Heights 05-03-10 by The Heights

The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College Established 1919 Vol. XC, No. 3

THE HEIGHTS MONDAY, MAY 3, 2010

www.bcheights.com

Brighton Admins criticize MBTA reports schools face cuts Officials show concern about handling of crash MBTA COLLISION BY PATRICK GALLAGHER Assoc. News Editor

AND ANA T. LOPEZ Heights Editor

School Committe passes $60 million budget cut BY KENDALL BITONTE For The Heights

On March 24, the Boston School Committee passed a $60 million budget cut for the Boston Public School system. The budget cut was part of the unanimously approved balanced budget of $821.4 million dollars, reported the AllstonBrighton Tab. The Committee has approved signiﬁcant budget cuts the past three years. Superintendent Carol R. Johnson told reporters, “Given significant financial constraints, the reductions were necessary, but not easily made.” The cut has been met with resistance from students, teachers, and parents. Students attended the Committee meeting and displayed textbooks of poor condition. Teachers have also come forward admitting that they have had to supply classroom materials from their personal accounts. One such teacher is Greg Lake of Mario Umana Middle School in East Boston. Lake said that he uses his own money to purchase paper for his classroom from Ofﬁce Max. He is also concerned about the future of health insurance. An additional part of the budget includes possible plans to eliminate 25 percent of custodial positions, which would amount to 83 jobs. After the announcement of the cut, there was a protest downtown outside the School Committee building. Hundreds of students, teachers, parents, community leaders, and members of the bus drivers and the custodians’ unions were present with signs and chantsed, “Support our kids” and “No more cuts!” as reported by the Tab The Boston Public Schools have been under scrutiny for underperformance recently, but protestors said that with the budget cuts, the School Committee cannot ask for high performance. “How do you become a world-class school system if you have to take these cuts every year?” Sandra McIntosh, English High School’s parent coordinator, told reporters. McIntosh also suggested that the Committee seek a “formula for how they fund schools.”

See Budget Cuts, A4

INSIDE ARTS & REVIEW

The Boston College Arts Festival stormed O’Neill Plaza, A10

SPORTS

Boston College officials have criticized the MBTA and its investigation of the collision between a Green Line trolley and a student-filled Jeep that occurred on Saturday, April 24. The MBTA failed to “present an unbiased investigation of the facts,” University Spokesman Jack Dunn said. “As a result of our discussions with the students, we have serious concerns about the MBTA’s seemingly deliberate campaign to assign full blame for this unfortunate incident on our students,” Dunn said. Last Monday afternoon, administrators from the Office of the Dean for Student Development (ODSD) met with the students who were in the Jeep at the time of the accident, at which point the

administrators determined that student testimony differed from what had previously been reported by the MBTA. “Some of the discrepancies include the MBTA’s portrayal of the accident as having been caused by a student operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol,” Dunn said. “The MBTA’s insinuation of alcohol being the cause of this accident is untrue.” On the Sunday after the incident, MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo told The Heights that the driver of the trolley witnessed students exiting the Jeep and picking up what appeared to be containers of alcohol. But it was not until the Monday after the incident, when the police report was released, that it was confirmed that the driver of the vehicle, Jane Stanton, A&S ’13, had not been drinking on the night of the accident. According to the MBTA police report, an officer met with Stanton at about 3:30 a.m. on Sunday, when the officer

See Collision, A3

2010 ARTS FEST DRAWS CROWD

KEVIN HOU / HEIGHTS EDITOR

BC officials said they are skeptical of MBTA reports on last week’s accident involving students.

Main line break contaminates water Students advised not to drink campus tap water BY REBECCA KAILUS Heights Staff

HILARY CHASSE / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Students gathered last weekend to celebrate Arts Fest 2010, which featured performances from dancers, musicians, and other performing arts groups on campus. For full story, see A2.

University holds top rating in bonds BY JAMES GU

Heights Editor Boston College’s bond ratings have remained constant, with Moody’s bond ratings at Aa3, and Standard & Poor’s rating BC’s bonds at AA-. While the bonds are evaluated yearly, Michael Barry, a professor in the ﬁnance department, said he believes that BC’s ratings will remain consistent. “BC’s mindful of our bond rating, mindful of our own credit rating, and is very good about maintaining a strong credit rating,” he said. Barry said, in an e-mail, that investment ratings are usually ranked in the order that “AAA is so high that only a handful of organizations have it, AA being extremely good, with BBB still investment grade, and BB and everything below as junk grade. The higher the rating, the less interest the organization has to pay for the debt.” Mark Conner, assistant treasurer at BC, also afﬁrmed BC’s strong credit ratings. Conner said that of the 286 private colleges and universities that Moody’s

rated in May of 2009, only 18 have an AAA status and 54 have an AA rating. “With BC’s Aa3 rating from Moody’s, it puts us in the top quartile,” he said. “What separates the AA and the AAA is larger endowments and lower percentage of debt outstanding that some universities like Harvard and Yale have, although it’s primarily the larger endowments,” Conner said. Barry said that because BC is an institution of higher education, it cannot issue stock like a normal corporation would to raise money, but instead needs to raise money through donations or debt. Barry compared debt bonds to student loans, which are also long-term debts to be repaid in the future. “A student takes out a student loan because they have a long career, a long time to pay back the debt. That’s what BC’s doing,” he said. “It’s a perfectly normal way of doing business.” Conner also said that BC issues new bonds primarily to ﬁnance capital spending, or to reﬁnance previously outstanding debt

See Bonds, A4

At Lower dining hall, nearly every student in line has purchased bottled water along with their meals. This comes after an e-mail was sent to the Boston College community alerting them to a water pipe break that has endangered the quality of tap water. The e-mail, sent by the Ofﬁce of the Dean for Student Development (ODSD), said that “water from the faucet will not be suitable for drinking, but can be used for bathing, flushing, and fire protection. A boil water order is being issued for drinking water until further notice.” Students have been advised not to drink water from water taps, sinks, or water fountains, or to use the water for brushing

TAYLOUR KUMPF / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Faculty distressed by construction delays Heights Editor

FEATURES

Learn about the guys at BrostonCollege.com, B10 Classiﬁeds, A5 Crossword, A5 Editorials, A6 Numbers to Know, B2 Police Blotter, A2 Taking AIM, B2 Thumbs Up / Thumbs Down, A7 He Said / She Said, B8 Weather, A2 World Record, B7

See Water, A4

City emergency services pumped water out of the Chestnut Hill reservoir as a temporary solution to the water contamination that has left BC students unable to use their taps.

BY ZACH WIELGUS The sailing team should no longer be BC’s biggest secret, B1

their teeth or cooking. However, the water has been deemed safe for showering, bathing, and ﬂushing toilets. BC sent out the e-mail after a boil water alert was issued by the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority at 12 p.m. on Saturday, May 1. Due to a major water pipe break in Weston, water services in communities east of Weston have been affected. The 120-inch diameter pipe transports water to communities as far north as Wilmington and south to Stoughton. Currently, the pipe is leaking water into the Charles River at a rate of over 8 million gallons per hour. The Sudbury Aqueduct, Chestnut Hill Reservoir, and Spot Pond Reservoir have been activated to respond to the leak.

AND JULIA CLARK For The Heights

Delays in the implementation of the University’s Strategic Plan are becoming “catastrophic” to its ability to compete for top faculty, research grants, and higher national rankings, said Tom Chiles, the chairman of the biology department. Chiles said he and other faculty – including dozens added this year in a spurt of unprecedented hiring – were frustrated and angry to learn that the planned 100,000-square foot Integrated Science Building is not scheduled to be under construction until the 2014-2015 academic year. And now, administrators have disclosed that even that timeline is likely to slip. The building “is what has attracted faculty to BC,” Chiles said. “There is not a day that goes by that one of my faculty doesn’t say, ‘Where’s the building?’” But Executive Vice President Patrick

COURTESTY OF THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Amir Hoveyda said he passed up other positions in anticipation of new science facilities. Keating said in an e-mail that local politics and the economic downturn have snared the original timetable for much of the plan, including the science center, making it unlikely to be built as scheduled.

“The economic situation will have to improve in order for the University to be able to afford the project at that time,” Keating said. That means it may be difﬁcult to keep recruiting top faculty, Chiles said.

“It’s about being competitive. Faculty want state-of-the-art facilities. They don’t want to think, ‘S—, I may have to leave after five years because there’s no space.’” Some new faculty in the biology department are being given office cubicles in a former computer lab because of the lack of space. “The people we are trying to recruit are interviewing with Harvard and MIT,” Chiles said. “We now are in the same realm, but if we lose competitive edge, and we will, it will be catastrophic.” Amir Hoveyda, chairman of the chemistry department, said he passed up a position at Oxford in 2005 based on the promise that the science building would be finished by next year. “I am not saying I would have gone had I known that the building was at least 10 years away, but I also do not know if I would have decided to stay,” Hoveyda said. “I am not sure how I would look at the future of science at BC next time I

See Delays, A3

TopFive

Monday, May 3, 2010

THE HEIGHTS

things to do on campus this week

Thomas Aquinas on Free Will Today Time: 7:30 p.m. Location: Campanella 335 Professor Cyrille Michon from the University of Nantes will deliver a Boston Colloquium in Medieval Philosophy talk on Aquinas and his teaching about free will.

Exile and Return of the Trinity

Tuesday Time: 5:30 p.m. Location: Fulton 511

Thomas Norris, a priest and lecturer from St. Patrick’s College in Ireland, will discuss the Trinity as the very life of God and a model for human living.

Chamber Music Society

The Future of the Church

LGBT Resiliency

Tuesday Time: 7:30 p.m. Location: Gasson 100

Boston College’s Chamber Music Society, directed by Sandra Herbert, will be performing on both Tuesday and Wednesday. The concerts will feature student chamber ensembles.

FEATURED ON CAMPUS

Festival showcases student art

Wednesday Time: 8:30 a.m. Location: Heights Room The conference will examine resiliency and healing after trauma in the LGBT population. Dr. Ilan Meyer, who deals with illness resulting from sexual orientation issues, will be the keynote speaker.

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

John Allen, a correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter, will speak on his latest book, which discusses 10 trends that are revolutionizing the Catholic Church.

IntheNews

In an effort to make log-ins simple, some colleges are joining a group called InCommon, which gives colleges software with a shared standard that allows a secure single sign-on, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. Professors, staff members, and information technology officials alike envision college campuses with single signon, the idea being that a person needs only one user name and password combination to access every digital service an institution provides, according to the report.

Local News Pops celebrate 125th anniversary while facing decline in ticket sales

KEVIN HOU / PHOTO EDITOR

BY TANNER EDWARDS For The Heights

The Boston College Arts Council hosted the University’s 12th Annual BC Arts Festival last Thursday through Saturday, featuring over 50 events showcasing more than 1,000 student and faculty artists, according to Arts Council organizers. The festival’s iconic white tent in O’Neill Plaza served as the hub for the three-day celebration of performing, visual, and literary arts. The Arts Fest also featured daily events in Gasson, Higgins, and Devlin Halls, the O’Neill Library, Robsham Theater, and the O’Connell House during the three-day showcase. Thousands of spectators in and around O’Neill Plaza were treated to an impressive array of events each day, including dance showcases, musical performances, literary readings, art galleries, comedy and theater acts, and film viewings. Students, family, staff, and community members provided support for the talent on display. Dance performances ranging from BC Irish Dance to Synergy Hip-Hop Dance Club received applause from the assembled crowds each day. Featured evening events drew consistently large and raucous crowds to the Plaza.

The tent hosted “BC’s Best” Thursday night, a singer / songwriter competition and battle of the bands that featured student musicians. The student band Code: Motion won the battle of the bands, while Matt Gibbons, CSOM ’11, took home top honors in the singer / songwriter category. “Obviously it was a great honor, but I didn’t really view it as a competition,” Gibbons said. “I saw it as an opportunity to play for a lot of people, many of whom had no idea that this is something that I do.” “Arts Fest was a great success, it’s always one of my favorite weekends of the year,” Gibbons said. The multiple-time performer noted how other events made the weekend even more special for him. “A real highlight for me was Dancing with bOp!” he said. “It was easily the most fun I have ever had at a gig. There was so much energy in the room and we were all loving it.” Friday’s “Slam Fashionation” fused some of BC’s talent in poetry and clothing design for a fashion show and poetry slam. The Festival closed Saturday night with a “Comedy Cage Match” between the improv troupe My Mother’s Fleabag and Fleabag alum. While the bulk of the Festival featured a collection of

dance, literary, musical, and theatrical performances, the events included a host of other activities around campus. A sculpture garden, interpreting the Festival’s official symbol of the lotus flower, featured student-designed flower sculptures touching on themes like poverty, division, apathy, education, service, and the meaning of art. A student art exhibit, along with a graffiti display, was showcased in a separate gallery to the side of the main tent. Student vendors offered wares like jewelry, clothing, and pottery for sale throughout the festival. Saturday featured a slate of children’s activities ranging from a parade with the BC Marching Band to sidewalk chalk on the O’Neill steps. Many campus groups took advantage of the extravaganza by syncing their final or featured showcases with the Festival’s daily offerings. Caroline McManus, A&S ’12, was one of hundreds of student volunteers who helped run the three-day event. “I’m not very artsy, but it’s really nice to be able to come out during the end of school, watch this, and unwind,” McManus said. 

Police Blotter 4/27/10 – 4/30/10 Tuesday, April 27

Thursday, April 29

10:30 a.m. – A report was ﬁled regarding a past larceny in 21 Campanella Way. A detective is investigating.

6:27 p.m. – A report was ﬁled regarding a ﬁre alarm activation in the Mods. The alarm was triggered due to bad cooking.

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

9:27 p.m. – A report was ﬁled regarding a party feeling ill in McElroy Hall. The party was offered medical care but refused treatment.

Wednesday, April 28

Friday, April 30

10:02 a.m. – A report was ﬁled regarding found property in McElroy Hall. The owner was identiﬁed and later responded to BCPD headquarters to retreive their property.

12:59 a.m. – A report was filed regarding a ﬁre alarm activation in St. Ignatius Gate. The alarm was triggered due to a hair dryer.

10:44 a.m. – A report was ﬁled regarding a suspicious person in Devlin Hall. A detective is investigating.

1:13 a.m. – A report was ﬁled regarding a suspicious person in St. Ignatius Gate. A check of the area for the party yielded no results.

12:23 p.m. – A report was filed regarding an attempted breaking and entering in Lyons Hall. A detective will follow up. 3:20 p.m. – A report was filed regarding a suspicious person in St. Williams Hall. A detective is investigating. 10:03 p.m. – A report was filed regarding a past larceny in O’Neill Library. A detective is investigating.

1:32 a.m. – A report was ﬁled regarding a party feeling ill in Roncalli Hall. The party was transported by ambulance to a medical facility. 2:08 a.m. – A report was ﬁled regarding assistance provided to the Boston Police Department in an investigation.

—Source: The Boston College Police Department

TODAY

79° AM Showers 55°

TUESDAY

76° PM Showers 52°

WEDNESDAY

74° Sunny

University Colleges streamline log-in process with InCommon’s shared standard

Students from a variety of performing and visual arts groups were featured in the 12th Annual BC Arts Festival.

FOUR DAY WEATHER FORECAST

In the wake of their 125th anniversary season, the Boston Pops face a timely problem, according to The Boston Globe. Ticket sales are down, television exposure is lacking, and the Pops are looking for answers. Mark Volpe, the managing director who oversees the Pops, blames the decline in ticket sales largely on the economy, the report said. However, there are reasons beyond the economy for the struggle: when the Pops were at the top of their game, they did not have the Internet or cable TV to compete with, Volpe said.

On Campus Full four-year scholarship awarded for service, leadership, academics Tatiana Cortes has been awarded a full four-year scholarship to attend Boston College starting next fall by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, according to a report by The Boston Herald. Cortes, who grew up in Mission Hill and is the daughter of two deaf parents, is one of 1,000 recipients of the scholarship, and will be the first member of her family to attend college. The scholarships are awarded to minority students based on community service, leadership activities, and academic achievement. Cortes interns at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

National No Taliban connection to Times Square bomb scare, police say NEW YORK (AP) — There was no evidence of a Taliban link to a failed bomb found in a smoking SUV parked in Times Square, and police were on their way to Pennsylvania to talk to a man who said he may have recorded a bombing suspect in a nearby alley, the police commissioner said Sunday. The video apparently shows a white man in his 40s taking off his shirt in the alley and putting it in a bag, Commissioner Ray Kelly said. Police found the SUV parked on one of the prime blocks for Broadway shows, and thousands of tourists were cleared from the streets for 10 hours while the bomb was dismantled.

60°

THURSDAY

87° Partly Cloudy 59°

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 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

Voices from the Dustbowl “How are you dealing with the water crisis?”

“I’m drinking lots of bottled water.” —Erin Butler, CSOM ’12

“I just bought Smart Water, and I took a shower today, which wasn’t horrendous.” —John Colella, A&S ’13

“I’m not buying the Smart Water. I have a water ﬁlter in my room, and hopefully that doesn’t run out.” —Rich Conboy,

CSOM ’13

Delivery To have The Heights delivered to your home each week or to report distribution problems on campus, contact John O’Reilly, General Manager at (617) 552-0547. Advertising The Heights is one of the most effective ways to reach the BC community. To submit a classiﬁed, display, or online advertisement, call our advertising ofﬁce at (617) 552-2220 Monday through Friday.

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

THE HEIGHTS

Monday, May 3, 2010

A service Undie run draws crowd to Cleveland Circle to the school SEAN TALIA I recently finished what I think is probably the most depressing piece of literature I’ve ever read in my life. Chris Hedges’ Empire of Illusion was published last year, and it is a scathing indictment of American society, politics, education, and values. One of the things I remember most from the book is the chapter titled “The Illusion of Wisdom,” much of which is devoted to condemning America’s educational system as producing morally clueless individuals who are not taught to question and think, but rather to obey and acquiesce. Sad as it is, Hedges’ argument is almost too persuasive to refute. I went to a high school in suburban Detroit that required students do a minimum of 10 hours of “community service” every year. As long as you had a signature, almost anything could be considered community service. A particular favorite among students was attending the annual school carwash, at which students would stand around for hours, maybe washing a car if they felt like it, but mostly playing with hoses and sponges and having a good time. You felt proud that you had just done “community service,” despite the fact that most of the cars that came through were BMW’s, Lexus’s, Mercedes Benz’s – that is to say, they belonged to people who really didn’t need a free carwash. So, having attended a few of these carwashes, it seemed to me that when high school students would perform community service, they weren’t really helping anyone other than themselves as they attempt to pad their resumes. But I read an interesting article in The Boston Globe yesterday, which I think not only serves as an example to other high schools, but is also a fine exception to what Hedges deems the rule. At Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C., students are strongly encouraged to become active community members, not because undergraduate universities will be impressed, but because it’s the socially and ethically responsible thing to do. Many spend time at soup kitchens or homeless shelters doing what they can to help those who really need it. There’s a shelter right on campus where a lot of students volunteer. In fact, a good portion of them claim that it has caused them to “rethink how they want to live their lives.” Elite high schools across the country that are located in wealthy suburbs should take a cue from Gonzaga and try to help their students understand that “community service” isn’t just about lofty rhetoric. It’s about understanding that most people in the world desperately struggle every day to make a living, and that the life that students at these elite high schools know isn’t the life that everyone outside it knows. I admit that I am guilty of not volunteering as much as I could, should, or am able to. But reading the Globe has motivated me to want to do more for the community I live in, especially considering the metro-Detroit area was recently rated by Forbes as being one of the worst places in the country to try to land a job. Considering that much of the community service that I did (or rather, was forced to do) in high school was next-touseless, I think it will be a nice way to redeem myself.

Sean Talia is a columnist for The Heights. He welcomes comments at editor@bcheights.com

MICHAEL CAPRIO / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Students and locals participated in the AXE Undie Run Challenge Friday night in front of Roggie’s, donating their shedded clothes to charity. For more on the run, see ‘The Heights’ news blog, “The Good Word,” accessible at bcheights.com

Officials left with IMP delays draw responses ‘serious concerns’ Delays, from A1

Collision, from A1

concluded that Stanton had not been drinking at any point during the previous evening due to an allergy to alcohol. “The MBTA has an obligation to present an unbiased investigation of the facts, and it appears that they may not have fulfilled this responsibility in this case,” Dunn said. Sheila Shaw Horton, dean for student development, said that she too had doubts about the MBTA’s presentation of the students’ involvement in the accident. Horton said that administrators from the ODSD met with the students shortly after the accident. Dunn said that, in discussions with the students, they “vehemently deny that they were driving recklessly.” He said, “Instead, they claim that they were trying to turn at the legal turn-around at the intersection of Commonwealth Avenue and Greycliff Road, and that traffic on Commonwealth Avenue prevented them from completing the turn before they were struck by the trolley.” At 11:58 p.m. on Saturday, the BC Police Department first reported that a car had struck an MBTA train. According to the initial police report by the MBTA, the driver of the trolley said that when the trolley was approximately 100 yards from the Greycliff Ave. crossing, the Jeep “appeared to start crossing the right of way in front of [the trolley].” At that point, the operator of the trolley told police that he sounded his horn and activated the trolley’s emergency brakes. Later in the police report, it is stated that the Jeep was traveling westbound on Commonwealth Ave. when it turned southbound and entered the trolley’s right of way. According to the report, “Upon entering the right of way, the trolley struck the vehicle in the driver’s side.” The police report stated that the trolley was moving at about 30 miles per hour when it hit the Jeep. A student who was in the car at the time of the accident said that Stanton may have been distracted by another car that was in front of the Jeep on Commonwealth Ave., and that it may have caused Stanton to not spot the oncoming trolley. In the aftermath of the accident, the students are trying to recover from injuries to finish the semester. “Most of the doctors said that we were lucky to be alive, that in a crash like this we should have been dead,” said the same student, who wishes to remain anonymous. Dunn said that the students claimed that they did not run from the scene in an effort to escape police, but that those who were not at the scene when police arrived had left in search of medical assistance. He said, however, that students would still be held accountable by the University for their actions that night. “The Boston College students used poor judgment in being in a car with open and closed containers of alcohol, even though the designated driver was not drinking,” Dunn said. He said that, upon completion of the MBTA’s investigation, the University would impose any sanctions it deemed appropriate.

According to the police report, three of the students who left the scene of the accident were found by police at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Allston. All three were treated for minor head, back, and neck injuries and released. “I wasn’t thinking, ‘Oh man, I don’t want to get caught’ – I gave the police all my information when they asked for it. I just thought, ‘I need to get out of here,’” said the same student. After leaving, the students, who said they were covered in blood and disoriented, were taken in by a classmate and sent to the hospital. Of the 10 passengers in the Jeep involved in the crash, Elizabeth Motley, A&S ’13, suffered from a fractured brow bone, and Jane Stanton, the driver of the vehicle and A&S ’13, endured facial lacerations that required numerous stitches. According to the police report, Stanton, Motley, Patrick Wey, CSOM ’13, and Tina DiLandry were all hospitalized with head, back, and neck injuries. “The night of the accident, the people that went to visit Jane said she was basically unrecognizable,” said the passenger. Stanton, released last week from the hospital, has since left school for the semester to recover privately with her family. Several others in the vehicle sustained serious concussions for which they are currently being treated. “I realize it was stupid,” said the passenger. “If I could go back, I would have never gotten in that car.” When asked whether the Jeep was physically in the intersection when it was first spotted by the operator of the trolley, Pesaturo said that “the MBTA has nothing new to report,” and that the “accident remains under investigation.” Within two hours of the accident, it was reported to the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, as is required by law. According to Tim Shevlin, executive director of the DPU, “The MBTA safety department conducts their own investigation, which is currently underway, and must submit a report to the DPU within 60 days.” At that point, the DPU will review the findings of any investigation and determines whether further action is necessary. Boston Police Department spokesman Eddy Christin confirmed that the MBTA typically conducts its own investigations, and said that the BPD only assists with investigations in “major-type cases” involving fatalities. Shevlin said that there is a wide range of recommendations that the DPU could arrive at based on the conclusion of any MBTA’s investigation. “We could potentially find that there was operator error. We could find that there was defective equipment. We could find that the warning signals were defective.” He added that a possible outcome would be to recommend that a particular intersection needs to be examined to determine whether it’s in the safest possible location.  Michael Caprio and Taylour Kumpf contributed to this report.

evaluate a possible move.” Hoveyda said he feels “silly” to have made the same promise to faculty who he has since recruited. “I cannot claim the same to the faculty we will be recruiting next year, because I would be disingenuous,” he said. Hoveyda said the delay “will hurt us in recruiting top faculty, no doubt.” And that will also hurt the University in national rankings, the science chairs and John Mahoney, director of undergraduate admissions, said. Mahoney said research funding is one of BC’s weakest categories among those measured by U.S. News and World Report when ranking universities. “It’s preventing us from moving up,” he said. “The resources draw great faculty, and reputations are built on who you get. The sooner we build it, the better, because it goes to the heart of the institution and its reputation.” Scientiﬁc output and research of the type that will be conducted in the new building “is probably by far the most important factor in rankings,” Hoveyda said. “We are a victim of our own success,” Chiles said. “The more grant support you bring in, the more space and labs you will need.” But Keating said the University cannot start construction on the science center until it has the

money it expected when the plan was first proposed in 2007. Since then, projections of what will be built in the next eight to 10 years have been cut in half. Keating said the University had to make such changes because “the financial situation changed and the original aggressive financing approach became unrealistic.” On top of this, the City of Boston required that residence halls be the first buildings constructed under the IMP. In addition to the delays, the science chairs said they were frustrated with a lack of communication. “There is a vacuum of information, which is unnecessary and not constructive,” Hoveyda said. “Such decisions have a substantial impact on what we and our students do and how we think about our future.” Keating said he and Cutberto Garza, provost and dean of faculties, have heard the faculty’s concern. “Every opportunity we get, we throttle them, so they are keenly aware of the need of this building,” Chiles said. He said he urges the University to try harder. “What makes a University great is their research and the amount of grant-funded research programs. Great undergrad programs come with that. They need to spend some of their freakin’ endowment,” he said.  This article was reported by students in Jon Marcus’ Advanced Journalism class.

Monday, May 3, 2010

The Heights

City pumps reservoir water as temporary fix Water, from A1

However, the water is not safe for drinking. As a result, 38 communities have been affected by the pipe break, including Brookline and Newton. According to the Boston Globe, two million people in 700,000 households have been affected by the water main break. The Globe reported that, “Au-

thority Director Frederick Laskey called the break ‘unprecedented,’ and said it came at a critical area in the system.” It was discovered that the water main had broken at 10 a.m. Saturday morning from the pipe that delivers water from the Quabbin Reservoir in central Massachusetts to the Boston area. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has declared a state of

emergency in order to facilitate the state response to the water main break. Citizens have been alerted to use tap water for bathing and flushing only. According to the Massachusetts state Web site, water should be rapidly boiled for at least one minute before drinking. BC students should avoid drinking tap water until advised that it is safe to do so. n

Michael; Dwyer / AP photo

Engineers examined the area where the water line broke, leaving water unsafe for drinking in over 29 local neighborhoods.

Mayemba speaks in panel on African genocide By Kendall Bitonte For The Heights

Students f iled into Fulton Hall Wednesday night for the panel “Genocide in Our Community.” The two speakers were Tamara Indianer, of Holocaust Legacy Partners (HLP), who shared the story of Netty Schwartz Vanderpol, a Holocaust survivor, and Rev. Bienvenu Mayemba, S.J., a professor in the theology department. After the introduction by Cecilia MacDonald, current president of Americans for an Informed Democracy (AID) and A&S ’10, each spoke. Both speakers advocated the realization of two main dreams that they said would fight the destruction of genocide. Bienvenu outlined the two points in his Powerpoint presentation as re-thinking the perception of genocide and advocating for a mission for

speaking out against it. “We’ve got to live together,” Mayemba said. “Genocide is a threat to human coexistence and challenges our sense of solidarity with the crucified people of this world.” Indianer said he joined the HLP because of the immediate need to record the memories of elderly Holocaust survivors. “Anything you do is helpful,” he said. “Take baby steps. Help one person and the spirit of helping will spread.” Indianer’s speech consisted of a biography of Vanderpol’s life and survival. Having served as Vanderpol’s “Holocaust Partner” for the past few years, Indianer referred to Vanderpol as a friend. The HLP currently have 43 survivors’ memories recorded and, as of now, exist only in Massachusetts. Indianer said that in addition to

sharing her story, Vanderpol has dealt with the stress of the Holocaust by creating needlepoints, each one depicting memories from her days in Theresienstadt. Not only have the needlepoints served as a coping mechanism, but they have also given the HLP tangible memories. Mayemba discussed the Congo’s struggles with internal turmoil as well as the humanitarian crisis of refugees from the neighboring countries of Angola, Rwanda, and Zambia. He said that the dangerous and threatening principles of superiority and isolation can lead to genocide. Mayemba said there should be solidarity within Africa and in the resistance force. At the end of his talk, Mayemba included a short slideshow of photographs depicting the everyday life of the Congolese. Faces of young children, overcrowded hut villages, and

violence filled the screen. “Africa is caught between life and death,” Mayemba said. “It is a beautiful and amazing, yet terrifying and sad world. Life is unpredictable and genocide leaves an empty space. We must speak out for the victims and for all the crucified people. We remember for a different, better world. We can’t stay in the past. We want a better world.” Organized by the Genocide Awareness Committee, the panel was formed to raise awareness of genocide by sharing the stories of survivors. “Our goal in this event was to make genocide more than just a page in a textbook,” said Jayson Joyce, A&S ’12. “We wanted to share how the BC and larger Boston community has been affected by genocide.” Joyce is the head of the Genocide Awareness Committee and next year’s president for AID

Tyler Martin, A&S ’12, is an active member of the Genocide Awareness Committee and 2010-2011 vice president of AID. “Genocide awareness is not that controversial of an issue,” Martin said. “Nearly everyone agrees with our stance against genocide and wants to support our cause. It is a matter of cultivating active involvement on campus.” “We want to stay in the campus’ collective consciousness,” Joyce said. “Our goal is to deal with ethics-based issues.” Joyce said he was very pleased with the panel and with the student attendance. One event the Committee has planned for next year is a lecture titled, “Genocide: the Aftermath” which will focus on what happens to populations who have dealt with genocide. n

Professors analyze BC bonds Boston residents resist Bonds, from A1

as warranted. For example, to accommodate for the Master Plan, BC will have additional expenditures and may have to issue more bonds, but for the current fiscal year, BC will not be issuing new bonds. At the end of the 2009 fiscal year, BC has a total of $680 million in debt outstanding with a lower than average of 5 percent interest

rate on the bonds outstanding. Some of the bonds date back to 1983, although the last issue date for bonds was May 2009. C o n n e r sa i d h e s e e s n o changes in the bond ratings in the near future. “BC hasn’t experienced any liquidity issues, maintains strong enrollment statistics, and all of our outstanding debt is fixed at reasonable rates,” he said. Currently, BC’s bonds are tax-exempt

bonds, sold in the tax-exempt market, meaning that, for a comparable rating, BC pays a lower interest rate than corporate or other taxable bonds. When asked about BC’s current financial status in relation to other universities, Conner said, “We’re doing fine. We came through the recent uncertainty in the U.S. and global financial market in good standing.” n

budget cuts to schools Budget Cuts, from A1

Large budget cuts, like the one in Boston, are not limited to Mass. State governments are feeling the pressure of the economic stress and have needed to make cuts several consecutive years.

California, over the past two years, has cut $17 billion from public schools and colleges, reported the Mount Pleasant Education Association. Kansas City, Mo., is closing or consolidating 26 out of 61 public schools, ABC News reported. Also, the Metro-Atlanta public schools are

enduring a $47 million budget cut. School closure is a last resort after most severe budget cuts. Andy Smarick, a fellow at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, told reporters that traditional public schools will have to downsize and there will be an increase in charter schools. n

Group recreates refugee camp in the Dustbowl

Project organizes to spread awareness of genocide to the campus By Rebecca Kailus

people of the world.” The GAC specif ically picked Sudan to highlight during this event. Sudan has the As a part of Genocide Week, the Genocide worst Internationally Displaced Persons (IDP) Awareness Committee (GAC), a branch of crisis. Currently, 2.5 million people have been Boston College Americans for an Informed displaced in the Darfur region of Sudan, and Democracy (AID), recreated a refugee camp in the violence against the people of Darfur at the the Dustbowl last week to serve as a reminder hands of the government-supported Janjaweed of the struggles refugees face. militia persists. Although the windy weather posed many The purpose of such refugee camp recrechallenges to the exhibit, the group used flyers ations was to spread awareness of the global to get its message across about the persistence IDP crisis in Sudan and around the world. of genocide in our world. The exhibit, which was Joyce said that awareness of genocide is displayed from Tuesday to Thursday, educated important because it is a topic that is not often students on genocide in an effort to spread heard about in the news. awareness on campus. “Refugees are a topic you don’t hear much The idea for this project came from a simi- about,” Joyce said. “It’s not a sexy topic. We lar event at Queens College last year. STAND, wanted to get it into the collective campus the student-led division of the conscious.” G e n o c i d e I n te rve n t i o n Ne t Willner said that awareness is “We want students work, became involved on many one of the only things students to get involved in college campuses with refugee can do in order to help the refucamp recreations. On many colsomething people gees of genocide. “We wanted to lege campuses, students sleep awareness,” Willner said. don’t know too much spread overnight in the refugee camp “There isn’t too much students about. A lot of the can do [for this issue]. They can exhibits to demonstrate their solidarity in the global fight to donate. But we want students to violence has died end genocide. get involved in something people down, but a huge But David Willner, co-founder don’t know too much about. of the BC GAC and A&S ’12, Sudan has the most refugees. refugee crisis has said that their group wanted to A lot of the violence has died resulted.” focus on the somberness of the down, but a huge refugee crisis topic. “Initially we were going has resulted.” to sleep in it,” Willner said. “A Mayemba said that awareness — David Willner, candlelight vigil was originally is important to stop genocide Co-Founder, Genocide in the world. “It’s good to hear our plan, but we decided it would Awareness Commitee and people raising awareness,” he work better as an exhibit. If you sleep in it, it becomes more of a A&S ’12 said. “That’s the most important fun thing, but we wanted to keep thing. We don’t see it on TV.” it more solemn.” Mayemba said that most people Jayson Joyce, co-founder of the GAC and are not closed off from hearing about genocide, A&S ’12, said that he witnessed a lot of stu- they just do not know the facts. “I think that dents stopping and reading the information on people are just waiting for the possibility to be genocide set up in the Dustbowl. told,” he said. “It’s good to get [the topic] on their minds,” Mayemba said that he had witnessed treJoyce said. mendous suffering in refugee campus. One of the people who walked through the “It was very difficult to see all the people exhibit was Rev. Bienvenu Mayemba, S.J., who dying,” he said. “Where I used to live became has been personally affected by genocide. He an orphanage, and all the people around me said he believed that the exhibit showed the were dying.” interconnection between BC students and the This event was important to keep the horworld. ror of genocide in the minds of BC students. “For me, [the refugee camp] confirmed BC’s “To remember is to keep the past alive for the sense of global solidarity,” Mayemba said. future,” Mayemba said. “Whatever happens elsewhere affects every“This world is an amazing world. There’s where. When I hear people at BC talk about a reason to enjoy this life. We have struggles, genocide, it makes me happy. It’s important to but we should be happy to be alive. We should hear BC students speak out for the crucified be hopeful.” n Heights Staff

CLASSIFIEDS

THE HEIGHTS

Monday, May 3, 2010

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BIRTHDAY WISHES The Heights wishes William Zachary Wielgus a very happy 21st birthday!

The Heights

Editorials

Quote of the DAY

Senior gift support

Monday, May 3, 2010

“Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.”

— Douglas Adams

Seniors who might initially be hesitant to give a donation to the University could be more inclined to contribute to a specific project. As Commencement draws nearer, the prospect of contributing to the Senior Class Gift campaign is on the minds of the graduating senior class, or should be. While some seniors may be unsure where the money for the class gift goes, Boston College has made a number of attempts to improve the transparency of the campaign to the student body this year, including setting up a table in Robsham Theater and handing out free t-shirts to passersby. Students at this table explain, on the spot, what the donation is and how each student’s offering is crucial to the continued enhancement of the undergraduate experience. Last year, according to a 2008 U.S News and World Report, the overall BC senior class participation was notably low, compared to that at schools like Notre Dame, Harvard, Duke, and Brown. The Heights recognizes the significance of the Senior Class Gift, and we wish to convey to seniors our belief that they should give back whatever they can to the fund, and impart our support to the Senior Class Committee in its fundraising efforts.

Several factors may influence seniors in their decision as to whether they donate. Some soon-to-be alumni who might be able to contribute only a small amount may feel as if their donation will have no impact whatsoever, but, in 2009, BC raised over $1.4 million in gifts under $100. It is crucial for members of the committee and their associates to impart to seniors how essential each and every donation is. Others might not want to contribute because they do not see the tangible goal that their funding is fulfilling. Though the administration gives seniors the option to donate to a particular program, club, or office with which they might have been intimately involved during their time at BC, it may still be hard to see what their offering is actually accomplishing. Gifts from alumni can make a huge difference in the quality of the University. It is important to emphasize this to graduating seniors and to encourage them to explore ways in which the Senior Gift may have a more visible presence on campus.

Life after graduation

The recent Life After BC week should only provide an inspiration, not a guideline, for future goals after leaving BC. Last week’s Life After BC Week, hosted by the Undergraduate Government of Boston College, was a crash course in navigating the working world. The week’s events were intended both for students who will soon be faced with the prospect of finding jobs in the current market, as well as for students who will be continuing their studies at BC next year, with an eye on their future employment prospects. We feel it is important to reassure students that what they heard last week and what they have been reading and listening to in classrooms and in the news for the past year reflect an optimistic outlook on the economy, and on the ability of the economy to continue to expand and add jobs in the wake of some of the highest unemployment levels this country has experienced in decades. What students should have taken from last week’s events are ideas and personal anecdotes offered up by speakers who have all had different experiences in relation to the job market and finding the right position.

It would be wrong to interpret any of the presentations as the be all and end all of how to snag the perfect job. Rather, what was said over the course of the Life After BC Week represents a snapshot of the process. Recently, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced that the economy grew for the third consecutive quarter, expanding at an annual rate of 3.2 percent in the first quarter of this year. Buoyed by the strong reports, the environment for hiring is improving on a daily basis. As soon-to-be graduates of BC, the members of the class of 2010 should not downplay their prospects of finding the right job, because, as soon-to-be graduates of BC, they each have the distinct advantage of a BC education, which will be increasingly valuable for as long as the University maintains its high standards for students and faculty on the Heights. That is not to say that jobs will be presented to BC graduates on a silver platter, but, with flexibility and drive, students will not be left out in the cold.

Fostering student art

The success of Arts Fest illustrates how many talented students are on campus and how a central organization would benefit growth. The Arts Festival concluded this Saturday evening, marking yet another successful year for the Boston College Arts Council’s annual event. Attracting both community members and students, the festival in O’Neill Plaza draws in massive crowds and gives student groups the opportunity to collaborate and experiment in front of a diverse audience. From Slam Fashionation, to Dancing with bOp!, to the alumni cage match with current Fleabaggers, the events this weekend not only showed how talented BC students are, but also how adaptive. This flexibility is key for any BC arts group, however, because of the lack of a cohesive and tangible center for the arts on campus. As a part of the Strategic Plan, the University plans to build an arts center on Brighton Campus. Although the exact facilities are not known at this time, it is the University’s intention to use this space as both a classroom and performance center. The ballet studios on Brighton have already been put to use by many groups, and this is perhaps just a

preview of the amount of unity and overlap that would come from a central focus on the arts at BC. Fostering an environment for the arts needs to include creating a space for creative endeavors to flourish. Until this aspect of the Strategic Plan is put into effect, the students on campus currently must continue to work within the confines of existing spaces and institutions that facilitate student arts, including the Arts Council, Art Club, and the director of arts for the Undergraduate Government of BC (UGBC). As the Mabida/ Raab administration prepares to take over next year, we encourage them to give special attention to the artistic talent on this campus. There is room for impovement, and the UGBC has the power to provide the support that these groups need. The UGBC represents the student body’s interests, and to have no central arts commission would be to overlook dozens of on-campus groups, and would leave a hole in their intended mission of “growth,” because growth should involve all aspects of student life.

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: Krysia Wazny

matthew laud / Heights Illustration

Letters to the Editor In defense of the often vilified “hook-up” culture Joseph Pasquinelli Perhaps I’m bitter. Perhaps I’m cynical. Perhaps I’m a jerk. Perhaps I’ve lost all faith in dating and the typical way we go about pursuing the opposite sex. Or, perhaps, I may just be willing to say what many are thinking but are afraid to say for fear of judgment by their less cynical, bitter counterparts in the wild world of the Boston College courting culture. Everyone is so quick to condemn this hook-up culture that exists here, but not many are willing to end their participation in or find alternatives to it. So what is to be done about the hook up culture? Is there anything to do about it? Is it really as bad as we think? BC students: the best, the brightest, and the busiest. Let’s examine a typical day in the life of the typical BC student. This model may or may not be loosely based on my own schedule. Wake up around eight. Go to class. Grab some lunch with a few friends. Go back to class. Hit the library. Go to meetings and rehearsals for the various activities in which they are involved. Go back to that closet we call our rooms. Have a cocktail. Go to bed. Rinse. Wash. Repeat.

Where in there is the time to see a significant other? In case you didn’t notice, there’s not. Sure, we have the weekends to spend our time as we please, but this is spent out at parties with friends and that other dear friend — alcohol. So our time is pretty jam packed with work and relaxation. This makes the hook up seem like the only possible opportunity to have any intimacy with a member of the opposite sex. So why are we so hard on the guy and girl who don’t know each other sticking their tongues down each others’ throats after a few drinks on a Saturday night? There aren’t many alternatives, so perhaps it would be healthier if we embraced what we have here, and stop casting the hook-up culture and its participants in such a negative light. Now you might say, “Joe, this seems like a way to get some cheap thrills and your rocks off.” Sure, this is what it seems like, but scholarly research, in keeping with Erickson’s model of development, has shown physical intimacy is important to our psychological health and development. Yes, I suppose it would be better if that intimacy were to be between two individuals who care for each other, but this simply does not fit with the lifestyles and sched-

Joe Pasquinelli is sophomore in the Lynch School of Education.

BC students lacking in bar etiquette Paul Hynes Recently, I stopped by Roggie’s for an after work beer. What I witnessed was a total disgrace, and made me embarrassed to be an alumnus. This is coming from a recent graduate who, during his tenure, frequented Roggie’s every Friday. Now, these days, I regularly stop in Roggie’s for a couple of after work beers every Friday during happy hour, but what I witnessed this Friday deserved a mail in to The Heights. This weekend, I saw BC students not only making complete fools of themselves, but generally being rude to the bartender and other patrons around the bar. To begin, the students were extremely cheap with their tips. As I sat there, I saw tips ranging from $0 to $0.35. I am sorry, but to not even tip your bartender $1 is ridiculous. Being a college student myself, I understand the lack of funds, but a general word of advice: If you can’t afford a decent tip, I don’t

think you should even be at a bar. Secondly, I witnessed BC students being extremely rude. As a recent graduate, I understand the excitement of going to happy hour and playing drinking games with friends, but at the same time, interrupting conversations and threatening fellow patrons is simply unacceptable. I, myself, commented on the general atmosphere to one of my friends, and was immediately threatened by a man wearing a headband and sweatband. I’m sorry you are acting like a do—, but please keep it within your group of friends and leave me in peace to enjoy my beer. When I went to use the restroom, I overheard a conversation between two friends describing a girl who turned him down as an “old b—h who was graduating soon”. Guess what, junior .... life goes on after college. In the mean time, why don’t you head back to your “sweet offcampus apartment where you have three kegs waiting for you.” I can already predict that this

letter will go over great with the students, but too bad, you guys act like total do– bags and embarrass those who recently graduated. I never thought I would be complaining about younger people so soon after graduation, but the complete lack of respect by these BC students forced me to write in. I now can completely understand the animosity between BC and their neighbors just based off this bar encounter. I wouldn’t want to live within 20 miles of BC for fear of encountering one of the many do–bags that attend. I am not trying to write this in an attempt to be funny. I only hope that someone reading this will take off the headband, act like a normal person in a public bar, and stop embarrassing former graduates who never seemed to act like the total do– bags the current drinking class does. At least the last generation tipped $1 a drink. Paul Hynes is a BC graduate from the class of 2009.

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

ules of most BC students. Also, the hook up can lead to a healthy relationship in which two individuals care for each other. With a mutually understood hook-up or continued hooking up, the one is not forcing the other into the mold of boyfriend or girlfriend, but they could be molding the idea of boyfriend or girlfriend to the other person. Young adults need and desire physical intimacy and, instead of forcing a romantic relationship to satisfy these needs, seek out satisfaction from a more casual hook up and allow feelings to develop organically. A more honest and realistic relationship is likely to follow. Maybe a few hurt feelings or nothing at all will come of it. Maybe a positive, healthy, supportive relationship will come of it. Either way, the physical desires and needs of BC students will be satisfied and their academics and activities will not need to be sacrificed. Too busy to develop a relationship? Desire intimacy with the opposite sex? Become a member of the growing hook up culture. We won’t judge you. Perhaps we may even applaud your prudence.

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

Monday, May 3, 2010

Opinions

Thumbs Up Crossover – On Saturday night, the annual Dancing with bOp! event featured several student dance groups swinging to the group’s jazz tunes, but with a twist. From Masti with trumpets to Patu accompanied by sax the mixing of genres created a truly unique experience. Cherry on top? All of the dance pieces were arranged by BC junior Steve Bass. Now that’s versatility. Ingenious – TU/TD smells a rat. With the massive spike inbottled water purchases over the weekend, perhaps the mysterious water pipe accident that has rendered all Boston water unusable might have been the result of some corporate shadiness. Is it just a coincidence that the demand for $4 Smart Waters skyrocketed? Classy Baldwin – As a part of the artif ication of the campus this weekend, Arts Fest took on the Superfan shirt and added a bit of a twist. Baldwin appears as various artists from Van Gogh (minus one ear … do eagles have ears?) to Warhol (with pretentious glasses) as to incorporate BC’s Eagles into the cultured weekend. Spring Flowers – Want to create a picture-perfect romantic moment? Take your main squeeze out to the Quad, St. Mary’s garden, or even by the Plex and wait for a gentle breeze (probably won’t have to wait long). The pink-flower trees (that’s the scientific name) will oblige with a sprinkling of dreamy petals, whirling down ever so gently to land on hair, eyelashes, etc. Romantically inept college men, you are welcome. Kentucky Derby – The 136th Kentucky Derby was this weekend and the winning steed, Super Saver, was ridden by three-time (and twotime consecutive) Derby winner Calvin Borel, the only jockey to ever hold this distinction. TU/TD thusly crowns him king of mint juleps and ridiculous hats. Long live the king! Mudstock – The last day of classes will have even more college-themed entertainment this semester with the return of the mud volleyball tournament to the Edmond’s lot. Avid sports enthusiasts (or anyone who wants to see the opposite sex run around in mud) will be out to catch the pure athleticism of the day’s events. Yeah, college!

Thumbs Down Parched – The hottest day of the year would coincide with a water shortage. Boiled water, anyone? Oil slick – Those living on the Gulf coast might be scoffing at the Boston area water issues at the moment, as they brace themselves for the largest oil spill in history to hit their shores. Although some of the sludge was burned off, duckies on the shore are still in danger. Think of the duckies, BP! Exodus – As seniors are preparing to take their leave of campus, several holes will be left in student life. For example: The comic on the right is coming to an end. Anyone interested in taking over? Email TU/TD at editor@bcheights.com Anyone? Please?

Freshman year, in perspective

Pooja Shah As I sit in front of a blank Microsoft Word document, the glare of the glowing computer screen gloating at me, I rummage my mind for any possible topics to write for my last column for this semester. Ideas crawl into my head: Spring fashion do’s and don’ts, the box office success of the movie How to Train Your Dragon, or the current financial debate over breaking up bank sizes. Overplayed, boring, and Zzzzz. But staring at my scribbled handwriting of the dates of my approaching finals on the post-its dispersed at the top of my desk, I think about the upcoming three weeks that will mark the conclusion of my freshman year. While laziness still traveled through my veins, and summer tans slowly faded away, September stamped the beginning of my adulthood. In a sea of 2,500 distinct, fresh faces, everyone forgot about SAT scores, who got 4’s or 5’s on AP exams, high school drama, and everything that had happened prior to the fall. Instead, ambitious students were determined to find a cure for the senioritis that once diseased them and crack open the textbooks they spent hundreds of dollars on. Whether home was 20, 200, or 2,000 miles away, we all

embarked on some sort of academic, financial, or social voyage on the pursuit of knowledge and new experiences. The goal that appeared on everyone’s mind was the idea of new: new friends, new classes, new hobbies, new interests, and new adventures. For me, not only did this quest for innovativeness come in a change of environment, but “new” also meant generating novel ideas and adapting to mentalities to which I was not previously exposed. Coming from a slightly conservative Indian family, newly acquired freedom, 235 miles away from home, meant I could do whatever I wanted. Going to BC meant conquering one of the greatest obstacles known to me: fitting into such a thriving community, while simultaneously standing out and remaining myself. My first obstacle was to accept the culture of the University that would soon be transformed into my second home – though I was not accustomed to such a festive social atmosphere, I tried to assimilate and blend in with the interests of my peers. The harder I tried to fit in, the more I realized how difficult it was to be your own, independent person while merging with the rest of BC. I had to face that one point when all I wanted to do was go home. I tried to heal my homesickness by filling the empty void with familiar comfort and affection, with organizations, retreats, Chocolate Bar fondue dates, and roommate-bonding days. Through this, I grew closer to people who, once strangers to me, became a second family at a place that was far from home. Still, certain moments sparked memories of the past, and

I grew nostalgic of sun-kissed summers, evenings where my family and I shared a meal, as well as annoyed at holidays spent within the walls of my dorm room, and dining hall food that did not satisfy my taste buds or replicate the palatableness of my mother’s cooking. Yet, looking around I observed that although our school is mixed with “white,” “black,” “brown,” and “yellow” unfamiliar faces who all speak different languages, dance to different tunes, and hold different beliefs, we are in this together. All of us must make the hundred feet excursion to the O’Connell House or our dorm building basements to do our own laundry, blindly ingest late night greasy mozzarella sticks, and compromise our routine habits to respect the privacy of our roommate(s). Many of us have the fortune, or misfortune in some cases, of traveling to and from Newton despite what the weather forecast reads, or of walking down Newbury Street in a fashionable blue dress, or sneaking into upperclassmen parties on the weekends just because it would be a hell of an experience. We built relationships with people we never thought we could relate to and discovered humanistic work that feeds our passion of saving the world or bettering society. I learned a lot, and I’m in the process of learning more, but with May 17 flashing before my eyes, I can confidently state that I survived freshman year.

Pooja Shah is a staff columnist for The Heights. She welcomes comments at opinions@bcheights.com.

No water for you!

Suzannah Lutz News of Boston’s water main break arrived Saturday afternoon, but the news came slowly to the Boston College community. The hints were small at first: white cloaks draping the soda dispensers and signs posted in front of the filtered water. One student, named Sarah Clarke, noticed something was off after a lazy afternoon on the Robsham lawn. “I really wanted a smoothie,” she said. “I mean, it was such a beautiful day, and I had been sun tanning, and it was a perfect day for a strawberry smoothie from Lower, but the machine was … off. I thought it was a bit odd. They had just fixed it.” Luckily, the student body did not need to exercise the principles of deductive reasoning. Around 5:25 p.m., BC Alert issued an e-mail that informed the student body of the main break, stating, “Safety Alert. A major water main break in the greater Boston water system has occurred. Please do not drink water from water taps, sinks, bubblers or water fountains or use it for brushing your teeth or for cooking until further notice.” Remembering that some BC students have access to pots and pans and microwaves, ResLife sent out an

additional e-mail several minutes later alerting the student body to the “boil order.” Unfortunately, the crowds had already begun to swarm the dining halls and vending machines, demanding Dasani and Smart Water. The catastrophe coming a little over a week after Earth Day, local environmentalists could not be any less pleased with the demand for bottled water. “What is so hard about boiling water? It takes like five minutes!,” environmental activist Jane Goodie lamented, sweat rolling down her face as she sat in her 90 degree kitchen on a Sunday afternoon. The decrease in water is also causing an increase in thirst, BC Dining reports, with hundreds of students drinking up to four times the amount of water they would normally drink in compensation for the catastrophe. Students are rushing to dining halls in packs, leaving empty Smart Water boxes scattered everywhere. In one tense moment at Lower, five students stood around a disheveled box, shifting their eyes at one another before a small girl finally lunged at the last bottle. In response to this hot mess, Dining Services issued a restriction on the sale of Smart Water in Mac, limiting the sale to two bottles per customer. Some are finding difficulty coping with the constraint, especially those wary of the contaminated water. “I don’t feel comfortable showering here – if the water isn’t good enough to drink, not much else is going to persuade me that it’s safe to be bathing in,” said Jodie Gilles, a freshman. She tells us she uses six bottles of Smart Water when

FROM HERE TO RESERVOIR

BY SAL CIPRIANO

showering, and the restrictions will severely limit her ability to condition her hair properly. Dining Services is addressing the water shortage by offering coolers of boiled water in the dining halls. Gus O’Toole, a junior, proclaimed, “Dude! The water is hot! Can’t we get some ice, too?” When asked about how he is handling the water situation, he said he might as well have jumped in the Res for his bath this morning. “Now I know what it’s like to live in a third-world country.” Sunday reached highs in the 80s, and from the open windows of hazy dorm rooms, any passerby could hear the faint cries of sweating college students lying on their beds: “Thirsty! So thirsty!” The Boston Police responded to these cries, their loudspeakers blaring public service announcements: “Please do not drink the water. Continue to drink beer.” One student is not fooled by what he calls “this mass craziness.” Tanner Fink, a sophomore, says, “Look at all of these people who think they are dying of thirst! CVS is empty, and we all think this is some typical ‘catastrophe?’ It’s obvious that Smart Water and the Crab People have sabotaged the water main.” Gov. Deval Patrick spoke to the City of Boston today, saying that there is plenty of water, and clean water could be coming back to Boston in days, not “weeks.” He insists that there is “no need to panic.” Suzannah Lutz is a staff columnist for The Heights. She welcomes comments at opinions@bcheights.com.

Students: renew the debate Kevin Swanson These days, our country is undergoing a nationwide debate on what the role of government is in society. More specifically, should government provide a basic level of health care to its citizens? Should the government impose regulations on the financial sector to guard against actions that exacerbated and triggered the Great Recession? In a recent column, David Brooks wrote, “In the first year of the Obama administration, the Democrats, either wittingly or unwittingly, decided to put the big government-versus-small government debate at the center of American life.” That assertion is debatable, but it does crystallize the thought of a growing number of Republican political elites and “astro-turf” as well as authentic “Tea Party” activists who have decided to make the operation of government, let alone health care reform, a battle, to use their terms, of “Waterloo” proportions. This debate has serious consequences for our country, namely, paralysis of the legislature at a time of war and fiscal and environmental crisis. Although this debate is taking place at time of high mistrust of our government and its institutions, the debate is nothing new. Historically, there has been an ebb and flow of opinion on the government’s role in society between Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives. While Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush betrayed that dichotomy by falsely claiming to be small-government conservatives, but actually running up record deficits with defense spending and unfunded Medicare prescription benefits, the debate by and large still exists. The actions of the past two major Republican administrations should compromise much of the Republicans’ standing on their current positions regarding government spending, their opposition to strict financial regulatory reform, an energy and a climate change bill as well as their previous stance on health care, but they remain steadfast as the party of no. In the last two years, this debate took on a new form after the start of the Obama election. Opposition to his administration’s proposals and policies has turned from honest criticism and alternative proposals to insidious false cries that Obama is a “socialist” and his administration is “un-American.” This debate is largely taking place in the media between media elites, political elites, and a small fraction of the population made up of Tea Party activists and corporate special interests. It’s time for a new voice to enter the fray of debate about the future our society and the role that government must play. While professors and experts at universities may act as commentators and provide research to support different government policies, they largely remain aloof of the partisan divide. The United States boasts the finest collection of private and public colleges and universities in the world. It is time to break down the idea that our nation’s institutions of higher learning exist in an ivory tower of academia separate and apart from politics. Our nation is at a critical crossroads where the brightest minds and the best information must be made available so that our government and elected officials cannot misinterpret and misrepresent key issues and problems. Institutions of higher education must draw a line in the sand and decide that their best interests rest in an informed and participatory democracy. Moreover, it is incumbent upon the students present on our college campuses around the country to take a stand. Voter participation in the 2008 presidential election was up from years past, but it has not translated in the political activism necessary to accomplish President Obama’s “Change we can believe in.” The natural extension of higher learning is an application of what one learns to problems in the real world. Colleges boast not only the resources, but also the manpower to tackle the problem we face. It is time they entered the political process in mass to make sure our government’s policy takes the optimal approach to tackling the problems of our generation. Kevin Swanson is a staff columnist for The Heights. He welcomes comments at opinions@bcheights.com.

THE HEIGHTS

Monday, May 3, 2010

A nightmare of a remake fails hard on Elm Street BY CHRIS DEWEY Heights Staff

One, two, a new remake’s coming for you … three, four, this one is quite the bore … five, six, you won’t find any new tricks … seven, eight, you could call it second-rate … nine, ten, never trust anything Michael Bay touches again. Springwood. A nice town where children are punished A NIGHTMARE ON for the sins of their ELM STREET pa re n ts . Ye a rs Samuel Bayer after the town’s New Line Cinema a d u l ts t ra c ke d down and murdered Freddy Krueger (Jackie Earle Haley), a preschool custodian believed to be a child molester, teenagers begin having dreams about a clawed man in a green and red sweater donning a fedora. As these teens begin violently dying in their sleep one by one, it soon becomes clear that these are no ordinary nightmares. Hmm, do you think there’s a connection between these characters and why they are having the same nightmares? A remake of Wes Craven’s 1984 film, Elm Street falls short of the original in just about every aspect, most noticeably in character development. None of the lead protagonists are even remotely relatable, let alone likeable. Nancy (Rooney Mara)

is not the typical virginal heroine of the slasher genre – instead she is an annoyingly angsty painter who fails to smile once throughout the course of the film. Her pseudo boyfriend, Quentin (Kyle Gallner), is a pill-popping head case who looks like he is attempting to fill the vacant spot in Fall Out Boy. Although it would be a stretch to say the audience truly wants to see these characters suffer, it would also not be unreasonable to suggest that they might begin grinning a little bit when Edward Scissorhands’ cousin is seen lurking behind the brats. One would think that the film would have at least been able to approach the original in terms of special effects, given the 26-year gap in technology. Unfortunately, an overreliance on computer generated effects removes any aspects of realism from the movie, and it comes off looking cheap rather than advanced. Attempts to recreate scenes from the original, such as the sequence where a teen watches his girlfriend meet her demise while levitating above her bed, do not look nearly as impressive as one would hope. It is frustrating that a lowbudget film that is over two decades old looks more realistic than what is being churned out today. Clearly, computer effects will never look as good as actual stunt work. Once again, it would ap-

pear that money cannot buy everything. Elm Street’s biggest problem is that it spells out every little detail for the audience. At one point in the film, one of the characters, in a revelation of ingenious proportions, exclaims, “You die in your sleep, you die in real life!” Since this is the film’s central plot gimmick, it should be assumed that audiences would be able to understand this premise from, oh, maybe the first five minutes. Instead, scriptwriters insult viewer intelligence by worrying that the audience will be too dense to pick up on the not-too-subtle context clues sprinkled throughout the film. Furthermore, in the original film, the exact nature of Freddy’s crimes against young children was left up to audience interpretation. Conversely, this remake insists upon an unpleasant pedophilia subplot that hurts the film’s chances of simply being an entertaining thrill ride. Why sink the film, already dark enough with its abundantly violent content, into a realm of exceedingly uncomfortable subject matter? Nevertheless, Elm Street does have some bright spots. The film’s strongest aspect is Haley, who manages to reinterpret the Freddy Krueger persona to match his creepy brand of character acting, much akin to what he did with

Fashionation is a slam dunk Slam Fashion, from A10

tamed by human beings. “They turned the earth to dirt,” the poet crooned, referring to the manner in which one’s perception of the earth becomes skewed with time. Death was finally achieved and presented as an ideal manner to return to the earth. A thinly veiled warning against the everconstant draws of materialism and greed was featured next in a call to listen to the most simple of natural phenomena. Materialism is one thing, but fashion is quite another. The action was soon punctuated by the blares of pop music and a myriad of colorful costumes. The first bout of modeling provided a contrast to the extreme depth of emotion achieved by the poets. A balance was maintained throughout the show, enhanced by both sensory and intellectual delights. SLAM Fashionation produced inspiring works on both ends of a wide artistic spectrum. One of the remarkable aspects of this show was the aura of anonymity it maintained. Throughout, the focus seemed to be on the product, not the producers. Even as the poets delivered their welldeveloped verses, it seemed that their words might easily have been pulled from the air. They were words that belonged to the entire world, as opposed to one specific author. Time passed with the sands, and dreams were achieved through water. They unleashed the secrets of the world,

rather than creating their own. Though the theme centered on nature, a more human perspective succeeded to shine through. Homage to Mother Earth herself was balanced effectively by experiences of the human spirit reflected by nature. The implication, above all, was that the deepest of human emotions is rooted in the truth that can be found in the natural world. Dirt becomes something to be treasured in the staying power it has akin to the truest love, which is, in fact, not at all like a thorny rose. A butterfly mirrored the exterior loveliness that so often distracts the world from interior beauty. One of the main messages of the production was that we, as the largely ungrateful occupants of this planet, have developed a “smoke obsession” and an adversarial relationship with nature that should not be. To remedy the situation, we must first acknowledge our wrongdoings, and then learn to live in harmonious balance with the earth. A fire can destroy a single house, a relationship, or the entire world. One of the final poems of the evening brought this point home. It presented the horrors of rapid destruction by fire in the literal sense, and the figurative burning up of a relationship through lust. The creativity of the poetry did not offset the daring shown by the designers and their models. SLAM Fashionation,

aptly named, featured four fashion shows that occurred intermittently during the event. The first show was centered upon the earth. Flowers and neutral tones abounded on the frames of young men and women. Metals and stones were used to accent printed skirts, and one particularly spacey hooded cloak. The next segment focused on water. As blue tones reflected upon the background, the models strutted forth in high-waisted shorts and tiered skirts of aqua, navy, and even military-inspired royal blue. Air brought simple black, grey, and white to the fore in flowing, often sheer fabrics. Soon, bright oranges, reds, and the darkest blacks leapt up in a reflection of nature’s most ominous element – fire. Each garment, whether gothic-inspired or truest riding hood red, reflected the nature of this powerful force. Multiple aspects of the elements were represented. Neither clouds, nor embers, nor ice were neglected. Audiences attracted to the poetry, fashion, or even just the house-mixed beats found satisfaction in Friday’s show. It was thought-provoking and visually stimulating, providing food for both the most materialistic and intellectual artistic interests. This blend of fashion and poetry, furthermore, prevented any possibility of boredom. The mood was continually one of excitement, hoping for new sights, sounds, and slams. 

COURTESY OF ALLMOVIEPHOTO.COM

If an elm falls on Elm Street, will there be enough of an audience to hear it? Apparently not. the Rorschach character in Watchmen. Although many longtime fans will never accept another actor in the role besides Robert Englund, the man who played Freddy for the franchise’s previous eight movies, it is hard to deny that Haley has fashioned a terrifying revision of the character. Gruesomely deformed and gleeful over any opportunity to inﬂict pain, Freddy Krueger is once again a villain horriﬁc enough to make anyone want to give up sleep. At best, Elm Street reestablishes the creepy vibe that had been missing

Title

from the franchise for years. Gone are Freddy’s cringe-worthy one-liners and the cartoonish dream sequences that had been associated with this series since the late 1980s. However, this update does not really offer anything new beyond the typical conventions associated with such ﬁlms. If you truly have a hankering to spend quality time with Krueger, you are better off just renting the original – at least you will get to witness a performance by a young Johnny Depp, years before it was evident that he would become a Hollywood legend. 

Box Office Report Weekend Gross

Weeks in release

1. Nightmare on Elm St.

32.2

2. How to Train Your Dragon

10.8

3. Date Night

7. 6

4. The Back-Up Plan

7.2

5. Furry Vengeance

6.5

6. Losers

6.0

7. Clash of the Titans

6.0

8. Kick-Ass

4.5

9. Death at a Funeral

4.0

10. Oceans

2.6

2 *WEEKEND GROSS FIGURES IN MILLIONS

Bestsellers of Hardcover Fiction 1. Deliver Us From Evil, David Baldacci 2. The Help, Kathryn Stockett 3. Shadow of Your Smile, Mary Clark 4. Double Comfort Safari Club, Alexander McCall Smith

5. This Body of Death, Elizabeth George 6. Lucid Intervals, Stuart Woods



7. Burning Lamp, Amanda Quick 8. Dead and Gone, Charlaine Harris KEVIN HOU / HEIGHTS EDITOR

9. Changes, Jim Butcher

Michael Wolf, A&S ’11, performed original poetry Friday night during the mod cultural fusion Slam Fashionation as a part of the Arts Festival.

ACCORDING TO PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY

‘Threepenny’ falls flat with modern retelling BY DARREN RANCK Heights Editor

Dramatic interpretation comes with many risks. In a contemporary society driven by power and pop culture, dramatists attempt to mine the modern values from classic works and ﬁnd the pervasive relevance in the art. Every director and his mother wants to re-invent Shakespeare and ﬁnd the modern subtext. Drama is very particular, however. New interpretations of classics can sometimes sully the intended message, disengage the audience, or just plain not work. The Boston College theatre department’s production of Threepenny Opera, its contribution to Arts Fest, falls in the latter category as its bold interpretation fails to make the mark. Directed by Stuart J. Hecht, Threepenny tells the sordid tale of Macheath (Evan Cole, A&S ’11), better known among the London underground as “Mac the Knife,” a murderous criminal. Once he betroths dotty and spoiled Polly Peachum (Cynthia

Beckwith, CSOM ’12), her parents, the of Threepenny. treacherous Peachums (Cam Cronin, A&S The beggars of Threepenny were writ’10, and Ana Conboy, GA&S ’16), plan to ten as rough and tumble, but altogether bring Macheath to justice and retrieve creative and joyous. In his modern-day their daughter. The musical is full of red interpretation, Hecht paints them as dark herrings, mistaken friendships, and plot criminals. The dealers mime snorting cotwists, but the pocaine. The prostitutes The musical is full of tentially entertaining pose suggestively and insightful story with their legs spread mistaken friendships, gets lost in Hecht’s wide. The beggars and plot twists, but the pacing and directing. aren’t surprisingly As originally writpotentially entertaining charming, but mind ten, the show was set terrorstory gets lost in Hecht’s numbingly in 18th century Lonized. This Threepenny pacing and directing. don amid the gutdoes not capture the tersnipes of industrial satirical essence of England, and portrayed joviality, gump- Bertolt Brecht’s original script. It’s plodtion, and perseverance despite destitu- ding pace detracts from the humor as the tion. Hecht sets the show in present-day production heads in too dark a direction. London because, as he writes in his Moreover, a majority of the production director’s note, “our translation of the feels false given the material. The design, play is contemporary and British, but also while deftly creative in its own right, is because economic woes impact us glob- rather absurd. The post-apocalyptic ally.” Hecht’s words are not wrong, but his set design of Crystal Tiala, an associintentions become muddled in the context ate professor in the theater department,

certainly thought-provoking. Two gray structures with large cutouts frame the stage as a slanted platform houses much of the action. The costume designs of Jacqueline Dalley, adjunct professor in the theater department, suffer from too much frill, looking like Vans skate park meets American Apparel. The design entails too much edginess, continuing to paint black over a production that should be dirty, yet bright. The actors’ dedication and talent, however, prevent the show from wandering into the depths. The chorus never loses their individual characters, each one seamlessly viewing the action with glee and misery. Cole’s Macheath is wonderfully slimy, if a little unsympathetic, while Cronin brings great bravado to his villainous Mr. Peachum. The women of the show prove to be the strongest, however. Beckwith and Conboy bring great physicality and wonderful vocal chops to their performances. Weill’s songs are certainly not easy, and both women put

their powerful sopranos to excellent use. Beckwith is the production’s standout, as her Polly is perfectly a twitter at all times, and Beckwith herself is aware of the humor in the production. When paired with Libby McKnight, A&S ’11, Polly’s rival for Macheath’s affections, the musical comes to life as the two women duke it out verbally and vocally. Lauren Tripolitis, A&S ’11, as Macheath’s prostitute and first love, faces the worst of Hecht’s interpretation as she’s made up to look like Amy Winehouse and walks the stage with a constantly bruised air. It’s to Tripolitis’s credit, though, that she still manages to convincingly play the role, and her tango duet with Cole is one of the evening’s more interesting moments. Threepenny Opera is not the most exciting show. The libretto is an interesting and entertaining one, however. Despite his actors’ strong efforts, Hecht’s modern-day version fails to excite, and the audience feels itself go the way of Mac the Knife’s victims. 

Monday, May 3, 2010

NOTES ON A SCANDAL

A love that can’t be scripted

ALLISON THERRIEN I have a confession to make. Since this column usually serves as a vehicle for discussing those entertainmentworld phenomena that I feel are noteworthy or intriguing, and since this happens to be my last entry of the semester, I feel it’s only fair that I divulge something a little scandalous about myself. So here goes. When The Last Song came out, I went to see it. I actually paid to see Miley Cyrus walk moodily down a shoreline and sob, knees-bent, on a hospital floor as her world began to crumble. You’re probably wondering why I’m bringing this up now. It does seem a somewhat irrelevant admission at this point. My reasoning has to do with a more specific sense of intrigue inherent in The Last Song that motivated me to sit through what should really have been titled Hey Look, Miley Cyrus Can Be Serious: A Love Story. I have a particular fascination with relationships that exist between costars. I love the idea that a real element of chemistry exists, that the on-screen romance between two actors isn’t merely the product of impassioned scriptwriting and strategic direction. It is this fascination that brought me face-to-face with sappiness at its peak. I wasn’t interested in the relationship between Ronnie and Will, Sparks’ star-crossed teen lovers. It was Miley and Liam, whose newly exposed relationship had been exploding the tabloids, who impelled me to buy a ticket. I wanted to see how their chemistry fared on the movie screen. Strangely, the duo succeeded in making kissing – and, really, any show of affection – look genuinely uncomfortable, which makes me truly wonder whether real-life chemistry works for or against actors trying to reproduce it for an audience. This fascination of mine has been especially prevalent as summer approaches, since with summer comes one of my favorite guilty-pleasure shows: True Blood. If you haven’t seen it, let me summarize. Imagine a darker, more erotic, more political Twilight with an older cast and a whole range of other mythical creatures. Leading the cast are Anna Paquin – yes, that girl from Fly Away Home and the X-Men series – and Steven Moyer, a British actor who was relatively unknown until his breakthrough role on the series. Given the R-rated content of True Blood, viewers were obviously intrigued to learn that the show’s two stars – who serve as the show’s Bella and Edward – were dating in real life, too. Now, in fact, they’re engaged. Back when One Tree Hill took over my Tuesday nights – don’t worry, I have since awoken from this nightmare – I remember loving the idea that Sophia Bush and Chad Michael Murray were a real-life couple. My perception of their on-again-offagain romance was modified by my own romantic idea that they were destined to end up together, since they were in real life. I’m convinced that part of the draw of The Notebook – besides that godsend Ryan Gosling – is the fact that Gosling was famously dating Rachel McAdams during filming and following the film’s release. Robert Pattison and Kristen Stewart hold their fans continually captive by their mysterious romance, both on and off-screen. Are they dating, or are they just casually smoking on the same hotel balcony? It is this element of mystery that makes Twilight’s rare, steamy moments that much more real. Perhaps the most inter-cast drama seen recently has been that among the cast of the CW’s downwardly spiraling Gossip Girl. While for some time there were three in-cast relationships, two have recently ended. Rumors have surfaced lately that the surviving one – that of Blake Lively and Penn Badgley – is heading toward a break-up. It makes me wonder: Does on-screen scandal cause off-screen scandal? Can trouble in fake paradise translate to real-life struggle? This is the source of my fascination. It is this blurred line between the real and entertainment world that makes keeping up with scandals that much more fun, and that much more compelling. Stay tuned. Allison Therrien is the Assistant Arts & Review editor of The Heights. She can be reached at arts@bcheights.com

THE HEIGHTS

Bands duke it out for the sake of rock Bands, From A10

competition and the opening spot in Modstock for the bands. Singer-songwriter Gabe Shirley, A&S ’12, opened up the competition. Shirley, who also sings in the Bostonians, was easily the best singer of the night. His first song utilized a very melodic, finger-picked guitar part that served as a great backdrop for his voice. He then switched to piano for his second song, “Stepping Stone,” which highlighted his great sense of dynamics and very rhythmic piano playing. Next came David Brights, CSOM ‘10, the only performer of the night to utilize a nylon string guitar. His material was very Johnny Cash-influenced, most evident through his deep bass voice that never left the same octave, and his use of thumb picking. His performance was very simplistic, but he was perhaps the most unique act. Contest winner Matt Gibbons, CSOM ’11, played third. He had a charmingly dorky stage persona, mixed in with selfdeprecating humor, even proclaiming his second song, “See You Smile,” a cheesy love song. His description was correct, but his intricate piano playing, great sense of melody, and strong voice helped him capture fist place. Fourth was Julian and Andrew, a folk duo consisting of Julian Kiani, A&S ‘10, and Andrew Leonard, A&S ’10. Highlights of their performance included Kiani’s slide guitar solo and Leonard’s multi-instrumentalism, and while they even got the crowd clapping along to their upbeat second song, their brand of country-influenced acoustic rock was not enough to outshine Gibbons. After a brief intermission, the band portion of the contest began. First to perform was Heavy Feather, a hip-hop duo consisting of Caleb Fall, A&S ‘10, and Rich Bertino, graduate of the University of Hartford. Their energetic set, filled with self-boasting rhymes and a generally

JULIANNE WOJNO/ HEIGHTS STAFF

Boston College’s finest bands and emcees took the stage in O’Neill Plaza to compete in BC’s annual battle of the bands competition. uninteresting beat selection, survived on their energy and stage presence. From the moment they started performing, neither member ever stood still, and they made frequent trips down the center aisle to further pump up the crowd. Their personal cheering section stood up for their entire set, building the raucous atmosphere of their performance. Their music was not the best of the night, but they certainly were among the best performers. As strong as Heavy Feather’s performance was, from the moment Code: Motion started playing, there was little doubt as to who would eventually win. For this particular performance, the group expanded its lineup to a dectet, featur-

ing two female backup vocalists and a full horn section. Its infectious blend of ska, funk, and jam music was a hybrid of Phish and Uplift Mofo-era Red Hot Chili Peppers. Even the most dedicated fans of the other groups could not help but get into Code: Motion’s set. Its musicianship was also the best of the night, as its two guitar players, bassist, saxophonist, and drummer were all highly proﬁcient on their instruments. MLR, also known as MikeLoganRob, came up next. Although Code: Motion was a tough act to follow, they still succeeded in pleasing the crowd with their energetic R & B-inﬂuened hip-hop. Michael Archambault, A&S ‘10, was the star of the

group, who worked its personal cheering section into a frenzy and also supplied its best rhymes. The group’s performance had a fun, laid-back, and energetic feel to it, and certainly ranked as one of the night’s best. Joker to the Thief closed out the show with a set of classic-rock inﬂuenced music. The voice of the group’s lead-singer, Laura Linnemeier (who sang backup for Code: Motion), A&S ’11, stood out and gave their music its original ﬂair. Their set was energetic, but their stage-presence did not match that of the other bands of the night. Overall, BC’s best showed the richness of the musical talent that exists on campus, and treated students to eight enjoyable performances. 

Troupes dance to the beat of bOp! bOp!, From A10

that looked like it could have come straight out of Lawrence Welk or an extravagant family wedding. As the instrumentalists of bOp! kicked off the night, they filled the tent with big band tunes that reverberated deep into the bowels of O’Neill. Kicking off the collaboration was the Boston College Dance Ensemble, performing a contemporary routine to “My Discarded Men,” which was sung by bOp! member Jeanette Hall, A&S ’10 The girls, who, in their white button ups and black spandex, had soaring high kicks and split leaps, made less than a peep when their feet hit the floor (that speaks to especially impressive control), but made a deep impression on the crowd. The best portions of Dancing with bOp! came when one or more of the groups were out of their element. The show’s finale, for example, featured BC’s hip-hop group, Phaymus, in fierce, long shorts and black hoodies. The five singers of BC bOp! matched the phunk with Ray-Bans and, most importantly, rapping. There are few experiences that match listening to the best jazz singers on campus sing, “Now the party don’t start ‘til I walk in.” Phaymus, dancing a style that would not generally be associated with big band, lit up the stage. In a bizarre way, the pairing brought out a fantastically layered performance from one another. Another pleasantly and beautifully done collaboration was between PATU and bOp!. The six women of PATU performed with easily the most ebullient smiles and stage presence of the evening. Their choreography, based on African tribal dancing, was infectiously energetic.

HILARY CHASSE / HEIGHTS EDITOR

The Dance Organization of Boston College (DOBC) enlivened bOp!’s rendition of “Ain’t Nothing Wrong With That” in O’Neill Plaza. Equally pleasurable was watching bOp! excel at what bOp! does best: Watching the three saxophonists improvise riffs together and individually, feeling the music with bobbed heads and faces contorted with effort. The five bOp! singers performing their renditions of “Stoned Soul Picnic” or “I Could Write a Book.” The BC Dance Organization performing a cheeky tap routine to “Ain’t No Sunshine,” sung by Brendan Quinn, A&S ’11. Swing Kids, of course, were in their big band glory with this collaboration. One of their two performances was like the iconic World War II picture, with the woman kissing a returned sailor, come to life – or swing more specifically – danced to the tune of “Anyone Else But Me” (backed, once again, by the five vocalists).

Poets read Senior readings, From A10

Lowell mill girls along the Merrimack River. Each poem pierced with an economy of words and a dignified restraint from growing overly floral. Hillary Flowers, A&S ’10, read a story from the fiction collection she slaved over the past year. In an effectively affected narrating voice, she told the witty, yet subliminally tragic tale of a lesbian couple. Other readings included Stephanie Lee, A&S ’10, who read an engaging short story about classroom romance, and Casey Guerin, A&S ’10, who marked the only creative nonfiction writer of the session with a profoundly personal tale that morphed from extreme discomfort to pulsating warmth. To close the event, poet Dan Esposito, A&S ’10, read

select poems from his thesis. Unlike most of the readings, Esposito’s work followed no thematic thread, except a musical rhythm and a bracingly modern style. Though the content of his poems bounced from everything from a couple making out in a dentist’s waiting room to the innovative poem, “What the Astronaut Wants To Be When He Grows Up,” his emcee-like vocal attack rang true throughout. Ever since French Press Coffee closed last summer – a coffee house that hosted student poetry, ﬁction, and nonfiction readings weekly – the voices of student artists have been mufﬂed a bit. On Thursday, this batch of seven talented seniors revealed that this campus could do itself a favor by holding student readings more regularly during the year. 

Swing Kids’ second performance to “Go Johnny Go!” appeared to be sprightly and (mostly) together on their daring combinations of lifts, twists, and dips. Other performances included Masti, the dance group of the South East Asian Students Association, who lauded the bOp! instrumentalists for their ability to arrange Indian music big band style. In expressing their thanks, the group remarked that the lead arranger “wasn’t even Indian and he understands our music.” Also, the BC Irish Dance club presented a performance of quick moving feet and rapidly changing patterns that they made look utterly simple. The DOBC performed a total of four dances, one of the best of which was “Ain’t Nothing Wrong With That,” which, as those who are familiar with the song

know, has a techno twang to it, but the end result worked really well, with a glittering combination of the girls working with fast-paced choreography (including sliding into snappy straddle splits). When all the parts added up with bOp! and the dancers, which it always did, the result was spectacular and the response uproarious. During a couple of the bOp! pieces, audience members even took the initiative to dance alongside bOp! singers for some old-fashioned swing. The evening, on the whole, was a lovely reminder of the grace, classic jazz, and, of course, overwhelming talent that the BC community possesses. For the admission price of free (for students), the organizers could not have put together a more priceless show. 

ARTS&REVIEW

A10

MONDAY, MAY 3, 2010

BY KRISTEN HOUSE

Arts & Review Editor

BY KRYSIA WAZNY

Slam Fashionation

Heights Staff

Dance talent gushed, much like the contaminated water into the Charles River, this weekend at the Boston College Arts Fest. The talent could not be stopped. Over the span of three days, all of the on-campus dance groups had the opportunity to perform multiple pieces for students and the community in the sprawling artistic Mecca of O’Neill Plaza. Each showcase performance lasted an average of an hour. The Friday afternoon performance, for example, featured a diverse style of dance. The ﬁrst group to perform was the Dance Organization, performing to Sarah Bareilles’ “Gravity,” a song that will resonate to all those So You Think You Can Dance fans in the audience that still have the Mia Michaels’ version in their recent memory. The group’s contemporary dance featured black, sparkling tank tops and booty shorts, and an astounding foutte section. Then, for something completely different, came Masti, a part of the South East Asian Student’s Association. The group danced everything from Bollywood to Bonga, breaking bamboo sticks and breaking it down to everything from classical Indian tunes to Chris Brown’s “Forever.”

SLAM Fashionation brought together some of Boston College’s most creative minds in a unique compilation of words, music, and fashion. The show was one of the premier events of this year’s Arts Fest, and hopefully will be a ﬁxture of the event for years to come. The combination of slam poetry and fashion show developed during last year’s Arts Fest after it became clear that the two events could not exist separately. The theme of this year’s show – elements – provided ample material for poets and designers alike. The opening poem of the evening followed the progression of an entire life through the world. From a simple understanding of nature, reﬂected in several lines beginning with “When I was a child…” the narrator progressed into the reality of an earth tamed by human beings. “They turned the earth to dirt,” the poet crooned, referring to the manner in which one’s perception of the earth

Immediately following was the Philippine Society of BC, dancing a couples dance influenced by a polka-esque flavor that originated from the Northern region of the Philippines. The BC Dance Ensemble followed with a tap number from their spring show Beneath, dancing to Akon’s “What You Got.” Then the Chinese Student Association (CSA) came to the stage with a classical Chinese fan dance. The dance dates back 4,000 years, and was apparently used by imperial concubines to tempt the royalty. Their yellow fans billowed in the perfectly temperate wind of the day. The DOBC returned to the stage after CSA to perform “Anticipate,” with lithe fan kicks, swaying arms, and fierce expressions to match. To finish off the show, ALC Showdown champion Synergy hit the Arts Fest stage. With just white tank tops with stark blue “S”s, the group flipped, locked, and hit every mark they intended to hit. The bass bumped along as hard as their hip hop moves. Any hour-long show that is able to fit in Chinese fan dancing seamlessly alongside contemporary, and Bollywood alongside hip hop beats, has successfully accomplished what dance is supposed to accomplish: fusion, excitement, and talent. 

dance

See Slam Fashion, A9

KEVIN HOU / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Arts Fest hits O’Neill BY WILL WATKINS

BY KRISTEN HOUSE

Boston College’s best original music acts competed in the main tent in O’Neill Plaza Thursday night in the fourth annual installment of BC’s Best, a battle of the bands featuring BC students. After earning their spot in the contest through a preliminary round in March, the four singer-songwriters and four bands took to the stage to try to impress the judges and win the prize, which was cash for the singer-songwriter JULIANNE WOJNO / HEIGHTS STAFF

BY ZAK JASON

Assoc. Arts & Review Editor Most of Arts Fest is hyper-kinetic. The ﬂuttering carnival balloons, the dance groups swapping stage time every 15 minutes, the students fumbling around the tents in O’Neill plaza. That’s all well and good, but with so many performances, especially musical group performances, there’s very little time to sit and think during Arts Fest. Solace emerged, however, with the senior student literary readings Thursday afternoon in Gasson Hall’s Irish Room. A batch of soon-to-be gradu-

See Bands, A9

ates orated a year’s work of creative work – poetry, ﬁction, and creative nonﬁction – to a peaceful yet supportive crowd. Padded from the hullabaloo in the plaza, students could soak in each of the writers’ words. Skye Shirley, A&S ’10, opened the afternoon with readings from her creative thesis in poetry. A collection of poems illustrating the experiences of women in Massachusetts, Shirley concocted images from the dunes of the Cape, to the docks of Gloucester, to the drained

Writing

I NSIDE ARTS THIS ISSUE

See Senior readings, A9

Arts & Review Editor Dancing with bOp!, instituted just last year, has certainly made a name for itself. The show, an evening performance presented by the Boston College Arts Festival, was so packed that it had to turn people away. On a temperate 70 degree evening, the school unleashed a collaboration so spectacular, so ferociously fun, that O’Neill Plaza

probably glowed into the night sky with sheer energy. BC bOp! is comprised of student jazz instrumentalists and singers and conducted by Sebastian Bonaiuto. Dancing with bOp! capitalizes on the musical genius of the group by collaborating with multiple on-campus dance and culture groups. The audience surrounded a ﬂoor

See bOp!, A9

BC bOp!

Bands battle

Heights Staff

HILARY CHASSE / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Notes on a Scandal.........................A9 Box Ofﬁce Report........................A8

RACHEL GREGORIO / HEIGHTS ILLUSTRATION

Art for Art’s Sake

SPORTS THE HEIGHTS

Monday, May 3, 2010

Section

MONDAY, MAY 3, 2010

BASEBALL

Virginia Tech sweeps BC

BY JAKE BURG Heights Staff

After winning nine straight games, the streaking Eagles (24-20, 12-12 ACC) hit a brick wall in Blacksburg, Va. Boston College ﬂew down to No. 18 Virginia Tech 10 Virginia Tech (32-14, 14-10 ACC) Boston College 5 with two consecutive ACC series sweeps under their belts. They were the sweepers, not the sweeped. But the Hokies quickly ﬂipped the script on the Eagles on Sunday, completing the ACC weekend series sweep by pounding their way to a 10-5 victory. What started out as a pitching duel between BC’s John Leonard and Virginia Tech’s Joe Mantiply quickly exploded into an offensive battle in the sixth inning. And despite a stellar offensive day for BC third baseman Mickey Wiswall (2-for4 with two HRs), the Eagles’ bats were unable to keep up with the Hokies’. Already down 10-4, BC stepped up to the plate in the

top of the ninth looking for a last-second rally to salvage the series. But Virginia Tech’s pitching, which bested BC the entire weekend, did it again in the top of the ninth. Ben Rowen came on to finish the game off for the Hokies, and he did it in only seven pitches. He got Robbie Anston out looking on strike three, and then got Matt Hamlet to ground out a 0-1 pitch. Wiswall did his best to preserve the inning with a two out blast, but Rowen was unfazed. John Spatola came up to bat next, and Rowen got Spatola to ground out on the first pitch, sending the Eagles back north on a three game losing streak. BC did show signs of life in the sixth inning, however. After five innings, both Leonard and Mantiply were pitching well, particularly Mantiply, who had allowed only one run up to that point off a fourth inning home run hit by Wiswall. ALEX TRAUTWIG / HEIGHTS EDITOR

See Swept, B4

Mickey Wiswall hit a pair of solo home runs in Sunday’s finale, but that could not power the offense.

Smooth Sailing

Currently ranked No. 1 in the nation, the coed sailing team has itself in position to bring home a third straight national title.

The lull in the sports world ZACH WIELGUS

BY TIM JABLONSKI For The Heights

Quick question: What team is the only twotime defending national champion at Boston College? If you consider yourself a Superfan and don’t know the answer, it’s time to get educated about the BC coed sailing team. Many things differentiate the sailing teams – there are men’s, women’s, and a coed team – from all of the University’s other sports programs. The teams aren’t part of the NCAA, for

been steady all year for the Eagles, as she upped her average to .369 for the season. The Eagles carried that lead into the sixth when starting pitcher Nicole D’Argento got herself into trouble. The Hokies were able to load the bases with two outs and remained patient against D’Argento, who eventually allowed a game-tying walk. She was able to get the next hitter out and end the threat, but the damage to extend the game had already been done. After the Eagles failed to muster any runs in the bottom half of the sixth, the Hokies capitalized on the Eagles’ bullpen. Taylor

This is a bizarre time in the sports world. It’s as if all the excitement was sucked into a black hole created by the pandemonium of the Frozen Four and March Madness. After nearly a month of jaw-dropping basketball (remember when Gordon Hayward’s half-court shot was this close to shocking Duke and making everyone except the Crazies go crazy?) and championship-winning hockey, everything was bound to fall into a lull eventually. It’s that time. The biggest news on campus was Arts Fest. Arts Fest! When the arts actually draw the biggest crowd to campus for the weekend, something isn’t right. When a water pipe 10 feet in diameter cracks, pouring hundreds of gallons of water into the Charles every minute and literally forcing the entire city of Boston to choose beer over water, something really isn’t right. But look at the lineup that Boston College advertised to sell athletics: a three-game battle between the bottom of the conference in softball and a women’s lacrosse game against Le Moyne. The fact that I had to look up if Le Moyne was a real school (it’s in Syracuse, N.Y., by the way) before going to the game, which may or may not have had to do something with my promise to work there, sums up the weekend. Don’t get me wrong, I love watching my team win, regardless of the sport. Congratulations to a 17-6 dismantling of the Dolphins to the lax team. Seeing Lauren Costello school half the Le Moyne defense by herself rivaled the joy of actually being outside on a warm, sunny day. And as earth-shattering as the softball team’s ﬁrst ACC win was on Saturday afternoon, in its 44th game no less, it just doesn’t quite stack up to the mayhem of Saturday football tailgates. Not even the professionals could help out. The start of the NHL conference semiﬁnals made about as much noise as everyone expected (more of a whimper than a roar), and the NBA’s painfully long opening round only reached a close yesterday. Even as a Bucks fan – and I use “fan” very loosely given that I can’t sit through all 48 minutes of a professional basketball game – I didn’t want to see them win Game 5. It just prolonged the agony of the Bucks’ inevitable collapse and only made worse the most ill-contrived postseason format in all of sports. Baseball still doesn’t matter, even if you are 11-14 after 25 games, because there are still 137 games to play. At least the calendar fell right to give the Mods three dozen Derby parties, complete with way too many mint juleps and just the right amount of fancy hats, but even that offers only two minutes of actual sport. Though when any event takes encouraged drinking and mixes it with formalwear, betting, and unintelligible shouting at the tele-

See Collapse, B3

See Lull, B4

one. The Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association of North America (ICSA) governs them. They don’t practice at BC, and the closest thing they have to a home game is a regatta on the Boston Harbor. And they’re far and away the most successful team at BC right now. With multiple national titles in several different disciplines to their names, the team has established a reputation as one the most domi-

See Sailing, B3

COURTESY OF JON QUACKENBOS

SOFTBALL

Eagles collapse again

Taylor Peyton allows two-run shot in top of seventh BY BRAD ZAK Heights Staff

KEVIN HOU / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Taylor Peyton couldn’t keep the tie game, giving up a homer and earning the loss.

I NSIDE SPORTS THIS ISSUE

The Boston College softball team had victory within its grasp Sunday afternoon in Chestnut Hill, but 7 Virginia Tech let it all slip away Boston College 2 in a closer-than-itended 8-2 contest against the Virginia Tech Hokies. The Eagles (15-30) were looking for their ﬁrst ACC series win of the season, but couldn’t hold on to a 2-1 lead heading into the sixth inning. Renee Ramos gave the Eagles a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning after she smashed her 11th homer over the center-ﬁeld wall. Ramos has

Lacrosse wins on Senior Day

Senior Lauren Costello scored four goals in her ﬁnal home game as an Eagle, a 17-6 win............B3

Borel does it again

Aboard Super Saver, Calvin Borel has put himself in line to win a Triple Crown.............................B2

Game to Watch..............................B2 Numbers to Know..........................B2

Monday, May 3, 2010

THE HEIGHTS

Borel and Pletcher combine for a Super Derby MAEGAN O’ROURKE Every ﬁrst Saturday in May, the media, celebrities, and 5-foot jockeys converge on the horse capital of the world in Louisville, Ky. for the annual Running of the Roses, the Kentucky Derby. The weeks leading up to the storied race at Churchill Downs are full of analysis on which 3-year-old thoroughbred will most likely become a household name by winning the Derby. Everyone turns their attention to what horse has a chance of winning the Triple Crown. Some pick based on what horse has the best name (this year’s winner has to be Homeboykris, owned by Dodgers manager Joe Torre), who the jockey or trainer is, or the horse’s past accomplishments – but really, picking a Derby winner is a science truly based on luck. But the Derby is so much more than just the race. Those lucky enough to attend in person can parade around in elegant suits and extravagant hats sipping on mint juleps, the traditional drink of the Derby. Those that can’t afford to sit next to the CEOs and celebrities can watch from the inﬁeld, such as one reveler sporting a green wig and the beer goggles that ESPN couldn’t stop showing on Saturday. Even more interesting than the social scene of the Derby are the numerous storylines of many of the Derby entries. With all-day coverage by ESPN and NBC, the pre-race coverage is almost as entertaining as the race itself. Horse racing may be called the sport of kings, but at the end of the day, the people involved are real. The owners, jockeys, and trainers aren’t the typical athletes we watch on TV. This year’s race featured Sidney’s Candy, owned by Jenny Craig, who named the horse after her late husband.

AP PHOTO / JOHN FLAVELL

Jockey Calvin Borel holds up three fingers to emphasize his third Kentucky Derby victory in four years. This year he won aboard Super Saver. Another horse, Stately Victor, was named after his owner’s best friend, who died tragically at age 23. Another heartfelt story was that of Noble’s Promise, the horse owned by a group of 24 people that included postal workers and small business owners, showing that anyone can have a part of the Derby. The winners of the Derby captivate America’s attention. Who can forget

Smarty Jones, who just missed winning the Triple Crown after losing by a nose in the Belmont? Or the tragic story of Barbaro, the horse that won the Derby only to break down in the Preakness? The horse of the hour on this Saturday, though, was Super Saver, the dark bay colt who went off as the second betting favorite at 8-1 odds. Trained by Todd Pletcher, one of racing’s best trainers but winless in the Derby up to

that point, and ridden by Calvin Borel, winner of three of the last four Derbies, Super Saver had the intangibles to win this year’s Derby. Pletcher was ironically prophetic when he said earlier in the week that his 3-year-old charge “loves Churchill Downs.” That proved to be true, as Super Saver was super on the sloppy track, charging ahead as the pack turned for home in front of the grand-

stand and holding off late charges from Ice Box and Paddy O’Prada. Saturday’s Derby was special for both trainer and rider, as well. Pletcher ﬁnally got the monkey off his back by winning racing’s most famous event after going zero for 24 in previous attempts. Pletcher, who was seen walking the muddy track in preparation hours before the race even started, watched Super Saver win not from his seat in the grandstand, but rather alone from a TV in a lounge. “I had to change something,” he joked. The jockey, Cajun sensation Borel, who got his start in racing in New Orleans, only increased his Derby lore by winning with Super Saver. The relatively unknown jockey rocketed onto the national scene with his win in the 2007 Kentucky Derby with Street Sense. He followed that by winning the Derby last year with 50-1 long shot Mine That Bird. Borel worked his magic in that race, taking Mine That Bird from dead last to the front of the pack in a thrilling stretch run. His exuberant celebrations after winning the Derby make Borel a fan favorite. The next question for Super Saver, as it is for every Derby winner, is the potential for a Triple Crown champion – winning the Derby, Preakness, and Belmont in the same year, which hasn’t happened since 1978. The outspoken Borel, who last year predicted that his mount, the ﬁlly Rachel Alexandra, would win the Preakness, has already proclaimed that Super Saver will win the Triple Crown. The Preakness, on May 15, will help determine Super Saver’s chances of the Triple Crown, and possibly separate him from the contenders that have tried before him. Each year, a horse emerges from the rest of the pack that America wants to win. As fans, we want to see a horse win the crown jewel of racing. This year it’s Super Saver. With Pletcher and Borel, he has a super chance. Maegan O’Rourke is the Associate Sports Editor of The Heights. She can be reached at sports@bcheights.com.

Softball rebounds to win first ACC game

BY MAEGAN O’ROURKE Assoc. Sports Editor

SPORTS in SHORT

After dropping a tough decision in the first game of its doubleheader, the Boston College softball team (15-30, 1-17 ACC) bounced back in the second game of the day to claim its first ACC victory of the year over Virginia Tech, 7-6. “It was a valiant effort by my girls,” said BC head coach Jennifer Finley. “They really refocused in that half hour we had in between games and came out with a lot of fight and got it done.” In the second game, the Eagles held a 4-3 advantage entering the sixth inning before senior pitcher Taylor Peyton walked Kristina Cruz and then allowed an infield single to Bkaye Smith. With two outs, Richelle McGarva then put the Hokies on top, 6-4, with a three-run shot to center field. Now at a disadvantage, the Eagles battled back in the bottom of the sixth inning. Senior captain Danielle Pandolfo, pinch-hitting for her sister, freshman Maria, started the Eagles’ comeback with a solo home run that brought BC within one. The home run came at the right time for the fifth-year senior that battled injuries last year in a redshirt season. “It’s great, she’s worked so hard to come back from a knee injury,” said Finley. “I want nothing more than for her to succeed, and that made my year, that pinch-hit home run.” BC took back the lead after fellow senior Amy Tunstall followed Pandolfo’s home run with heroics of her own. Second baseman Blair Destito walked, and Tunstall then crushed a game-winning tworun shot to give the Eagles their first ACC win of the season. Pitcher Allison Gage, who replaced Peyton in the sixth inning, picked up the win for the Eagles. Destito, Renee Ramos, Brittany Wilkins, Allison Kooistra, and Dani Weir all recorded hits in the win as well. “We have a few games left here in the ACC, hopefully we can win here, win the rubber match, that’s our first focus,” Finley said. “We’re trying to get

ourselves situated differently in the standings for the ACC tournament.” The first game of the doubleheader ended in a nine-inning 11-5 loss for the Eagles. The Hokies jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second inning, getting to Gage, BC’s starter, for six hits, including a leadoff home run for Whitney Davis. The Eagles countered in the fourth inning with four runs of their own. Wilkins, a sophomore, came up big in the inning with a two-run double to left field that tied the score at 4-4. Both teams scored in the fifth inning, with the

Eagles’ run coming off a risky, but well-executed double steal play. Senior Allie Thunstrom stole second, while Irene Delagrammaticas stole home to tie the game for BC. Both teams continued to battle into extra innings. Freshman pitcher Nicole D’Argento kept the Eagles in the game, shutting down the Hokies for two hitless innings. The game unraveled for BC in the ninth inning, though, as D’Argento loaded the bases, which allowed Kelsey Hensel to knock in a deep RBI single that made the score 6-5. The Hokies continued their offensive attack from there, as Smith

added another RBI single and Misty Hall crushed a grand slam, deﬂating any hopes of a BC comeback. D’Argento in total gave up six runs in the inning. The Eagles will travel to Amherst on Wednesday to play UMass before hosting Maryland in the last conference series of the season. The ACC tournament starts on May 8, and BC is currently lined up as the No. 8 seed for the tournament, and will most likely play Georgia Tech, the number one seed. “It’s a good game for us to get ready for Maryland on the weekend,” Finley said of UMass. “Hopefully we can keep going from here.” 

KEVIN HOU / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Senior Irene Delgrammaticas stole home in the first game of the doubleheader against Virginia Tech, which the Eagles lost, 11-5. BC went on to take the second game of the day.

Notable Quotable “I was born to ride, sir. This is what I wanted to do all my life. Every jock’s dream is to win the Derby. I’d never dream I’d win it three times. I work hard, I’m dedicated, I’m very blessed.” —Calvin Borel, the winning jockey of Super Saver in this year’s Kentucky Derby. The win was Borel’s third Derby win in four years.

“This is Super Saver’s day; he loved this racetrack. He liked it when it was fast, he liked it when it was muddy. Sometimes things just work out. Sometimes it’s not just about you; it’s about everybody else, too.” —Todd Pletcher, trainer of Super Saver. Pletcher won his first Derby after going zero for 24 in previous attempts.

Numbers to Know

Game to Watch Baseball

Home runs hit by junior Mickey Wiswall in BC’s 10-5 loss to Virginia Tech on Sunday. It was Wiswall’s third multi-home run game.

Wins by the BC lacrosse this year, which sets a single-season record after the Eagles defeated Le Moyne, 17-6, this weekend.

Wins in the ACC this season by the softball team. Sunday’s loss to Virginia Tech drops them to 1-17.

Florida State

vs.

Boston College

The Boston College baseball team saw its winning streak come to a halt this past weekend, after getting swept by No. 18 Virginia Tech. The Eagles must now regroup and take on Florida State, the No. 4 in the country. This is an important series for BC, who will most likely need to pick up wins against FSU and No. 3 Georgia Tech in the next few weeks to get into the NCAA tournament. Friday, 1:30 p.m.

THE HEIGHTS

Monday, May 3, 2010

Sailing once again cruises past competitors Sailing, from B1

nant sailing teams nationwide. And as the current No. 1 coed team in the country, as well as a team full of underclassmen, it seems the success won’t stop any time soon. “We’re a pretty young team this year,” said senior captain Christian Manchester. “We have very good sailors in all of the classes. I think that once we graduate, we’re still going to have an excellent team. The people who are skippering the top races, most of them are underclassmen. The prospects for next year are very good.” After the women’s and coed teams captured national titles within three days of one another in June 2008, the coed team successfully defended its championship with a win in San Francisco last June. In the fall, sophomore Annie Haegar added to the team’s embarrassment of riches by defending her women’s singlehanded national championship. This season is shaping up to be just like the last few. After first-place finishes in eight of its first 17 team races, the squad has its sights set on Madison, Wisc., the location of this year’s ICSA Coed Nationals, where it will try for its third consecutive national championship. At this point, very few would be surprised to see the Eagles bring home the title once again. With the team picking up titles like Jerry York picks up future NHL draft picks, many would expect the team to be a virtual household name on campus at this point. But that is hardly the case. Without actual competitions on campus, as well as very little widespread recognition outside of the school, it can be tough for the team to stay on the radar of the public at times. “Not a lot of students go to regattas, so a lot of our spectators are other sailors, sailing fans in the area, and people on the banks,” Manchester said. “We get great turnouts at some of our larger meets, and obviously at the national title races.” But head coach Greg Wilkinson believes the strong athletics department at BC has helped sailing get its name on the map. “Our sport in general is not a mainstream sport, but the fact that we’re in athletics here at BC makes it more in the spotlight here at BC,” Wilkinson said.

COURTESY OF JON QUACKENBOS

(Clockwise from left): Sophomore Annie Haeger was named NEISA Sailor of the Year; the team practices on the Dorchester Bay; Emily Maxwell and Elizabeth Dudley steer the boat in a regatta. “The department does a good job of showcasing sailing when and where they can, whether that be with the Web page or otherwise.” Both captain and coach agree that the team’s phenomenal success doesn’t derive from any one factor. The team’s strong practice habits, including intrasquad races on the Boston Harbor each Wednesday that spawn extensive team e-mail threads about who won the races and why, have contributed heavily to its dominance.

Practicing in the turbulent and unpredictable Dorchester Bay helps, too. And as the saying goes, success breeds more success, and the string on national championships has allowed the Eagles to attract even more talented young sailors. As a sport without scholarships, getting your name out there is even more important to success than in other sports. Wilkinson isn’t given the opportunity to just offer free tuition to some of the students. Instead, he needs to sell the

program, the team, and himself to potential recruits. And with the evidence lying in the team’s success, Wilkinson has been able to consistently attract some of the nation’s top young sailors to come compete for the Eagles. For Manchester, the program sold itself. “I personally wasn’t even a recruit, I’m a walk-on, but I knew that BC had an excellent sailing team, which really attracted me,” he said. And that was before all of the national

titles. Today, when the country’s best young sailors begin their college search, those aspiring to the heights of intercollegiate sailing all start at the same place: Chestnut Hill. While the past has been glorious for these Eagles, the future looks just as bright. The machine that is the BC sailing team has shown no sign it will stop attracting the talent and earning the results to be the dominant ICSA program for a long while. Consider yourself informed. 

Costello leads seniors as BC ambushes Le Moyne BY ZACH WIELGUS Sports Editor

The Boston College women’s lacrosse team could not have asked for a better way to celebrate its five seniors in their final game at home. The Eagles (12-5) blitzed the visiting Le Moyne Dolphins, 17-6, behind four goals and three assists from Lauren Costello. Sam Taylor and Brooke Blue each added three goals to count for 10 of BC’s 17 scores. Four of the five seniors all put the ball in the back of the net on Senior Day, and even though defender Blair Cannon didn’t register a goal, she managed to put on a shot on net. The Eagles jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the first 11 minutes, including two goals from Blue. Le Moyne answered after that with two goals to cut BC’s lead in half with 10 minutes to go, leading head coach Bowen Holden to call timeout. The Eagles returned to form after regrouping, led by Costello’s second goal of the game with just under eight minutes to go in the first half. Taylor and Costello would add another goal apiece to push BC’s lead to five goals, 7-2, with two and a half minutes remaining. A late surge by the Dolphins pulled them within Boston College 17 6 Le Moyne

three at the end of the half. Le Moyne benefited from an own goal after some solid defense forced the ball out of the attacker’s stick, but the attempted clear was swatted under the feet of Eagle goalkeeper Sheila Serafino. Then, with only one second to go in the first half, the Dolphins netted their fourth goal on a Michelle Phillips strike. The Eagles opened the second half with a dominant 15 minutes, scoring seven goals to blow the game open. The aggressive trio of Costello, Blue, and Taylor put five of the seven goals past Le Moyne goalkeeper Kelly Fucillo. At this point, Holden opted to put in Suzanne Cannon and Mary Stinson, two starters, drawing an approving ovation from the crowd. Neither disappointed, as they were responsible for the final three goals of the game. Stinson put the Eagles up 15-6 with six and a half minutes left, and then followed her first score with another with just under five minutes to play. Cannon got in on the act with 3:13 to play, capping off the day’s offense with BC’s 17th goal. The Eagles never let Le Moyne get in the game, and dominated the shot count, 31-13, thanks to tireless offense and stingy defense. BC also maintained control of the game by winning three times as many draws, 18-6, during the game. The Eagles’ final regular season game is at Harvard on Wednesday afternoon. 

KEVIN HOU / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Dani Weir and the Eagles had an ACC series win in their sights, but they lost Sunday’s game in the seventh inning.

Softball gives away series behind late breakdown Collapse, from B1

Peyton and Alison Gage combined to give up six runs in the seventh after the Hokies hit two home runs in the inning. Misty Hall’s 10th homer of the year, a two-run shot, broke the tie and gave the Hokies all the cushion they needed to close out a victory on the road. An RBI single by Whitney Davis and a three-run blast by Kristin Graham pushed the Virginia Tech lead to 8-2, which put BC down and out. Jasmin Harrell quieted any potential for a comeback when she retired the Eagle batters in order. Senior Allie Thunstrom was able to assist the Eagles’ push for a victory with some timely hitting early in the game. Thunstrom knocked in Rene Delagrammaticas with an RBI single to tie the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the third. D’Argento left the game with a no decision after going six innings and giving up only two runs on

four hits. Her ERA for the year improved to 3.63, although her record remained at a disappointing 4-12. Taylor Peyton was given the loss after giving up the home run to Hall without recording an out. Her record dropped to 5-10 on the season, and her ERA rose to a team-worst 4.59 in 71 innings pitched, the least of the three starters. Jasmin Harwell of Virginia Tech got the win after providing some very impressive relief work. Harwell gave up only two hits after she entered in the fourth inning, never allowing the Eagles to threaten again. Virginia Tech got on the board ﬁrst behind a double-play ball that scored Stephanie Kujawa on a ﬁelder’s choice in the top of the second. The Eagles will look to rebound against the University of Massachusetts on Wednesday before closing out their ACC schedule at home against Maryland over the weekend. 

ALEX TRAUTWIG / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Senior Lauren Costello scored four more goals in the 17-6 win over Le Moyne, giving her 50 in her senior season.

Monday, May 3, 2010

THE HEIGHTS

Hokie pitchers quiet BC bats over weekend BY DJ ADAMS Heights Editor

After winning nine straight, the Boston College baseball team’s hot streak was finally put to rest in the first two games of its 3 Virginia Tech weekend series against No. Boston College 1 18 Virginia Tech at English Field in Blacksburg, Va., as the Eagles failed to string hits together against some of the Hokies’ finest arms. In Saturday’s match, BC’s offensive struggles were largely due to the Hokie on the mound, sophomore Mathew Price. Although Price possessed a 5-3 record coming into the contest, his ERA was a high 5.50, demonstrating his inconsistency all year. He had his best stuff against the Eagles, though, striking out nine and spreading out six hits on his way to the complete game victory. While Price consistently mowed down Eagles, BC was able to stay in the game through a solid performance by an ace of their own. Sophomore Pat Dean returned to pre-injury form and allowed just three runs over six innings, working out of several jams to keep the score low. One of those scares came in the bottom of the first when Dean allowed a leadoff single, then hit two consecutive batters to load the bases full for the Hokie offense with no outs. Dean buckled down, though, getting Virginia Tech cleanup hitter Austin Wates to ground into a 6-4-3 double play and Ronnie Shaban to send a weak dribbler to second that forced Virginia Tech to settle for just one run in the inning. Virginia Tech’s 1-0 lead didn’t last long, either. Leading off the top of the second, senior John Spatola blasted his 11th home run of the year to knot up the score at 1-1. After that, it was all Price for the Hokies. The sophomore hurler allowed just four hits the rest of the way. Even more impressively, despite three errors in the third, fourth, and fifth frames that allowed BC to put runners in scoring position on all three occasions, the righthander consistently worked out of trouble to preserve the even score. In the fourth inning, the Hokies took the lead for good when Dean allowed a leadoff single to Shaban, recorded two outs, but then surrendered a two-run homer to Andrew Rash that surpassed the wall in left-center field and gave the Hokies a 3-1 lead that would eventually be the final score. Price showed no signs of fatigue down the stretch, as he faced the minimum amount of batters in the last three innings and struck out the side in the seventh. It was Price’s second complete game of the year and his sixth win. Friday’s match was not as close as the first, but featured a similar theme when it came to BC’s bats. Yet again, they were noticeably absent.

This time, it was southpaw Justin Wright that perplexed the Eagles, who fanned nine, walked just one, and rendered five hits and one run over 6.1 innings to the once dominant Eagle offense. It was Virginia Tech who struck first, stringing together two singles off BC starter Mike Dennhardt and then bringing Buddy Sosnaskie home on a sacrifice fly by Wates to take a 1-0 lead. BC’s offense came into the game on a tear, yet it couldn’t figure out Wright until the third inning when Garret Smith roped a 2-2 pitch to left for a single, and then stole second to get into scoring position. Matt Hamlet sent a double down the right-field line for his 29th RBI, and the game was tied. In the fourth, BC had its best chance to grab an advantage when they put runners on second and third with just one out, due to Matt Watson getting nailed by a fastball and a throwing error by Wright. Despite the opportunity, Wright sent down Andrew Lawrence swinging, and painted the black to strikeout Brad Zapenas looking and end the threat. Dennhardt then ran into some trouble of his own in the bottom of the fourth, but with a much different end result. Shaban reached on an infield single, and then stole second. After Dennhardt retired the next two Virginia Tech batters, Shaban’s lead from second distracted the pitcher enough to cause him to balk. The small mistake was nothing compared to his next one, though, as Matt Blow took BC’s pitcher deep to center for a 3-1 lead. In the sixth, with two on and no outs, Michael Seaborn laid down a sacrifice bunt for the Hokies, but Eagle third baseman Anthony Melchionda failed to complete the play and loaded the bases. Two runs then scored on consecutive sacrifice flies from Blow and Brent Zimmerman, increasing Virginia Tech’s lead to four. Kevin Moran and Dave Laufer pitched scoreless outings in relief to keep BC in the game, until Hunter Gordon entered for the eighth inning. Gordon surrendered four runs on three hits in his ugly appearance, allowing a two-RBI triple to Wates and hitting two Hokies in the process. A ninth-inning rally gave the Eagles hope for a dramatic comeback, but BC was unable to overcome the eight-run deficit. Mike Sudol was called to pinch hit with runners on the corners and drilled a three-run homer, his second of the season, but three consecutive groundouts ended the game and gave BC its first loss since an April 13 home match against UMass. Despite scoring 57 runs in their past six contests, the Eagles couldn’t get anything going offensively either night, bringing just five runs across home plate in the two games and leaving a total of 13 runners on base. 

ALEX TRAUTWIG / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Mike Dennhardt (top) allowed five runs in 5.2 innings Friday, while John Spatola (bottom) hit a solo shot on Saturday.

Wiswall’s two blasts can’t prevent sweep Swept, from B1

Then the game changed its tone completely in the sixth, and both teams’ bats began to belt the ball all over English Field. Down 3-1, BC started the top of the sixth just as it had the previous five innings: slowly. Wiswall led off with one of his few unproductive at bats of the day, by popping up an 0-2 pitch to the shortstop for an easy out. Spatola managed a single to get things going for the Eagles, but then Matt Watson struck out swinging. With two outs and Spatola on first, Anthony Melchionda, now hitting .333, continued his hot streak, roping a single that moved Spatola over to third. Mantiply hit the next batter, Andrew Lawrence, to load the bases before he was pulled from the game. Hokies’ relief pitcher Sean McDermott walked Brad Zapenas, which scored Spatola, cutting the lead to 3-2. Garrett Smith then plated two more with an RBI single, giving BC its first lead of the game, 4-3. Leonard came back on the mound in the sixth and immediately began to struggle. Due in large part to injury, it was only the third time all season that Leonard had made it into the sixth inning. The hits that he had been able to scatter somewhat effectively in the first five innings finally caught up with him. He gave up back-to-back singles before fan-

ning the next two batters, leaving runners on first and second with two out. Just when it seemed as if Leonard would once again pitch himself out of trouble, Virginia Tech’s Andrew Rash, Sean Ryan, and Buddy Sosnoskie all singled. It took just 10 pitches for the Hokies to shift the game in their favor, as they jumped back out on top with a 7-4 lead. Leonard was done for the day, but the Eagles’ pitching troubles weren’t. Taylor Lasko and Matt Brazis finished off the rest of the game for BC, combining to allow three hits, two walks, and three runs over 2.1 innings. Virginia Tech’s relief fared far better. McDermott went two more innings after closing out the sixth, and finished the day as the pitcher of note, allowing only two hits, one walk, and no earned runs in his first win of the season. Both clubs struggled at the plate early on, and after the sixth inning, the Eagles returned right back to their struggles. Aside from the three runs scored by BC in the sixth, the only two other runs they scored came off solo home runs by Wiswall in the fourth and ninth. Virginia Tech, on the other hand, scored in every inning aside from the second and third, including seven runs in its last chances at bat. With the three straight losses, the Eagles now drop into a tie with NC State State for third in the Atlantic Division, and seventh overall in the ACC. 

The sports world hits that lull Lull, from B1

vision, I guess I can’t really complain. You see, now I’m just scrounging around for anything to restore order to the sports world. I would give anything to return to the thick of winter, when we could re-watch the NFL playoffs, 68 bowl games, college hockey, and college basketball … okay, take away college basketball for BC’s sake. But I know it won’t happen. It’s like a senior asking to return to their Duchesne double for a week, if only to relive the undeniable excitement that comes with limitless time and promise. I suppose that’s the good and bad of this time of year. Everything slows down as the weather gets warmer. Students took the weekend to lie around outside despite the looming nightmare of ﬁnals. A casual trip to Cleveland Circle can turn into an afternoon trip into the city. A lazy three hours becomes the perfect amount of time for nine innings. The meaningless of an empty afternoon has become meaningful. The sports world is only following suit.

ALEX TRAUTWIG / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Shortstop Brad Zapenas was 2-for-3 with an RBI in yesterday’s 10-5 loss to Virginia Tech.

Zach Wielgus is the Sports Editor of The Heights. He can be reached at sports@ bcheights.com.

Monday, May 3, 2010

THE HEIGHTS

Point / Counterpoint For the second year in a row, the Boston College Eagles head into the summer with a four-headed quarterback controversy. In 2009, Dave Shinskie proved himself to Frank Spaziani and Gary Tranquil as the lesser of the evils and got the starting nod. Michael Marscovetra got a look with some mop-up duty, but a small sample size in meaningless minutes – including a robust negative-100 quarterback rating against North Carolina – isn’t going to instill hope in Chestnut Hill. Shinskie was maddeningly inconsistent at times and looked especially bad against archrival Virginia Tech, with his one-for-12 effort with two picks rendering the game finished long before halftime. But he hadn’t played football in seven years, so a steep learning curve was to be expected. He stared down receivers, held the ball too long, and forced throws that weren’t there instead of checking down to his backs and tight ends. Not everybody can be Matt Ryan. After an offseason of seasoning and watching film, Shinskie can go into his sophomore year looking more like he belongs on the football field. He won’t make anyone forget Doug Flutie. He may not even make them forget Chris Crane. But the Eagles don’t need a big-armed, downfield bomber. This team’s offense is proudly stamped in big, bold letters, “Property of Montel Harris.” The junior halfback is the option behind one of the ACC’s best offensive lines. If Shinskie gets the nod, he doesn’t have to win the game by himself – he can take the snap, turn, and hand it off to the tune of at least eight wins. The quarterback has to be a game manager and a facilitator with a shot or two taken downfield to Colin Larmond, Jr., to keep teams from stacking the box. The need for that element of surprise may favor Marscovetra slightly, but Uncle Dave is not lacking the requisite arm strength, connecting on a handful of deep balls with the speedster last year. Marscovetra was the star of the Spring Game; his 13 of 16 with the game’s lone touchdown making Shinskie’s six of 12 for 50 yards look paltry by comparison. But, as always, stats don’t tell the whole story. The part of Shinskie’s development into a complete quarterback that didn’t make the box score was precisely what needed to be seen: His ability to play under control. On one play in particular, Shinskie saw nothing open across the middle, and, instead of forcing the ball into a tight space, he calmly turned and flipped the ball out to the right flat and a wide-open Harris, who quickly scampered for a first down. Last season, Harris only caught eight balls, down from 20 his freshman year from Chris Crane and Dominique Davis. James McCluskey nabbed only three after catching 19 in 2008. With the Eagles’ receiving core depleted

by graduation, the backs will have YES: to see even more of the ball in the Daniel Popko passing game. Having someone like Marscovetra ﬂinging the pigskin all over the ﬁeld could hold back the offense, while the more mature Shinskie could enhance his position as team patriarch by doing just what he needs to : manage the game.

Should Dave Shinskie be the starting quarterback for the football team?

ALEX TRAUTWIG / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Surviving withdrawal from hometown sports while at BC ROBERT T. BALINT For a lot of Boston College students, the end of the school year means an hour-long drive home, if that. They’ll return to Worcester, Dorchester, Milton, Beverly – wherever those places are – and everywhere in between. Each will return to his or her own home, but each will have something in common: When they walk in the door, flop on the couch, and turn on the TV, they’ll all see a Celtics, Sox, or Bruins game on the screen. For those of us who live outside New England, the routine will be a little different. After a fivehour flight back to Phoenix, I’ll walk in the door, flop on the couch, and turn on the TV, but I won’t see Big Papi stepping up to the plate, Dice-K taking the mound, or even so much as a shred of ice. It’ll be good to be home. My first year here at BC has been nothing short of incredible, but one of the main drawbacks of going to school in New England is the disconnect I’ve suffered with my favorite teams. It all amounts to distance and the Boston sports scene. Let’s start with distance. Being from across the country in Arizona does a lot more than draw the occasional nostalgic tear (it’s fine, I just have something in … both my eyes). Besides the occasional nationally televised Suns game, there’s no way short of constantly refreshing ESPN.com to keep up with the action. And for some reason, seeing Steve Nash’s assist count tick from 0 to 1 onscreen does not quite compare to witnessing one of his slick assists to Amare Stoudemire onscreen, or, better yet, firsthand. Sadly, that option is out, too – while Fenway and the Garden are a T ride away from Chestnut Hill, downtown Phoenix is a few stops beyond the outbound Green Line. There’s even less of a chance to see the DBacks play. I can’t scrape together the money necessary to watch one of Dan Haren’s gems online, so the only hope I have is on NESN during interleague ball. I can’t even go to the radio – all I pick up is someone talking about people with names like “Youk” and “Tek” down at somewhere named the “Pahk.” So, no luck there. That brings me into the second obstacle that lies between Arizona’s sports and me: Boston’s fanatical, or, rather, maniacal, devotion to its teams. From the Sox fans’ massive inferiority complex toward New York, to the region’s col-

In three spring scrimmages, Dave NO: Shinksie has comIan Boynton bined for 21-of-40 completions for 205 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions, posting a 93.8 passer rating. Mike Marscovetra, on the other hand, has combined for 25-of-35 completions for 279 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception, posting a 151.5 passer rating. On sta-

lective bromance with Tom Brady, the fans here are undeniably some of the most dedicated in the country. As a consequence, any team not wearing a jersey emblazoned with Boston’s name fades into obscurity. If I hear cheers down the hall of my floor, it won’t be due to the Cardinals’ Larry Fitzgerald’s latest inhuman catch. Instead, Brady and Randy Moss probably just linked up for six points. It’s a lonely feeling, and making fun of Bill Belichick’s sleeveless sweatshirts and questionable ethics only helps so much. This intense focus on Boston teams in turn brings an intense focus on their rivalries. Sure, the Sox-Yankees falling-out is time-honored, but there are scraps between other teams, as well. It’s been three years since the Suns-Spurs match-up in the Western Conference semifinals, but, even now, the image of Robert Horry body-checking Steve Nash halfway across the court makes me yearn for Texas’ secession. The disconnect I’ve experienced caught me by surprise. As the weeks went by, I checked up on my hometown teams less and less frequently. With only an occasional highlight on TV, and with few people interested in sports talk concerning anywhere farther west than the Mississippi, everything began fading into the background. The only break us Phoenicians have gotten has come in the form of playoffs. The Suns just took a first-round series against Portland, broadcast nationally on TNT. I was finally able to see my team on the court, although at an awkward hour – thanks to the three-hour time difference, the games normally end a good hour or so past midnight. Although many expressed annoyed indifference for keeping the TV on to watch some team from Phoenix play, I enjoyed every minute. The series was a much-needed relief from the yearlong drought of hometown sports action, and it came just in time to remind me of the fast-approaching summer. Once my last final is over with, and when I turn on the TV at home or flip on the radio in the car, I won’t hear the latest on Boston’s boys, but instead coverage on the D-Backs, Coyotes (maybe next year), Cardinals, and Suns. It’ll be good to be home.

Robert T. Balint is a guest columnist for The Heights. He can be reached at sports@bcheights.com.

tistics alone, Marscovetra clearly had the more impressive spring. Completion percentage and interceptions will be critical for the Eagles’ starting quarterback. The 2010 squad will operate under a run-first philosophy, as the Eagles attempt to win games behind the strong running of Montel Harris and defensive play. With this in mind, the starting quarterback’s job will be to avoid turnovers, and to make safe, rather than spectacular (and risky), passes. This spring, Marscovetra outperformed Shinskie in both of these categories, completing 71.4 percent of his passes, opposed to Shinksie’s 52.5 percent. Shinksie also threw two interceptions to Marscovetra’s one. Add on that Shinksie threw 14 interceptions in 2009, and it appears that Marscovetra better fits the Eagles needs at quarterback for 2010. On top of the more impressive statistics, Marscovetra has proven this spring that he can make all the throws. In the Spring Game, Marscovetra turned in a showing reminiscent of an NFL prospects’ Pro Day, giving the crowd a sample of his impressive repertoire. In the course of the game, Marscovetra showed touch and accuracy on deep, intermediate, and short routes, hitting receiver Ryan Lindsey on a 44yard bomb, connecting with tight end Jordan McMichael on a 15-yard strike for a touchdown, and delivering more than one soft, accurate swing pass to receiver Clyde Lee. Some may issue their concern that Dave Shinksie has almost a full season as starter under his belt, while Marscovetra has only played a handful of snaps against competition other than the BC defense. While this is a legitimate concern, with the Eagles opening against Weber State and Kent State, followed by a bye week, the 2010 schedule gives the coaches a perfect opportunity to let Marscovetra gain confidence and game experience before facing Virginia Tech and Notre Dame. Although Shinskie’s game experience does play in his favor, it also works against him. After starting at quarterback for almost a full season, Shinksie was meant to have improved significantly. Listed as the starter going into this year’s spring practice, Shinskie has not lived up to the expectations, showing limited, if any, improvement. One has to wonder if Shinskie is capable of making the necessary strides as an ACC quarterback. With Dave Shinskie, we know what we are going to get, and to be frank, who is genuinely excited about the prospect of him starting? Marscovetra, though, is working with a clean slate. Superfans do not know what to expect from him, and with that comes the ability to amaze. Even if Mike Marscovetra isn’t the next Matt Ryan, this spring, he has proven that he isn’t half bad, either.

My experience at the Great Barrier Reef gave me the opportunity to swim among some of the most awe-inspiring creations on this earth, and it is an experience that I will never forget. For those of you thinking about studying abroad, I can honestly say that my experiences in Australia have been both exciting and rewarding. However, over these past few months, I came to the realization that it’s not scuba diving, or bungee jumping, or hiking through the Outback that makes studying abroad a life-changing

By Nicole Sullivan For The Heights

“Okay, so the most important thing to remember is to equalize as we descend. And you remember the signal for distress?” “Yup, yeah, gotcha,” I replied to my scuba instructor. He flashed me a quick smile and said, “All right, lets give it a go, then!” My heart was racing and I was impatient to not only experience my first scuba dive but to finally see the Great Barrier Reef. I was only hoping that it was as beautiful as all of the pictures and postcards I had seen. Well, okay, I was also praying that I would not encounter a shark. I am deathly afraid of sharks. As my head dunked under the water, I was surrounded by a vast assortment of vibrant blues, neon greens, hot pinks, and deep purples. The bright blue fish with black stripes caught my attention as it swam in and out of the yellow finger-like coral swaying in the water. My eyes darted around as the clown fish and angelfish swam around me like I was just another piece of the reef. My head was spinning. This can’t be real. How does this vibrant world exist right beneath the surface of the water? A stingray glided by and a neon green eel that sent chills down my spine stared back at me as I

Monday, May 3, 2010

The Heights

floated for a minute in shock. I felt a tap on my shoulder. Time to dive deeper. My instructor motioned at me to equalize. I plugged my nose and blew out air but as we descended through the water I was way more interested in the coral that looked like it was breathing as tiny little fish moved in and out of it. Suddenly, we came to a halt as a huge school of fish swirled around us and then aligned to form a wall in front of us, their silver specked scales

winking at me as they passed by. As I stared in amazement, I couldn’t help but think of what I had been told just moments before on the boat, that this coral and all the creatures that inhabit it, one of the world’s most beautiful natural wonders, was disappearing. I had been told of the damage that rising temperatures, overfishing, and water pollution have done to the coral and the billions of organisms that comprise it. The 2,900 individual reefs over 130,000 square miles has taken nature millions of years to build. By the middle of the century, only 5 percemt of this coral will be alive. However, I was quickly shaken out of this deep contemplation when I saw my instructor pointing excitedly into the distance. I felt my heart drop into my stomach. Oh my God, it’s a shark! It’s a reef shark! Okay, so I know that reef sharks are very timid and generally harmless, but I couldn’t help but freeze at the sight of it. I was sure that I would faint, or cry, or hyperventilate. I felt my anxiety rising and I tried to keep my breathing steady as the shark came a bit closer and then, uneventfully, swam away. “Oh, that wasn’t so bad,” I thought. My instructor had already found a new item of interest, pointing below us at a giant clam, blue and purple, slowly opening and closing on the ocean floor.

experience. (Although these activities are really fun!) Studying abroad has been a life-changing experience because of the people I have met and the many things I have discovered about myself. For instance, I now know that I can conquer my fears and that yes, I actually really enjoy vegemite. Studying abroad isn’t about cramming in as many crazy adventures as you can. It’s about getting to know the people, the land, the culture, and as a result, getting to know yourself. n

photo courtesy of Nicole Sullivan

Monday, May 3, 2010

The Heights

Monday, May 3, 2010

The Heights

Inside the Bubble

How-To

Dating might not be as necessary as we seem to think it is

How-To: Survive with no clean water

Michael Caprio It’s Thursday night when I get asked by a friend to attend a speed dating event in the Cabaret Room. Now you must understand, I am but a neophyte at best in the world of slow dating, so this had the appearance of a dangerous endeavor. I decided to oblige him, though. For, at the very least, I supposed he could use some company. But there is a reason I’ve never been speed dating before. The first reason is that you usually don’t see too many young people en route to speed dating events. They take place in sterile convention centers and in restaurants during off hours. And, to my knowledge (which came after five minutes of Internet research), the events usually feature a Joel Osteenlooking MC with a megaphone trying to convince everyone that their $5 entrance fee will not be wasted.

Another reason is that, while one can plan dates – you know where you’re going to dinner and how you can prepare – there is no way that I know of to properly prepare for speed dating. You just have to be a certain type of person. It is the difference between owning a savings account and being a day trader. You have to have that ability to immediately discern and to weigh complex cost-benefit plans before the bell rings and you have to move to the next table. I’m just not a “day trader.” Plus, anyone who has seen the speed dating scene from The 40-YearOld Virgin knows what I’m talking about. If a chest wax and advice from Seth Rogen doesn’t help, I don’t know how I could have gone about this. But I’m not Steve Carrell and I was pretty sure Mindy Kaling wouldn’t be showing up at the Cabaret Room, so I thought I’d check it out. The first thing that came to mind was … pants. What pants am I going to wear? I tend to emphasize this detail, as I feel that wearing a wellpressed, well-fitted pair of slacks is the equivalent of saying, “I know what

I’m doing here.” I decided to go with the faded gray – a color rarely seen outside the office, so that it makes it seem as if you take everything in life seriously. I began to think of what I was going to say during the night. What if I only had a minute to explain my life? I had to practice. “My name is … work for a paper … cats? ... sassy, wait! Okay, I’ll catch you later.” No, I had to start with something catchy to grab their attention: “When was the last time you … I honestly kinda like McElroy food … no, my pants are actually gray.” There was no way this was going to end the way I wanted. Alas, I received a text about 10 minutes before the event saying that it was canceled and will probably be moved to a later date sometime this week. It seems a little farfetched to hold a legitimate dating event so late in the year. But I hope it comes through, even if it does nothing more than help some people meet a few friends they would not have otherwise met. But serious relationships need to

occur naturally, I think. Speed dating, a phenomenan prevalent among the over-distressed yuppie crowd, is not necessary at a place with a population of 18 to 22-year-old college students. I don’t have any statistics on the matter, but I would bet my right leg that most students at Boston College would like to go on casual dates, even though they might not do it. But if students don’t see any need to, why do it? I do not see the lack of a dating culture on campus as a completely negative phenomenon. Students at BC are smart. They know what they are doing. I do not think the student body is going to graduate and throw off the human population because they lack the necessary skills to form partnerships, mate, and continue their race. At the end of the day, partnerships are naturally-occurring. So save the bells, the megaphones, and your own $5.

Michael Captrio is the News Editor at The Heights. He welcomes comments at features@bcheights.com

“I am a senior who has finally gotten fed-up with rude freshmen crashing the parties we throw. I don’t care if people show up, but they have not only been showing up with huge groups, but have also been really disrespectful to the other (invited) people at the party and the hosts. How can I kick them out without causing an even bigger scene?” — Party Police

Dave Says:

Meghan Responds:

My Mod has recently struggled with the same problem with a particular freshman, Those little buggers! They are like ants to spilled Kool-Aid. Once one finds a who shall remain unnamed. Now, we do not consider ourselves to be elitist and we often source of delight, the floodgates fly open. Add to the fact that Mod party secuinvite friends and acquaintances from all years to our weekly (daily) soirees. There is, rity is as meager as my meal plan funds. The situation is at a critical mass. Many however, a difference between invited and uninvited guests. In my very last column, as strategies have been employed in the past to deter the greenest class from realmy parting gift, I will share some of our most useful methods for clearing out a party. izing their party dreams, but in this, my last “He Said,” I offer a truly unique and First, playing good cop, one roommate will act as bouncer at the door, rationally harebrained scheme to keep those rapscallions out of your senior shindig. We’re going to set a trap, a trap for freshmen. If deployed correctly, it should explaining that we are very sorry, but the party is already too crowded. This will often eradicate the more hesitant in the herd, but the alpha males will continue in their buy you and your fellow 2010 cohorts a few hours of upperclassmen party bliss. posturing. If you screw it up, you’ll probably be indicted for kidnapping. So, please, follow Another will hide the beverages upstairs and then announce that we are out of alalong. You are going to need at least two Modulars for this plan to work. One Mod cohol, while secretly smuggling beers to our friends. Eventually, without the lure of free is going to be the decoy and one will host the actual party. Most of the party-godrinks, they should slowly filter out. Giving them dirty looks while pointedly consuming ers will never even know of the decoy, but this is fine. You will need 20-30 friends your beverage also helps. in on the plan to lure enough 2013ers into If that fails, we will revert to the bluntest, and the trap. “Supplemental help from offensive linemen to block the exits might be arguably quickest method, and “ask” them to leave. Around 10 p.m., the decoy partiers necessary. I think you can rent their services on the Agora Portal. ” One roommate will climb on a chair while shouting, should start drinking, playing some – Dave, on back-up manpower popular music, and inviting strangers into “If you don’t know someone here, get the (bleep) the festivity. Around 11 p.m., the freshout of my Mod!” To be effective, you must also be men will emerge from their doubles and come down to Lower Campus to graze. authoritative, less than timid, and have a voice that carries. You will need to grab a few at the inset and bring them into the trap Mod. From Another favorite method requires a costume change and does carry the risk of a there it will be like clockwork. Texts will fly and drunken phone calls placed. Soon stampede. If one has a polo shirt, a clipboard, an ID on a lanyard and an authoritaenough, you will be overtaken by the awkward little fiends. Once you have enough tive knock (or was formerly a resident assistant), posing as an RA will immediately rid freshmen in the Mod, you need to trigger the trap. All the upperclassmen need to a party of any underage crashers. Just remember to change out of the outfit before the make a swift exit and close off exits. Supplemental help from offensive linemen partygoers return. to block the exits might be necessary. I think you can rent their services on the Occasionally, though, it’s okay to give some needy underclassmen a break and a bevAgora Portal. Once you’ve trapped them, mosey on over to the real party and erage. Unless they are disrespectful – in that case, “get the (bleep) out of my Mod.” But bring all the decoy partiers. Pop a beer and enjoy a good rage sans the rookies. to all my fellow seniors – for the next three weeks, mi Mod es su Mod. It’s been great. Dave Givler is an editor for The Heights. He welcomes comments at features@bcheights. com.

Meghan Michael is a senior staff columnist for The Heights. She welcomes comments at features@bcheights.com.

“He Said/She Said” welcomes questions for future columns as well as comments about this week’s responses. All printed questions remain anonymous. Send any comments to the editor at features@bcheights.com. College Connections

BC experience is unexpected, unplanned, and unforgettable

Michelle Kazcmarek Seven years ago, I hated writing in any form, and I would have never dared to call myself a writer. English was my least favorite subject, and it didn’t matter anyway because I was going to become a psychologist. Five years ago, I would have never counted New Yorkers, Floridians, or Midwesterners among my closest friends; I would not have considered anyone from outside of California as anything more than an acquaintance, the few that I knew, that is. Three years ago, I was an English major but I had no clue what that meant. I had no idea that I would go abroad and intern at a public relations firm and enjoy it. I had no

plans of applying to PR firms or finding internships in publicity. And a month ago, I never would have considered spending a year teaching abroad at a women’s university in Bangladesh, with or without my current roommate. As of right now, I have no scheduled return flight home (although the deadline for my decision is today). My only concrete plans post-graduation were Bonnaroo, but even that can’t be counted as a surety right now. To make my life seem a little more planned out, I will be going back to California, and if I am not in Bangladesh I will be working, somewhere. The summer before I left for Boston College, I lost my appetite for, what seemed to me, no reason at all. Easier said than done, I was ready to leave home. I got used to my lack of hunger by the time I arrived back east, however, and within the first week of classes, it came back and I gained my version of the freshman 15. The first week that I studied

abroad in London, I developed some extreme version of the flu. Eventually this led to an ear infection that even with antibiotics, stayed with me for more than a month. Coming back from spring break, three months did not seem like enough time. I scrambled to enjoy BC for all that it was worth. I made a point to see as many people as possible and I attempted to make every minute count. Exhausted, two months later, I have settled. In the way that dust settles. All-nighters followed by press screenings at Boston Commons. Thanksgivings in Madrid. Macaroni and cheese at 5 a.m. Makeshift cardboard sleds. Home fries and a catch up. Thighmaster charades and Jane Austen. Thai dates. Romantic, candlelit birthdays. Borrowed shoes and handwritten notes. The mozz stick and pizza diet. Feminist tirades. There is no possible way to squish the best of BC in at the end. There is no way to accomplish

the bucket list. There is no reason to. My BC experience has never been about the planned, my life has never been about the planned. Instead, it is about everything that creeps in to fill the gaps. For one thing, regrets are a conscious effort. For another thing, to dwell on the past or even the future is only a way to forget the present. There will never be enough time to adequately devote to friends and places you love. But to know that this can’t change is something I think of as a gift. I would like to think that I am ready to leave. Not to say that this is permanent or even healthy. In a month, I will have graduated. I have no ailments as of yet, besides being inexplicably thirsty. Thank you, Massachusetts. Three years from now. Five years from now. Seven years from now. All I ask is to be surprised. Michelle Kazcmarek is a staff columnist at The Heights. She welcomes comments at features@bcheights.com

Interested in becoming a columnist for Features? Want to stay in touch after graduating? Would like to get involved at The Heights? Both current students and new graduates are needed as writers for next semester. Please contact us at features@bcheights.com to find out more!

Jacquelyn herder In case you missed the memo, Boston currently does not have clean water. That means no drinking it, cooking with it, or brushing your teeth with it unless it has first been boiled. People are getting a little bit crazy – water is being rationed, and students are coming up with creative ways to not only get around the complications produced by the contaminated water, but also getting exceedingly protective of the water they do have. Everywhere from McElroy to CVS is out of bottled water, and – the horrors! – all Dunkins and Starbucks in the area are closed. Wait, what? No coffee? Oh, no. All joking aside, how do you deal with this mini-crisis / major -inconvenience as a college student? 1) If you do not have a stove, microwave your water on high for several minutes. Wait until it has sufficiently cooled down before you decide to change your fish’s tank with it. If you do have a stove, get the water boiling for several minutes before you turn off the burner. I recommend doing this before you head out for evening festivities. If you have the means (and the resources) to bring in water from outside of Boston, do it. You could make a killing selling bottled water on the BC black market. And, hey, who said you had to drink water anyways? Since it’s contaminated, just reach for your favorite, non-water beverage, whatever that may be. 2) When showering, keep your mouth shut. No, really. We’ve all seen the Sex and The City movie, right? Remember that scene when Charlotte is showering in Mexico, forgets where she is, takes a big gulp of water, and suffers the – ahem – consequences for the rest of the day? Don’t let this be you. That being said, it actually is safe to shower. If the thought of showering in water that hasn’t been declared safe to drink makes you a bit squeamish, invest in some dry shampoo, baby wipes, a hat, and embrace your inner hippie. Additionally, avoid the Plex. No need to add sweaty to stale and stinky. Perfume, cologne and air fresheners are encouraged. Your friends will thank you. 3) So, apparently showering is okay, but doing laundry is not recommended. That’s right - you can stick your body in it, but you cannot put your clothes in it. Go figure. If we are going by that logic, then the only reasonable solution is to go shopping, and simply replace the necessary items that are currently lounging in your hamper instead of being newly laundered and placed neatly in your drawer (ha!). Need more socks? Head to Target. Uh, oh ... out of t-shirts? Macy’s it is. You know, maybe this really isn’t that bad, after all. 4) Using un-boiled water for washing dishes and cooking is not advised. Rather than waste your newly cleansed drinking water on menial tasks such as dishes or preparing food for yourself, use that emergency credit card that you were bestowed at the beginning of your college career, and order in. Or go out. In fact, why not splurge for a steak dinner with your closest friends? Massachusetts technically is in a state of emergency – the perfect argument for when your father gets the bill. Thanks, Dad! 5) Caffeine. The only thing that keeps BC students going. And, thanks to water being a necessary ingredient in the preparation of both coffee and tea, it is decidedly scarce. What to do? Well, if you have a coffee machine in your dorm (which you shouldn’t, because it’s against ResLife’s highly respected and obeyed rules) but hypothetically speaking, if you did have one, all you would need to do is boil your water before using it. Same goes for tea – just get that water to a boil, and let it go for a few minutes before pouring it into your mug. If that is just not going to happen, then embrace Coke, Dr. Pepper, and Mountain Dew and their diet counterparts. Hello, soft drinks and aspartame! With some luck, this little adventure will all be over in a few days. Early reports are saying that, if everything goes according to plan, then we should be back in business by Tuesday or Wednesday. In the meantime, I wish you well on your quest for clean water, clean clothes, and a steady supply of caffeine. Jacquelyn Herder is the Features editor at The Heights. She welcomes comments at features@bcheights.com

The Heights

Monday, May 3, 2010

Ratz is leader on and off campus By Allie Bowman For The Heights

How many college juniors do you know who can say that they were influential in the successful release of two prisoners of conscience? While the numbers are nearly negligible, Boston College’s very own Leon Ratz, A&S ’11, is one of them. As most juniors spend their time worrying about which Mod they want next year, or what resumebuilder they are going to accrue over the summer, Leon Ratz is working to find solutions to some of the biggest human rights issues in the world today. By working hand-in-hand with groups like Amnesty International and the United Nations, Ratz has learned that he can make a difference in the world by using the power of his voice. “A lot of my work and my passion for human rights stems from my refugee background,” Ratz says. Born in the Ukraine, Ratz and his family came to the United States in 1994. “There, human rights were words on paper. They didn’t mean much. By coming to the United States, I realized that they actually do mean something.” This foundation is what first inspired Ratz, a freshman in high school at the time, to take action. In 2004, he watched a television program that highlighted the deplorable conditions and lack of rights for patients in psychiatric hospitals in the former Soviet Union. From there, all it took was a Google search to find a report from Amnesty International, that called for reforms within this system and inviting people worldwide to write letters. Ratz, along with a number of his friends, formed an Amnesty group at his high school, the Bergen County Academy, in Hackensack, N.J. Beginning with eight friends, this group soon grew to be one of the largest of its kind in the world, with about 150 students who would come together to write letters, lobby, and host information sessions, concerts, and fundraisers. In 2006, as a junior, he was appointed to the position of student

area coordinator. The following year, while continuing to put forth efforts on the grassroots scale, he interned at the Amnesty International headquarters in New York City. Throughout his high school career, Ratz and his high school Amnesty team worked to improve the conditions of and give rights to the mentally disabled in the former Soviet Union, stop violence and kidnappings of women in Mexico and Guatemala, close down Guantanamo Bay, eradicate the death penalty in New Jersey, and free prisoners of conscience (those prisoned because of their identity or for speaking out against the government). Ratz’s work with human rights did not end after high school. The summer before he arrived at BC, Ratz focused mainly on the relationship between arms transfers and human rights violations – especially in light of the crisis in Darfur. “You hear all the time about these villages, where men come in and shoot innocent men, women, and children, “ Ratz says. “And I couldn’t help but think ‘where are they getting these guns?’” Amnesty International was asking these same questions. As a freshman at BC, Ratz joined the Military Security and Police Working Group of Amnesty International. This branch of volunteers in the U.S. section of the organization focused on the issue, and related research possibilities. This organization gave Ratz a good introduction to the issue and prepared him to go to the Amnesty International Global Headquarters in London the following summer, under an advanced study grant from BC, to do research related to arms transit in Sudan. “What I found was absolutely disturbing,” Ratz says. “Arms transfers were coming into the Sudan well past the point of a United Nations Embargo from Russia, China, and Iran.” Following his summer in Sudan, Ratz was invited to do part-time lobbying for the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty. With this, he was able to go to the United Nations with

the international team in the fall. By the following summer, he was doing lobbying work with NGO colleagues in Washington, interviewing people in the State Department and Congress. Just this past fall, the United States announced that it would support negotiations with arms trade treaties. Naturally, Ratz has been involved with this decision through working with the Amnesty International staff and Non-Governmental Organizations to encourage the U.S. government to continue negotiations for an arms trade treaty. With a resume most students could only dream of, Ratz still finds time to hang out with friends and stay involved on campus through both the BC Amnesty group and Hillel. Majoring in international studies, Ratz is able to incorporate his work outside the classroom, but he asserts that school will always come first for him. According to Ratz, he realized that all his work was worthwhile in his junior year of high school. His student group had been writing letters to local congressmen, demanding the immediate release of a farmer, Gurbandurdy Durdykuliev, in Turkmenistan, who had been imprisoned for speaking out against his government. These members of Congress then all signed a letter to the president of Turkmenistan urging him to take action. Within three days, the prisoner was released. To celebrate, posters with Durdykuliev’s picture were spread around the school with the word “released” written across it. When students looked at these posters, they would remember the petition they signed and realize that their signature actually did something. He recalls, “I’ll always remember how I got involved – reading about a certain issue and thinking, ‘Maybe I can make a difference.’” Because of the opportunities he has been given by living in the United States, Ratz has become the voice for so many in other parts of the world who will never understand the true meaning of the freedom of speech. n

Heights Photo / Alex Trautwig

The Carroll School of Management has produced students known for their abilities as entrepreneurs and problem solvers.

CSOM students pave the way By Emily Maley For The Heights

When Caroll School of Management (CSOM) students Katie Chin ‘12, Meredith Malm ‘12, Josh Berk ‘11, Ruth Victorin ‘11, Sophia Monroe ‘12, and Joe Falkson, A&S’12, realized they were accepted into the competitive Tech Trek class, they did not know the extent of the opportunities it would provide them. They are a group made up of marketing, information systems, economics, finance, and math majors. Tech Trek is a two-semester course, which begins with the study of firms in Silicon Valley, California, and finishes with a visit to these companies, such as Google and Apple, over spring break. As a result, this group has taken the Google Ad challenge. However, these entrepreneurs are taking a more creative approach than the other competing teams. Monroe, a native of Palo Alto, California, explains, “We all met in Tech Trek in Professor Gallagher’s class. One of the assignments is the Google Online Marketing Challenge. Basically, Google gives teams $200 to run a Google Ad campaign for a company who has never used it before,” said Monroe. “We chose Switchback Life, founded by Matt Marino. He is a former BC undergrad and current BC Graduate student. Switchback Life sells “Almond Clusters,” a healthy alternative snack. Monroe suggests the snack’s nearest relative would be something like the Barenaked granola. This dedicated team’s main concern is driving online traffic to Switchbacklife.com, not only because it will help them win the Google Challenge, but also because they are so excited for and dedicated to Marino’s start-up business venture as his co-founders. “It’s been wonderful getting to know him and working with both undergrads and

graduate students in CSOM,” said Monroe. “When we first met with Matt in Eagle’s Nest, no one knew what to expect. We had just exchanged e-mails with him. He came with his partner Oscar, we all laughed and joked and were coming up ideas. Everyone got so excited because Google excites us. But it was really funny to see everyone so bubbly right before class.” Marino also came to speak to CSOM students interested in entrepreneurship about getting an MBA, which was very helpful in giving back to BC students. What is interesting about this particular Google Challenge for the team is that they have come up with a different approach. They are doing a challenge within a challenge to drive extra traffic. “We came up with a creative approach, a Switchbacklife.com competition scavenger hunt. The idea is to find three highlighted words on the home page of Switchbacklife.com, and Google the three words. This will then take you to a secret, hidden Web site where you can win $200 in cash,” explains Monroe. This idea will hopefully not only help the team win the Google Challenge, but, more importantly for the group, help drive traffic to gain support and business for Switchbacklife.com. The campaign started about three days ago and will run for three weeks, when the team will submit a campaign report and hear back from Google promptly. Not all groups who participate in the Google Ad Challenge have the opportunity to visit the headquarters, or meet real Google representatives. BC was also lucky enough to have two Google employees come speak to CSOM students about the challenge. “We had a really great time visiting Google Plex,” said Monroe. “We all agree we want to go back because we’re nerds and love Google, but also because they have the best cafeteria.” Their

main priorities now are to focus on gaining traffic to the Web site and also writing a 10-page paper on a topic of interest that they discovered while visiting any of the headquarters in Silicon Valley. Falkson is not a CSOM student, but decided to enroll in Tech Trek. “For my Tech Trek class we went to California and studied 19 technology firms, including one started by former Presidential Scholar, Bill Clerico, BC ’07.” Falkson said. “It was really inspirational to hear his story about how he passed up a surefire investment banking career at Goldman Sachs to start his own company, WePay. I really gained a lot of respect for entrepreneurship and wanted to learn more about it, so I decided to enter the Google Challenge with five other classmates.” As a double major in philosophy and math, Falkson had never taken a CSOM course. He wanted to learn more about the technology and business world. “I hope to gain business experience to complement my liberal arts background,” Falkson explained. Chin organized the Google challenge, “I thought this would be a great hands-on approach to learn more about technology in the business world,” says Falkson. He hopes that this challenge will give him a chance to see what it takes to help develop a successful business, as well as familiarize him with a discipline with which he doesn’t have much experience. “I just see this as a great learning experience and an opportunity to help fellow Boston College students succeed. It’s great to see two Presidential Scholars start a company and then help two MBA’s launch a Google ad-words campaign. It’s great to see BC rise in the business school rankings to No. 9. It’s a good feeling to see fellow Eagles succeed.” n

Brostoncollege.com is new sensation Broston, from B10

This might resonate with some, but others might be puzzled by this slogan. If you find yourself asking what a “BC bro” is, you are not alone. A term used to describe a certain type of male individual, “bro” has recently gained prominence both in the mainstream media and on college campuses. It originates from the word “brother” and is commonly used to describe a close male friend. Starting as a slang word spoken by California surfers in the mid-1980s, the term has moved outside the sunny state and spread out into select locations all around the United States. While used to label one person in particular at times, the word “bro” most notably is employed to describe a culture. Thus, those who refer to themselves or are referred to as “bros” typically exhibit the characteristics that have come to define the “bro” culture. While perceived personality traits, social practices, and music tastes of the quintessential “bro” differ from individual to individual, a few seem to stand out universally. Choice of clothing for “bros”? Typically polo or rugby shirts, sometimes with a popped collar, with brightly colored khakis, flipflops, and a backwards brimmed baseball cap. Don’t be surprised to see sleeveless shirts, or no shirt at all when the weather calls for it. Extracurricular activities? Sports, sports, and more sports. “Bros”

are athletic human beings and they are not afraid to show it. You name it and not only do they most likely watch it, but theyprobably play it as well. On top of that, these guys can party. If you’re trying to go out with a “bro,” you better be ready to go for a while, or else, you’ll be left behind. Look out for words like “chill,” “sweet,” and “chyeah.” Hear any of these frequently in a conversation? You’re probably dealing with a “bro.” While they acknowledge that people see “bro” culture a certain way, the men of brostoncollege. com believe that it’s a lot less specific than people make it out to be. “It’s what’s comfortable,” they explain. Part of the reason why they believe the Web site is so popular is because of the presence of the “bro” culture on the BC campus. “It’s big at BC. The site wouldn’t be popular if it wasn’t,” they comment. “BC’s one of the ‘frattiest’ schools … without the frats.” Like any other Web masters, the guys gauge how well their site is doing on the number of hits they receive on a daily basis. Contrary to what some might think, yet in accordance with what they intended, people visit brostoncollege. com more during the week than on the weekends. “We get our highest number of hits during the week. A lot of students surf the Web during class and they visit our site. It’s kind of what we intended it for. It’s a good procrastination tool.” Although the Web site’s slogan

proclaims the site to be for a select crowd, namely BC “bros,” the creators say they try to make their content as relatable as possible for everyone. “We mostly direct stuff toward BC students, but it’s developed toward other peoples’ interests, too.” “People not like us actually relate to it,” they explain. “Although sometimes, we use lingo that people don’t know.” Though they don’t plan on posting at particular times, the men of brostoncollege.com reveal that every update is an organized team effort. “We come up with the ideas spontaneously, but there’s an editing process. We work together with it.” The team acknowledges the fact that not every person that comes along is going to like their Web site. “We thought people would hate it and there are probably some out there who do.” Regardless, they believe there is or will be something on brostoncollege. com with which at least college students can identify. “It’s what a typical college guy thinks, but there’s something college kids can all relate to,” they said. The “bro” culture doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon and frankly, the brostoncollege. com men and their followers don’t want it to. “We had BC alumni telling us to keep up the good work. We hope when we’re alumni, kids will be doing something like this.” n

FEATURES

Monday, May 3, 2010

THE HEIGHTS

B10

MONDAY, MAY 3, 2010

Keep on living

KRIS ROBINSON

Kris Robinson is the Assistant Features Editor for The Heights. He welcomes comments at features@bcheights.com.

BY KRIS ROBINSON

Assistant Features Editor The gentlemen behind the new Web site brostoncollege.com may have struck uncertified gold. Not only is the name of the site catchy, but the concept fueling the blog is something that’s so simple, it’s genius. From within their self-proclaimed headquarters of Walsh Hall, Uncle Chafe, Lieutenant Jenkens, The Great Fratsby, Johnny Utah, and co. update their site with posts that detail exactly what is on their minds. Don’t let the nicknames and the seemingly sporadic format of brostoncollege.com fool you, however – the site’s operation is as complex as any others’. These “bros” mean business, but the only profit they’re looking to make is a profit that everyone can benefit from. They’re here for your entertainment. Comprised of a group of Boston College sophomores,

the creators of brostoncollege.com ﬁrst came up with the concept for the site last October. “We thought our thoughts were funny enough that people would appreciate them,” they say, giving the story behind the origin of the blog. “So why not put what we say to each other on paper?” Originally scheduled to be launched during winter break, the guys didn’t ofﬁcially get the site up until March. Now that it has been up and running for nearly two months, they are happy with its success. “Overall, people have responded really well.” Brostoncollege.com features a variety of content, ranging from customized dictionary entries, to polls, to Top 5 listings and celebrity highlights. The blog advertises its posts to be “by the BC ‘bro’, for the BC ‘bro.’”

HEIGHTS GRAPHIC / MICHAEL SALDARRIAGA

Sharing a room can be a very intimate thing. Whether it’s a lover, a friend, or an acquaintance, you’re bound to learn things about your roommate that you didn’t before. This could prove to be for better or for worse. I, myself, have discovered this firsthand. People try to give you advice when it comes to choosing a roommate or dealing with one that you had no control over, but I’ve come to realize that there’s really nothing a person can say, no advice that they can really give that will help. Rooming with another person, no matter who they might be, is something that you’re just going to have to deal with when the time comes along. I have friends who have had nothing but great roommate experiences, and I also have friends who have had quite the opposite. The one thing connecting the two groups? A sense of growth after it’s all said and done. Yeah, having a roommate that you’re best friends with is great, and you definitely feel closer after the year is over, but having a roommate that you’re not the closest with can reap fruitful rewards as well. For instance, you can emerge with a sense of accomplishment knowing that you stuck it out, that you handled a fairly uncomfortable situation as best as you could, and that you have become a stronger person because of it. The greatest part of overcoming a challenge is the realization that your future is somewhat brighter because of your perseverance. You’re able to look ahead with newfound hope and confidence. And that’s what I’ve been doing. This past Saturday evening, I went to see Nightmare on Elm Street with a group comprised of me, two of my current roommates, and two of my future roommates. On the surface, it was nothing more than a simple trip to the movies. To me, however, it symbolized so much more. That excursion to Fenway Theater was a new beginning, a preview of a great year to come. I had fun, lots of fun, and we really didn’t do anything that extraordinary. But I guess that’s how it is sometimes. A night doesn’t have to consist of going to an “epic rager” and forgetting what you did the next morning for it to be fun. I feel that, as college students, we sometimes forget that, myself included. Fun comes in different forms, and it’s nice to take a walk on the tame side every now and then. Some of my best memories have come from times when my friends and I just sat around and did nothing. When you’re able to do something like that, that’s when you know your friendship has reached a level of intimacy that many don’t have the chance to experience. Sometimes, it may seem a little unrealistic to want something like that everywhere you go in life, but if there’s another thing that I’ve come to realize over the past year, it’s if you want something to happen, you actually have to want it to happen. You have to be able to envision it before you go after it. You’ve got to see a star before you can reach it. What I want to get across is that like many things in life, housing situations may not go as originally planned. What you apply for you may not get. What you desire may not always come to you. That’s no reason to give up. If you lose your desire, then nothing you want will ever happen. So why do it? Yes, I realized I could potentially be jumping the gun. Next year could turn out to be the worst housing experience I’ve ever had and here I am, talking about how great I think it’s going to be and how excited I am for it. Some of you may think I’m being overly optimistic, and I guess in a way I am. But honestly, pessimism gets old after a while, and on top of that, it’s pretty depressing. Going through life with nothing to look forward to? I’m going to have to take a rain check on that. So if you’re in a rooming situation right now that’s far from ideal, stay strong. Hang tough. The year’s almost over. You’ve survived the worst of it and look at you now, stronger than ever. Pat yourself on the back. A little self-appreciation never hurt anyone. If it isn’t obvious by now, I value candidness and I try to be as honest as possible in all of my columns, putting myself out there in ways I wouldn’t have considered doing even just a year ago. With that said, I would like to thank you all for reading Features this semester. Jackie and I appreciate all the great feedback we’ve gotten, and we hope to continue to put out great stuff for you all to read. Thanks, and we will see you all next semester.

See Broston, B9

Eagle Dates:

Amy and Theron This week’s Eagle Daters were Amy Stephenson, A&S ’12, and Theron Patrick, CSOM ’12. On their date, they went to Tasca.

BY CHANTAL CABRERA Heights Staff

Amy: I was really hungry, so I was hoping that the service would be quick and that he was nice, and that it wouldn’t be awkward or uncomfortable. Theron: I was feeling pretty relaxed. I had heard pretty good things about the restaurant. I didn’t know what tapas were, so that was an interesting experiment. I had an open mind, trying something new.

cordial – we shook hands. She was very polite and we instantly just started talking the basics. It went very well - very friendly and approachable, we didn’t have any problems communicating with each other. Amy: We talked about BC because he’s a transfer from Emory. We talked about the good and the bad about BC.

Amy: I walked in and asked if there was a “Theron” (French accent), and he was sitting there drinking water at the bar, and he turns around and says, “I’m Theron” (with the right pronunciation).

Theron: We discussed our overall BC experience. I’m a transfer this year, and it’s been interesting trying to adjust to this school, and she had a rather rough freshman year, so we went back and forth about what we liked and didn’t like about BC.

Theron: So I put my name in because she wasn’t there yet; and then I was sitting at the bar when she came in and it’s a pretty small place so it didn’t take much guesswork to ﬁgure out who was who.

Amy: We also talked about the things we’re involved with on campus and our interests. We talked about our families. He wants to start a ska band in the fall, which I thought was cool.

Amy: It wasn’t awkward at all. Our conversation just happened naturally – there were no pauses. We just started asking each other questions about the other person.

Theron: We’re both pretty optimistic, and we’re feeling pretty good about our college experience. The conversation deﬁnitely ﬂowed very well. The waitress came over and we were talking so much that we hadn’t ordered. We discussed our respective majors and our different back-

Theron: Our initial interaction was very

I NSIDE FEATUR E S THIS ISSUE

The World Record

PHOTO COURTESY OF AMY STEPHENSON

grounds. We discussed our professional goals post-college and whatnot.

we’re looking to college for.

Amy: We took the T back to BC together and we got some random guy who taught my Buddhism class to take a picture of us.

Amy: I would rate the match a 3. We had a lot to talk about and the conversation ﬂowed very organically, but at the same time it felt more like ‘just friends.’ But I thought he was very nice and very articulate.

Theron: We both went home on the T. Her Charlie Card didn’t work, so I had to show her how to put dollar bills into the T. It wasn’t very far so the trip wasn’t very long. We were both pretty tired but it was very cordial and friendly. We left on pretty good terms. Amy: On the T ride home, I couldn’t figure out how to put the money into the machine, which was embarrassing, but he was really nice about it. Also, when I got back to my room I noticed my fly was down, so fingers crossed he didn’t notice that. Theron: I would rate the match a 2.5. I think we have varying interests academically. I think we have different passions towards which activities we’re involved with and I think we have different things

Learn from fellow students studying abroad. This week, read about experiences in Australia................................................................................................................... B9

Theron: I would rate the date a 4. She’s very friendly, very open. I felt very comfortable. She’s an attentive listener. And the food was exquisite. Amy: I would rate the date a 4. The food was so good … I’d give it a 7. I can talk about the food for weeks. Theron: I’ll definitely say hi to her on campus. I don’t see us developing a relationship anymore, but I’ll definitely stop and chat. Amy: I would love to hang out in like a big group of friends. I would definitely hear him play music because he was very passionate about it.

How-To Column.................................B8 College Connections.........................B8