Heights 3-18-10

The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College Established 1919

THE HEIGHTS

Vol. XCI, No. 14

Campus celebrates St. Patrick’s day

THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2010

www.bcheights.com

BY TAYLOUR KUMPF Asst. News Editor AND

JAMES GU

Heights Editor

For Boston College, as a Jesuit Catholic university initially founded to serve the sons of Boston’s Irish immigrants, March 17 is a day of celebration and tradition on campus. The Jesuits at BC, as well as students and faculty, shared in the abundance of festivities on St. Patrick’s Day. Boston has been the mecca for St. Paddy’s Day fun since 1737, when the first ever parade in honor of the holiday was held in the city.

The annual celebration, named for the patron saint of Ireland, is something that the residents of St. Mary’s Chapel – decked out with shamrocks in advance – eagerly anticipate. “Breakfast will be bigger than normal,” said Rev. Richard McGowan, S.J. “There’ll be Irish soda bread, hot cross buns, and Irish sausage. For dinner, there’ll be corned beef and cabbage, and drinks like Guinness, Irish whiskey, and Irish coffee.”

As for the actual saint, McGowan said he sees St. Patrick as the ultimate example of one who turned the other cheek. “He was raised a Roman, kidnapped by the Irish, escaped, went to France, and was sent back to Ireland to save them,” he said.

McGowan said that due to a combination of St. Patrick’s Day falling during KEVIN HOU / HEIGHTS EDITOR

See St. Patrick, A3

Students filled local bars such as Roggie’s, in Cleveland Cirlce to celebrate the Irish heritage holiday despite it falling in the middle of the week.

Trustees announce tuition increase

BY PATRICK GALLAGHER Assoc. News Editor

Boston College announced today that the Board of Trustees will raise tuition by 3.5 percent for the 2010-2011 academic year to $39,880.

In addition, the University has pledged $79.3 million to support need-based undergraduate financial aid, an increase of $5.5 million, or 7 percent, from last year’s undergraduate aid allotment.

The Office of News and Public Affairs announced the decisions regarding tuition and financial aid, as well as the University’s operating budget for the 2010-2011 fiscal year, following last Friday’s meeting of the board.

“Through fundraising and increases in tuition, we’re hopeful that we can maintain this academic momentum we’re on,” said Executive Vice President Patrick Keating. “We’re working at all facets of the budget to keep it as under control as possible.”

The University’s overall operating budget for the 2010-2011 fiscal year, which begins on June 1, is $807 million, representing an increase of 4.4 percent from last year’s budget.

The announcement made it clear that financial aid was a major priority of the board, particularly in light of concerns for the strain that the increase might put on BC students and families.

“We are sensitive to the economic pressures on our families today, and we want to do all that we can to operate as efficiently and affordably as possible,”

said University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J. in a statement.

BC historically has maintained a dual policy of being need-blind in admissions and meeting the full demonstrated financial need of all accepted undergraduate students, one of only 27 universities in the country that boasts both policies.

“That’s a huge point of pride,” said University Spokesman Jack Dunn. “I think it speaks a lot about BC and its effective governance.”

Financial assistance provided to students can come in the form of federal and state loans or grants, or combinations of both, in addition to grant money that comes directly from the University, said Bernie Pekala, director of student financial strategies.

This year, 70 percent of BC students received varying amounts of aid in the

form of such loans and grants. For the upcoming academic year, the average need-based financial aid package is projected to be $31,000, which would likely include a combination of government and institutional aid.

“We’re still seeing an unemployment rate around nine, 10 percent,” Pekala said. “We’re trying to make sure we have the appropriate amount of budgeting for our families.”

Other major considerations of the board when determining next year’s budget included the goals outlined in the University’s 2006 Strategic Plan, as well as plans to begin renovations on Gasson Hall and construction on the Middle and Brighton Campuses within the next six months, Keating said.

SeeTuition, A4

INSIDE SPORTS

Montel Harris trades in jersey for Hillside uniform, A10

THE SCENE

The Scene rewinds the best music videos of all time, B1

MARKETPLACE

Democratic Republic of Congo suffers from war and poverty, B10 Classifieds, A5 Crossword, A5 Editorials, A6 Editors’ Picks, A9 Forecast on Washington, B7 On the Flip Side, B6 Police Blotter, A2 Thumbs Up / Thumbs Down, A7 Videos on the Verge, B2 Weather, A2

MICHAEL SALDARIAGGE / HEIGHTS GRAPHIC

Students propose diversity class Proposed class would meet twice weekly and address issues of sexuality, gender, and race

BY MICHAEL CAPRIO News Editor

Members of the AHANA Leadership Council (ALC) as well as culture clubs and other student groups have presented a proposal to the administration to institute a freshman diversity seminar, which, if implemented, would be mandatory for all first-year students.

“Misconceptions regarding affirmative action and the apparent lack of awareness of and sensitivity to racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, and religion are at the root of many tensions in our community and need to be addressed through academic means,” reads the proposal, drafted by a commitee of students.

Earl Edwards, ALC president and A&S ’10, said the proposed seminar would ideally last six weeks, with classes meeting twice a week. “The proposal is not to make you an expert on these issues,” Edwards said. “But it does make you aware.”

The ideal structure of the class would be around small group seminars, with alternating lecture and discussions to allow students to share their experiences and ideas with their peers. “We want people in the class to feel comfortable talking to their peers,” Edwards said.

Each class section would ideally be capped at 25 students, according to the proposal.

The committee has presented the proposal to Donald Hafner, vice provost for undergraduate affairs, but still needs time to settle logistical issues, Edwards said. “This isn’t going to happen immediately,” he said. “But we want to get at least a pilot program in the next couple of years.”

Hafner could not be reached for com-

ment.

Erika Hernandez, vice president-elect of the ALC, committee member, and A&S ’11, said that the ALC has sought assistance from several faculty members, all of whom have been supportive. Deborah Piatelli, a professor in the sociology department, has maintained dialogue with the ALC on the proposal and is currently the proposal’s strongest faculty supporter, Hernandez said.

When asked about funding the initiative, Edwards said that the need for a University course on diversity would attract the funding necessary. “I was told by a wise man that if the course is going to benefit the BC community, it’s not going to be a problem,” he said. “If we can show that this class can make Boston College students handle these issues, the money will come.”

Hernandez said that it might be too early to address such logistical issues. “I feel that people can get so caught up in the logistics that they forget about the idea behind the course.”

Eatonia Davis, committee member and A&S ’11, said that while the ALC is seeking approval and dialogue from high ranking administrators, these encounters have been limited to “five minute conversations.”

Davis said the committee’s relationship with University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J., has been limited.

“He’s a little frightened of me,” she said.

“He has good reason to be frightened of me.”

Davis said that, given the nature of the course, she is disappointed the University does not already provide something of the kind. “It’s about money,” she said.

See Diversity, A4

Results tallied for The Fray to come 2010 NRG games to Conte Forum

BY TAYLOUR KUMPF Asst. News Editor

The fifth annual NRG Games, a competition between residence halls to reduce energy consumption, came to a close on Monday. The residence halls with the highest percentage of energy reduction were Edmond’s, which won the Lower Campus contest, Duchesne, which won the Upper / Newton Campus contest, and Ignacio, which won the Ignacio - Rubenstein head-to-head match-up.

Over the entirety of the competition, the equivalent of 133,793 kilowatt-hours in energy was saved.

The NRG Games, organized by the Boston College Facilities Management in collaboration with the Undergraduate Government of BC (UGBC) and ResLife, tracked the energy usage of all Upper, Lower, and Newton Campus residence halls from Feb. 1 to March 15.

“A week before the competition, we set a baseline – a snapshot of what is being used – and then we judge the residence halls on what they’ve reduced over that time period,” said Deirdre Manning, director of sustainability and energy management. This year’s comparison period was from Jan. 24 to Jan. 31. “We know what was used the week before the competition started, and then the percent reduced is read over that baseline.”

Manning said there are three separate competitions to encourage a friendly rivalry between residence halls. “It makes more sense for people who feel part of a community to compete against each other.”

See NRG Games, A4

Pop-rock group to perform in Conte Forum on April 22, tickets to go on sale on April 12

BY MATTHEW DELUCA Editor-in-Chief

Piano-rock band The Fray will headline this year’s spring concert, according to the Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC). The band is best known for its albums How to Save a Life and The Fray. The concert will be on Thursday, April 22, in Conte Forum.

Al Dea, UGBC president and CSOM ’10, said that the UGBC’s campus entertainment department tried to find an act that would appeal to as many students as possible.

“The overwhelming majority of students wanted Top 40, alternative genre artists, and pop rock alternative acts,” said James D’Ambra, executive director of campus entertainment for the UGBC

and A&S ’10. “The Fray really fits into that. Between the dates we got in Conte and pricing, it worked.”

Dea said that the UGBC is still ironing out some of the details of the event, such as the attendance cap. He said that the show will be able to accommodate more students than last weekend’s Girl Talk concert, which was held in the Plex.

“Obviously, Conte Forum is a larger venue than the Plex, so we’ll have more students,” he said.

Tickets for the event will go on sale on Monday, April 12, at the Robsham box office for $25 each. Ticket sales will be limited to two per BC ID. D’Ambra said that more information on ticket sales and concert procedures will be released at a time closer to the date of the concert. 

TopFive

Thursday, March 18, 2010

THE HEIGHTS

things to do on campus this week

Does Hip Hop Hate Women?

1

Dance Ensemble: BENEATH

Today Time: 7 p.m.

Location: McGuinn 121

Bakari Kitwana, hip-hop activist and author of Hip Hop Generation, will discuss this question during a lecture. Kitwana was also the co-founder of the National Hip-Hop Convention.

2

Today Time: 7:30 p.m.

Location: Robsham

Come watch the Dance Ensemble’s spring show, BENEATH. The performance is choreographed and executed entirely by undergraduate students.

Hillside Open Mic Night

3

Today Time: 9 p.m.

Location: Hillside Cafe

Show off your musical talents at Open Mic Night in Hillside, sponsored by Nights on the Heights. Or just stop by for coffee and free dessert while watching the performers.

FEATURED ON CAMPUS

Broglio discusses Jesuit ed.

AHANA Women and Suicide Friday Time: 7:30 p.m.

Location: O’Connell House A “choreopoem” by Ntozake Shange, called “For colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf,” will be performed in the O’Connell House.

4

Ukrainian Semi-Formal

5

Saturday Time: 9 p.m.

Location: Lyons Hall

The Ukrainian Society will be hosting a semi-formal dance, with a live folk band, as part of Ukrainian Culture Week.

There will also be a performance by a Ukrainian dance ensemble.

IntheNews

FOUR DAY WEATHER FORECAST TODAY

64° Partly Cloudy 39°

FRIDAY

63° Sunny 42°

SATURDAY

64° Partly Cloudy

University Study shows a minority of study abroad students choose Asia Despite the growing prominence of the East Asian nations, just 11 percent of American college students who study abroad choose to study in an Asian country, according to a report by the Chronicle of Higher Education. Europe, by contrast, attracts more than half of all students who study overseas. According to the report, the trend is the result of the small percentage of U.S. students who have studied and are proficient in Asian languages. Additionally, professors with ties to Europe often encourage students to study at a European university, the Chronicle said.

42°

SUNDAY

56° Partly Cloudy 48°

SOURCE: NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE

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

Local News MBTA Green Line service to be fully restored by Monday morning

MICHAEL CAPRIO / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Rev. Timothy Broglio, S.J., archbishop of the U.S. armed forces and BC ’73, spoke on the importance of Catholic teaching.

BY MICHAEL CAPRIO

in the context of religious institutions. “Most institutions of higher learning in this Rev. Timothy Broglio, arch- country began as confessional bishop of the U.S. armed forces institutions,” he said. “They and BC ’73, called on Jesuit sought excellence in learning education to be a guide in pro- and achievement … and were viding discernment in an age of places where an immigrant “sound bytes” at a lecture given population would be worthy of in Fulton Hall Tuesday. higher study.”

“We live in an age of pluralRegarding the CARA study, ism and transition,” Broglio Broglio said he would like other said. “We are flooded with features of Catholic institutions information … but what is its to be highlighted. The effect of quality?” the Jesuit teaching of “men Broglio referenced a recent and women for others” and its study by the Center for Ap- effect on service performed by plied Research students should in the Apostoalso be examlate (CARA) at “We live in an age ined, he said.

G e o rg e t o w n .

“The Jesuits’ of pluralism and According to the goal of forming transition. We study, 31 perpersons for othcent of students are flooded with ers should also at U.S. Catholic information … but be the object of colleges and unia study.” versities change what is its quality?”

Installed as their attitudes archbishop in toward the January 2008, —Rev. Timothy Church’s teachBroglio previBroglio, S.J., ings on abortion ously served by the time they Archbishop of the U.S. in clerical poarmed forces graduate. sitions in the Th e s t u d y Dominican Realso found that 32 percent of public and Puerto Rico. In his Catholic students at Catholic current role, he has advocated universities attend mass less for aid to U.S. soldiers returnoften during their time at col- ing from war. He said that stress lege. and suicide are two problems “Something clearly must be within the U.S. armed forces adjusted,” Broglio said. He said that need to be addressed. the history of higher learning in “Our returning troops are the United States can be taught afflicted with the effect of postNews Editor

traumatic stress syndrome,” he said. “We have an obligation to assist in the healing process.”

He also highlighted the high rate of suicides on military bases. “We have failed in some way to respond to their helplessness.”

After graduating from BC, Broglio studied at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, attaining a bachelor of sacred theology. He said that his time at BC differed from that of many current students.

“It is true that, as an undergrad on this campus, tempers flared,” he said. “It was not an easy time.” He said that following his graduation, he would not have imagined himself serving his current ministry.

“When I left 37 years ago, my path was pretty certain,” he said. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think of spending Holy Thursday on a military base during a war in Iraq.”

Broglio’s lecture was sponsored by the Jesuit Institute as part of the Canisius Lecture Series, which sponsors one lecture each year.

Rev. T. Frank Kennedy, S.J., director of the Jesuit Institute and rector of the BC Jesuit community, said that Broglio’s connection to Jesuits throughout his life served as one motive for bringing him to campus. “He knows Jesuits very well,” Kennedy said. “He’s been working with them for a long time.” 

The MBTA announced that it plans on restoring Green Line service between the Newton Highlands and Reservoir stations by Monday morning, according to a report by the Boston Globe. Service was halted due to erosion of the rail-bed that resulted from the weekend’s storms. An MBTA spokesman told the Globe that crews have been working 24 hours a day until the rebuilding, which will include a new drainage system, is complete. Since Tuesday, Green Line passengers have been shuttled on buses between the Newton Highlands and Reservoir stations.

On Campus BCPD to auction all unclaimed property, proceeds to go to charities The Boston College Police Department (BCPD) will be holding an auction for all unclaimed property that is currently being held by the department. Proceeds from the sale of auctioned-off items will be donated to multiple charities. The auction will be held in the Walsh Hall Function Room on March 27. Cash is the only form of payment that will be accepted. Items will be previewed from 8:30 a.m. until 9 a.m., at which point the auction will begin, continuing until all items have been sold.

National Episcopal Church approves the appointment of openly gay bishop LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Episcopal Church has approved the election of a lesbian assistant bishop in the Diocese of Los Angeles, making her the second openly gay bishop in the Anglican global fellowship, diocese officials said Wednesday. Episcopal conservatives were quick to criticize the approval of the Rev. Mary Glasspool of Baltimore, who was elected last December, and said the move was “grieving the heart of God.” Still, Glasspool’s victory underscored a continued Episcopal commitment to accepting same-sex relationships despite enormous pressure from other Anglicans to change their stand.

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 3/12/10 – 3/14/10 Friday, March 12 11:54 a.m. - A report was filed regarding a suspicious package in Edmonds Hall. After an investigation, all was determined to be in order, and the package was delivered to its recipient.

3:55 p.m. - A report was filed regarding the confiscation of several alcoholic beverages from two underage parties in Gonzaga Hall.

Saturday, March 13 1:11 a.m. - A report was filed regarding a party observed to be operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol on Campanella Way. The operator was identified and the motor vehicle was towed.

3:57 a.m. - A report was filed regarding a motor vehicle accident, on 90 More Road, that resulted in property damage and bodily injury.

8:14 p.m. - A report was filed regarding an underage intoxicated party in Conte Forum. The party was transported to a medical facility in a police cruiser.

8:24 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a party who was ejected from Conte Forum due to their disorderly behavior. The

party was issued a verbal trespass warning barring them from Conte Forum for the remainder of the night.

10:39 p.m. - A report was filed regarding an individual observed urinating in public at the Plex. The party was ejected from the Plex and was issued a verbal trespass warning barring them from re-entering the Plex for the remainder of the night.

Voices from the Dustbowl “What does St. Patrick’s Day mean to you?”

“A time to wear green.”

—Nathan Chase, A&S ’11

10:45 p.m. - A report was filed regarding an underage intoxicated party that was placed in protective custody at the Plex.

The party was later released to a sober adult party.

11:59 p.m. - A report was filed regarding a party who left the primary care facility without receiving proper authorization.

The party was later located and transported to a medical facility.

“Scones, tea, tomfooleries, and shenanigans.”

—Jennifer Corcoran, A&S ’13

Sunday, March 14 4:23 a.m. - A report was filed regarding a report of two parties engaged in a physical altercation in Williams Hall. Upon arrival, officers did not observe anyone, and a check of the area yielded no results.

—Source: The Boston College Police Department

“A lot of Irish drinking and shamrocks.”

—Anastasiya Temchenko,

WCAS ’13

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

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

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

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

A3

The Heights

Thursday, March 18, 2010

BC celebrates holiday on and off campus St. Patrick, from A1 Lent and being on a school day, there would be less celebration, and the holiday would be a little muted.

“People will still greet each other on the holiday, but there won’t be any wine at the dinner table,” he said.

“March 17 is also Evacuation Day – a holiday commemorating the evacuation of the British troops during the Revolutionary War,” McGowan said. “In Suffolk County, which encompasses Boston, all the government offices and schools are closed for the day.”

McGowan found it a rare coincidence that St. Patrick’s Day and Evacuation Day happened to fall on the same day. “How did we know when the British evacuated?” he said.

As for students, McGowan’s thoughts were that celebration, for the most part, is appropriate. “It’s an excuse to have a little extra,” he said.

Brent Estepa, manager of Roggie’s, said, “St. Paddy’s Day is just a great day.”

For the occasion, BC students paraded down Commonwealth Ave. and Cleveland Circle, venturing into establishments including Roggie’s, CitySide, and Mary Ann’s looking for a good time. “We try to be a fun establishment, so students say, ‘Hey, lets go to Roggie’s, we had fun there last year,’” Estepa said.

One Roggie’s customer, Melissa McKernon, A&S ’10, said, “I associate this day with marginally acceptable behavior,” as she and her friends shared “Roggie’s punch,” a green-dyed St. Paddy’s Day concoction.

“BC students basically celebrate St. Paddy’s Day every day,” Estepa said. “[The holiday] is just an excuse to come out and drink and party.”

Friends Suzie Mullen, A&S ’10, and Cara Lynch, CSOM ’10, shared an early holiday meal together. “We have midterms tomorrow,” Mullen said. However in past years, Lynch said, “[St. Patrick’s Day] is more like Marathon Monday.”

With the holiday in mind, Roggie’s, for the most part, sticks to its usual routine, but does make a few modifications.

“We don’t do anything out of the ordinary, per se, short of having green beer and partying,” Estepa said. “In addition, we have a theme that night, with giveaways and prizes. All of our alcohol reps also come in, so, for example, Budweiser and Guinness are there to do Zac Halpern / Heights editor promos.” n The Mods became a base for student celebration throughout the day Wednesday as students celebrated St. Patrick’s day.

Alex Trautwig / Heights editor

Students donned green clothing yesterday to celebrate St. Patrick’s day. The temperate weather allowed for a large student presence in the Quad and Dustbowl during the day.

Cuban American association protests for human rights in Quad

By Molly LaPoint

Heights Staff

The Cuban American Students Association (CASA) protested human rights injustices on Tuesday to commemorate the March 18 anniversary of the Black Spring, a 2003 crackdown by the Cuban government in which 75 dissidents were placed in jail.

To protest the 53 Cubans continued imprisonment, club members stood in a

cage in the Quad, placed tape over their mouths, and handed out flyers.

The club titled their protest “Basta,” which means “enough” in Spanish. “They were organizing peacefully and simply wanted human rights to be recognized within Cuba,” said Marlena Papavaritis, co-president of CASA and A&S ’11. “We are here to protest the fact that protestors are still in prison.”

Another occurrence that encouraged the protest was the death of Orlando

Zapata Tamayo, one of the protestors arrested during the Black Spring. He died Feb. 23, on the 86th day of his hunger strike. Club members distributed pamphlets to students passing by that explained the circumstances of his death.

“We’re here to let people know what he stood for,” Papavaratis said.

This is the first year the club has protested in this way to promote student awareness. “We feel like most people don’t know that these people are in

prison for protesting their rights 90 miles away from the U.S.,” Papavaratis said.

Often, those who protest in favor of human rights concentrate on faraway places, said Sebastian Juncadella, political affairs coordinator for CASA and CSOM ’12. “Some people forget and focus on human rights violations in distant areas, but there is a close nation facing human rights violations.”

Drawing attention to this cause is

especially important because of the University’s Jesuit teachings, Juncadella said. “This is a cause that deserves the attention of the school. It preaches men and women for others, and this is a way the campus can show how they really exemplify those ideals.”

The club hopes to make the event annual. “Hopefully we won’t have to do it every year because the prisoners will be liberated, but we will until every political prisoner is freed.” n

Gasson Hall becomes stage for BC Idol ‘Homeboy’ Jesuit

speaks on gangs

By Ana T. Lopez

saw the sign in the Quad and I thought, ‘Why not?’”

Vale said that more than anyFriday night, Gasson Hall’s thing, it was important for him Irish Room was packed to the to have a strong support system point of standing room only present at the competition. “My with students and faculty to biggest preparation was just witness not only the crowning trying to motivate my friends to of the next BC Idol, but to sup- come.” He said that the night port the efforts of two charities itself was very exciting and, be– the Oasis Foundation and cause of the charitable nature of the Ewing’s Sarcoma Research the event, it was “something cool to be a part of.”

Foundation.

Vale won by singing his renFreshmen and sophomores from the Emerging Leader Pro- dition of “Sunday Morning” gram (ELP) organized the sixth by Maroon 5. “It’s what I sang annual installment of the com- when I impulsively went into the petition, which has become an audition,” he said. Vale said he increasingly popular event on is still unsure about what he will do with his newfound fame, but campus.

The charities together raised he said that he will uphold the a combined $1,211. The Oasis integrity of the BC Idol title.

Coalition is the founder of the “With my crown I don’t know first book club for homeless what changes I’ll implement,” he persons in the United States and said. “But it feels good.”

Auditions for the contest were is based in Boston. The Ewing’s Sarcoma Research Foundation held in the fall and spring and were judged by is supported by members of the Mark Herzlich, “We had to GA&S ’12, who Both charities raised ELP. narrow down the was unexpectedly diagnosed with a combined $1,400. nearly 20 auditions to 11 acts,” the disease last McKenna said. year and has since “All of the contesrecovered.

“The founders of the Oasis tants did a very good job.”

The event itself consisted of Coalition are a priest, a lawyer, and a homeless man,” said Kelley an hour and a half of music. As McKenna, facilitator for the ELP the votes were counted following and LSOE ’12. “They came in the main acts, Dennis Carr, BC’s and talked to ELP and moved us resident “piano kid” and A&S with their story and what they’re ’11, played popular tunes on his trying to do. They have a good signature instrument. The rauidea of what they want to do, so cous crowd stayed enthused until we thought it would be best just the end of the night, cheering for to give them funds instead of every act.

The judges’ panel consisted buying them books.”

McKenna said that after Her- of three Jesuits, Rev. Don Maczlich’s battle with Ewing’s Sar- Millan, S.J.; Rev. Ross Romero, coma became public, it seemed S.J.; and Rev. Richard McGowan, appropriate to raise funds for S.J; who offered their wry comthe research foundation. “We mentary and encouragement thought that this could be some- after the performances of each thing we could do to help,” she contestant.

The top three acts were recogsaid.

The winner of the competi- nized for their talent with prizes. tion, chosen by audience vote, Vale received a gift certificate was Patrick Vale, A&S ’13, who to the restaurant Fire and Ice, said he originally auditioned and the two runners-up received on a whim. “It was very spur of Chipotle gift certificates and the moment,” Vale said. “I just Boston Bruins tickets. n Special Projects Editor

By Audrey Gennaro For The Heights

Courtesy of Ben Heider

Dave Gold and Bill Bennet, both A&S ’12, took second place Friday night.

Courtesy of Ben Heider

Patrick Vale, A&S ’13, won first place with his cover of a Maroon Five song.

When Rev. Gregory Boyle, S.J., first arrived in Los Angeles looking to address the gang problem in the city, he attempted to bring former gang members into churches. That approach may have been unsuccessful, but it ultimately led to the founding of Homeboy Industries, an LA-based corporation that now employs over 400 former gang members.

Homeboys and homegirls, who are the products of gang life in LA ghettos, are welcomed by Boyle with open arms. Through his work, Boyle intends to inspire hope and build opportunities for the former gang members who come to him seeking help. Boyle spoke about Homeboy Industries and read from his new book, Tattoos on the Heart, on Monday in the Faculty Dining Room of McElroy Commons.

Rene Olate, professor in the Graduate School of Social Work, introduced Boyle as his “Jesuit hero.”

“Homeboy Industries is about kinship,” Olate said. “It’s about being in a circle of community and imagining no one standing outside of that circle. It’s what it means to stand with the poor and those who despair. To stand with the demonized so that the demons will stop.”

The organization was based on the projects of Pico Village, Boyle said. He added that Pico Village is one of the largest expanses of subsidized housing west of the Mississippi and that it is known as a home to some of the most dangerous gangs in America.

Homeboy Industries began by constructing a childcare center, but the question of securing jobs was at the forefront of everyone’s mind, Boyle said. Today, Homeboy Industries employs former gang members in its Homeboy Bakery, Homegirl Cafe, Home-

boy Maintenance, Homeboy Merchandise, and Homeboy Silkscreen. “We have our five businesses,” Boyle said. “We’re enemies, rivals, working side by side with each other.”

Boyle laughed as he described Glinda, a server in Homegirl Cafe, “where a waitress with attitude will gladly take your order.”

One day, Diane Keaton walked into the café and asked Glinda what she would recommend when asked what she would like to order. Glinda, not knowing exactly who Keaton was, but recognizing a familiar face, peered down and asked Keaton who she was.

“No, you know, I’m just one of those faces,” Boyle recounted the actress saying. But upon further inspection, Glinda exclaimed, “I know! We did time together, didn’t we?”

Moments such as those comprise the fun part of his job, Boyle said. But the toll of working with former gang members has left its mark. Boyle read from his book, discussing several people he had encountered over the course of his work. One was a 19-year-old runaway named Andres. At home, “Andres wasn’t abused – he was tortured,” Boyle said. “His mother used to put out cigarette butts on his skin and hold his head in the toilet, flushing until he nearly drowned.”

Boyle said that he spoke at Andres’ funeral. Andres was shot like so many others, an unlucky victim of the gang violence that engulfs the projects of LA. But Andres died a man very much changed from the runaway and gangbanger he had been at age 19, Boyle said. “He was home sweet home in his own skin. Andres, a temple of temples and a holy of holies.”

Asked if he ultimately expected many of the members of Homeboy Industries to leave the program, Boyle said, “They’re going to give up on us before we give up on them.” n

A4

Thursday, March 18, 2010

The Heights

Sustainability campaign kicks off with campus events

By Corinne Clifford For The Heights

Wednesday may have been St. Patrick’s Day, but Boston College has been green all week long. BCisGreen Week 2010 kicked off March 11, and will through today.

Green Week is the result of the collaborative efforts of several groups from across campus, including the Undergraduate Government of BC (UGBC) and many other student groups, administration, and faculty whose goal is to increase awareness of sustainability on campus.

“BCisGreen Week is a great opportunity to learn about the ways in which we can contribute to promoting awareness surrounding the environment,” said Al Dea, UGBC president and CSOM ’10, “Most of our events are educational and

informative, and shed light on a number of environmental issues, such as how our personal consumption affects the environment and the theological and social justice issues surrounding the environment.”

Students participated in the planning process and a variety of events including documentaries, presentations, and other environmental programs. The week kicked off March 11 with a viewing of the documentary No Impact Man. The documentary is about a New Yorker who trades in electricity, garbage, TV, taxis, and take-out for walking, bicycling, compost, and local food in an effort to see if he can live carbon-free for a year. BC welcomed the No Impact Man himself, Colin Beavan, to campus yesterday to talk about the challenges and successes of his no impact year.

“After viewing the documentary, it is eye opening to see some of the ‘necessities’ we can really live without, such as fruit from New Zealand, or constantly buying new clothes to match the season,” said Natalie Raffol, co-director of sustainability for UGBC and A&S ’10, who along with her co-director Alia Verner, A&S ’12, has played a vital role in planning and implementing BCisGreen Week. “Despite his extreme example, it definitely paves the way to see the areas of your own life where you can cut back on how much carbon you consume,” Raffol said.

In keeping with the experiment of Colin Beaven, Julia Gabbert, president of Real Food BC and A&S ’10, is leading an effort called the No Impact Experiment on campus. “This is an opportunity for students to really live out the practices

of a more sustainable lifestyle,” he said.

“It’s a one week carbon cleanse where students become more and more conscious of their consumption habits,” Gabbert said. There are 140 students currently taking part in the experiment.

They were each given a “carbon cleanse” guide, and each day, the participants receive an e-mail on what they should focus on for the next day.

There has been a good turnout for the GreenWeek events, Raffol said.

“This year we want GreenWeek to ask the question, ‘What does it really mean to be green?’ We don’t just want to hand out free things and wear green T-shirts, but have the events challenge notions of consumerism and justice.”

There are over 600 members on the Facebook group and students have participated in various awareness activities,

such as touring the Genzyme Center in Cambridge and distributing reusable grocery bags to students on the grocery shuttle Sunday mornings.

The last event of the week features guest speaker Dan Philips of Phoenix Commotion. His business uses trash and recyclable materials to build affordable homes for those in need. Philips will give a lecture tonight at 7:30 in Merkert 127 titled “Legitimizing Trash and Gentrifying Icky,” and Raffol said she encourages students to attend. “I think that it is a great way to combine BC’s mission for social justice with environmental issues.”

Raffol said that, once GreenWeek comes to an end, she hopes to keep “the green vibe” going in the hopes that this week will result in even more support for environmental issues here on campus. n

Center receives new name, directorship

By Michael Caprio News Editor

On Monday, the University announced plans to rename the Center for Catholic Education following a $20 million gift from local benefactors Barbara and Patrick Roche.

The now Barbara and Patrick Roche Center for Catholic Education will use the funds to further Catholic education studies.

Patrick Roche said that Catholic education had an impact on his youth, an influence that was an impetus for his gift to the University.

“Our mother died when my brothers and I were young kids, ages 6-12, and our faith and Catholic education helped with our upbringing,” he said in a statement. “Catholic education was a great gift in my life. When Barbara and I saw the number of

Catholic schools that were closing, we wanted to do something, and BC gave us an opportunity to do so through this center.”

Roche also spoke of his close ties to the University. “I grew up in Sacred Heart Parish in Roslindale and went to Sacred Heart School, and I appreciate what it did for me,” said Roche, who is the co-founder of Roche Bros. supermarkets and BC ’51.

“Boston College also had a tremendous effect on my life, and when BC gave Barbara and me an opportunity to help support Catholic education and entities such as the St. Columbkille Partnership School in Brighton, we knew we wanted to help,” Roche said.

The Roche Center for Catholic Education will continue to work within the Lynch School of Education to train students to teach in Catholic institutions.

Through its journal, Catholic Education: A Journal of Theory and Practice, the center publishes research on national trends within Catholic elementary schools.

The newly donated funds will help the center prepare leaders for Catholic education while researching and developing solutions to the challenges facing Catholic education institutions today, said University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J., in a statement. “Barbara and Pat Roche have done so much for Boston, Boston College, and Catholic education,” he said. “It is tremendous to have this center bear their name and to carry on their lifelong commitment to Catholic education.”

Patrick Roche co-founded local supermarket chain Roche Bros. in 1952. The chain now consists of 18 Massachusetts locations.

The naming of the Roche Center coincides with the recent hiring of its new executive director, Patricia Weitzel-O’Neill, superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of Washington and the former vice president for academic affairs for Trinity Washington University in Washington, D.C. She will assume her role at BC in July.

“Patricia Weitzel-O’Neill is a forward-thinking leader with a proven track record as superintendent of a major archdiocese, who also brings a wealth of leadership experience in higher education,” said Dean of the Lynch School of Education Rev. Joseph O’Keefe, S.J., in a statement. “We are pleased to have her lead the Roche Center for Catholic Education, and given her vision and educational background, I know that she is delighted to return to the Jesuit educational apostolate.” n

Courtesy of the office of nEws and public affairs

Patrick and Barbara Roche donated $20 million to the Center for Catholic Education

University plans to maintain NRG games lower consumption need-blind admission policy NRG Games, from A1

Tuition, from A1 “I think that’s the biggest thing with the master plan – to get it started,” Keating said. “Once people see it started, I think people will be less frustrated.”

At Friday’s meeting, the board gave its approval for the University to move forward with the Gasson Hall renovation. Additionally, Keating said, BC is in the process of designing Stokes Commons, which will be built on Middle Campus, as well as planning renovations for office space on the Brighton Campus. It is there that the More Hall administrative offices will be relocated in order to prepare for the razing of the building and the construction of a dormitory on the site.

“We are moving ahead,” Keating said. “So the fact that we’re in design, if everything goes okay, we’re hopeful to seek board approval and begin construction this fall for those two projects. We’re still following the sequence.

It just took us a little longer through the city, and the economic crisis slowed us down, but we never stopped the plan.”

Prior to any construction on the Brighton Campus or on Stokes Commons, the University would need the approval of the board by next fall. “There’s every expectation that they’re going to support it,” Keating said.

Also important to administrators was restoring salary increases, which had been suspended last year for employees earning over $75,000. “We’re looking to be as efficient as possible, but we felt that we could not go another year

without a salary increase for the staff,” Keating said.

However, administrators are still working to find areas in which the University can be more efficient in its spending practices. Keating identified health care, energy, and utilities spending as key areas where BC is seeking new, creative approaches to battling rising costs.

“We are looking hard at health costs,” Keating said.

“We have really pressed about utility savings and energy savings,” efforts that he said were “really paying off.”

Administrators are forecasting that BC will be below budget in energy spending for the current year, and as a result, the budget allotment for the coming year was lowered.

Until the economy begins to show more positive signs of recovery, the University will continue to carefully monitor its endowment spending, Keating said.

“You want to keep the real value of the endowment constant and growing,” Keating said. “We think we’re very aggressive in the use of the endowment, in a prudent way.”

Keating said that administrators are also looking into ways in which the endowment can be used to support the construction of buildings, rather than incurring debt, which can be expensive.

“We’re looking at some creative ways to trade off debt service and debt financing with use of the endowment,” Keating said. “That also addresses the question, ‘Are we leveraging the endowment properly?’ but we constantly talk about that.” n

The Mods, Rubenstein Hall, and Ignacio Hall compete in a separate division because all three have electric heating, Manning said.

“It is not really fair to have them compete against other residence halls,” she said. Ignacio beat Rubenstein last year with a 4.72 percent reduction and continued the trend this year with a 15.6 percent reduction.

“Although Ignacio reduced energy consumption the most [out of all 19 residence halls], electric heating is expensive,” she said.

“The students can control the heat themselves, though, by turning it up or down.”

Facilities Management coordinated with the EcoReps program this year by asking representatives to rally their dorm mates behind the competition. “The EcoReps are there to serve as peer educators, and to let people know the competition is going on,” Manning said.

“In the Lower contest, Edmond’s won, and 90 came in second, and both Edmond’s and 90 have particularly engaged EcoReps.”

This year was the first time all

students, including those on Upper and Newton, could view their real-time energy consumption on the online Dashboard. Last year, only the Lower Campus halls were on Dashboard.

“Dashboard is a great tool for students to understand the behavioral aspects of energy conservation,” Manning said. “60 percent of energy, students have no control over because it’s necessary for things like heating, but we’re looking for students to take control of that 40 percent that is up to them, and make the best decisions for themselves and for the environment.” The Dashboard can be accessed at bc.edu/dormenergy.

The Dashboard includes several features that equate the energy use of each residence hall to relatable units, such as how many hours of blow-drying and how many driven miles could be powered by the energy being used by the residence hall at any given moment. In addition, a real-time feature shows how much electricity is being used at any given time, and this can be broken down into percentage per person.

Since launching the NRG

McQueeny examines social issues of clean water

By Michelle totino For The Heights

Three speakers at the “Water for the Worlds” discussion panel on Tuesday night presented issues that concerned the global water crisis and its impact on developing nations.

The event was sponsored by Rural Water Ventures, which funds the construction of gravity flow water systems to provide clean water for rural Nicaragua, as part of the Undergraduate Government of Boston College’s (UGBC) Green Week.

According to a report from the United Nations, only 2.5 percent of our planet’s water is useable and fresh, 31 countries are facing water depletion, and 1 billion people lack clean drinking water.

The first speaker, Mike Cermak, GA&S ’13, teaches the environmental sociology course Planet in Peril. In 2007, Cermak co-founded Real Food BC, an organization that promotes the consumption of sustainable, local, organic, and fairly traded food on campus.

As part of his presentation, Cermak deconstructed a series of bottled water advertisements that featured celebrity water activists such as Paris Hilton and Jennifer Aniston.

“The image of water has changed to a high status good,” Cermak said. While Bling H2O, SmartWater, and Fiji bottled waters attempt to bring environmental concern to the bottled water industry, 2 million plastic bottles are still being used every 5 minutes in the United States, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Cermak also said the bottled water industry has a role to play in nations where portable water is inaccessible. “There is a double-bind between

getting clean water and being able to afford it,” he said. “You can’t even collect water in a pan without being charged.”

Multinational corporations such as the Coca-Cola Company buy the water rights of poorer nations, divide up commodities, extract water, and make indigenous peoples pay for the water that fell from the sky, Cermak said.

Since Coke costs less than water in some underdeveloped locations, many health problems arise from imbibing the sugary beverage and not hydrating properly with water, he said. “We [at BC] are a Coke school.”

“Water is everywhere and in these political and personal issues,” Cemark said.

Rosanna Demarco, a professor in the Connell School of Nursing (CSON), spoke second. She discussed the public health perspective of the lack of access to clean drinking water and the diseases tied to this issue.

Waterborne diseases are illnesses caused by drinking water that has been contaminated by human or animal feces that contain pathogenic microorganisms, she said.

In 2005, the third leading cause of death in lowincome countries was diarrhea-related disease, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The fourth leading cause was HIV/AIDS. Diarrhea-related diseases accounted for 1.81 million deaths that year.

Demarco explained that beach and coastal pollution, rain, urban runoff, spills, insects, beavers and muskrats, feces, and warm environments cause direct drinking water contamination, while contaminated water used to prepare food, to wash, or that people swim in with open wounds, causes contamination through indirect use.

“Many people don’t even know they’re sick until they start to develop vague symptoms,” Demarco said.

Over a period of four to 21 days, infected people may experience headaches, fevers, stomachaches, and rashes. Many infants and children die after suffering from dehydration and malnutrition.

Bill McQueeney, founder of Rural Water Ventures, Inc. and BC ’57, was the third speaker. McQueeney’s nonprofit organization strives to save the lives of rural Nicaraguan villagers by funding projects that grant them access to adequate quantities of safe drinking water and hygienic sanitation in order to reduce serious diseases.

“The projects are built in a way that will last 25 to 50 years,” said McQueeny. The villagers of destitute central Nicaragua sign contracts to commit to the labor for the water projects. “That’s a lot of trenching and a lot of back filling,” McQueeney said. The community development that the Nicaraguan villagers want inspires them to want to build better roads and to install electricity, he said.

The outlets and mandatory latrines that are installed in each backyard “have an absolutely transforming result to people’s lives,” McQueeney said.

McQueeney said that, during his time in Nicaragua, he witnessed pigs and chickens run through one entrance of a doorless Nicaraguan hut and exit the other side, while occasionally stopping to leave “calling cards” in the home where the family lives.

McQueeney said the “whole teaching process” of breaking cultural barriers and informing the villagers about the importance of hand washing is important.

“Primary prevention is fundamental,” he said.

To fundraise for a current water project in La Isla, Nicaragua, aluminum BPA-free water bottles were sold. n

Games, Manning said the school has made great strides. “In general, there is more awareness,” she said. “Students realize the impact human beings have on the environment. However, sometimes awareness doesn’t translate into action. Our hope is to engage a competitive spirit and have that translate into action.”

Dashboard also offers students a way to monitor the dollar amounts of energy that are consumed in residence halls.

This feature could provide students with an idea of how much they would be paying in bills if they lived outside the University.

“Students can form good habits, and learning now will serve them well when they have to pay themselves,” Manning said.

Even though the competition is over, Manning advises students to continue to use the Dashboard and make an effort to become educated on the issues.

“Really, everyone’s a winner,” Manning said. “The University has less to pay in electricity bills, and students could decrease their tuitions, as 3 percent of student tuitions go toward this cost.” n

Class proposal seeks to foster diversity Class would be mandatory for all first year students Diversity, from A1 “I would like to see my $50,000 at work. I expect the people who are educating here to make that decision first.”

One issue committee members highlighted was the fact that the class should encourage students to further explore social constructs through other classes at BC. “It’s about stimulating your palate,” said Jennifer Liao, president of the Asian Caucus and CSOM ’10. “It’s more about knowing where you’re coming from and how cultural constructs affect who you are.”

Edwards said that even while most students might not explicitly be “racist,” they could be unaware of the social constructs that dictate their lives. “The thing is, these social constructs are made by us,” he said. “We keep them intact.”

This lack of awareness, he said, serves as a reason for the mandatory nature of the class. “There are things that the University says, ‘We think this is going to be of value to you,’” he said. “For example, I didn’t necessarily want to take a philosophy class when I came here, but I’m taking a philosophy class.” n

CLASSIFIEDS

A5

THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, March 18, 2010

COMMUNITY HELP WANTED BARTENDERS NEEDED!! No experience necessary. Earn $250 per day.

Contact at 627-849-8074.

BABYSITTER NEEDED. A family residing in Chestnut Hill/BC area is looking for responsible babysitter with a car. We need a babysitter on two afternoons (any 2 days of Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday) to pick up children (6 and 9 years old) from a neighborhood school, drive them home for a snack, and then drive them to after-school activities. 6-7 hours per week. Please send an e-mail to nashideti@yahoo.com.

BABYSITTING JOB. Need fun-loving babysitter. Weekends and/or weekday evenings for our daughter (10) and son (8). We live close

to BC’s Shea Field. If interested, call Laurette at (617)-733-3309.

FEMALE VOLUNTEERS: Who are currently anorexic or have recovered from past symptoms of anorexia nervosa in stable medical health are sought for a study of behavioral ratings and blood hormone levels.

Eligible participants will receive up to $550 for a total of four outpatient visits and two overnight stays at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Canter. More info: Michael Mckenery 617-552-2758 mckenery@bc.edu BECOME A JETBLUE CAMPUS REP – HIRING FOR FALL. Run events and create promotions on your campus for JetBlue Airways.

Earn great incentives and gain amazing experience for your resume! Go to: Repnation.com/JetBlue to apply

PARTICIPANTS NEEDED. The Neurodevelopment Center in Cambridge, MA, is seeking individuals aged 12-21 Have you thought about adoption? Loving and devoted married couple hoping to adopt. We hope you will consider us in your options. To learn more, please call us toll-free at 1-877-841-3748, or visit our Web site www.roseanneandtim. com. Please be assured all conversations are held in strict confidence.

With gratitude, Roseanne and Tim.

REAL ESTATE TOWN ESTATE.10 minute walk from BC. Starts Sept. 1st. NO FEE. Modern 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2 parking spots, swimming pool, AC, heated, $2,500 by owner, 617-256-3306

DJ Adams is getting a sixman. It’s destiny, like Slumdog Millionaire.

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

A6

The Heights

Editorials

Quote of the DAY

Proposed diversity class unnecessary

Thursday, March 18, 2010

“Come Fairies, take me out of this dull world, for I would ride with you upon the wind and dance upon the mountains like a flame!”

— William Butler Yeats

The plan proposed by a group of students to require a diversity seminar for freshmen forces a dialogue that should begin organically.

With the hopes of addressing the apparent lack of a uniform social justice and diversity course for all Boston College students, members of the AHANA Leadership Council (ALC), culture clubs, and other student groups have proposed a plan that would implement a mandatory diversity seminar for freshmen. The hope of the committee that proposed this plan is that this brief course would raise awareness of the issues surrounding racism, sexism, classism, and homophobia that are prevalent not only among BC students but in the professional world that we will soon be entering.

We think that it is important for students to not only be aware of but also to try to come to terms with issues of diversity in all of its many forms. Still, although this school is committed to social justice, students should not be required to take this class. There are many classes offered each semester on all aspects of social justice, and indeed it is hard to make it through many majors without taking at least one of these, but these are choices for students to make themselves.

Also, we feel that the class rests on the premise that many social ills arise from a lack of education around issues of diversity, or at least that a class that addresses these issues may ameliorate some of these ills. Yet history bears out our feeling that graduates of any institution may be as prejudiced as any bigot, not because they are ignorant of the issues, but because these problems persist on a deeper human level. This level would not be much probed by a six week

course where only superficial concepts could be investigated. Supporters of the plan for a course hope that discussions around issues of diversity will continue, but we doubt that, if these conversations are not already occurring, a dozen hours of class time will help. Of course, education on these issues can help, but there is no lack of that available to BC students and, in choosing to go to this Jesuit and service-oriented University, they have already made a step in the right direction.

Although we don’t feel that a mandatory seminar would be successful in achieving the endstowards which it has been proposed, we support the idea inasmuch as it is an effect to continue to motivate discussion among students.

We also encourage students to discuss these issues among themselves, and since this new policy wouldn’t apply to anyone currently on campus, those who still have their cultural diversity requirement to complete should choose their course with care. This should not be seen as a requirement to get through, but rather an opportunity to broaden horizons and further explore the social justice aspect of life at this University.

In the history of this University, student efforts have led to great strides in the form of the Black Talent Program, the AHANA acronym, and many activities on campus today. To mandate changes in academics, however, is another thing entirely, and should be done with the utmost reflection and caution.

Endowment managed effectively

Thanks to the efforts of many in the administration, Boston College has weathered the recession without major concessions.

With the decisions by the Boston College Board of Trustees to raise tuition for the 2010-2011 academic year by 3.5 percent and to increase need-based undergraduate financial aid by 7 percent, the University demonstrated its commitment to keeping a BC education affordable for students and their families. For its decision to minimize the increase in tuition while allocating nearly $80 million to undergraduate financial aid, we commend the board.

Over the past year, a sound financial strategy coupled with prudent spending has placed BC in a position such that it is now able to focus its attention on the priorities that were outlined in the 2006 Strategic Plan. The board lifted the salary freeze that had been instituted last year on employees earning over $75,000, which will help to draw more highly-qualified faculty members in the coming year.

Additionally, plans to begin renovating Gasson Hall at the conclusion of the academic year and to begin constructing Stokes Hall next fall demonstrate the confidence that board members and University administrators share in the market’s ability to bounce back and in the University’s ability to press on with its capital campaign. While administrators have no guarantee that the market has in fact stabilized for good, and that contributions to BC will in fact reach projected levels, the confidence that has been displayed by administrators throughout the recession in the University’s ability to stick to its core ideals will go a long way in attracting top quality students and faculty members in the future.

Of those core ideals, we feel that the University’s insistence on sustaining its policies of need-blind admissions and

of meeting the full demonstrated need of all undergraduate students speaks to the validity of BC’s goal of becoming the leader in liberal arts education.

Board members and administrators understand the position that students and their families have been put in as a result of the tumultuous market, and they took every measure to ensure that anyone can afford to attend BC. While area institutions, notably Tufts University, Brandeis University, and Colby College, have either suspended or postponed their respective commitments to being need-blind and to meeting the full demonstrated need of all undergraduates, BC administrators and trustees placed the top priority on sustaining the University’s commitment to financial aid.

In the future, we hope that the University will remain committed to its consistent and responsible approach to financial matters, and that planning for the future of BC will always place the highest considerations on keeping college affordable while providing the high quality education that BC boasts today. The recession forced the University and administrators to evaluate areas of inefficiency and overspending in BC’s operating budget, but it should not take a recession to elicit calls for such an evaluation.

The University should remain committed to constantly being on the lookout for areas of extraneous spending of tuition and endowment dollars that can otherwise be put to more productive uses. We feel that it is the task of the University, its administrators, and the trustees to ensure that the prudence that characterized BC’s response to the recession be maintained in the coming days, months, and years.

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

Contributors: Molly Lapointe, Mollie Kolosky

Robin Miller / Heights Illustration

Letters to the Editor Hockey fan support necessary for the semi finals Dear Editor: I would like to echo the sentiments of Ms. Chasse in her recent article regarding poor attendance at Kelley Rink. I was particularly disappointed to find the rink less than half full for the Hockey East quarter final games.

Ms. Chasse is correct that if you go to a game, you will become a fan. The game is much more

exciting than either football or basketball and, in addition, the hockey team wins! In addition to encouraging the students to attend the games; I’d also suggest that the alumni who buy season tickets should consider actually showing up.

Phil Berestecki BC ’65

Media coverage may make exorcist seem credible Sean Talia Gabriele Amorth made headlines about a week ago on account of his claims that some priests are pedophilic because they have given in to “Satan’s temptations.”

But it’s not only pedophilia for which Satan is responsible. According to Amorth, “All evil is due to the intervention of the Devil, including pedophilia.”

Amorth sat down for an interview with the Times Online a few days ago to discuss the nature of his work. As the Vatican’s official exorcist for the past 24 years, he alleges that he has performed over 70,000 exorcisms, that cardinals and bishops who have lost their faith have succumbed to Satanic influences, and, perhaps most ironic of all, that ghosts are merely “an invention of the human mind.”

Readers of the Times article will find that Amorth makes a host of remarkable claims, a particularly striking one being that he owns a collection of nails and glass weighing more than two kilograms, all of which were vomited by people whom he has exorcised. The most remarkable thing about the entire interview though, is that it is not meant to be satire.

It is actually quite frightening

because, if all references to Satan in the article were to be replaced with a reference to witchcraft, I am fairly certain that Amorth would be immediately marginalized, his worldview dismissed as irrelevant and obsolete.

So why is that currently not the case? Good question.

Others will naturally disagree, but I think it would behoove us to no longer take seriously a man who believes that The Exorcist is just an “exaggerated” depiction of reality.

Would anyone lend credence to my claim were I to suggest that Chucky was really not so far off from the truth? Not likely.

According to Amorth, women are more frequently possessed than are men. Why? “There are various explanations: Satan taking revenge on the Virgin Mary or using women as a means of reaching men. None of them is convincing.” Indeed, none of them is convincing precisely because each is so absurd.

The reason people do bad things is, needless to say, not because of demonic intervention. It does little to help our understanding of the world and of ourselves if we are to respond to the question, “Why do people do evil things?” with the response, “The Devil.” I find it more convincing to say that evil behavior is caused either by pernicious social influences or by people’s selfish

Sean Talia is a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences.

Readers Note: 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 Karolina Cyburt, Layout Editor

impulses, because there is an overwhelming amount of evidence that supports this claim.

If you were to ask a respected historian or psychologist to explain why the Armenian genocide happened or why U.S. military personnel savagely abused prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison and he or she cited Satan as a chief reason, he or she would immediately cease to be a respectable historian or psychologist. Why? Precisely because there is not a shred of evidence that Satan had anything to do with either one (let alone that Satan exists), and because there are much more thorough and satisfying explanations.

Again, though, what is so striking about the article (which can be read at http://www.timesonline. co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article7060354.ece) is that it is entirely serious. I think it is unfortunate because a great number of people will read the article and see no issue with the accuracy of Amorth’s claims. I cite the great philosopher Bertrand Russell when he said, “I find among many people at the present day an indifference to truth which I cannot but think extremely dangerous.”

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

Zachary Jason, Assoc. Arts & Review Editor Allison Therrien, Asst. Arts & Review Editor Patricia Harris, Asst. Marketplace Editor Kevin Hou, Asst. Photo Editor Margaret Tseng, 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, March 18, 2010

A7

OPINIONS

Gladiators of Vanderslice

-

Thumbs Up St. Paddy’s Day – May your glass be ever full. May the roof over your head be always strong. And may you be in heaven half an hour before the devil knows you’re dead.

Son’s – BC’s own “society of Catholic gentlemen” received national recognition this week with a feature article in The National Catholic Register. The article focused on the group’s desire to follow in the footsteps of the Saints and their allegiance to one in particular, who will be honored with a shindig this weekend.

So raise a pint to these classy gents on their Saint’s day celebration.

Macaroni – Love mac and cheese but find it lacking extra elements, such as ham or more cheese? Then has BC Dining Services got a new feature for you! The buildyour-own M&C station is just another example of a fantastic new food option offered.

Suggestion for the next one: build-your-own steak and cheese. Break through that glass wall!

Masters – Scandal is about to go down in the golf world (finally! no golf news so far this year). Tiger has announced that he will be competing in next month’s Master’s. Now that’s cojones.

South Park – Everyone’s favorite fourth graders are back for their 14th season (really?). With the bounty of recent hot topics including health care, Sarah Palin, and the afforementioned philandering golfer, Cartman, Stan, et al are sure to deliver. Seth Macfarlane is probably grateful that the king of offensive television is back to take it’s crown off of his overburdened head.

CJ GUSTAFSON Clad in shining battle armor with shield and weapon in hand, standing with an air of solidarity upon the glittering sands of the hallowed gladiatorial arena, Maximus says to his fellow warriors, “You can help me. Whatever comes out of these gates, we’ve got a better chance of survival if we work together. Do you understand? If we stay together, we survive.”

These are some of the same thoughts that come to mind when the week of sophomore rooming selection begins. Just replace the word “gates” with “Ethernet cord” in the above script excerpt. Who will you take into battle with you? Which friends will prove to be grand fighters as the blessings of the StarRez gods shine upon them? Which soldiers will leave you to the lions when an eightman must wither down to a sevenman? Who will be plucked from the sewage of despair and loneliness, and elevated to celebrate in the spoils of a nine-man victory?

Trepidation quivers in the eyes of hung-over weekend warriors, stumbling into the midst of Selection Monday. They eagerly check their inboxes, fantasizing otherwordly images of Vanderslice, 90, Walsh, or anything better than their current forced triple, which has a bunk bed, yet lacks sufficient space for activities. From their group leaders, some receive the calls of “Nike!” (It means victory in Greek; look up the story behind it after you check your two new notifications on Facebook.) Others wallow in sorrow with nothing to dry their tears except the tersely worded, 8x11 savage e-mail printout that they clutch.

A select and unfortunate few will be exiled to College Road, just as Napoleon was to St. Helena. Trapped among what will seem like the essence of college “nubes” and “shoebees” next year, they will plan revenge at some Mod party against the Commodus of their friends who left them for social death.

Eating at McElroy as a sophomore, because it is too far of a walk on a rainy, Wednesday night down to Corcoran Commons, will feel somewhat like a

Leaks – Although the torrential rains have given way to beautiful clear skies, their legacy lingers. All over campus, especially in some of the more vintage buildings (looking your way, Gasson), leaks and fallen ceiling tiles have been a common hazard. Glad to see seepage isn’t specific to dorms anymore. BC is an equal opprtunity dripper!

Rainy Parade – Th e Proud Irishmen who packed the T Sunday, bound for Southie and a whole host of rambunctiousness, had their drunken hopes crushed when the rainstorm ended the festivities.

Hopefully they’ll be making up for it during the rest of this week.

CoRo – Freshmen will be learning their housing fate by the end of this week, and any wails of anguish heard echoing from Upper probably means that they won’t be moving very far at all.

TU/TD comisserates, and yet doesn’t appreciate hearing CoRo’s many flaws ennumerated again. Life’s tough froshies, get a helmet.

HAYLEY TRAHAN-LIPTAK

RACHEL GREGORIO / HEIGHTS ILLUSTRATION

consolation match: second-tier food and unmotivated, defeated faces.

The same group will debate the merits of those who beat them out for an eight-man. They will dwell upon the various undeserving characteristics of the lucky ones: their inability to use the space to its full party potential, their motley crew of leftoverNewtonian-hall mates who assembled an hour before the deadline, or perhaps how they didn’t deserve it because all eight individuals were on housing probation. The defeated will expel their anger, arguing that there should be some reward system because they are in the honors program, they have a perfect disciplinary record, and they have their coffee every Tuesday with Father Leahy. In the end, however, StarRez doesn’t recognize these academic and social accolades.

Suddenly, living on 2000 Commonwealth Avenue seems to be a more viable option than potentially living as a sophomore on the fourth floor of Gonzaga again.

Others will be invited to dine upon victory, yet sit down too late. Commodus asks of his father, “Have I missed it? Have I missed the battle?” Marcus Aurelius replies, “You have missed the war.” Some will attempt to fill out the last available room on the second floor of Walsh, only to watch it be snatched before their eyes by the group scheduled after them. Instead of a sunny

view of the Mods and Alumni Stadium, they must settle for the sight, and stench, of the dumpster below. As an added bonus, their room is significantly closer to that of the RA. “Are you not entertained? Is this not what you have come to see,” Maximus asks the booming crowd after slaying his opposition. I feel the housing gods look down upon students saying the exact same thing, as they watch a 19-year-old boy bawl and blubber over where and with whom he will not be living next year. It’s a collegehumor.com story where bad things happen to good people, and students across state borders laugh with a subconscious pang of understanding.

I don’t want to look at this process as the Alpha and Omega of sophomore year. So, I hope others don’t think so either. It really doesn’t matter where you live. All students are here to take advantage of the wonderful Jesuit education offered to them. The library does not restrict people from entering based on where they live on campus.

Job employers will not discriminate based upon housing background checks. We all need to calm down.

But who am I kidding? It’s not the end of the world. I already got my eight-man.

CJ Gustafson is a staff columnist for The Heights. He welcomes comments at cgustafson@bcheights.com.

Seeing through the hype

Thumbs Down Hovey House – As approximately half of the sophomore class is scrambling to make final decisions about their study abroad destinations, the OIP seems determined to keep as many students as possible at BC for all of next year.

With a meager four days allotted to finish abroad applications, TU/TD has a suspicion that BC is trying to send us a message. If you’re going to miss us too much, just say so.

Facebook: diversion or resource?

TYLER HUGHES Ignoring its name, which is ridiculous to the point of lewdness and has opened up a world of Internet memes, the iPad is doomed to fail. With just a couple weeks left before Apple releases its new tablet computer, Apple fans and tech lovers are interested to see if it can live up to the hype. Of course it has no chance, and almost everyone but the Apple worshippers have figured that out.

The iPad, recently unveiled amid a huge amount of speculation, is an attempt at competing with e-readers and netbooks, while combining the features of an iPod, iPhone, and video player (but not camera, much to the chagrin of hip teenage girls and their Skype friends). The result is a tablet computer that is destined to fail at almost everything it attempts to be.

The e-reader aspect was the most expected feature of the iPad before it was revealed. E-readers are, of course, disturbing ideas in themselves. The book, one of the most wonderful things mankind has had for centuries, should never be replaced by a flashy screen.

However, putting aside nostalgic

comments about the satisfaction of holding a physical copy of a novel, the iPad managed to make the biggest and simplest mistake in all of e-reading: It will be a hassle to read.

The beauty of Amazon’s Kindle or Barnes and Noble’s Nook readers is that they use e-Ink, which makes a screen actually look like paper and therefore readable. The iPad, however, uses an LED screen. Have you ever read an entire novel on a computer screen? Of course you haven’t, because your retinas would fry half-way through. Apple has managed to ignore this and tout the fact that text will look “bright” on the screen, a disturbing testament to their connectedness. At least you get to click the book you want on a cutely-rendered picture of a book shelf.

Half of Apple’s promotion page also covers its e-mail, Youtube, iTunes, applications, and browser functions. I can hear the fanboys now: “It’s practically a computer!” Except it is a computer.

A poorly functioning computer. Not only is the concept of a tablet computer notoriously worthless, but the iPad cannot even run more than one program at a time. So, when you are showing your Starbucks friends a hip new music video on the new iPad Youtube “app” (Yes, it only adjusts the screen), you won’t even be able to switch over to the New York Times homepage. Everything about this new gadget reeks of a poorly-functioning laptop.

Almost every feature of the iPad

FROM HERE TO RESERVOIR

BY SAL CIPRIANO

could be trumped or matched with just one product at about half the price: a netbook. Netbooks, small laptops stripped to the basics and designed for simple computer tasks, are far cheaper and likely far better.

In Apple’s fervent desire to push out a new novelty product, they forgot that the iPad is really just a weak, more expensive computer with far fewer features. Netbooks are small and cheap but do almost anything your home computer can do, which is far more than the iPad could ever hope for.

So, what are you actually getting for your $500-800? A name and a conversation piece. The only thing a laptop or netbook cannot do that the iPad can is look fancy and attract hype. Apple’s only chance of success with their new product will be from the horde of devout Apple-lovers who cannot wait to show their friends the “vivid LED-backlight,” onscreen keyboard, and clean screen. I’m sure the thought of calmly sliding it out of your bag to the envy of your classmates is tantalizing. Every iPad sale will be to a foolish Mac-lover who sacrificed functionality, affordability, and performance for style, brand name, and attention. Still, who am I kidding? You already reserved your iPad. Tyler Hughes is a staff columnist for The Heights. He welcomes comments at thughes@bcheights.com.

It is midnight on a Sunday, and you have a six-page paper due at 10 a.m. You settle in for a long night with all the essential components: a fully charged laptop, a can or two of Red Bull, and an open Microsoft Word document, its blank white gleam leering at you from behind the screen. All you are missing is information to write about.

So you open up Firefox and go to…

Facebook.

According to recent reports from Experian Hitwise, a firm that calculates how often Web sites are visited, Facebook has surpassed Google to become the most commonly trafficked site on the Internet. Known to college users as an effective way to procrastinate while keeping in touch with friends, the social networking site’s dominance has begun to push into the market of search engines.

Why use Facebook as an information tool? “People want information from friends they trust, versus the anonymity of a search engine,” the director of media relations at Hitwise reports. Facebook has become a leader in connecting individuals and unquestionably its users, groups, and fan pages comprise a large knowledge base available on the site. Yet, the dominance of Facebook shows a disturbing tilt towards an era that prizes opinions over facts.

Here is a quick quiz. Which of the following are facts and which are opinions? Global warming? Death panels in the health care bill? Sarah Palin seeing Russia from her house?

Put these terms into Google and you can find reliable pages that tell you which of these statements are true and which are false. In our opinionobsessed age, however, everything from scientific evidence to the written word has become questioned and debated. The line between fact and falsehood gets blurrier each time we turn to a place like Facebook for reliable information, when we depart from fact to rely on opinion.

Evolution, which many would see as a reolved argument, has taken this disturbing path. Despite volumes of scientific tests and evidence, many still argue it is just an idea. Thoughts on global warming have followed the same trend as large groups of people still insist it is just an opinion regardless of scientific fact.

Back to your paper. How is Facebook going to help you find out what Plato would think of modern politics?

Type a query into a search engine like Google, and instantaneously you have a list of Web sites that gives you related information, but when you turn to a place like Facebook, your results are sorted into people, groups, fan pages, and a little box at the bottom for Web results.

Search Facebook for “Plato.” First, you’ll see the profiles of a few people unlucky enough to be named after a philosopher, and then you’ll find a few groups like “Philosophy is Sexy,” and “Nobody parties harder than a greek!” To anyone looking to receive a grade higher than an F on a paper, you know those groups won’t help and that Facebook is not the appropriate place to find well-researched material.

Regardless of our feelings on issues that matter, they still have underlying facts that can not be denied. No matter how easy it is to communicate with the “friends you trust,” they are not going to supply you with reliable facts or information. Whether you’re researching a paper or having a political debate, opinion is important, but it is not a substitute for fact.

Hayley Trahan-Liptak is a staff columnist for The Heights. She welcomes comments at opinions@bcheights.com.

Write for THE HEIGHTS

Have something to say?

Contact us at editor@bcheights.com

Thursday, March 18, 2010

The Heights

A8

Title quest continues at TD Garden Crawley

rejects invitation

Vermont Preview, from A10

“I think so many different things change from now – I think we played them in maybe October or November – so many things change, systems change,” Lombardi said. “I think we’ll look at game tape, study if they have any new tendencies, and adjust a little bit. But for the most part, we’re just trying to stick to our game plan. We played them a lot, so you learn their tendencies, and you get a good feel for what they’re trying to do.”

While he said Vermont is now “hitting its stride,” head coach Jerry York explained that the Eagles “have a pretty good understanding of how Vermont plays.” “[Vermont head coach] Kevin [Sneddon] has been there a couple years now, and he is not changing or suddenly putting a different type of product on the ice,” York said. “He’s been pretty consistent over the years. We’ll look at recent tapes of Vermont, but we have a pretty good understanding of what it takes to win the game on Friday night.”

The semifinal game at the TD Garden Friday at 5 p.m. will be a classic matchup of big offense against big defense.

The Eagles enter the game averaging 3.81 goals per game, good for third in the country and first in Hockey East.

The Vermont defense is averaging 2.86 goals against per game (compared to the Eagles’ 2.47), but have allowed one goal or less in three of its last four games.

“We have a good understanding that we are going to play a team that has a strong goaltender in Madore, with backto-back shutouts at New Hampshire and big, hard-nosed defensemen, maybe the biggest in the league,” York said. “They play stingy, hard-nosed defense. We are going to have to battle hard against their big, mobile, strong defensemen.”

Strong on defense, Vermont also boasts an experienced group of forwards who spread out scoring opportunities evenly. The Catamounts are led in points by three senior forwards and three junior forwards, topped by senior Brayden Irwin’s 15 goals and 19 assists. Fellow senior Colin Vock’s 11 goals and 17 assists don’t put him far behind.

Although there have been questions at times throughout the season about the Eagles’ young defense (four out of six defensemen are freshmen), York believes they have shown terrific improvement.

“They were good players when they came, but they are adjusting to a strength and quickness factor as you move into it,” York said. “I feel very good about their play, and I think they will be fine this weekend.”

York also added that he has not yet decided who will be in the net for the Eagles on Friday night. Together, junior

NIT Bid, from A10

Alex Trautwig / heights editor

Barry Almeida tries to score against UMass goalie Paul Dainton in Friday’s game. The sophomore forward netted three goals in the weekend series.

Alex Trautwig / heights editor

Cam Atkinson and Parker Milner stretch before Saturday’s game against UMass last weekend. BC swept the Minutemen to advance to the semifinals.

John Muse and freshman Parker Milner have consistently been exceptional goaltenders for BC this season, holding a 2.38 and 2.32 goals-against average, respectively. During the regular season, Muse and Milner combined for the lowest goals-against average during Hockey East play.

“We have two excellent goaltenders, and we feel very good about their save percentage, their goals-against average, and wins,” York said. “We’ve got a good

situation, and whoever I pick will be a solid choice.”

Milner did struggle Friday against Massachusetts, allowing five goals in BC’s 6-5 win. Although not all five of the goals were considered his fault, due to some turnovers deep in the Eagles’ zone, he has stiff competition in the veteran Muse, who held the Minutemen to two goals the following night.

Although the championship game will be played Saturday night, Lombardi said

they are not even looking at that game yet, and are instead taking it “one game at a time.”

“Our focus is completely on Friday first before thinking about advancing to Saturday night,” Lombardi said.

Even so, winning the Hockey East championship is on their minds.

“The Lamoriello Cup [awarded to the Hockey East champion] is very important to us,” York said. “We’d love to get it back here to the Heights.” n

to comment. “I don’t think you really want to ask me questions about this,” she said.

For the second straight year in Crawley’s tenure, the team anxiously sat in the locker room watching the NCAA Tournament Selection Show, hoping it would hear its name called to compete in the Big Dance. Once again, though, the selection committee denied the Eagles.

“I was surprised,” Crawley said. “I was really hoping it would be enough.”

The “it” she referred to includes an impressive resume. Crawley’s team defeated eight top-50 teams, four of which are ranked in the top 25. The Eagles also reached the semifinals of the ACC championship for the first time in program history.

The team’s 17-15 record, however, may have cost it that bid, as the Eagles dropped four of their last five regular season games against last-place teams Virginia Tech and Miami. Only once in the past decade has a team with only two more wins than losses made the tournament.

Athletic Director Gene DeFilippo and Crawley talked the morning after the loss about the prospect of rejecting a WNIT invitation. “We talked and determined that it was best for our program,” DeFilippo said. “We didn’t want to send a team to the tournament if they all didn’t want to be there.”

Crawley affirmed this claim. “Obviously the seniors wanted another game, but others were torn on their desire to play,” she said.

DeFilippo also denied that the refusal of the NIT bid had anything to do with finances. “Finances did not motivate this decision at all,” DeFilippo said. “Not at all.”

Although the decision was made before the team made it home from the ACC championship, Crawley did not inform the players until Monday night. The team will now disperse for a few weeks, and Crawley is looking toward the future.

“We’ll lose leadership from our seniors, but we’re very excited about this incoming class,” Crawley said. ESPN ranks BC’s incoming class as 11th best in the country.

“This year taught me to seize the moment,” Crawley said. “Live each day and play each day as your last.”

BC’s last day came just a few weeks before most expected. n

mollie kolosky / heights photo illustration

Bracket Analysis by: Andrew Klokiw and Daniel Popko For The Heights & Heights Staff

Midwest Region In the tough Midwest, the Sweet 16 will feature two of the best games of the entire tournament. Look for the experience and depth of the Jayhawks to top Michigan State, and for the playmaking ability of Georgetown’s Greg Monroe to dominate Evan Turner and the undersized Buckeyes. Ultimately, the Midwest will prove to be the Jayhawks’ region to lose.

West Region The Sweet 16 match-ups should see the Big East solidify its case for being the best conference in college basketball, as the top-seeded Orange will move past Butler, and a well-coached Pittsburgh team will utilize its guard duo to neutralize Kansas State. Arinze Onuaku’s quad better heal fast, as the Orange need him to advance to the Final Four. If it does, ’Cuse will get past Pitt.

East Region The results came out pretty chalky.

Wisconsin was considered for the Final Four, as they look to be the team with the best shot of knocking off Kentucky, but some vocal support for sleeper Wofford squashed that. Kentucky holds serve against a streaking West Virginia team, which squeaks by Lazar Hayward and Marquette in the Elite Eight. John Wall can’t be stopped before the Final Four.

South Region Wait, who’s that? Could it be the Siena Saints? Why, yes, it is. Kyle Singler breaks down in an Adam Morrisonworthy puddle of tears after losing to America’s Cinderella. The fairy tale ends when they get spanked by Villanova. The Wildcats, who narrowly escaped being replaced by Richmond and Baylor, use the experience from last year’s run to head back to the Final Four.

Final Four Kansas and Syracuse match up two of the country’s top teams, but the ins-deoutside tandem of Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich are way too much for ’Cuse’s zone defense. Experience can buy ’Nova a lot, but it won’t be able to stop the Cats down low. Kentucky in a romp. Expect the final to be closer than last year’s, but the tournament’s top team will take the top prize. Kansas wins, 81-77.

The Heights

Editors’ Picks

Thursday, March 18, 2010 The Week Ahead

Standings

Hockey gears up for a run at the conference title. Baseball again travels to a tough opponent, while softball looks to snap its six-game skid.

Lacrosse is off to the best start in the team’s history, but faces a tough Maryland team.

A9

Paul Sulzer

22-13

Zach Wielgus

21-14

Maegan O’Rourke

20-15

Heights staff

17-18

Men’s basketball was bounced early from the ACC tournament, while the women declined an NIT invite. Hockey swept UMass in the league quarterfinals. Baseball stole a win in Miami, but the pitching staff continues to struggle.

Guest Editor: Kristen House Arts & Review Editor “This is so ShRaven.”

Zach Wielgus Sports Editor

Men’s Hockey: Hockey East tournament champion Softball: Maine at Boston College Lacrosse: Boston College at Maryland March Madness: Tennessee vs. San Diego State

Baseball Pat Dean was named ACC Pitcher of the week after a dominant performance against No. 13 Miami Friday night.

Dean tossed eight shutout innings, striking out nine and surrendering just six hits, leading Boston College to a 3-0 win at Alex Rodriguez Park.

The Hurricanes, who entered the game averaging 9.9 runs per game, only advanced three runners into scoring position while Dean was pitching.

Through four starts, Dean is 3-0 with a 2.79 ERA. He has struck out 25 batters in 29 innings of work.

Dating back to last year, Dean is 3-0 with an 0.41 ERA against Miami.

Men’s Hockey

This Week’s Games Baseball: Boston College at Virginia (series)

BCnotes

Recap from Last Week

Maegan O’Rourke Assoc. Sports Editor

Paul Sulzer Asst. Sports Editor

Kristen House Arts & Review Editor

BU

BC

BC

BC

Virginia

Virginia

Virginia

BC

BC

BC

BC

Maine

Maryland

Maryland

Maryland

BC

San Diego State

Tennessee

San Diego State

Tennessee

Steven Whitney was named Hockey East Rookie of the Week after scoring a goal and dishing out three assists in Boston College’s sweep of Massachusetts, according to a league announcement.

The freshman forward scored the game-winner on Friday night in the Eagles’ 6-5 victory over the Minutemen. He also assisted on Paul Carey’s insurance goal in the third period of BC’s 5-2 win on Saturday.

Whitney totaled three points on Friday night for the third time in his career and the second time against the Minutemen. He also had a goal and two assists in BC’s 7-1 win at Amherst on Feb. 5.

Harris carries extra load with new job at Hillside Harris, from A10

sang lee / heights staff

Better known for punishing linebackers, Montel Harris has spent the last month making sandwiches at Hillside Cafe.

Since starting the job about a month ago, Harris has experienced everything a normal employee at Hillside does. He makes sandwiches alongside other student employees, while also filling coffee orders behind the counter.

“I do everything,” Harris said.

“I started learning the coffee bar, so I’ve done the coffee bar a couple times, but mainly just making sandwiches.”

Harris said one of the best parts about working at Hillside is interacting with the students that come to eat or grab coffee.

The running back, who has been very happy with his experience with BC Dining so far, enjoys seeing his friends and other students, as well as catching up with everyone.

“I like [working] a lot,” Harris said. “Everyone at Hillside is very nice. I see a lot of my friends, people I haven’t seen in a long time. It’s pretty cool.”

Just as most students balance class and work, Harris also must find time in his busy schedule of class and football to take shifts at work. On a typical day, Harris completes football workouts

in the morning and then goes to class. Afterwards, he heads to Hillside on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Harris then has to fit in his normal homework and assignments, plus extra tutoring sessions.

Even with his time-consuming schedule, Harris understands his classes are his first priority. Work at Hillside, he said, is something he enjoys outside of school and football.

“I try not to get overworked, so school comes first,” Harris said. “So I make sure I go to all my classes. With work, it’s not hard, it’s kind of fun. It’s more like fun to me, the job is fun.

School is harder than work. If I get school out of the way, it’s really nothing.”

With the arrival of spring comes the start of spring practice, and now Harris must also devote more time to football.

Spring practice allows the team to hold organized practices and scrimmages leading up to the Jay McGillis Spring Game on April 24.

Though Harris is able to work normal shifts now, practice will mean he will have less time to commit to Hillside. Harris said the offseason has been produc-

tive, but he’s ready to get back on the field, even though it may mean cutting back on the number of shifts he works at Hillside. “[The offseason] is going good,” Harris said. “I got in the weight room, had a good winter. I gave my body some time to heal, so I’m ready to go again.”

Even as he prepares for another dominant season with the Eagles, Harris recognizes that there are other opportunities he can take advantage of while at BC besides football, which is why he took the job at Hillside in the first place.

Many don’t consider athletes to be active in anything outside their sport and classes, but Harris shows that there’s more to playing football at BC than just the season and offseason workouts.

“I think more people are starting to see that the athlete is more than just going to class and playing football,” Harris said.

“Some people see me [at Hillside] and they’re still shocked that I work there, like, ‘What are you doing working? Football players can’t work.’

“People are starting to notice that it’s more than football with most of the people here.” n

Baseball blitzes Bryant, but can’t run with UConn

By DJ Adams Heights Editor

The Boston College baseball team has no issue with beginning each game, scoring first in 14 of its 16 contests thus far. The team is a disappointing 7-9 during this stretch, though, largely due to its tendency to give away the lead in the later innings. During a two-game road stint against UConn and Bryant University this week, the Eagles split the series and demonstrated their inability to hold on to leads, but they also showed what they are capable of doing when they do.

On Wednesday afternoon, BC set aside its recent pitching struggles and rode the arm of Taylor Lasko and three home runs to defeat Bryant in Smithfield, R.I., 8-2. Usually a pitcher reserved for the bullpen, Lasko was called upon for the spot start because of the horrendous 7.64 team ERA entering the contest. The sophomore righty was not overpowering, only mowing down two Bulldogs, but he had great control and didn’t allow Bryant to capitalize on one breakout inning.

BC opened up the box score in the second when outfielder Robbie Anston singled to center with the bases loaded, scoring John Spatola and Andrew Lawrence. Anston, who has a .391 batting average thus far, went two for five on the day.

In the bottom of the third, Bulldog Tim Norton crushed a solo shot to right that halved BC’s advantage. Rather than folding in the threat of adversity, Lasko thrived by retiring nine of the next 10 Bryant players to step into the batter’s box.

BC’s offense took it from there. Matt Hamlet, Anthony Melchionda, and Mickey Wiswall all trotted the bases and paved the way for six more runs between the fifth and eighth innings. Thirteen hits in total for the Eagles, including a three-for-three, one-RBI performance by Lawrence, was their highest total output since an 18-14 win over Florida International March 10.

The bullpen took over in the seventh inning for BC, and allowed one run on three hits over the final three frames to close out the victory.

Lasko earned his first win as an Eagle.

On Tuesday afternoon, in contrast, BC lost to UConn due to its inability to produce such a complete performance. Despite three Eagle runs in the top of the first, senior pitcher Dane Clemens was rocked, and the offense’s bats were shushed, giving the Huskies a comfort-

Steven Stuts / miami hurricane

Shortstop Brad Zapenas (left) was on the base paths frequently in the last two games, reaching on two hits and two walks. Matt Watson (right) also logged two hits and drew two walks. able 8-4 victory at J.O. Christian Field in Storrs, Conn.

Initially, the game looked promising for the Eagles, as UConn starting pitcher Robert Van Woert was wild early. Hamlet was hit by a pitch, then advanced to second when Van Woert’s next toss to home went beyond the catcher’s mitt. The UConn righty surrendered an RBI single to Wiswall, the team leader in RBIs, giving BC the first score of the contest. Melchionda was also beaned, and Spatola walked to load the bases. With two outs, shortstop Brad Zapenas singled to left to score Wiswall and Melchionda. Despite registering just two hits, the Eagles had a 3-0 cushion heading into the bottom of the frame.

Clemens threw many more strikes across the plate than his rubber counterpart, though he didn’t fare any better. Husky Pierre LePage led off the first with a double, which was promptly followed by shortstop Nick Ahmed’s blast over the left-centerfield wall, cutting BC’s lead to one. The pulverizing didn’t stop there, as UConn took a 4-3 advantage off two RBI singles by L.J. Mazzilli and Joe Pavone, respectively.

In the bottom of the third, Clemens gave

up consecutive doubles to Pavone and Billy Ferriter for UConn’s fifth run. Just one inning later, Ahmed tallied another RBI, his third of the day, and two more Huskies reached base safely without recording an out. Reliever Geoff Oxley replaced Clemens and inherited his teammate’s base runners, but he couldn’t bail out the starter. The Huskies added two more insurance runs, stretching the lead to 8-3.

Clemens’ final line consisted of 10 hits, two walks, and eight earned runs over threeplus innings, ballooning the starter’s ERA to a dismal 9.20. While another BC starter was thoroughly pummeled, Oxley and fellow bullpen arms Hunter Gordon and Jay Jeannotte silenced the opposing bats the rest of the way, combining for five scoreless innings and allowing just six UConn batters to reach base safely.

BC’s missing bats prevented a comeback.

Aside from a Spatola home run to left in the fifth, his sixth of the year, there was little pop in the aluminum for the Eagles. In three of the last four frames, BC failed to put a runner on the base paths, and it recorded a measly five total hits in the match-up. n

SPORTS THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, March 18, 2010

A10

THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2010

Don’t sleep on Vermont tomorrow

PAUL SULZER Boston College might be the best hockey team in the country right now. In their past 14 games, the Eagles are 112-1. They’ve outscored their opponents 60-28. Heading into tomorrow night’s Hockey East semifinal match-up with eighth-seeded Vermont, the Eagles are heavy favorites to win the league title.

Don’t sleep on Vermont for a second, though. Although they barely even qualified for the league tournament, the Catamounts were only three points away from third place. They’re a dangerous team. Just ask New Hampshire, the Hockey East regular season champions.

The Wildcats, who were undefeated at home against league opponents heading into last weekend’s quarterfinal series with Vermont, lost two of three to the Catamounts in Durham. Now UNH is sitting on the wrong side of the bubble for the 16-team NCAA tournament, which begins next week.

Vermont, though, just moved on to the right side of the bubble. Beating UNH in the quarterfinals allowed the Catamounts to leapfrog the Wildcats in the all-important PairWise Rankings, which determine seeding for the NCAA tournament. Two automatic qualifiers are currently ranked outside the top 16, leaving 14 as the cutoff for the tournament. Vermont is ranked No. 14, and UNH is No. 15. A loss to BC in the semifinals could drop the Catamounts out of contention for a tournament berth.

Vermont desperately needs to win tomorrow to keep its NCAA tournament dreams alive. The Catamounts actually took the season series from BC, splitting the games played at Kelley Rink and winning the season opener in Burlington. But the Eagle team they’ll face in the semifinals has grown since then. The BC goaltending situation was completely unsettled at the beginning of the season, with John Muse recovering from hip surgery and Chris Venti and Parker Milner competing for the right to split playing time with him. Head coach Jerry York found the proper balance between Muse and Milner later in the season, and the Eagles became the hardest team to score upon in Hockey East. Since Muse and Milner have split time so evenly, they’re both fresh heading into the most important stretch of the season.

At the other end of the ice, the Eagles have been scoring at will over the past six weeks. They’ve scored at least five times in half those games, including three seven-goal efforts. The Brian Gibbons-Joe Whitney-Cam Atkinson line has been getting a lot of pub for putting up points, but others have picked up the scoring burden lately. Barry Almeida scored three goals and had an assist in the quarterfinal series against Massachusetts, while Steven Whitney added a goal and three assists. Matt Lombardi also scored a critical goal to give BC some separation in the second game. If the Eagles can continue to score from several different lines, they’re going to be almost impossible for the Catamounts to slow down.

If any team can slow down the Eagles, though, it’s the Catamounts. They play a tough, defensive brand of hockey designed to knock speedy opponents like BC off their game. Goaltender Rob Madore, who was fourth in Hockey East in goals-against average this season, recovered from a humiliating 7-4 loss on Friday night to post back-to-back shutouts against the Wildcats. Madore seems to be rounding into his best form of the season, so the Eagles will have to be especially creative to beat him.

The Eagles can’t afford to be caught off guard for this game. They’re currently in a three-way tie with North Dakota and St. Cloud State for the final No. 1 seed in the tournament, which would virtually guarantee them a spot in the Worcester regional, just under an hour away. A loss would put that all up in the air. So much is on the line Friday night. Don’t miss it.

Paul Sulzer is the assistant sports editor for The Heights. He can be reached at sports@ bcheights.com.

Montel Harris balances an unusual commitment: starting for the football team and working at Hillside.

Let’s Do Lunch

BY MAEGAN O’ROURKE Assoc. Sports Editor

Montel Harris would never be considered an average player on the football field.

When people think of the sophomore running back from Jacksonville, Fla., most recognize him as the Boston College football team’s leading rusher. Some might think of his record-breaking season in 2009, in which he totaled 1,457 rushing yards on 308 carries, setting sophomore records along the way.

His standout performance against NC State also comes to mind, when he ran over the Wolfpack for 264 yards and five touchdowns.

Harris was also second in the ACC in rushing yards, helping lead the Eagles to an 8-5 record and a match-up with Southern Cal in the Emerald Bowl.

Already 10th on BC’s all-time rushing list with 2,357 yards, Harris rises above the rest on the field. But off the field, the sophomore is just an average BC student.

Over the past month, students may have recognized a familiar face working at Hillside Cafe. That’s because the Eagles’ standout running back now works there.

Harris, who still participates in offseason workouts with the team during the winter, took a job with BC Dining working at Hillside to fill the free time with which he found himself after football season ended in late December. Just as he shoulders BC’s rushing attack, Harris now fits in seven to 10 hours per week working at Hillside on top of his regular classes and practice schedule.

“I had some free time in the offseason, and I wanted to make some extra money,” Harris said. “It’s good working at Hillside. It’s clean, you get to see a lot of your friends, and you still get to socialize. I couldn’t see any bad in it, so I went ahead and took a job.”

See Harris, A9

RUSHING YARDS

1,457 TOTAL TOUCHDOWNS

15 RUSHING YARDS IN A GAME

264 SANDWICHES ALREADY MADE

301 SANG LEE / HEIGHTS STAFF

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

HOCKEY EAST TOURNAMENT

Eagles gear up for title run BC declines WNIT bid

BY GREG JOYCE For The Heights

Vermont qualified for the Hockey East tournament by the skin of its teeth, edging out Northeastern for the eighth and final spot by one point.

At 9-11-7 in conferFriday, 5 p.m. ence, the Catamounts Live blog on were supposed to act bcheights.com/sports as no more than a speed bump for top-seeded New Hampshire. Instead, Vermont shocked UNH in Durham twice to snatch the best-of-three series and advance to take on No. 4 Boston College.

Don’t let their seed and record in Hockey East fool you, though.

The Catamounts are ranked No. 14 in the country and are coming off two straight 1-0 wins over the offensively potent Wildcats, with sophomore goalie Rob Madore recording both of the shutouts.

Also, Vermont took two of three games in the season series against BC, though the teams haven’t squared off since Nov. 15. Assistant captain Matt Lombardi said that the Eagles are a different team now from the last time they played the Catamounts.

See Vermont Preview, A8

I NSIDE SPORTS THIS ISSUE

Crawley, DeFilippo cite lack of team unity, not finances

BY ADAM ROSE For The Heights

Little did the seniors of the Boston College women’s basketball team know that they had played their last game in their semifinal loss to NC State in the ACC tournament.

The Eagles were on the outside looking in for the NCAA Tournament once again. As the team waited to hear where it would be headed in the Women’s NIT, though, disappointment began to fill the room. After the results were announced and the Eagles were not included, head coach Sylvia Crawley informed the team that it would not accept a bid to the NIT and notified the players that their season had come to an end.

“I really wanted our team to make it to the NCAA tournament,” Crawley said. “Now they’ve got motivation for the offseason.”

For the seniors, this announcement came as a shock. Ayla Brown, visibly displeased when asked about the decision not to accept the NIT bid, refused ALEX TRAUTWIG / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Carl Sneep and BC need to prepare for a physical game against Vermont.

Baseball beats Bryant

Taylor Lasko pitches six strong innings to lead Boston College over Bryant..........................A9

‘The Heights’ predicts March Madness

Ten of The Heights’ sports writers break down the bracket and determine this year’s champion...............A9

See NIT Bid, A8

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

Thursday, March 18, 2010

The Heights

Mike Saldarriaga / Heights Photo Illustration

Thursday, March 18, 2010

THE HEIGHTS

B2

+Editor’s Corner

Fun fact: reality still bites

ARTS EVENTS CALENDAR

h it w ak Z on s Ja

KRISTEN HOUSE Miracle of miracles, it turns out that reality TV is scripted. This is not one of those underground rumors.

Pretty much everyone has heard these allegations before. But how true is this statement? How scripted is scripted? In my magazine class a few Tuesdays ago, we were visited by freelance journalist, author, and television writer Sascha Rothchild.

Among her prodigious accomplishments, Rothchild has worked as the writer for a reality television show.

She noted that there are scripts, but they’re so unconventional that it’s difficult to really call them that at all.

Shows like The Hills, Laguna Beach, and Jersey Shore, she explained, will have situational scripts. A page will call for a “large fight,” for example. So, in some sort of warped predestined sense, the characters are lulled into situations already created for them by the god of reality television (who, in all likelihood, is a mash-up of a E.T. and Jack Donaghy). Are people so desperate to become famous that they’ll give up the relative autonomy of real life for repeated scenes of slapping overly-bronzed wax dolls? (I’m looking at you, Heidi and Audrina.)

Rothchild mentioned working on the short-lived 2006 MTV reality show Cheyenne, relating an anecdote of working on a scene where this blondie was breaking up with her hometown boyfriend. Evidently, Cheyenne was convinced by the producers that she had to break up with this small town nobody if she was moving to L.A. In their view, if the average acne-beleaguered, hoveldweller of a teen can’t make a long distance relationship work, then why should she?

Coercing Cheyenne into this break-up should have been the worst of the situation, but, of course, it wasn’t. Rothchild said that not only was the telephone conversation scripted, but they had to perform the task upwards of five times before they got the best take. That means that the girl, who now has minimal fame to her name (if I’m being kind), put herself and another person through the break up chat five times. And for what? I would love to sit down with Cheyenne with the unknown last name and ask her if it was all worth it. The talking heads telling her to ditch a steady boyfriend. The talking heads telling said boyfriend that they promised he would be painted in a sympathetic light, so that he could still score dates after the show aired.

Once your reality show hits some meta-level of success, like The Hills, you should be even more worried.

Former front-woman Lauren Conrad always talks about her time on the show with this palpable sense of paranoia. She says that she thought about everything she said with a 15-second delay because she knew that once she said it, the footage would be utterly out of her hands.

Now that she’s off the show, she still finds herself falling into the old habits that come with having a television crew dictate your life for half of a decade. She’ll instinctually stop talking if an airplane is going overhead because she knows it will mess up the audio. She’ll be prepared to re-enact parts of her life if they didn’t come out just so.

If you put one of these reality “personalities” up against the eponymous robot from Wall-E, they pale in comparison. At least the little compacter liked Hello Dolly!, Eve, and vulnerable plant sprouts.

Buck up, people! Reality shows are not kosher! Selling out everything that is good in your life, even your freedom to say something uninhibited, for the paltry promise of the googly eyes of the 12-to-40-year-old bracket staring at you, seems a bit ill-informed.

Sure, most of us like watching reality television, but the goal of gaining fame through this outlet needs to be knocked off its pedestal. I’ll stick to my own script, thank you very much.

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

As we all know, this Saturday marks the 25th anniversary of Libby Riddles’ triumph as the first woman to win the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. While The New York Times and People will most likely commemorate her with retrospective background stories later this week, we figured we would capture the popular music videos surrounding her success. The following page will capture the most grandiose videos of all time, but perhaps the most prolific and inspired period of music video production was during the reign of Riddles. Who knows how much faster Riddles would have gone had she had an iPod to jam out to A-Ha while on the trail. Mush!

1

Huey Lewis and the News – “Do You Believe in Love.” While Christian Bale morphed “It’s Hip to Be Square” from a ditzy pop ballad to a demonic dirge in American Psycho, some of Huey Lewis’ videos are disturbing. In this harmonizing, sax-saturated number, the video opens with Lewis in a salmon turtleneck perched on a window sill, singing to a woman sleeping in bed. As she continues to snooze, the rest of the band joins Lewis in the bedroom, and eventually all six of them serenade her from under the sheets.

2

Wham! – “Club Tropicana.” George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley seemed to find themselves in the hairiest locales in their videos, an abandoned warehouse in “Careless Whisper,” and a fateful ski resort in “Last Christmas.” In “Club Tropicana,” the duo finally earn a break, soaking in the lemon cloud martinis and Day-Glo speedos at a tropical oasis. Full of crotch shots, half-naked trumpeters, and a cowboy-hat-wearing shirtless bartender with an uncanny resemblance to Burt Reynolds, the video will have you second guessing traveling for spring break.

3

Poison – “Fallen Angel.” For some reason, during a period in the middle of the ’80s, seemingly every hair metal band made videos with storyline intros, almost always with blondes.

Before the music to Poison’s ballad begins, a daughter tells her family that she wants to move to California, “and by Friday.” Before we can speculate about her motives, and before she can speculate her own motives, the blonde becomes a prostitute (perhap’s Poison’s take on Reaganomics), making sweet sweet scenes over which the band can jam.

COURTESY OF YOUTUBE.COM

F

A ‘Model’ Comedy

E

veryone can finally exhale and “smize” in relief, because it’s back, the guiltiest pleasure on television – America’s Next Top Model. In its 14th cycle (as the show’s producers insist on terming it), the show looks poised to maintain its comedic footing but don’t expect any new, groundbreaking changes to the age-old formula of Big Banks. With that in mind, here are the sure-fire elements typical of a Top Model “cycle.”

1. Makeovers: As evidenced by this show, models are not born but washed, colored, rinsed, chopped, and molded into something called “fierceness.” The makeover, or, as they’re known on this show, Ty-overs, are coordinated by Tyra herself based on many variables, including bone structure and eye shape. The twist, though, is that the girls don’t know what they’re getting! Can you even stand it? Without fail, though, a girl will cry over her makeover. For instance, in the premiere, Brenda and her long, red locks bid farewell as they formed her hair into an edgy, “Halle Berry-inspired” cut. There were tears and snot in bulk. For whatever reason, ladies feel very connected to their hair. It must remain to their specifications.

Models have to look ridiculous to be successful, though, so the girls are slapped around a bit and instructed to “work it.” Who doesn’t love a manipulative makeover?

2. Tyra-mail: The prose written to tease the next challenge for the girls would make Shakespeare green with envy. Last week’s post must’ve been ghost written by one of the greats. “top models get maximum exposure. u must learn to cover urself. Luv, Tyra.” Its cleverness is only superseded by its literary intent (the use of “u” instead of “you” must be a nod to e.e. cummings). How could the girls not get excited every time they get a new message?

3. Screaming: If there’s ever a photo shoot, a challenge, the mentioning of an abroad location, real food, jewelry, alcohol, or an appearance from Tyra herself, there will be screaming.

4. Gimmick: Every season opens with a hip, trendy gimmick. In the past, there’s been a trip to Vegas (because it was the 12th season, and when you flip 12, it becomes 21, the number to reach in blackjack. This was the actual reason), a cruise ship voyage, and a journey to “the future” (lots of white and silver furniture). This season topped them all with a social networking gimmick. During the semifinals, Tyra checked her “MyFiercePage” and found 32 model friend requests, representing the 32 semifinalists. She can only take 13, though!

Therefore, her minions, the Jays, helped the girls develop their own “MyFiercePage” with a profile picture and v-walk, an online video runway walk. Simplicity is clearly overrated on this show.

5. Sob Stories: It’s almost a pre-requisite that the show’s contestants can’t have had a happy childhood. There’s an apparent link between living with an incurable but livable disease and handling the cutthroat fashion industry. This season brings us girls who were ugly children, working awful jobs as Walmart, and, maybe most horrifyingly, live in Buffalo. If one can stand Buffalo, one is ready for the dangerous world of modeling.

6. Tyra: She’s the star, of course. It doesn’t matter that none of the winners attain success. It doesn’t matter that she makes a mockery of an already blighted industry. Tyra will keep this show running as long as she possibly can. It’s her very own televised platform where everyone can sing her praises. When she made her first appearance before the girls, one girl, Alasia, fell to her knees and praised God for Tyra’s presence. Tyra just smiles calmly since this must happen all the time. God, I, too, thank you for Tyra’s presence, because without it I wouldn’t laugh nearly as much every Wednesday night. I think we can all give that an “amen.”

JoDarren Ranck is a Heights editor. He can be reached for comment at arts@bcheights.com.

ON CAMPUS

OFF CAMPUS

THURSDAY

THURSDAY

JOHN O’NEAL Boston Room, 4:30 p.m.

INGRID MICHAELSON House of Blues, 8 p.m.

SPRING STUDENT SHOW OPEN Bapst Student Art Gallery, 6 p.m.

HOT PINK DELOREAN Middle East, 9 p.m.

FRIDAY

FRIDAY

BC DE PRESENTS ‘BENEATH’ Robsham, 7:30 p.m.

MICHAEL BUBLE DCU Center, 8 p.m.

BOOKS AND THEIR COVERS Burns Library

THE DISCO BISCUITS House of Blues, 8 p.m.

SATURDAY

SATURDAY

BC DE PRESENTS ‘BENEATH’ Robsham, 7:30 p.m.

LIFEHOUSE Agganis Arena, 7:30 p.m.

DUETS: STUDENT SHOWCASE O’Connell House, 7:00 p.m.

TOMMY AND THE TERRORS Paradise Rock Club, 8 p.m.

SUNDAY ASIAN JOURNEYS McMullen Museum

SUNDAY CARRIE UNDERWOOD DCU Stadium, 7:30 p.m.

THE CLIENTELE Great Scott, 9 p.m.

CHRIS DEWEY’S CURIOUS CHILDHOOD:

The ‘Heavyweights’ breakthrough

CHRIS DEWEY Childhood movies are always a bit hit or miss when you rewatch them, removed as college students are from the glory days of freeze-tag and Lunchables. Baby’s Day Out and Little Giants may have seemed like masterpieces in the first grade, but has anyone gone back to those flicks since then?

For each gem like Hook, you get a turd like The Flintstones, one that just doesn’t resonate the same way it did when all of your baby teeth were intact.

Thankfully, in 1995, the geniuses behind The Mighty Ducks brought us Heavyweights, a timeless piece of celluloid for anyone who was far too young to care about the O.J. Simpson trial.

Heavyweights tells the heartwarming tale of Gerry Garner, a portly young boy who, on the last day of school, learns that he has to spend his entire summer at a fat camp. While he is initially pacified upon learning that Camp Hope has a reputation as an exciting place, he and his fellow campers soon find out that the program has been taken over by Tony “Lunch has been cancelled due to lack of hustle – deal with it” Perkis, an adrenaline-crazed maniac who cruelly pushes the overweight children to sadistic limits. Confounding this terrible situation is an awkward dance with a group of girls, a series of competitions against a much more athletic camp, and a creepy side villain named Lars.

This is by no means a deep film bursting with significant meaning. Nevertheless, Disney did a fine job producing a movie that humanized overweight children and made them extremely likeable. Young audiences were drawn to the somewhat cliched concept of a bunch of seemingly incapable misfits overcoming impossible

odds when they came together.

Viewers instantly became attached to these characters and their struggles to lose weight, smuggle junk food into the camp, and feel good about themselves. Even the villain became enjoyably psychotic – though it was a kids’ movie, you were never quite sure if this guy was capable of snapping and doing something truly evil.

Though an unlikely candidate for such a feat, Heavyweights propelled the careers of a few important Hollywood figures. Though Ben Stiller had been in a handful of movies before (most notably Reality Bites), this was the first time he was introduced to a generation of kids that would grow up on his brand of comedy.

Throughout his career, Stiller, either out of tribute to the film or a limited range in acting, has more or less recycled the Tony Perkis character in films such as Dodgeball and Anchorman. Unknown to many, Heavyweights was co-scripted by Judd Apatow, the writer and director responsible for The 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up. Finally, the movie also succeeded in adding to the stunning resume of legendary child prodigy, Keenan Thompson.

Heavyweights is its own little mid-1990s time capsule.

It marks a much less politically correct era, a time when an abundance of jokes about fat kids and harmless child abuse could fly in Disney movies.

Throw in some light cursing and subtle references to eating disorders, and you have a film that child viewers might consider a little edgy. Though Heavyweights will never garner much praise from critics (it currently has a 20 percent Fresh rating at RottenTomatoes.com), those who grew up with the film will continue to treasure its irreverent humor and will hopefully pass it down to the next generation.

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

B3

The Heights

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Anything By Lady GaGa (“Telephone” in particular) Lady GaGa, rather than having the occasional breakthrough video that outside the norm, has a portfolio of videos that are bizarrely brilliant. They’re epics, ranging in size from normal four-minute spans to 10minute series. It’s difficult to categorize the Haus of GaGa aesthetic, except for the fact that it’s a cyclone of pleather, bizarre diamond masks, telephone hats, and androgynous lovers. Nothing is outside of her creative scope. She’s like Madonna’s strung out little sister with a serial killer’s middle-distance stare. GaGa collides with Beyonce in the most recent video, “Telephone,” and within the first five seconds, we’re plopped into the couture “Prison for B—es.” What can I say GaGa? Oh la la (oh GaGa).

“1 2 3 4” by Feist Not traditionally epic or able to boast the wonders of CGI, impressive animation, or complex visual effects, this video managed such widespread appeal following its 2007 release due, arguably, to the sheer joy it exudes. Filmed in a single shot, it shows Leslie Feist herself — rocking a sparkly blue jumpsuit — slowly being surrounded by dancers in multi-colored outfits, the overall effect of which is a giant moving rainbow. With clever choreography and lots of audible cheering, the video is fun to watch, impossible not to at least sing along with, and likely will make you get up and dance.

It is this unique quality that has secured its lasting popularity and proved that sometimes, the best videos are simple. If they were fun to make, they will be fun to watch.

“Stronger” by Kanye West The song alone could incite the most hardcore of couch potatoes to run a marathon. It’s like Kanye West ran the scenery of Lost In Translation through a funky fresh chrome machine and doused it in a protein shake. The bumping bass slaps an aggressive, pulse on the song, making it altogether irresistible and fresh. It’s no wonder the song stayed at the top of the charts for weeks on end. Oh, “Ye you don’t know how long we been on ya.” Keep the bouncing beats coming.

“Ocean Breathes Salty” by Modest Mouse In this 2005 single, released with Modest Mouse’s album Good News for People Who Love Bad News, the group’s mellow but imaginative sound is the perfect backdrop to a little boy’s exploration and search for a friend. He’s wading through an endless field of sunflowers, playing a rather one-sided game of catch with a scarecrow, when he sees what appears to be a giant crow falling from the sky. Lucky for him, it’s the giant crow version of Isaac Brock, Modest Mouse’s front man, and the two become fast friends.

Contributing to the sentimental nature of the video is the fact that it is arguably one of the most well-shot and visually stunning videos to date.

“Here It Goes Again” by OK GO Fun fact: Over 80 percent of treadmill experiences result in a twist, sprain, broken bone, or shin splints.

Okay, this is a fabrication, but the fact remains that the treadmill, with its evil incline and speed adjusters, is not to be played around with.

The bold members of OK GO did not get that memo. They moonwalked, leapfrogged and twisted their groove things to their lighthearted song. It’s brilliant in its simplicity, pristine in its synchronicity.

Smoking Hot Music Videos

By Kristen House

and

Allison Therrien

Arts Editors

“Single Ladies” by Beyonce Where do we begin? If for no other reason, this seemingly revolutionary video — which became a must-see immediately upon its release in late 2008 — will be known as the cause of the infamous Kanye “oh, no he didn’t” moment of the 2009 VMAs, during which he tried to steal Taylor Swift’s glory to insist that “Single Ladies” deserved the award of Best Video. If the hundreds of videos that surfaced on YouTube following its release — which featured people of all ages and dance skill levels trying to master that impossible Beyonce hip swing – don’t prove this video’s epic nature, then perhaps its three VMAs and three Grammys will. The video was also recreated by the character of Kurt on Fox’s Glee, an occurrence unheard of for most music videos.

“Sixteen Military Wives” by The Decemberists Not only is this song one of this iconic group’s best, but the video does it creative justice. It features the band’s front man, Colin Meloy, who is representing the United States in a high school’s Model United Nations. As one might expect, he plays the stereotypical bully, pumping fists and American flags and chanting the song’s chorus with triumphant insistence to the classroom full of defeated students. America gets it in the end, though, when Ireland’s representative brings the other students together with a common weapon: music. As far as music videos with a message go, this one is pretty cliche, but it’s hard not to love watching Meloy run down the hall from a parade throwing his own song back in his face.

“Larger Than Life” by the Backstreet Boys The boy band phase of life was melodramatic, frilly and obscenely over-choreographed, and it was glorious. Probably one of the best to come out of that time was this Backstreet Boys vignette featuring clunky Transformers-trons with 2-D hologram faces. BSB gets larger than life — nay, larger than the universe — traversing the cosmos in ships that would make any Star Wars fan do a double-take. Shedding the bulky robot personas, the guys launch into the fiercest rendition of the robot to ever hit the music scene. Too bad Nick Carter got relatively trapped in his robot persona, even now. Nostalgia and robots.

Could there be a sweeter mix? That’s what makes this video larger than life.

“Thriller” by Michael Jackson It’s a slice of Halloween, the seminal video that patented the wolf-paw dance and simultaneously instilled fear in the souls of America with Vincent Price’s evil laugh. The mini-epic has left a legacy of brilliance for the music video. It is well choreographed, impeccably sung, and quite possibly shows the best leather jacket on this side of the world. Michael Jackson, the fact that you are a classic has been documented to death by now, but thanks for leaving us with such a fantastic memento.

“Dani California” by Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Dani California” video is by anyone’s standards a true performance, and a comic one at that. The video, which premiered in 2006 with the band’s Stadium Arcadium album, sets the band on a stage and then takes it through all the major stages of rock, from that on 50s black-andwhite televisions through acid, funk, glam, goth, hair metal, and finally, the band as it really is. With each transition, the make-up gets thicker and the costumes more elaborate, and you start to think that the group could have rocked it in any decade, and that Anthony Kiedis could be anyone from Elvis Presley to Kurt Cobain.

Rachel Gregorio / Heights Illustration

B4

Thursday, March 18, 2010

THE HEIGHTS

+Food and Fashion

Chronicles of Campus Fashion: Beyond the throwback jersey

BY JORDAN MENDOZA For The Heights

In the midst of March Madness and with baseball season approaching fast, I decided to look at the horrid realm of fanwear this week. While I do admit I don’t know much about sports, I know enough to understand that there was a time when a sporting event meant you’d dress well, kind of like how there was a time when guys would wear suits when flying on an airplane. Although plane wear has similarly fallen and become horrendous on all fronts — Juicy sweat suits, hideous slip-ons (thanks Richard Reid) — the realm of sports and sports fans takes the cake, with heinous body paint, baggy jerseys, Bill Belichick’s cut-offs (it’s amazing Tom Brady is on the same team), the Arizona Diamondbacks, etc. Don’t give me that whole “team spirit” spiel. Being a fan and being well-dressed should not be mutually exclusive.

Glenn O’Brien, GQ’s Style Guy, says it well: “Once upon a time, gentlemen dressed ... at sporting events. In the kindlier, gentler days of our national pastime men wore hats, white shirts, and suits. ... Apologies to my Steelers-fan in-laws, but I find the customs of jersey wearing, face painting, and carnival-like costumes to be a few of the more horrifying aspects of postmodern life. Makes one sympathize with how the Romans felt when the Huns showed up.”

I don’t expect anyone to wear suits and wave dainty team flags, as I’m sure you’d feel some considerable heat from the dude with the cheese wedge on his head. Still, there’s gotta be some decency. I mean to say, just because you’re surrounded by brutes, doesn’t mean you have to look like one, too. The following gentlemen get it right, compromising neither fandom nor personal style to show how a fan really should dress.

Jordan Mendoza is a Heights contributor. He can be reached for comment at arts@bcheights.com.

JORDAN MENDOZA / FOR THE HEIGHTS

On Jonathan: I’ve painfully had to relearn to shoot manually to accommodate this beautiful old lens my father recently gave me, and this young man stood strong through my nervous fidgeting. Anyways, this ensemble is pitch-perfect, and while you can accuse it of being too simple to merit praise, this kind of thing can easily go wrong. The t-shirt and pants fit perfectly, never baggy; and had either been too tight, coupled with the frames, this would have bordered on “hipster-annoying” rather than the “classic throwback” it currently reads.

Dumplings with Jenny

BY JENNY LIU

For The Heights The Chinese call them “jiao zi,” and the Japanese call them “gyouza.” Boston College Dining might call them “Chinese ravioli,” although that name is a gross mash-up of cultures.

I call them delicious.

Plump, juicy, and in big bite sizes that ooze with umami, dumplings are the perfect comfort food that do not leave you feeling overwhelmed by lard and sodium. Once I start eating dumplings, it is very difficult for me to stop as proven by the fact that I devoured a little more than 12 last night — that is, over a quarter pound of pork, chives, and flour. Once the sizzling, hot dumplings were cool enough, my friends and I paused mid-cooking to sling back a few as if we were competing in a food competition, inevitably misjudging and scalding our tongues. It is far too easy to forget physical limitations.

While you can make your own dumpling wrappers easily with water and flour, it is cheap enough that the hassle of rolling out dough and cutting it into perfect circles far outweighs the extra small change you could flick toward your coffers. All of the ingredients can be found at Super 88 in Packard’s Corner, including the premade dumpling wrappers, next to the tofu in the open refrigerator.

An ingredient that might not be as familiar is the oyster sauce. Also found at any Asian grocer

and Super 88, this viscous, dark brown condiment usually shares an aisle with soy sauce.

Wrapping dumplings is boring and tedious if one does so alone. The experience is better with two people, and even more fun to tackle as a group.

It would be informative to watch a video on how to wrap a dumpling, because it is a struggle to verbally narrate the process: Dip one finger in a bowl of water and moisten one half of the perimeter of the wrapper. Place an overflowing one teaspoon of filling in the center of the wrapper, and, using your thumb and forefinger, pinch the wrapper together at the top. Then, still holding the top with your hand, fold the right side in toward the middle so that it makes a fan pattern. Repeat once more on the right side, then twice on the left.

Despite the nonsensical instructions, in less than half a minute of encountering the raw ingredients and daunting piles of wrappers, I had my army of dumpling-wrapping comrades industriously building a dumpling empire.

The result could have easily fed an additional five people if we were not so enamored by the dumplings’ silky smooth outside, as we slurped up thm up in boiled form, or the light crunch, as we gingerly bit into the crispy, flavorful char of the pan-fried version.

As Anna Patel, A&S ’10, left the dumpling powwow, she muttered, “It kind of hurts, but in a good way. I can’t even stuff myself into my coat now.”

COURTESY OF FLICKR USER WFJE43

Ingredients

1/4 pound finely shredded Napa cabbage (about 2 cups) 1/4 cup finely minced chives 1/2 pound ground pork 1 tablespoon soy sauce 2 teaspoons oyster sauce 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil 1 teaspoon cornstarch 1/2 teaspoon sugar 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1 teaspoon cooking wine 1/8 teaspoon ground pepper 24 round dumpling wrappers

Cooking Instructions:

1. Combine all ingredients (except for the wrappers) in a medium-sized bowl. Mix it all together thoroughly.

2. Take one teaspoon of mixture and place in center of wrapper. Wrap as instructed in article.

3. To cook, use a pan with a cover. Pour in 1 tablespoon of oil and let the oil heat up. As soon as the oil is hot enough (test by flicking water into the pan. If the oil splashes, it is ready), stand the dumplings in the pan, as many that can fit without touching.

4. Once the bottoms of the dumplings have been slightly browned (2-3 minutes), pour in 1/2 cup of water and cover.

5. Cook for about 10 minutes or until water has evaporated.

On Brendan: You know, there’s a lot of love in this outfit, and not just for the Cubs. The sweater, which looks super comfortable, was given to him by an ardent Cubs fan after he mentioned he liked it. As our J.Crew campus rep, I spotted his Timex military watch a mile away. The casually rolled Banana chinos and Sperry Topsiders complete this exemplary weekend prep look.

On Marlon: I doubt anyone can see in newspaper print how this outfit relates to the article or sports at all. But, if you look closely (or online!) you’ll make out the Dolphins cap, which, in my opinion, completes the look. Baggy red pants meet classic canvas Vans, balanced out with a fitted white t-shirt and black cardigan. Also, you can’t see it, but I love the rucksack, which I hear makes a big comeback this season. NB: Professor Baden casually trying to ignore me in the background. Hi!

Bite of Boston Sel De La Terre Natick Collection 1245 Worcester St. Natick, MA (508) 650-1800 Hours: Sat - Sun: 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.

COURTESY OF BOSTONCHEFS.COM

Have an elegant French brunch experience

BY KARA KAMINSKI

Heights Senior Staff Brunch this past Sunday at Sel de la Terre was one of the best dining experiences I have had in recent memory. Everything we ordered was cooked perfectly and had a deliciously balanced flavor. The restaurant’s ambience is comfortably sophisticated, and the service is impeccable. Sel de la Terre is a French restaurant in the somewhat pricey range with dinner entrees at over $20. But the brunch menu has dishes just over $10, a steal for the quality you receive. The restaurant has three locations: one on the Waterfront, one on Boylston, and one in the Natick Collection. While I have been to all three locales, my most recent brunch experience was at the Natick Collection.

Famished, I started off brunch with duck liver terrine (pate) with crostini, whole grain mustard, and chutney. The pâté had a powerful flavor and richness that did not become overpowering after only a few bites.

The accompaniments of whole grain mustard (the mustard you will find on the tables of restaurants in France that has the same effect on your nose as wasabi) and chutney gave a balance of strong and sweet to the middle ground smoothness of the pate.

This sense of balance translated to the main course. As always, I ordered the eggs Benedict, here served on brioche (over an English muffin at my request), Black Forest ham, and potato hash. The poached eggs were cooked to the perfect temperature, not too runny so that I missed out on all of my yolk, but also not overcooked to where I was eating a glorified boiled egg, a sad but common occurrence. The balance I speak of was not in the poaching, though. It was in the comparative flavors of the hollandaise against the potato hash. Original hollandaise has a very creamy butter flavor since it is practically all butter. While appealing to our American (or French, for that matter) love of butter, eggs Benedict is often plated with generic breakfast potatoes not seasoned much beyond salt and pepper. Chefs that try to resolve this issue often go too far, creating something along the lines of a spinach hollandaise with spicy potatoes. You cannot have both. Reinventing both the sauce and the potatoes gives too much flavor that confuses the diner’s taste buds, not a better alternative to the original hollandaise on generic potatoes. Sel de la Terre knew better.

The chef stuck with the original hollandaise while the potato hash had roasted pepper and onions, a great balance.

My companion had the grilled marinated portabella mushroom sandwich with

whipped feta cheese, sumac scented onions, caponata, and romaine lettuce on black olive bread with a side of homemade smoked paprika potato chips. The foundation of the dish was the portabella, strong in flavor but in need of accentuation from its accompaniments. The flavored chips and black olive bread filled this need.

The cheese course, a necessity at French restaurants, followed the main. I went with the tasting of three: Tartufo, Bucheron, and Bleu. They came with blackberries, almonds, and caramelized pecans. Each cheese had their own distinct flavor, had a range in region (not only French people know good cheese), and had the much needed tasty accompaniments. The cheeses were chosen wisely by the cheesemonger on staff during the worst season for cheese (winter), a time during which most cheeses are in transitional stages and when animals are not producing milk or likely are being fed on fermented grass.

Tina, my waitress during last Sunday’s brunch, was the perfect server. As I am a customer that incessantly asks annoying questions like “Where is this fish from?” “do you use extract or paste in this dessert?” “which fruit hints are in this wine specifically?” Tina took everything my dining partner and I gave her. She knew the answer to any question asked, and then gave even more information. During the cheese course she brought along truffle honey, a foodstuff of which I had never heard. She explained how it went excellently with cheeses and fruits, and it definitely did. When asked where we could buy this new delight, she simply told us how to make it and that she had advised the restaurant to create the concoction, never having purchased it herself. Later on during the cheese course, she brought us two fresh strawberries, insisting that while the truffle honey was delicious with the cheese and fruits we had, we must try it with strawberries. Her ingenuity, sincerity, and thoughtfulness were something to truly be remembered. Had the food been any less excellent than it was, I would have returned just to be served by Tina again.

Getting to the point...

More Locations: Boylston and Waterfront Affordability: Affordable (brunch) Atmosphere: Business Casual Food Quality: Excellent Web site: www.seldelaterre.com

THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, March 18, 2010

B5

+Music

Broken Bells surf past the stratosphere out. Mercer and Mouse establish the tone with the opener, “The High Road,” (also the album’s first single) as a ragtime piano plinks in unison Sometimes, the objects of the world veer off with subtle electric bells. “Your Head is on Fire” their normal trajectories and collide in ways sounds like what Pet Sounds would have sounded that propel us to dislodge from our own paths. like had the Beach Boys recorded on Mars, with Seemingly inexplicable causes lead forces to in- sleepy melodies, euphoric harmonizing, and tertwine in unexpected, volatile, and beauteous driven by a warbling synthesizer. ways. Mentos and Coca-Cola.

As the formula reRandy Moss and the New Eng- Out of a rating peats itself for the land Patriots. Daniel Day-Lewis of 10, this majority of the songs, and Paul Thomas Anderson in Danger Mouse continuThere Will Be Blood. Last week, album scores ally sparks novelty by two such forces tangled – James seeping in sudden inMercer, the charming yet forlorn front man of struments. In “Sailing to Nowhere,” a rattling The Shins, and Brian Burton, the relentlessly tambourine morphs into a weeping violin, only inventive and catchy producer commonly known to become a swelling orchestra, and then to shift as Danger Mouse. The two captured their col- into the cheers of a stadium crowd. Between lision in sound and called it Broken Bells. The the evolving instruments and the computerresult is a space-aged orgasm — one of the most ized bubbling in the undertones, if you close playful, hypnotic, and enjoyable albums of the your eyes while listening, you discover Mercer year so far. and Mouse are captains Broken Bells was of a shuttle traversing birthed out of stormy deep into unexplored weather. After firing two regions of the galaxy. members of The Shins (After Broken Bells, in early 2009, Mercer don’t be surprised if began secretly recording Danger Mouse writes a with Danger Mouse, who has produced albums by The Gorillaz, The Black Keys, and Beck, along with his project with Cee-Lo in Gnarls Barkley.

Throughout the album’s 10 tracks, the sound maintains a warm balance between Mercer’s eclectic vocal stylings — lyrics of surreal imagery and warping his voice through various The Shins front man machines — and Danger James Mercer and hipMouse’s hip-hop and hop producer Danger soulful sensibilities.

Mouse teamed up to For the most part, Broken Bells follows a form one of the most structured, yet imagieclectic and catchy native formula – Layer albums of the year an acoustic guitar with in Broken Bells, rife hip-hop drums, emboss will space sounds and melodies with a piano, electronic drum beats. and weave synthesized space sounds throughAssoc. Arts & Review Editor

8.5

score to a sci-fi flick.)

Though the sound floats beyond the stratosphere, the lyrics remain deeply embedded in earthly troubles with a girl. From the opening until the ’80s-inspired conclusion in “Mall and Misery,” Mercer remains conflicted about moving beyond a love. At the end of “The High Road,” Mercer summons a church choir to join him in chanting the heartbreaking chorus, “It’s too late to change your mind / you let loss be your guide.” In “Vaporize,” amid a hurling organ reminiscent of a Parliament Funkadelic groove, the signer laments, “The longer we wait the faster the years go by.” In the angsty lo-fi “October,” he speaks directly to the woman, “What you don’t know is that you’re too young and eager to love.” As much as he yearns to shove her aside, a harmful allure keeps tugging him back, captured by catchy lyrics that sometimes hint at sadomasochism, with lines like “I’m drawn by your mongrel heart again,” and “They call it chivalry/never pull a punch for free.”

For some reason, the forces of nature drew James Mercer and Brian “Danger Mouse” Burton together. Let us reap the sonic aftermath of Broken Bells, and use the album as inspiration for our own creativity. Or, we can just head nod to its infectious beats.

She & Him Volume Two

Monica Still Standing

MERGE RECORDS

J-RECORDS

CHART TOPPERS SINGLES

1 2 3 4 5

Break Your Heart Taio Cruz feat. Ludacris Need You Now Lady Antebellum BedRock Young Money feat. Lloyd Rude Boy Rihanna Imma Be The Black Eyed Peas

1 2 3 4 5

Teen Dream Beach House Transference Spoon One Life Stand Hot Chip ODD BLOOD Yeasayer Contra Vampire Weekend

COLLEGE ALBUMS

PETE RIMES / AP EXCHANGE

BY ZAK JASON

IN STORES NEXT WEEK

Source: Billboard.com & CMJ.com

Rock duo captures vitality and grit on live recording

BY WILL WATKINS

White’s simplistic drumming. She never plays a single fill and is not even very reliable as to keeping time, but the open space she leaves in the arrangements While The White Stripes have solidified their place gives Jack White the room to allow his parts of the in rock history through their six studio albums, it is songs to come to the forefront. There is a reason their live performances that have always pleased Jack White’s other band, The Raconteurs, never capfans and critics most. Their recent tured the energy of The White release, the live album Under Great Out of a rating Stripes, and that reason is Meg. White Northern Lights, captures the When she picks up the pace, of 10, this passion and raucous atmosphere of the she attacks her cymbals with band’s live performances, and is a must- album scores no inhibition, and the residual have for any fan of the group or hard hissing and ringing just adds rock music. Featuring songs from every one of their to the chaotic feel of the band’s live performance. studio albums, Under Great White Northern Lights While Jack White seemingly switches singing styles reveals much more about the mysterious band than and instruments with every song, it is Meg White’s any interview could hope to do. drumming that remains constant and, in Since the release of 2003’s Elephant, Jack White a sense, defines the band. has long been heralded as one of the best guitar While the group’s studio albums are players of the decade. While he shows off his prow- flawless and display well-rehearsed ess on studio albums, it is not until he performs live performances, their live performances that the ferocity of his playing is evident. Whether show that aggression can triumph over it is on the fast-punk of “Black Math,” the bluegrass polish. Even on the acoustic and decidstrumming of “Little Ghost,” or the monster riff of edly not rock ‘n’ roll, “Prickly Thorn, “Icky Thump,” Jack White shows that his guitar great- But Sweetly Worn,” the group takes a ness does not come from his examplary musicianship no-holds-barred attitude that does not or more impressive versatility, but rather from the have any signs of technical perfection tenacity with which he attacks his instrument and but all the right ingredients for a capticommands sounds out from it that no other musician vating concert. The group has mastered can do. His penchant for 1960s, mail-order, electric the art of performing, and signs of this guitars with fiberglass bodies is present on this album, are present in subtle ways throughout but the genius of it is revealed in the way he fights the entire album, perhaps most notably his instrument to get the desired sound. There is a on their two biggest hits, “Fell In Love battle going on between Jack White and his guitar, With A Girl” and “Seven Nation Army.” giving him a sound like no other player today.

On “Fell In Love With A Girl,” Jack White To discuss only Jack White would be to miss what unexpectedly refrains from tearing into he considers to be the center of the group – Meg the fast, punky guitar riff the song is Heights Staff

9

“Telephone” rings in couture CARRIE MCMAHON Heights Editor

There’s no arguing that Lady Gaga’s fashion is outrageous. Her latest music video, a collaboration with Beyonce entitled “Telephone,” is no exception.Chock full of studded thongs, leopard body suits, and strategically placed caution tape, fashion plays a central role in the video. Though most of Gap-shopping America wouldn’t dare slip into one of her ensembles, Lady Gaga is doing more for fashion than any other pop icon of our generation. She makes fashion fearless, which is a move that anyone in the fashion industry can get behind.

The lyrics of “Telephone” are all about an annoyed clubgoer just trying to spend a night out with friends, only to be constantly interrupted by a nagging cell phone.To Gaga, nothing illustrates this anger and aggression more than a leather spiked jacket and a

pair of fishnets. Then, when Gaga and Beyonce literally get away with murder toward the end of the video, there could be no accessory more fitting for these wildly mysterious women than veiled cowboy hats. Sure, it can all seem too over-the-top but don’t be fooled. Although caution tape may not be the next big trend, the manner in which Gaga uses fashion just may be. Through videos like “Telephone,” we are encouraged to explore and have fun with fashion. By mixing high-end popular designers like Chanel (sunglasses) or Victor & Rolf (chain-linked dress) with less mainstream artists like Jean-Charles de Castelbajac (Beyonce’s tasseled jacket), Gaga is obviously working with the fashion world.

It is not her goal, which some may be inclined to think, to throw fashion back in its own face, or make a mockery of it. Instead, it appears the goal is to empower people

with what they choose to put on their bodies. Never one to be shy, Gaga exudes confidence and strength when she chasses down the hall of a prison in a particular dance sequence of the video. It’s probably fair to say that we’ve all had enough of fashion clones – those who only wear what they wear to fit in.

Instead, it’s time to stand out, especially if Lady Gaga has to say anything about it.

The female symbol of a circle with a cross underneath, which is commonly associated with feminism and power, is, in fact, the closing image of “Telephone.” Obviously, Lady Gaga will always be controversial in her actions, her songs, and, of course, her clothing, and few expect these outrageous decisions to trickle down into mainstream culture.

Yet, many, especially those in the fashion industry, can hope that at least the attitudes Gaga displays about fashion will influence the masses.

known for, and instead restrains his guitar to let the aggression come out in his voice. It provides the perfect twist to a song everybody in the audience has probably heard too many times. On “Seven Nation Army,” Jack White gets the audience to clap out a steady beat to build the communal energy before unleashing the song’s signature riff, which sounds darker and angrier than it does on the studio version.

Meg White comes in with simple quarter notes on her kick drum, but her powerful simplicity gives the song a perfectly fitting backbone. While there are no immediate plans to release another studio album, Under Great White Northern Lights is a stellar live album that will more than tide over eager fans of The White Stripes.

After a decade of recording and touring some of the most inventive rock of the times, The White Stripes showcase their raw live talent this week with the release of Under Great White Northern Lights, complete with their most bombastic tracks.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FLIKR USER GREG HUDSON

B6

Thursday, March 18, 2010

THE HEIGHTS

Hoax an abuse of freedom

ON THE flip side

PATRICIA HARRIS

THE ISSUE:

Recently, in the country of Georgia, a fake news report stating that Russian forces had invaded the country and assassinated the president caused widespread panic. The television station was reprimanded by the government and became the target of international outrage. Should there have been legal ramifications for those reponsible for disturbing the peace? Or was the broadcast unwise, but right in being protected under freedom of speech?

A free press is paramount

terror stricken Georgians were relieved to discover that this broadcast was a simulation of On Oct. 30, 1938, Orson what could possibly happen Welles’ cryptic reading of The if the Georgian oppositionWar of the Worlds rang out over ists gained power, but, like the radio, frightening an oblivi- Welles’ broadcast, the fear and ous American public that misper- terror raised by the broadcast ceived the mock broadcast about inspired anger from deceived an alien invasion as legitimate. Georgians.

People were outraged, but, in The outrage from this mock retrospect, this unintentional broadcast will fade, but the spooking remains among the issues that it brings up about more humorous side effects of free speech raise a number of technology. Despite the wide- important questions on what spread fear that the events of exactly constitutes a legal this novel were and Further limiting the broadcast, unfolding in the how protected United States, rights of broadcasters our rights to Welles faced no speech are would damage political free legal charges, as when we reach a freedoms in America larger audience his reading was protected by the in irreparable ways. through multiConstitution. media outlets.

Most significantly, The right to Although the free speech has such limitations would fear inspired by been contested this Georgian for as long as delegitimize a number event is certainit has existed. of valuable mediums of ly a valid point Although the of contention C o n s t i t u t i o n communication, as it for those who g u a r a n t e e s would be increasingly feel that broadAmericans the should difficult to determine casters right to free exhave limits on pression, there what constitutes a legal speech, the fact are certain limremains that broadcast. itations that this news proprevent misuse of this First gram would have been protectAmendment right. Slanderous ed under American law. The speech, that which is spoken right to broadcast information with intent to harm someone, is inherent to the Constitution, is a violation of the law so long and using the Georgian incias what was spoken is untrue. dent as a catalyst to impede on Also unprotected is speech that the rights of news outlets would is purposefully and maliciously be antithetical to liberal ideals. deceitful if the content is not Further limiting the rights obviously satirical. of broadcasters would damage The protections we have political freedoms in America for free speech as citizens in irreparable ways. Most of the United States, are for significantly, such limitations the most, part agreeable and would delegitimize a number logical, but people of other of valuable mediums of comnations are subject to different munication, as it would be sets of laws that are less balincreasingly difficult to deteranced than those of the United mine what constitutes a legal States. Recently, a newscast in broadcast. The media is curGeorgia, an Eastern European rently protected by a number of country nestled in the shadow free speech provisions, which of Russia, shocked people in a essentially grant it the right to way similar to Welles’ infamous broadcast anything so long as it War of the World broadcast. can prove that it had legitimate Burned in the eyes of the ignoreason to believe it was true. If rant Georgian population were the media has reason to believe images of Russian tanks rolling that someone has committed a into their nation. Although murder, it can report it and not the footage was from the 2008 be prosecuted, even if it turns Russian invasion of Georgia, out that the lead was incorrect. the program, broadcast by These protections are necesImedi Television, claimed that sary for media outlets, as they the footage was current, and allow broadcasters to convey that the Georgian president, information at a faster pace Mikhael Saakashvili, had been without worrying about being killed by the Russians. The sued. If we were to restrict the

DAN OTTAUNICK

rights of media broadcasters and say that every bit of information that they speak has to be factual, we would damage an institution that provides a invaluable service to Americans.

Another reason that limiting the rights of American broadcasters would be reckless is because of how ineffectual it would be. Assume that all television and radio stations have suddenly been told that they must be sure that all information they broadcast is completely accurate or else they can be prosecuted. This would be easy enough to monitor, as these outlets are all registered with the FCC and easy enough to follow. However, this is not the case for online news sources. If a company located out of the United States had a news lead and wanted to publish it on its Web site, there would be nothing that the government could do to prevent this. These online sources, which would not be subject to the same laws as FCC-monitored traditional news outlets, would have an enormous advantage over television and radio stations because they could break stories much earlier. They do not have to do the extensive fact checking that would be required under the restrictive system of media regulation, and, for this reason, online sources would gain such an advantage over other media outlets in terms of how quickly they can publish stories that they would effectively put the television and radio news industries out of business.

Restricting the media’s right to broadcast information is an overly complex solution to an unsolvable problem. If we restrict the rights of broadcast outlets, we will put them out of business. The media can never be entirely sure that what it broadcasts is completely accurate, and there is no reason to force them to try.

At the same time, mock broadcasts should remain protected under free speech, so long as they are not intended to harm people. Allowing media outlets to continue broadcasting information with good intent affords our press the rights of speech entitled to all other Americans.

Dan Ottaunick is an editor for The Heights. He welcomes comments at marketplace@bcheights.com

The old adage of “sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” is simply untrue. The right combination of words and images can set into motion violence and chaos, or infect their audience with any human emotion imaginable.

The power that the media possesses has long been acknowledged throughout the world. Because of the countless examples of governments and institutions trying to harness that power for their own purposes, the freedom of the press has long been hailed as a protection against such abuses.

However, the media’s right to print whatever it desires should be curtailed when it intentionally puts the safety of the people within the society in jeopardy.

The recent episode in the nation of Georgia is a perfect example of when the freedom of the press comes in conflict with the well-being of the rest of society, though that was not their original intent. However, the topic and realistic depiction of the fake invasion newscast should have made some panic seem inevitable, despite the disclaimer that ran at the beginning and end of the broadcast.

To begin with, the setting of the broadcast was highly realistic so that any Georgian viewer casually turning in to the middle of it would immediately assume the worst.

The fake report used a familiar newsroom, a popular news reporter, and used actual footage of interactions between Georgian and Russian forces.

Due to the brief, yet bitter war between Russia and Georgia a mere two years ago, the subject of the broadcast tapped into a genuine political fear of the Georgian people and made the invasion not only likely, but the actualization of a familiar nightmare. In 1939, widespread panic occurred when a fake news report in America warned viewers of an invasion by green

Martians, a much less feasible actions put countless number scenario. of people at risk and created a Though the panic only lasted widespread panic, there were a short period of time, it created virtually no repercussions. chaotic scenes throughout the If any person had been area. Word spread as people pan- seriously injured or even killed icked in the street and rushed to during the resulting turmoil, inform their neighbors. Citizens it would have been the direct who lived in places that had been result of the station’s decibombed during sion, and the the last Russian The press in a country station would attempt began still been should exist as a way have to flee the area. well within its Mobile services to enhance society, and rights. Thankcrashed as evthough not to risk the safety of fully, eryone was using this was not the people in it. their cell phones the case, the to call their famirresponsibililies. Emergency services were ity of the station made such an flooded with calls reporting heart outcome more than likely. The attacks. People rushed to banks sudden stress of the news alone and stores in order to gather sup- caused many to experience plies, preparing for a long siege, medical complications. Car and thus mimicked the fictional accidents could have easily ocevents the reporter was depict- curred as people rushed out of ing on television. Other news town, or in the haste many had stations picked up on the story in trying to reach their loved and were reporting it as actual ones. The right of the media to fact. One taxi driver in Georgia put on programming should not claimed that the chaos lasted be valued greater than the sefor about three hours. Could curity of an area. When debatthe station predict the extent of ing the welfare of vast numbers the panic? Of course not. They of people, pleading ignorance must have assumed, though, that will not suffice as an excuse for some of the above results could thoughtlessness. Simply hoping occur, and that makes their ac- that the programmers of the tions reprehensible as well as station are able to trust their irresponsible. judgment in what will and will Such a report, which caused not incite the public clearly terror and in fact endangered is not a good solution for the lives, should lead to legal future. In order to discourage repercussions for the television such events, disincentives need station responsible for such to be set in place to make mecareless action. However, the dia outlets think twice before only punishment they received risking a societal upheaval. was a half-hearted rebuke from For the record, I am in no the president, and the scorn way advocating that each and of being in the crossfire public every program gets a stamp outrage. The laws of the land of approval from the governneed to be altered to make sure ment. That would make for that such carelessness won’t horrifically dull entertainment. happen again. People volunHowever, there should be some tarily sacrifice certain freedoms legal ramifications for when and a certain part of their media outlets carelessly disturb paychecks to the government the peace, such as steep fines, in return for the expectation or the threat of probation. The that their well-being is of the press in a country should exist highest priority to and that is as a way to enhance society, reflected in most national laws. and not to risk the safety of its Currently, in the United people.

States, if any individual or institution places someone else Patricia Harris is the asst. in harm’s way, they are held m a rke t p l a c e ed i t o r f o r Th e legally accountable. However, Heights. She welcomes comments where the television station’s at marketplace@bcheights.com

GEORGE ABDALADZE/ AP PHOTO

Freedom of speech took center stage in Georgia when many mistook broadcasted images of a Russian invasion as real.

INTERNATIONAL INSIGHTS

European Central Bank chief espouses regulation with teeth BINH NGUYEN In an effort to combat the financial crisis in Europe, Jean-Claude Trichet, European Central Bank president, proposed stricter financial regulations, especially on hedge funds. Explaining the reason hedge funds are the primary concern, Trichet said financial reform needs to go beyond the banking sector and focus on nonbank financial institutions, the setup and functioning of financial markets. However, Timothy F. Geithner, the U. S. Treasury Secretary, opposed Trichet’s hedge funds regulations and questioned the effectiveness of the proposal.

Trichet commented that finance has become more self-referential and has ceased to be a source of service for the economy. According to the text of remarks delivered at a gathering of economists, policy makers, and bankers at Stanford University, he called for “intelligent regulation that will prevent self-destruction.” Trichet also criticized the banking industry in general and took side in a political momentum in Europe to crack down risky financial practices.

His remarks took a harsher tone than his previous calls for more financial

regulation. The reason is for this that Trichet does not need to face re-election as a central banker, and therefore is less vulnerable to charges of political populism. He also warned banks that have taken advantage of the amount of money that the European Central Bank has lent them at low rates. Banks have reinvested the cash borrowed at 1 percent in higher-yielding assets and made profits of millions of euros. According to the New York Times, Trichet said that “banks might become dependent on today’s very favorable access to central bank refinancing to such an extent that their incentives to repair their balance sheets remain weak.”

The leaders of France and Great Britain said they were close to coming to an agreement on regulating hedge funds at a meeting in London. French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, said hedge funds are to be blamed for worsening the Greek debt crisis. Greece’s budget deficit in 2009 was 12.7 percent of its GDP and its overall debt was 113.4 percent of its GDP. Greece’s weak finances also endanger the stability of the euro.

Sarkozy and Brown agreed to include a levy on financial transactions. “People will see that we have not harmed, indeed we have protected, the interest of the financial sector,” Brown told the New York Times.

However, Geithner did not think so.

In a letter to European internal markets Commissioner Michel Barnier, Geithner wrote that proposed European restric-

tions on private equity and hedge funds “discriminate against U.S. firms and deny them the access to the E.U. market that they currently have.” The proposal would restrict the access of E.U. investors to funds based outside the 27-nation bloc, and would also force funds based outside the European Union to accept the rules in order to do business inside the bloc. The changes could also force E.U.-based investment funds to use local banks for their business. Other points of contention include rules on remuneration, rules on borrowing limits, and rules on disclosure of sensitive information.

I agree with Geithner’s take on the issue. The European finance ministers should not approve the proposal, because neither Europe nor the rest of the world will benefit from Trichet’s plan.

The real purpose of the financial regulations is to reduce tax and regulatory competition. Switzerland and the United States are the main targets, but Great Britain would suffer from this, as well.

Many of Britain’s fund managers and custodian banks, who are based around the world, would have to relocate to another continent. While the proposal would still allow managers to direct their funds to individual European countries, I doubt that foreign investors would take this inconvenient option. It would also give Washington an excuse to shut down European funds on the U.S. markets.

These changes would do very little to lower the risk of future financial meltdown. Last month, the United Kingdom’s

Financial Services Authority reported that major hedge funds “did not pose a potentially destabilizing credit counterparty risk” and held a “relatively low level of leverage under our various measures.”

Hedge funds were not the source of systemic risk during the panic, like what regulators would have the public believe, even though about 20 percent of hedge funds have failed in the past two years.

Another shortcoming of the proposal is the financial stress put on European retirees, who are the major customers for alternative investment funds on the continent. The global lobby group Alternative Investment

Management Association estimates that the European pension industry would lose 25 billion euros every year if the changes were to be enacted. If that figure is accurate, it would pose a risk for Europe’s aging populations, especially during the economic crisis. Now is not the time for Europe to close its door to the world’s financial markets.

In fact, Europe needs global capital and capitalists, more than ever, to combat the financial crisis.

Binh Nguyen is a staff columnist for The Heights. He welcomes comments at marketplace@bcheights.com.

VANDEN NIKNGAERT/ AP PHOTO

Jean-Claude Trichet made no mistake about his view on financial regulations: the more, the better.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

B7

THE HEIGHTS

Obama shows some Appa love ALEF, from B10

DANNY MARTINEZ

MATT PALAZZOLO

Should the United States apply pressure to Israel on their policy of extending settlements into Palestine?

I don’t think Obama has the political capital to do so, and Netanyahu knows it.

Obviously the State Department has never seen Munich.

Ah yes, additional pressure is all the situation requires.

It’s worked so well for the past 60 years.

Maybe like back-rub pressure. Not deep tissue massage pressure.

Will the $17.6 billion jobs bill have any measurable effect?

It’s all about the placebo effect.

If money we owe to China is the measurement, then yes.

Of course! All bills of that magnitude have an effect!

Right? Right?

If there is a measurable effect, it will be measured with the metric system.

Only if Colin Powell thinks he has weapons of mass destruction.

It has been, they’re just saying it wasn’t to explain why we haven’t found him for 10 years. Nice try.

Old news. That’s like asking if the Walkman should become obsolete.

Hopefully he’s better at picking NCAA champions than special Senate election winners.

Didn’t you know that part of the President’s power is to choose the March madness champ?

Imagine being in a bracket pool with the President. . .?

Marketplace Editor

Should capturing bin Laden in Afghanistan be an important goal?

Will President Obama’s choice of Kansas as the NCAA champion be a winner?

Killing bin Laden is a Herculean task, and the United States possesses no flaming arrows.

If he is right, he is the most efficient multitasker I have ever seen.

Marketplace Staff

HILARY CHASSE Opinions Editor

KRISTEN HOUSE Arts Editor

riddled with fast-food chains.

One source of hope was one family in the community who we met.

Four generations had grown up in Portsmouth and provided a good living for themselves. Yet, this is not the case for the vast majority of people who live in Appalachia.

Should the federal government play a larger role in developing jobs in this region, or is it just natural that their economies dry up once the resources do?

One of the reasons why I like the ALEF is because it focuses on the community of West Virginia, harnessing local talent that will hopefully tackle the local issues. By allowing the students to go to four universities in West Virginia, they will undoubtedly learn to have a critical eye about their surroundings and think of ways to change it. My experience of living in Boston, and moreover as a PULSE student volunteering in South Boston, has given me ideas and thoughts about the

community we live in and how it can be improved.

I commend President Obama for giving this donation to a worthy cause. I would like to think that the message that the money sent is just as important as the cold, hard cash: Education is the first step to tackling a problem, because whatever has been done in the first place, sure hasn’t been working. Furthermore, the Appalachia region is often an overlooked place of poverty. I may have been living in la-la-land in California, my only exposure to the issue of poverty in the region was from watching October Sky. Hopefully, the president’s donation will be the first step towards awareness of this important issue to all, challenging us to not look across the border or across the globe for economic injustice when it can easily be found a bus ride away in one of our own 50 states.

Danny Martinez is the marketplace editor for The Heights. He welcomes comments at marketplace@ bcheights.

Smuggling and organized crime pervasive in Congo Congo, from B10

PHOTO COURTESY OF JUSTFOCUS.ORG

The Lord’s Resistance Army has been fighting against the Congolese government since 1987.

rivals of the FARDC. Ntaganda earned his nickname from the International Criminal Court for notoriously sending children under age 15 into battle and permitting gang-rapes. Reports exist of the Terminator permitting his troops to chop off the flesh of a victim and then forcing that person to eat it, a concept clinicized with the term “auto-cannibalizing.” This man, who peacefully sips martinis and loves to swim in a lake at Hotel Karibu, is entirely backed by the U.N. peacekeeping operation.

In its largest peacekeeping operation at the moment, the United Nations spends $1.35 billion in efforts to support FARDC resources against rivals and to protect villages from raiding parties. The endeavor, known as Monuc, employs 18,500 troops and provides transport, rations, and arms for the actual name army. Despite all of this support, the FARDC is terribly disorganized and unprofessional. One reason for the disarray could be that a Rwandan Tutsi militia group, known as the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), was absorbed into the Congolese army, run by the name, after a compromise. As a result, feuds are erupting between these people from different ethnic groups within the same

army and thus, undermining the war effort. Lyn Lusi, Heal Africa’s program manager, said, “In the peace process, they took all the bandits, and the militia, and the killers from every single group and put them into a uniform and said, ‘You are now the official army.’ So what did you expect?” The U.N.-backed group is slowly losing ground to several other contenders, despite the use of its frightening methods. Eve Ensler of V-Day, a movement to end violence against women, told the UK Guardian that, “U.N. peacekeepers are not passively standing by and watching the massacres, but are actually supporting the perpetrators.”

Consumers in America and other countries are becoming angry at companies for concealing the shady roots of their products. The funds that armed groups receive in exchange for materials go directly toward purchasing weapons.

While the injustice behind the scenes was once viewed as unimportant, firms are starting to make a commitment to only purchase conflict-free materials. Like the environmentally friendly trend has done, this will force firms to discover new suppliers or face a public outcry that could result in a boycott of their products.

Many ideas are f loating around Washington about how to reduce the

conflict. Currently, the Congo Conflict Materials Act in the Senate and the Congo Minerals Trade Act in the House would force firms to use conflict-free components in all of their electronics.

President Obama hopes to bolster the Kimberly Process, an agreement that was proposed to stop the trafficking of blood diamonds.

In order to promote more transparent, honest governments, he proposes that Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda maintain a monitoring agency. These countries are actually showing support for this innovative legislation. The alternative could be U.N. sanctions and from ICC hearings, among other threats by the global community.

The situation is by no means irreconcilable. Sierra Leone and Angola had brutal civil wars over diamonds in their countries about a decade ago, yet new accountability laws curbed the chaos.

Should the Terminator’s army continue to be used despite its horrendous crimes and inner-army fighting?

Maintaining such a force may be the only pragmatic solution. As Joseph Kabila, president of the Congo, told UK Telegraph reporters, “Why do we choose to work with Mr. Bosco, a person sought by the ICC? Because we want peace now. In Congo, peace must come before justice.” 

POLITICAL BELIEF

Churches mix Bush’s faith with Obama’s ideals to face unemployment

OLENA SAVYTSKA According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate, as of February, remains high – 10.4 percent, to be exact. Despite this saddening fact, hopes remain high in churches across the country. The current economic downturn is the most severe one the United States has experienced since the Great Depression; it has caused productivity cutbacks that have forced job seekers to adapt to the shrinking demand for their skills in new ways. Certainly, there is no universal antidote for unemployment. While some try their luck with a daily flurry of blind submissions to dozens of employers, others pay a fee in hopes of being matched with the perfect employer via an employment agency. Others reach upward to the spiritual realm in hopes of attaining material luck in this world.

In states such as Arizona, California, Michigan, and Georgia, houses of worship have stepped up to the plate, offering recession victims in their communities the hope of salvation – both from the eternal fire, and from the more immediate pains of unemployment.

The Career Community Network at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Marietta, Ga., is a successful example of a church-based employment assistance program. The church offers workshops to elucidate the job application process, provides resume critiques, and coordinates meetings between potential employers and those looking for jobs.

Although the job hunt is just that – a competitive, aggressive, high-pressure process – the spirituality that surrounds such faith-based groups can make job seeking a more positive process. Such support networks for the unemployed are a small segment of the spectrum of social services that religious institutions claim as their responsibility to provide. Yet, a deeper look into the growing popularity of this phenomenon reveals echoes of the ongoing, divisive debate about the role of churches in state affairs.

On some level, these organizations also symbolize the tension between individuals and the government, and between Democrats and Republicans.

Church-initiated unemployment assistance groups in 2010 stand in juxtaposition to Frankiln Delano Roosevelt’s National Recovery Administration and Works Progress Administration of the 1930s. These current organizations form the flipside of the long-awaited and somewhat anticlimactic distribution of federal stimulus package money. The growth of such local undertakings can be seen as a challenge to Democratic Big Government and as the successful materialization of former President George W. Bush’s vision, embodied in his faith-based initiative.

The faith-based initiative was designed to widen the channel of federal funding to religious organizations. For critics and supporters alike, this project embodied the alliance between the former president and the evangelical community. While many members of the latter endowed Bush with a divine mandate, Bush duly looked to God and religion as his ultimate, infallible guides.

While some members of the bornagain spiritual community consider

individual social assistance in communities to be within the proper jurisdiction of religious organizations, others believe that such organizations carry the broader mission of promoting social justice in a political sense. Glenn Beck, talk show host, has recently called for the closing of churches that advocate economic and social justice. Evangelical leader Jim Wallis, the president of Sojourners and President Bush’s one-time choice for leader of the faith-based initiative, believes that religious organizations must not only grapple with the symptoms, but also get to the cause of the malady. Believers like Wallis see in the Bible not only a call for kindness, but also an outcry against injustice. The current recession has made the debate about the role of churches in society more relevant and more acute.

Enter Obama. While the 44th president would retain faith as an implicit guide for his agenda, he would launch forward with direct action to make the country’s descent into crisis a less precipitous one. Conservative critics would subsequently classify the new president as a socialist, while ordinary Americans would be left with the impression that banks and other large companies would become the main beneficiary of the administration’s activity. Jobs, at any rate, would remain scarce, while health care reform would be sucked even deeper into the vortex of congressional debate.

The help which the churches have begun to provide to the unemployed, then, is a strange echo of President Bush’s policies mingled with the values that came in the second year of Obama’s presidency. While churchbased unemployment support groups are examples of the less radical indi-

COURTESY OF COCOACHANNEL.NET

Evangelical leader Jim Wallis believes that faith-based initiatives must tackle economic injustice. vidual assistance envisioned by evangelicals, they certainly do raise a question about the insufficiency of the federal government’s relief programs. While their positive externality of a spiritual bond between participants is indisputable, the success of these groups in helping to alleviate unemployment remains to be seen. At any rate, though, the support of

such local undertakings is a good addition to the top-down aid schemes that the Obama administration has adopted.

After all, extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.

Olena Savytska is a staff columnist for The Heights. She welcomes comments at marketplace@bcheights.com.

B8

The Heights

Thursday, March 18, 2010

The Heights

Thursday, March 18, 2010

B9

UN Peacekeepers unable to Healthcare should be contain violence in the Congo Health & Science

on seniors’ minds Alex Cohen May 24. I’ve got it circled on my calendar, and, if you’re a senior, you’ve got it on yours, too. May 24 is the date that I lose health insurance coverage.

To those seniors who, like me, have not yet secured a job, you will probably also lose coverage on graduation day.

That’s why I’m excited about healthcare reform: It’s going to keep me insured! Right now, there are two reform bills going through the process of reconciliation – one in the House, and one in the Senate. Some pieces of each will be mended, but based on the current two bills. Here are 10 pertinent items in the pending legislation. Whether one agrees or not, these five are things every student should know.

First, a stipulation requiring insurers to cover dependents for a longer period of time. If that job remains elusive but health care reform passes, those college seniors who would have lost health coverage may be able to stay on their parents’ plans until age 25 or 26. That’s something to be happy about, especially in this job market.

Next, employer incentives to provide quality, affordable coverage. Another promising thing about the forthcoming reform is an incentive for employers to provide affordable health insurance to employees. Perhaps Boston College students may tend not to work in businesses where the quality of health insurance is poor, but for some of us, any job is a good job, and this measure will fine businesses that either don’t offer coverage or offer lousy coverage. This kind of support is especially welcome in entry-level positions, which are not only where the vast majority of college graduates will find themselves next year, but also where employers may look to cut corners and costs by reducing the quality or quantity of employer-based coverage.

Thirdly, the possibility of tax credits to help pay insurance premiums, copays, and other out-of-pocket expenses.

These credits will only be extended to those individuals or families whose income is less than 400 percent of the poverty level, something on which both the Senate and the House agree. In 2009, the poverty level for individuals in the 48 contiguous states was $10,830.

With health care reform, if you earn less than $43,320 – which surely includes most college graduates – you will be eligible to earn tax credits, and the government will insure that you will pay no more than $5,000 in out-of-pocket medical expenses in any given year.

The two most important things are cost and payment. We’ve all heard it: The current working generation has saddled its children (us) with mountains of debt. It’s true, and if there’s one thing we should be concerned about, it’s the price of legislation, and how we’re going to pay for it. Each of the plans costs between $800 billion and $1 trillion and utilizes a variety of taxes and cuts to offset the cost. While many of these will likely not affect students or recent graduates because they target high wage earners, one interesting example could be devastating to beach-going college students: A 10 percent tax on indoor tanning services is part of the Senate bill. All joking aside (although that tax is actually in the bill), the most worrisome feature of the payment plan regards Medicare. Let’s hope that the proposal to cut the projected growth of Medicare and other federal programs, which, in both bills, amounts to over $400 billion, is more than just an empty promise because of the cost, but at the same time is not detrimental to our

Medicare coverage. $400 billion is an enormous amount of money to add to an already astronomical deficit, but “future growth” in Medicare actually refers to our, and even our parents’, Medicare coverage. The last thing on my mind is helping to pay my parents’ or my own medical costs as old age grows near.

These last five, I believe, are important to us as BC students because of our collective commitment to social justice and our mantra of “men and women for others.” In four years, this BC theme has had an impact on my life, and here’s how it shakes out in the healthcare legislation.

Individual mandate (with exemptions for Native Americans, people with religious obligations, and those who can demonstrate financial hardship). The reason behind this is that emergency care costs more than preventive care. If everyone is insured, it is more likely that people will get preventive, immediate care instead of waiting until a common cold turns into pneumonia. From a human standpoint, this makes getting healthcare less intimidating and more accessible, especially for the poor and uneducated who may have been afraid to seek medical attention due to costs.

Also, expansion of Medicaid. If for no other reason, this expansion of coverage is important because it will allow the poorest people to get the care they need when they need it. With healthcare reform, Medicaid will cover people with incomes up to 150 percent of the poverty level, increasing the number of people insured by about 15 million.

The system would be entirely incomplete without a national or state-level insurance exchange. The details of this concept are still being worked out, but essentially this will be President Obama’s “marketplace of options,” showing all the varying insurance options, in detail. This will only be an option for individuals if they do not qualify for Medicaid / Medicare or their employee-based insurance.

Again, this streamlined and transparent new process will eliminate some of the frustration and intimidation that arises from dealing with insurance companies, especially for the least knowledgeable consumers.

If government is involved in an exchange, that means insurance regulations would be a necessary part.

Pre-existing conditions, those pesky things that Michael Moore railed about in Sicko, will be outlawed. As students, our limited medical histories may not contain many pre-existing conditions, but if they do, we’ve got long lives ahead of us with which we would have to deal with them. This legislation will eliminate that worry and hopefully change the focus of insurers from profits to consumer health. Furthermore, the House bill proposed eliminating the anti-trust exemption that health insurance companies currently hold.

Finally, the public option. It’s unlikely that the public option will get passed in the reconciliation process, but it will be interesting to see how it influences the final bill. The public insurance option, if enacted, would give consumers a last-resort failsafe, administered and guaranteed by the government.

When I graduate, I hope the promise of this legislation can be realized.

Whether I’ve landed a job that’s required to provide me with quality coverage, or I go home and can be at ease with my parents’ current plan. In either case, a graduate must enter the “real world” someday, and when health care can amount to thousands of dollars per year, it is something serious for everyone in the “real world” to consider, and something about which they should be knowledgeable. I feel just a little bit better knowing now what’s in store for me.

Alex Cohen is a staff columnist for The Heights. He welcomes comments at marketplace@bcheights.com.

courtesy of missaodepaz.com

The United Nations peacekeeping force plans to begin their withdrawal from the Congo on the 50th anniversary of the country’s independence.

United Nations, from B10 the U.N. Security Council authorized the deployment of fewer than 100 soldiers to the region. The peacekeeping force steadily increased in size as the conflict dragged on, with the European Council deploying a force for four months in 2006 and U.N. Secretary-Generals Kofi Annan and Ban-Ki Moon repeatedly coaxing the Security Council into providing more troops. The peacekeeping force currently involves personnel from 57 countries, including six military observers from the United States. Le Roy stated that the force would remain in the unstable eastern region of Congo until at least June 2011.

The U.N. peacekeeping force was not created or even mentioned in the body’s charter, and did not exist for the first several years of the organization. The first U.N. peacekeeping force mission was deployed in 1948, when the Security Council ordered U.N. military observers to the Middle East to oversee the armistice between Israel and Palestine.

Since then, the United Nations has overseen 63 peacekeeping missions, including 14 current operations in countries such as Sudan, Kosovo, and Haiti.

During the Cold War, the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union, both permanent voting members on the Security Council, severely hampered peacekeeping missions. Peacekeepers

were limited to enforcing ceasefires in states that were not Cold War battlegrounds. After the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the role of peacekeepers increased dramatically. According to the official U.N. peacekeeping Web site, their role is to conduct complex “multidimensional enterprises designed to ensure the implementation of comprehensive peace agreements and assist in laying the foundations for sustainable peace.”

The United States’ role in peacekeeping missions is currently minimal. Nearly half a million American soldiers served in the Korean War, composing 81 percent of the overall U.N. force. Recently though, the United States has preferred to deploy its troops under NATO rather than U.N. administration, as in the Bosnian War of the late ’90s. President Bush, in July 2004, withdrew nine U.S. soldiers from peacekeeping missions in Africa and the Balkans after the Security Council refused to renew a resolution that shields American troops from prosecution by the International Criminal Court. Today, only 25 U.S. military advisers and troops are serving in peacekeeping missions, compared to the overall force of over 50,000.

The Obama administration has not strayed far from President Bush’s neglect of U.N. peacekeeping missions.

On a positive note, though Obama has consented to increasing the U.S. con-

tribution to the peacekeeping budget from 21 to 30 percent. However, he continues to maintain the status quo of the United States representing 0.0005 percent of U.N. peacekeeping forces.

An annual State Department report highlighted flagrant human rights abuses occurring in the Congo, saying that the Congolese government and rebel groups “unlawfully recruited thousands of children as soldiers and thousands of women, children, and men were raped while many others were abducted for forced labor and sexual exploitation, both domestically and internationally.”

However, the report offered neither a plan to end these human rights abuses nor any promise of U.S. intervention in the Congo. Obama seems to be content with scolding those responsible rather than punishing them.

The Congo conflict is a perfect example of America’s ambiguous role toward U.N. peacekeeping missions.

Whenever a high-profile war occurs, such as the Russia-Georgia War in 2008, the United States quickly sends troops to intervene under NATO command. On the other hand, the United States hardly raises a finger when U.N. peacekeepers struggle to maintain law and order in the African countries embroiled in civil war. If America truly is the leader of the free world, it has a responsibility to assist peacekeepers in countries such as the Congo. n

MARKETPLACE THE HEIGHTS

Thursday, March 18, 2010

B10

THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2010

6,900,000

Conflict an everday occurence in Congo

Unmitigated unrest: 6.9 million Congolese war dead since WWII

UN peacekeepers have been ineffective 11-year mission in the region has not ended rebellion or civilian casualties

BY KEITH VAN KULLER

BY MATT PALAZZOLO

More than 6.9 million Africans have died in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, making this the most deadly conflict in the world since World War II. The Congo is a known nation that rarely receives attention because the most powerful nations of the world are not involved in its conflicts. An incurably corrupt natioanl government coupled with the highest rates of rape and torture of all countries make it a place that seems hopeless in the eyes of many. Yet, signs are starting to emerge that a turnaround may be possible for the Congo after these immeasurable hardships.

The forces at war in the Congo take on a variety of forms. There are many tribal militias, some government-backed armies, and private mercenaries hired by companies. Some come from nearby Rwanda and Uganda. All of them try to exploit the country’s natural resources.

Tantalum, tungsten, steel, and gold are everywhere in the Congo, and the armed groups compete to acquire these materials. These forces make a huge profit by extorting millions of dollars from subsistence farmers or laborers by forcing them to work on whatever task the groups deem necessary.

Known locally as “The Terminat+or,” Bosco Ntaganda struggles under the banner of the national army, the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC), for control of the rural eastern areas. The Democratic Liberations Forces of Rwanda (FDLR), whose Hutu leaders fled Rwanda in 1994 after the genocide, are the main

The United Nations has simultaneously backed a military offensive in the Congo and announced plans to start withdrawing troops by the end of the year.

A recent attack took place in the wartorn eastern part of the Congo. It targeted both Rwandan Hutu rebels who fled their country after committing genocide in 1994, and the Ugandan-based Lord’s Resistance Army, which has been in rebellion against the Congo government since 1987. The force was composed of 18 Congolese army battalions. The United Nations is not directly participating in combat, but rather providing rations, logistical support, and medical assistance.

Lambert Mende, Congolese defense minister, said, “It is going very well, and the rebels are going on the defensive.”

Meanwhile, the U.N. peacekeeping force that has been situated in the region announced that it will begin withdrawing troops from the country as early as June. The initial troop withdrawals will coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Congo’s independence. Alain Le Roy, U.N. peacekeeping head, said that soldiers would only be recalled from the relatively peaceful western part of the country. “In the east, it will take much more time before we can think of withdrawing military forces,” Le Roy said.

“It will take much more time before the critical tasks are implemented.”

The force is currently the largest U.N. peacekeeping operation in the world, with nearly 20,000 troops stationed in the Congo. It began in 1999 after the outbreak of the Second Congo War, when

Heights Staff

Heights Staff

See Congo, B8

See United Nations, B9

HEIGHTS PHOTO ILLUSTRATION / MICHAEL SALDARRIAGA

DOMESTIC AFFAIRS

Obama donates $125,000 to college students in Appalachia

POLITICS

ECONOMICS

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

The job bill passed through the Senate is expected to become law after Obama signs it. The measure would excuse employers from paying payroll taxes on new hires who have been out of work for 60 days.

Mexico’s national defense secretary purchased $10 million of GT drug detectors, a crucial part of the country’s fight against drug cartels . However, British authorities believe the devices may be ineffective.

A new drug, Xiaflex, is an alternative to surgery for many suffering from Dupuytren’s contracture, a condition which prevents one or more fingers from being straightened.

DANIEL MARTINEZ

IN THE NEWS

In a story that merely appeared as a line on CNN’s Political Ticker, President Obama donated his Nobel Peace Prize money of 10 million Norweigan kronor ($1.5 million) to various charities. One that caught my eye was the $125,000 Obama donated to the Appalachian Leadership and Education Foundation (ALEF).

Based in West Virginia, in the heart of the Appalachia mountain range, the

Pakistan charges five Americans who are suspected of harboring extremist Islamic views with planning terrorist attacks in the country.

Signs of a slow but steady economic recovery continue to emerge. On Wednesday, The Dow Jones hit its highest level since October of 2008 reaching an impressive 10,733.67 before the bell rang.

New research suggests that the the long-term survival rates of kidney donors is not affected by the loss of one of their kidneys.

I NSIDE MARKE TP L A C E

THIS ISSUE

On the Flip Side

States is only free through high school.

Thirteen years of education is given to each citizen to prepare each of them to join the workforce. Then, students and their parents are expected to pull their weight through college. The over 60 percent drop between the two milestones is indicative of the fact that college remains a financial stretch for far too many.

I went on an Appalachia service trip during spring break, and the situation I saw was a testament to these statistics. I traveled to Portsmouth, Ohio, affectionately known as “Appalachian Ohio,” as it was on the outskirts of the mountainous region but still greatly affected by its geography. Portsmouth is also part of the “Rust Belt,” a part of the upper Midwest to Northeast, where manufacturing plays a huge role in the

economy. Steel and coal towns dominated the landscape and economies of local areas for much of the state’s history, but they have been declining for many years.

In Portsmouth, the facilities of the old plant stretched for miles until it was closed down and most of it destroyed, except for one huge warehouse, which has fittingly become the local Wal-Mart.

Many members of the Portsmouth community said that, because there is little opportunity for employment with the possibility of advancement, many of the young people move from small towns in Appalachia to large cities. As a result, cities like Portsmouth and countless others in West Virginia and other Appalachian states struggle to scrape by with barebones economies, with town centers

See ALEF, B8

1.1 billion

Amount spent on a virtual fence along the Mexican border, with only two testing sites to show for the expenditure.

3,230

The number of sexual harassment cases involving a member of teh armed services as either the accused, or the victim of the attack.

This week On the Flip Side will explore both sides of the issue of freedom of speech........................................................................ B6

We share common values “and a commitment to a demo-

IN QUOTES

volumes of the sorry state of education in West Virginia, the only state fully in Appalachia. Although the state is only slightly below the average percent of high school graduates, it ranks dead last in citizens with at least a bachelor’s degree, at only 17.3 percent. Of the 11 states in the Appalachia region, only three have college graduation rates above 30 percent – Virginia, Maryland, and New York – and that is entirely because of their large urban centers on the coast.

After taking an informal survey of the online news sources, I think it is a shame that this was not given more coverage. Obama gave a nod to Haiti, donated to the Bush-Clinton fund, education in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the ALEF. Which of these does not belong?

Public education in the United

IN NUMBERS

foundation “enables young men and women from Appalachia to pursue higher education though scholarship and leadership curriculum.” They have a group of 30 fellows who are given scholarships to attend one of four universities in the state, given an opportunity that unfortunately, few students in that region of West Virginia experience.

Robert “Doc” Foglesong, a retired fourstar general in the Air Force and former president of Mississippi State University, founded the center after seeing the need for leadership in Appalachia. Himself, born in West Virginia, he received three separate degrees from the state.

Recognizing that the hope was high but resources scarce, he created the ALEF to provide students an opportunity to go to college.

U.S. Census Bureau statistics speak

cratic future for the world. We are both committed to a twostate solution, but that doesn’t mean we are going to agree.

”

– Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State Concerning the recent flaring of tensions between the United States and Israel.

International Insights.........................B6 Health & Science.................................B9