Heights 11-18-10 by The Heights

The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College Established 1919 Vol. XCI, No. 43

THE HEIGHTS

BC hosts Jemez high schoolers BY MOLLY LAPOINT Heights Staff

Since Saturday, 15 high school students from the Jemez and Zia Pueblos in New Mexico have been visiting Boston College through the Jemez-to-BC program, experiencing student life and exploring Boston. Tuesday night, they performed traditional dances and shared information about their Pueblos in an event called “Voices from the Pueblos.” The event began with an overview of the Pueblos’ demographics, culture, and education system by Francis Vigio, a high school science teacher and member of the Zia Pueblo. In January, Vigio will become the assistant principal and early college program director at Walatowa Charter High School, where about half of the students from the group are enrolled. Vigio said that reforming the education system on the reservations has been a priority. “For a long time, it was very rare that you saw someone going to school,” he said. As a result, in 2004, a study was completed in which every community member of the Jemez Pueblo was asked what they wanted from their education system. The result was the Vision 2010 Plan. “It laid out all of those wants, and identiﬁed what was important for the Pueblo,” Vigio said. The education system works to integrate cultural lessons with learning traditional subjects. “It’s important to note that pre-Columbus, we learned by doing,” Vigio said. “We didn’t have a school. Before, it was either traditional learning or classroom learning, but now we’ve come full circle and put

See Jemez, A4

PHOTO COURTESY OF KEVIN SCHUSTER

Jemez and Zia Pueblo students participate in BC’s Jemez-to-BC exchange program.

INSIDE SPORTS

The football team prepares for its ﬁnal home game, A10

THE SCENE

The most inspiring ﬁgures in the arts at BC, B1

MARKETPLACE

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2010

Labs face regulation rigors Use of mice and rats in BC labs subject to review

BY DANIEL TONKOVICH For The Heights

For Thomas Chiles, chairman of the biology department, working with rodents is nothing new. He has worked with such creatures in scientiﬁc research settings since his time as a graduate student performing research on hepatic function in rats. Now his research involves using mice to study cells of the immune system. He says the mice are necessary to progress with his research. “I have many projects underway, one of which uses mice in lab studies of immune system cells,” Chiles said. “To conduct the research, we have two options: one is to use cell lines, and the other is to use mice. Mice are the most successful model to study the immune system. They are relevant for experimentation for the study of the immune system and autoimmune diseases. Furthermore, we use mice because we have 100 years of research of mice. That knowledge is invaluable.” Boston College currently houses approximately 200 mice and rats in its animal care facility for scientiﬁc research purposes. The University has the capacPAMPAN ZHANG / HEIGHTS STAFF ity to hold approximately 1,000 animals, ranging in Campus labs, which house rodents for research purposes, adhere variety from mice to rabbits. They are euthanized with to strict regulations to avoid controversy in animal experimentation. carbon dioxide once the research has been completed.

UGBC puts ticketing online BY KENDALL BITONTE For The Heights

Earlier this semester, students who braved the line for Homecoming tickets waited for hours at a time. Last week, the 150 tickets allotted to students for the premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 were sold in three minutes on the Web. The Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC) has begun using an online ticketing system for select events to eliminate the need to wait in line at the Robsham Theater ticket office. The Harry Potter premiere was the first such event. One hundred forty tickets for the Boston Ballet’s Dec. 4 performance of The Nutcracker followed suit, went on sale yesterday through the online system. The UGBC currently uses the online reservation system exclusively for its BC to Boston events. The new method follows a first-come, first-served basis, with the tickets going to the first students to complete the online reservation form for each event. According to the UGBC’s Web site, BC to Boston aims to help bring students into the city by sponsoring affordable events. This semester the group organized a trip to a Red Sox game, shuttles to the Head of the Charles Regatta,

and tickets to see the musical Wicked. The UGBC decided to implement the new method of selling tickets due to the popularity of the BC to Boston events and the multitude of problems that were presented by in-person sales. Mark Larik, director of BC to Boston and CSOM ’13, saw the change to online sales as a way to better serve student interest. “For the Wicked event, many students woke up extremely early and were in line at Robsham before 6 a.m., and some of them did not get tickets,” he said in an e-mail. “We thought there had to be a better way to distribute tickets so students don’t have to wake up so early and waste time in line.” Online sales were ﬁrst used for the Friday, Nov. 19, showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 at the Regal Fenway movie theater. The process has proven to be easy to use, and reﬂects the increased student interest in these events, Larik said. He reported that 150 students signed up for the Harry Potter tickets in just three minutes. Rachel McMonagle, A&S ’12, reserved a ticket for the premiere online, and said that she thought the new system was a major improve-

See UGBC, A4

A special contracted vendor disposes of the carcasses, which are then cremated. BC seeks to limit controversy in its animal experimentation by strict adherence to regulations governing animal research. “Animal research is obviously a sensitive issue, but Boston College strictly follows all federal guidelines,” Chiles said. “Many rules and regulations govern the treatment of animals,” said Nancy McGilloway, manager of animal care for BC. “The two key principles are no pain and no distress. The animals are to be treated humanely in all aspects – temperature, humidity, housing, floor space, fresh food, fresh water, and bedding.” Research with animals by institutions receiving federal funding is governed by the provisions of the Animal Welfare Act and the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals published by the National Academy of Sciences. According to the regulatory provisions, any procedure can be performed on an animal if it can be successfully argued that it is scientifically justified. The provisions of the Animal Welfare Act do not, however, include purpose-bred rodents and birds. The species are instead regulated under Public Health Service policies enforced by the federal Office for Laboratory Animal Welfare. Many institutions also undergo additional accreditation through the Association

See Labs, A4

REVISITING RECYCLING

KEVIN HOU / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Ecopledge is currently undertaking an initiative to increase students’ understanding of the single-stream recycling program. For more, see Pg. A3

Caffeine to be removed from Four Loko drink BY ADRIANA MARIELLA For The Heights

On Tuesday, the maker of the popular alcoholic energy drink Four Loko said that it would remove caffeine and other additives from the drink, according to a release by the manufacturer. The announcement by Phusion Projects, which manufactures Four Loko, comes amid an investigation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) into the health effects of alcoholic drinks that contain caffeine. Yesterday, the FDA sent a warning letter to four companies, including Phusion Projects, which said that the caffeine added to their respective malt alcoholic beverages is an “unsafe food additive,” according to a release by the FDA. The letters, which were distributed following an independent laboratory analysis of malt beverages containing caffeine, also said that legal action could be taken against the four companies under federal law.

In addition to Phusion Projects, other companies that were warned by the FDA include Charge Beverages Corp., which produces drinks such as Core High Gravity HG; New Century Brewing Co., which produces Moonshot; and United Brands Company Inc., which produces drinks including Joose and Max. Currently, Four Loko has been banned in the states of Washington, Michigan, Utah, and Oklahoma, while Connecticut liquor wholesalers and some of New York’s largest beer distributors have respectively agreed to suspend deliveries of the drink. George Haivanis, owner of Reservoir Liquors in Cleveland Circle, said that he will stop carrying Four Loko as a result of government action that has been taken against the drink in Massachusetts over the past several days. Haivanis said he thinks that Four Loko is most popular among the college-age

See Four Loko, A4

Nobel Laureate Suu Kyi was released from house arrest, B10 Classiﬁeds, A5 Editorials, A6 In the News, B10 Police Blotter, A2 Thumbs Up / Thumbs Down, A7 Forecast on Washington, B8 Weather, A2 Editors’ Pick, A9 On the Flip Side, B6

www.bcheights.com

AP FILE PHOTO

Following an FDA warning, the company that manufactures Four Loko, Phusion Projects, has announced that they will remove caffeine from the popular alcoholic beverage.

PAMPAN ZHANG / HEIGHTS STAFF

Reilly Dinius, BC ’10, gave his ‘Last Lecture’ on Monday, during which he offered a collection of life lessons, from the perspective of students from the Class of 2010, to BC undergraduates.

Dinius gives ‘last lecture’ BY ANA T. LOPEZ

Special Projects Editor On Monday, Reilly Dinius, BC ’10, with the help of the Class of 2010, re-imagined the notion of the “Last Lecture,” by offering a collection of “hyper pertinent” life lessons to undergraduates regarding the world of Boston College. The commissioning of a 22-year-old as a “Last Lecture” speaker deviated from the series’ norm of giving the stage to seasoned professors. Dinius addressed these concerns in his opening remarks, saying that the decision to give this speech was not one born out of a desire to share his personal outlook, but from discussions throughout his senior year with classmates who yearned to tell underclassmen the things they wished they had known while in their position. Previous speakers in the lecture series are Fr. Michael Himes, a professor in the theology department; Mary Joe Hughes, a professor in the College of Arts and Sciences honors program; and Paul Breines, a former professor in the history department.

“We were sitting in Hillside thinking about our college mortality and looking around at all the freshmen and thinking about what we would share, what we would say – and what we definitely wouldn’t say – if we could,” Dinius said. Student leaders from Americans for Informed Democracy (AID) said they felt that such an address would fit well within the theme of the “Last Lecture” series they have sponsored on campus for the past two and half years. The idea developed over the course of the past year, and Dinius agreed to relay the wisdom of his class. “This is not the last lecture of Reilly F. Dinius,” he said. “Instead, it’s the lecture of dozens and dozens and dozens of people in the Class of 2010.” Dinius said that, beside his introductory and closing remarks, only “6 percent of it was [him].” The rest was read directly from e-mails sent to him from graduates who are now scattered across the country and globe. The fourth speaker in BC’s version of the nationally popular series, Dinius in-

See Dinius, A4

TopFive

Thursday, November 18, 2010

THE HEIGHTS

things to do on campus this week

Multi-Faith Thanksgiving

View of the U.S. from Abroad

Today Time: 12 p.m. Location: Heights Room

Join members of the BC community as Campus Ministry hosts its annual Multi-Faith Thanksgiving celebration from noon until 1:30 p.m. in the Heights Room.

Today Time: 6 p.m. Location: Devlin 218

As part of International Education Week, a panel of international exchange students will discuss how the U.S. is viewed from their home countries.

Men’s Basketball vs. Yale

Variations and Paraphrases

The Greatest Silence

Today Time: 7 p.m. Location: Conte Forum

Come cheer on the Eagles as the men’s basketball team takes on the visiting Yale Bulldogs at Conte Forum. The team is coming off a win against St. Francis.

FEATURED ON CAMPUS

BC grads join ranks of JVC

Friday Time: 4 p.m. Location: 9 Lake St., Room 135

Americans for Informed Democracy presents a documentary on the history of rape in the Congo. Congolese food will be provided.

Friday Time: 8 p.m. Location: Heights Room

Join the bands department as it presents a performance by the University Wind Ensemble. The show will begin at 8 p.m. in the Heights Room.

IntheNews

FOUR DAY WEATHER FORECAST TODAY

53° Sunny 32°

FRIDAY

44° Sunny 31°

SATURDAY

53° Breezy

University Study reports 21 percent increase in online student enrollment in U.S. According to a recent study, colleges reported a 21 percent rise in online enrollment last year, representing the highest-ever annual increase, according to a report by The Chronicle of Higher Education. The research, which was conducted by the Sloan Consortium and the Babson Survey Research Group and surveyed 2,600 public, non-profit private, and for-profit private institutions, showed a total of 5.6 million online students in the U.S. The study counted any student enrolled in at least one online course as an online student.

27°

SUNDAY

42° Sunny 30°

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 Mass. court rules in favor of former BC students, overturns 2009 decision

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF NEWS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Thirty recent graduates joined the Jesuit Volunteer Corps in 2010, making BC the most-represented U.S. school in JVC. BY MOLLY LAPOINT Heights Staff

Thirty recent Boston College graduates joined the Jesuit Volunteer Corps (JVC) this year, making the University the most represented school in JVC. JVC offers women and men an opportunity to work on community service, according to a press release from the Office of News and Public Affairs. The Corps is based on four core values: social justice, simple living, community, and spirituality. Volunteers work with a community for one or two years, and through their fulltime service, they save the organizations they partner with an estimated $6 million a year, according to the press release. “Jesuit Volunteers allow local organizations to provide more services and have a greater impact within their communities,” said Kevin O’Brien, president of JVC in a release. “As a former JV myself, I know the transformative effect of full-time service. This experience will open their hearts and minds and change their perceptions of the world around them.” In August of this year, BC hosted an orientation

for new international vol- said. “Boston College has unteers. With the orienta- given me a huge number of tion, JVC saw a 16 percent service opportunities that I increase in volunteers. There don’t think I would have had are 340 Jesuit Volunteers elsewhere,” she said. living and volunteering full“BC also fosters a culture time in 48 communities in of service, which is somethe United States and in thing I think many other unisix countries, versities lack,” serving in both Ha n e y s a i d . “This experience urban and ru“It means that will open their ral communiour students ties. hearts and minds get exposure Liz Haney, to a lot of the and change their A&S ’11, said greatest social she is considissues in our perceptions of ering applying the world around society, which to JVC af ter is essential as them.” she graduates, we learn the crediting her skills we can experiences at use to address —Kevin O’Brien, BC with havpresident of the Jesuit them.” i n g a f f e c te d Haney said Volunteer Corps her desire to she looks forconsider the ward to focusprogram. “I may want to par- ing fully on volunteering ticipate in JVC after gradua- post-graduation. “At BC tion because of its emphasis and other places, I’ve volon Jesuit spirituality and the unteered, but it’s never been fact that its members live in my primary focus,” she said. a community,” Haney said, in “I’d love to become part of an e-mail. “I’ve grown a lot the community I was servin spirituality while at Bos- ing, to really got to know the ton College and have really individuals I was working enjoyed the sense of com- with.” munity I’ve had with others Service provides a learndoing 4Boston or going on ing experience, Haney said. service trips with me.” “You can meet other human The University’s high level beings from very different of representation in JVC walks of life when you do may be due to the number service, and they have a lot of service opportunities to teach you about the world available to students, Haney and about yourself.” 

Yesterday, the Mass. Supreme Judicial Court ruled that police violated two Boston College students’ rights when they searched the room of Boston College students Daniel Carr and John Sherman in Feb. 2007, according to a report by The Boston Globe. The decision, rendered by the state’s highest court, overturned a December 2009 decision by the Mass. Appeals Court. The SJC ruled that, contrary to assertions by police, the two students did not fully consent to the search, which had led to multiple charges for possession of controlled substances.

On Campus BC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee honored by NCAA The Boston College Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) won the Division I National SAAC Award of Excellence for the fall of 2010, according to a release by the National Collegiate Athletics Association. The release stated that the committee was impressed by the size and inclusivity of BC’s committee, as well as the breadth of service projects it has undertaken. The team has pursued nearly a dozen projects, including a service immersion trip to the Gulf region in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

National California same-sex marriage hearing to be televised on C-Span SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — An upcoming appeals court hearing on the constitutionality of California’s same-sex marriage ban will be televised. The ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal announced Wednesday that it had granted C-Span permission to carry the Dec. 6 proceedings in San Francisco live. Supporters of the voter-approved ban are appealing a federal trial judge’s August decision that struck down Proposition 8 as a violation of GLBTQ Californians’ civil rights. The January trial that resulted in that decision had been slated for broadcast on YouTube.

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 11/12/10 – 11/13/10 Friday, November 12

being the keeper of a disorderly house.

10:30 a.m. - A report was ﬁled regarding skateboarders who may have been causing damage to property outside Conte Forum. Due to safety / damage concerns, the parties were requested to stop their activity.

1:57 a.m. - A report was ﬁled regarding a suspicious circumstance in Rubenstein Hall. A report will be forwarded to Residential Life for review.

12:16 p.m. - A report was ﬁled regarding a ﬁre alarm activation in Stuart Hall. The alarm was triggered due to burnt food.

2:34 a.m. - A report was ﬁled regarding an underage intoxicated party on Campanella Way. The party was transported to a medical facility in a police cruiser.

2:14 p.m. - A report was ﬁled regarding an injured party in the Plex. The party was transported by ambulance to a medical facility.

4:01 a.m. - A report was ﬁled regarding a suspicious party in Edmond’s Hall. The party was identiﬁed and a report will be forwarded to Residential Life for review.

Saturday, November 13 12:11 a.m. - A report was ﬁled regarding the conﬁscation of a controlled substance from a party in Hardey Hall. A report will be forwarded to ODSD for review.

3:04 p.m. - A report was filed regarding an accident between a motor vehicle and a bicycle on Commonwealth Ave. The officer applied first aid and Newton Fire and Police later responded to take over the scene.

12:15 a.m. - A report was ﬁled regarding a ﬁre alarm activation in Ignacio Hall. The alarm was triggered due to a pull station that was maliciously activated. There were no suspects in the area.

9:35 p.m. - A report was ﬁled regarding the conﬁscation of alcohol from several underage parties in the Commonwealth Garage. A report will be forwarded to ODSD for reivew.

12:42 a.m. - A report was ﬁled regarding a noise complaint off campus. Several parties were identiﬁed and the tenant was issued a citation by the Boston Police for

—Source: The Boston College Police Department

Voices from the Dustbowl “What do you think about the recent news regarding the drink Four Loko?” “I don’t want to try it because it scares me.” —Sarah Andrekus, A&S ’13 “I don’t think people realize how dangerous it is.” —Brianne Marron, A&S ’13 “It’s like liquid cocaine, that’s what I’ve heard.” —Grace Hwang, A&S ’14 “It’s getting the attention it deserves. It’s not healthy.” —Kristie Smith, A&S ’14

“I think it was a poor decision to send out the e-mail because it made everyone want to go out and buy them.” —Gabby Lewine,

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.

CORRECTIONS In the Nov. 15 issue, the article “Marchese starts students off on the right foot” by Alexandrea Schaeffer was incorrectly attributed to Mayre Morgan.

The Heights

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Group offers criticism of recycling practices

Kevin Hou / heights Editor

The student environmental group, Ecopledge, is currently organizing a movement to increase understanding of Boston College’s new recycling program, which has expanded its presence in campus dining halls recently. By Ji Hae Lee For The Heights

And Taylour Kumpf Asst. News Editor

Single-stream recycling has been an important issue for Ecopledge this semester. The student environmental group has promoted the new recycling policy since the beginning of the semester, but its effectiveness has been less than desirable, some have said. The organization is now taking measures to facilitate the student body’s understanding of the single-stream program, Ecopledge members said. Single-stream recycling refers to the method in which all recyclable items – including glass, plastic, aluminum, paper, and cardboard – are placed into one bin. This policy was initiated

in an effort to reduce the hassle that students have to go through in sorting garbage into various categories. It also increases the campus recycling volume by 30 percent. “In the old paradigm, you would throw everything away and take out the ones that can be recycled,” said Daley Gruen, executive director of campus initiatives for Ecopledge and A&S ’11. “In the modern paradigm, the singlestream recycling, you throw everything and take out the trash.” “All public places in Boston are now implementing the single-stream recycling,” Gruen said. “BC has conformed to this social change and is enforcing this system in all of its buialdings.” Earlier this month, Gruen sent out a message to members of Ecopledge and the Sustainability Team within the

Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC) regarding an Ecopledge initiative to encourage sustainable practices in the dining halls. In his e-mail, he asked students to fill out a campus dining survey, “In Eagle’s Nest and the Rat, the recycling bins are too limited, not labeled as single-stream, and are not in accessible locations,” Gruen said in his e-mail. “This is a concern for students, especially since all food in these dining halls is served in wasteful, one-time use plastic containers, which pollute the ocean and land, and leech carcinogens into our food. The other dining halls are not always much better. We hope that dining will consider our suggestions for change in these areas.” Another change that Ecoplege has implemented this semester is the label-

Education Week returns after a two-year hiatus

International Education Week back on campus this year By Rebecca Kailus Heights Staff

After a hiatus of two years, this week marks the return of International Education Week (IEW) to Boston College. In the past, this week has been dedicated to enhancing awareness of international education on campus while celebrating the benefits of education and intellectual exchange worldwide. Student organizations orchestrated more than 35 events this week to celebrate the nearly 100 countries represented by the 1,000 international undergraduate, graduate, and exchange students. The events also showcase the offices and student clubs dedicated to the different culture clubs on campus, as well as the many study abroad activities that BC offers. Organizers include the Office of International Students and Scholars, which coordinated the week’s activities, along with the Office of International Programs, Center for Human Rights and International Justice, Center for International Higher Education, International Studies Program, BC Libraries, Dining Services, BC Bookstore, International Club of BC (ICBC), and the Graduate International Student Association. IEW is a national event that was started in 2000 by the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education. Its purpose is “to celebrate the benefits of international education and exchange world wide,” while “promoting programs that prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn, and exchange experiences in the U.S,” according to the official IEW Web site. BC began participating in IEW six years ago. However, two years ago, BC’s participation in IEW was suspended due to a move of the Office of International Students and Scholars. “We started doing it six years ago, and we did it for three years,” said Adrienne Nussbaum, director of the Office of International Students and Scholars. “Then, it went on hiatus for two years as our office moved from Student Affairs to the provost’s

office.” Nussbaum said this year’s week has been just as successful as it was in years past.“This is its first year back and it has been really successful,” she said. “The most rewarding part of this has been the collaborative effort because of the faculty, offices, student clubs, dining halls, and others involved.” Nussbaum said the main objective this year was to reach a broader base of students in order to create further interest in international affairs. “We have a lot of students who usually attend international events like the international students or students who study abroad,” Nussbaum said. “We want to reach the typical student who isn’t usually present and spark an interest with them. Maybe they’ll think about a major or minor in international studies or think about studying abroad.” In order to fulfill this objective, Nussbaum said that the different events and sponsors were extended to reach as many parts of campus as possible. “The goals are to bring the many offices together and celebrate and to have it be a campuswide event,” she said. “We wanted to reach every aspect of campus, and therefore we have events with the dining halls, residence halls, library, and Bookstore. We wanted to bring awareness and spark interest and learning for students and faculty.” Nussbaum also said that it was necessary to balance between educational and cultural events in creating the events that are showcased during IEW. “We wanted it to be academic as well as student affairs type activities, and therefore there will be intellectual as well as club events. We didn’t want it to just be ‘come here and eat our food’ but educational as well. We wanted a balance between a lot of different aspects,” Nussbaum said. Among the student clubs and organizations that participated in organizing events was ICBC. The organization has put on events throughout the week, including Global Passport Night, which took place in the Rat on Wednesday. The event allowed students the opportunity to move from table to table and learn about different

cultures and countries. “The different culture groups and clubs and UGBC [the Undergraduate Government of BC] will be present and people will be able to stop by each table to hear about different cultures,” said Patricia Lopez, president of ICBC and CSOM ’11. “There will be food and Fuego and Masti will perform.” ICBC also helped to promote IEW by making flyers and creating a YouTube video. Lopez said that ICBC’s participation in IEW has been constant because it fulfills one of the missions of ICBC to promote a global mentality on campus. “One of the main objectives for ICBC is to increase the global awareness on campus,” Lopez said. “ICBC has always been directly involved with IEW. This year, we have been one of the main student organizations involved.” Many international students feel that IEW is important in spreading diversity and education about global issues on campus. Luigi Manzini, A&S ’12, an international student from Italy, said that IEW is important to the global education of the student body. “IEW is important because it contributes to a better understanding of the world and the diversity of cultures,” Manzini said. Konstantinos Efstathiou, A&S ’12, an international student from Greece, said that IEW is important to many international students and for promoting the awareness of diversity on campus. “IEW provides visibility for the community of international students at BC,” Efstathiou said. “It also contributes to the promotion of diversity on campus and allows students to experience different perspectives on campus. It’s a good way to learn about the world.” Lopez said she hopes that the week will be offered in years to come. “I think it’s so important,” she said. “What I have noticed is that BC is filled with extremely bright students, but they are not exposed to different cultures and issues. It’s so rewarding to learn from other people. There are a lot of people interested in learning more. I hope people find the talks interesting, and it will become a prominent event on campus.”n

ing above trash bins in classrooms. said. “We will go into each of the school “There is a sticker that reads, ‘Can buildings and evaluate where there are this be recycled?’ above recycling bins, the need the trash cans, and one “In Eagle’s Nest and and type of bins and that reads, ‘Everything signs, etc.” She said the but trash’ above [the the Rat, the recycling main goal of the audits is trash bin for recyclabins are too limited to create a uniform recybles],” Kelley Fitzgibcling system on campus. ... and are not in bons, vice president of Ecopledge has also Ecopledge and LSOE accessible locations.” started an initiative ’11, said. called the Bulb Brigade. “I think the stickIn December, the group —Daley Gruen, ers have helped in leadwill travel to residence Executive Director of ing students to be more halls replacing incanCampus Initiatives for descent light bulbs with aware of recycling,” said Elizabeth Barthelmes, Ecopledge and A&S ’11 more energy-efficient president of Ecopledge counterparts. and A&S ’11. “I think it’s been effective “Ecopledge is working to push forthus far.” ward with the sustainability initiatives “At the end of the semester, we will in the spring semester and make lasting have recycling audits,” Fitzgibbons effects at BC,” Barthelmes said. n

Allston-Brighton Crime Reports 11/08/10 – 11/14/10

Man steals bike with fake I.D. An Allston Eastern Mountain Sports employee reported to the Boston Police station a larceny that occurred at the store on Monday, Nov. 8, at 2:25 p.m. The employee allowed a customer to “test-ride” a bicycle after obtaining collateral in the form of an I.D. However, the customer did not return after 30 minutes, and the employee checked the I.D. again suspecting it was a fake. The suspect ID was left at the police station for further investigation.

Cyclist struck by motor vehicle On Monday, Nov. 8, at 6:10 a.m., Boston Police responded to a call for a motor vehicle accident involving a bicyclist. The accident occurred at the intersection of Cambridge Street and Brighton Avenue. The bicyclist claimed she had the right of way. The bicyclist was treated at the scene for injuries to her leg and was transported to St. Elizabeth’s hospital. No fault has been assigned to the driver.

Trespasser arrested in Walsh Hall Boston Police arrived at Walsh Hall on Sunday, Nov. 14, at 12:30 a.m., responding to a report of a person under the influence. The suspect was asked to leave the residence hall but refused and made a scene. The police then arrested the suspect and brought him to the BC Police Station, where he did not comply with booking procedures and was eventually brought to the Boston Police Station, where he was detained for “safe keeping.”

Man steals razor blades from CVS On Friday, Nov. 12, at 1:08 p.m., CVS Pharmacy on Commonwealth Avenue called Boston Police to report a larceny in progress. The suspect set off the store’s alert system when attempting to leave the store with merchandise and ran from the employees who questioned him. Upon arrival, the police officer reviewed the security tapes and discovered that the suspect stole Gillette Fusion razor blades. Detectives are now completing a further investigation.

Vandalism reported on Harvard Ave. Boston Police filed a vandalism report on Friday, Nov. 12, at 9:55 a.m., regarding graffiti at the intersection of Harvard Avenue and Brighton Avenue. The graffiti portrayed stick figures and was attributed to a homeless man named “Big Red.” Big Red is known by police for his stick-figure style of graffiti done in the Allston area. The officers will seek a criminal complaint for willful and malicious destruction of property. - Courtesy of the Boston Police Department, District 14; Gathered by Adriana Mariella and Kendall Bitonte

Thursday, November 18, 2010

The Heights

Animal Welfare Act guidelines govern research Labs, from A1

for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC), a non-profit organization that monitors animal research and evaluates research institutions on their adherence to animal welfare guidelines. BC is not, however, AAALAC-accredited. Prior to commencing research on animals, researchers are required to consult with the institution’s veterinarian and its Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), which every research facility receiving federal research funding for animal experimentation is obliged to maintain. Adherence to federal animal research regulations at BC is overseen by the University’s IACUC. Composed of researchers in the science and non-science research fields as well as a consulting veterinarian and members of the community not affiliated with BC, IACUC requires researchers to submit detailed protocol for proposed animal research. IACUC must determine the legitimacy of experiments involving animals by ensuring that alternatives, including nonanimal alternatives, have been

considered, that the experiments are not unnecessarily duplicative, that the experiments pose the potential to bring significant scientific or human benefit, and that pain relief is given unless it would interfere with the study. In addition to following all federal regulations, BC also requires its animal researchers to be well-versed in animal welfare regulations. “No one is given access to the animal facility until they pass the mandatory training which includes various modules,” McGilloway said. “Those researching must also prove capability of working with animals and meeting with me on what is permitted.” Though BC claims strict adherence to federal animal research regulations, some academics and organizations claim too great of leniency in federal oversight and regulation of animal experimentation. “There is very little control,” said Thomas Hartung, director of the Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing at John Hopkins University. “IACUC are institutional committees. It is not easy to object to experiments by colleagues. In fact, only 0.1

percent of proposals are finally rejected.” Members of The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) said they agreed with Hartung. “Under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) and Public Health Service (PHS) Policy, it is legal for researchers to perform procedures that may be painful or stressful to animals as long as the protocol has been approved by their Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, whose members are appointed by the institution itself,” said Leah Gomez, an animal research policy specialist with the HSUS. “The AWA and PHS policy do emphasize minimization of pain and distress, but we find that that is not always the case at all institutions. We currently have an effort underway that seeks to get colleges and universities in the U.S. to adopt internal policies preventing all severe and unrelieved animal pain and distress. So far, 63 schools have committed to such policies. Unfortunately, Boston College has yet to respond to our requests.” Chiles disagrees in regards to BC and its insurance of the fair treatment of its animals. “During my time chairing BC’s IACUC, pressure to approve an

experiment of a colleague has never been an issue,” Chiles said. “We have strict guidelines and ensure adherence to all federal regulations governing the treatment of animals used in research. As for rejection of proposals, many proposals are rejected when they first appear before the IACUC. After revisions to bring them in full accordance with regulations, they will be accepted.” Advocates of animal experimentation cite major breakthroughs in medical research that have resulted from animal experimentation. In 1921, the invention of insulin was made possible by experiments on dogs, and the antibiotic effects of penicillin were discovered by research on mice. Furthermore, the Food and Drug Administration requires drugs to be tested on animals before being tested on humans. “Medical advancement would be at a standstill without animal medical research,” McGilloway said. “The first kidney transplant was done to a dog. If you have taken an antibiotic in the last year, it is because of animal research. Heart devices are a result of animal testing. With animal testing, there is much benefit to mankind. There have also been

great benefits to animals because of animal research. Pet animals also live much longer lives and enjoy much higher quality food with much higher nutritional values. It is because of animal research that these advancements are possible.” As for calls by critics to increase animal research regulation, Chiles agrees. “Animal welfare assurance regulation has been increasing, and I think it is good,” Chiles said. “As long as the research is reasonable and based on scientific fact, it is positive. However, animal use in research will never go away. They serve a vital purpose.” Critics said they agree with Chiles, but also spoke of the need to further research alternatives to animal testing. “Animal experiments have been basis for a lot of scientific progress,” Hartung said. “However, science advances and many things can be done better today. We have to use alternatives whenever possible, since it is insane to make animals suffer without need. I have published extensively on the shortcomings of animal tests, but the new tools have limitations as well.” According to the Center for

Alternatives to Animal Testing at John Hopkins University, 40 alternatives have been formally validated worldwide and most are accepted by U.S. agencies. Although researchers would be open to alternatives to animal testing, Chiles said the need for animals in research will always be necessary. “While alternatives to animal testing such as cell lines exist, animals will always be necessary,” Chiles said. “The years of research on animals have been invaluable to scientific and biomedical advancement.” Chiles also said years of decline in federal funding have forced researchers to use alternatives to animals for research. “Finances are always a factor in research,” he said. “Animals are very expensive, as is the care for them. They can easily use much of one’s grant money. Furthermore, I believe there is a general interest by researchers to reduce the use of animals in experiments. It is just human compassion.” According to the National Institute of Health, BC is one of 108 institutions in Massachusetts conducting animal research with federal funds regulated by the Animal Welfare Act. n

Jemez students tour campus Jemez, from A1

these things together. It’s essential that we give them every opportunity, but also allow them to be themselves.” Vigio, although a member of the Zia Pueblo, did not grow up on his reservation, he said, which motivates him to make sure the students on the reservation receive cultural education. “I grew up outside my reservation, in Alexandria, Virginia. I didn’t grow up knowing my language. I didn’t grow up knowing my culture. I want to make sure it’s available to all of them.” After Vigio’s introduction, the students performed four traditional dances and songs. In addition, Kevin Shendo, the education director for the Jemez Pueblo, spoke during a costume change about the importance of their native language. Shendo

said that because many families have two parents working, the schools are beginning to take more responsibility for teaching the children. “It’s a non-written language, so oral tradition is important,” he said. “We’re beginning to integrate immigration approaches in elementary schools.” Nicolette Sandía, one of the Jemez-to-BC students, has found the experience to be beneficial. “A lot of people don’t get the chance to come to college before they get to college,” she said. “It’s fun and exciting seeing a new city,” said Kevin Toya, another student. “BC is awesome, and it’s my first choice for college now.” Keegan Dougherty, A&S ’13, has been hosting one of the students. This is his second year participating in the program, and he was inspired to become involved

after he visited a reservation through a program in high school. “I got interested in the Native American reservation system, and learned a lot about that,” he said. “I knew that improving education was a big thing.” Jemez-to-BC has a partner program, BC-to-Jemez. In January, BC students visit the reservation. BC undergraduates have been visiting the reservations for about 10 years, and as a result of this experience, the University began hosting Jemez high school students in the fall of 2007. “Even though it was a service trip, [the students] felt they were gaining more than they were giving,” Shendo said. “It was a way to give back and share the hospitality they received there and immerse [Jemez students] in the University environment and show them the opportunities available.”

photo Courtesy of kevin schuster

Jemez and Zia Pueblo members got a taste of the college life this week, as they visited the campus and Boston area. There are many mutual benefits to the exchange, Shendo said. “The first is the friendships and relationships that are formed,” he said. “Second is the understanding of cultures and cultural history and development. When you bring people face-to-

face together, it creates a unique learning environment that you can’t recreate in other places.” The Jemez students arrived Saturday, and are leaving today. In addition to attending classes with their hosts, the students have been touring Boston sights,

going to athletic events, and having luncheons. “It’s about exposing students to the college experience, but more than that, it’s about the relationships we build,” said Kevin Schuster, Jemez Pueblo Program service coordinator. n

‘Nutcracker’ tickets now online

Kevin Hou / Heights editor

Students waited in line outside Robsham Theater for hours to buy tickets to the Fall Concert featuring Kid Cudi.

UGBC, from A1 ment from having to wait in line for tickets. “Getting a ticket was as easy as waving my wand,” she said. “It was less stressful and a lot more convenient than getting up early for Homecoming tickets. I would absolutely use the online system again.” BC to Boston has publicized upcoming events and the dates for ticket sales over Facebook and on its Web site. The reservation day for an event is typically one to two weeks earlier than the event date, Larik said. To reserve a ticket, students must fill out a reservation form on the BC to Boston Web site, after which they will be e-mailed if they were among those selected to receive tickets. Larik said the feedback from students has been

positive so far, and that there has been less of a hassle for the Robsham box office without its having to work around long lines. He said the UGBC plans to keep using the online form for subsequent BC to Boston events. With the unprecedented lines for the 2010 Fall Concert and success of the online process so far, questions have arisen regarding if online ticket sales will be implemented for other UGBC events, Larik said. He said that currently, he does not know of any certain plans to do so. “I hope to see in the future a way for all student groups to have online ticketing,” Larik said. ”I understand it is an expensive and time-consuming project, but it would be a great benefit to BC students and save a lot of time for them.” n

Last Lecture offers advice from the Class of 2010 Dinius, from A1

tegrated the messages of the professors who came before him in offering perspective and guidance. From Himes, he used the notion of the importance of “giving yourself away to know others and yourself better” to undergird his classmates’ emphasis on the importance of friendship. “We have no Greek system, so you can make friends honestly and naturally here,” he said, citing an e-mail from a former student. “There is no other time in your life that you will be around all of the people you love whenever you want.” Dinius separated his speech into three catego-

ries: friends and relationships, academics, and the value of the BC undergraduate experience. “We all, by the grace of admissions, have the ability to participate in this tradition,” he said. Several responses dealt with the importance of learning from the Jesuit model, of engaging in campus life, and being a member of a uniquely close-knit community. “I came to BC because of the education I would receive, but I belonged here because of the friendships I made,” Dinius said. In his closing remarks, Dinius said that the most important lesson for younger students is not to wait to take advantage of life at BC. n

ap file photo

Several proposed restrictions on Four Loko sales led to the FDA warning that was recently issued to the company.

Loko company gets FDA warning Four Loko, from A1

population, and that the drink appeals to a younger age group. Chris Hunter, Jeff Wright, and Jaisen Freeman, Phusion’s three co-founders, said in a statement that they disputed the FDA’s findings that combining caffeine and alcohol in drinks can be dangerous. “We have repeatedly contended – and still believe, as do many people throughout the country – that the combination of alcohol and caffeine is safe,” the trio said. “If it were unsafe, popular drinks like rum and colas or Irish coffees that have been consumed safely and responsibly for years would face the same scrutiny that our products have recently faced.” Despite their contentions, the company announced that caffeine, guarana, and taurine will be removed from all Phusion Projects beverages, and that all future Four Loko drinks produced by the company will be free of caffeine.

“By taking this action today, we are again demonstrating leadership, cooperation, and responsible corporate citizenship,” the company said in the release. The FDA warning came as the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (MABCC) enacted several restrictions on sales of Four Loko. Tuesday’s restrictions mean that by next Monday, stores will no longer be permitted to accept deliveries of Four Loko, or any other malt beverage that contains caffeine, according to a report by The Boston Globe. In Boston, administrators at Harvard University, Boston University, Northeastern University, and BC have contacted students to warn them of the risks of consuming Four Loko. According to the Globe report, at least two deaths since August have involved the consumption of Four Loko. In August, a Florida teen died after drinking Four Loko with diet pills, and a month later, a 20 year old

from Tallahassee fatally shot himself while he was allegedly playing with a gun after having consumed multiple cans of the drink. One student said he thought banning Four Loko would have positive effects on the BC community. “I agree with the decision to ban Four Loko,” said Kevin Demers, CSOM ’14, who added that he thought it contributed to a wide range of irresponsible decisions. Demers said the fast-acting nature of Four Loko posed a particular danger to people consuming it. “Four Lokos have a lot of alcohol in them, but you don’t really know it’s there until it hits you,” he said. Phusion Projects, based in Chicago, was founded five years ago by Hunter, Wright, and Freeman – all graduates of Ohio State University. Prior to the bans, its beverages, including Four Loko, Four MaXed, and Earthquake, were available in more than 45 states, according to the company’s Web site. n

CLASSIFIEDS

THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, November 18, 2010

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BIRTHDAY WISHES

MISCELLANEOUS Interested in blogging for The Heights? Contact Dara Fang at fangda@bc.edu for more information. Got a tip for the B-Line? Visit the blog at theb-line.tumblr.com to submit a tip! Check out The Heights fan page on Facebook or follow us on Twitter (@ bcheights) for breaking news updates, blog updates, and more!

Fire the laser! Wait, FIRE THE RED PEN!!! Answers to the Crossword are below the Sudoku

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

Answers below Answers to Crossword and Sudoku

Thursday, November 18, 2010

The Heights

Editorials

A change of pace

While students are beginning to plan for breaks and post-grad locations, we recommend looking beyond the typical. Our generation does a lot of mov- we also narrow our own range of exing, but isn’t in motion. We uprooted perience. We have one piece of advice to come to college, and then, four years – widen your circle. later, we put ourselves at the whim of For those of you who are graduatthe job market when deciding where to ing, look beyond those cities that live after college. Many of us will have any career consultant touts as “great to travel for work. We may not hold places for people under 30.” If you one job, but two or three at a time, have money to spend on a spring simultaneously shuttling between cit- break trip, don’t waste $1,200 geties to visit friends, ting drunk on another family, and signifi- Take the opportunity, when continent. cant others. schedules and finances allow We’d like to recomSt u d e n ts a re mend a piece written m a k i n g s p r i n g it, to go out and see America, by historian David break plans now, for no other reason than that McCullough called “A or they’re applyRecommended Itinerit is our country. ing for Teach for ary.” It’s a commenceAmerica or the Jement address he gave suit Volunteer Corps. In any of these at Middlebury College in 1986. We situations, students tend to choose recommend it because it advocates destinations that conform to a hand- a form of travel different from both ed-down sense of desirability - New the umbrellas-in-a-daiquiri haze of York, Chicago, Los Angeles. We want a week in Punta Cana and the equally to go to a city that has a reputation fuzzy Kerouacian dream quest. Take for embracing young people. We want the opportunity, when schedules and to go to wherever it is that something finances allow it, to go out and see is happening. But in doing so, in nar- America, for no other reason than rowing our sense of worthwhile places, that it is our country.

Professor reviews

In order to encourage students to actively participate in reviews, the University must make better, more public use of this data. The final exam season is swiftly approaching, and along with it comes the looming expectation to complete course reviews. Course reviews are mandated by the University as a method by which students can reflect upon a professor’s performance over the past semester. Professors then can utilize the comments to help them shape and structure their courses in the future. Students who participate are promised early access to their final grades on Agora. The reward system persuades students to complete the reviews, but the content of the reviews and their posting have been mishandled lately. While the intention of course reviews may be to offer feedback for professors, they can benefit students, as well, particularly during the registration period. Browsing the professor evaluation profiles (PEPs) on the Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC) Web site has become fruitless. Once the primary forum for browsing potential courses, PEPs have become outdated and no longer offer useful information about courses or professors. Student Services tried to ease this process by making the course reviews partially public on Agora Portal. The service only offers the statistical data

compiled from course reviews, though, and does not offer any responses to the open-ended questions. Open-ended responses often contain the most trenchant information regarding course content and teaching style, but they are not accessible. This system also gives new professors a three-semester reprieve before their reviews are posted, leaving little information for students looking to explore open classes with new professors. Allowing student course reviews to be fully public has the potential to benefit both students and faculty. One issue that often results from the present format is that the statistical data is inaccurate. Students fill out the entries without thought to secure their grades quickly, skewing the statistics. Publishing the full reviews would encourage students to take the process more seriously and would yield more thorough and helpful responses. These responses serve not only the students, but the professors, too. More thoughtful critiques of courses can truly assist in the process of reconsidering and reshaping future curricula. If action is taken toward this cause, the reward could be greater than a final grade received several days early.

Registration

Planning for the semester ahead, students rely on randomized pick times to ensure success. We believe a new system is needed. Every year, around registration time, students begin to criticize the registration system, and not without reason. There are few experiences at college more frustrating than dealing with the bureaucracy of finagling your way into a class you want or have to take. Because the allotment of course registration times is almost completely randomized – with seniority serving as the only criterion – hypothetically, a student can receive eight poor registration times, by no fault of their own. For these students, there can be classes offered at this University that they have no access to, solely because of an unfair algorithm. It’s time to look to other schools for alternatives. At other universities, course registration systems are employed that attempt to level the pick time playing field, giving students greater access to the professors and knowledge they are paying to obtain. Wake Forest, for example, assigns students two pick times. In the

first, a student is able to register for two classes and then, in the second, secure the remainder of their classes, based on what is available. In essence, all students are receiving both a “good” and “bad” pick time. As the system still operates according to the seniority principle – meaning each class gets to exhaust both of their pick times in the order of their grade – it virtually ensures that a senior in their spring semester at the University will not find themselves in the predicament of not being able to take a class they had counted on for the majority of the past three and a half years. As it stands, Boston College students must wait anxiously for the drop / add period to commence, to butter up professors through e-mails and office hours in hopes of obtaining an override into particularly popular or required courses. With a system in place that ensures more equality in the course registration process, the stress that accompanies registration could be greatly reduced.

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

Mary-Kate Mcadams / Heights Illustration

Letters to the Editor Wise use of space in University libraries The Heights editorial about “Lack of Space” for students was interesting and timely, although it was a little disappointing that it failed to mention one of the most important student spaces on campus: the Boston College libraries. We in the libraries are acutely aware of the space crunch. Our gate counts are up almost 20 percent in the past two years, and because we offer a wide range of services, content, and spaces to meet most research and academic needs, students spend many hours in our libraries. Most days, most libraries are packed. But we in the BC libraries have been actively responding to the need for more quality student space. Based on feedback from both the undergraduate and graduate Library Advisory Groups, in the past 18 months we have refurbished the O’Neill group study rooms, opened and refurnished the first floor of the O’Neill Library with open booths and new furniture, and have extended hours in the morning and evening (now open until 3 a.m. most nights). We are plan-

ning for 24 / 5 (Sun-Thu) access to O’Neill next fall, and maintain long hours in the Bapst Library. More changes are being planned as well to differentiate between quiet and group / active library spaces, all in the interest of creating a library that is central to the academic life of the campus. Additionally, by partnering and opening library spaces to academic activities, most notably Bapst and the O’Neill Reserve Reading Room, our goal has been to create venues for bringing faculty and students together outside the classroom, and thereby extending the conversation. I hope, then, that when students are looking for spaces they continue to consider the BC libraries. We are committed to continuous improvement and recognize the value (and economy) of space for students, and all suggestions are encouraged and welcomed. I can be reached at tbw@bc.edu Tom Wall University Librarian

Sex Toy Bingo promoted health and happiness Members of the Boston College community, please allow us to correct the misconceptions about BC Students for Sexual Health (BCSSH) and the limited view of sexuality expressed in the last issue of this newspaper. Doug Deering wrote in his letter “Making the World Safer, Not Sexier” in the November 15th issue of The Heights that our recent event, Sex Toy Bingo – a sexual health trivia-themed bingo game with prizes supplied by Good Vibrations, a renowned sex toy retailer and sexual health education provider – “could only function to promote an unchecked pursuit of sexual pleasure, [sending] anything but a message of health.” We reject the word “unchecked,” which implies a lack of concern for consequences and unsafe sexual practices, neither of which we promote. Those who attended Sex Toy Bingo participated in trivia focused on safer sex practices and statistics we would be remiss to ignore, like how one in four college students has an STI. Every attendee was offered condoms and other sexual health supplies and information. Sexual health was the ultimate message. The issue, then, seems to be a disagreement on the meaning of sexual health. BCSSH promotes a holistic perspective, one that not only advocates for preventative measures, but also empowers people to express their sexuality in safe and healthy ways. Sexual health is not just about avoiding the bad. It is just as much about embracing the good, and yes, for many people that includes sexual pleasure. Since Deering condemns the use of sex toys, we feel it necessary to say that couples in monogamous relation-

ships and happily single people alike attended Sex Toy Bingo, not to mention individuals whose sexual practices we don’t presume to know or judge. There is no basis on which to assume that sex toys promote unsafe or emotionally scarring sexual behaviors. Sex can be a meaningful aspect of a relationship. BCSSH does not judge individuals or what they choose to do with their own bodies. Our goal is to help each person act safely in relationships and as sexual beings. BCSSH remains committed to our goals of opening up dialogue on sexuality and promoting the health of all students. We stand by our decision to run Sex Toy Bingo and hope to create similar programs in the future. We also support new programs such as the recent freshman conversations on dating, relationships, and sexuality held this week. Panelists of upperclassmen, including BCSSH board members, talked about a range of topics including disenchanting experiences with the hook-up culture and their desire to pursue meaningful relationships. Yet, there was no judgment or moralization about how our views are the only legitimate ones, because we respect people’s decisions, even when they differ from our own. Do you? We at BCSSH are still, as always, committed to improving the sexual health resources and information available and promoting a comprehensive view on sexuality and sexual health on campus. We hope in the future our efforts can be met with more respect and understanding. BCSSH Executive Board

Four Loko banning infringes upon rights Earlier this week the Massachusetts State Alcohol Beverage Control Commission banned distribution and sales of caffeinated alcoholic beverages, most notably the infamous Four Loko, and now the FDA appears to be poised to do the same. This is a terrible decision by both the state and federal government for two reasons. First, as a legal US citizen, I should have the right to purchase whatever kind of alcoholic beverage I want to consume. One of the great things about this country is supposedly that we are free to do as we please, which has nowadays been changed to free to do as the nanny state allows us. If we’re not free to go into a liquor store and buy what we want, are we really free? The second problem is the fact that this will do absolutely nothing to curb either underage drinking or alcohol abuse. If anyone thinks that the banning of Four Loko will suddenly convince every underage

person to stop drinking, I have some great swampland in Florida to sell you. And it’s certainly not going to stop alcohol abuse. People were drinking red bull Vodkas and rum and Cokes (both incredibly unhealthy caffeinated alcoholic beverages) long before Four Loko came around, and they will continue to do so long after. People have been drinking too much, making bad decisions and getting themselves sick for thousands of years, and this ban is going to have absolutely zero affect on that. I still for the life of me can’t understand why Four Lokos are being banned in the first place, because people for the first time in history were drinking more alcohol than they should have? I say respect my right as an American citizen to do as I please, and then face any consequences of my own actions as if they were just that my own responsibility. Kevin Porter CSOM ‘11

The Heights welcomes Letters to the Editor not exceeding 200 words and column submissions that do not exceed 700 words for its op/ed pages. The Heights reserves the right to edit for clarity, brevity, accuracy, and to prevent libel. The Heights also reserves the right to write headlines and choose illustrations to accompany pieces

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

Business and Operations

Editorial Kaleigh Polimeno, Copy Editor Michael Caprio, News Editor Zach Wielgus, Sports Editor Jacquelyn Herder, Features Editor Kristen House, Arts & Review Editor Daniel Martinez, Marketplace Editor Hilary Chassé, Opinions Editor Ana Lopez, Special Projects Editor Alex Trautwig, Photo Editor Margaret Tseng, Layout Editor

Michael Saldarriaga, Graphics Editor Christina Quinn, Online Manager Laura Campedelli, Multimedia Coodinator Brooke Schneider, Assoc. Copy Editor DJ Adams, Asst. Copy Editor Patrick Gallagher, Assoc. News Editor Taylour Kumpf, Asst. News Editor Maegan O’Rourke, Assoc. Sports Editor Paul Sulzer, Asst. Sports Editor Kristopher Robinson, Asst. Features Editor

Contributors: Kevin DiCesare, Woogen Kim, Breana Marchwinski, Marye Moran, Molly Pekula, Alex Schlatter, Stephen Principi

Zachary Jason, Assoc. Arts & Review Editor Allison Therrien, Asst. Arts & Review Editor Matt Palazzolo, Asst. Marketplace Editor Kevin Hou, Asst. Photo Editor Lindsay Grossman, Asst. Layout Editor Rachel Gregorio, Asst. Graphics Carrie McMahon, Editorial Assistant Zachary Halpern, Executive Assistant

Joelle Formato, Business Manager David Givler, Advertising Manager Brynne Lee, Outreach Coordinator Brendan Quinn, Systems Manager Madeline Demoulas, Local Sales Manager Daniel Ottaunick, Collections Manager James Gu, Asst. Ads Manager Dara Fang, Business Assistant

The Heights

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Opinions

Thumbs Up Last Chance – This Saturday’s home game against Virginia presents Superfans of all ages, but particularly those from the Class of 2011, the chance to cheer their team to victory for the last time this season. It is also the last game for our senior Eagles, so get to the stadium early to show your support. Be loud, be proud, and get ready for some football. Harry Potter – If classes are empty Friday morning, professor’s will have Potteritus to blame. Thousands of Potterphiles will pack theaters at the stroke of midnight to see the second-to-last installment of the franchise. It’s going to be Potterific! (We have now officially used all Potter puns available. Wingardium Leviosa). Communications – When students in this major heard the news that their home department was the most popular at the University, they did what any good comm. major would: tweeted, blogged, posted, and sent out soundbytes to anyone who would listen (willingly or not). The Beatles – Somewhere, right now, Steve Jobs is smiling very smugly. The Beatles discography is now officially available through iTunes and they’re extremely excited about it, according to their home page. So go pick it up, if you haven’t already found a way to download the albums before, like any true music fan would have done. Express trains – The evening commute for students with fall internships is made a bit less horrendous by the drivers of the B Line, who consistently run express from Sutherland Road. However, nothing can account for the pain of listening to the loud-talking, TMI-sharing commuters who frequent this train.

Thumbs Down Prince William – This past week, hospitals across the world have been inundated with women, both young and old. Diagnosis: broken heart. William, crown prince of England, announced his engagement to long-time girlfriend Kate Middleton. There goes another Prince Charming. What’s Monaco offering these days? Spammed – It was the butt dial that launched a thousand replies. The campuswide listserv spam reached hundreds of replies, ranging from witty Inception puns (kinda), to desperate pleas to just stop the madness. It takes all kinds of folks to make a University. Loko – Well, it had a good run. The Massachusetts government, as well as the FDA, is likely to ban this potent mix of caffeine and alcohol that have fueled many a bad decision. Although the good people at Four Loko are releasing a decaf version, that somewhat defeats the whole point. So stock up while you can, bros. Spinach croissant – The most delicious addition to the Hillside menu is missing on Mondays. We wish that they’d consider the needs of students who’d like to start their day with a vegetablestuffed pastry when crafting their menu next time.

The ‘Harry Potter’ generation

Zamin Husain Our generation has been called many things, all of which we simply have tolerated. Generation Y, Echo Boomers, The Peter Pan Generation, and Generation XL don’t invoke the same sense of pride that Generation X did for our parents. Or so I thought until I heard our most recent title: The Harry Potter Generation. Since the release of The Sorcerer’s Stone in elementary school, we’ve grown up side-byside with Harry. Tonight’s opening of the seventh film marks the beginning of the end, and when the final film is released next year, our collective childhood will disapparate away with it. We all remember the midnight releases for the books, for which Barnes and Noble would serve as our Floo network to Diagon Alley. People were dressed up as anything and everything related to the series, ranging from house elves to Fluffy, the three-headed watch dog. We would indulge in the nastiness of sardine-flavored Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans, because at these premieres the beans were real, not just figments of our imagination. At midnight, chaos would ensue as if the Snitch had been spotted. Everyone was a seeker, only the quickest and most skilled would emerge victorious with these books. The following week, our friends would brag about how they read it in only four days, and as we got older, four days shrank down to only two, and then two days to only five hours – the five hours after the midnight release. We all waited on our 11th birthdays to get that magical letter in emerald green ink that (most of us still regret) never came. Before the release of the movies, the hottest topic of discussion was how to pronounce Hermione’s name, but as we matured, so did the novels. We responded more emotionally and analytically toward

these portkeys to Harry’s world. We mourned Sirius’ death, and bawled as Dumbledore fell from the North Tower. We hated the intolerant and widely prejudiced Umbridge – and I mean we hated that witch – even more than Voldemort himself, and we laughed and jumped up in excitement when Mrs. Weasley delivered that fatal spell to Bellatrix Lestrange. While the next generation is familiar with the works, they will never understand the true emotional roller coaster we felt about Professor Snape (we hate him, we love him, he’s evil, he’s good), just as we will never be able to appreciate Michael Jackson in the way that our parents did. There weren’t always seven books. They will never know what it was like to wait, for years, for the next book. And all the while, the fandom grew. Fan sites like Mugglenet (my homepage for the longest time) allowed people to analyze and hypothesize the Horcruxes out of the book. Waiting for news of what was going to happen, the little Easter eggs Rowling put on her Web site. Kids in the next generation will never have that. Today, many of us are going to be waiting in a seemingly infinite long line, in the freezing cold, seven hours or more, only to get terrible seats scattered throughout the theater, separated from our friends. By the time the movie actually starts, we’ll be exhausted but restless at the same time. Not to mention the 9 a.m. lecture on torque in physics the next day (though my physics professor is getting an award for his research on “metamaterials,” which I’m pretty sure is the exact same thing as an invisibility cloak). And by watching the chillingly exciting movie trailer a hundred times over on YouTube, we know it’s going to be worth it (and not just because of Emma Watson). Our pride in Harry Potter finds its way into every facet of our lives, most recently: college. In deciding colleges, all doubts I had in picking BC were removed when I saw the red and yellow striped scarves in the gift store, perfectly resembling those of Gryffindor. Bapst Library is the closest thing to

the Great Hall, and even the University is divided into four “houses.” In my head Carroll School of Management is Slytherin (school of greed), the College of Arts and Sciences is Gryffindor, Lynch School of Education is Hufflepuff, and Connell School of Nursing is Ravenclaw. Sometimes wishing that the million dollar staircase moved you straight to your class on Upper Campus, accidentally saying “professor” in a British accent, and yelling spells at people and objects because they convey what you want to say better than English can (you know you’ve yelled “Alohamora” at a locked door before) are all just a dark mark of Harry Potter influence branding you as part of this generation. There are parts of the series that really bother the readers (Albus Severus Potter? Really, J.K. Rowling, really?), and even the heroes of the story frustrate fans (Harry, I know you are going through a rough time, but you don’t need to talk in caps lock throughout the entire fifth book). Some things were perfectly portrayed in the movies (first place – Luna; second place – Bellatrix; third place – Rita Skeeter) and others were distractingly offbeat (Harry and Ron’s hair in the fourth movie, for example). Everyone has an opinion, however. Regardless of gender or interest, our involvement, dedication, and passion make the series our generation’s mutual bond (Let’s see Twilight do that). Dumbledore is our Michael Jackson, controversial, yes, but still an icon. The memory of Harry Potter will live on through wizard rock, A Very Potter Musical, Potter Puppet Pals, and other fan-made creations, and those of us who are a part of this generation will ensure that it does. As of now, we are still living in the zeitgeist of our generation, but come next July when the last film is released, we’ll all begin suffering post-Potter depression … until we wind back our time turners and live it over again. Zamin Husain is a staff columnist for The Heights. He welcomes comments at opinions@bcheights.com.

It’s easy being green, but is it better? Marye Moran My brother doesn’t recycle. No, I don’t just mean that if there’s no recycling bin, he’ll throw an item in the trash instead. He makes a conscious decision never to recycle. I’m used to it by now, but in public, when he throws a water bottle in the trash, he gets looks of disgust akin to if he exited a public bathroom without washing his hands. Obviously, I criticize him for this. I mean, who doesn’t recycle? I’m not asking him to go join Greenpeace, worship Al Gore, or forego showers to “conserve water.” But tossing a bottle into the blue bin doesn’t seem that hard. When I brought it up, though, he launched an offensive, diving into an hour-long speech about why recycling is bad for society. He went on about how recycling adds to pollution in populated areas through the collection trucks and recycling plants. He spoke of how it causes cities to lose money and waste resources that could be used to better the community in other ways. He said that recycling paper is unnecessary, as trees are a renewable resource that can always be replanted. Timber consumption has grown tremendously since 1920, and yet the amount of wood in our forests has also tripled since that year. And, in fact, less pollution is excreted in the production of new paper than in the recycling of old. When it comes to the resources that are not renewable, he remarked confidently that we won’t actually run out of

Party Time

BY BEN VADNAL

many of those substances, citing how, compared to 50 years ago, we produce twice as much output for each unit of energy used. And if, on the off chance, we did run out of products like glass and plastic, we could mine landfills and recycle them all at once, which would be cheaper and easier than continually recycling. Even if my brother’s argument does not tell the whole story, it is clear that recycling is not the perfect solution it is made out to be. Why, then, do we think of it as such? “Being green” has become a buzzword that can easily convince us that a product, company, or politician is moral. No one wants to question the real benefits of environmentalism because it is such an easy way to gain support and a selfless reputation. Those “turn off your lights, BC conserves” stickers on the dorms’ light switches are supposed to make us feel like our school is environmentally conscious. Of course, there is that side benefit that using less electricity saves the school money. And seeing the tag that reads “made with 100 percent recycled materials” makes us less hesitant and guilty about throwing down a week’s worth of work-study wages on a slightly uncomfortable t-shirt. For large corporations, recycling and environmentalism are easy ways to gain public favor. It’s very easy for a company to publicize their recycling efforts and immediately be seen as a kinder, more favorable brand, thus earning more customers. Take the earnest sounding Honest Tea that many of us pick up to accompany a Hillside panini or a slice from McElroy Commons. The note on the label tells us that their new bottle is “22 percent lighter,” which “saves the world’s resources.” More accurately, though, the company is trying to save its own resources – its money. By adding an

environmental spin, these companies can make any change, whether made out of ecological motivation or not, seem ethically based. This perception of environmental causes as ethical and important also shapes the political sphere. Since Gore started his crusade against global warming, environmental protection plans have become a staple of any politician’s policy. While many of these initiatives are helpful, it is clear that, as exemplified by recycling, the actual impact is often questionable. Politicians use “green” policies to gain favor from something that instinctively, though not necessarily truthfully, seems right to citizens, and distracts from actual problems. It came as quite a shock that what my brother said was true, and that our recycling system is probably not the most economically and environmentally effective possibility. Though it actually would create less pollution and cost less to recycle out of landfills when resources are needed, now that the trucks are already driving down my street, and the plants are already going, it makes sense just to throw that plastic bottle in the recycling bin and stick with the current system. So after I finish my “just a tad sweet” bottle of iced tea, I still toss it in with the recycling. However, I don’t think that the tea producers are more concerned about ethics just because they chose to use less plastic. And I don’t think that I’ve done my good deed for the day just because I put that bottle in a blue bin. Still, I’ll reduce and reuse, and though I now know it’s not the perfect solution, I’ll recycle. Marye Moran is a staff columnist for The Heights. She welcomes comments at opinions@bcheights.com.

A shot of reality

William Mooney Sloneker I turned 21 two weeks ago and lived to tell the tale. Sorry. That is, of course, a gross dramatization of what actually transpired on Nov. 3. In reality, I did not get “wasted” that Wednesday, nor did I consume 21 shots of anything: vodka, rum, Four Loko, espresso, maple syrup, whatever. I simply enjoyed some wine with dinner at Tasca and then returned to campus to share some beer and champagne – with an hour-long intermission in between for a group project meeting in Lower. My evening clearly does not resemble the typical conception of a 21st birthday celebration. Idealizations of this birthday usually include awesome free drinks during awesome bar-hopping excursions with awesome friends capped by awesome vomit and an awesome, yet curious, lack of regrets. A commonality unites these two very different scenarios. Whether one spends their 21st in a low-key or glamorous fashion, in the aftermath, friends and family show a heightened interest in the events of that night. People always inquire about the quality and events of a birthday primarily out of courtesy and friendly concern, but I have found that a 21st birthday piques other’s curiosity more than any other milestone birthday – 13th, 18th, and 50th birthdays cannot possibly generate the same amount of interest. The reason behind this is self-evident. The legal right of purchasing and consuming alcohol represents one of the final rites of passage into adulthood. Following drivers’ licenses, suffrage, and high school graduations, this right marks the end of the lengthy road to adulthood. Now, I still cannot rent a car in most places, but I can willfully ignore that for a while. The portentousness of this birthday, like all watershed birthdays, inspires a greater amount of anticipation starting sometimes as early as the comparatively less significant 20th birthday. I do not pay much attention to countdowns, but I must admit that I lapsed into that practice this year. In other words, the 21st birthday represents an enigmatic transformation in the life of a young person, and while that sounds like a load of wordy, poetic nonsense (there’s more of that to come), the aforementioned factors conspire to create a moment that really does change one’s perspective overnight. Make no mistake, drinking before your 21st, on your 21st, and after your 21st are three separate and unique experiences. Underage drinking has a distinctly romantic appeal to it. Sipping Natty Ice in a dank basement on Foster Street may not seem ideal to many, but when the beverages are illegal and repercussions more serious, the rebelliousness of the act engenders an otherwise plain situation with a picaresque excitement. Drinks on the 21st birthday go down with a sigh of relief. The bothersome anxiety and apprehension that occasionally was evoked by underage debauchery finally vanish, and a sense of security fills the void. When you make a purchase at a liquor store or submit a drink order at a restaurant, you want the employee to ask you for your ID, just to see what happens. Two weeks removed from my 21st birthday and drinking has quickly turned into something lame and ordinary. The magic that once came complimentary with every drink no longer exists. The increased accessibility significantly alters the novelty of consumption. It becomes about intriguing as making a sandwich for lunch. All this happens – or at least happened to me – over the course of a couple weeks. Rarely do I actually feel older after a birthday, but the 21st defied this trend, too. The mystique of the drink is effectively gone forever. I cannot bear citing my personal experience as fodder for an argument advocating a lower drinking age. While I do favor changing the drinking age to 18, the experience has opened my eyes to the merits of the present standard. Turning 21 fully demystifies our adulthood. The “real world” to which Boston College students often allude to as if it were some mythical beast, has now grown definitely perceptible features, for me. It’s really quite daunting, even frightening, so I’m probably just going to go have a beer and try to forget about it for now. Let’s hope that helps. William Mooney Sloneker is a staff columnist for The Heights. He welcomes comments at opinions@bcheights.com.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

The Heights

Boston college vs. virginia When BC runs the ball

Besides his two fumbles last weekend, Montel has been unstoppable of late. As long as those miscues remain a thing of the past, he will continue his dominance against a Virginia defense that has let up an average of 202.5 yards per game. Expect Harris to get his 21st career 100-yard game. Advantage:

When BC passes the ball Chase Rettig is coming into his own, and put up a career-high 230 yards last week. He is finally looking comfortable, especially when throwing to Bobby Swigert and Alex Amidon. Rettig should be able to continue improving this week, playing at home for the first time in three weeks. Advantage:

When Virginia runs the ball The BC rush defense is now ranked first in the country in yards allowed after only giving up four yards last week. Keith Payne is the leading rusher for the Cavaliers, averaging just 74 yards per game. But he does have 14 TDs on the year. He will have trouble finding the end zone on Saturday. Advantage:

When Virginia passes the ball The patched-up BC secondary’s inexperience was exposed last weekend, letting up 307 yards, yet they got the tipped passes when it counted. Virginia has to gain yards somehow, and it probably won’t be on the ground. QB Marc Verica will be forced to throw the ball often and make plays. Advantage:

Special teams Nate Freese has been clutch all year, making 16 of 19 field goals. Ryan Quigley has been a workhorse as well, averaging over six punts a game. This is obviously not a good thing for the Eagles, but if you’re going to punt that much, it’s nice to have a solid punter to call on. Advantage:

Heights file photo

Damik Scafe has produced more pressure in the middle of the defensive line, stuffing the run and beating the interior lineman for seven tackles for loss.

Seniors fight for bowl game Senior Day, from A10

class understands the importance of keeping the Eagles’ 11-game bowl streak alive. “It’s definitely important,” Lapham said. “Keep the streak alive. Being the seniors on this team, you don’t want to be remembered as the people who broke the streak.” For the likes of Albright, Davis, and Gause, though, Senior Day, and one of the team’s last two chances at becoming bowl eligible, will be spent on the sidelines, with their football future resting in the hands of the youth that has ably taken their place. If the Eagles don’t win one of their final two games to become

bowl-eligible, Albright and Gause may not play in another game as members of the BC football team. “That’s another thing that we have talked to these young guys about,” Lapham said. “We’re not only playing for a bowl, but we’re playing potentially for guys like Alex Albright to get his last BC game in.” The message sent by the veteran leaders of the team has not fallen on deaf ears. With 26 underclassmen listed on the two-deep against Virginia, the younger members of the team understand the added incentive to win on Saturday. “You want to do everything you can for

those guys,” said quarterback Chase Rettig. “They are the guys that motivated you all year, and for us to continue the season and get some of those guys to be able to play in another football game, that is definitely what is going to motivate this team on Saturday.” For the Eagles’ senior class, this season may not be as glamorous as those of years past, but it is one that has shown the true collective character of an outstanding group of individuals. Whether on the field or on the sidelines for their final home game, it is the seniors’ leadership and heart that has provided direction to what was, earlier this season, a lost cause. n

No. 3 Maine brings six-game unbeaten streak to Kelley Rink Maine Preview, from A10

On the other end of the ice, the Eagles have Cam Atkinson, who is tied for third in the conference in scoring. The junior forward has recorded 12 points with eight goals and four assists. Not far behind him are forwards Brian Gibbons and Joe Whitney, each with nine points. “That group of four has really been our rock all year,” York said of his veterans’ leadership. As valuable as his three leading forwards

have been, York is looking for more offensive production overall. The Eagles have scored 17 goals, but have allowed just as many since resuming conference play. The last time these two teams met was in last year’s Hockey East championship, a hardfought battle that went into overtime before ending in a 7-6 BC win. “Maine has a great history with BC as far as good teams battling hard against each other. We always seem to be playing big games against each other,” York said. “Maine, this year, is back in stride. It took a couple years, they haven’t

been as good as the standard they’ve set, but right now they’ve got a good club playing.” York expected the Black Bears to be one of the best teams in the conference after squaring off with them for the title last year. At the time, they just needed to solve some goaltending problems, which they seem to have done with freshman Dan Sullivan, York said. “Maine brings probably the hottest team in the Hockey East conference in here to Kelley Rink,” York said. “We want to play our best hockey of the season so far, and we have a chance to do that this weekend.” n

alex trautwig / heights editor

Head coach Jerry York has had many moments of frustration in the last six games, as his Eagles have alternated wins with losses over the past three weeks.

Coaching and intangibles This is a huge game for the Eagles, as they could secure a .500 season and become bowl-eligible. After the losing streak they endured, this would be a great feat and a morale-booster. They are also playing in front of the final home crowd of the season. What more motivation could they need? Advantage:

football notebook

Linebacker writing Luke’s gospel of defense By Brad Zak Heights Staff

After recording 21 tackles against the Duke Blue Devils, the accolades are starting to pour in for Luke Kuechly. Following his impressive Week 11 performance, Kuechly was named ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week and was named a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Award given to the Football Writers Association of America’s most outstanding defensive player. “It’s phenomenal to watch him,” said senior linebacker Mike Morrissey. “He’s done a great job last year and this year. This year his game has more of an attacking sense. It’s not like he is some physically phenomenal specimen – he’s just a great athlete and a smart football player who is always around the ball. His motor never stops.” Kuechly’s day against Duke was one for the record books, as he added two pass breakups, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery to go along with his career-high 21 tackles. The 21 tackles also tied him with two others for the most in an NCAA game this season. Kuechly had previously recorded 20 tackles against NC State on Oct. 9, which makes him the only player in NCAA FBS to record two separate 20-tackle games this season. He has now amassed 146 tackles on the season, which leads the country and ranks seventh for a single season in Boston College history. Kuechly has been the anchor for a defense that appears to be hitting its stride at the perfect time. Since the fourth quarter of the Maryland game, the Eagles defense has only allowed a single touchdown, which occurred on a trick play in the Wake Forest game. The defensive unit has totaled six interceptions, four sacks, and has only allowed 161 rushing yards in the last three contests. Herzlich back to form After missing last year while battling Ewing’s sarcoma, Mark Herlizch knew it would take

time for him to regain the form he was at during the 2008 season, when he won ACC Defensive Player of the Year, but he feels he might now finally be getting back to that level. The road back certainly wasn’t made any smoother by a broken foot in training camp, and a recent hand injury that forces him to wear a bulky cast while playing linebacker. The cast seems to hinder some of his more athletic talents that were displayed by game-changing interceptions during that 2008 season, but the hardest part for Herzlich might have been just getting used to running with the extra weight on one side. “I feel like I’m getting faster and stronger out there,” Herzlich said. “[With the cast] you have to be even more squared up and in the right position. If you are a little off on your angle, you can’t really grab and help with it, so I have to be more focused with where I place myself on the field.” Herzlich has averaged just over six tackles in his last four games, as his abilities seem to be catching up with his nose for the ball. The senior linebacker will be playing his final home game in front of a crowd that has embraced him since the moment he first applied the black face paint. Rettig Settling In It appears that the BC coaching staff is starting to remove the kid gloves when handling the play calling for freshman quarterback Chase Rettig. Against Duke, Rettig completed 12 passes on 24 attempts and had multiple opportunities to look down the field for developing targets Ifeanyi Momah and Bobby Swigert. The increased passing attack has taken the burden off running back Montel Harris, who saw his carries decrease from 36 in the Wake Forest game to just 23 in the Duke contest. Rettig’s poise has allowed him to provide stability to an offense that was just recently in complete disarray, and his progression has the Eagles on the verge of heading to their 12th straight bowl game. n

The Heights

Editors’ Picks

Thursday, November 18, 2010 The Week Ahead

Standings

Football plays Virginia in the last home game of the year. Men’s soccer kicks off its NCAA tournament against Brown, while the women attempt to go back to the Elite Eight against West Virginia. Men’s hockey hosts Maine.

Recap from Last Week

Maegan O’Rourke

25-25

Zach Wielgus

24-26

Paul Sulzer

23-27

Heights staff

20-30

Football reached .500 again with a win over Duke. Women’s soccer beat BU in the NCAA first round. Men’s and women’s basketball rolled over St. Francis and BU, respectively. The Patriots shut down the Steelers behind a huge effort from Tom Brady.

Guest Editor: Matthew DeLuca Editor-in-Chief “Ping-pong was once called wiff-waff.”

Women’s Cross Country The Boston College women’s cross country team, ranked No. 22 in the country, placed fourth out of 35 teams in the NCAA Northeast Regional Meet on Saturday. All five of BC’s runners finished in the top 30 for a total of 92 points. This finish marks the ninth time in 10 years that the Eagles have finished in the top five at the regional meet. Caroline King crossed the finish line first for the Eagles, running the race in personal record time to come in seventh. Jillian King, Hope Krause, Elizabeth O’Brien, and Elizabeth Hynes rounded out BC’s last four spots. The women’s team now hopes to receive a bid to the NCAA championship field.

Men’s and Women’s Basketball Zach Wielgus Sports Editor

This Week’s Games

BCnotes

Maegan O’Rourke Assoc. Sports Editor

Paul Sulzer Asst. Sports Editor

Matthew DeLuca Editor-in-Chief

Football: Boston College vs. Virginia

Men’s Soccer: Boston College at Brown

Brown

Men’s Hockey: Boston College vs. Maine (series)

Split

Women’s Soccer: Boston College vs. West Virginia

West Virginia

Football: ACC Atlantic Division champion

Florida State

NC State

The BC men and women’s basketball teams announced they have recieved National Letters of Intent from players in the Class of 2011 Wednesday. Head coach Steve Donahue signed five players for next year, including forwards Ryan Anderson and Eddie Odio, centers Kyle Caudill and Dennis Clifford, and guard Lonnie Jackson. The women’s team will welcome four players that will make up the Class of 2015. With the departure of forwards Stefanie Murphy and Carolyn Swords after this season, head coach Sylvia Crawley will add four forwards in Joy Caracciolo, Kathleen Cooper, Victoria Lesko, and Deidra Smith.

Women’s soccer has tough climb to Elite Eight By Steven Principi For The Heights

Fresh off a convincing 3-1 victory over Hofstra in the second round of the NCAA tournament, the second-seeded Boston College women’s soccer team must now turn its focus toward the third-seeded West Virginia Mountaineers in the Sweet Sixteen. Though the Eagles aren’t used to playing West Virginia, the Sweet Sixteen is nothing new. This is the team’s third trip to the Sweet Sixteen in as many years, and the sixth in the last seven, as the Eagles have enjoyed enormous success over the past few seasons. In two of the past three years, BC (15-6-1) has advanced to at least the third round before being tripped up. This time, the Eagles will play host to Big East tournament champion West Virginia (184-1), which comes off tournament wins over Morehead State and Penn State. “We know that it’s going to be a physical battle, but we’re really looking forward to it,” said midfielder Hannah Cerrone. “As we go through practice, we’re going to really go over everything that they’re about

and make sure we’re prepared for them.” Going into Friday night’s match against West Virginia, the Eagles must maintain the level of consistency that they have shown in the first two rounds of the tournament. In the Mountaineers, BC faces a more complete opponent than its most recent competitors, as West Virginia owns a particularly strong defense and solid forwards. This match-up appears to be a defensive battle, as the Eagles allowed only 14 goals in 19 regular-season games, and have only conceded two so far in tournament play. That stingy, unyielding defense has been something that BC focused on the entire season, Cerrone said. “It’s always been one of our biggest things at BC since I’ve been here, the defensive strength, and I think that’s really important, especially playing against some of the top forwards,” she said. “And it’s great because we have that strength, but we also have a lot of depth, a lot of people that can rotate in and out and get the job done.” West Virginia is strong on defense,

as well. The Mountaineers boast a 0.68 goals-against average, good for 23rd in all of college soccer, and has given up just one goal in the tournament thus far. This puts a premium on an Eagles offense that has battled spells of inconsistency and bad luck. What can overcome that, however, is the valuable experience the team has gained in previous NCAA tournaments, especially over the course of the last two seasons. “It’s funny looking back and realizing how difficult it was to lose and how excited we were to play in the next game after we won,” Cerrone said. “It’s something that we really look to going forward. We’ve made two good runs in the last two seasons, and we look to get better every year.” The Eagles return all but two starters from last year’s squad that advanced to the program’s first-ever Elite Eight. “We have a great class of seniors,” Cerrone said, “and it has been really important for us to step up and embrace the leadership role. We’ve all been in this situation before, but it’s important to set

alex trautwig / heights editor

Senior captain Brooke Knowlton is focused on leading the Eagles back to Elite Eight this year. a good example for the younger players who may not have played in games of this importance before.” The younger players Cerrone mentioned haven’t missed a beat, either. Two freshmen earned starts in the second-round win over Hofstra, including defender Zoe Lombard, who scored a goal. She and Kate McCarthy played the

full 90 minutes and earned praise from Cerrone. “It’s really nice to have the freshmen step up into roles that we really need them to be playing,” she said. “All around, the whole team has really stepped up and everyone is doing exactly what we need them to do if we want to continue to move forward in the tournament.” n

BC draws pesky Brown Bears to open NCAA tournament By Tim Jablonski For The Heights

nick rellas / heights staff

Senior captain Jaclyn Thoman dished out 10 assists in the Eagles’ 93-66 victory over Hartford.

Eagles dominate Hartford at home Blowout, from A10

though ranked 12th nationally by ESPN in the recruiting Class of 2010, delivered just a minor five-point performance against BU, and her offensive struggles continued into the first half on Monday with two-ofseven shooting. But with just seconds left in the first half, Doherty finally found her stroke. Thoman sprinted down the floor and drew the defense as she reached the top of the key. Feeling the Hawks’ defensive pressure, Thoman sent a no-look dish to a wide-open Doherty, who drained the 3pointer as time expired. Doherty’s basket brought fans to their feet and confidence to the shooter. With newfound swagger, Doherty was lights-out in the second half, going four for six from the field to tally 15 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and a gamehigh five steals in 32 minutes.

“I thought she was solid,” Crawley said of Doherty. “She’s been very consistent since practice started. We know what she’s capable of. We were waiting for her to have a game like tonight. She makes good decisions. She makes the right pass. She’s calm and poised in the game, so we’re very confident in starting her at the three position.” With a significant lead for the entire second half – the Eagles led 70-49 with just under eight minutes to play – Crawley opted to play all of her freshmen. Guard Shayra Brown had nine second-half points, and center Katie Zenevtich also contributed eight points and six boards. The “freshman five” of Doherty, Brown, Zenevitch, guard Tiffany Ruffin, and forward Korina Chapman scored 38 of the Eagles’ 93 points. Against Hartford, just as they did against Boston University in the season opener, every Eagle scored. n

Head coach Ed Kelly and the Boston College men’s soccer team certainly remembers last year’s NCAA tournament game against Drake. After allowing one goal over their first two games in the tournament and reaching the Sweet 16, the Eagles allowed four goals in the second half and fell 6-4 in a thrilling display of offensive firepower by both teams. Looking to surpass the 2009 tournament run, the Eagles will travel to Providence on Thursday night to battle the Brown Bears (11-3-3) in the first round. BC is playing in the postseason for the fourth consecutive year, and for the ninth time under Kelly. The Eagles (10-4-5) bowed out of the ACC tournament in the second round last week with a 1-0 loss to North Carolina. Ranked as high as No. 5 in the country early in the season, they stumbled to a 2-2-4 record in ACC play, a stretch of games marked by several frustrating ties. Annually one of the strongest men’s soccer conferences in the nation, the ACC is sending five teams to the tournament this year, second only to the Big Ten. BC and Brown played four common opponents this season. Both teams defeated Boston University and Holy Cross in dominant fashion, and neither conceded a goal in either match. But while Brown struggled with Harvard and Dartmouth, tying the former and falling, 1-0, to the latter, the Eagles were able to dispatch both teams by identical scores of 2-1. Underestimating the Bears and the Ivy League, however, would be a mistake. Brown has not lost a match at home all season, and will be playing a home tournament game for the second straight year. They dominated their nonconference schedule, going undefeated against opponents from outside the Ivy League. Although they struggled to a middling fourth-place performance inside the conference, which is sending four squads to the 48-team tournament, Brown is certainly a force to be reckoned with. They outscored opponents by more than a three-to-one margin this season, allowing just .47 goals per game. The Bears’ strong defensive line is bolstered by All-Ivy goalkeeper Paul Grandstand, who posted the third low-

alex trautwig / heights editor

Chris Ager and a young back line must overcome injuries to advance in the NCAA tournament. est goals-against average in Division I this season. On the opposite side of the pitch from Grandstand will be BC keeper Justin Luthy, no slouch himself. The sophomore, who has been the starter since he first set foot on campus last year, earned a goals-against average of 1.01 this season. Luthy will be looking for his third career postseason victory against the Bears. Grandstand’s challenge will be to shut down the BC trio of Charlie Rugg, Edvin Worley, and Amit Aburmad, who accounted for over half of the team’s points during the regular season. Sophomore forwards Rugg (a first team All-ACC selection) and Worley will both

be making their second appearances in the postseason. Aburmad, a junior transfer midfielder who placed fourth in the ACC in assists this season, is the only starter who will be getting his first taste of NCAA tournament play. The winner of Thursday night’s match will face No. 11 seed UConn on Sunday afternoon in Storrs, Conn. Back in September, the Eagles fell 2-0 to the Huskies, their only defeat this season by multiple goals. If they wish to avenge that loss, and give themselves an opportunity to surpass last year’s tournament performance, they must take care of business in Providence first. n

SPORTS THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, November 18, 2010

A10

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2010

The seniors’ moment

Winning despite the coaching PAUL SULZER

ALEX TRAUTWIG / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Thomas Claiborne embraces head coach Frank Spaziani after sealing the win against Clemson three weeks ago. He, along with 16 other seniors, will play his final home game Saturday. BY IAN BOYNTON For The Heights

They have played in two ACC championship games, and have been ranked as high as No. 2 in the BCS standings. They have gone “bowling” in each of their seasons at Boston College, undergone three coaching changes, and experienced seasons of 10 and 11 wins. When all is said and done, though, it may be this turbulent season that is the most memorable for a group of seniors on the football team that includes Thomas Claiborne, Alex Albright, James McCluskey, Wes Davis, and the incomparable Mark Herzlich. For the ﬁrst time in their careers at the Heights, the Eagles, sitting at 5-5, are ﬁghting for bowl eligibility in the 11th hour. But amid the disappointment of a

season that at one point was marred by a five-game losing streak, there has been an incredible display of character by a senior class that will take the field of Alumni Stadium on Saturday for the last time. Once 2-5, BC revived a season previously in turmoil, winning its last three contests against Clemson, Wake Forest, and Duke, in spite of losing the on-field presence of seniors Albright, Davis, DeLeon Gause, and Rich Lapham to injury. Without the ability to affect

Saturday, 12 p.m. Live blog on bcheights.com/sports

the game on the field, their presence off the field has increased, exemplifying true leadership. “[DeLeon Gause and I] both said that we have never been more proud of a defense ever, or of a win,” Albright said. “I think the way this team has come together means a lot more than us being on the field and potentially losing. I’d rather see this team come together like they have. Being the senior class, it’s great to see that we were able to come together as a team and win these last couple of games.” The Eagles, who need six victories to become bowl eligible, sit just one win short of capping off an improbable comeback of a season. With three, or in some cases four, bowl berths under their belts, the senior

Senior Day, A8

Entire team chips in to blow out Hartford BY DREW MCKAY For The Heights

NICK RELLAS / HEIGHTS STAFF

Freshman Kristen Doherty broke out in her second game, scoring 15 points off the bench.

Freshmen aren’t supposed to contribute to a winning basketball team this early in the Boston College 93 season. Try tell66 Hartford ing that to the Boston College women’s basketball team after Monday’s home opener. The Eagles dominated the Hartford Hawks, 93-66, with aggressive defense and tremendous second-half shooting from the whole squad. Forcing 24 turnovers and shooting 62 percent from the ﬁeld in the second half, BC took down the 2010 America East champions with what head coach Sylvia Crawley deemed outstanding team cohesion. “We have great chemistry off the court, so that just kind of trickles down to the court,” Crawley said after the game. “I thought we played well together.” The Hawks set a physical tone early, forcing the Eagles into poor shots, resulting in an early Hartford 8-4 lead. Point guard Jaclyn Thoman soon took

control, though, displaying some spectacular passing ability as she guided the Eagles to a 25-8 lead 10 minutes into the ﬁrst half. “Jaclyn Thoman, our senior, led us with 10 assists tonight,” Crawley said. “Excellent, excellent job by her. I thought we did a great job of ﬁnding the open person.” BC only built its lead from there, cruising into the locker room with a 4018 advantage. The Eagles’ low-post players contributed 40 points, largely due to Thoman’s dishes. Forward Stefanie Murphy and center Carolyn Swords imposed their will for the entire game. Murphy led the Eagles with 24 points, while Swords contributed 16 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, her second straight doubledouble. The dominance of the low-post senior duo is not unusual, but unexpected was the breakout performance of freshman forward Kristen Doherty. Doherty,

See Blowout, A9

Eagles prepare for surging Black Bears BY DIANA C. NEARHOS Heights Senior Staff

The Boston College men’s hockey team has settled into a routine. For four weeks, since its first loss of the year to Notre Dame, it has alternated wins and losses. This weekend, the Eagles are striving to buck that tendency and sweep the University of Maine (6-1-3, 4-0-1 Hockey East) in a two-game home series. “We’ve got to play more consistently,” said head coach Jerry York. “We’ve shown f lashes of being a very good hockey team, but we haven’t been able to sustain that. Our goal is to play well, but play well for a long duration of time.” No. 3 Maine is in the midst of a trend of its own: the Black Bears haven’t lost since Oct. 15 to Michigan State, compiling a 5-0-1 record and rising to second

in the Hockey East in the process. No. 10 BC, who entered the season as the top team in the country, is locked in a threeway tie for third in the conference. “We’re keeping our head above water,” York said. “Are we satisﬁed with where we are? No, not really. But we’re still in the race.” If BC can knock off Maine, it can be closer to where it wants to be. The Black Bears will not make it easy for the Eagles. They come to Chestnut Hill with the conference’s top two scorers in forwards Spencer Abbott and Gustav Nyquist. Abbott has 16 points on eight goals and eight assists, and Nyquist has contributed four goals and 11 assists for 15 points. “They’re playing one of the most dynamic forwards in the country with Gustav Nyquist, and he presents all kinds of challenges,” York said. “He kind of

I NSIDE SPORTS THIS ISSUE

stirs the whole pot. He’s their leader. We have to make sure we’re aware of when he’s on the ice and try to contain him as much as we can.” Nyquist and Abbott lead the conference’s top offense, which has received at least one goal from 14 different players. In all, the Black Bears have scored 41 goals for a 4.1 goal-per-game average, 10 more than the second-place New Hampshire offense.

Friday, 7 p.m. & Sunday, 1 p.m. Live blog on bcheights.com/sports

Kuechly earns national attention

The dominant linebacker was named to the Bronko Nagurski ﬁnalist list............A8

To counter Nyquist’s threat, the Eagles must bring a tough defense to the game, which will be helped by the return of defenseman and assistant captain Tommy Cross, who had been out with a knee injury the past three weeks. Cross was expected to be practicing with full contact on Tuesday, York said. Goaltender John Muse has been strong in goal so far this season. He owns a 1.46 goals-against average and .945 save percentage, both tops in the Hockey East, and has recorded two shutouts early in the season. Fellow goaltender Parker Milner, who will likely start one of the two home games, has endured a relative sophomore slump. In his three starts, Milner is 1-2 with a 2.70 goals-against average, allowing eight goals on 80 shots.

See Maine Preview, A8

Women’s soccer rests up for West Virginia

The Big East tournament champions stand between BC and the Elite Eight.............................A9

The toughest obstacles the Boston College football team have had to overcome this season are the decisions of the coaching staff. The Eagles have the talent to compete with every team on their schedule, but they put themselves at a competitive disadvantage with conservative clock management and play-calling at the end of games. These issues are a microcosm of the problems that have plagued the Eagles throughout the season. To be fair, the coaches have been more inspired recently. Allowing Chase Rettig to air the ball out more in the past few weeks has opened up running lanes for Montel Harris that were closed before, when the team lacked the threat of the long ball. The offense is more balanced than it used to be. The offensive line play is also noticeably better. The Eagles are winning battles at the point of attack that they weren’t a month ago. Much of the credit there goes to good coaching. These improvements, which led to BC’s current three-game winning streak, don’t excuse the appalling decisions that have nearly cost BC victories in two of those games. Head coach Frank Spaziani’s clock management against Duke jeopardized what should have been a comfortable win. The Blue Devils cut the Eagles’ lead to five with 12:05 left in the fourth quarter when Spaziani and offensive coordinator Gary Tranquill decided to begin running out the clock. BC ran three straight rush plays for eight yards before punting. Why not try a play-action pass? Duke was expecting a run. It was way too early to milk time off the clock. Time management was just as much of a problem in the final minute as it was earlier in the quarter. The Eagles burned their final timeout when Duke had the ball on the BC 3-yard line with 0:49 left. It was fourth and three, and the Blue Devils had just taken a timeout. Max Holloway swatted down Sean Renfree’s pass to force a turnover on downs and win the game for BC. But what if Duke had scored? That burned timeout would have made any last-second comeback attempt almost impossible. The Eagles won, but conservative play-calling and time management decisions create a culture of playing not to lose – a culture in which it’s acceptable to hope opponents beat themselves. This is not a formula for excellence. While BC is poised to earn a bowl invite for the 12th straight season, expectations should be higher than that. They were when the season began. Despite the recent success, this season will be remembered for what could have been. The schedule was easier than any in recent memory. With favorable crossover, out of conference, and divisional match-ups, the Eagles could have won 10 or 11 games. They certainly have the talent. Harris is the best running back in the ACC, and the defense is the best against the run in the nation. Mismanagement of the quarterback situation and the offensive line stunted the team’s development. It took the Eagles until the fourth game to settle on a starting quarterback. That’s inexcusable. Rettig enrolled in January, so the coaching staff had all spring and all summer to evaluate him. He’s proven he’s the best quarterback on the team. He should have been starting from day one. It took the staff even longer to find the proper mix on the offensive line – BC’s traditional strength. The team would have moved the ball more consistently this year if Mark Spinney had played at center from the beginning. The Eagles can still salvage some pride and go to a lower-tier bowl. Unless Spaziani changes his coaching philosophy, though, that will become the new measuring stick of the program’s success. For a university with a motto like “Ever to Excel,” mediocrity is simply not good enough.

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

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

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2010

SCULPTORS OF THE SCENE

KEVIN HOU / HEIGHTS EDITOR

DRAWING ON STUDENTS AND FACULTY ALIKE, WE SPOTLIGHT THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE REDEFINED OUR PERCEPTION OF THE ARTS. BY KRISTEN HOUSE A R T S & R E V I E W E D I T O R ZAK JASON A S S O C . A R T S & R E V I E W E D I T O R ALLISON THERRIEN A S S T. A R T S & R E V I E W E D I T O R

or the past year, we have gotten to know the men and women of Boston College through their individual artistic voices. We may only know some of you for the joke that you told that made us laugh, or as Martha and George in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. This kind of work is the sole material that drives our praise, our criticism and our debates. If we’ve learned one thing from this job, it’s that the arts are intended to be a reciprocal medium. That is to say, art can shape our lives just as much as we can shape art. Our job is made that much more gratifying by people who constantly reimagine the deﬁnition

LOOK

HOW FRIENDS INSPIRE A MAN’S POETRY AND COMEDY B2

LISTEN

AN ARCHITECT WHO REALIZED HIS MUSICAL VISION B3

LAUGH

A COMEDIAN’S POTENTIAL FOR CREATIVE FREEDOM B5

and potential of art on our campus. The collection of artists chosen for this issue represents the multifaceted nature of our artistic community. It is a collection of Renaissance men and women who both create art and perpetuate artistic tradition. While each person in this collection crafts a spirited, innovative, consummate body of work, they are by no means the best artists of this University. We haven’t the room to showcase every student or professor artist who breathes life onto this campus. This is simply a sampling of digniﬁed artists whose inspired work we hope compels you to sculpt a scene of your own.

TEACH

AN EXPLORATION OF THE GOTHIC AND COMIC CONNECTION B5

ROAST

MASTERMINDS OF CAMPUS’ SATIRICAL NEWS OUTLET B3

CRAFT

A WRITER’S PASSION FOR SHARPENING HIS TRADE B4

THE HEIGHTS

A fond farewell to The Scene Not many people know this, but when I was three years old, I played the part of a dwarf, of Snow White and the Seven KRISTEN HOUSE Dwarfs fame, with 12 other three year olds. I had the conical, yet floppy, red hat, the unfortunate brown balloon pants, and coordinated red shovel. With barely enough linguistic power to ask for a PB&J, I stormed out onto the stage of the auditorium. While the 11 children around me hopped and skipped, I clung on to one piece of the choreography: I kept digging with my plastic shovel. I dug, and dug, and dug. I dug once more just to be sure. Working as an Arts Editor for the past two years has been a carbon copy of this three-year-old memory. While I’ve been digging and doing my own thing, I have watched my fellow dwarfs (i.e., my fellow editors and peers) embody the kids who could remember the choreography. If I have one suggestion for anyone coming into college, it would be to appreciate the minds of the people around you. My intent throughout my tenure as Arts Editor was to absorb the inspiring ideas of the people around me. Article ideas would start with an illuminating moment in the office, when I would be looking at my latte and wondering what it would be like to write an article about entertainment pairings: Which drinks go best with which movies? As I recall, we ended up with a graphic of Free Willy jumping out of a crisp tumbler of vodka. We’ve had many a meeting in the bowels of McElroy, in our beloved newsroom, contemplating auto-tune, Saturday Night Live, and the merits of reimagining the cast of classic movies. I’ve been a spectator at everything from cultural dance shows to a presentation of The Seagull at A.R.T. In between have been many nights full of Tim and Eric videos on Adult Swim and brownie blast frappes from the Chocolate Bar (thanks for supplementing my meal plan, Mom and Dad). I’m unsure what I will do with an open Wednesday and Sunday in the coming semester. I’ll not only be abroad, but I’ll be away from the 38 people who have had the most in-depth look at my sense of humor and personality to date. I’m fairly certain I’ll never attend a movie again without thinking about how many stars out of five I would give it and the pithy title I would write in Arts & Review. While I fully expect my time here to become a kind of phantom limb, I am incredibly eager to see the work that the succeeding editors will come up with. I’ve been awestruck and honored to have watched and commented on the state of the arts on this campus. I’ve laughed myself stupid at Fleabag shows, felt emotionally moved by the productions of Eurydice and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and seen incredible feats in movement and artistic design, and that’s only a brief gloss. Boston College students have an increasingly open sensibility when it comes to art, and I feel a palpable sense that achievements in this field will only explode in the coming years. There is a kind of Renaissance student, who can play the guitar, be a biology major, and have a secret flair for ballroom dancing. I know people like this exist, and they are morphing the conceptions of a school that has always been known for it’s sporty spirit. I have always looked at The Scene (and Arts & Review, for that matter) as a forum for celebration of this spirit, giving students an opportunity to develop their skills for critique and innovation. This artistic dialogue that I have been a part of producing for the past two years has always come from a place of respect and encouragement for the process of every student artist. I eagerly await the next chapter of the arts’ story. Without further delay, let me say from the bottom of my heart, to everyone I have worked with: Thank you for inspiring me to put down my shovel, stop digging, and dance.

Kristen House is the Arts & Review Editor for The Heights. She can be reached at houseka@bc.edu.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

THE FRUIT OF FRIENDS MIKE WOLF IS AN IMPROV COMEDIAN, A POET, A MUSICIAN, AND A WRITER. HIS FRIENDS CARRY HIM THROUGH.

MIKE WOLF KEVIN HOU / HEIGHTS EDITOR

“

BY Z A K JAS O N | ASS O C. A RTS E D I TO R

My ﬁrst instinct was, I hate this kid. He’s everything I want to be and I’m not,” lamented Mike Wolf, A&S ’12. He wasn’t referring to any of his heroes, like comedians Zach Galiﬁanakis and Michael Ian Black, or poets Walt Whitman and Allen Ginsberg. He was referring to a “Newton kid,” a fellow freshman at the time, Richard Hoyt, A&S ’12. In high school, Wolf unearthed an album from a record store by the obscure indie folk band Page France, assuming no one else on campus had heard of it. Until one day, freshman year, he overhead Hoyt play a song by them, and learned that Hoyt owned the band’s entire catalogue. The two then quickly discovered each other’s endlessly overlapping interests in comedy, poetry, music, and women. A creative relationship quickly bloomed. Mike Wolf’s list of endeavors read like a what’s what in the Boston College arts community. When he’s not practicing and performing

olf grew up in Springfield, Mass. With three older siblings and four younger siblings, he lived in a house of unceasing dialogue and performance. In high school, he dabbled in guitar, writing, and theater, but never found a creative outlet to which he could devote himself. Soon after entering BC, however, the curly-haired, wide-eyed Wolf joined improv troupe My Mother’s Fleabag, and found a medium that demanded both a high level of dialogue and performance. Though he had no background in improv, Wolf appreciated the challenge of reconfiguring his brain to thrive in off-the-cuff comedy. “You have to train your mind to think in a different sort of way,” he said. “It’s about learning to let yourself free the part of your mind that blocks, that’s over-analytical, and tapping into the pure creative energy.” Even the most dynamic, physical, laser-sharp, witty performer can fumble with the wrong audience. Wolf says this is where the dialogue aspect takes over. “A good audience is key,” Wolf said. “Over the past few years, I’ve really realized the difference between pleasing an audience and pandering to an audience. It’s important to give an audience something they want. If you’re up there and you’re performing for yourself, that’s fine, you might do a good show, but you really have to know who you’re performing for and try to make it enjoyable for them. But you can’t pander.” Beyond the skills he’s developed from six hours of practice each week and six hours of practice each night the week before a show, Wolf said his spirited performance derives from the zeal of his colleagues. “I’m so blown away and impressed by the people I’m on stage with,” he proclaimed, and explained how they compel him to continually sharpen his craft. While Fleabag remains Wolf’s primary endeavor, he has become increasingly involved in other arts. During his freshman year, he also befriended Ryan McDaid, BC ’10. Between collaborating with him in music and on WZBC and the popular Senior Five film series last year, Wolf felt inspired by his ebullience and cult of personality. “He was a really great driving force. And I definitely rode his energy,” he said. Since freshman year, he has filled his life outside of class with the arts on campus. Yet, that busyness fulfills him. “You need to have a structure,” he said. “Otherwise it all falls to the wayside. When I have free time, I find myself just looking up YouTube videos.” Above all, however, Hoyt galvanizes Wolf to hone

improv with My Mother’s Fleabag, he’s crafting poetry on his own or for the blog he and Hoyt created, departmentofromancelanguages.blogspot. com. When he’s not writing songs with his friends, he’s concocting a new art project, like his series of collages in the upcoming independent student art exhibit Home, showcased in the O’Connell House this weekend. When he’s not hosting a jazz show for WZBC, he’s editing his humor column for The Heights. Such fervent ambition, such relentless pursuit – Wolf initially appears to strive for something far beyond the Heights, to aim for the international appeal of the master poets, comedians, and writers. Yet, the vast majority of his inspiration pours from his peers on campus. A desire to entertain them, to reach their artistic level, to feed off their energy, to push them and himself, as he said, “further than we ever imagined.”

I don’t know Ginsberg and Whitman. I don’t know their struggles. But Richard lives down the street. He can come over for coffee and we can talk about our poetry or anything. COURTESY OF MIKE WOLF

in on his art. At the end of the interview, Wolf stayed to stress Hoyt’s signiﬁcance. “I’ve never found a person where I’ve been able to have so much dialogue in so little conversation,” he said. “He’s a big inspiration, because Ginsberg, Whitman, and all these other people – I don’t know them. I don’t know their struggles, I just have this idea of them. But Richard lives down the street. He can come over for a coffee and we can talk about whatever. And I can see he’s working on poems. And

I have to work on poems, too. Because if I don’t, I’m going to fall behind. It’s nice to know someone’s out there with the same sort of goals and somebody I can try to ﬁgure it all out with.” A far cry from the lonely, isolated, introverted writer’s life. “Let’s say I get a job as a lighthouse keeper. I have a simple job and I have lots of time to write. I don’t think I could come up with as much interesting art on my own as when I have other people to interact with.”

The Heights

Thursday, November 18, 2010

a 21-year vision Sebastian Bonaiuto

How one man took on the task of building an award-winning bands program and a reputation for excellence

By A llison T herrien | asst. arts editor

couple of days ago, Sebastian Bonaiuto removed a framed photograph from the wall of his office and showed it to me. In the picture was a group of students and Bonaiuto himself on their first trip as an ensemble in 1988. “This one is a professional musician,” he said, pointing to one student. “That one is the director of bands at Georgia University. He is a very successful lawyer in Chicago, and she is actually a working actress in New York City.” Then he singled out a student in the back row. “This is Dave Healey,” he said, and my eyes found the figure of the boy who, 22 years later, is both director of the Screaming Eagles Marching Band and assistant director of bands at Boston College. Now I’m intrigued. When Bonaiuto first came to BC in 1985 to earn an MBA in the Graduate Carroll School of Management, it was Healey – then an undergraduate – who forged his first connection with performance groups on campus. “David Healey started BC bOp!, and he asked me if I would direct the group,” said Bonaiuto, who was working at a consulting firm at the time. “So I would come in in the evenings after my day job.” Before too long, he had won an award for his work as BC bOp! director from the Office of the Dean for Student

Development, and a new position became available: director of bands. “I switched careers,” he told me with a smirk. “And I then proceeded to make a lot of changes.” The band’s program that exists at BC today is in large part the manifestation of a vision Bonaiuto had in the face of a small collection of performance groups that, when he first arrived, lacked both continuity and staying power. Though both the marching band and pep band were in place, most initiatives to create other student ensembles went out the door with students as they graduated. “My goal was to create a full-featured bands program,” Bonaiuto said. Today, his goal has been realized in the form of six ensembles serving 250 students. Just listening to Bonaiuto talk about the music he loves would make anyone certain that this man has indeed found what he himself deems his “calling.” “I love Bach,” he said. “I especially love the slower of Bach’s pieces, because they hold within them so many treasures that, although he was able to express them in his faster-tempo music, in his slower music, they’re all so much more accessible.” He embraces variety in his musical choices, alternating between selections by local composers like Michael Gandolfi and classic standards from the likes of Beethoven

or Shostakovich. He also admits a deep love of Spanish music, and recently incorporated Roderigo Valencia’s “Adagio” into a show by the University Wind Ensemble, an ensemble he created in 2005. Bonaiuto’s passion for both his job and humor about life are equally potent. “This is my 21st year here,” Bonaiuto said. “Or, there are two ways to say it – that I’m entering my 21st year or that I’m entering my third decade, whichever one sounds most impressive.” He believes equally in human potential and artistic power and knows that the arts go hand-in-hand with academics. “Great institutions deserve great art,” he likes to say. “You live an enriched, whole, and complete life when you are engaged by the arts.” The success Bonaiuto has achieved simultaneously as an educator, a conductor, a director, and an artist has been shaped by his own very personal definition of music – a definition he was kind enough to share. “Music,” he described, “is an abstract expression of our humanity. We make a certain sense out of the world through art, and we are nourished by art as human beings.” Bonaiuto is a source of wisdom and guidance for his students, and a true embodiment of music’s potential to shape and inspire both performers and listeners alike.

kevin hou / heights editor

“I switched careers,” he told me with a smirk. “And I then proceeded to make a lot of changes.”

‘Classic’ tomfoolery

We try to curb the bathroom humor, which has been harder this year ... but we’ll get headlines and get an idea. Like “Baldwin kicked out for laying an egg out of wedlock.” — Jimmy Melia

Wade bass, sutton dewey, tom christie, and jimmy melia

By K R I ST E N H O US E | arts editor

f there’s one thing we can thank Boston College ResLife for, it’s spiting the founding members of the New England Classic, Katie Forberg and Jacqui Geaney, both BC ’10. For their sophomore year, they landed in a double on College Road. The industrious pair came up with the ultimate solution: they would knock down the walls of their spread out doubles to create the desired eight-man. From there, they imagined a world where this would be headline news. A few months later, the first New England Classic was born. The women passed the proverbial sandwich to Jimmy Melia, Sutton Dewey, Wade Bass, and Tom Christie, all A&S ’11, who now create and distribute the best four-page pamphlet of satire you’ll find this side of Stokes Commons. The paper is shrouded in a glorious cloak of mystique – popping up on McElroy tables and in Merkert biology labs alike, eliciting a response that is always positive. It’s impossible not to pass up a guffaw at an article entitled, “ResLife throws in the towel, leaves housing to territorial warfare.” Melia, Dewey, Bass, and Christie have been integral in the expansion of the independently produced paper, increasing the total issues published to about three per semester. Seated on the square couch formation in Corcoran Commons, Dewey takes a savory bite out of his heated sub while Melia and Bass talk about their workloads for the week. They talk back and forth with humor acutely timed to each other’s sensibilities. It isn’t difficult to discern the origin of their endless inspiration for jokes. But what makes an NEC idea entertaining enough for the page? Bass noted that they are inclined to appreciate the non-obvious, “Like, ‘Okay, we’ve done bro jokes for three years now.’ If they’re few and far between they can be funny,

but everyone can talk about food at McElroy or something. If you’re going to talk about that, how can you spin it in a new way?” Melia agreed, “We try to curb the bathroom humor, which has been harder this year — we used to have more of a female influence — but we’ll get headlines and get an idea. Like ‘Baldwin kicked out for laying an egg out of wedlock.’” With these guidelines in mind, the group also keeps a keen eye on the BC community and the almost 300-person listserv that is liable to send in golden headline suggestions. This equal sharing of ideas is an integral component of their creative process. “If you submit to us, it’s communism,” Wade commented. The NEC lacks bylines of any kind, and the group always signs its e-mails as the “New England Classic,” preserving a veil of anonymity that enhances the enigmatic pull to its pages. So, how do the guys react when they see their work in the hands of their peers? “One time I saw a girl like see it on her desk and kind of go like this [violently scatters New England Classics to the floor] and kind of put her stuff down. So, I felt really good after that time,” Bass said. “That made it all worth it,” Melia added. “That’s what I’m doing it for,” Bass affirmed. For every ignorant Eaglette who brushes the newsletters off her desk, there are throngs of truly appreciative readers. Melia recalled an especially epic moment in the history of his NEC career: “I was handing [the paper] out and I was wearing my [NEC] t-shirt and there was a boy and a girl sitting at a table — they were sophomores — and the girl goes, ‘What is this?’ and the boy goes, ‘This is greatness.’” Bass shoots Melia a solemn look, “That’s so epic.” The men of the NEC see ample room to expand the publication’s repertoire. All agreed that

It’s on your mcelroy table, your cheverus study lounge chair, and your mother’s kitchen counter. where does ‘the new england classic’ come from? who’s behind it?

they find a great deal of inspiration in The Onion. “I think it helps us to get out of BC because personally, I don’t know if I have the visors on, but I’m usually trying to make fun of BC,” Dewey noted. “We’ll go on The Onion while we’re typing up the issue and say, ‘Okay, we should have an issue about current events here.’” For the future, they envision room for satirical crossword puzzles, horoscopes, and even movies, constantly inspired by the satirical juggernaut. Part of their vision for growth acknowledges the fact that all four of them are seniors. Dewey talked about passing the ways of the Classic to eager, up-and-coming writers, especially freshmen and sophomores. “We’re trying to preen them to take it over,” Dewey said.

“Good use of ‘preen,’” Bass quipped. As the group continues to attract interest, which it will undoubtedly be able to accomplish, it will be interesting to see what projects the organization takes on. In just one conversation with this charismatic crew, it wasn’t hard for me to picture a future with a multi-section publication that increases its page count by the year. Above all else, Melia described the NEC as a “little contraband thing, like a newsletter that was passed around during revolutionary times.” “So what you’re saying is that we’re activists,” Bass noted. “We’re not activists. We’re definitely not activists.”

kevin hou / heights editor

The Heights

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Sunrise Hours carlo rotella alex trautwig / HEIGHTS EDITOR

If I don’t write for a while, I start having horrible, gory nightmares. There’s a compulsiveness to it. But you also have to be purposeful in organizing your time and knowing when you write best.

Carlo rotella directs the american studies program and the lowell humanities series, and raises two pre-teen daughters. he’s also bC’s most nationally prominent writer.

by z a k jason | assoc. arts editor

hile most sane humans reserve the hours of 5 to 7 a.m. for sleeping, Carlo Rotella spends them typing at his desk. “Each of those hours is worth two or three hours later in the day,” the bespectacled professor said. It’s not a matter of superhero productivity. He has no choice. Once 7 a.m. strikes, a day’s worth of other obligations emerge: walking his 7 and 9-year-old daughters to school, or traveling home from the Midwest after a week of reporting on the NBA’s Development League and editing and grading student papers on the flight, or trekking to China for interviews for a story, or training for a marathon, or teaching on campus throughout the afternoon, or presenting a lecture in Boston. At Boston College, Carlo Rotella directs both the American Studies Program and the Lowell Humanities Series, which lures prominent writers, artists, and scholars to speak on campus. He teaches magazine writing in the English department, the introductory course to American Studies, and The City in American Literature and Culture in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Most American readers know Rotella as a cogent, probing, prolific magazine writer. In the past decade, he’s written for Sports Illustrated, Harper’s, Boston, The New Yorker, and regularly in The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post Magazine, The Boston Globe, and Slate. Movie reviews, columns on urban development, child psychology studies, profiles on an Irish boxer, the Massachusetts governor, the preeminent Washington D.C. crime novelist, the secretary of education, and immersion journalism at Jazz Fantasy Camp. Many of his colleagues squawk at his double life, some suspecting he owns a time bubble that allows him to work as time stands still. Yet he assures us, it’s not a matter of superhero productivity. What is it then? How does he balance the professor’s life with the writer’s life and the father and husband’s life and the runner’s life and the occasional guitarist’s life?

otella grew up in Chicago, filling his time watching Larry Holmes box on ABC’s Wide World of Sports, reading Jack Vance science fiction novels,

and writing on his own. As a teenager, a columnist from the Chicago Daily News made him realize he could make a living by writing. “You’re aware of writing before you’re aware of writers,” Rotella said, in his office. “But the first columnist I was aware of was Mike Royko, the great metro columnist, who wrote six columns a week. He took Sundays off. He had an incredibly clean style. His sentences were so clean that there weren’t even a lot of commas.” If you’ve read any of Rotella’s books (October Cities, Cut Time, and Good With Their Hands) or even a couple of his columns, you’ll know that this style also applies to Rotella. His words have a way of slicing through an issue in the most direct way. Rotella continued, “Royko was the first person I was aware of as a person who wrote for a living. I read him and thought, ‘That’s this guy’s job. He writes his story, 750 words a day.’” After graduating from Wesleyan University, Rotella moved to New York and worked for a think tank and the Department of Education. In the midst of this, he discovered another source of inspiration, this time not a writer but an image. “I was on a Metro-North train coming back to New York, and there was a guy editing a manuscript on the train,” Rotella said. “I was there again thinking, ‘That’s this guy’s job.’ He’s got 300 double-spaced pages, and he’s making them better. I don’t know if he wrote it or somebody else wrote it. But it was one of those moments where you think, if you want that to be your job, how do you get there?” For Rotella, a PhD from Yale granted him the skills and experience to embody that image. During his time in New York, he couldn’t sculpt exactly what he wanted in writing, couldn’t ground himself in a specific field or style. Graduate school granted him the time and resources to meditate on what kind of writing most appealed to him and what subjects he wrote about best. In 1998, he published his first book, October Cities: The Redevelopment of Urban Literature. While Yale sharpened his vision in writing, Chicago defined what he looked at. “Where I’m from dictated the first set of stories that I wanted to tell, about the transformation of the city, especially the industrial city,” Rotella said. “Chicago in

the ’70s has shaped a lot of what I started out doing, and in terms of sensibility and aesthetics and the kind of history I’m interested in. I love industrial cities, all of them, because I grew up in Chicago. All of that, it will always matter to me.” Along the way, he has profiled childhood heroes like Larry Holmes and Jack Vance in his writing. A few years later, Rotella landed a teaching job at BC. At this point, Rotella confessed, “In a lot of ways the very tight, small, wrinkled up landscape of Boston is feeling as normal to me as that stretched out, flat land.” As more experiences of the Hub compile, Boston has become a primary muse for Rotella.

oday he writes a column for The Boston Globe almost every week, and regularly composes radio essays for WGBH Boston. “One of the reasons I do [these] is because it’s a good way to get to know the place where you live better. You sort of write your way into a place,” he said, drawing an invisible box with his hands. Dozens of professors across Boston write regularly in Boston publications. But Rotella also pumps out elephantine pieces for national publications on a seemingly weekly basis. What compels him to do this? How does he manage it? “It definitely doesn’t come naturally,” Rotella revealed. “A lot of it is dictated by feel. If I don’t write for a while, I start having horrible, gory nightmares. There’s a compulsiveness to it that drives some of it. But you also have to be very purposeful about organizing your time and knowing when you write best.” Rotella writes most prolifically in the early morning hours, as the rest of the city slumbers. “I try not to waste those hours as a general rule.” Ultimately, like a carpenter or a boxer or a pianist, Rotella has a throbbing passion for mastering his craft. “There’s a kind of deep satisfaction in finding the right words – or finding the approximate right words – for something and then making then making them better and then making them better and then making them better and refining it and sharpening the focus,” he said. “I think that’s kind of a craft satisfaction that you find all over the place, it’s not just in writing. It just happens to be the thing that picked me, or that I picked.”

Still a dunce, but now a zealous dunce When I became an Arts & Review editor, I knew almost nothing about the arts. In 19 years of life, I had never seen a ballet or a culture show or even a theater production, save for a Zak Jason seventh grade field trip to The Gifts of the Magi. The main thing I remember about The Gifts of the Magi was my friend laughing at how you could see Della’s underwear. My fellow editors berated me when I asked, “Who’s Julie Andrews?” Two years, some 100 issues, 400 pages, and more than 100 articles written later, my knowledge of the arts remains infantile. But my appreciation and fascination with the world of arts, thanks to this job and especially thanks to the artists and performers of Boston College, has had a hormonally explosive growth spurt. Before joining The Heights, I admittedly had little interest in seeing performances on campus. If Boston hosted some of the most established, masterful, buzzworthy bands and comedians and dances in the country, why waste my time watching 19-year-old students try to act in Othello? How edgy and innovative could a band be if its members opted to go to a traditional Jesuit university? Until I started writing regularly for The Heights, these pretensions and stereotypes pulled me from the BC arts world. But soon after I peeked through the curtain blocking the arts of this campus, I ripped the entire thing down. On a Friday night in November 2008 I saw Stuart Hecht’s production of Angels in America. I had little expectations. But on a tight budget and little time, Hecht and his students created a threeand-a-half hour spectacle, blasting away with riveting music, props, and compelling performances. A healthy 20-year-old, tame, heterosexual stu-

dent played a convincing diabolical homosexual dying of AIDS. It beat swigging shots with my roommates. It beat seeing the latest indie band at the nearest sweaty rock club. Later that month I became Arts editor, and rode that interest and passion throughout my tenure. Nothing in my previous experience drove me to review an Asian Caucus slam poetry show or a modern pointe dance performance or a production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Yet covering those performances proved more rewarding than anything I would of attended on my own. Because time and time again, the students shattered my expectations. Remember those Holiday Inn Express commercials? The ones where the guy saves the nuclear power plant from a meltdown and then someone asks if he’s a physicist and he says, “No, I’m with the tour group, but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night.” I’ve felt like that guy for the past two years. I’m wildly unqualified for this role. Hundreds of you know much, much more than I do about film or pop music or the nuances of slam poetry or a cappella or Jesuit interpretative dance. Maybe not the last one. But those inspired student performances have propelled me to write with a spirit I didn’t know I had in me. Really I’m just a lucky guy who happened to find this position. Though I maybe haven’t imbued the campus with much knowledge of the arts, I hope to have spread some zeal for the arts on campus. But as my role ends, I’d like to offer a final word. Whenever you’re feeling bogged down by the monotony of plugging away with schoolwork, or whenever you’re questioning the value of your education, or whenever you need a moment to breath, check out some play or dance or comedy show on campus. They make it all worth while.

Zak Jason is the Assoc. Arts & Review Editor for The Heights. He can be reached at review@bc.edu.

Extended Interviews

Online

Want to read more of Rotella on boxing? Lewis on Poe? Mike Wolf on the art of improv? Check out their full interviews at bcheights.com/thescene.

THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, November 18, 2010

SCARED SILLY BY K R I ST E N H O U S E | A RTS E D I T O R

PAUL LEWIS

since Boston is generally so keen on sharing its layered f you’ve ever met with history with residents and tourists alike (just look at the English professor Paul 2.5 mile Freedom Trail). Lewis seized the opportunity. Lewis in his office in CarGraphics of a raven superimposed over a colonial map of ney Hall, what you’ll notice Boston advertising The Raven and the Frog Pond were pepfirst is his door, sprinkled with pered throughout the city, and the exhibit drew in an incredible cutouts of Jon Stewart and Edgar number of curious viewers. By the end of the year, Lewis was Allen Poe quotes and drawings. awarded the BC 2010 Arts Council Faculty Award, commemorating When you enter his office, you’ll find his achievements in moving campus’ awareness of art forward. a photograph of Lewis with members Between producing this exhibit and teaching popular BC English of My Mothers Fleabag, and bookshelves courses like his one on humor, Lewis finds time to freelance. Among lined with a few jet-black ravens as a nod the various publications he contributes to, he blogs for the The to Poe’s famous tale. It becomes evident that New York Times “Room for Debate,” with his most recent this is a man who holds the unlikely combinatopic concerning Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert’s “Rally tion of humor in one hand and a boundless to Restore Sanity.” So as a critic and lover of humor, who is understanding of Gothic literature in Lewis’ favorite comedian? “My interest in humor is not so much focused the other. on professional comedy, so — although I do have performers that I like, Lewis followed an such as Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert — they tend to be satirists, not atypical path toward becoming a specialist in comedians,” Lewis qualified. humor. “Strangely enough,” he mulled, “this If there is one thing with which this campus — nay, all of humanity — is [focus on humor studies] grew out of an interall too familiar, it is the close relationship between darkness and light, est in fear. I wrote my doctoral dissertation on humor and fear. Shadowing Lewis for even a brief hour can illuminate Gothic fiction, and at some point I noticed that funny things the intricacies of this absurd web of life in the most innovative of sometimes happen in the middle of frightening stories.” This ways. dynamic essence of the relationship between fear and humor In his humor class, Lewis says his main “idea has unfailingly captured Lewis’ attention over the years, to the is to complicate the notion that humor is always RACHEL GREGORIO / HEIGHTS ILLUSTRATION benefit of the Boston area. beneficial,” implying that the most fruitful studies of life lie “In the Gothic,” Lewis explained, “humor operates in different within exploring our own complications. ways that grow out of mystery and fear. There are characters who are threatened and laugh off their fear, and characters who try to do this but fail, so they sink deeper into the fear. Mystery itself, the unknown, provokes a range I WROTE MY DOCof responses from Holmesian deduction and rational investigation to frozen TORAL DISSERTAterror and desperate flight.” Inextricably linked to Lewis’ love and study of fear and humor is the work TION ON GOTHIC of Poe. Poe, in Lewis’ opinion, is the author who “most richly explored” the FICTION, AND two emotions within his Gothic body of work. AT SOME POINT 2010 marked the Poe Bicentennial, and when Lewis noted that the city of I NOTICED THAT Boston was projected to be quiet, at best, on the subject, he decided to take action. Lewis teamed up with Katherine Kim, GA&S ’15, to correct this overFUNNY THINGS sight. “The work on Poe in Boston has to do with the fact that, although Poe SOMETIMES HAPis arguably the most influential writer ever born here, the connection has not PEN IN THE MIDbeen widely acknowledged or celebrated in the city,” Lewis remarked. DLE OF FRIGHTENLewis, Kim, fellow Poe scholars, many collaborators from the Boston Public ING STORIES. Library, and Boston College collaborated to create The Raven in the Frog Pond, an exhibit which explored Edgar Allen Poe’s intimate connection with the city of Boston. Lewis was surprised that these connections had remained unearthed, PHOTO COURTESY OF PAUL LEWIS

GIRL UNLEASHED BRI LEROSE

The simple art of listening

Five or six years ago, I discovered a way to play a piano like a guitar. I didn’t have a choice. My family likes to play a game – often on holidays, when my of relatives have crowded around my living room – in which they request a song and I have to figure out how to ALLISON THERRIEN play it. The twist of the game is often that the songs chosen aren’t ones intended for performance piano. They’re driven by John Mayer’s acoustic guitar, Jason DeRulo’s synthesizers, and the full string orchestra of “Bittersweet Symphony.” Luckily, the keys of a piano are fully capable of being strummed, plucked, and banged upon, when the occasion calls for it. Now, when I get a song in my head – this week, “Teenage Dream” has been a relentless presence in my mind, thanks to one highly memorable a capella rendition on last week’s Glee – I have to play it. Since even Edmond’s doesn’t have enough room for a standing keyboard, I find myself in the tiny but wonderful practice rooms of Lyons Hall. Let me tell you, there is almost nothing funnier than some of the looks I get from people passing by my room when they realize that I am playing, for example, my rendition of Flo Rida’s “Club Can’t Handle Me.” Several passersby have actually stopped and made eye contact, given me a confused look, and moved on. One gave me a thumbs up. If you’re reading this, I laughed quite loudly after you walked away. Thank you for that. Part of the beauty of the practice rooms is precisely that they are tiny, though I don’t thank them for it at three p.m. on a Monday when they are, without fail, occupied. Once I am sitting on a bench in my own little space, I am just as happy playing as not playing, because when I am not playing, I get to listen. I make out the unmistakable chord of a jazz piece, the metric precision of a Bach, the distinct melody line of a popular radio hit. Recently, I heard someone playing one of my all-time favorites: Chopin’s “Fantasie Impromptu.” It was a piece I had worked on for at least a year, and one I continued to pick up and further tweak over the years. Still, as I listened to this unnamed student playing it, I was amazed. It would have never occurred to me to shape the notes that way, to insert those clever pauses and stretch out each measure like the manuals of an accordion. I am constantly inspired by what I hear when I choose to listen to the sounds of this campus, and for that reason I will never stop. Each of us approaches the arts – music, literature, comedy, anything – in unique and varying ways, and thus each of us has something stunning to offer the eyes and ears of our fellow students. Here, the arts exist as an evolving and flourishing scene that changes and improves as more and more people emerge on its stage, whether in front of hundreds in Robsham, or just me, in awe of all of you, though I only know you through your art.

Allison Therrien is the Asst. Arts & Review Editor for The Heights. She can be reached at review@ bcheights.com.

KEVIN HOU / HEIGHTS EDITOR

BY A L L I S O N T H E R R I E N | ASST. A RTS E D I TO R

ri Lerose is a self-identiﬁed cereal enthusiast, Vera Bradley critic, and proponent of quiet chewing. If you had asked her four years ago what she wanted to do with her life, she would have answered without hesitation. “I wanted to join the Peace Corps,” she elaborated across one of Corcoran Commons’ long, crumb-covered tables. “In fact, I was hell-bent on it.” Four years later, her answer couldn’t be more different. “I want to be a comedian,” she said. “This is what I want to do with my life.” It was the combination of one eloquent tour guide and a well-placed banner that steered Bri toward the world of sketch comedy. “My tour guide was in [My Mother’s] Fleabag and she was telling us stories about performing with Amy Poehler and all the fun things that she was doing, and I was like, ‘Wow, that sounds great,’” Lerose said. “So I had actually intended to join Fleabag my freshman year. Then, I don’t know why, but I saw a Shovelhead banner, and I thought, ‘You know, I really like to write, too.’ I thought maybe that would be a better ﬁt for me. So just sort of on a whim decided I would try out.” Lerose is now a four-year member and co-director of Boston College’s celebrated

sketch-comedy group Hello…Shovelhead!, and has earned a reputation as one of the group’s most hilarious performers. Lerose was introduced to the world of theater in high school, where, as she said, she became entranced by her “lunatic, hippie Canadian love guru” of a drama teacher. “She was always talking about inappropriate things,” Lerose said. “She was such a character that I couldn’t resist just like watching her and listening to the things that she said.” Lerose was both a zebra in Seussical the Musical in high school and a wardrobe consultant for Beauty and the Beast, but by the end of high school, she was ready for a change. “We had done some comedy stuff in theater classes, and I kept wishing that I could just do that exclusively, without the theater games and questions like, ‘What are we feeling today? What vegetable are you?’” Fast-forward to the fall of her freshman year, and, in a moment she says she will never forget, Lerose was awoken in the middle of the night by loud banging on her door. “Of course, it’s about 1:30 in the morning and I’ve got my pajamas on, and then I ﬁnd this group of people in the hallway

screaming at me. I was like, ‘Oh, am I in the group? Or are you mad about something?’ That was one of the highlights of college, for sure. Opening that door and seeing them and putting two and two together.” Hello…Shovelhead!, which requires skill in both performance and writing, has been both a challenge and a blessing for Lerose, who calls her fellow cast members some of her closest friends. “It’s more fun than I ever thought I could have,” she said earnestly. “Being on stage and performing material that I’ve written, hearing people laughing at it, being with your best friends while you’re doing it. It’s just really the best feeling you can have.” She recognizes and appreciates that being on Shovelhead means having creative freedom, an opportunity she doesn’t take lightly. “We’re never going to ﬁnd that anywhere else,” she said. The arts can be a stuffy medium, and one of Lerose’s many great qualities is her ability to counterbalance those serious aspects with humor. “We don’t take ourselves seriously, and we don’t want anyone to take themselves seriously when they sit down for a show,” she said. “That’s our number one goal — to make sure people are having fun.”

“I WANT TO BE A COMEDIAN,” SHE SAID. “THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO DO WITH MY LIFE.” She has a lot to say, and she values comedy as a venue for true and uninhibited honesty. Lerose, like many other college artists, is fascinated by hidden identities. It makes sense. Last week, she spent about ﬁve hours each day preparing for Shovelhead’s show weekend, and then two nights performing. But for anyone who doesn’t know her — anyone in her classes who hasn’t had the pleasure of talking to her — the comedian in her is hidden. “The arts give people like me a venue to show our talents to our peers,” she said. People like Lerose shouldn’t be hidden, and we’re lucky that comedy has been such a great vehicle for her to express her inner genius.

THE HEIGHTS

Legislation counteracts obesity

ON THE flip side

MARYE MORAN

THE ISSUE:

Early this week the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to ban toys in McDonalds Happy Meals in the city, citing health risks and childhood obesity. The mayor, Gavin Newsom, vetoed the measure, stating that “Parents, not politicians, should decide what their children eat.” A McDonalds dietician pointed out that the restaurant offers fruit as an alternative to fries, and all Happy Meals meet the federal cap of 600 calories for children’s meals. Which side is correct?

Ban on ‘Happy’ toys ridiculous will on the people. Gavin Newsom, San Francisco’s extremely liberal mayor, Who is better at running a even said he would veto this child’s life: parents or the gov- bill, stating such decisions are ernment? For most sane people, ultimately a family issue – not a the answer is parents. However, government issue. Unfortunatethe clinically insane statists in ly, while he seems to be the only Pelosi country beg to differ. While one left with some sense in the many across the country were Bay Area, the Board of Supervicelebrating and marveling at the sors approved this totalitarian huge GOP pickups in Congress, ban of Happy Meals by a veto San Franciscans decided to ban proof majority of 8-3. Newsom Happy Meals. In addition, the ban is correct in saying this is a mandates a meal be fewer than family issue. If parents choose 600 calories and accompanied by not to encourage their kids to huge cuts in fat and sodium before exercise or choose not to make a toy can be put in the box. This healthier choices for them, is un-American, and exactly what the logical decision is to have the Left wants to dictate to this the government do it for them, country. Are you capable of run- right? Wrong. The government ning your own life? San Francisco cannot even control its own spending habits, thinks not. “We’re part If we wanted to combat and generally screws up every of a movement t h a t i s m ov - the overconsumption bureaucratic endeavor it ing forward an of fast food and pursues. Does agenda of food justice … From childhood obesity, both anyone know San Francisco to of which are problems where the money New York City, in this country, there stimulus went? How can the epidemic o f c h i l d h o o d are many other routes we expect the government to obesity in this to take, including take care of us country is maknegative advertising when it cannot ing our kids sick, particularly kids campaigns, similar to even take care of itself? Didn’t we from low income neighborhoods, the truth ads against fight a revolution against an at an alarming cigarettes. ever increasingly rate,” said Eric Mar, who sponsored the measure. involved government? America “It’s a survival issue and a day-to- was founded on the principle that we could keep the governday issue.” ment working for us, not the This is unbelievable. He acother way around. tually thinks he is doing justice? If we wanted to combat the No, the only thing he has done overconsumption of fast food here is destroy personal liberty and childhood obesity, both of and take away the ability for which are problems in this counparents to be in control of their try, there are many other routes child’s life. What’s next for San to take, including negative adFrancisco? Will it mandate a vertising campaigns, similar to bedtime for children to combat the truth ads against cigarettes. late nights of homework? How There are many opportunities to about dictating when chilprovide better education and indren can and cannot go to the formation about the ingredients bathroom? You think to yourself and quality of these products. this will never happen. How Instead, the government has about they take children away decided once again to believe from their families for the first it is smarter and more capable few years of their life in order to of making good decisions than give them a “better” start? This the people, and went ahead and is precisely the start of what is banned the entire program. This happening in San Francisco. country is about choice, and I This is the slippery slope of big find this law frightening. government. Ronald Reagan Virtually everyone has had a once said, “Concentrated power Happy Meal, and everyone has has always been the enemy of wanted the toy in the Happy liberty.” Truer words have never Meal. While we continue to been spoken. If we truly wanted slam the fast food industry, Mc“justice,” the school system Donald’s has also made great would be making sure gym strides in the past few years to classes and recesses were never offer healthier options, instead cut from their budget. Those are the steps governments should be of soda and fries, including: 1 percent milk, 100 percent apple taking, rather than imposing its

JIM HAVEL

Thursday, November 18, 2010

juice, and chicken nuggets made with white meat. Just because McDonald’s serves these meals does not mean childhood obesity is entirely their fault. If San Francisco is looking for a scapegoat, it could consider lack of exercise, obese or clueless parents, and irresponsible eating habits as more directly responsible than McDonald’s. In addition, this ban will not help curb the obesity problem in this country. Kids can still get a wide variety of fast food and other unhealthy foods off adult menus. Parents can go to the grocery store and ﬁnd plenty of unhealthy food to serve to their children. Real change starts with families and better education, not government intervention in our lives. I believe I can run my life better than the government. San Franciscans should be focused on the welfare of their state, which is near bankruptcy, instead of focusing on a family issue that parents can and should handle better themselves. Jim Havel is a guest columnist for The Heights. He welcomes comments at marketplace@bcheights.com

They say it takes the “happy” out of the Happy Meal. A new law in San Francisco may ban the toys paired with Happy Meals, unless McDonald’s drastically alters its menu to ﬁt stringent nutritional guidelines. Given the current state of the food choices in this meal, though, removing the “happy” may be a good thing. Nothing good can come of children ﬁnding their happiness in a fatty dinner of chicken nuggets and French fries. In order to keep this children’s favorite on the menu, McDonald’s would have until December 2011 to alter its food offerings. All meals would need under 600 calories with less than 35 percent from fat, they must have 1/2 cup fruit and 3/4 cup vegetables, and under 640 mg sodium and 0.5 mg trans fats. San Francisco’s Mayor Gavin Newsom has fought this ban, saying, “Parents, not politicians, should decide what their children eat, especially when it comes to spending their own money.” However, obesity-related illnesses, including cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes, cost the U.S. government about $160 billion each year. If it is footing all of those costs, the government has a right to try to prevent them. Around 80 percent of children who were overweight from ages 10-15 become obese adults. And to make matters worse, the obesity rates for children from ages 6-11 have quadrupled over the past 30 years. That is the same timeframe over which the

Happy Meal has been available. with the foods they accompany. While, of course, this cannot be A study at Stanford University taken as a causal relationship, showed that children reported these high-calorie and high-fat foods to be tastier when in Mcmeals targeting children cerDonald’s packaging. This shows tainly do not help the situation. the impact of non-food factors A study by the Rudd Center on culinary decision-making. for Food Policy and Obesity at The emotions and expectations Yale University found that only that these children absorb from 12 of the 3,000 children’s meal successful McDonald’s marketcombinations at 12 popular ing campaigns impact how they fast food chains met nutriview their meal. This susceptional guidelines for preschool tibility makes it more likely children. that children will enjoy their This is a particularly scary sta- food if it comes with a reward. tistic, as 40 perEliminating the cent of preschool Nothing good can toy, or making children ask to go the food healthy, come of children to McDonald’s would prevent every week, aca psychologifinding their cording to the connection happiness in a fatty cal st u dy, a n d 15 between highdinner of chicken calorie foods and percent ask daily. This demand which nuggets and French rewards, is not merely a can lead these fries. coincidence. individuals to still In the past two favor those burgyears, there were 21 percent more ers and fries later in life. McDonald’s ads aimed at preThis law is a positive step schoolers, and 26 percent more forward in combating the for children up to age 11. American obesity epidemic, Obesity is now the secondand shows San Francisco’s leading cause of preventable commitment to ending childdeath, trumped only by smokhood obesity. The measures ing. Public consensus supports currently being taken are well movements to prevent marketwithin the government’s rights. ing cigarettes to children, and The government is not controllaws have been passed to keep ling what people eat or what outdoor cigarette ads out of kinds of foods can be sold. close proximity to schools, and It is only restricting which to ban marketing strategies foods can be marketed toward aimed at minors. Unhealthy children and how. Precedent for foods impact obesity just as this has been set with tobacco smoking causes lung cancer, yet companies, where marketing a double standard prevails. This restrictions have kept numerlaw in San Francisco is signiﬁous children from beginning a cantly less obtrusive than those lifelong and life-threatening cigarette-marketing provisions, habit. This law is attempting to yet is being met with ﬁercer do the same thing, as it aims at opposition. And if they remain preventing children from being unchanged, these Happy Meals manipulated and incentivized may lure children into developinto a lifestyle that has been ing habits that lead to obesity, proven to lead to obesity. That and eventually, a premature and is something we should all be preventable death. happy about. Though the toys are clearly not the direct cause of obesity, Marye Moran is a guest columnist for this advertising ploy encourages The Heights. She welcomes comments children to associate the toys at marketplace@bcheights.com.

JEFF CHIU / AP PHOTO

San Francisco lawmakers approved a bill banning the inclusion of toys in unhealthy McDonalds Happy Meals.

ELECTION CENTRAL

Deficit Commission in talks to reduce behemoth budget JOHN GLYNN Last week, President Obama’s budget deficit reduction commission released selected preliminary figures suggesting cuts to curb the growing debt of the federal government. The commission is set to make a full disclosure of the results of its investigation on Dec. 1. The deficit reduction commission, composed of 10 Democrats and eight Republicans, was created in late 2009 and began its work early in January of this year. The panel is chaired by Democrat Erskine Bowles, a former chief of staff for President Clinton, and former Republican senator from Wyoming Alan Simpson. It was created out of a sea of turmoil, to put it poetically, as the idea for a panel was initially floated in the Senate among divisions between the parties. Opposition to the commission claimed

that the panel would only serve as a “time-tested ploy to get Republicans to raise taxes.” In a Wall Street Journal editorial, the opposition also argued, “In the 2009 version, Republicans are being teed up to hold hands with Democrats and agree to become the tax collectors for Obamanomics.” President Obama organized the commission himself when Congress could not come to a consensus on the issue. The president gave the commission the task of finding a way to curb the country’s current deficit as a percentage of GDP from its dangerously high 8.9 percent for this year to an annual 3 percent level that economists maintain is manageable for a government to safely absorb. In the process of their investigation of the nation’s finances, the commission found ways to cut as much as $4 trillion of red ink from the nation’s deficits over the next 10 years. In addition to the massive cuts suggested by the panel, reducing tax deductions on things including interest payments

on home mortgages and other ers get for the interest they pay moves that amount to increased on home mortgage loans. The taxes for Americans would con- commission would also impose a tribute to $1 trillion in addition- gas tax increase of 15 percent. al revenue for In addition, The president gave the government the commisto put toward the commission the sion called for national debt extensive cuts in task of finding a way defense spendreduction. The plan has been to curb the country’s ing, prompting spoken well of by Secretary of current deficit as a Defense Robert the right-leaning U.S. Chamber percentage of GDP Gates to tell of Commerce, reporters, “The from its dangerously truth of the which released a statement sayhigh 8.9 percent for matter is when ing, “Any soluto this year to an annual itthecomes tion will require deﬁcit, the 3 percent level that Department of commitment and sacriﬁce on economists maintain Defense is not both the spendthe problem … is manageable for a I think in terms ing and revenue fronts.” government to safely of the specifThe commisics they came absorb. sion’s assessup with, that ment preview is math, not sent advocates of every kind of strategy.” Gates is not alone government spending on a tear in his dismissal of the budget last week. The panel suggested commission’s proposals as bringing the age of Social Secuextreme. House Speaker Nancy rity eligibility up to 68 by 2050 Pelosi reacted to the panel’s and 69 by 2075. It would have call for extensive cuts to Social the federal government eliminate Security and Medicare by saying tax deductions that home ownthe spending cuts are “simply

unacceptable.” Those concerned with the cuts in government spending and the increase in taxation point to the folly of the Japanese government in the 1990s, who dealt with a similarly ailing economy by raising taxes to combat mounting deﬁcits instead of increasing stimulus to “prime the pump” of the economy. But in an interesting column this weekend, Robert Samuelson offered a different look at Japan’s “lost decade” and found that through stimulus-like efforts, the Japanese government dug itself into a deep hole, making more problems for itself with greater debt while missing the mark on getting Japan’s economy back on track. Samuelson wrote of the Japanese government, “They raised spending, cut taxes and let budget deﬁcits balloon. Gross government debt soared from 63 percent of the economy (gross domestic product) in 1991 to 101 percent of GDP by 1997. It’s now around 200 percent.” Japan enjoyed relative prosperity in the middle of this past decade, but that period ended

abruptly with the onset of the current recession. Its government is still hamstrung by the problems it failed to address in the 1980s, Samuelson said. The point that Samuelson, the commission, and other deficit hawks are trying to make, is that the nation is in a massive hole of debt. We are not in the same situation as the Great Depression, when our government entered that dire economic era with a relatively balanced budget and could afford to spend massive amounts of money to aid the public recovery. Our government has already spent nearly $800 billion to stop the bleeding with the Recovery Act and $700 billion to stabilize the financial sector with the TARP financial bailout, and it did this when it was already facing record levels of debt to begin with. Now is the time for the government to get in control of its finances, as painful as that may be for many. There is simply no more money to be spent. John Glynn is a staff columnist for The Heights. He welcomes comments at marketplace@bcheights.com.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, November18, 2010

THE HEIGHTS

DANNY MARTINEZ

MATT PALAZZOLO

What will be the political ramiﬁcations to Aung San Suu Kyi’s release?

No idea, the Burmese government can change its mind on a dime.

Democracy in Burma. Just kidding, she’ll be back under house arrest by the new year.

As the Burmese government has proven in the past, she probably won’t remain free for long.

Who are we kidding? This is Burma. There will be no ramiﬁcations unless the junta wants there to be.

Is Nancy Pelosi as minority leader a good or bad thing for the Democrats?

Bad thing. She will be a punching bag, as usual, for the Republicans in 2012.

She can be the MSNBC to John Boehner’s Fox News.

Well, since she did so well as Speaker ... Oh wait, didn’t they just get ousted? Maybe time for new blood.

Does it really matter?

Should the United States ratify the START treaty?

Yes , and the fact that it has a 75 percent approvalfrom the public is a good sign as well.

Of course not, the United States only ratiﬁes arms reduction treaties with hostile communist states.

Whatever puts us in a better diplomatic place to suck up to our creditors.

The treaty preserves the status quo. It replaces an expiring arms-reduction treaty. So yes, let’s do it.

What kind of speaker will John Boehner be?

Unfortunately, the far-right (Tea Party?) will prevent him from making effective compromises with Dems.

He will crusade for limited government by expanding his legislative powers.

A very orange one: obnoxious, unoriginal, and orange.

Hard to say, but for the sake of this country, hopefully one that can encourage bipartisanship.

Marketplace Editor

Marketplace Staff

HILARY CHASSE

MIKE SALDARRIAGA

Opinions Editor

Graphics Editor

HEALTH & SCIENCE

Biomedical firms pioneer affordable personal DNA analysis RACHEL NEWMILLER After watching an episode of Law & Order or one of the many other crime dramas on television, it becomes rather evident that DNA analysis has transformed the justice system. Trace amounts of this molecule have linked victims and offenders, solved cases of mistaken identity, and established paternity, aiding many people in a variety of court-related scenarios. However, since most of us would never voluntarily become involved in any of the above situations, aside from resolving legal issues, can DNA testing be of use to the average person? A number of companies, including one aptly named 23andMe, are now selling direct-to-consumer DNA tests, which cost only a few hundred dollars and make the answer to

the previous question “yes.” Before we delve into the scientific foundations of these tests, it is necessary to have a basic understanding of what DNA is and why it’s important. Just in case the last time you uttered anything about deoxyribonucleic acid was in high school, here’s a very brief (and incredibly simplified) overview of the structure and function of this molecule: DNA is composed of building blocks called nucleotides, which consist of a nitrogenous base, a five-carbon sugar, and a phosphate group. There are four different bases, adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T), and the order or sequence of these codes for a specific set of biological instructions. These guidelines contain the information necessary for the development, survival, and reproduction of a specific organism, and are “read” by the body to produce proteins. The DNA molecule itself is a double helix (like a twisted ladder) made of two long strands of nucleotides. Each rung is

Emergency Genome Testing From The Philadelphia Inquirer: The journal Nature reported last month that doctors in Wisconsin used genomic sequencing in a desperate effort to help a three-year-old boy who was hospitalized after his intestines became mysteriously “swollen and full of abscesses.” The boy had undergone dozens of surgeries, and yet he continued to decline. The sequencing, ordered as a long shot, revealed a rare mutation in a gene that codes for a protein called XIAP - involved in the immune system. With that knowledge, the doctors ordered a bone marrow transplant and the boy began to recover. HEIGHTS PHOTO ILLUSTRATION / MICHAEL SALDARRIAGA

composed of a pair of bases (A pairs with T, and C pairs with G) connected to a sugar-phosphate backbone. The human genome, or the entire DNA instruction manual, has about 3 billion of these base pairs, which can be found on 23 pairs of chromosomes in nearly every cell (hence why 23andMe is a clever name). Despite the diversity of the human species, our DNA is about 99.9 percent identical. Thus, small differences in the sequence are what make each of us unique, and serve as the basis for personal DNA tests. Changes in individual bases are the most common source of genetic variation and are called single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs (“snips”). As Anthony D’Onofrio, professor in the biology department, explains, “The currently affordable personal DNA tests are based on the simultaneous detection of about 500,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms, positions within the genome that are known to vary between humans, and were selected mainly from data generated by the International HapMap Project. DNA chips such as the Illumina Inﬁnium HumanHap550 are used to detect the presence or absence of each SNP tested. Versions present in the individual’s genome are detected by the presence of a ﬂuorescently labeled copy of a fragment of their DNA annealing with its complement on the DNA chip. This tells the individual if they have one, the other, or both versions of each SNP.” The detection of SNPs is valuable because some have been shown to be associated with different medical conditions. But this does not mean that the presence of a particular SNP (or group of SNPs) guarantees that a person will develop a certain condition in his or her lifetime. 23andMe addresses this limitation on its Web site, stating, “While

HEIGHTS PHOTO ILLUSTRATION / MICHAEL SALDARRIAGA

we may be able to tell you that researchers have found your particular genotype to be associated with an increased chance of developing a particular condition, we cannot tell you whether you actually have a speciﬁc disease, or whether you will develop a speciﬁc disease in the future.” “These SNPs are not diagnostic,” D’Onofrio said, “but only indicate a higher probability of developing the disease based on published data … but there may be many undiscovered SNPs that also play a role in susceptibility. Especially for a disease like Parkinson’s, a person may have the wild type [“normal”] version of the LRRK2 gene, but be at high risk due to other, yet to be associated SNPs.” Some concerns have been raised about the availability of these tests, especially since most consumers may not be knowledgeable enough to correctly comprehend the implications of the results. Obviously, there is a big difference between “I’m at risk for developing Parkinson’s, breast cancer, or about 90 other conditions” and

“I’m going to get this disease.” “Since the tests mainly provide information on risk factors, it is important for customers to discuss any concerns they have with a physician who can accurately describe what the results really mean,” D’Onofrio says. This is of particular importance because an incorrect interpretation “could lead to a considerable amount of stress, worry, and possibly alter important life decisions based on an improper understanding of SNP associations.” Thus, even though current DNA tests seem to be more like, as D’Onofrio describes them, a “niche hobby, mostly among those with a decent knowledge of genetics,” he cautions that it is important “as these tests become cheaper and more widespread, that a system is in place to properly inform customers of the implications of their data.” Although D’Onofrio is not convinced that a consultation with a physician should be mandated, he believes that well-designed, noticeable labels could be used to inform customers of important concepts related to the test’s limitations and the proper

interpretation of results. Anyone interested in purchasing a DNA test kit or giving one as a gift (yes, one would make quite the stocking stuffer), is encouraged to research the various options that are available on the market to ensure a comprehensive understanding of their genetic foundations and limitations. Personalized genomics is a rapidly developing area of scientiﬁc research, and it appears that this sector may have the potential to radically revolutionize medicine. Since the cost of sequencing an entire genome may soon fall below $1,000, D’Onofrio sees the possibility of a future when “most people will have their genome sequenced and available to their physician, who will have software that parses the sequence and lists any SNPs that have been associated with disease, or provide information to suggest proper medication and dosage.” Rachel Newmiller is a staff columnist for The Heights. She welcomes comments at marketplace@ bcheights.com.

Gates and Buffett encourage increased philanthropy Wealth, from B10 builders of government policy and world builders of the consciousness of priorities.” By donating such large sums in high concentration, he said these “hyperagents,” can direct future spending to an even greater extent than governments themselves. Careful philanthropic giving “with a dose of humility” can result in help for the less fortunate, while reckless and careless philanthropy can result in “misdirection of money to purposes that either aren’t true needs or aren’t successful.” Schervish remarked that at this point, the potential results of the movement are “indeterminate” and will be difficult to predict until hard results are available.

“Hyperagents are like fire,” he said. “They can warm your feet or burn your socks off.” Schervish said that he hopes that the pledge’s signatories learn from their own experiences. While they certainly have much to offer others, Schervish said he hopes the donors develop along the lines of Aristotle’s “philia,” a term which refers to the “mutual nourishment” or “friendship-love” of philanthropic giving. Through such generous donations, Schervish said donors can gain a personal connection with those that they are helping and develop spiritually. Failure to do so can result in arrogance and a lack of true interest, making their generosity “but a clanging symbol.” According to recent data, 46

percent of philanthropic giving in America is done by people whose net worth is equal to or greater than $1 million. As the number of millionaires grows, so too does the amount of giving. “There are now whole classes of people for whom giving large sums to shape the world and the lives of others is more available,” Schervish said. There is little doubt that such generous giving as organized by Gates and Buffett will result in more people at least questioning their own philanthropic giving. Such a movement will likely attract increased donations, continuing the growing trend of philanthropy in America over the past 25 years. The effects of these gifts remains to be seen. 

PHOTO COURTESY OF WASHINGTONPOST.COM

Buffett and Gates have spearheaded a movement encouraging billionaires to donate half of their wealth to charity.

The Heights

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Suu Kyi to push for democratic reform in Myanmar Suu Kyi, from B10

Ap File photo

Supporters hosted rallies for Suu Kyi around the world, such as this French one.

leader of the opposition. While her release is a moment of triumph for Suu Kyi and her supporters, secretary for Amnesty International, General Salil Shetty, warns that Suu Kyi’s freedom does not necessarily mean Burmese military leaders are willing to turn to democracy. “While Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s release is certainly welcome, it only marks the end of an unfair sentence that was illegally extended, and is by no means a concession on the part of the authorities,” he said. “The fact remains that authorities should never have arrested her or the many other prisoners of conscience in Burma in the first place, locking them out of the political process.” There may be more than 2,200 more of these “prisoners of conscience” still incarcerated, but this did not stop supporters of Suu Kyi from celebrating her release. President Obama showed his

support for the Burmese politican. “She is a hero of mine,” he told reporters in a statement, “and a source of inspiration for all who work to advance basic human rights in Burma and around the world. Whether Aung San Suu Kyi is living in the prison of her house, or the prison of her country, does not change the fact that she, and the political opposition she represents, has been systematically silenced, incarcerated, and deprived of any opportunity to engage in political processes.” Maung Zarni, an exiled rebel and Burmese research fellow at the London School of Economics, hopes Suu Kyi’s release will catalyze the organization of the political opposition. “There is no formal opposition [in Burma] so her release is going to represent an opportunity to re–energize and reorganize this opposition,” he said. “So in that sense, of revitalizing the opposition in some concrete way, Suu Kyi’s release is

Ap File photo

Suu Kyi responds at a press conference following her release this past week. going to be very pivotal.” As Suu Kyi’s release threatens to alter the political makeup of the Southeast Asian country of Burma, it is difficult to predict what the future may hold for the 65 year old. “She’ll be facing a mountain of expectation and challenges,” said Aung Zaw, editor of The Irrawaddy, an exile magazine in Thailand. Historian and former U.N. official, Thant Myint-U, agrees that the

road laying before Suu Kyi is a difficult one. “This is a very, very different political landscape than when she was released the last time,” he told reporters. “The country is facing a whole slew of new challenges and opportunities.” “This is just the beginning, not the end,” said a supporter. “The political prisoners are still in jail. Everyone needs to be released.” n

‘Sin taxes’ target unhealthy food, soda Sin Tax, from B10

port win-win outcomes, directing vital funds into emptied state coffers while simultaneously reducing consumption of injurious substances. Though some may fall for the moral argument for these taxes, anyone with even the slightest semblance of logic will see the obvious paradox in this statement. If taxes influence behavior significantly enough to reduce purchases, then revenue would be negligible. On the other hand, if the tax revenue was tremendous, it would indicate that consumption has not been sufficiently mitigated. Taxes that truly succeed in changing behavior would be self-defeating. There are other points of contention, as well. Economists and psychologists doubt whether sin taxes have any effect on the behavior of most Americans. Demand for soda and cigarettes is relatively inelastic, meaning that modest price increases do not influence purchase behavior. Furthermore, these nonprogressive taxes (meaning the taxation level will be consistent for all citizens) will have a disproportionate effect on lower-income individuals and households. For instance, a 2009 Gallup Poll identified that 53 percent of smokers make less than $36,000 per year. A tax might encourage the black market for cigarettes in poor neighborhoods. The New York Times reported that in some rural counties the combination of low incomes, high gas prices, and heavy dependence on large vehicles already severely hinders family budgets. A tax on these “sins” would exacerbate an already dire situation. It also appears that economic uncertainty and a necessity for emergency funds compromises politicians’ supposed moral standards. Obviously, multiple states are considering legalizing and taxing marijuana. Representative Barney Frank

(D-MA) recently introduced a bill to legalize and tax Internet gambling. In fact, 25 states have expanded or considered expanding sanctioned gambling operations. The State Senate of Nevada has discussed expanding and taxing legalized prostitution. Determining what constitutes a sin has the potential to become a slippery slope. Multiple states, most notably Texas, Georgia, and Pennsylvania, have considered “pole taxes” for buyers of pornography and patrons of escort services and strip clubs. Furthermore, if we are taxing candy and salty snacks, why not gum, which also contains sugar? What about a tax on unhealthful caffeine? Why not supermarket plastic bags and bottled water, both of which contain nefarious chemicals and accumulate in landfills? In-ear headphones, such as those sold with iPods cause major damage to hearing – why not tax those?

Modern Day Philosopher

What about fast food? I can already hear the far right cry that this paternalism will one day result in staring into a telescreen while Big Brother commands that we eat our veggies. At this point, one blurs the line between a simple sin tax and a Pigovian tax, a tax levied on a market activity that generates negative externalities. For instance, gasoline consumption results in carbon emissions which, besides their detrimental health effects, cause smog and global warming. Indeed, Washington, D.C., recently introduced a five cent tax on plastic bags in super markets. Why not impose a significant tax on gasoline? That we are even considering sin taxes should demonstrate the lack of foresight and depth of carelessness that has led us to this point. Americans like to believe that ethics guide their decisions. After all, our country was founded on idealistic principles of democratic represen-

tation and freedom. Unfortunately, our spineless politicians failed to develop responsible budgets and have therefore resorted to novel fiscal initiatives. They also lack the resolution to make cuts in their existing budgets or upset their constituents, both to maintain political status and pass on the subsequent economic impairments to their successors. Then they champion sin taxes while clinging to the implausible pretense that a few extra pennies on your purchases will clean the air, empty the landfills, and alleviate obesity, diabetes, and cancer. It would be naive of us to think that the new crop of politicians will make the necessary changes. And by the time our generation ascends to the political stratosphere, I fear that we may have been holding our breath for too long. Ameet Padte is a staff columnist for The Heights. He welcomes comments at marketplace@bcheights.com.

Karim kadam/ap photo

The Iraqi government has stagnated lately, resulting in frustration in Parliament.

Iraq forges a new political coalition Iraq, from B10

heights photo illustration / rachel gregorio

By Gregory Kita

days to form a government after elections may seem overdone, I think it is an essential process, and rather exciting. I believe that at present Iraq is in a state of procedural democracy. Yes, there are democratic institutions, and the country fashions itself a democracy, but the institutions do not function correctly because of corruption, improper use, lack of participation – the reasons are endless. However, I think it is very important that it goes through the motions of democracy, at least at first, normalizing the concept of regular voting, legislative representation, and other aspects that are critical to functioning and successful democracies. From this state of procedural democracy, the goal is a substantive democracy – one that functions properly, efficiently, and justly. Is Iraq at that state now? No. Will it be there in 10 years? Probably not. 100? Maybe. While you sigh, scoff, or scold, remember that the good old U.S. of A was hardly a model in its early years. It took a remarkable chief justice in John Marshall to give power to the judiciary, yet less than 100 years after gaining independence, we entered in a bloody civil war. But as all resilient nations do, we came out stronger and better for it. The details of the new government show some progress. A Kurd – an ethnic minority from Northern Iraq – will serve as

president for the first time in Iraq’s history, while a member of the opposition block, Iraqiya, will be parliament speaker. While the Sunni Iraqiya bloc had complained Al-Maliki was attempting to prevent it from taking power, a deal was painstakingly reached. Commenting on the prospective new government, Allawi told reporters, “If the people don’t consider it to be an inclusive government, there might be some people in the community who express their displeasure in the form of violence.” John Stuart Mill wrote extensively on the importance of the political community. “It is during an arduous struggle to become free by their own efforts,” Mill argued, “that [the virtues needful for maintaining freedom] have the best chance of springing up.” While the United States undeniably assisted Iraq by deposing Sadam Hussein, it will be leaving soon, and the problems will remain for Iraqis to tackle. Insurgency, economic and political issues – the list is endless. The political experience that the Iraqi nation gained during the almost seven months when it worked to put together a government is viewed as a failure now – but might be seen in a different light in the future.

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

hadi mizban / ap photo

The Iraqi parliament convened in an effort to end the 200 days of negotiations.

MARKETPLACE THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, November 18, 2010

B10

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2010

Billionaires pledge half their worth

MARKET REPORT

‘Sin’ taxes misguided, misplaced

BY DAVID COTE Heights Staff

In a movement of almost unprecedented philanthropy, 40 of America’s billionaires have agreed to give up half their worth, a movement that will amount to a projected total of $600 billion. Referred to as the Giving Pledge, the movement was organized by billionaires Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett in an effort to bring attention to philanthropy in America. As the largest movement of philanthropy in recent history, the pledge has brought about both support and criticism. Some pundits say the movement only emphasizes the growing disparity of wealth in American society. Gates and Buffett, perhaps America’s two most visible billionaires, argue that their intentions in the movement are only to encourage an increased amount of philanthropic giving. In doing so, they hope to alleviate the disproportionate growth of the wealthy by shifting wealth to areas where it can be of better use. Critics argue that the only reason such incredible efforts of philanthropy are possible is because of an unacceptable concentration of wealth in the upper ranks of American society. In the words of Ellen Remmer, chief of The Philanthropic Initiative, such donations can be a public relations facade used to make billionaires look “like they are royalty.” In response to such criticism, Buffett told reporters he hardly knew how to respond, following up by saying, “Philanthropy is a tradition in America. It doesn’t seem to have done any harm in the country so far.” Bill Gates said that his $54 billion net worth pales in comparison to the enormous sums of money doled out in government budgets each year. As a key organizer of the pledge, Bill Gates defended the movement, dismissing claims that it was a celebration of great wealth but rather a means of redistributing it. In terms of the overall effects of such a movement, Gates told The New York Times that he thinks “the impact is likely to be quite positive,” though he agreed that the effects will be hard to measure. Paul Schervish, professor in the sociology department and director of the Boston College Center for Wealth and Philanthropy, said that these billionaire philanthropists are truly both “world

See Wealth, B8

AMEET PADTE

AP FILE PHOTO

A rally for Suu Kyi drew thousands of supporters. The Nobel laureate had been under house arrest by the government for 15 of the last 21 years.

Nobel laureate released Pro-democracy leader freed from house arrest BY MICHELA GACIOCH Heights Staff

Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was released Saturday after spending 15 of the last 21 years under house arrest. As she stepped out of the lakeside compound at which she was conﬁned, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate could barely be heard over the cheering of supporters. “We haven’t seen each other for so long, I have so much to tell you,” she said. It has been nearly seven years since her last arrest, during which time she has been completely separated from the world. This most recent detention began in 2003 after Suu Kyi, an opposition politician and former general secretary of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in Burma, gained renown after a tour of the country. Because of the sudden popularity of Suu Kyi and her political views, an anti-democracy group

attacked her motorcade in what was thought to be an assassination attempt. She was initially sent to prison, then back to house arrest. Suu Kyi’s political career began in 1988 after longtime Burma military leader and head of the ruling party, General Ne Win, stepped down. This sudden gap in political leadership catalyzed the 8888 Uprising on Aug. 8, 1988, during which widespread demonstrations for democracy were violently suppressed. On Aug. 26, 1988, Suu Kyi called for a democratic government while addressing a Burmese crowd of nearly half a million at a mass rally at the capital. However, her political hopes never came to fruition. In September of that same year, a new military faction took power in Burma, and on Sept. 24, the NLD was formed, of which Suu Kyi was appointed general secretary. Her ﬁrst house arrest sentence came the following summer on July 20, 1989, after which she was offered freedom in exchange for leaving the country, but Suu Kyi refused. Suu Kyi has built her life on sacriﬁce for her political principles. As daughter of the nation’s founding hero, U Aung San, who was assassinated when she was two years old, Suu Kyi learned from a young

age that it is sometimes necessary to make grave personal sacriﬁces for one’s country. After her British husband, Michael Aris, was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 1999, she refused to leave Burma for fear that she would not be allowed reentry into the country. Despite the NLD’s victory in the 1990 general election, Burmese generals nulliﬁed the result and clung to power. This victory gave Suu Kyi the power to speak out as the nation’s disenfranchised leader. However, recent election results supersede the NLD’s past win, as the main militarysupported party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party, gained an overwhelming victory in the 2010 general elections after two opposition parties conceded. Consequently, Suu Kyi will not have an easy trek back to the top of Burmese politics. Despite the large group of supporters present at her release on Saturday, Suu Kyi is experiencing divisions in her own party. The NLD’s decision to not take part in the recent election for fear of it being undemocratic required the group to formally disband, creating backlash for Suu Kyi. A faction of critics formed a new party, consequently challenging her position as

Last week, with more than a month remaining in the semester, I ran out of vending machine dollars. I attribute this to one simple fact: I live in close proximity to three large vending machines. Late at night, when sleep eludes me, I frequently rise and pad over to the automat where I feed on Twizzlers, Skittles, and white cheddar popcorn. There is no doubt that we waste money on snacks to the disadvantage of our Eagle-One cards. This fact begs a couple questions: First, how will I remain conscious in class without the fortification provided by Coke Zero? Second, would taxing these unhealthy foods reduce consumption? This kind of sumptuary tax is known as a sin tax, defined by Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary as “a tax on substances or activities considered sinful or harmful (as tobacco, alcohol, or gambling).” In these challenging economic times, many cash-strapped states have been investigating such measures as ways to generate revenue. Since January 2009, 22 states have increased their tobacco taxes and seven states last year either enacted new taxes on alcohol or raised existing ones. Sin taxes have also been proposed for soft drinks, candy, and salty snacks in such states as New York, New Jersey, and Colorado. The financial benefits are plain to see. Washington State’s beer, soda, and bottled water tax afforded the state $122 million in revenue last year, helping to address a $2.8 billion deficit. Colorado is expected to raise $18 million annually through a tax on sweets, a significant sum when one considers the state’s $60 million deficit. The case in point, California, with its mammoth $19 billion budget deficit, would generate $1.4 billion a year with a marijuana tax. Advocates of such initiatives pur-

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POLITICAL PULSE

Iraqi leaders forge new government

IN THE NEWS

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Senate Republicans voted to prohibit the use of earmarks for the next two years. The measure has no binding authority, but is supported by President Obama.

The European Union and International Monetary Fund agreed to send a joint mission to Ireland. The two will likely prepare a bailout to aid the country’s struggling economy.

After years of negotiations, the entire Beatles’ song catalog was released on iTunes. Surviving members Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney, as well as Yoko Ono all approved of the release.

U.S. Congressman Charlie Rangel was found guilty of multiple ethics violations by the House Ethics Committee on Tuesday.

The IRS dropped its prolonged investigation into Swiss banking giant UBS on Tuesday. UBS handed over names of US taxpayers holding accounts in the bank in exchange for the dropped lawsuit.

Microsoft sold more than 1 million Kinect devices in its ﬁrst two weeks on the market. The device is a motion-based game system similar to the popular Nintendo Wii.

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On the flip side

Provisional Authority (CPA) as interim prime minister, Allawi made many tough security decisions – which some labeled as playing into the hands of the U.S. military – that reaped rewards long term in cities like Fallujah and Najaf. Since Allawi’s term as prime minister, Al-Maliki – Allawi’s foremost political rival – has taken the position and held it ever since. The United States’ position throughout this debacle has been to forge together some type, any type, of feasible government. While the Obama administraiton supports Al-Maliki, it has forcefully pressured both Allawi’s coalition and Al-Maliki to reach an agreement for the best interest of the American people. Iraq’s variety of ethnic and religious sects, however, has made this goal easier said than done. Even Allawi’s Iraqiya block is no more than a coalition of opposition to Al-Maliki, which has been in danger of disintegration Although taking more than 200

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million dollars paid for a diamond by a London jewelry dealer. The 24.78 carat diamond has not been on the market for more then 60 years.

votes needed to ratify the START agreement with Russia. The treaty, would cut the nuclear arsenals of both countries.

This week, On the ﬂip side will explore both sides of the issue of San Francisco banning McDonald’s Happy Meals........................... B6

“ If people really want sanc-

IN QUOTES

KARIM KADAM / AP PHOTO

Iraqi officials count ballots that will determine the leadership of the next coalition government.

In the United States, the political situation has seemed dire, characterized by a divided Congress, with the Republicans taking control of the House and the Democrats clinging to the Senate, and a president whose legislative agenda is in danger. But sometimes, a global perspective is needed. In Iraq, a country whose political fate has been inextricably tied to the United States since 2003, the situation is far worse. After parliamentary elections in April, the winning political parties spent over 200 days – a dubious world record –stitching together a political coalition fraught with disagreement. Finally, on Saturday, Iraqi political leaders met and formed a skeletal plan

IN NUMBERS

DANNY MARTINEZ

for creating a coalition government. Members of Ayad Allawi’s coalition, al-Iraqiya, met with representatives of the incumbent Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki’s Islamic Dawa Party in a restrained, diplomatic meeting. The tone and spirit of the session was subdued compared to previous ones, which were marked by walkouts, ultimatums, and hot tempers. Just Friday, Allawi told reporters, “Iraqiya is not going to be part, and I am deﬁnitely not going to be part of this government,” after he evaluated the political concessions as insufﬁcient. A secular Shiite who left Iraq because of differences with Ba’ath leader Saddam Hussein, Allawi has been followed controversy because of his ties to the former dictator’s party. He has vigorously advocated for moderate former members of the Ba’ath party to be reintegrated into Iraq’s political sphere. One major bargaining point between Allawi and AlMaliki was Maliki’s threat to reverse the ban on former Baathist members from participating in the Iraqi political arena. Appointed in 2004 by the Coalition

tions to be lifted, I will consider it.

”

– Aung San Suu Kyi , Burmese pro-democracy leader discussing international sanctions against the ruling military junta.

Health & Science.......................................B9 Election Central........................................B9