:30 p.m.

Fri-Sat: 11:30-10:30 p.m.

students is that both the peanut butter and candy, the more expensive ingredients, can be bought in the dining hall.

These cookies, which consist almost entirely of peanut butter, may stick to the roof of your mouth, but they manage to maintain the warm comfort of cookies and the joy of a few chocolate chips thrown in. Any chocolate candy or dried fruit is a fantastic candidate.

I recently tried butterscotch after reading a blogger’s suggestion, and I can safely say you should stick to chocolate and fruit.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CREATIVE CONFECTIONER BLOG

Blue Asia boasts authentic Chinese cuisine

BY JENNY LIU For The Heights Blue Asia Cafe may resemble a nursery spackled with bright greens, reds, and oranges, with butterflies dancing across the walls, and light fixtures in the form of bell flowers hanging from the ceiling, but despite this restaurant’s youth (it recently opened in January 2010), the food is nothing short of experienced.

The menu boasts options that might be familiar to those who have ventured through the Shilin Night Market in Taiwan, where everything from pan-fried scallion pancakes to tofu are sold and eaten on elbow-to-elbow tight counters. When I went on a lazy Sunday afternoon, they offered a traditional Chinese breakfast menu with homey delights such as hot soy milk, and you tiao, crispy fried dough.

For the appetizer, you can indulge in something as simple as an egg pancake with dipping sauce, or as luxurious as succulent, sliced pork belly in the chef’s special garlic sauce.

The dumplings are homemade, pan-fried or steamed, and other intriguing items dot the extensive menu, like chilled seaweed seasoned with garlic. The adjacent table was eagerly picking away at a small hill of chilled cabbage marinated with a combination of sweet, sour, and spicy.

For a carb-fix, there is no dearth of choices. The spicy stewed beef with noodles and bok choy comes in a seemingly bottomless bowl. Tender chunks of beef float in a savory broth that easily falls apart and almost melts.

The bok choy is fresh and abundant, and balances out the celebration of meat raging in the bowl. The noodle soup comes with a little dish of preserved mustards that you can toss in to add some brininess. I would also ask for additional hot sauce, because the title of the dish may be a petit misnomer.

Otherwise, the taste is as authentic as you can ask for and condemns the heavy-handed salt and oil often abused by Americanized Chinese restaurants. After all, Blue Asia Cafe is owned and operated by the Feng family, who was originally from Taiwan, and became restaurateurs of three restaurants in Maine before moving down to Boston.

This is where the correlations with Taiwan end and the influences of Japanese and Korean cuisine assert themselves. The fusion rice roll creations salute maki sushi, but where raw fish would lie are instead juicy chicken cutlets, salty pork shreds, fluffy egg, and spicy mayo as in their Crispy Chicken

Rice Roll.

Do not be surprised to find the other rice rolls filled with beef bulgogi, Korean kimchi, popcorn shrimp, dried tenderloin pork, or even eel. For the particular segment of the market that misses the instant ramen culture of Asia, the offerings wittily include Shin-Ramen, a spicy brand of South Korean instant noodles.

The ambiance at Blue Asia Cafe is just as loud and boisterous as the Shilin Market, with most patrons speaking Mandarin-Chinese, and the staff rhythmically slipping into it and then back into fluent English. Unlike the infamous Taiwanese night market, the tables are well spaced with both round and rectangular tables made for parties of two, four, and whole families, making it unnecessary to jostle for air.

This ensures that you would want to linger on for dessert, an attractive choice being the shaved ice with any combination of red bean, peanut, grass jelly, pudding, pineapple, strawberries, or all of the above. The “Go Super Large” shaved ice is for six or more people, and, at its most expensive, $7.

With the vast amount of food that comes to your table and everything under $10, it almost feels like the recession is over as you dine like a hedge fund manager. Additional discounts are offered on their Facebook fan page and Twitter, which smacks of the newmedia savvy that most restaurants are working toward nowadays.

You can sense the excitement of the owner and updater, Julie Feng, through her personable remarks like, “Weekend specials are still available as always! Tomorrow will be rainy and cold, make sure you bring an umbrella (I feel like a weather forecast now)!” The warm hospitality makes the fickle Boston weather negligible.

Even after a meal, you can stay at Blue Asia Cafe – sit back like you are at home, read a comic or two from their manga collection, and slowly sip a Jasmine Green Boba Tea.

Getting to the point...

Transit: Available on mbta.com Travel Time: 30 minutes Affordability: Cheap Atmosphere: Casual Food Quality: Excellent

PHOTO COURTESY OF KARA KAMINSKI

Ingredients 3 eggs 1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar 1 cup granulated sugar 2 teaspoons baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 16-ounce jar of peanut butter 1 stick butter, softened 1 cup chocolate chips or M&Ms 1 cup oatmeal

Cooking Instructions: 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 2. Line your cookie sheets with nonstick spray.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Mix. 4. Add vanilla extract, peanut butter, and butter. Mix all until a dough forms.

5. Add chocolate chips and oatmeal.

6. Roll dough into balls and place on tray two inches apart.

7. Bake for 10 minutes.

8. Cookies will be fragile, let cool for three minutes before moving.

THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, April 29, 2010

B5

+Music

Wild adventure pays off big for B.o.B.

BY WILL WATKINS

that it is. The track has undeniable commercial appeal, as it has been making a strong presence on iTunes charts and has all the makings of being In December 2008, the cover of XXL magazine a huge summer jam. It’s no “Crank Dat,” however, featured six rappers: B.o.B., Asher Roth, Charles as B.o.B.’s rhymes are impeccably tight, his very Hamilton, and Wale, and dubbed them the leaders unique flow and voice are fully present, the hook of Hip Hop’s class of 2009. Asher Roth got typecast is mellow while being immediately catchy, and by “I Love College,” Charles Hamilton has gone MIA the piano-driven beat is simple but irresistible. and still has yet to put out a traditional album, The album is filled with hits, and “Nothin’ On while Wale’s album never took off You” just happened to be the the way industry executives hoped. Out of a rating one B.o.B.’s label wanted to That leaves B.o.B., also known as of 10, this release first.

Bobby Ray Simmons, the 21-year-old The Adventures of Bobby rapper out of Atlanta, Ga., who after album scores Ray, while consistently poppy, releasing a slew of mixtapes put out also manages to be highly his debut album, B.o.B. Presents: The Adventures eclectic. Rivers Cuomo from Weezer contributes of Bobby Ray, on Tuesday. The album is a stellar to the hook of “Magic,” which seamlessly blends effort, laden with quality yet commercial songs, pop-punk and rap. “Past My Shades,” which inand has the potential to send B.o.B.’s career far cludes a verse from Lupe Fiasco, is a guitar-driven above those of his classmates. track that allows B.o.B. to show that his rapping The Adventures of Bobby Ray is a near-perfectly can keep pace with one of the genre’s greats. made album that bridges the gap between pop and B.o.B. also channels late-’80s era Red Hot Chili hip hop without sacPeppers on “Fame,” a rificing any artistic funky, horn-laden track merit. Adding to the that probably has the album’s greatness is album’s best beat. “The B.o.B.’s background as a musician — he plays trumpet, guitar, and piano, and is known for playing the latter two on stage.

The result is an album with meticulously constructed beats that are begging to be tried by a live band. In this sense, B.o.B. shows his influence, from rappers such as Lupe Fiasco and Wale, but B.o.B. stands alone from those two artists with his ability That guy who sings to sing his own hook if he “Nothin’ on You” has has to, as well. released an LP. As The lead single from it turns out, B.o.B. the album, “Nothin’ On shows a lot of promise You,” which features a by bridging the gap hook from Bruno Mars, between pop and epitomizes, in many hip hop. ways, what makes this album the artistic success Heights Staff

9

Kids,” with a hook from Janelle Monae, relies on a bouncy bass line to carry it, and also is particularly brimming with summer-hit potential. On “Lovelier Than You,” B.o.B. sings over acoustic guitar chords in a song that is decidedly closer to Maroon 5 than anything that could be remotely described as hip-hop.

On the aforementioned songs as on the rest of the album, there is never a dull moment or a dud track, making The Adventures of Bobby Ray an album that rarely gives the listener what is expected. Perhaps the most telling sign of B.o.B.’s future is the song “Airplanes (Part II).” It’s not the best song on the album, with an uninspired hook from Hayley Williams of Paramore, but it has a powerful verse from Eminem, an artist who is known for rarely collaborating with other rappers below his stature. Eminem is also known for having an ear for talent, though, and in B.o.B. he lended his skills to a true winner. B.o.B. took his time to perfect his style, but what he lost in buzz paid dividends in content. B.o.B. Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray is a wild and powerful album with undeniable crossover appeal that will establish B.o.B. as one of the biggest rap stars of 2010 and beyond.

IN STORES NEXT WEEK

New Pornographers Together MATADOR

Deftones In The Dark REPRISE RECORDS

CHART TOPPERS SINGLES

1 2 3 4 5

Nothin’ on You B.o.B. feat. Bruno Mars Rude Boy Rihanna Hey, Soul Sister Train Break Your Heart Taio Cruz feat. Ludacris Need You Now Lady Antebellum

1 2 3 4 5

Plastic Beach Gorillaz Broken Bells Broken Bells Have One On Me Joanna Newsom One Life Stand Hot Chip Gorilla Manor Local Natives

COLLEGE ALBUMS

PETE RIMES / AP EXCHANGE

Source: Billboard.com & CMJ.com

Puerto Rican Yankee can’t break his reggaeton roots

BY KRYSIA WAZNY

next with pleasing results. There is no lag, and one is barely aware that the tracks are changing.

“Grito Mundial,” literally “Worldwide Shout,” was Mundial is a shout to the world from reggaeton hoped by fans to become the chant that would be superstar Daddy Yankee, but, if the world noticed, upon everyone’s lips at the World Cup. The exciteit doesn’t seem overly concerned. The headliner of ment builds with excessive pomp and fanfare galore. the album, “Grito Mundial,” was supposed to be the One can see the image of sports enthusiasts the world official anthem of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, over rising before their eyes. But don’t get too atthough it was recently dropped in fatached. This particular party won’t vor of K’Naan’s “Wavin’ Flag.” Ramon Out of a rating be coming to the Cup. Luis Ayala Rodriguez (Daddy Yankee) of 10, this Reggaeton developed in Puerto said that this album was meant to Rico in the 1990s, and combines album scores incorporate new sounds from his elements of, among other genres, encounters while traveling on tour. bomba, salsa, merengue, Latin Perhaps the compilation offers some new sounds here pop, contemporary hip hop, and electronic. and there, but, for the most part, Daddy Yankee’s In the past decade it has become popular inMundial is the same blood-pumping, rhythmic experi- ternationally, propelling Puerto Rico native ence the world has come to expect from Ayala.

Daddy Yankee to greater fame as he spreads For many, Daddy Yankee rings a bell because of the sound. Latin American influences are, of songs such as “Gasolina” and “Temperatura,” which course, glaringly evident throughout the alwere played repeatedly at high school dances or any bum. For one, the entire thing is in Spanish. good grind-fest in the post-2005 era. If that did for Don’t let this get you down, however. The you what a piping hot cup of Earl Grey does for me, words complement the music regardless of then you’re in luck. Mundial is essentially just more meaning. Songs such as “Vida En La Noche” of the same old Daddy with a few more horns and evoke images of late nights in a Caribbean whistles. There’s a couple English lines tossed into the setting. Think hot, sweaty dancing and icy, mix, but otherwise not much to offer the monolingual cool drinks. crowd in terms of lyrics.

If Daddy Yankee was hoping to break into The album opens with “El Mejor de Todos Los Tiem- a new direction with this album, he failed. pos,” or “The Best of All Times.” The upbeat rhythm The music clings to his past work, hinting sets the tone for the upcoming songs and will have only occasionally at a fresh influence. Then you dancing in your seat in no time. Over the next few again, a strain strikingly similar to the theme tracks, the tunes ebb and flow, following the classic of Cascada’s “Evacuate the Dancefloor” beat that characterizes all reggaeton and separates it emerges at one point. There’s something to from other types of popular Latino music. Each song be said for sticking to one’s roots, however, is about three minutes long and flows quickly into the and perhaps Daddy Yankee is accomplishing Heights Staff

6

just that. He is staying true to his origins, while making them available for the rest of the world to hear.

It seems unlikely that this particular artist would be successful branching too far from what he knows, but he’s become successful nevertheless.

Daddy Yankee has his fans. They were dedicated enough to attempt to bring him greater acclaim through the world’s most celebrated sporting event, and they will, no doubt, stick with him throughout the rest of his career. Those who weren’t devoted prior to Daddy Yankee Mundial shouldn’t expect to be lured in by his newest work. It offers nothing his past albums haven’t already accomplished, except perhaps a refresher to someone’s dance playlist.

Puerto Rican emcee Daddy Yankee, riding a wave of fame with a song on the official 2010 World Cup soundtrack, releases ‘Mundial’ this week. Full of raggaeton beats, the album teems with dance tracks. But an artistic innovation the album is not.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FLIKR USER GREG HUDSON

THE BEST KEPT

Allow me to introduce myself, I’m a man with a wealth of taste (for you)

TONY CUNEO I seriously doubt that anyone from my generation will ever forget the first time someone introduced them to Napster, the common response being something like, “What?! I can download any song I want in the world for free? And it only takes 45 minutes to download!?” It was too good to be true. “Blue” by Eiffel 65, “Ride Wit Me” by Nelly — these songs were absolute bangers, and they could be yours with nothing more than a click of a button and a 56k modem. None of us knew it then, but, during those first hours of discovery, we were each casting the first few stones in what would come

to be a complete Internet revolution of the music industry. Today, there isn’t a student on campus who doesn’t experience music predominately, if not entirely, through the Internet (no matter how big his or her retro vinyl collection is). The problem of finding good music is no longer that of finding and buying what you like — all the music in the world is already at your fingertips.

Even if you have never pirated a song, you could still fill your iTunes library with thousands of free songs.

The trick now is wading through all the garbage — a task that is easier said than done. It pays to do it. Just ask the people who downloaded Drake’s mixtape So Far Gone for free before his label, Young Money, took down the links and sold literally millions of copies for $7.99 a piece.

You can either waste your life pouring over Web sites and blogs to get the newest music, or get your music secondhand like a sucker. For those too lazy to Google but too proud to

buy their music on iTunes, I have gone through the trouble of picking out the newest and best the Internet has to offer in completely free music — the best kept:

Download of the week Game — R.E.D. Room: Oh the Game is back, the Game is very clearly back. What else can you say about a man who comes out on his new mixtape and raps for 20 consecutive minutes on a medley of beats that spans two decades?

R.E.D. Room, released to promote the Game’s June 15th album, The Red Album, is quality from the first track to the last. At least 12 to 15 of the 20 tracks are easily album ready, courtesy of the production and mixing of Jayceon and DJ Skee. Both have been quoted saying that “a lot” of what they used was originally intended to be featured on The Red Album. After the lackluster reception with which the public met his

last two albums, the Game sets out on this mixtape to combat suspicions of his ability the only way you would expect him to — aggressively. Lyrically, Game returns with the menace and confidence that once gained him the spotlight. It would not be surprising to hear a few of these singles on the radio. “Shake,” a lively single with an infectious swing sample, has already debuted on MTV.

Honorable mention Onra — “High Hopes” ft. Reggie B. At this point, it doesn’t take much to get me excited for a new Onra project. After three consecutive albums that satisfied expectations in every way (Chinesorieses, 1.0.8., and Tribute), the Parisian master of the MPC is poised to drop yet another successful set of beats. This first single off his upcoming album Long Distance is an encouraging sign that he has evolved. There is a welcome vocal feature that makes the track a

little catchier than even his biggest singles. There’s also a little hint of a ’90s R&B influence with both the album art and sample. It makes sense that this album would follow the disco nostalgia of 1.0.8.

Look out For Thursday – Eminem is rumored to be releasing “Not Afraid,” the first single off his upcoming album, Recovery.

Tony Cuneo is our newest music columnist, and though we only have one issue of The Scene left this semester, check him out every week in this spot next semester.

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

B6

THE HEIGHTS

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B7

Thursday, April 29, 2010

The Heights

Noriega to face money laundering charges in Paris Noriega, from B10 Altogether, those charges would add up to a sentence of 60 years, which Noriega was planning to fight.

The prospect of returning to Panama is attractive to Noriega because the Panamanian authorities would be likely to let him finish out his time in the comfort of his own home. Panama’s laws allow for elderly convicts and those in the process of appealing convictions to be held under house arrest.

At 76 years of age, Noriega would qualify under both of these conditions.

However, after the Supreme Court refused to hear his case in January, Noriega

had run out of options in the U.S. legal system.

Noriega was a spy for the CIA during the 1960s and gained power to become the intelligence chief, then head of the military in Panama by 1983.

However, due to his aggressive regime, he quickly lost the favor of the United States. Noriega rigged the elections in the country in 1984 and 1989, and was accused of violent actions toward those who spoke out against him. One such example is the suspected arrangement of the decapitation of Hugo Spadafora, who was a renowned critic of Noriega’s regime.

American forces invaded Panama in

1989 in order to overthrow the dictator, and put him on trial after he was accused of letting Colombian drug cartels treat Panama as a midway point for cocaine en route to the United States.

Noriega was tried in Miami in 1992, and was sentenced to 40 years for charges of drug-trafficking, racketeering, and money laundering.

As reported by The Miami Herald, Myles Malman, the former Miami prosecutor on Noriega’s case, said it was “the mother of all battles on the war on drugs.”

Noriega’s sentence was reduced to only 17 years due to his good behavior.

The foreign minister of Panama, Juan Carlos Varela, told reporters that

Panama respects the extradition to France, but will try to petition the French authorities to allow him to stand trial in Panama as well.

Due to his failing health, it is widely believed that if he is convicted, Noriega will live out his final days in a French cell.

As reported by the Associated Press, one of his lawyers, Yves Leberquier stated that Noriega is half-paralyzed due to a small stroke that he suffered four years ago. Oliver Metzner, another one of his lawyers, said, “The man appears to be very weak.” Noriega has stated that he wants to return to Panama so that he could live out his final days around his grandchildren. Sandra Noriega, one of

his daughters, denounced the move as “a violation of his rights as a citizen, and a failing by the Panamanian government, which is supposed to protect its citizens,” as reported by the Associated Press.

A few of the relatives of those who were tortured and killed during Noriega’s reign have been outspoken in their disappointment that he will not face trial in Panama. According to The Washington Post, Patria Portugal, whose father disappeared in 1970 during the time when Noriega was the chief of intelligence, said, “I wanted Noriega to come here and tell the truth and be condemned.” n

China abolishes HIV/AIDS travel ban for foreigners Danny Martinez In a move that speaks volumes about China’s attempts to integrate itself in the Western world and one that is a hopeful indication for shifting the global cultural taboo around AIDS, China halted its controversial 20-year ban on foreigners entering the country with HIV / AIDS. The move is widely seen as a response to the inaugural Shanghai World Expo, a six-month event that will draw no fewer than 190 countries, 50 international organizations, and an estimated 70 to 100 million people.

China has always taken a hardline stance to preserve its population and economy from disease. When the SARS epidemic broke out in 2003, and with last year’s swine flu outbreak, the Chinese government quarantined people who they suspected had the infections or those who tested positive.

However, the Chinese government strayed away from its HIV / AIDS policy for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and other events that not only greatly boosted their economy, but gave the quickly-rising East Asian nation high visibility. The decision is significant for two reasons.

First, it is an encouraging sign that U.S. leadership is still worth its weight in gold. It was only in January that the United States decided to lift the ban, which had been supported by only seven countries. If China had not been serious about dropping the ban, it could have instituted a temporary ban and continued its policy through the six-month Expo. When the nations around the globe gathered in Copenhagen for the Climate Conference, China and the United States – leaders bothe economically and ecologically – were the undisputed giants, as they

tried to hammer out a deal. “This decision should inspire other nations to change laws and policies that continue to discriminate against people living with HIV,” said Dr. Margaret Chan the director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) according to CNN. More importantly, China’s recent trend toward trading its harsh, outdated policies for better press and more visibility has created a more open society. This can be attributed to Western influence on the nation, globalization, and free-market capi-

Andy wong / ap photo

The pandemic of AIDS has claimed 50,000 lives in China and 750,000 are infected in the country.

talism. While China has done a good job of maintaining its version of order – suppressing political protesters and other shenanigans – these three influences are slowly chipping away, making China a better society for its citizens to live in and for foreigners to visit.

The HIV / AIDS epidemic has spread because the symptoms are not necessarily immediate, as they can appear as late as 10 years after transmission. In non-developed or developing countries, education about the disease is scarce, cultural taboos reign supreme, condoms are not spread or acceptable, and drug cultures exist where needles are reused, transmitting the disease. Fifty thousand Chinese people have died from HIV / AIDS since 1985, and three quarters of a million currently carry the disease.

According to China’s state-run Xinhua news agency, the policies preventing HIV / AIDS-carrying foreigners from entering the country were abolished because it had little to no noticeable effect on the problem.

Since the disease was first recognized by the CDC in 1981, researchers have come a long way in developing effective antiretroviral drugs to combat the disease, but just as important in this battle against HIV / AIDS has been fighting the stigma which accompanied it from the start. For example, despite no scientific link, AIDS is associated with other social issues, like acceptance of homosexuality, around

the world. Even in the United States, the early years of the AIDS epidemic were marked by the belief that a link existed between the disease and the GLBTQ community. Another problem that has frustrated AIDS activists is the denial of the link between HIV and AIDS. Along with China lifting its travel ban, South African President Jacob Zuma has taken up the fight against AIDS in his own country. He recently released the results of his AIDS test to raise awareness of the disease. “The purpose is to promote openness and to eradicate the silence and stigma that accompanies this epidemic,” he told reporters. With the largest sporting event on Earth (The World Cup) looming, Zuma’s move was not only politically savvy but effective, as prostitution and drug use – two of the most common ways of transmission – are expected to rise during the event.

Compared to that of sub-Saharan Africa, China’s AIDS problem is manageable, and lifting the ban signals that it has the open mind necessery to tackle it. One of the benefits of a communist government is that it can implement policies, for better or for worse, quickly and with widespread effect. Hopefully, lifting a the ban will be a call to action that will lead to improved funding and research.

Danny Martinez is the Marketplace Editor for The Heights. He welcomes comments at marketplace@bcheights.com.

B8

Thursday, April 29, 2010

THE HEIGHTS

DANNY MARTINEZ

MIKE SALDARRIAGA

HILARY CHASSE

MATT PALAZZOLO

Can Charlie Crist win running as an Independent for senator of Florida?

No, Rick Rubio is going to win. Crist is paying for his ties with Obama.

No. If anything, I think he’ll have a Ralph Nader effect on Rick Rubio.

Maine has had an independent governor for two terms. Just sayin’.

As long as the Supreme Court is on his side like Bush in the 2000 election, Crist should be fine.

Are the Republicans blocking financial reform, or is the Democratic bill weak?

The Republicans are obstructing, although the bill could be stronger. It looks like Obama will pull out a victory in this one.

The GOP decided to end the filibuster and the Democrats are listening to their ideas. Daniel Webster would be proud.

The Party of No strikes again! But really, it’s more because the Democrats can’t ever get it together.

The only bill that has nearly unanimous popular support? Of course the Republicans are blocking it.

It is sick and disgusting to watch them. I want it to be settled Ukranian-Parliament style (see below)!

The Congress men’s lack of understanding of economics allowed the execs to weasel their way out.

Greed may be good, but watching the Gordon Geckos of the world getting skewered is better.

Is it possible for both sides to lose?

No, but apparently George W. Bush is a voracious reader. Who knew?

No.

A woman who can handle Dubya in his alcoholic days is one tough broad.

Only if its available as an iPad download.

Marketplace Editor

What do you make of the Congressional hearing on the Goldman executives?

Will you read former First Lady Bush’s memoir, ‘Spoken from the Heart’?

Graphics Editor

Opinions Editor

Marketplace Staff

Melee in Ukranian Parliament over treaty with Russia

BY DAN OTTAUNICK Heights Editor

A volatile combination of eggs, smoke bombs, and large vats of glue rocked the Ukrainian House of Parliament. As the president of Ukraine took shelter behind an umbrella, rival party members burst into a display resminescent of a high school food fight took place amid meetings to ratify a treaty allowing the Russian government to continue holding a naval presence in the Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula near the Black Sea. Eggs were thrown by multiple Ukrainian lawmakers, pelting speakers who voiced support for the treaty. Although representatives attempted to speak through the fray, lawmakers set off smoke bombs and poured glue into the parliamentary voting machines, effectively halting the discussions. Fights began to break out, and multiple lawmakers were tackled, choked, and punched while President Viktor F. Yanukovich attempted to restore order.

Last week, the recently elected President Yanukovich negotiated a deal with Russian president Dmitry Medvedev allowing for Russia to maintain its presence in Sevastopol, the Black Sea naval base in Ukraine it has occupied since the Czars.

After the turmoil surrounding the treaty settled down, members of Parliament just managed to approve the treaty, with 236 of 450 members voting in favor of its ratification. Russia is currently under contract with Ukraine to have its naval forces stay in Sevastopol until 2017, but this treaty extended that period of time by another 25 years. In return, Medvedev promised Ukraine a 30 percent reduction in oil prices. As a major exporter of oil to Eastern European countries, Russia holds significant power over states such as Ukraine, which has recently gone through economic struggles and is in need of the subsidized commodity.

The ratification of this treaty has divided Ukrainians, and this outburst is indicative of the passion that lawmak-

ers feel about their country’s future.

Although this treaty will allow Russia to continue to assert power over Eastern Europe, Yanukovich asserts that it would also significantly aid his citizens.

He feels that a pro-Russian stance on foreign affairs will strengthen Ukraine, which can benefit from Russia’s eco-

feel that he is allowing Russia to assert too much power over their control, causing it to be overshadowed by its powerful neighbor. A geographically large nation, Ukraine stretches across Eastern Europe, with a western half more aligned with modern Europe and an eastern half still closer in culture to the former

were mostly from western Ukraine. As seen by the riots in the Parliament, the tensions between the two halves of this country extend beyond simple preferences for a treaty. Indeed, the animosity seen in Parliament is indicative of a great cultural split between those who support westernization and those more

SERGEI CHUZAVKOV / AP PHOTO

Eggs were thrown and smoke bombs were ignited during a parliamentary session in which lawmakers spoke in favor of extending the current treaty. nomic and military powers.

Opponents to the plan fear the “Russification” of their nation. During his election campaign, Yanukovich promised to make efforts to improve relations with Russia. However, many Ukrainians

Soviet states, including Russia. This geographical divide has manifested itself within the Parliament, as those supporting the ratification of President Yanukovich’s treaty were mostly from eastern Ukraine, and those opposed

comfortable with maintaining strong relations with Russia. The treaty has been ratified, but the problems facing Ukrainians persist.

Although President Yanukovich is very much in support of strengthening

relations with Russia, Ukraine recently experienced a period of time marked by strongly anti-Russian leadership. Viktor A. Yushchenko, who served as president of Ukraine prior to Yanukovich’s election, distanced Ukraine from Russia, attempting to bring democratic values to the formerly communist state. He felt that, by establishing a Ukrainian identity separate from Russian influence, his country could maintain a democratic presence in Eastern Europe. As president, Yushchenko vowed to let the Russian contract on the base in Sevastopol to expire in 2017. At many times, he even threatened to expel the Russians from the port. His markedly anti-Russian policies became a point of contention during Yanukovich’s election campaign, as many hoped that Yanukovich would work to ease tension between the two nations.

Another issue that arose during the meeting of the Ukrainian Parliament came about when President Yanukovich spoke against former President Yushchenko’s condemnation of Holodomor, a famine in the 1930s that struck Soviet states. Holodomor resulted in massive amounts of death in Ukraine, which led Yushchenko to label it a genocide against Ukrainians committed by the Stalinist regime.

Although President Medvedev of Russia was quick to defend the former Soviet Union against charges of purposefully targeting Ukrainians and starving villages during the famine, many in Ukraine are still upset about the issue, which has helped Ukraine establish a national identity. However, President Yanukovich stated that labeling the famine a genocide specifically targeted against Ukraine by the Soviet government would be unfair.

By writing off those who feel emotional about the tragedy, Yanukovich has only created more turmoil in Ukraine.

The political unrest in Ukraine promises to continue until a national consensus can be reached regarding whether Ukraine wants to maintain its ties to other former Soviet states. 

Presidents discuss nuclear energy and oil Uganda, from B10

earlier in the week. Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe stated that he and Ahmadinejad have the “same policy and stance: antiimperialist, anti-colonialist, and a stance to protect our sovereignty and our right of ownership of our resources.” Mugabe has clashed repeatedly with the United States over his regime’s disregard for human rights and his rigging presidential elections.

Ahmadinejad’s trip to Uganda comes at a critical time for Iran’s foreign policy. Early in Obama’s presidency, he expressed a desire to meet with Iranian leaders without preconditions and move beyond the aggressive policy towards Iran that the Bush administration had practiced. However, in the wake of Iran’s disputed presidential election and Ahmadinejad’s repeated denunciations of the West, Obama has reverted to the, as many characterized it, bellicose policy of his predecessor. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other U.S. officials have called upon the United Nations and members of the Security Council to pass sanctions against

Iran for its alleged nuclear weapons program. The other four veto powers in the Security Council, who can kill any resolution with a single “no” vote, have all condemned Iran’s nuclear program, albeit some more expressly than others. With the five veto powers all critical of its nuclear program Iran has turned to Uganda, a potential swing vote in the 15nation council. Overtures on oil refineries and investment could be construed as a bribe by Iran intended to influence its vote in future Security Council resolutions.

Alongside President Ahmadinejad’s visit to Uganda, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has been trying to broker a nuclear fuel exchange program.

Last year, Iran rejected a U.N.backed plan that offered nuclear fuel rods to Iran in exchange for its lower-level enriched uranium. The exchange would have eliminated any potential threat of a nuclear bomb, since uranium converted into rods cannot be used to produce nuclear weapons. Iran has instead made several counteroffers that would allow only part of its enriched uranium stockpile to

be exchanged for rods, unlike the U.N. deal which would have required Iran to exchange its entire supply. Foreign Minister Mottaki has stated that, “We are hopeful to see fuel exchange go into operation in the near future.” He also said that Brazil, another voting member in the Security Council, should play a larger role, possibly as a third party for the nuclear exchange.

President Ahmadinejad’s trip to Uganda is just one part of Iran’s plan to prevent U.N. sanctions being levied against its nuclear program. Scott Peterson of the Christian Science Monitor reported, “From Brazil to Uganda, Bosnia to China, top Iranian officials are on a charm offensive unlike any in recent memory … as it tries to woo members of the U.N. Security Council away from U.S.-led efforts to impose sanctions.” This conciliatory diplomacy contrasts sharply with the brinkmanship rhetoric Iran practiced last year. After months of threats, denunciations of the West, and steadfast defense of its nuclear program, Iran has finally taken steps towards a compromise. 

STEPHEN WANDERA / AP PHOTO

Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni avoided endorsing Iran’s nuclear program during Ahmadinejad’s visit to the country.

The Heights

Thursday, April 29, 2010

B9

Apple seeks to oust competition from arena

By Yat Hang Yu For The Heights

In mid-April, Adobe released a software called Creative Suite 5 that contained translation tools that automatically turn Flash code into programs that run on the iPhone. This was a followup to its promise at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, which ran from Feb. 15-18. At the time, David Wadhwani of Adobe promised, “We will enable developers and content publishers to deliver to any screen.”

But, shortly before the release of Creative Suite 5, Apple updated the terms and conditions of which the license software developers must sign to create iPhone and iPad applications.

The revisions prompted much criticism from many iPhone developers as they placed strict restrictions on what developers can use to create these applications and effectively banned them from using code translators such as Creative Suite 5.

Until now, developers have been free to use many different tools to create applications for the iPhone and iPad. The iPhone software changes will restrict the number of tools to three. The decrease has drawn protests from many software developers, with some declaring they will no longer produce applications for Apple’s handset device.

Apple said the change was made to improve the quality of applications appearing on its hugely successful App Store. But critics, like Phil Brown, believe the changed text in section 3.3.1 of the development license move is “unnecessarily restrictive” and is aimed more at Apple’s rivals than as a measure against poor quality code.

Many developers use other tools that have specific utilities,

such as physics models and 3D graphics engines that are useful when creating certain types of applications such as games. Any application submitted to Apple that does not use the mandated tools will be rejected. Many developers have taken to their blogs to complain about the change.

“Developers are not free to use any tools to help them,” wrote Hank Williams. He also added, “This is akin to telling people what kind of desk people sit at when they write software for the iPhone.” Pierre Lebeaupin, a fellow developer, said clause 3.3.1 was so widely drawn that it was “completely impossible to enforce” and urged developers to contact Apple to show how strongly they feel.

Many have already joined an “I’m with Adobe” Facebook group, which now has grown to almost 6,000 members. The new terms led one programmer, Dan Grigsby, to say he would no longer develop for the iPhone.

He wrote an e-mail to Apple boss Steve Jobs setting out his problems with the clause saying it “limited creativity.” Jobs responded by saying that the limits would improve the quality of the applications, while letting developers use other tools that would produce “sub-standard apps” and hold back the progress of the iPhone.

Apple has not yet given any official comment on the criticism it faces over Section 3.3.1.

Industry experts said the restrictions might be intended to stop developers from re-using applications written with Adobe’s Flash. Neither the iPhone nor iPad can run Flash applications at the moment. Adobe released a software package, Creative Suite 5, on April 12 that can turn Flash code into iPhone code.

Flash programs are very widely

used on the Web and many games and videos are created using the software. Under the new terms and conditions, however, using Creative Suite 5 would lead to an application being rejected. In a statement, Adobe said the change to section 3.3.1 would not stop it from releasing the software.

“We intend to still deliver this capability in CS5, and it is up to Apple whether they choose to allow or disallow applications as their rules shift over time,” wrote Kevin Lynch, Adobe chief technology officer, in a blog post.

But Adobe has revised its commitment and has now said it will halt development of future translation tools for Creative Suite. “We will still be shipping the ability to target the iPhone and iPad in Flash CS5,” wrote Mike Chambers, Adobe’s principal product manager for developer relations, on his blog, “However, we are not currently planning any additional investments in that feature.” Chambers also commented on Apple’s revision of its terms and conditions.

He wrote, “...As developers for the iPhone have learned, if you want to develop for the iPhone you have to be prepared for Apple to reject or restrict your development at any time.”

Apple responded in a statement to technology news site CNet in which it described Flash as “closed and proprietary.”

Apple preferred to support more open standards, which replicate everything Flash can do, added the statement.

Chambers wrote that now Adobe will concentrate on Google’s Android smartphone software and ensure that its Flash technology works well with that.

“Fortunately,” he wrote, “the iPhone isn’t the only game in town.” n

Legislature overrides governor’s veto to pass law Abortion, from B10

termine her preferable treatment on her own. Their rights are the basis for suits against doctors that Oklahoma now prevents, creating an odd contradiction on which the AAPS will surely voice its opinions on.

There are two additional anti-abortion bills in the Legislature, one of which would restrict insurance coverage for the procedure. Anita Fream of Planned Parenthood of Central Oklahoma states in The New York Times, “They just throw down one roadblock after another in front of women in hope they will give up.” Various women and family planning advocates have stated that if the next batch of anti-abortion measures to pass, Oklahoma will be the most difficult state in the United States for a woman seeking an abor-

tion.

It bothers me greatly that Oklahoma would still try to backhandedly restrict abortion unconstitutionally when it could simply vie for a constitutional change. According to Robert F. Drinan’s “Strategies on Abortion,” empirical data of the National Opinion Research Center shows that if anti-abortionists focused the debate on cases of rape and incest, they would most likely have won the majority vote on this motion. Drinan states that the isolation of the debate to these rare cases would prevent a broadly written bill that would legalize all abortion. For all of the rhetoric and jargon politicians throw at the general public, I would hope they could learn to simply frame their own argument properly. Anti-abortionist groups and politicians do not utilize well-publicized data such

as this when debating their position. Instead they fill their side of the debate with emotional, over-the-top rhetoric akin to Pat Robertson era, or in the recent trend, unconstitutional bills until someone comes to contest them.

The bottom line is that real life isn’t an episode of House where a doctor can tell a patient she has immaculately conceived or that they have a debilitating disease just to see if their tear ducts work. In real life, our doctors follow a code of ethics and a bill of rights that require them to tell patients their medical state, and not abuse their power and position for the advancement of their own personal beliefs.

John Boehner (R-Ohio) U.S. House Minority Leader

By Matt Palazzolo Heights Staff

John Boehner was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Nov. 17, 1949. Boehner was one of 12 children in a family of Kennedy Democrats. He graduated from Archbishop Moeller High School in 1968 at the height of the Vietnam War in 1968 and immediately enlisted in the Navy.

However, he was honorably discharged eight weeks later due to back pain. He attended Xavier University as a business student, where he met his wife, Debbie. They were married in 1973, and Boehner graduated from Xavier in 1977.

After graduating, Boehner accepted a job at Nucite Sales, a small packaging and plastics business, and eventually rose to become president of the entire firm.

While running a business, Boehner also entered politics, serving as Union Township trustee from 1982-84 and Ohio state representative from 1984-90.

In 1990, Boehner was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, easily winning a three-way Republican primary and general election. In the same year, the House Banking Scandal broke, in which it was revealed that multiple Democratic representatives had overdrawn their House checking accounts without punishment.

Boehner joined with six other freshman representatives in denouncing pork-barrel spending and Congressional

perks. His actions with the so-called “Gang of Seven” drew the attention of Republican Newt Gingrich. Boehner was one of the architects of the Contract with America campaign that won the Republicans surprise majorities in both sections of Congress in 1994. He served as House Republican Conference Chairman and head of the Education and Workforce Committee before being elected as House Minority Leader in 2006 following the resignation of Tom DeLay. Boehner has had a consistent conservative voting record since being elected in 2006. He has played a key role in many legislative bills during his tenure as House Minority Leader. In 2008, he garnered Republican votes for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The bill was defeated in the House on its first vote and without Boehner’s efforts may never have passed, possibly prolonging the global economic crisis.

Recently, Alex Brandon / ap photo Boehner has joined forces with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in opposing many of President Obama’s legislative initiatives. He rallied the entire Republican portion of the House to vote against the recent health care bill. He vehemently criticized both the stimulus and cap-and-trade bills, both of which were passed by razor-thin votes in the House. He currently is opposing President Obama’s calls for immigration reform.

Boehner faces an easy re-election campaign and will remain a Republican House leader in the immediate future.

Sahara and Amazon suffer due to human activity

Kara Kaminski is a senior staff writer for The Heights. She welcomes c o m m e n t s a t m a rke t p l a c e @ bcheights.com.

Nasser Nasser / ap photo

Sudanese citizens, like those pictured, have experienced the effects of the Sahara desert encroaching on farmland.

Desertification, from B10 is the product of both local and global forces and has implications on a global scale. While some deforestation can be attributed to subsistence farmers who follow the creation of supply roads and loggers, an increasing proportion of rain forest is being destroyed for cattle pastures.

The combination of local policies to increase infrastructure through the rain forest, logging (both legal and illegal) to feed the local and global wood market, and unsustainable farming practices has led to a loss of an area twice the size of Florida forest this year.

Every second (on average), two football fields worth of forest is lost. In less than 40 years, the world’s rainforests have gone from 14 percent of the earth’s land surface cover to 6 percent.

For a region that has provided Western medicine with 25 percent of its modern pharmaceuticals when only 1 percent of the species unique to rain forests have been tested and researched for their medicinal qualities, this is an unacceptable waste.

I should note that not all

forests are created equal in the eyes of clear cutting and slash and burn methods of forest clearing. While the dynamics are extremely complex, temperate forests are generally better adapted to rejuvenation after clearing because their soil runs deeper and is more nutrient rich. Rain forest soils, on the other hand are extremely shallow and nutrient poor. Rain forest nutrients are largely found in the above ground biomass.

For the first few seasons after clearing, this land is extremely fertile, but since most food and cash crops drain nutrients from the soil without replacing them, after those seasons the land becomes exhausted, and must either be supplemented with chemical fertilizers or abandoned. With the nutrient cover gone, recouping that land for rain forests is extremely difficult, if not impossible, on a human time scale.

Besides the loss of biodiversity, deforestation results in the release of massive amounts of carbon into the air as the biomass decays, and also has an impact on weather. With the destruction of rain forests these areas are expected to get hot-

ter and drier, as the water that currently circulates through the water cycle, into the atmosphere and back flows straight into the oceans instead.

Deforestation and desertification are two issues people talk about when they look at the changing landscape of today’s world. Yet, it is important to remember that these are human- induced, environmentally perpetuated problems that impact the world in distinct ways.

Desertification may not have global impact, but in the regions where it is an issue, it is indicative of a social structure that perpetuates resource consumption at the expense of the future of that region. Deforestation likewise is a process caused by such consumption, though its effects are seen on a grand scale. Together with issues of desertification, deforestation suggests that our globalized culture needs to take a good look at the things we value if we want to sustain ourselves into an unknown future.

Shanna Atherton is a staff columnist

for The Heights. She welcomes c o m m e n t s a t m a rke t p l a c e @ bcheights.com.

MARKETPLACE THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, April 29, 2010

B10

THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 2010

Manuel Noriega extradited

POLITICALLY SPEAKING

Oklahoma restricts abortion

BY PATRICIA HARRIS

Asst. Marketplace Editor

also called for all nuclear weapons to be eradicated. This statement was intended to please both Iran, who claims to only be developing nuclear energy, and the United States, who claims Iran is in actuality building nuclear weapons. Museveni also expressed his lack of knowledge on the current Iran nuclear issue. “We are just students on this matter. It is not a debate I have been following,” he stated when asked about international pressure against Iran. Museveni also did not comment on how Uganda would vote on a potential sanctions resolution against Iran.

Uganda’s ambivalent reaction to Iran’s oil and nuclear proposals contrasts sharply with Ahmadinejad’s visit to Zimbabwe

After spending 20 years in U.S. custody, former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega has been extradited to France to face money-laundering charges. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed a surrender order on Monday, which placed him under the control of French authorities.

In 1999, Noriega was convicted in absentia of laundering $3 million of drug money through French banks in order to purchase luxury apartments in Paris.

However, the French government has promised to retry Noriega. His trial is expected to begin in two months. In the meantime, a judge has ordered that he be kept in jail. If convicted, Noriega could receive up to 10 more years in prison.

His lawyers are preparing to argue that diplomatic immunity demands that Noriega should return to Panama, and that French courts have no jurisdiction over him. During his trial in the United States, Noriega was not shielded by diplomatic immunity because he was deemed to be a prisoner of war. According to the terms agreed upon in the Geneva Convention, his lawyers state that he should have been returned to Panama once his sentence was completed. Noriega was the only person in the United States to be considered under the title of prisoner of war while he was here.

These lawyers have also professed disbelief at the fact that the government failed to notify him of this decision, forcing him to instead learn about it through the news media. Frank Rubino, one of Noriega’s lawyers, told reporters, “Usually the government has – does things in a more professional manner and respects common courtesy and we’re shocked that they didn’t.”

This decision concerning his move to Paris was made after Noriega failed after three years of appeals to return to his home country of Panama. If he had succeeded, he would have faced an in absentia conviction for multiple charges of murder, embezzlement, and corruption.

See Uganda, B8

See Noriega, B7

KARA KAMINSKI

Iranian president visits Uganda Ahmadinejad unsuccessful in seeking oil deal with Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni

BY MATT PALAZZOLO Heights Staff

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni concluded a presidential summit on Saturday, discussing oil and nuclear energy issues. It was part of a weeklong trip to Africa by Ahmadinejad during which he also visited Zimbabwe.

Despite Ahmadinejad’s best efforts, he was unable to strike a deal with Museveni concerning Uganda’s oil. Developers recently discovered a deposit in northwestern Uganda that could contain between 700 million and 2 billion barrels of oil. Iran expressed interest in building a refinery in the region as well as investing in Uganda’s fledgling oil industry. Two British-Irish firms, Tullow Oil and Heritage Oil, have

already signed contracts with Uganda to develop its oil reserves. During a previous visit to Iran, Ugandan president Museveni also invited Iranian investors to build a refinery in the region. However, at the end of last weekend’s summit, Museveni told reporters, “We have not concluded anything on oil.” Iran’s role in Uganda’s oil industry remains unclear.

Ahmadinejad and Museveni also discussed nuclear energy during their two-day summit. Iran is in danger of being sanctioned by the United Nations for its nuclear energy program. Uganda is a member of the U.N. Security Council and could cast a crucial vote on a sanctions resolution. Museveni took a nuanced stance on the nuclear issue. He affirmed the right of all nations to pursue nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, but

A GREEN PIECE

Ignorance of natural limits causes harm, not bliss

SHANNA ATHERTON On the edge of the Sahara, circles of parched land reach out to the desert, beckoning towards sands farther south in the dry season. Wells reach deep into the earth to slake the thirst of parched families and cattle, drawing down the water table and depriving vegetation of much needed moisture.

In Brazil, new roadways wind through brilliant rainforests, allowing fingers of development to inch farther into its heart. Fishbone patterns decorate the roads as first logging companies and then farmers using slash and burn methods exploit the unclaimed land.

Neither situation is unknown to the world at large, but both are largely misunderstood. The causes and effects of desertification and deforestation are many and varied, but they have at least two things in common. Currently, they are the product of unsustainable resource consumption, and they both result in land degradation that is not

reversible on a human time scale.

Both desertification and deforestation are caused by a combination of nonexistent or poor land use policies, the drive of people to survive on whatever land they can, as well as environmental factors.

Though by no means the only cause, desertification often becomes a problem when traditionally nomadic peoples settle down in dynamic, semiarid regions. Where the impacts of these populations used to be minor and spread over a wide area, they are now concentrated around water sources such as wells, which allow for localized cattle grazing and farming. Overgrazing and consumption of water can thin out vegetation, but the problem is still resolvable if the land and water table are left dormant for a season. However, constant draw down of the water table can lead to decreased production in the immediate vicinity of the well, which is often exacerbated by drought.

The combination of drought and over-farming, both of which can have negative impacts on the soil, are what lead to deforestation of an area. The results are localized, yet land use policies to halt the process are necessary.

Deforestation, on the other hand, PHOTO COURTESY OF JABULELA.COM

See Desertification, B9

POLITICS

ECONOMICS

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Thousands of Lebanese citizens took to the streets to push for a secular state. The protesters recruited members almost entirely through online media.

Greece has formally asked both the IMF and the European Union for monetary assistance to relieve some of its approximately $400 billion in debt. Europe has expressed fear that the economic meltdown in Greece will spread.

Scientists at Laurence Livermore Lab in California will attempt to set off a nuclear reaction from the world’s largest laser to generate a mini-star on the earth itself this summer.

The WHO recently applauded China for removing a 20-year-old ban against HIV– and AIDS–infected foreigners from entering the country.

A new report has claimed that our delays due to the volcanic ash cloud last week cost the city of London 102 million pounds.

The Cub Scouts have recently invented two new achievement levels that can be earned through playing video games– much to the dismay of many former Boy Scouts.

I NSIDE MARKE TP L A C E

THIS ISSUE

On the flip side

The Amazon rainforest pictured here has suffered from extensive deforestation by loggers.

35

The number of years that Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens has spent on the Supreme Court. He announced his retirement this year.

61

The number of reported fatalities from a massive wave of bombings in Iraq.

This week Politico of the Week profiles John Boehner, Republican House Minority Leader............................................................... B9

IN QUOTES

IN THE NEWS

See Abortion, B8

STEPHEN WANDERA / AP PHOTO

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrives in Uganda to discuss nuclear energy and oil with his Ugandan equivalent Yoweri Museveni.

IN NUMBERS

Last Tuesday, the Oklahoma Legislature voted to agree with the Oklahoma House to override Gov. Brad Henry’s veto of two abortion measures, passing them into law. One measure requires a woman to have an ultrasound preformed and subsequently listen to a detailed description of her fetus before getting an abortion, even in cases of rape or incest. The second prevents women from being able to sue their doctor for withholding information about her pregnancy. These measures are a clear effort of the state doing its best to fight against Roe v. Wade and its legalization of abortion.

Several states have passed ultrasound laws similar to Oklahoma’s recent edition. Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi all require that the doctor offer a woman the chance to watch the ultrasound monitor. Oklahoma is still the only state that now requires that the monitor be placed where the woman sees it, and that she must listen to a detailed description.

Henry vetoed the two measures, calling them unconstitutional intrusions into citizens’ private lives and decisions.

Those that supported the legislation stated that they were not concerned about the measure’s constitutionality, and that this should be left to the courts. The purpose of the House and Senate is to form laws. It is frightening that they look to pass legislation and simply wait and see if their bills can sneak through the courts.

“We must move to stop the degradation of human life seen in recent years and stand up for those who cannot defend themselves,” Republican Speaker Chris Benge told reporters.

While I completely support a voter who decides to cast his other ballot for moral reasons, the basis of law should not be moral. This is a blatant intermingling of church and state. Benge oddly sounds more like he is speaking from a pulpit than the House.

Opponents of the measures fear that the second is made to protect doctors who will purposely mislead a patient into not getting an abortion. “It is unconscionable to grant a physician legal protection to mislead or misinform pregnant women in an effort to impose his or her personal beliefs on a patient,” Henry told reporters.

According to the Patients’ Bill of Rights of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), patients must, “be informed about their medical condition, the risks and benefits of treatment, and appropriate alternatives.” While a doctor may describe alternatives to abortion and the inherent risks of an abortion, they are certainly not allowed to misinform or mislead a patient. While someone may argue that this statement applies to an illness, any reason for which an individual comes into a doctor’s office qualifies as a medical condition.

According to the Pregnant Patient’s Bill of Rights, “The pregnant patient has the right to determine for herself, without pressure from her attendant, whether she will or will not accept the risks inherent in the proposed treatment.” An ultrasound technician conducting the procedure who pressures the patient and provides misinformation is not allowing the patient to de-

“

That was a disaster. Should have never put me with that woman. Whose idea was that?

She was just a sort bigoted woman.

”

– Gordon Brown, Prime Minister of England Directly after meeting Gillian Duffy. The Prime Minister was unaware his mic was still on.

Ukraine....................................................B8 Forecast on Washington.........................B8