Heights 10-18-10

The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College Established 1919 Vol. XC, No. 35

THE HEIGHTS MONDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2010

www.bcheights.com

Homecoming held at House of Blues Athletics

to give car as promo reward

By Ana T. Lopez Heights Editor

In keeping with the current administration’s campaign to bring “BC to Boston” and to counter noise complaints from the surrounding area, the Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC) spent $20,000 more than last year hosting the annual Homecoming dance at the House of Blues club on Saturday night.

While the majority of the 1,500 ticket-holding students – 100 more than the previous year – enjoyed the change in venue for the atmosphere it provided, some event organizers felt that inconsistencies in House of Blues security man-

Contest winner will receive 2-year lease on BMW at Ice Jam

BY MICHAEL CAPRIO News Editor

See Homecoming, A4 KEVIN HOU / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Saturday’s Homecoming Dance at the House of Blues was the first to be held off campus.

Campus GOP event hosts local politicians

BY PATRICK GALLAGHER Assoc. News Editor

MICHAEL CAPRIO / HEIGHTS EDITOR

On Saturday, the Rat played host to over 100 members of the Massachusetts College Republicans (MACR) on a day that featured appearances

by Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) and gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker.

With Election Day just 15 days away, a number of candidates for state and national offices took the opportunity to thank the students in attendance for their contributions to Republican campaigns across the state over the past several months.

“It was really exciting to be able to coordinate these kinds of speakers,” said Tomas Castello, president of the College Republicans of Boston

College (CRBC) and A&S ’11. “There was a lot of buzz around the event.”

Castello said the convention, which gathered students from over a dozen area schools, was one of the largest events to be held by CRBC over the past several years.

“As far as the number of speakers and the importance of the election – yeah, absolutely,” he said. Schools that were represented included BC, the University of Massachusetts, Boston University, Northeastern University, Harvard University, Tufts University, Babson College, Bentley College, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Wellesley College, Brandeis University, Mount Holyoke College, and

See GOP Convention, A3

The athletics department will be giving away a two-year lease on a new BMW in an effort to promote next Tuesday’s inaugural Ice Jam event.

The event, which will feature Bob Costas as the host, will mark the beginning of the winter sports season and will feature members of the hockey and basketball teams rallying fans on a half-ice, halfparquet Conte Forum.

The athletics department will give away the 2011 BMW 128i to the winner of a contest that began last Friday and will run until the day of Ice Jam. The contest requires students to locate letters placed around campus and identify a question

See Contest, A3

KEVIN HOU / HEIGHTS EDITOR

A lease on a new BMW 128i will be presented to a student at next week’s Ice Jam event.

Sexual health group promotes new sites

Curtain comes down on Hispanic Heritage Month

For The Heights

BY MICHAEL CAPRIO

BY ADRIANA MARIELLA

Boston College Students for Sexual Health (BCSSH) has expanded its Safe Sites program – a program that strives to provide BC students with confidential access to sexual health resources – to include SuperSafe Sites.

This year, the group announces the

INSIDE ARTS & REVIEW

See SafeSites, A4 Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month in style, A10

SPORTS

MBTA goes online

Boston College’s second annual celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month came to a close Friday night with a culture and fashion show.

The show, which took place in Robsham Theater, was hosted by Eduardo Dorado, co-chair of the Hispanic Heritage Month Committee and CSOM ’11.

“It’s been great to finally get the celebration here, to start one and see it continue,” Dorado said.

Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations at BC started last year in an effort to recognize the campus’ Hispanic community.

“It’s something that people just let go by and forget about,” Dorado said in

reference to the national celebration. “It was difficult to get this started because it’s so early in the semester and it’s difficult to get programming together. But hopefully I’ll come back next year and see another great show.”

The show was hosted by Dorado and Nghiem Bui, A&S ’11.

The night featured acts by BC’s Latin dance group, Fuego del Corazon, and Masti. The campus’ newest a-cappella group, BEATS [Black Experience in America Through Song] performed a two-song set, which was followed by a solo act by Pharlone Toussaint, CSOM ’12.

The culture show also featured acts by non-BC dance troupes Fuerza Inter-

See Culture Show, A3

RESEARCHER HAS NOBEL TIES

App allows students to track trolley cars

FEATURES

AP FILE PHOTO

The new app, offered by Excursion Boston, is offered for iPhone users and costs $.99.

BY JEN SCHIAVO

Classifieds, A5 Crossword, A5 Editorials, A6 Numbers to Know, B2 Police Blotter, A2 iEdit, A9 Thumbs Up / Thumbs Down, A7 Foreign Exchange, B6 Weather, A2 He Said, She Said, B7

News Editor

SANG LEE / HEIGHTS STAFF

BC hangs tough, but can’t hold on against Florida State, B1

Read about the experiences of an Australian student at BC, B10

Event marks closing of cultural celebration

addition of two new SuperSafe Sites which will provide, in addition to sexual health information, both male and female condoms, dental dams, and personal lubricant. Regular Safe Sites do not include all of these resources, but rather only provide male condoms and sexual health information.

Students at the new SuperSafe Sites are also prepared to direct any interested student to additional resources for contraception and locations for STI testing.

“The goal of adding SuperSafe Sites this year is twofold,” said Caitlin Moran, director of public relations for BCSSH and A&S ’11.

“First, to make even more resources available to the student body as well

For The Heights

Excursion Boston has recently announced the company’s newest iPhone application for MBTA commuters. The new, real time application is available for iPhone users, and costs $.99 on iTunes.

Excursion Boston’s new navigation application is easily accessible from iPhones, as well as the iPod touch. The application was created to ease traveling

time for Boston riders on rail lines with heavy traffic, such as the Blue, Orange, and Red lines, and it allows MBTA users to track the subway’s location during their daily commutes through the use of real time tracking capabilities.

With the new T-tracking device, iPhone users can select their location, find nearby stops, and determine the duration of the waiting time for individual subway cars. Riders can also now plan their schedules around the locations of the subway and arrive at the station closer to the true arrival time.

“The idea came when we realized how many students in the Boston area ride the T, how many freshmen get lost on our tiny winding streets, and how many upperclassmen still wait in the freezing winter clueless about when the T will come,” said Christina Ann, head of marketing for Excursion Boston.

While data is available for the navigation of the Blue, Orange, and Red lines, users will not be able to track the MBTA’s Green Line subway yet, as there is a lack of real time-tracking data. Excursion

See MBTA App, A4

COURTESY OF THE OFFICE OF NEWS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Peter Diamond, who was one of three winners of the Nobel Prize for Economics last week, serves as a research associate at the University’s Center for Retirement Research.

TopFive

Monday, October 18, 2010

THE HEIGHTS

things to do on campus this week

Faculty / Staff Art Show

1

Golden Rule: Gold or Garbage?

Today Time: 9 a.m.

Location: Bapst Library

Check out the Seventh Annual Faculty and Staff Art Show in the Bapst Student Art Gallery, where members of the community display their talents.

2

Today Time: 4:30 p.m.

Location: Devlin 008

Rev. Harry Gensler, S.J., a philosophy professor at John Carroll University, will discuss the book he is writing on the practice of the Golden Rule.

The Clough Colloquium

“What would you do?”

A Room of Our Own

Tuesday Time: 4:30 p.m.

Location: Robsham Theater Peggy Noonan, a widely read columnist for The Wall Street Journal and best-selling author of eight books on American politics, history, and culture, will speak.

3

FEATURED ON CAMPUS

PwC, LinkedIn launch new tool

4

Tuesday Time: 7 p.m.

Location: Cabaret Room

A Room of Our Own will feature female artists displaying their talents in the arts in a night of music, theater, and dance.

Wednesday Time: 7 p.m.

Location: O’Neill Library, Room 257 For Domestic Violence Awareness Month, watch hidden cameras from the ABC News series “What would you do?” capture reallife reactions to domestic issues.

5

IntheNews Howard Yaruss is the founder of the Application Project, Inc., which sells copies of successful applications to Ivy League colleges. The service is a way to show students what successful applications look like and what admissions officers look for when they evaluate them, according to a report by The Chronicle of Higher Education. Seeing how accepted applicants presented themselves, Yaruss said, can help high school students, especially those who lack college savvy and knowledgeable counselors.

Local News Search begins for new Mass.

Catholic Conference leader

DANIEL TONKOVICH / FOR THE HEIGHTS

BY DANIEL TONKOVICH

desired industry of employment.

The tool then provides career options based on provided profile information including salaries, Aiming to promote career demographics for positions, and awareness and professional social opportunities for advancement networking, PricewaterhouseCfrom each position based on data oopers (PwC) and LinkedIn partcompiled by LinkedIn. nered for the launch of LinkedIn’s “One can use the tool as a new Career Explorer tool on camcareer advancement guide that pus last Thursday. Boston College provides the user with real data was one of 10 schools selected from positions to host a launch in various indusevent for the new tool, which was “With events like this, tries, accompanying salary ranges made available we aim to provide for the positions, to students at business and career and regional de60 universities nationwide on advice to all students mographics for career opporOct. 4. “ [ Pw C ] i s on campus, and we are tunities,” said one of the largnow partnered with Dan McLeenan, campaign operaest employers of LinkedIn to do so.” tions manager for Boston College LinkedIn. “The graduates,” said tool also helps to Kristie Koskey, —Katie Koskey, merge one’s existrecruiting manRecruiting Manager at ing connections ager at PwC. PwC on LinkedIn with “With events like possible careers this, we aim to and available positions within provide business and career advice companies.” to all students on campus, and we “With LinkedIn’s new career are now partnered with LinkedIn path tool, one can see a hypothetito do so.” cal career path from start to finish The Career Explorer tool is complete with salary and demointended to help students navigate graphic information and possible their individual career paths while connections in the field,” Koskey networking with professionals in said. “It is a unique start-to-finish the fields of employment in which career view that many do not have they are interested. It allows the access to. It allows one to view user to search career options based changes in career paths, seeing on education level, major, and For The Heights

the possibilities and the flexibility available in one’s chosen professional field.”

PwC professionals spoke of the uniqueness of the tool within a professional social networking context as one of their reasons for partnering with LinkedIn for the launch event at universities.

“Students today are very proficient with social networking,” said Alicemarie Hand, firm recruiting partner at PwC. “LinkedIn allows students the opportunity to use their social networking skills professionally. This event aims to assist in instructing students how to use their skills to advance their career. By partnering with LinkedIn, we aim to instruct students already savvy with personal social networking ways to utilize their skills to advance professionally and achieve success.”

The event also included the opportunity for students to create free LinkedIn accounts, meet professionals at the PwC “Career Corner,” and get answers to career development questions from recruiting professionals. They also were able to sit down with specialists from PwC and the BC Career Center to review and discuss resumes.

“I am pleased with this event,” Koskey said. “By partnering with LinkedIn, we were able to touch many students on campus and provide valuable career development services.” 

TODAY

59° Mostly Sunny 39°

TUESDAY

54° Partly Cloudy 40°

WEDNESDAY

60° Partly Cloudy

University Successful Ivy League applications now for sale online, starting at $19.99

To promote career awareness, PricewaterhouseCoopers and LinkedIn launched a new Career Explorer tool.

FOUR DAY WEATHER FORECAST

BOSTON (AP) – The public policy arm of the state’s four Catholic dioceses has announced the appointment of a search committee to select a new executive director.

Bishop George Coleman was appointed as chair of the committee for the Massachusetts Catholic Conference.

New England Council president James Brett will serve as one of the panel’s five members. The conference’s executive director Edward Saunders died in August. The Conference speaks on specific legislative proposals and major human and social moral issues.

On Campus BC freshman named one of the “50 Young Champions for Women” BC freshman Adejire Bademosi was recently named one of the “50 Young Champions for Women” by the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood, an international coalition committed to safe pregnancy and childbirth around the world. As part of the honor, Bademosi attended the “Women: Inspiration & Enterprise” symposium in New York City, which featured speakers including Arianna Huffington, Donna Karan, and Queen of Jordan Rania Al Abdullah. According to The BC Chronicle, the loss of her father and her home at a young age inspired Bademosi to put her talents to good use.

National Obama rallies Dems, campaigns for Deval Patrick in Boston BOSTON (AP) – With congressional elections fast approaching, President Barack Obama acknowledged Saturday that the hope and energy he stirred during his presidential campaign may have faded in the face of the sputtering economy. “We’re doing the grinding, sometimes frustrating work of actually delivering change. I know it can be discouraging,” Obama told a crowd of 10,000 at a rally at Boston’s Hynes Convention Center.

Obama came to Boston to campaign for his friend and political ally, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.

46°

THURSDAY

62° Partly Cloudy 41°

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

Police Blotter 10/11/10 – 10/15/10 Monday, October 11 11:59 a.m. – A report was filed regarding a single car motor vehicle accident with property damage only. A tow truck was contacted to transport the damaged vehicle.

Tuesday, October 12 12:13 a.m. – A report was filed regarding the confiscation of a controlled substance from two parties in Edmond’s Hall. A report will be forwarded to ODSD for review.

a laptop computer that caught on fire. The cause is unknown at this time.

4:33 p.m. – A report was filed regarding a fire alarm activation in Duchesne East / West. The alarm was triggered due to burnt popcorn.

6:36 p.m. – A report was filed regarding a party who accidentally drove through a chain restricting access to an area in the Commonwealth Garage. Facilities was contacted to repair the chain.

11:17 a.m. – A report was filed regarding a hit and run traffic accident with a pedestrian that resulted in bodily injury.

One party was transported to a medical facility by ambulance. The vehicle fled the area but witnesses were able to obtain the license plate number. Newton Police are investigating the incident.

Thursday, October 14

1:26 p.m. – A report was filed regarding an accident between a bicyclist and a pedestrian that resulted in bodily injury to both parties. Both parties were transported by ambulance to medical facilities.

Friday, October 15

Wednesday, October 13 2:46 p.m. – A report was filed regarding a fire alarm activation due to an actual fire in O’Neill Library. The alarm was triggered by

7:01 p.m. – A report was filed regarding a motor vehicle accident outside of Conte Forum that resulted in property damage only. An officer instructed the operator on how to complete a Massachusetts RMV accident form.

Voices from the Dustbowl “Are you excited for the upcoming basketball and hockey seasons?”

“Hockey, yeah. Not so much basketball.”

—Christian Helleberg, WCAS ’12

“I can’t wait. I’m going to Ice Jam.” —Nicholas Pelletier, CSOM ’13

1:48 a.m. - A report was filed regarding an underage intoxicated party in Corcoran Commons. The party was released to the custody of a sober adult party.

—Source: The Boston College Police Department

“Yes. I bought season hockey tickets.”

—Carolyn Cawley,

A&S ’13

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

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

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

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

The Heights

Monday, October 18, 2010

Safe sex that’s just senseless

A3

Students decipher code to win car Contest, from A1

hidden in the letters using the Allendorf Cipher. Students who text or e-mail the correct answer to a designated athletics department phone number will be eligible to win the car.

On the night of Ice Jam, there will be 10 students who will receive

keys, one of which will turn on the BMW. “We’re trying to do something really unique to our campus and have it relate to our sports programs,” said Jamie DiLoreto, associate director of the athletics department. “Our goal was to create a buzz for Ice Jam. I hope this contest really excites some students.”

DiLoreto declined to identify a musical act for the event, but, he said, “I can tell you it’s going to be a memorable night.”

The athletics department held an outdoor event last Wednesday in Corcoran Plaza to sell hockey and basketball season tickets, which resulted in the sale of more than 1,000 tickets.

“Just like the season ticket sale this week, we’re looking to connect the athletes with the student body.”

Some students, like Nathan Zoyle, CSOM ’14, said that they liked the idea of the Ice Jam promotion. “I’d definitely be interested in participating,” he said.

Others said they would not have enough time to do the tasks the

contest requires. “I think it’s too complicated,” said Meredith Koch, A&S ’12. “I don’t have time to run around campus, decipher a code, and then text the code to someone.”

The BMW was supplied by BMW Peabody. The student who wins the car will have the option to keep the promotional Eagle painted on the sides. n

Joseph Pasquinelli The Boston College Students for Sexual Health’s (BCSSH) Safe Site and SuperSafe Site initiatives provide students with the opportunity to obtain condoms and other items that promote the practice of safer sex. In addition to providing these items, Safe Sites also provide the opportunity to obtain information about sexual health issues and resources where students may seek additional information or counseling.

But these are simply opportunities. Students can, but do not necessarily, take advantage of these Safe Sites and SuperSafe Sites. It would be fantastic for BC and its student body if students were to behave responsibly every time they have sex. If students engaged in these behaviors and used the supplies BCSSH makes available, students would indeed be healthier.

Students do not always engage in safe sex practices, though. Nor do they always dash to the nearest Safe Site before engaging in sexual activity with a partner.

When a student has a potential sexual health issue, the best friend or the Internet is likely the first resource, not the Safe Site. This begs two questions.

Are the students to blame for this, or is BCSSH? Is the goal of assuring that students are engaging in safe sex a realistic goal, and is the BCSSH taking realistic steps to meeting this goal?

The first question is answered quite simply and predictably. It is the fault of both BC students and the BCSSH that students are not engaging more regularly in sexual activity that is safe.

Students may not care enough, or may not be educated enough, about the consequences of engaging in unsafe sex practices. The BCSSH is not as visible as it needs to be to make a significant impact on campus.

While the organization has run into difficulty with the administration, it should have expected this and been prepared to work around this obstacle to become an important factor in the way students engage in sexual activity.

To the second question: It is a realistic goal to assure that students are engaging in safe sex practices, and BCSSH has been taking realistic steps to meet this goal. Handing condoms out Thursday and Friday mornings is a good idea. This assures students have them in the evening when they may be having sex.

Another good idea is the “Responsible Party Kits.” It is a reality that some BC students go to parties, drink, and then have sex. Taping a condom to the bottom of a Solo cup recognizes and responds to this reality.

However, the Safe Sites are not one of these good ideas that promote safe sex. In fact, these Safe Sites do nothing but provide fuel for the fire. These Safe Sites are not a realistic step toward students practicing safe sexual behavior. First, students do not readily know where the Safe Sites are. A quick survey of the 10 nearest people would reveal this.

Second, a student who does not have one of these items used in safe sex at the moment when he or she realizes that the sex act will occur is unlikely to hop off the bed to run to a Safe Site to get a condom. The student would hate to ruin the moment.

While well meaning, it is likely that these Safe Sites will prove ineffective.

Despite this shortcoming, the message of BCSSH is a positive one and in keeping with our Catholic and Jesuit values: Being safe and responsible is being respectful to ours and our partners’ bodies, the temples God gave us.

Joseph Pasquinelli is a columnist for The Heights. He welcomes comments at editor@bcheights.com

Patrick gallagher / heights editor

Representatives from several Boston area colleges gathered in the Rat Saturday morning for the Massachusetts College Republicans (MACR) Convention, featuring speakers Scott Brown and Charlie Baker.

Brown, Baker speak on economy in the Rat GOP Convention, from A1

Smith College.

Jobs and the state of the economy took center stage as Brown greeted attendees by calling the current market the worst for business that he had ever witnessed.

“I’ve never seen such an antibusiness climate,” he said, adding that over the course of his sevenplus months in the Senate, jobs have been the topic of discussion for just “10 days.”

Brown said that while companies are expanding, they are doing so overseas, where there is less red tape.

“You can see the economic disadvantage that puts us at,” he said. Brown, who has frequently been targeted by Republicans and Democrats on a number of polarizing issues, said that he is not afraid to be in the position of deciding which way a particular vote may swing.

“There are times I’m going to be the 41st senator,” he said. “I’m also

going to be the 60th senator.” How- ated his endorsement of Baker’s ever, he noted that achieving a campaign for governor, a race real sense of bipartisanship in the that also features incumbent Senate remains a major issue. and Democratic candidate for “Since I’ve been there, I’ve reelection, Deval Patrick, and voted with the Democrats about current State Treasurer Timo30 percent of the time,” Brown thy Cahill, who is running as an said. “They’ve voted with me zero, independent. A poll by The Boston so it’s not a twoGlobe taken at the “People know that end of September way street.”

L i k e w i s e , the state government showed Patrick Baker energized and Baker at a has lost its edge. the crowd of stustatistical deadd e n t s , a s k i n g They want [the] state lock, with both them to consider projecting at the implications government to create about 35 percent of the election an affordable climate of the vote based on spending and on the poll. so businesses can taxes in Massa“Take back the hire.” chusetts. things that are so “People know important to you that the state govall,” Brown said.

— Charlie Baker, ernment has lost “We’re drawing Mass. Gubernatorial its edge,” Baker a line in the sand Candidate said. “They want to say ‘We can do [the] state govbetter.’” ernment to create an affordable Both he and Baker reminded climate so businesses can hire.” the attendees that the next two At the event, Brown reiter- weeks of campaigning will play a

pivotal role in deciding the outcomes of a number of elections that are expected to be closely contended.

“Competition in politics matters – it creates urgency,” Baker said.

The approaching election can act as a mandate for reform, he said. “Here’s the chance folks – reform, cut spending, cut taxes, get people back to work.”

Others who spoke at the MACR Fall Convention, co-sponsored

by BC and Boston University, included State Rep. Karyn Polito, the Republican candidate for state treasurer; Sean Bielat, who is challenging Barney Frank (DMA) for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives; Bill Campbell, who is currently running for Mass. secretary of state; and Peter Torkildsen, the former Mass.

GOP chairman and U.S. representative from 1993 to 1997.

Arrangements for holding the event at BC originated over the summer, and involved of-

ficials from the Office of Student Programming, representatives of MACR, and the cooperation of the individual speakers, Castello said.

“It’s definitely been a process going back to the summer,” he said, adding that he received many positive reviews from those in attendance following the event.

“I was really happy with the turnout and with the excitement around the event.”

Castello attributed the convention’s success to the efforts of the students who worked over the course of the past year on a number of campaigns around the state.

“That’s also one of the reasons why Charlie and Scott decided to speak to the [MACR], because we really have been the driving force on the ground,” Castello said, adding that their appearances also acted “as a thanks for all our hard work and effort that’s been accumulating over the past year.” n

HHM culture show features dancing, vocal performances

In 2007, OASP added Black History Month, celebrated in ternational Dance Group, Bal- February, to its list of cultural let Folklorico de Aztlan, and Salsa celebrations. The University also y Control Dance Group. recognizes Asian Pacific Heritage Roberson Pierre, A&S ’13, Month, which takes place every presented a spoken word presen- April. Hispanic Heritage Month tation that touched on issues of is the latest celebration to be Hispanic identity in America. introduced by OASP. “Celebrate the unsung he“Why do we do this?” Senroes … celebrate the fathers who doya said. “One, to promote make sure their appreciation of son knows what it Asian, Black, and “Celebrate the means to be a HisHispanic cultures support, the panic man. Celeand experiencbrate the support, collaboration, the es and, two, to the collaboration, encourage muthe intelligence, intelligence, and the tual respect for and the perseverthe diversity of perseverance.” ance,” he said. all people, and, Stephanie t h re e , to fo s — Roberson Pierre, Gonzalez, co-chair ter the positive A&S ’14 of the Hispanic growth of AHAHeritage Month NA students in Committee and A&S ’12, intro- developing and establishing their duced Ines Maturana Sendoya, identity.” director of the Office of AHANA Hispanic Heritage Month Student Programs [OASP], who began as a weeklong celebration spoke on the history of Hispanic in 1968, and it was expanded to Heritage Month in the context of a month in 1988. her office’s efforts.

This year’s Hispanic Heritage “Since 2003, the Office of Month events included a panel on AHANA Student Programs has U.S.-Cuba relations, a Peruvian been providing leadership to poetry night, and a “Revolutioncelebrate the different heritage ary Cafe” night held last Thursmonths of the AHANA acronym,” day that featured readings and Sendoya said. poetry. n

Culture Show, from A1

sang lee / heights staff

The Hispanic Heritage Month closing culture show featured dance, spoken word, and vocal performances from students.

Monday, October 18, 2010

The Heights

A4

Security issues complicate Homecoming Dance

kevin hou / Heights editor

Homecoming, from A1 agement could have been better handled.

“We had some disagreements with how some things were handled by them,” said Michael Kitlas, executive director for campus entertainment and A&S ’12. “They were not the most consistent people when dealing with various issues, like looking for nips.”

“However, ultimately, because we are using their venue and they are a publicly-owned company, their security has the final say.”

Kitlas said that if the heightened security at the House of Blues had been amended, the mob scene outside of the club that left several students jostled and disgruntled could have possibly been avoided.

“There were better ways that could have been handled,” he said. “Their checks were very thorough and in-depth, which slowed the line down, and then people started pushing. They could have sped that up,” Kitlas said.

Despite appeals on the part of the UGBC organizers and even administrators manning the event, students that were deemed “too inebriated” to enter were sent back to campus on buses.

“On our end, our security was up to bus loading, and then House of Blues security took over once we were off the bus and at the venue,” Kitlas said.

“We did try, and, in some cases, we supported our students in their pleas with the House of Blues. We were behind our students when we felt that they were being unjustly treated by the House of Blues – but even

appeals from us and the administrators did nothing.”

The House of Blues had to be hypersensitive regarding security issues, as the liability for the event ultimately fell onto them, Kitlas said.

“They stand to lose so much if an incident of underage drinking goes on there,” he said. “All of their concerts that they have planned there for the next few months stand to be cancelled.

Being a publicly-owned company, they have a lot of liability on their shoulders. That being said, I don’t necessarily agree with everything that happened.”

Once inside, students enjoyed the larger venue, a vast array of food, and music by White Panda, nationally known DJs. “Inside the event, we felt it went very smoothly, it was just a matter of getting everyone inside,” said Paris Geraniotis, co-director of special events for the UGBC and A&S ’12.

Food was served along the bars flanking the stage.

“The catering was completely House of Blues, and they did a phenomenal job,” Geraniotis said.

White Panda was the main musical event, preceded by Nick Kazimiroff, a student DJ and A&S ’11. “Again, we were mixing students with a nationally known group like we did at the fall concert,” Kitlas said.

The total cost of the dance far exceeded that of previous years, mainly due to the fact that it was an off-campus event.

“Having it off campus adds a whole new range of costs, it was much more expensive this year,” Geraniotis said.

“Even if we didn’t bring in White Panda, it would have

been much more expensive,” Kitlas said.

However, by switching to the House of Blues, the UGBC was able to sell 100 more tickets.

“Over the past three years, we’ve actually increased the capacity at Homecoming, which we were able to do at House of Blues and still meet their fire codes,” Kitlas said.

For this reason, and the pushback from the community, it makes it harder for organizers to justify moving the event back on campus, though the administration would be more comfortable with that.

“I think the administration likes it on campus because then everything is handled internally,” Kitlas said.

“They don’t have to deal with getting kids back to campus if they get turned away from the event. It’s a much cleaner and safer process, so I think they would be totally on board with it. It’s really the City of Boston and Newton that we have to work on in terms of getting it back on campus.”

“We are looking into different possibilities at this time.

Moving it back on to campus would be difficult because we have to deal directly with the city of Boston and their mandate that we can’t have it in an open air venue,” Kitlas said.

“That being said, if the security issues that we had with House of Blues are something we can’t amend with them, we will have to consider other venues because we want the most amount of students to enjoy the event as possible, and I don’t feel that happened last night because of so many inconsistencies with House of Blues.” n

New SuperSafe Sites offer broader selection of contraceptive material

kevin hou / Heights editor

pat gallagher / Heights editor

pat gallagher / Heights editor

Some event-goers were evicted from the House of Blues while waiting in line at Saturday night’s Homecoming Dance.

“I think the application will definitely help students out. Now students will be able to work around the T, and new students will be able to tell when the T has stopped running.”

— Jessye Strohmeyer, LSOE ’14

App creators hope to find market in college community MBTA App, from A1 Boston is still trying to enhance their new application for the Green Line, but the subway cars for this line are often delayed by red lights and pedestrians.

Initially, Excursion Boston had only released an iPhone application for real-time tracking of MBTA buses. However, after the Massachusetts Develop-

Michael caprio / Heights editor

One of the newly-established SuperSafe Sites, located in Welch 322, offers contraceptives and sexual health information.

SafeSites, from A1 as information about safer sex, STI testing, etc., and second, to provide more relevant materials and information to the GLBTQ community.”

There are currently 20 rooms on and off campus that are participating in the Safe Site program, but BCSSH hopes to eventually have one Safe Site in each residence hall on campus.

“It is our ultimate goal to have sexual health resources available on campus regularly and openly,” Moran said.

At all Safe Sites, the dormitory door is marked with the BCSSH logo and at least one member of each room has attended mandatory training in order to ensure the continued confidentiality and effectiveness of the program. Any BC student can knock on the door of any Safe Site at any time to receive condoms free of charge.

This, group members say, pro-

vides an imperative service to the BC student body, considering that the closest places to obtain contraceptives are off-campus.

“Students who might need to access condoms when stores aren’t open, or who might forego the use of safer sex materials rather than travel to CVS, can easily go to a Safe Site,” Moran said.

“While not every student at BC makes the choice to be sexually active, those who do must be equipped to make healthy decisions,” Moran said. “We aim to fill the gap in resources left by the administration.”

This year, BCSSH also plans to continue a program called “Freshman Conversations,” which provides an open setting for freshmen to discuss sexuality and relationships, as well as sexual health issues.

They plan to host “Sex Toy Bingo,” at which students to learn about how sex can be both fun and safe, organizers said.

In the future, the organization hopes to become more engaged in the BC community.

“In the long term, we are committed to changing sexual health policy on campus and reaching out to other clubs and organizations to collaborate on events that raise awareness about sexual health,” Moran said.

Marion Halftermeyer, A&S ’13, runs a SuperSafe Site out of her dorm room in Welch 322.

“I heard about the organization last year as some friends and I saw them handing out condoms,” she said. “We wanted to be involved.

Halftermeyer said she has not yet had any students visit her Site. “I’m still in training to provide resources to students. But we’ll definitely help students who come.” n Michael Caprio, news editor, contributed to this report.

mental Office of Transportation recently released the real-time data plan for the T lines, Excursion Boston decided to continue with the real-time subway tracking application. “ Th i s wa s a m a j o r goa l from the beginning,” said Josh Thomas, Excursion Boston’s co-founder, in a statement. “We really created the app to be a T-tracker rather than one for

buses.”

Initial responses to the new iPhone application have been positive, and many students plan to download the application. “I think the application will definitely help students out,” said Jessye Strohmeyer, LSOE ’14. “Now students will be able to work around the T, and new students will be able to tell when the T has stopped running.” n

CLASSIFIEDS

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THE HEIGHTS

Monday, October 18, 2010

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BABYSITTER. Need mature and responsible older student or grad student to pick up two great girls, ages 15 and 11, from school, drive to activities and home (near football stadium), make easy dinner. Must be excellent driver (SUV provided). Hours approx.

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MISCELLANEOUS Interested in blogging for The Heights? Contact Dara Fang at fangda@bc.edu for more information or to submit a tip.

Heights can’t even handle me right now.

Answers to the Crossword are below the Sudoku

Directions: The Sudoku is played over a 9x9 grid. In each row there are 9 slots, some of which are empty and need to be filled.

Each row, column and 3x3 box should contain the numbers 1 to 9. You must follow these rules: · Number can appear only once in each row · Number can appear only once in each column · Number can appear only once in each 3x3 box · The number should appear only once on row, column or area.

Answers below Answers to Sudoku

A6

Monday, October 18, 2010

The Heights

Editorials

BCSSH reevaluation

BC Students for Sexual Health have implemented new SuperSafe Sites that undermine their message of health first.

Since its inception in 2009, Boston College Students for Sexual Health (BCSSH) has actively worked toward its stated goal of improving sexual health education and providing resources to students. Its latest programs, however, seem to deviate from the organization’s intended mission.

First, BCSSH’s creation of SuperSafe Sites seems to overstep its original mission to provide materials for sexual health. The first Safe Sites, created last year, offered contraception to both prevent pregnancy and the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

The SuperSafe Sites offer not only condoms, but personal lubricants, female condoms, and other items. These distributed materials do not address BCSSH’s sexual health education concerns. None of these items effectively prevent STIs, while some don’t even prevent unwanted pregnancy, so their distribution is only tangentially related to sexual health. Finally, any responsible adult – which should be anyone engaging in sex – should be able to purchase these products for him or herself.

Considering BCSSH’s own logic, the Safe Sites are much more practical than the SuperSafe Sites. The Safe Sites offer resources that might contribute to sexual health education, but the SuperSafe Sites do not offer anything additional, and may, in fact, promote promiscuous behavior that is antithetical to sexual health. The SuperSafe Sites are an abuse of the idea of sexual health, and do nothing to address the concerns raised by the student body in the 2009 referendum that was part of BCSSH’s formation. Sexual health, taken even in the most strictly physical of senses,

cannot be promoted by indiscriminate grab bags of prophylactics. With these sites, BCSSH is not educating students, but supplying them with materials that may lead to the same risky actions that the group purports to discourage.

BCSSH wants to promote sexual health on campus, but these SuperSafe Sites perpetuate the common, and usually misconstrued, opinion of BCSSH’s mission statement. Similarly, BCSSH’s latest event, Sex Toy Bingo, seems to be attempting to show BC students that sex can be both fun and safe. BCSSH does not need to prove to people that sex can be fun. It needs to respect the Jesuit Catholic tradition of this institution when planning events and campaigns about sexual health. There is a line between concern for student safety and merely talking about sex as a facet of life on campus.

Most members of the community support students being aware of and educated about their sexual health, but a much smaller percentage are looking for or would approve of an open promotion of sexuality among college students. BCSSH should instead engage in meaningful talks with administrators, students, and health professionals about what is best for students.

BCSSH can facilitate sexual health on campus more effectively if it takes the time to encourage students to learn more about sexual health for themselves.

Offering lubricant and condoms does not make for improving sexual health education. BCSSH needs to abandon these SuperSafe Sites and return to its mission of education if it wants to have any lasting effect on the state of sexual health on this campus.

Homecoming fiascos Although there were some snafus in the execution, the Homecoming event showed the UGBC’s creativity with a new situation.

In light of noise complaints last year regarding the Homecoming dance held in the Mod lot, the Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC) made the best out of an unfortunate community relations situation by moving the event to the House of Blues. This location offered a fantastic ambiance for students to enjoy the dance, and gave student DJs the chance to showcase their talents utilizing the resources of a professional venue. The process of loading buses at Conte Forum was one that, considering the number of attendees, was well executed. However, the most significant hiccup of the night came when students attempted

to get into the club, policed by an overwhelmed staff of House of Blues bouncers. The fact that there was seemingly no organized method by which students were to enter the club led to a mass exodus from the buses and subsequent mob scene that left some students trampled, and generally disgruntled. The chaos of the scene also meant that some students were wrongly profiled as being “too inebriated to enter” and, thus, were sent home without appeal. Although this aspect of the night was poorly handled, for the majority of attendees, it was a minor glitch in what most agreed was a wonderful alternative to a dance in the Mod lot.

Midterm madness

With several events this past weekend and more in the coming weeks, students should get informed before voting Nov. 2.

With the midterm elections only two weeks away, candidates both in Massachusetts and across the country are stepping up their campaign efforts. This weekend, Boston College and the City of Boston hosted two different events that civic-minded students could have attended in order to educate themselves about the issues at stake in this election.

The Massachusetts College Republicans hosted Scott Brown and Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker, among other Republican leaders, for their annual convention. This event, the product of months of work on the part of the BC College Republicans, was a prime opportunity for any student who is a resident of Massachusetts to hear their state’s candidates speak openly about election issues in an intimate setting.

The Democrats were not without an event this Saturday: Governor Deval Patrick held a rally at Boston’s Hynes Convention Center, with President Obama in attendance speaking on behalf of his longtime ally. This event, although larger

and more publicized, was another excellent opportunity to hear the current governor state his agenda. BC’s undergraduate student body is comprised of 28 percent Massachusetts citizens and, as Boston is the state capital, these next two weekends will offer many local events to become informed about the issues. Whether a Republican, Democrat, or undecided, all should take advantage of this opportunity.

Young voters, particularly those aged 18-22, are notoriously fickle when it comes to voting in midterm elections. A huge percentage of first time voters turned out to help elect President Obama in 2008, but far fewer are projected to turn out in support of their local candidates, such as senators, congressmen, or even mayors.

Legislation that directly impacts students is passed at the local and state level, and it is as important, if not more so, to make your voice heard during these elections.

Even for those from out of state, there is no excuse for remaining uninformed or uninvolved. So register, vote, and make an impact on the future.

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: Kevin DiCesare, Diana Nearhos

Robin Miller/ Heights Illustration

Letters to the Editor The prerequisite for a discussion In the Oct. 7 issue of The Heights, the editorial board called for a discussion regarding GLBTQ issues to move forward. The pastoral care of persons is something very close to my heart, and so I take this issue very seriously.

In our heavily Protestant nation, Catholic teaching is often bent out of shape, read through a Calvinist lens, and misunderstood. For example, the Church does not say that people with same-sex attractions are intrinsically disordered. It says that when that same-sex orientation is disordered. That’s a big difference, and one often confused. The person is not the orientation. Furthermore, the orientation is not a sin itself, according to Catholics, but can lead to sin.

Because of this confusion, which sometimes does lead to the mistreatment of people who identify as gay, some type of discussion does need to take place. Sadly, the editorial board made it clear that they were closed to any type of discussion by paragraph three of their editorial. What the paper desires seems to be a monologue, as the paper seems sure that these questions are all new (they are not), which would mean the tradition has nothing to offer us, and that they know better than theologically-inept Pope Benedict. For starters, the editorial board should never have used such hurtful language to describe celibates as people who cannot “fully participate in society.” Did the board think how numerous priests, religious, and lay people (both with and without same-sex attractions) would feel learning that they do not fully participate in society?

For a real discussion to take place, both parties involved need to be asking the same question. For the

Catholic, that question is how to live one’s life in the light of Christ. And this will lead one, if one is sincerely asking, to the same conclusions the Church has reached about the mind of Christ for the past 2,000 years: Certain sexual acts, including those between people of the same sex, are immoral. However, that does not mean the discussion is over. Often, the discussion will need to be between the individual and a spiritual director, one on one, because the diversity among people who identify as “gay” is so great that nothing meaningful can be said on the whole. Questions like, “Can I live with the person of the same-sex I love?,” “How can I chastely express my love for this person?,” and “Are the feelings I am feeling erotic or platonic?,” will vary from person to person. Other times, the discussion will take place in the public square. People like David Morrison and Eve Tushnet, both Catholics with same-sex attraction, have contributed greatly in this manner. They have shown that one can participate fully in society, in Catholic life, to not deny that one experiences these temptations, to know that one is a beloved child of God, and to love without crossing the line into sinful activity.

What the Church needs to discuss is exactly this: How does one with same-sex attractions love in the light of Christ? It will involve a renunciation of sexual pleasure for some, and as difficult as it is for our postpost modern world to hear, that is the truth. Christ said so himself. The question remains, then, “What, Lord, would you have me do?”

Andrzej Jawie BC ’06

In defense of the gift of sexuality I write in response to Lindsey Hennawi’s letter last week giving her version of our recent encounter when she and other students were handing out free condoms to their fellow students, urging them to “have a safe weekend.” I would like to clarify what took place in that encounter.

When I stumbled across the event that Friday afternoon, I felt a certain obligation to engage. Lindsey says I tried to “take away her freedom to educate.”

That’s simply not true. Never did I say they should not be allowed to be there. On the contrary, I tried to appeal to their ability to reason and be guided by their respective consciences.

What I attempted was to urge them to think more deeply about the dignity of the human person, the gift of sexuality, and what is at stake when people engage in “safe sex.” Lindsey says that I called those students handing out the condoms “animals.” That is not true.

What I did say to Lindsey and her friends is that by virtue of the fact that this initiative is undertaken on Friday afternoons, the obvious context is that students will soon be getting drunk and engaging in reckless sexual behavior. I told them I found this presumption offensive in that it is implicitly treating their fellow students as if they are animals, incapable of making rational, responsible, loving – and therefore human – choices. I pointed out that the presumption here is that college students are unable to control themselves and act rationally and responsibly, so they need artificial means to keep them from hurting themselves and those with whom they will have sex. I find this a sad presumption and more than a little demeaning.

The very act of introducing artificial means to “protect” ourselves from ourselves – even the ones we

supposedly “love”– is characteristic of a less than fully human way of acting, because it diminishes the need for reason and the use of the will to make responsible and truly loving decisions about how to use one’s Godgiven gift of sexuality. Introducing artificial contraception inherently demeans both the gift of sexuality and the people who choose to use it, because it allows them to be less than fully rational, responsible, and accountable for their decisions. The gift of sexuality is cheapened in this way. I find this a sad vision of the human person.

I also find it sad when over the course of 15 years as a Jesuit, I talk to students, and even much older adults who had previously bought into the promise of “safe sex,” and later find themselves deeply wounded emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually in the aftermath of any number of “safe” weekends from their past.

When students are being actively encouraged to make such “decisions” on the weekend, and when I believe there will come a time when they are burdened with great wounds in their hearts because of these “decisions,” this causes me to get a little fired up on their behalf. I ask Lindsey and her other friends whom I met that Friday to understand what was motivating me. I care about these students and their futures. I believe you do as well. The question is, what is the best way to help?

If I was “intimidating” in the course of our interaction, I ask your forgiveness. I also ask you, and all of us, to please think more deeply about what is at stake in all of this. Let’s think in terms of the well being not only of our bodies – certainly that – but also of our hearts.

Rev Chris Collins, S.J.

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The Heights

Monday, October 18, 2010

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Opinions

Thumbs Up Denver – After an extremely solid season opener, sweeping No. 6 Denver during both weekend games in the mile-high city, the Eagles’ chances at recapturing their momentum from last season are looking good. Keep it up in the upcoming face-off against Notre Dame, if only for revenge.

Scott Brown – The freshman Senator came to campus Saturday for the Massachusetts College Republicans convention and spoke to his many loyal supporters. It’s nice to see a politician who’s not up for reelection turning out at such an event.

Open Skate – It’s the most wonderful time of the year, or almost, anyway. Nothing says winter is coming like the hundreds of uncoordinated people falling in Kelley Rink.

Cue the Vince Guaraldi Trio.

Beemer – In order to promote the upcoming Ice Jam event, the athletics department is sponsoring a campus-wide treasure hunt, the grand prize being a brand new BMW. The quest is not for the faint of heart, however, with ciphers and scattered letters. Only the truly worthy will walk away with the key.

Monster parodies – Has Sesame Street always been this pop culturally savvy? First Katy Perry with her, ahem, talents on display, and now Grover starring in a spoof of the Old Spice man commercials, proclaiming that you too could “Smell like a monster.”

This message brought to you by the letter T, as in “topical toddler TV.”

Could it be time for Modulation? units into question, but also the general allure and desirability of Modlife. These happenings prompt us to examine the sort of culture and customs that the Mods create on campus and the implications that they bear.

The qualities that distinguish the Mods from other residences are individuality and access. In terms of William Mooney Sloneker individuality, each free-standing unit Whenever I look at the Mods, I contains only two apartments (by comcannot help but think of Steve Mcparison, Ignacio Hall contains about Queen, and Richard Attenborough, 60 apartments) with a small patio and and The Great Escape. From an easily sparse green space. These features allow surmountable metal fence watched residents to host intense “house parjudiciously by men in uniform, to ties” in their truest form. cramped rooms still lacking sufficient In terms of access, students can furniture, to the shingled exteriors col- enter any Mod at ground level and ored with the most unappealing shades will never have to swipe an Eagle-One of the ’70s palette, card. Anyone, from The stabbing of three weeks seniors next door to I can hardly conceive how people ago and the two attempted underage freshmen, live their daily lives can waltz up to the robberies of Notre Dame there without colfront doorstep of a lapsing under the weekend call not only the Friday night rager tremendous socioor (sometimes) safety of the units into logical pressures or through the backattempting to flee question, but also the general door of a Saturday for Rubenstein. morning pre-game. allure and desirability of Curiously, And the lay of however, the Mods’ Modlife. These happenings the land hardly reputation does not large prompt us to examine the sort discourages at all correlate with gatherings. of culture and customs that its tangible qualiThese two facties. On the surface, the Mods create on campus. tors significantly the Mods appear influence the social to be an unkempt dynamic of the development of residences that were Mods, creating an environment that initially labeled as “temporary” for good resembles a BC version of Fraternity reasons, but on a deeper, social level Row. With buildings that can host they serve as the hub of Boston College “house parties” and an arrangement nightlife. Both juniors in the housing that enables other students to easily lottery and freshmen seeking out some populate the area, an especially fervent debauchery must vie for places in this party scene persists in the Mods. gated community.

These properties, however, have their Of course, this all goes without saydrawbacks. An open-air housing coming. And anyone can understand the baplex such as the Mods enables shady sic rationale for choosing to live in the personalities to bring trouble right to Mods senior year: The countless social students’ doorsteps, much as the perpeopportunities outweigh the lackluster trators of the Sept. 25 stabbing did. accommodations. That, plus grills.

Furthermore, the party-loving Recent events, however, have cast atmosphere has developed into an an unfavorable light on the Mods. The almost debilitating self-reinforcstabbing of three weeks ago and the two ing philosophy. The aforementioned attempted robberies on Notre Dame logistical characteristics have afforded weekend call not only the safety of the the Mods the reputation of Party Cen-

CJ Gustafson

The Catch – The athletics department’s offer of a BMW grand prize elicited an enormous response from students until they read the fine print: The car will not be turned over wholesale to the lucky winner. It will only be loaned out on a two year lease. As anyone who’s been on campus for more than a month knows, having a car in Boston is more of a hindrance than a help, so hopefully the recipient will be from the Class of 2011.

Garment District – As the primary Halloween shopping destination for not only BC students, but also all of the many thousands of undergraduates in the Boston area, one would assume it would be easy to locate purely because of the trail of 18-22 year-olds leading from the T to its door.

That is, however, not the case.

When your store requires a guides assistance to locate, it might be time to consider switching locations.

Bieber – The teenybopper has had a fairly turbulent few weeks. First was his Kurt Cobain comment (which TU/TD refuses to reprint), then his Twitter was hacked, and now he’s been accused of assaulting a fellow pre-teen at a Canadian laser-tag complex (really). That’s three strikes and you’re out, I don’t care how windswept your hair is.

William Mooney Sloneker is a staff columnist for The Heights. He welcomes comments at opinions@bcheights.com.

The real Washington Bullets

Thumbs Down Mobbed – Although TU/TD was as excited as the next early-riser for Homecoming, this anticipation dwindled slightly after waiting for the bus, then being trampled in line to get into the House of Blues. Better planning next time, UGBC.

tral, BC, and consequently numerous social pressures compel residents to perpetuate that. An unspoken demand for parties thrusts itself into the minds of residents. Either the compulsion to host parties or go to parties permeates the Modular psyche.

What’s the final result? Everyone at BC has some idea of the effects this unique form of housing imparts on campus: It is the manifestation of college liberation, and it is full of fun on Saturday night but running on empty by Sunday morning. It is a singular village of undergraduates that provides seniors with a one-of-a-kind lifestyle for their capstone year at BC. Still, both recent events – the stabbing and attempted robberies – and looming ones, like the projected destruction of the Mods for new infrastructure, evoke an uncommonly asked question about these accommodations: Might they be bad for BC? I’ve heard in some collegiate myth that the prototype for the Mods imploded shortly after construction. After some tweaking, the University bought a crop of these always sub-par units.

Whether the story is fact or fiction, it reveals the Mods’ true essence. They were and always have been a means to an end, the scaffolding for building a better BC. The rowdiness and saturnalia that flourish in the Mods are byproducts of this process. Granted, many of the problems over the years have had less to do with the physical characteristics of the place than with the questionable character or decisions of a few individuals, but on the whole, parting ways with the Mods does not sound so unappealing.

By conventional standards (as conventional as an undergraduate standard can be), this sounds like an absurd premise, but it strives for something unusual but admirable: a moderate, civil, and contained social scene on campus.

Of course, we’ll still have to find a place to put those grills.

What is the difference between Ben Roethlisberger, and the level two sex offender who lives on the sketchy side of town in a ramshackle house with an overabundance of window shades and year-round neon Christmas lights? I would say about $100 million.

Professional athletes are well outside both the average Joe’s tax bracket and legal system. Nowadays, restrictions on and off the field are a joke compared to the penalties a normal citizen would receive for his or her illegal actions.

Gilbert Arenas, an NBA player for the Washington Wizards (formerly known as the Washington Bullets … ironic?), pulled a gun on a teammate earlier this year after practice, due to a gambling dispute. Arenas had a prior gun conviction on his record, lied about the specifics of the situation, and had not one, but four firearms in the locker room that day.

Arenas was suspended for 50 games and served no jail time.

What would happen to a college professor if he did that to one of his colleagues in the lunch room over a Monday Night Football bet? Would he be suspended from teaching for 50 classes?

Donte Stallworth, an NFL wide receiver, was driving above the legal limit in 2009. Suddenly, his Bentley struck and killed a pedestrian while traveling 50 mph in a 40-mph zone. He was charged with a DUI and second degree manslaughter.

Stallworth was suspended for one season and was sentenced to 30 days in jail. He was released after 24.

Party Time

BY BEN VADNAL

If this happened to a construction worker coming home from a bar in his 1998 Ford pick-up truck, would he have served more than 30 days in jail for taking someone’s life?

If only Stallworth had someone to tell him not to get behind the wheel of a car. But who was his drinking partner that night? It was none other than Braylon Edwards.

A former Cleveland Browns, now New York Jets, receiver, Edwards was pulled over most recently at 5:15 a.m. on a Tuesday for overly tinted windows and an outdated registration. Police discovered he was intoxicated at twice the legal limit, which is about eight drinks deep in proportion to his body size. Because he caught a touchdown pass and a two-point conversion against the New England Patriots less than 36 hours before, though, the event was treated as a minor incident. Edwards was fined $50,000, which is probably equivalent to the pocket change of that night’s clubbing expenditure, and had to sit out 15 minutes of game time the following Sunday against the Miami Dolphins. In comparison, my parents put me in timeout once for 30 minutes for stealing my brother’s Halloween candy. Edwards is now in full uniform.

As if that weren’t enough, Edwards has also been pulled over for seven speeding violations in the last eight years, one time for driving 120 mph in a 65-mph zone.

Money and fame frequently bail athletes out of trouble. They are able to abscond from legal scrutiny because they possess freak-physical abilities. If sentenced at all, they usually serve highly diluted sentences at camp-cupcake halfway houses or resort-like prisons. It is not fair to equivocate scoring touchdowns on

Sunday to qualifying for legal loopholes Monday through Saturday. At the end of the day, these pros can jump higher, throw farther, and run faster than the normal human body, but that does not make them a better person than the average citizen.

It says volumes about judicial figures that Ray Lewis can be involved in a double homicide at a club, blame it all on his friends, and then tackle people on Sundays. It’s embarrassing to league officials that Ben Roethlisberger can make any public bathroom his bedroom and then cut an already weak suspension from six to four games. It’s degrading to our society that Mike Tyson was paid to pummel opponents in a ring after clobbering women behind closed doors.

Just because these athletes are great at their respective sports does not mean they are good parents, role models, or even people to be around.

The NFL has given Pac Man Jones about the same number of opportunities to play football as the amount of bullets his posse has sprayed in strip clubs. It is a conflict of interest that commissioners handle the suspensions of athletes when their salaries as leaders are generated when such non-lawabiding citizens are on the field. No one is making money when athletes ride the pine. Sometimes, though, an organization’s moral reputation is worth more than putting a few more fans in seats. Professional sports place athletes in the limelight. As a result, they should not be able to hide in the shadows of their money and fame when they break the law.

Otherwise, we’ll just have to bring the Washington Bullets back.

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

Silenced rationality

Jocelyn Rousey Meet Fred Phelps. He is the leader of Westboro Baptist Church – a tiny, cultish sort of church in Topeka, Kan., infamous for, among other things, using the private funerals of slain American soldiers as protest venues. The church congregation, which consists primarily of Phelps’s family and in-laws, claims that the deaths of soldiers overseas are God’s punishment for America’s tolerance of GLBTQ persons.

Phelps and his congregation are about to give the Supreme Court a severe, First Amendment-sized headache and be blamed for the subsequent acute loss of faith in humanity among the rest of the country’s population.

This fate could have been avoided if …

Actually, wait. Brian Gallivan’s “Sassy Gay Friend” YouTube act probably isn’t the best metaphor to use here.

As much as I enjoy Gallivan’s humorous role as the inner voice of reason for literature’s many tragic characters, the situation at hand is far more serious than getting Shakespeare’s Juliet to realize she’s fallen for a stalker.

That said, the Snyder v. Phelps case currently before the Supreme Court is the sort of the story that makes you wonder how some people can so utterly lack an inner voice of reason. In case you’re unfamiliar with the story, in 2006, a group of Westboro Baptist members protested at the funeral of 20-year-old Marine Cpl. Matthew Snyder, who was killed in Iraq. The protestors carried signs that read “God hates fags” and “Thank God for dead soldiers.” The church also addressed Snyder directly in an online attack, alleging that his parents “raised him for the devil.” As a side note, Snyder was not GLBTQ. The Westboro Baptist Church members highjacked Snyder’s funeral, as they have many other funerals across the country, for the purposes of voicing their twisted religious beliefs. As long as the nation doesn’t subscribe to their specific doctrine, which includes a virulent hatred toward GLBTQ persons, Jews, and Catholics, the Westboro Baptist Church claims that soldiers will continue to die in war, that women will continue to die of breast cancer, etc. It is a warped and sickening interpretation of religion.

Matthew’s father, Albert Snyder, successfully sued the church for intentional infliction of emotional distress only to watch the ruling be overturned on appeal. At issue is the church’s right to free speech, regardless of whether its message and tactics sound more like bullying than an exercise in First Amendment rights. This month, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.

The Court, though, has a lot of technical details to work through. Is the “outrageous” standard for the curtailment of free speech too subjective? Is a fallen soldier a public or private figure?

Ultimately, the technicalities might force the Court to be in favor of the Phelps family despite most of the justices’ clear personal biases against the family.

Meanwhile, the rest of the country is left to grapple with the uncomfortable, philosophical questions raised by the church-cum-hate group. We can debate ad nauseam about where to draw the line of acceptability with free speech and how we go about reconciling that right when it conflicts with social norms like respecting and honoring the dead.

Perhaps more important, though, is the sociological question of how our society allows hateful mentalities like that to develop in the first place. Is something wrong with our society or is this simply a symptom of our respect for an individual’s right to believe and say whatever they like no matter how crazy or offensive it sounds to the majority of the population?

Ultimately, it is a test of our tolerance in the face of a profound irony, namely that in the spirit of democracy we have to tolerate even those who readily abuse the rights on which that democracy is founded.

The sadder irony, though, is on the part of those who fail to develop that little inner voice of reason. The dead soldiers who have become targets for the Westboro Baptist Church died to protect the very principles that allow the Westboro members to stand there protesting at their funerals. That Fred Phelps and his family fail to recognize and respect that irony, that they fail to maintain even a shred of decency, is perhaps the saddest part of this whole affair.

Yes, under the U.S. Constitution, the government is not allowed to censor its citizens. Ideally, though, it should never have to.

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

A8

The Heights

Monday, October 18, 2010

Cortes crafts claustrophobic nightmare

By Dan Siering Heights Staff

It’s a plot that sounds all too familiar: Man gets kidnapped, kidnappers ask for large ransom, man’s friends race to save him before the clock runs out. But when watching Buried, don’t expect anything trite. The film, directed Buried

by Spanish Rodrigo Cortes filmmaker RoVersus Entertainment drigo Cortes, does everything except defy standard kidnapper movie archetypes. The plot starts out simply enough. The protagonist, Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds), is kidnapped and buried alive in the middle of the Iraqi desert after his convoy of commercial supply trucks is ambushed. In the coffin with Conroy are limited supplies: a lighter, a flashlight, a flask, and a cell phone. Luckily, Conroy’s underground location gets rather good cell coverage, and the majority of the plot revolves around his desperate attempts to contact the outside world.

Continual, at times comical, frustration

ensues when Conroy pleads for aid over the phone. His exasperating conversations with 4-1-1, the U.S. government, his employers, and his captor aggravate the audience.

However, this seems to be a plot technique that Cortes deliberately employs. The storyline, amid all its fury, gradually marches on until it is virtually sprinting in the thrilling closing minutes. The unfolding plot will effectively glue you to the edge of your seat.

The entire story takes place inside the coffin with Conroy. There are no flashbacks or images of the characters on the other end of the conversations. While this is an ambitious theatrical experiment by Cortes, the director keeps the audience engaged with a plot full of twits and turns. The complications that Conroy endures will undoubtedly shoot a few shivers down your spine, as the plot stays within the bounds of realism to make it all the more haunting.

One downside of the story is its explicit criticisms of the Iraq War and corporate America. Though it is perfectly fine to make a political statement, the writer’s underlying motives occasionally distract the viewer from the film’s artistic intentions of the film.

Aside from an absorbing plot, Cortes also employs a unique style of lighting and cinematography to produce an original piece of work. The film is displayed in a widescreen format that is shorter than most.

This effect, along with several creative camera angles, alters the experiences and truly confines the audience inside the coffin with Conroy. Cortes is also not afraid to use a black screen. The coffin is only lit when Conroy has it lit. The extensive use of darkness spurs the audience to use their imagination and match images with the audio.

Reynolds’ performance in this oneman show, however, is worth the price of admission. From endearing conversations with his mother with Alzheimer’s to heated back-and-forths with his ruthless kidnapper, the actor seamlessly jumps to all ends of the emotional spectrum.

The desperate humanity that pours out of Reynolds’ words compels the audience to take pity on him. Reynolds’ performance is so well delivered that it would be a shame if he gets no recognition come award season. The Canadian-born actor shows that he has come a long way from

A ‘Seabiscuit’ for Disney fans

By Joe Allen

For The Heights Early on in Disney’s Secretariat, the main character, Penny Chenery (Diane Lane), cries on her bed as she listens to her daughter singing in a pageant over the telephone.

Secretariat She has tried to Randall Wallace split her attention Fast Track between overseeing the raising of a race horse, Secretariat, in Virginia, and being a mother and wife in Colorado. As Chenery misses her daughter’s performance to tend to Secretariat, she weeps at her inability to be two things at once. The audience would expect this moral conflict to be revisited, to become a subplotthrough the film. Surprisingly, this subplot is not resolved, but becomes completely obscured as layer after layer of Disney sap begins to cover the picture.

This tendency to dilute or delete the deeper character conflicts creates a kidfriendly movie that will seem insincere to adults.

Secretariat tells the true story behind the raising and training of the horse, who won the 1973 Triple Crown in amazing fashion. When her mother dies, housewife Chenery decides to oversee her father’s horseracing operation instead of selling it along with the family home. She places all her bets on making a newborn foal into a champion race horse, hiring trainer Lucien Laurin (John Malkovich) and jockey Ron Turcotte (Otto Thor-

warth). By risking the family’s fortune and refusing to give up, Chenery helps to give Secretariat a chance to make horse racing history.

The retelling of the key events along Secretariat’s trip to the top is the movie’s major strength. Crucial scenes, from the coin toss that gave Secretariat to Chenery to the obtaining of reputed trainer Laurin, are fun and easy to follow. The pitfalls and doubts along the way to the Triple Crown add suspense to a story about winning against the odds. During the racing sequences, Randall Wallace’s direction shines, presenting the action from multiple viewpoints to increase the excitement and make the races feel authentic. The final race and climax of the movie is truly a heart-pounder.

Unfortunately, the positive aspects of the film are found only in the events directly surrounding Secretariat. When trying to flesh out its characters and to give them meaningful relationships, Secretariat loses steam. Its biggest weakness lies in its portrayal of Chenery. The writer attempts to portray her as an ambitious and hardworking woman, but instead creates a stubborn character that quickly becomes irritating. Lane’s performance does little to improve the character. Through this dual effort, an unsympathetic protagonist is born. This Chenery must always have her way, and scolds those who tell her otherwise. Her family must come second, and having to watch them as they happily accept this fact, never voicing a complaint, proves

almost unbearable.

Each supporting character is lessened by their eventual submission to the often-selfish Chenery. Most of these characters, especially Chenery’s family, seem one-dimensional, as the movie sacrifices character depth for an inspirational Disney story geared for younger viewers. Only John Malkovich rises above the material, fighting through his earlier scenes with bitter humor. Although in the end, sadly, even Malkovich has to yield to Secretariat’s overly sentimental tone, as his character is forced to sing Chenery’s praises. The ultimate goal of the film is to show how everyone must have been happy for Chenery’s accomplishments, even if she hadn’t treated them with respect.

This insistence on a wholly positive outcome thrusts the real-life events into a family-film world full of inconsistent, half-formed characters.

Secretariat, which chronicles many real-life events, ultimately feels fake.

Everything is forcibly adjusted to fit into a “perfect” inspirational story. Chenery spews lines about “never giving up” that appear to have been written by a greeting card company. Most characters are made to service the plot rather than add to it. In a film bursting at the seams with acting talent, the only character that remains fun to watch is Secretariat, whose training and racing sequences become the film’s only salvation. Children may cheer in the theater. Adults will just wish that they had Secretariat’s endurance. n

photo couresty of allmoviephto.com

Ryan Reynolds scrambles to survive in Rodrigo Cortes’ claustrophobic thriller ‘Buried.’ his days as Van Wilder. It is refreshing to see Reynolds deliver such a stoic performance before he falls into the abyss that is The Green Lantern franchise this summer.

With the current movie scene focused on such acclaimed films as The Social Network and Secretariat, Cortes’ Buried is a hidden gem that could easily get overlooked by many moviegoers. But to pass on this movie would be foolish. The film’s unique

concepts and Reynolds’ solid performance comprise a thrilling tale that would make even Poe twist in agony. The exhilarating buildup keeps you squirming in your seat and guessing until the last frames. If for some reason you aren’t afraid of being buried alive before you walk into the theatre, Cortes makes sure that by the end of the film every audience member leaves with a healthy case of claustrophobia. n

Box Office Report title

weekend gross

weeks in release

1 photos courtesy of allmoviephoto.com

1. Jackass 3d

50.0

1

2. Red

22.5

1

3. the Social Network

11.0

3

6

10

4. Secretariat

9.5

2

5. Life As We Know It

9.2

2

6. The Owls of Ga’Hoole

4.2

4

7. The Town

4.0

5

8. My Soul To Take

3.2

2

9. Easy A

2.6

5

10. Wall Street

2.4

4

bestsellers of hardcover fiction

photo courtesy of allmoviephoto.com

The charm of Diane Lane and the intrigue of John Malkovich can’t save the lackluster ‘Secretariat’ from poor comparisons to ‘Seabiscuit.’

1. Fall of Giants Ken Follett 2. Don’t Blink James Patterson 3. Freedom Jonathan Franzen 4. Safe Haven Nicholas Sparks 5. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest Stieg Larsson

6. squirrel Seeks Chipmunk David Sedaris 7. Naked Heat Richard Castle 8. Legacy Danielle Steele 9. Bad Blood John Sandford SOURCE: Publisher’s Weekly

Aging Hollywood stars put arthritis to shame in ‘Red’

By Paul McCabe For The Heights

Audience members should hold on tight to their walkers as they are whisked away by Bruce Willis and company on one of the funniest and most entertaining rides of the year thus far, Red, an action-comedy based on the Homage Comics graphic novel of the same name

by Warren Ellis and Red Cully Hamner.

Robert Robert SchwenSchwentke tke directs a screenplay by Jon and Erich Hoeber that tells the story of retired black-ops CIA officer Frank Moses, played by Bruce Willis, who, beyond flirting over the phone with the accountant responsible for sending his pension check, Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker), has little with which to occupy himself in the monotony of his retired life. However, Moses is cheated out of his peaceful retirement when a CIA hitteam comes knocking on his door and attempts to kill him. Apparently, Moses knows too many clandestine secrets, so he has been blacklisted and marked as a target to be taken out. Moses travels to visit Sarah for an official first date, but Sarah is slightly upset when Moses

kidnaps her and runs away with her for her own protection. What ensues is a hilarious game of cat and mouse as Moses travels around the country, reaching out to old contacts and comrades in an attempt to find out who issued the hit on him and how they can be stopped.

Moses and Sarah are joined by the always reliable Joe (Morgan Freeman), the demented and paranoid Marvin, played brilliantly by John Malkovich, and wet-work specialist Victoria (Helen Mirren). Karl Urban is also effective as the ambitious and straight-laced CIA agent Cooper, charged with the task of hunting Moses down.

With a cast seemingly more suitable for a dramatic production, Red succeeds because of the energy and joy each actor brings to his or her role. With almost every actor playing caricatures of roles which they have established throughout their long careers, Red is cartoonish, loud, and completely irresistible.

While Willis, Mirren and Freeman are all funny and have their own humorous moments, it was John Malkovich as the zany and LSD-addled Marvin and his stuffed pink pig that stole the movie and the laughs from the audience. Moreover, although there was really only one joke (Bruce Willis is old but still a badass),

the humor managed to remain fresh and engaging, and kept the audience laughing for the long haul. In the few instances when the film fell flat in terms of humor, it more than made up for these lulls with some of the best and over-the-top action sequences of the season. Crowds reveled in the fact that Mirren could so effortlessly make the transition from pruning her flower arrangements to mowing down bad guys with a Gatling gun.

Action comedy is a hard chord to strike, but Red does it and does it well.

Perhaps the all-star cast adds credibility to the movie, but it seems that the other major success of Red comes from its thoughtful and introspective take on old age. The issues of growing old faced by all the characters in the movie seem to be all the more real because actors like Mirren, Malkovich, Freeman, and Willis, who is only 55, all face these same issues in the young and beautiful world that is Hollywood. Willis is on Die Hard 5 now, and it seems hard to imagine him jumping onto any more F-22 Raptors off collapsing bridges, but he proves in Red that he is still not done yet, and the legacy of action films he has left behind is only bound to expand.

Red works because it knows what it is, and that is a movie based on a

photo courtesy of allmoviephoto.com

John Malkovich and Morgan Freeman play CIA has-beens who team up for a last hurrah. graphic novel. It does not take itself too seriously, and instead allows actors like Willis and Freeman to revel in all

the murder and mayhem they can get themselves into, with plenty of laughs to go around. n

Monday, October 18, 2010

THE HEIGHTS

iEdit Copy

A9

Now playing on DJ Adams’ iPod

The Music Behind the Man

You Get What You Give – New Radicals Of All The Gin Joints In The World – Fall out Boy She’s The One – Bruce Springsteen Einstein On The Beach – Counting Crows Big Machine – Goo Goo Dolls Not Now – Blink-182 Achin’ To Be – The Replacements Committed – McKinley Place A Moviescript Ending – Deathcab for Cutie Smile – The Jayhawks

DJ Adams grew up in the suburbs of Minneapolis on baseball, Good Charlotte, New Found Glory, and all the angst of early 2000’s pop-punk. At 19, DJ still blasts Blink-182 in his dorm, but struggles with that fact “that my teenage angst is only a year away from no longer being ‘teenage.’” He admits his mother is tone deaf, but contests that that trait isn’t hereditary. Insight from his peers fail to determine this.

Associate Copy Editor Brooke Schneider claims he plays a “mean” air guitar and sings a “mean” Taylor Swift. When he’s not editing pages for the paper, Adams, a communications and economics major, enjoys playing wiffle ball with his friends and traveling to random locations alone, a hobby he enjoys “to a point of pride,” according to Sports Editor Zach Wielgus. Schneider also asserts that “On a rudeness scale of 1 to 10, he’s a 60.” – ZAK JASON

Supermen swarm Wang theater concert A new Gray Music, from A10

Dorian Gray, from A10

of Elson, as her star shines far less brightly than the majority of the headliners, but by the time she wailed her way through “The Truth is in the Dirt on the Ground,” the building erupted in applause. She graced the stage with her presence several more times, ably assisting Costello with the help of The Secret Sisters, an enchanting new band that just released its first, self-titled album. The two sisters’ voices were clear and angelic, blending together in a beautiful, melodious way. Ending their two-song number with the bluesy “The One I Love is Gone,” the sisters proved that they belonged in the presence of all the greats onstage.

“This next artist used to have three names,” chuckled our MC, Elvis Costello, as he introduced one of America’s greatest rockers, Mellencamp. Disappointingly, the singer skipped over hits like “Pink Houses” and “Jack and Diane” in favor of newer, more acoustic numbers, like the chill-inducing “Save Some Time to Dream” and “Longest Days.” His voice is still that fascinating blend of smoky and soulful, and the passion he brought to the stage was unmatched by any other performer.

After Mellencamp’s short set, T-Bone himself took to the stage to introduce his good friend Jeff Bridges, Oscar winning actor and star of movies such as The Big Lebowski and the Burnettscored Crazy Heart. His two songs were good, but unmemorable in a field of incredible talent.

The special guest at the Boston edition of the Revue was Neko Case, one of the members of the band The New Pornographers and a brilliantly talented songstress. She performed several of her own songs in addition to assisting Greg Allman on his hit, “Midnight Rider.” Allman has been through it all in the past year, and he began his set by thanking God “and the man who gave me a liver just a few months back.” He

but the symbolism remains pretty obvious. After all, Oscar comes right out and tells us that the picture is a reflection of Dorian’s soul. If you can’t manage to grasp some of the more subtle meanings after that, maybe you should stick to Captain Underpants.

Dorian Gray is not long. In fact, it’s quite short. Hipsters everywhere could read it easily in a bus trip to and from New York City. Taking time out of our busy schedules to read the classics for fun certainly is not easy, but it can be done.

This novel will keep you interested from cover to cover, not taking more than a few days to complete.

Best, and possibly worst, of all, Dorian gives us a glimpse of what it would be like to do whatever we want. After the first twinges of guilt are gone, Dorian quickly adapts to his consequence-free lifestyle and raises hell. Sure, he makes a few enemies, but he still has plenty of awesome friends. Perhaps we can never truly separate ourselves from our souls, but Dorian gets as close as anyone could hope, and he certainly makes the most of it.

The Picture of Dorian Gray is a chilling tale of the unseen repercussions of one’s actions. It contains many life lessons, most of which you’ve probably heard before, but it never hurts to have a narrative example.

First, just because you can get away with it doesn’t mean you should do it. Yes, you could probably climb the Dustbowl fence and have a sick party among the rubble, but you might stub a toe, and no one wants that. Next, be careful what you wish for.

Dorian wished to be forever young, but paid for it at a hefty price. Finally, don’t judge people merely by their appearances.

That boy in your history class might look like a real catch, but, who knows, he might have a really gross portrait hanging on the wall of his suite’s storage closet. 

PHOTO COURTESY OF ALLMOVIEPHOTO.COM

Mellencamp, John and Costello have come together for “T-Bone Burnett’s Speaking Clock Revue” to promote ‘Waiting for Superman’ (above). was unusually reserved and restrained, perhaps nervous about straining himself after his surgery, but his voice sounded better than ever.

The only standing ovation of the night was awarded to Ralph Stanley, “America’s oldest and best country singer” as Costello so eloquently phrased it. At 83 years old, Stanley emerged in a sparkly silver suit and sweetly sang his way through “Girl from the Greenbriar Shore” and his biggest hit, “O Death,” from the film O Brother, Where Art Thou? The applause and ovation the audience gave the legend as he walked off stage was both a sign of respect and a response to the goosebumps everyone had long after Stanley’s songs ended.

While Leon Russell hobbled onto the stage, Elton John strode confidently toward his piano to the sound of rapturous applause. The two musical legends effortlessly ran through five songs off their new collaborative album, The Union.

John’s pipes are not as nuanced as they used to be, but he still managed to command the stage. Like Mellencamp, John ignored the hits and instead performed only numbers off his new CD, but the audience didn’t seem to mind. Instead, people seemed thrilled just to have the chance to hear Sir Elton live. Sure, the 6-year-old in me died a little when I realized I wouldn’t be hearing “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” but then the two pianists began to play “Gone to Shiloh” as Greg Allman reemerged

to harmonize with the men. It was a truly special moment, with Russell’s gruff and honky-tonk voice meshing against all odds with John’s poppy and Allman’s soulful ones. I would be amiss if I didn’t mention the backup singers exclusively for John and Russell’s set.

It was a privilege to see John cede the vocals to the four women for a section of “Hey Ahab,” giving them the chance to show off their spine-tingling voices.

When all the artists assembled on stage at the end of the show, I have to say I was expecting a group number.

The opportunity was there, but it never came to fruition. It was the only real disappointment in a night otherwise filled with breathtaking performances and collaborations. 

Fashion and folk dance storm Robsham HHM, from A10 of AHANA Student Programs, said that she hoped the program would “promote awareness and encourage respect of diversity” on campus.

The performances kicked off with a ‘Jewelry Scene’ fashion segment, the first of four to come, with ladies sporting gold chained necklaces, diamond chandelier earrings, and flashy hoops over trim, black dresses.

The culture show was rife with dance performances. First to hit the stage was Latin dance group Fuego del Corazon, whose members — four women and two men — reminded the crowd of their infectious sultriness and smoothness.

Their footwork is so precise and quick that if you blink, you might miss it.

Fuerza International Dance Group, a professional dance company based in Boston that specializes in all Spanish dance styles, also came to the stage.

Fuerza International, or “International Strength,” was established 38 years ago.

Their performance featured fantastically fast footwork coupled with intricate work with their beautiful tiered skirts, and the music had a folk-infused vibe.

Indian dance group Masti brought a different flavor of culture to the evening. The group, in just jeans and black t-shirts, wowed with their intricate hand movements and textured cultural dance. The expressiveness of the style is apparent even to the most untrained spectator of Indian dance, which, I’ll admit, I am. Two high school seniors represented f lamenco dance, with languid hip swaying and a rhythmic flexibility.

A performance by professional dance company Ballet Folklorico de Aztlan had a distinct paso doble feel to it, with the women in bright pastel costumes and a man in a structured, classical Spanish ensemble. His footwork, with his quick flicks and stomps of his heel, was incredibly precise and captivating. Salsa dance group Salsa y Control danced a sultry

SANG LEE / HEIGHTS STAFF

Models showcased business attire during the Hispanic Heritage Month’s closing fashion show. Nightwear and jewelry were also included. number with two couples. From classical Indian dance to Spanish folk dancing, the gamut of talent was on display in Robsham. Tickets were free, but given the quality of the show, they easily could have charged admission.

The fashion show segment included a business professional portion, fraught with high-waisted skirts, sailor pants, ruffled blouses, and an evening wear series of looks, which was backed by song “Like a G6,” and brought out the best in bedazzled fashions.

On the musical end, BEATS (Black Experience in America Through Song) provided the musical stylings of “Remix to Ignition,” and the smooth “Bring It On Home to Me.” The group’s strength in soulful, layered performances continued to shine through. Pharlone Toussaint, CSOM ’12, performed Tamia’s “Officially Missing You,” with breathy precision.

Roberson Pierre, A&S ’13, brought a rallying cry to Robsham when he performed his poem “Celebrate Your-

selves.” The poem was a chronicle of hardships, triumphs, and humor – all the makings of any culture. “Celebrate goya beans! Celebrate Telemundo!”

Pierre shouted with urgency and catching charisma.

The final installment of the fashion show was extremely cutting edge in its style: All the student models sported Spanish flags. The creativity and enthusiasm of every culture that supported the month was incredibly inspirational. 

ARTS&REVIEW

A10

MONDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2010

Legends bring down the Wang

NOTES ON A SCANDAL

My 10-year relationship 1

ALLISON THERRIEN Once, I listened to the same song on repeat for nine hours straight.

The nine hours was the length of a very long car ride. The song was Coldplay’s “Clocks,” which, to anyone else, might seem like a strange choice. Of all the songs – of all the Coldplay songs, even – why “Clocks?”

Blame it on the seventh-grade version of myself that didn’t understand eyeliner or appropriate hair spray quantities, and fell in love with anyone who played the piano. Chris Martin, you had me at E flat.

I can’t say that the seventhgrade me was completely delusional – though she did convince a number of people that she could speak elvish – because as much as Coldplay’s flashiest, most radio-catered hit does seem second-rate compared to their later work, its effect on me has hardly lessened. I’ve seen it played live twice, and both times I was a breathless, jaw-dropping mess. During one show, the lights went black for a minute, and then the band was suddenly two rows above me playing an acoustic version of “The Scientist.” I actually cried a little bit.

Growing up with a band is something truly unique. It often means that you’ve seen them go through transformation upon transformation – and that they’ve seen you do the same – and it means you’ve probably spent way more money than you should have on concert tickets.

It means that when you listen to their music you remember all sorts of things that have been intrinsically linked to particular songs. “Clocks” will forever remind me of that neverending car ride. When I hear “Swallowed in the Sea,” I think of summer camp. “Strawberry Swing” is my best friends and me, throwing paper butterflies at each other in the parking lot of the Comcast Center. “Fix You” is me, being dramatic, sitting coatless in the snow crying over some guy.

(Oh, to be 15.)

The most amusing part of my relationship with Coldplay is that when I look at the rest of the music I listen to, it doesn’t seem to fit. I don’t tend to gravitate toward anthems, or toward songs like “Fix You” and “Chasing Cars” that are sustained mainly by their guitar solos. When I really think about it, there are plenty of Coldplay songs that I don’t care for at all. I find it distracting that “Speed of Sound” recycles the same drum beat and three-chord progression that made “Clocks” a classic, and for some reason I can’t get past the odd effect of the French horns in the chorus of “Kingdom Come.”

Still, I know that no other band will be able to have the same effect on me that Coldplay does. I don’t know how it happened, but there it is.

The fact that “Clocks” played in the trailer of the 2003 movie Peter Pan was the only reason I saw the movie at all, and was therefore to blame for my short-lived, eighth-grade Jeremy Sumpter fetish. Part of my hesitation to like Gwenyth Paltrow is probably jealousy. Or maybe it’s just the fact that she can’t stop talking about those ridiculous maple syrup-lemon juice-red pepper cleanses.

I won’t lie. I’ve romanticized and glamorized it all. I have fallen under the Chris Martin spell, and I won’t dispute the fact that doing so is living a great big cliche, but if you know me – and if you read this column – you know that I am endlessly fascinated with the Chris Martins of the world.

They don’t all have piercing blue eyes and the ability to nearly knock over every piano they play, but they are still people whom everyone knows but no one really knows at all. Most likely, the music alone wouldn’t have sustained this 10-year relationship. It was that strange, nasally voice, that piano, and a dash of intrigue.

Allison Therrien is the Assistant Arts & Review editor of The Heights. She can be reached at arts@bcheights.com

2

A MONTH OF CULTURE COMES TO A CLOSE

3

4

The second annual Hispanic Heritage Month drew to a close with a fashion and culture show in Robsham

5

6 SANG LEE / HEIGHTS STAFF

Rock stars come together to support new documentary

BY BRENNAN CARLEY Heights Staff

The audience skewed older, but the energy never abated at T-Bone Burnett’s Speaking Clock Revue this past Saturday night. The Wang Theatre played host to rock icons like Elton John, John Mellencamp, and Elvis Costello, all gathered to support the new documentary Waiting for Superman, a movie about five children and their parents’ struggles to get them into good schools.

All of the musicians put an emphasis on the importance of revitalizing the public school system, and as Jeff Bridges put it best, “Tonight’s about the kids. Let’s hear some music!”

Music producer Burnett’s master plan was to put together a two-city benefit concert, with a house band consisting of the players featured on a number of Burnett’s recordings. Joining for the majority of the night, the bluegrass quintet Punch Brothers put a fresh spin on country music. Their harmonizing and thumping banjos on songs like “Rye Whiskey” served as a palate cleanser of sorts between the big name acts. A down-south kind of Mumford and Sons, they played off the energy of every vocalist they accompanied, stomping around the stage in a cool, yet bouncy manner. It was clear that the band was just happy to be invited, but the impression they made is sure to be a lasting one.

Next to take the stage was Karen Elson, a pale skinned, red haired model turned singer who more than held her own in the cavernous theater. Elson went right into “The Ghost Who Walks,” a haunting, dazzling track that heavily features an oldfashioned organ. The generally older audience at first didn’t know what to make

See Music, A9

1,5 Fuerza International Dance company came all the way from Boston to perform 2 Suggestions for business-ready fashion 3 Fuego del Corazon brought their Latin dance fire 4 The last portion of the fashion show sported flags 6 BEATS performs musical stylings

BY K R I ST E N H O US E | A RTS & R EV I EW E D I TO R riday marked the closing of Hispanic Heritage Month, a month of cultural celebration that had been running since Sept. 15. So how do you close a month of captivating speakers and events? Co-chairs Stephanie Gonzalez, A&S ’12, and Eduardo Dorado, CSOM ’11, decided that a free fashion and culture show for students in Robsham Theater would be a perfect fit.

In only the second year that HHM has been celebrated at BC, the program has gained great momentum. This past month, the committee put together 12 events, including a service trip to Lawrence, Mass. Ines Maturana Sendoya, director of the Office SEE FASHION, A9

‘Dorian Gray’ may be a hipster’s haven

THE BRITISH ARE BACK!

BY KRYSIA WAZNY

youthful protagonist, is having his portrait painted.

For several days he comes What do Dorian Gray to sit for his friend Basil, and Boston University while Lord Henry Wotton have in common? Unforamuses him with questions tunately, it is not a fascinaof life and morality. When tion with opium dens and the portrait is finished, whorehouses, but rather its beauty overwhelms its their bizarre propensity subject, causing Dorian to for attracting hipsters. wish that he might never Why does this classic Osage or witness any change car Wilde novel hold such within himself. This seemgreat appeal for those THE PICTURE OF ingly spontaneous request, among us who spend their DORIAN GRAY once released into the unidays inventing new ways Oscar Wilde verse, comes back to haunt of wearing neon with flanDorian in a shocking and nel and drinking PBR? Because they life-changing manner. The action all are taking advantage of a perfect op- comes down to one question: What portunity to look like classically trained would you do if no one were watching? literary snobs without straining themselves. Luckily, you can reap the same WHY YOU SHOULD READ IT TODAY benefits without trading in your North It’s obviously profound. You don’t Face for a handmade Sherpa cardigan. need a degree in comparative literature to understand the meaning behind this THE STORY one. The plot twists and turns darkly, The novel begins harmlessly. Dorian Gray, the overwhelmingly handsome and See Dorian Gray, A9 Heights Staff

I NSIDE ARTS THIS ISSUE

‘Secretariat’ gallops in

Diane Lane stars in this horse biopic, but will it be brought down by Seabiscuit comparisons? A8

NICK RELLAS / HEIGHTS STAFF

The University Wind Ensemble performed their fall performance in the Heights room this past Thursday and featured selections by British composers.

‘Buried’ in suspense

This political thriller finds Ryan Reynolds trapped in a claustrophobic death trap, A8

iEdit............................................A9 Box Office Report........................A8

SPORTS THE HEIGHTS

Monday, October 18, 2010

Section

B

MONDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2010

Taking two in Denver no sweat for hockey

BY MATT ROSSMAN For The Heights

Winning on the road is never an easy feat. This past weekend, though, the No. 1 Boston College men’s hockey team (3-0-0) Boston College 3 m a n a ge d to 0 Denver do it not once, but twice. Facing off against the No. 6 Denver University Pioneers (1-2-1), the Eagles won Saturday night, 3-0, with a stellar performance from goaltender Parker Milner.

BC took care of business Friday night, too, with a 6-2 win behind a four-goal second period.

Milner saved 20 shots to notch his first collegiate shutout in his first appearance of the season as the Eagles stymied the Pioneers. Denver wasn’t without its chances, though, as it

received eight power plays on Friday and nine on Saturday. While the penalty-kill unit did a perfect job, never allowing a power-play goal, captain Joe Whitney recognized the penalties as something to improve upon.

“In both games we played well defensively, but we took too many penalties, so that is definitely something we are going to work on,” Whitney said.

Defensively, though, BC held Denver at bay in every period. Milner only faced eight shots in the first and second periods, and just four pucks made it to the net in the final frame.

It didn’t take long for the Eagles to take the lead in Saturday’s game, which also helped allow them to focus on defense. In what would ultimately prove to be the game-winner, forward

See Denver Sweep, B4

Forced to starve and hit the refresh button

ANDREW FIELDING / DU CLARION

Patrick Wey and his linemates celebrate one of BC’s many goals during its two-game series against Denver.

But for the first four games of the season, all Eagles fans have is the refresh button and the subdued excitement of a win that they were unable to see.

I beat the system for the seasonopener, latching on to a group of die-hard hockey fans and traveling to ZACH WIELGUS Northeastern to see Boston College’s first win in person. It wasn’t the Clicking refresh on Denver University’s live stats page and seeing prettiest of games, and it was obviously more hostile than the friendly the animated clock switch to “final” confines of Conte Forum, but I was doesn’t compare. still there.

It’s not the same as hearing the As we entered the third period buzzer sound and watching the team tied, 0-0, my friend turned to me gather in a clump to smack each other’s helmets and congratulate each and said, “I forgot how nerve-rackother on a job well done. It falls short ing hockey was.” So did I. It was all flooding back as our tight, 12-person of seeing the goaltender exchange cohort withstood ill-timed and illogiglove-pounds with his teammates, cal chants (“BC sucks! BC sucks!” recognizing that the guy between the pipes was just as responsible for the win.

See Starving, B4

Eagles Run Out of Gas

Florida State keeps possession for final 8:04, limits BC offense to four field goals

BY ZACH WIELGUS Sports Editor

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — On the first play from scrimmage, Montel Harris burst through a hole and Florida State 24 sprinted down the field, with nothing but open field and the Boston College 19 end zone in front of him. But cornerback Greg Reid was a little faster, and caught him from behind at the 13-yard line, stealing a surefire touchdown and forcing the running back to settle for a career-long 72-yard rush.

That was the story of Boston College’s 24-19 loss to No. 16 Florida State. The Eagles floored it, but ultimately, they ran out of gas.

By the end of the first two drives, Harris totaled 139 rushes on just six carries, single-handedly moving BC inside the Florida State red zone with two long runs. At the end of each of those drives, however, the offense was forced to settle for a pair of field goals, and a potential 14-0 cushion was reduced to a surmountable 6-0 lead.

“We had four field goals, and you have to get a touchdown. You have to get touchdowns,” said head coach Frank Spaziani. “We weren’t able to pound it and get it in. We haven’t scored a touchdown for a while, and that needs to be corrected. We need to get better.”

The Seminoles eventually figured out the BC defense, which turned in its strongest performance of the year by forcing four turnovers. By the end of the first quarter, though, quarterback Christian Ponder marched his offense down the field and capped it off with a touchdown, pushing Florida State ahead, 7-6.

Florida State also figured out Harris by the quarter’s end, stuffing nearly every run after the first two drives.

His final 20 carries yielded just 52 yards.

“Later on, we did not rush as well in the second half as we did before,” Spaziani said. “He had two long runs.

That’s good, but you like to run the ball – running the

ALEX TRAUTWIG / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Montel Harris opened the game with a 72-yard burst, but was held in check after a big second quarter. The Seminoles caught up with the Eagles, holding on to a 24-19 win.

RED ZONE WOES

See Out of Gas, B3 Result

Drive Start

Net Yards

FSU 13

-3 yards

Field Goal

FSU 20

1 yard

Field Goal

FSU 13

2 yards

Field Goal

FSU 22

1 yard

Field Goal

Soccer loses lead, but comes out with tie against UNC

BY GREG JOYCE Heights Staff

On another windy, rainy, Friday night at the Newton Campus Soccer Complex, the No. 18 BosBoston College 1 ton College men’s North Carolina 1 soccer team (62-4, 1-1-3 ACC) was able to earn a hardfought point against No. 3 North Carolina (9-2-1, 5-0-1 ACC), much thanks to the versatile play of Conor Fitzpatrick. The junior midfielder scored his fifth goal of the year in the 20th minute on a strike sent in from 30 yards out, putting the Eagles up, 1-0.

That proved to be the game-tying goal in a scrappy game that finished 1-1 after two scoreless overtimes.

“It was definitely good to come out with a tie,” Fitzpatrick said. “We’re at home. We were looking to get the win.

We’re tough to play at our place. I thought we came out pretty good. The first 10-15

minutes we were taking it to them, but the conditions were tough, so it kind of got into a little bit of a scrappy match. It was good to get the point.”

Fitzpatrick’s goal was set up by a pass from Patrick Chin, and the bullet went by UNC goalie Scott Goodwin, who looked surprised that the ball was actually shot from outside the box.

“Chin had the ball, their defender came to him, he sprayed it out to me, and I just noticed I had a lot of room, so I took a touch and just wanted to get a solid strike on goal, and that’s what happened, it went in,” Fitzpatrick said.

“Great goal by Conor, he killed it with the shot,” said BC head coach Ed Kelly.

In the 55th minute, defenseman Sacir Hot went to the turf due to a nagging groin injury, and had to be taken out of the game for Kevin Mejia. Mejia played forward, as Amit Aburmad switched back to midfield, and Fitzpatrick went to play defense.

“I thought it hurt us when Sacir got

I NSIDE SPORTS THIS ISSUE

hurt and Conor had to go back there,” Kelly said. “I thought they took over the center midfield when Conor went [to defense], so that kind of hurt us when we had to change that up.”

The weakness caused in the midfield due to Hot’s injury may have been a factor in the 69th minute, when UNC’s Eddie Ababio set up Alex Dion’s tap-in goal that tied the game for good.

“Just before they scored and stuff like that, I thought that 10-minute clip in there, while we adjusted to moving Conor and taking this guy out and Kevin going in, that we kind of lost our way a little bit in the midfield,” Kelly said. “And then we made the switch back after they scored and Conor came back, he kind of settled back down.”

The Eagles didn’t let up on either side of the ball after UNC scored their goal, but there would be no scoring in regulation, so

ALEX TRAUTWIG / HEIGHTS EDITOR

See Tar Heels, B5

Swigert showcases athleticism

The popular true freshman receiver has always gotten by on his natural athleticism............B5

Amit Aburmad and the Eagles held off No. 3 UNC for most of the match, but allowed one goal.

The art of the field goal

In a new series, learn how a field goal moves from the snap to the kick from Billy Flutie.........................B3

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

B2

Monday, October 18, 2010

THE HEIGHTS

Field hockey wins two non-conference games

BY DJ ADAMS

For The Heights The No. 14 Boston College field hockey team (10-5) edged out visiting New Hampshire Boston College 2 (11-5) on SunNew Hampshire 1 day afternoon, thanks largely to goalkeeper Kristine Stigas. She saved a penalty corner with under a minute to play, laying out to stop the shot with just 54 seconds left, preserving a 2-1 win.

Courtney Tavener scored the Eagles’ first goal of the game 15 minutes into the first half off an assist from midfielder Paige Norris. Jacqui Moorfield further increased the team’s lead when she fired a shot that glanced off Wildcats goalie Katherine Nagengast and into the net.

Emily Kozniuk and Janna Anctil were each credited with an assist on the play.

The offensive production for the Eagles slowed after the first half, though, and New Hampshire got a rally going in the second. Wildcats forward Whitney Frates broke past the Eagles defenders, setting herself up for a one-on-one with Stigas in goal. Frates shot to the right and scored in the 54th minute, bringing New Hampshire to within one with plenty of time for a comeback.

The Wildcats made their play on a penalty corner in the 70th minute, but Stigas made her fifth save of the night to shut the door on New Hampshire and lock down her team’s 10th win of the season.

Two days earlier, despite hurricanelike winds and persistent rainfall surrounding Newton Campus Field for the match against Northeastern, the Eagles surpassed their Boston-area rivals, 2-1.

“I think wind-wise, the game can take a toll on the players physically,” said head

coach Ainslee Lamb. “My assistants did a good job of preparing our team for the weather, so that it doesn’t become a factor. Their will to win tonight was greater than the weather.”

BC showed that preparation just seven minutes in, as it was able to convert a weather-induced sloppy mistake

by Northeastern into the game’s first point.

A Huskies defender attempted to clear the ball from their defensive zone, but slipped up on the pass, instead sending it directly to Norris. She scooped up the mistake and fired the ball to the circle for Anctil, who tipped it in from the left post for her ninth goal of the season.

Northeastern retaliated quickly, though. On a penalty corner in the 14th minute, Stigas was able to block the initial attempt at net but left a rebound that Huskies forward Annie Clayman ripped into the back of the goal for the equalizer.

In the 22nd minute, the Eagles connected on a corner of their own. A stellar pass from Moorfield at the top of the circle found forward Tilly Brampton in front of the right post. She put her stick out, redirecting the pass by Huskies goaltender Lizzie Priest for the winning goal.

BC seemed to be the team with the clear advantage at halftime, leading in shots, 5-3, and earning more corners, 3-2, than its opponent. In the second frame, however, the Huskies applied consistent, disruptive pressure on the Eagles defense.

Finally earning a penalty corner as a reward for its persistence in the 55th minute, Northeastern couldn’t come away with another score. The team sent two shots at Stigas, but to no avail. One was blocked by the defense and another easily saved.

ALEX TRAUTWIG / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Janna Anctil registered an assist on the game-winner against New Hampshire and scored the first goal Friday in the win over Northeastern.

“It’s hard, a team like [Northeastern], they are dangerous up front,” Lamb said.

“They get one or two opportunities, they can make it happen. But I thought we did a good job of staying poised defensively.”

BC held off the Huskies attack, but it was specifically Stigas’ defensive effort that was well noted. The goaltender recorded four stops on the night, including an important one as the clock ticked down to zero.

“Stigas made a key save at the end there,” Lamb said. “That’s an All-American goalkeeper, and [the shot] could have been the difference maker. It could have been overtime. Stigas is a great goaltender. She can keep us in games like that.”

The win over Northeastern was the Eagles’ sixth consecutive victory over the Huskies, and it counted for the team’s second straight win this season. After a stretch of tough losses in similar highly

contested games, Lamb said it is relieving to finally see her team finish out a few close matches strongly.

“I think to be on the winning side is ultimately what your goal is,” Lamb said.

“But I think tonight, what I was really pleased with, is that I felt we performed quite well. Against Yale, we got the win, but we didn’t maybe play as well as we could have. And tonight, we incorporated both – the win and playing well. So I’m happy with that.” 

Dominant Eagles snap three-game losing skid

BY ALEX MANTA For The Heights

ALEX TRAUTWIG / HEIGHTS EDITOR

SPORTS in SHORT

Kristie Mewis (top) didn’t score, but she repeatedly got in dangerous spots. Victoria DiMartino (left) and Amy Caldwell (right) each scored.

ACC Football Standings Atlantic

Florida State NC State Maryland Clemson Wake Forest Boston College

Coastal

Virginia Tech Georgia Tech Miami North Carolina Virginia Duke

Conference 4-0 2-1 1-1 1-2 1-3 0-3

3-0 3-1 2-1 2-1 0-3 0-3

Overall 6-1 5-2 4-2 3-3 2-5 2-4

5-2 5-2 4-2 4-2 2-4 1-5

After winning nine games in a row at the beginning of the season and then losing their last Boston College 3 three straight, 1 Clemson the Boston College women’s soccer team was in serious need of a victory over Clemson yesterday.

Not only did the No. 11 Eagles earn a 3-1 victory, but they did so in a completely dominant fashion.

The dominance started with how BC controlled the ball and dictated the pace of the game, outshooting Clemson in a phenomenal fashion, 39-5. With only one shot for the Tigers in the entire first half, the Eagles had no trouble keeping the pressure on them from the opening kickoff until the final horn.

The key component in this strong effort was simply rest.

“To be honest, we needed a little break,” said head coach Alison Foley. “After the North Carolina weekend and then coming back to Maryland, Virginia, and Virginia Tech, those three games physically [we had] a lot of injuries. So this off week we had and not traveling this weekend was much needed for our program.”

With a full week of rest since their last game, the Eagles came out energized and fast. They jumped out to an early lead in the seventh minute of the game when Victoria DiMartino gathered a pass from Amy Caldwell and took a high arching shot from 25 yards out that hit the crossbar and went down into the goal.

Foley was glad to see that the Eagles were able to get out to an early lead, a point she had been trying to get the team to improve on.

“We’ve created early chances in all our games, and we’ve got to make sure those early goal scoring opportunities are finished off,” Foley said. “Our plays have all been focused on the [penalty boxes] both on attack and defensively.”

And just as planned, the Eagles frequently got the ball into the opponent’s box and kept it out of their own.

With 21:16 left in the first half, DiMartino was again involved in a score when she got control of the ball after a shot

Numbers to Know

11-2-1

that went off the crossbar, and returned the favor to Caldwell, who put the ball past the goalie from 15 yards out for the Eagles’ second goal of the game.

As the first half continued, the Eagles pounded the Tigers defense and continued to send shots at their goalkeeper. At the end of the half, BC was leading Clemson in shots, 19-1, and kept the ball out of its defensive side of the field for the vast majority of the match.

Clemson’s first shot didn’t come until 7:50 left in the first half, when BC had already taken 19.

Stingy defense is something Foley had emphasized with the team in practice, especially on set pieces.

“More goals than we wanted to were scored on us on set pieces, so we really talked about defending our box,” Foley said. “In particular, the back post was sort of our Achilles’ heel so we really focused on defending that, as well as improving communication between our back line and goalie.”

In the second half, the Eagles continued their dominant effort by tacking on 20 more shots at a new goalkeeper, who entered after halftime. One of these shots found the back of the net. With 33:23 left in the second half, Hannah Cerrone sent a corner kick to the back post, and Alyssa Pember headed it into the left side of the net.

With the Eagles up 3-0 late in the game and multiple players dealing with injuries, Foley used her substitutes to give some of the players a break. With a few players in positions in which they weren’t very experienced, the Tigers were able to get on the board with 12:01 left in the game when Heather Marik sent a high through ball to Sam Fortier, who scored from 16 yards out. “[Our defender] got caught out of position, and I don’t blame her for that,” Foley said. “It was unfortunate.”

The difference between yesterday’s win and the previous three losses came down to the quality of play in the box.

“Our play [around midfield] has been excellent,” Foley said. “We’re winning balls, our possession has been excellent, but we just have to keep sharp inside the [boxes].” 

Game to Watch Men’s Soccer

Parker Milner’s record in 14 career starts in net for the Eagles. The sophomore goaltender recorded 20 saves in Saturday’s 3-0 win over Denver.

2

Interceptions for safety Jim Noel in his first career start. He returned one of them for a touchdown in the football team’s 24-19 loss to Florida State.

37.5

Chase Rettig’s completion percentage (nine of 24). The freshman quarterback threw for 95 yards.

Virginia vs.

Boston College

Coming off a tie against the No. 3 team in the nation, UNC, No. 18 Boston College will take on the University of Virginia at home on Friday night at 7 p.m. at the Newton Campus Soccer COmplex. The Eagles will look to get their second ACC win of the year in a potential upset of the No. 6 Cavaliers on the last Friday night home game of the season.

Friday, 7 p.m.

The Heights

Monday, October 18, 2010

B3

football notebook

Replacing LeGrande, Noel shines in first start at safety

By Zach Wielgus Sports Editor

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — He had been splitting time with Dominick LeGrande for five games this season, so when Jim Noel finally got his chance to start at strong safety, he certainly didn’t let it go to waste.

Noel picked off Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder twice, one time returning it for a touchdown, in Saturday’s 24-19 loss to the No. 16 Seminoles. He nearly had a third interception, but the play was called back due to an offsides call on Boston College. He also finished second on the team with 10 tackles.

Not bad for his first day on the job.

“He made some plays,” said head coach Frank Spaziani. “He’s a young kid who was backing up last year, and has been half and half this week. He’s a competitor, and now he’s got to build on it.”

The sophomore safety with blazing speed helped lead the return of the BC defense of old, which forced four turnovers and kept both Ponder and a running back trio at bay for much of the contest.

Noel nearly returned his first interception for a touchdown, but was finally stopped at the Florida State 13-yard line.

“I was looking [for a] touchdown all the way,” Noel said. “That’s what you have to do when you get the ball in your hands.”

Both interceptions looked nearly identical. Ponder locked in to a receiver on the right side, and as the senior quarterback threw it for a comeback or an out route, Noel turned on the jets, jumped the route, and picked it off.

“Ponder was looking at him completely, so I was just following the receiver,” Noel said.

Noel was thrust into the starting lineup after LeGrande didn’t travel to Florida State due to a violation of team rules. Yet, Noel said that he knew days before the violation that he would be the new starter at strong safety.

“I knew about Sunday that I was going to start and get the starting job,” he said.

After Saturday’s performance, he clearly earned the starting nod.

Easing Into It True freshman quarterback Chase Rettig made the second start of his young career against the Seminoles. For the most part, it showed. Rettig finished the game nine-of-24 passing for 95 yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions.

“He played like a freshman,” Spaziani said. “There were some mistakes in there, and he did some nice things and he did some freshman things.”

The first quarter was a rocky one, as he was unable to complete a pass in the red zone after running back Montel Harris strung together long runs to give the Eagles chances at early touchdowns.

Instead, BC was forced to settle for field goals, which came back to haunt them.

“The execution wasn’t there, and I’m going to take the blame on that,” Rettig said. “It was frustrating when you have a big play and the drive stops. It’s still a good thing we were able to get some points, but we need better execution.”

The young gunslinger admitted that there is added pressure not to make a mistake inside the 20-yard line, which may account for his early hesitancy.

“When you’re in the red zone, you understand, ‘It would be nice to have a big play, but make sure the guy is open because you still have a chance to get

three points,’” Rettig said. “That’s the type of situation where you make sure the guy is open, but if there’s a big play there, you have to take some chances.”

Though his first- and second-half stats look fairly similar – five-of-14 passing for 35 yards, four-of-10 passing for 60 yards, respectively – Rettig appeared more comfortable with each snap. He showed particular poise at the end of the third quarter. As the pocket broke down, Rettig dodged a defensive lineman and slid up into a new pocket, hitting receiver Bobby Swigert in stride across the middle of the field for a 22-yard gain.

He never got a chance to win the game, as the Seminoles held possession for the final eight minutes, but Rettig did build a small lead by the early fourth quarter.

That’s a step in the right direction.

Quigley Quandaries Kicking to avoid Seminoles returner Greg Reid had to have been in the back of punter Ryan Quigley’s mind. And while he kept it away from him on most of his eight punts, it affected his consistency.

After two 44-yard punts that allowed the special teams unit to cover Reid well and allow returns of seven and minus-13 yards, Quigley started to struggle. His fourth punt came off the side of his foot, traveling just 23 yards and sailing out of bounds at the Florida State 34-yard line.

Two punts later, he did the same thing, shanking one for just 28 yards.

He put his whole leg into the next punt, sending it 58 yards, but the line drive went straight to Reid, who returned it 23 yards.

Quigley did pin Florida State inside the 6-yard line twice, but also finished with three punts of 38 yards or fewer that didn’t land inside the 20. n

david givler / heights editor

Jim Noel (top) picked off two balls, returning one for a touchdown, and recorded 10 tackles.

BC runs out of gas, falters late at Florida State Out of Gas, from B1

david givler / heights editor

Montel Harris (2) broke two long runs early in the first quarter, but was kept at bay for the remainder of the game.

THE ART OF

A Field goal

ball and two long runs is different.”

Some of that was the Seminoles adjusting their defensive schemes, but some of it was a sudden absence of creative play-calling. During the first quarter, offensive coordinator Gary Tranquill mixed in a variety of draws and tosses with the usual inside cut runs to keep the Florida State defense off-balance.

For the rest of the game, however, BC returned to its usual inside handoff with the occasional shotgun draw play.

“They started figuring out what we were doing,” Harris said. “‘Tranq’ put us in a good position sometimes and called the right play when they were in a certain defense, but they started keying and started figuring out what we were going to do.”

As a result, the productivity of the offense sat squarely on the shoulders of true freshman quarterback Chase Rettig, who made the second start of his career after missing last week’s game with a sprained ankle. As expected, he took some time to settle in, appearing nervous in the pocket and overwhelmed on some throws. By the end of the first half, Rettig was an ineffective five-of-14 passing for 35 yards, and BC trailed, 14-6.

Though his stats don’t indicate it (nine for 24, 95 yards, no touchdowns or interceptions), Rettig developed more poise in the pocket as the game wore on.

What was missing, though, was the ability to finish with a touchdown. The Eagles settled for two more second-half field goals, one of which came off a drive that began on the Florida State 13-yard line after a Jim Noel interception.

“The execution wasn’t there, and I’m going to take the blame on that,” Rettig said of the ineffectiveness

AS TOLD BY

in the red zone. “It’s frustrating when you have a big play and the drive stops. It’s still a good thing we were able to get some points, but we need better execution.

I did all right. I could have done a lot better.”

While he was far from perfect, Rettig led four scoring drives, and thanks to another Noel interception that was returned for a touchdown, BC led, 19-17, with 12:49 in the fourth quarter. But that’s when the defense finally cracked.

In four plays, the Seminoles regained the lead.

Ponder took the snap and ran right on an apparent scramble, but flipped it to receiver Bert Reed on an end-around, which he took down the left sideline for a 42-yard touchdown.

“We had been talking about them throwing a gimmick play at us the whole game,” said linebacker Luke Kuechly, who led the team with 11 tackles. “I saw the one guy go in motion and then he flipped it, and I saw him late. We just weren’t able to get the defense over there. It’s one of those plays where they caught us, and they made a great play.”

After Rettig hit Chris Pantale over the middle for 22 yards and a first down on the ensuing possession, putting the Eagles on their own 43-yard line, the offense stalled for the final time. Two stuffed runs and an incomplete pass forced a punt with eight minutes to go. And when the defense needed to get the ball back, it couldn’t stop the rushing attack of Ponder, Jermaine Thomas, and Ty Jones, who combined to pick up 51 yards on 12 rushes, eating up the rest of the clock.

“They started out-executing us,” Kuechly said.

“They made some plays. We were in the right position, we just weren’t able to come up with it.”

The Eagles pushed it as hard as they could. They just weren’t able to make it to the finish line. n

billy flutie

alex trautwig / heights editor

I put my right knee down, and my left knee is up in a squat position. My left middle finger and pointer finger sets the point of where I want the ball to be held, and my right hand signals the snapper.

When the ball comes to me, I catch the ball, I lift both hands to the ball, bring it down, control the ball with my right hand, making sure the the laces aren’t facing the kicker.

My left hand controls the top of the ball, keeping it tilted slightly right and upward – that’s how Nate [Freese] likes it. After that, I let go with my right hand and leave my left hand on top of the ball.

And just like that, it’s ideally over in a matter of two seconds. Two seconds is a good operation.

B4

Monday, October 18, 2010

THE HEIGHTS

Eagles open Hockey East play with two wins

BY ROBERT T. BALINT Heights Staff

The women’s hockey team firmly established itself as a Hockey East power over the weekend Boston College 4 after turning in 1 Vermont two dominant performances against conference rival Vermont. The No. 7 Eagles (4-0-0, 2-0-0 Hockey East) played on both Friday and Saturday in Burlington, Vt., beating the Catamounts 3-0 and 4-1, respectively.

“I thought we played pretty well,” said head coach Katie King. “It was our first Hockey East match-up, and took care of what we needed to take care of.”

Vermont (0-2-0, 0-2-0 Hockey East) hung tough with the Eagles for the first period of Saturday’s game. The Catamounts held the Eagles scoreless for the first 14.5 minutes of the first period, until BC’s Meagan Mangene found the puck after Blake Bolden’s shot was deflected.

Mangene’s score was not only the first goal of the game but also of her collegiate career.

The Catamounts found an opportunity to equalize just two minutes later, when Emily Walsh redirected Saleah Morrison’s shot around Eagles goaltender Molly Schaus. Walsh’s goal tied the game heading into the second period, but it would not remain so for long.

Five minutes into the new period, Kristina Brown added another BC goal to the tally. Vermont would not threaten again for the rest of the game, and the Eagles added two insurance goals in the third period. Kelli Stack scored off an assist from fellow forward Talyor Wasylk just two minutes into the third period, extending her scoring streak to three games. Brown would score the Eagles’ fourth and final goal at 15:39, bringing the final score to 4-1. Just one goal short of a hat trick, Brown was named the first star of the game.

Stack’s two goals on Friday earned her first star of the game honors, as she carved up Vermont’s defense throughout the day. Her first strike came during a first-period BC power play, with both teams still scoreless. Wasylk’s shot was deflected by Vermont goaltender Kelci Lanthier. Amid the resulting scuffle and pileup of players in front of the net, Stack forced the puck from close range past

DAVID GIVLER / HEIGHTS EDITOR

The Eagles had plenty to celebrate in Burlington this weekend. They swept the Catamounts in a two-game set, riding the goaltending of Molly Schaus and scoring of Kelli Stack in both games.

Lanthier and into the goal, putting the Eagles on the board, 1-0.

“Kelli has a knack for scoring, a knack for finding the net,” King said of her Olympian forward. “That’s what we’ll be looking for her to do all season long.”

In the second period, Stack doubled the Eagles’ lead after scoring a backhanded goal on another BC power play.

Then, in the third period, she forced a turnover behind Vermont’s net. Wasylk capitalized on the change of possession,

taking the puck and scoring the third and final goal of the night.

King has been impressed with the chemistry between the two forwards, as Stack and Wasylk have combined on five of each other’s nine goals on the season. Wasylk, who King describes as the “quintessential power forward,” has three goals and five assists after the weekend, which gives her a total of eight points.

She trails only Stack for the team lead, who has nine on the season.

Fans forced into starvation Starving, from B1

every eight minutes, even when BC is winning, doesn’t hold much water) and started our own in response (though the “Lets go Eagles!” chant isn’t as effective when only three rows are doing it).

Quieter chants aside, I, along with a select few others, were there. Our thirst for hockey was quenched, albeit only slightly, but it gave us our first taste in six months.

After that 2-0 morsel whet our appetite, we are forced to starve for three weeks.

In a befuddling move by the masterminds who crafted the schedule, the national champions must delay raising their banner for three weeks after the season-opener. I understand that opponents were scheduled years in advance – the two-game set against Denver was agreed upon four years ago – but the actual date of those games is undetermined until early September.

What I would love to know is why the best team in the nation is forced to delay its home-opener until Halloween?

It’s a question I will likely never have answered.

Ask head coach Jerry York or any of the guys on the team, and they will tell you they are happy to be presented with early-season tests, made even more difficult by their place away from campus.

Part of that is absolutely true, and the other part – the one that stings a bit from being snubbed from home ice after winning it all – will forever remain buried under pride and respect for the game.

In all important measurements, the Eagles are

passing the unfavorable start with flying colors: a 3-0 record, 11 goals scored to two allowed, a phenomenal penalty kill that has not allowed a powerplay goal in 23 chances. Captain Joe Whitney had to have been grasping at straws when he identified the large number of penalties as something the team needs to work on. After all, there really isn’t anything else that needs tightening after a trio of contests.

So what am I complaining about?

I’m miffed that I don’t get to see it. BC already struggles with generating respectable crowds, and as possible as it is for a 4-0 or 3-1 start to create more buzz, I’m worried the campus has already forgotten about hockey. By the end of October, we could have had the majority of waffling Superfans fully on board with the defending national champions. Instead, we’ll be trying to pick the interest off the ground for the banner raising on Oct. 29.

Will Ice Jam help? Maybe. At least it’s a fresh idea that should excite better than the sign hanging in the Quad that desperately informs students of that night’s hockey game.

The men’s hockey team doesn’t have to win over those of us hitting refresh every 15 minutes.

We’ll be in Conte Forum when we finally get the chance.

It would have been nice, though, to have convinced the students who are settling into indifference before November.

“[Wasylk] is finding a way to get to the net, and Kelly seems to be finding her pretty well,” King said.

Back on the Eagles’ side of the ice, Schaus maintained her excellent quality of play throughout the weekend. She blocked all 22 of Vermont’s shots on Friday, earning her 19th career shutout and second on the season. On Saturday, despite letting in a Catamount goal, Schaus blocked the opposing team’s 19 other shots, totaling 41 on the weekend.

Her stellar play is nothing new by her head coach’s standards.

“We had some big saves by Schaus, as usual,” King said.

The Eagles are riding high on a fourgame winning streak, which is even more impressive when considering the fact that they have yet to play at home this season.

“It was great to see us come out on the road and win two games like that,” King said. 

“In both games, we played well defensively, but we took too many penalties, so that is definitely something we are going to work on.”

Joe Whitney, Captain

Men’s hockey fires on all cylinders in series sweep

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

ANDREW FIELDING / DU CLARION

Parker Milner was perfect on Saturday night, turning away all 20 Pioneers shots. It was his first career shutout.

Denver Sweep, from B1 Jimmy Hayes picked off a Denver pass in the neutral zone and, carrying the puck himself, found the back of the net on a wrist shot that sailed past Pioneers goalie Sam Brittain just 1:28 into the contest.

From there, the Eagles never looked back. At 8:57 in the second period, defenseman Tommy Cross scored the second goal of the contest, beating Brittain glove-side on a shot from the slot. Passes from Paul Carey and defenseman Brian Dumoulin set up Cross.

Desperate for a goal, Denver removed Brittain, which Cam Atkinson capitalized on. With 16.2 seconds remaining in the game, Atkinson, on a diving effort, put the puck into the empty net to clinch the victory.

On Friday night, the offensive attack was marked by an explosion in the first half of the second period.

Already up 2-0, the Eagles took advantage of the poor execution in the neutral zone and netted three

goals within three minutes and 24 seconds, putting the pioneers in a 5-0 hole.

At 9:17, Cross scored on an assist from forward Kevin Hayes. Not a minute later, Kevin’s brother, Jimmy, followed that up, scoring the third goal of the period to put BC up, 4-0. Lastly, at 12:41, Kevin Hayes scored a goal of his own, capping the Eagles’ four-goal offensive attack.

“Goals come in bunches,” Whitney said.

Whitney opened the scoring for the Eagles at 16:33 in the first, and finished the game with the goal and two assists. Atkinson brought the score to 2-0 with his only goal of the game early in the second before the three-goal spurt. Atkinson added to assists to match Whitney with a team-leading three points.

Brian Gibbons capped the Eagles’ scoring with a short-handed goal on a breakaway late in the third period, the only special teams goal of the series.

Cross, Atkinson, and Jimmy Hayes each head home having scored two goals in Denver. 

THE HEIGHTS

Monday, October 18, 2010

B5

Athletic Swigert expands role on football team

BY DREW MCKAY For The Heights

Already down 21 points to their archrival, Notre Dame, with just a few seconds left in the first quarter, the Eagles desperately needed a spark. Quarterback Chase Rettig dropped back and looked through his progressions before finding a wide-open Bobby Swigert (pronounced Swag-ert) for a 58-yard touchdown. It was the first time in Boston College history a true freshman quarterback threw his first career touchdown pass to a true freshman wide receiver who had never before caught a touchdown pass.

It’s a bit complicated, but that was the night Swigert made his mark.

At the end of the day, Swigert had caught seven passes for 137 yards and a touchdown, burned numerous defensive backs, and fascinated an entire fan base.

Everyone was mesmerized by Swigert’s awe-inspiring athleticism, but not everyone knew who the Lousiville, Ohio, native was.

“I’m more of a relaxed, kind of chill kind of guy,” Swigert said. “I don’t talk too much, I just say what I feel needs to be said usually. I’m not the main center of attention, I kind of lay low.”

Swigert might be shy off the field, but on it, he can’t help but stand out. A two-sport star in high school, Swigert was recruited by many top football (Nebraska and Michigan) and baseball schools.

Swigert, who played shortstop in high school, is unsure if he will play baseball for the Eagles this spring, but has seen how baseball has improved his football abilities.

“It helps a lot, just being an all-around

DAVID GIVLER / HEIGHTS EDITOR

True freshman Bobby Swigert has been a bright spot on the BC offense this year, leading the team with 270 receiving yards and two TDs. athlete,” Swigert said. “Just when the ball’s in the air, just reacting to it immediately. Not thinking about it or anything, just opening up to the ball and making a play on it when it’s in the air. It just helps a lot.”

Swigert not only starred in multiple sports, but also at multiple positions, playing wide receiver and defensive back in addition to his punt and kick returning duties. Swigert even played quarterback his senior year, throwing 71 passes for 760 yards before a foot fracture ended his season after just four games. Swigert still

earned All-County awards despite the injury-shortened senior campaign.

Swigert takes such pride in his athleticism and versatility that he considers being awarded the 2008 Ohio Army Iron Man of the Year award his greatest athletic achievement.

“In high school, I got the Iron Man of the Year award, which is the best two way player in the state,” Swigert said. “That was definitely a huge thing for me. I love playing defense, as well. Being an allaround player is big for me instead of just one thing. Like right now, I love returning,

doing that as well as receiving.”

Swigert’s affinity for making plays led his high school coaches to introduce him to the new spot at kick returner.

“I started returning my sophomore year, and I love doing it,” Swigert said.

“I like all aspects of returning. Getting a chance, as a playmaker, you love having a chance to have the ball in your hands with 10 yards of space and a couple holes, seeing if you can exploit those holes and do your best to get in the end zone, it’s definitely really exciting being a player like me getting into open space.”

Swigert knows his athleticism and dynamic playmaking ability have helped him adjust to Divison I football but acknowledges that the difference between high school and college football has been a shock.

“It really is a huge transition,” he admitted. “Just knowing everything that goes on the defense and all the tiny details you have to know as a receiver to be successful. It’s insane, I had no idea it was this detailed to be a receiver.

“You have so many options depending on what the defense is doing. Just catching up to the speed and the game atmosphere is obviously completely different.”

Swigert, who compares his playing style to that of the Patriots’ Wes Welker, said that wide receivers coach Ryan Day and the older receivers, specifically Ifeanyi Momah and Billy Flutie, have helped him adjust to the faster version of football.

“Coach Day definitely is [helping me adjust], and the older guys, it’s amazing how much they know about defenses,” Swigert said. “Anybody in our receiving corps could be a quarterback, as much as they know about defense.”

Along with the help of Day, Momah, and Flutie, Swigert said his performance against Notre Dame has made the transition process easier.

“It definitely changes [my confidence],” Swigert said of his emergence against Notre Dame. “That’s the biggest stage in college football. Notre Dame is the biggest tradition in college football, [and it was] national television at night. I feel like if I can be on that level, then there are a lot of levels I can succeed on.” 

Sure-handed goalkeeper survives wet conditions

BY STEVEN PRINCIPI For The Heights

Typically, sloppy conditions, a wet soccer ball, and a top-five opponent do not bode well for the success of a keeper.

Then again, Justin Luthy is anything but a typical keeper.

In an all-around messy game for the men’s soccer team, filled with steady rainfall and constant pressure from No. 3 North Carolina, Luthy stood strong.

Earning a 1-1 draw with one of the top teams in the nation had a lot to do with Luthy, as he consistently turned away UNC opportunities and was determined not to let a single ball into the box.

With North Carolina outshooting the Eagles by a decisive 16-9 margin, Luthy clearly played a vital role in gaining a point for Boston College.

“I thought Justin had a tremendous amount to do,” said head coach Ed Kelly. “Especially after [defender] Sacir [Hot] went down.”

Luthy denied shot after shot by the North Carolina strikers, and also turned away several cross attempts and corners that could have led to good scoring chances.

In the first half, he was unbeatable, as BC was outshot, 7-3, yet managed to enter halftime with a 1-0 lead. After Conor Fitzpatrick got the Eagles on the board with a beautiful goal from distance, UNC put incredible pressure on the BC back four, leading to cross attempts and tricky shots that Luthy handled without a problem. He wrapped up the first half nicely by handling what could have been a difficult corner with relative ease, using a little punch to clear the ball out and get rid of the potential danger.

Luthy had the added problem of playing in very difficult conditions. In a match with steady rainfall, heavy winds, and lights that made the ball difficult to see, he made no mistakes in handling the ball, and made sure that every one of the balls that needed attention was taken care of.

“It was rainy out there tonight, but it wasn’t re-

ally that wet,” he said. “I’ve played in much tougher conditions than this tonight.”

Luthy did admit, though, that the wind factor was too important to downplay.

“It was really, really windy,” he said. “I think it sort of got into my head for a bit, I had a couple of bad kicks. It didn’t lead to any goals, which was fortunate, but playing in these conditions is really more mental than anything.”

If there were a time when Luthy needed to prove his mental toughness, it came at the beginning of the second half. North Carolina put enormous pressure on BC, controlling possession and refusing to turn it back over to the Eagles. The Tar Heels littered the box with numerous crosses, and every time, the ball was knocked away or controlled, either by a defender – or more often, by Luthy.

“We were really organized back there tonight,” Luthy said. “It was one of our best defensive performances in a long time. They had a goal, but it was kind of a weird one. We probably could have defended it a little better, but I really think that this game was one of our better defensive performances since I’ve been a part of this team.”

The goal scored by North Carolina came with about 30 minutes to play in the game, but was no fault of Luthy, as two UNC players managed to find themselves behind the BC defense, leading to an easy tap in. Luthy, however, did not dwell on this goal, as the Tar Heel attack continued, forcing him to make more difficult saves. On one outstanding play, he bolted from his net and dove in order to knock away a threatening ball from an attacking player.

UNC had been previously unbeaten and untied in five ACC matches, but Luthy was not content with just one point in this game.

“It’s not bad to tie, it’s better than a loss, but we want to start taking more points away from these ACC games, especially when we’re at home,” he said.

With a goalkeeper like Luthy playing up to his full potential, the points should start coming more easily. 

JOHN QUACKENBOS / BC MEDIA RELATIONS

Despite playing in windy and rainy conditions against No. 3 UNC, Justin Luthy recorded three tough saves in the tie.

Fiztpatrick goal earns tie with No. 3 UNC Tar Heels, from B1

ALEX TRAUTWIG / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Kevin Mejia, who replaced an injured Sacir Hot in the second half, helped the BC defense eke out a 1-1 tie Friday night against North Carolina.

“I think, not that both teams are happy with a tie, but when you play like that in [these] conditions, you don’t want the game was forced to overtime.

After a scoreless first overtime period, to lose,” Kelly said.

Especially against the No. 3 team in the BC had its best chance to score with nation, coming five minutes left to play in the second “It looked like we were going out of the game with a point was overtime. Chin put to score in the overtime. But clutch. Fitzpata cross into the box rick and the Eait’s easy saying that from from the left side of gles will take it. the net, but the conthe sideline when you’re “ It ’s re a l ly necting header from good,” Fitzpatnot running around in the Aburmad was saved rick said. “UNC’s

by Goodwin. freezing cold.” def initely one “I thought, in of the national the overtime, it was -Ed Kelly powerhouses. It’s about having the ball good for the team Head Coach more, getting a bit morale getting a more energy and attacking,” Kelly said. “It looked like we were point against them. So overall, I think it going to score in the overtime. But it’s easy was not what we were looking for, but it’s saying that from the sideline when you’re definitely a positive step forward.”  not running around in the freezing cold.”

The field conditions at Newton were far from ideal, as the turf was slippery, and the effect of the wind and rain could be seen on many balls that didn’t end up For a slideshow of the game, visit where they were intended to go. www.bcheights.com/sports

The Heights

B6

Monday, October 18, 2010

Coming to America: A glimpse at the life of a Boston College exchange student Lucy Watson Flashback to high school science class. Before leaving my native Australia to commence my exchange here at Boston College, my fellow travelers and I were subjected to a series of mind-numbingly dull talks about the predictable issues of travel insurance, visas, budgeting, and enrollment, as well as the not-so-predictable matter of who to contact if we happened to fall through a ground-level window into an empty indoor swimming pool while away (this, alarmingly, did happen to a hapless Aussie in Copenhagen, so beware). Every effort was made to arm us with the organizational, mental, and emotional tools to cope with the upcoming months of living in a crazy, strange land.

A subject that was particularly dwelt upon, by a terrifyingly serious professor from the psychology department, was that of “culture shock.”

Just in case we weren’t avidly taking notes, the University kindly provided us with a summary of major points in neon yellow book form. Remarkably, my Pre-Departure Guide has made it with me all the way through the 24hour trip to the United States, and has survived the spring, the summer, and the move from one chaotic off-campus house to another.

I paid scant attention to my booklet at the time of my departure, assuming that the cultural differences

between Australia and America could never really be so pronounced that I would suffer any of the listed symptoms of culture shock: frustration, mental fatigue, boredom, physical pain, and oversleeping (surely what they describe here is the normal state of the college student at exam time, anyways). But now that I have come to reflect on my first few weeks at BC, I’m taking my guide off the bookshelf where it sits between my Lonely Planet USA and Bill Bryson’s aptly titled I’m a Stranger Here Myself, and I find that it makes for some interesting reading.

Apparently, upon arrival at my host institution, I might be expected to begin to ask uncertain questions of myself, such as “Will I find friends?” and “Will I be a successful student?”

These concerns seem reasonable enough, although I’m mildly disturbed to read that other questions that might spring to my mind are “What does it mean when someone looks directly into my eyes?” and “Should I trust this friendly stranger?” Fortunately for me, I’ve not had to ponder any of these particular queries too seriously thus far at BC, but there are some that I’ve been able to apply and some, through a process of assimilation, that I’ve been able to answer.

Q: What is appropriate clothing in the new culture? A: North Face jacket and backpack, some Sperry’s, or maybe Jack Rogers. Perhaps a hint of Burberry if you’re feeling lavish, and definitely something Vera Bradley.

photos courtesy of Lucy Watson

Cape Cod bracelet, but only if you actually lined up at Eden for it. Q: How do people eat? A: Off plates made of environmentally friendly recycled paper fiber of course, in groups of no less than two. Never. Alone. Q: Should you visit people in their homes? A: Yes, as long as they’ve achieved that perfect balance of off-campus entertaining: enough beer for you to mooch, but not so many noisy guests that the cops will intervene five minutes after you arrive. Otherwise, steer clear and head for greener pastures. Q: What constitutes acceptable forms of physical contact in the host country? A: Well … errhmm.

I find that I did indeed unwittingly apply many of the nuggets of advice the booklet proffers. Take this gem: Observe how people in your new environment act in situations that are confusing to you. Clearly, this was written with Carney’s and the Eagle’s Nest in mind! When I think back to my first college dining experience, I see the benefits to the exchange student of intense anthropological observation as a precursor to action. Immediately overwhelmed by the cavernous space of the dining hall and the excess of choice before me, I made a beeline for a refrigerator of pre-prepared meals and selected a seemingly innocent plate of sushi. Then I faced the daunt-

ing prospect of actually purchasing my selection, and it became immediately apparent that the fast-moving, seasoned diners before me in the line were not employing anything resembling money as they passed through the register. After much fumbling and an impatient offer from the girl behind to pay for me, I pulled together the correct dollars and cents. Finally, having managed to find an empty table and after briefly playing with my non-BlackBerry phone so as to appear nonchalantly popular, I went to eat my hard-won lunch only to find that it was, well, completely frozen.

As my stomach grumbled through my afternoon classes, I employed another of the book’s handy hints: Try to see the humor in confusing situations that you encounter as laughter is often the best medicine.

Here’s another: Believe that you can learn the skills to make a satisfactory transition. Gradually try to apply some of the skills that you are learning. Okay, what skills have I learned?

After my first thrilling encounters with snow and at least three panicked, adrenaline-rush-inducing near falls in highly public places, one of which involved clutching at the arm of an alarmed passing Superfan (sorry ’bout that mister – see you at Hillside sometime?), I’m now prepared to walk

over the frozen quad with an air of je ne sais quoi. And I am now most proud to be able to appropriately employ a range of new words, including, for example, the imminently useful “wicked” and “sketchy” (“Wow, it’s wicked sketchy the way that friendly stranger is looking directly into my eyes”).

And speaking of appropriate usage: Be guided in conversations in the initial period of exchange so as to determine what is and what is not appropriate to say. “I so admire Ray Allen’s ability to make three pointers, don’t you?” Appropriate. “I just love New York City / the Yankees / the Giants.” Not appropriate.

At the end of the day, “culture shock” was much more of a reality than I could ever have anticipated, and at times, Boston seemed a strange, strange land. But now, when I find I can saunter into Hillside, pick up a veggie panini (chips and a pickle, duh), and swipe away my Eaglebucks, I smile to myself a little and think of the booklet’s last tip: Acknowledge your progress in adjusting to the new culture. Think of all that you have learned since the day you arrived.

Lucy Watson is a guest columnist for The Heights. She welcomes comments at features@bcheights.com

Editors spend one last night in the Dustbowl

By Matthew Deluca Editor-in-Chief

Not the kind of person you want to see when you’re sitting there, in what was then still the Dustbowl, hunkered down with a pink lamp plugged in at the base of a tree, a 1000-page biography of Harry S. Truman, some crackers, and a radio tuned to ZBC. Though the radio station office is a couple hundred yards away, we can’t seem to get a good signal. The Boston College Police Department officer approaches.

I’ve seen some strange things in my time, he says, but I’ve never seen this.

It’s about 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept.

30, and News Editor Michael Caprio and Imyself have decided to spend as much of this evening as we can in the Dustbowl before construction crews move in and the fences go up.

By this time, several groups of guys have walked by singing “Kumbaya,” each presumably thinking that his lyrical commentary on our quasi-hippie status is original and tremendously comical. Our pink lamp, which more properly belongs in a 90-year-old woman’s guest bedroom than out in the elements, keeps falling over in the wind, so we take the shade off, which helps a bit. Each of us has assignments due the next day, so, in the tradition of Dustbowl scholars, we crack open the books.

But we’re interrupted, to our satisfaction, by passers by, who, for the most part, want to chat. This is, after all, why we’re out here – to celebrate the passing away of a campus landmark. People are attracted, we hypothesize, to the strange, alienated domesticity of our situation. In addition to our lamp, we have a blanket and pillows that we’ve spread out on the ground. We try to lie down on the blanket and assume stargazing posture, but the tree we’re under insists on dropping twigs and desiccate twisted bean pods down on us.

Mike and I thought we’d be able to use our conversational skills and journalistic know-how to attract people to us, but in the end, it’s the lamp that’s the big draw.

No one seems to understand how it’s being powered. They’re mystified by the source of the electricity – “Where does it come from?

How did you do that?” We try to get them to talk about the Dustbowl, about what it will be like to walk around a big green fence to get to McElroy, about how, if they are juniors

or seniors, the campus will look different when they come back for alumni events. No one is interested in any of this but Mike and I, however. “Where’d you plug it in?” they continue to ask.

Around 9:50 p.m., the lamp falls over and the light bulb, which no longer has a shade to protect it, breaks. This is a major problem.

Not only does it mean that we’re sitting in the dark, making us look less like a family in their living room and more like potential police blotter material, but we’ve lost our conversation piece. Luckily, Mike is back by 9:58 p.m. with a surplus bulb from the Heights office.

Around this same time, we attempt two games of chess, and have a brief discussion concerning which of the adventurers present bares the most likeness to Sir Edmund Hillary, and which to Tenzing Norgay. We consider how, if a tree limb falls on us, causing our untimely demise, we will forever go down in Heights history as having perished in the line of duty, and we meditate soberly on this.

We’ve retuned the dial at this point, it is around 10:40 p.m., to a classical station that becomes increasingly melancholy. A visiting editor is spooked by a spider.

At 11:20 p.m., a member of Sexual Chocolate, leaving a practice in McElroy, walks by and gives us several packets of Swedish Fish, which we think might be used to trick passers by into conversation. Then we consider that even red jelly candies will do little to penetrate the wall of isolation erected by those who, with their headphones and heavy backpacks and downwards glances, can walk by two people sitting outside under the threat of heavy rains (with a lamp, no less, and yellow pillows). But they, too, have a place in the Dustbowl, I suppose.

Around 11:37 p.m., we see lightening in the distance, but don’t hear thunder. We’re joined briefly by Sam Lee and Connie Bahng, both A&S’13, who walk across the grass from Carney toward us, first to enquire about our lamp, but then to reminisce about early spring days spent on the grass: with friends For the most part, though, we don’t have to explain ourselves. People walking by are overheard saying something about “Monday” (when the fences are to go up), or “Stokes,” or “the last night.” The questions remain: What will happen to the flagpole, or the trees, or the solar-powered trashcan? It’s such a nice night out, and it occurs to us, why didn’t people do this before? n

Kevin Hou / Heights EDitor

B7

The Heights

Monday, October 18, 2010

How-To

Organize your cluttered space to clear your head Allie Bowman Organization directly impacts our ability to perform academically. In order to achieve the best possible results, you must strive to maintain order not only within your living environment, but also within the schoolwork itself. In keeping an organized dorm room, you will find that you can create a more calming and productive atmosphere. No longer will you need to seek refuge from the mess on your floor by nestling yourself into a cubicle in O’Neill Library.

Getting started can be the hardest part. The following are some good tips to help you effectively keep your dorm room clutter-free and make the most of the little bit of space with which you have to work.

1. Utilize closet organizers. Organizers are the best way to most efficiently use your space. For larger items that you want to store away, use big Tupperware containers.

These are great places to put your seasonal items. The less clothing there is to choose from in your closet, the less cluttered it will all seem. Shoe racks will have the same effect. Shoes scattered on the floor will always make a room seem less put together. Give them a home by investing in a hanging shoe rack.

Little additions like these will make bed. No longer can mom yell at you big differences in getting your room for hiding stuff there when she asks fully organized. you to clean your room. Here it is 2. Get desk organizers. Similar encouraged, and you would be doing to closet organizers, desk organizyourself a disservice to not capitalize ers will help keep you from becoming on this space. too cluttered by giving each item its Take the big Tupperware containown home. Purchase ers you’re using to the following items: a store your summer In keeping an desk drawer tray and and winter clothing organized dorm a filing cabinet. With and put them there. a desk drawer tray, room, you will find The beds will even you can keep all your high enough for that you can create stack office supplies neatly you to store a fridge a more calming organized so nothunder there. Make the ing gets lost. This is a most of this. It will and productive much more favorable get everything out of atmosphere. No alternative to having the way and, in the everything carelessly longer will you need end, make a world of a thrown in a drawer difference. to seek refuge from because it leaves 4. Put your clothes less of a possibility the mess on your floor away after you’re done for items to get lost. them. When by nestling yourself with The same applies to getting dressed, touch a filing cabinet. Over something once. If an into a cubicle in the course of the outfit doesn’t work, O’Neill Library. semester, place the put it away immedihandouts you receive ately. Wasting time in this cabinet. This way you know leads to more accumulation of reexactly where they are, and you can jected outfit options. We all struggle lessen the load you carry with you to at some point or another to find class. something to wear, but in a time of 3. Make use of under-the-bed such confusion, it is always better to storage. One of the most beautiful leave the room feeling more confident things about organization in a coland put together, than flustered and lege dorm room is that it naturally disorganized. encourages you to put stuff under the There is nothing more frustrat-

ing than coming home to a pile of perfectly clean clothes on the floor, or having to differentiate between the clean and dirty clothes the next time you do laundry.

5. Clean before bed. It only takes five minutes. Even if you walk in at 2 a.m., following a long night of paper writing in the library, just take a little bit of time to organize anything that may be out of place in your room.

You will be glad you did it. It is always much better to wake up in the morning to a clean, organized room, than to one that looks like it just barely survived a natural disaster.

The five minutes spent can be made up in sleep, so there really is no lost time in the end and you will start your day off much more effectively and efficiently.

At first, the task may seem daunting, but through using these tips, you should be able to get a better grasp on the degree of organization in your room. It’s unrealistic to assume that your room will be pristine at all times, but any progress is just a step toward developing better organization habits that will carry you through the remainder of your academic career.

Taylor Ross is a staff columnist for The Heights. He welcomes comments at features@bcheights.com

David Givler is an editor for The Heights. He welcomes comments at features@bcheights.com

Julia Responds:

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

College Connections

Anything but a night to remember ... and not in “the good way”

Taylor Ross I always got excited for formals back when I was in high school.

They provided a chance to dress up, take memorable pictures, and most importantly, see the girl you’ve had a crush on since middle school look like a movie star. Alcohol was out of the question, though, because we were 15-year-old teenagers in America, and not Europe. As I grew up, I longed for the day when I could attend those same formals and have a martini in hand and feel as classy as Humphrey Bogart. The Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC) denied me that privilege this past Saturday. (Warning: My friends have coined the nickname “Taylor the Complainer” this past week, given my expression of my distaste for the UGBC’s handling of this year’s Homecoming.)

When I first heard that our Homecoming was going to be at the House of Blues this year, I was ecstatic. The venue is amazing, and the two floors and multiple bars have made for a great experience every time I’ve seen a band there before. Surely, this had the makings for a night to remember (or more appropriately, a night most won’t remember).

The handling of the event, though, was flawed from the moment tickets went on sale. Rumors circulating about the potential of not having alcohol served at the event sent the senior class into a frenzy. Instantly, students started to discuss how much they were going to have to drink before the event in order to compensate for the absence of a bar. People held conversations about the different ways they were going to smuggle in nips. At pre-game parties, girls were helping each other duct tape nips to their inner thighs. For the boys, compression shorts were the popular choice of underwear for the night — they did an excellent job holding the small bottles of liquor in place.

No one really was able to find out details about the night. There wasn’t a single mention of it on the UGBC’s Web site, and even some of the UGBC administrators I spoke with only had limited details about the event. Barely anyone knew the specifics – especially the fact that you would not be admitted into Homecoming unless you took the BC school bus there (which would have been cool … in middle school).

It felt like you had to hire a private investigator to figure out when the buses started and stopped leaving from Conte Forum The UGBC’s inability to coordinate with the House of Blues to have the bar open on the night of Homecoming triggered an unfortunate series of events. It caused the boisterous BC undergrads to engage in extremely unhealthy binge drinking (even more

than normal) prior to leaving for the buses. Because students were trying to drink enough to have their buzz last till the end of the night, some kids got too sick to even make it to the bus.

And those that did happen to stumble all the way to the venue were eventually kicked out (if they weren’t initially denied at the door).

The process of getting onto the buses was something I’ll always remember as part of my tenure at BC. As I got to the front of Alumni, I saw nervous students drinking all of their nips because they were afraid that the BCPD would find it during their patdown. The trash can at the gate was a site to see – nips were overflowing next to the base of the Flutie Statue. I think he would have been proud.

The line to get onto the buses and into the venue was also discouraging.

The amount of intoxicated students huddled under the florescent lights in Alumni made the stadium feel like purgatory. Students were packed together like sardines, and were subjected to multiple girls crying and getting lectured by BCPD on how they weren’t getting on the bus due to their level of intoxication.

The moment students got on the bus, most of them immediately regretted the amount of alcohol they consumed. Not only did the bus take the most roundabout way to Fenway (I’m pretty sure we passed Newton Campus on the way there), but the absence of a bathroom on the bus was bad news for everyone’s bladder. Those who didn’t run off the bus once they couldn’t hold

David Givler

it any longer just gave up and relieved themselves on the bus (boys and girls, not kidding). The scent of the bus toward the end of the ride resembled that of a bathroom in Alumni during halftime at the Notre Dame game.

The moment the bus let the students off, a mass of people sprinted for a nearby parking garage where there was already a line for a porta-potty. Those who didn’t have the patience to wait found their friends and formed an assembly line in between cars. For those who were too embarrassed to relieve themselves on the bus, they had much time to think of another way while they were waiting in the enormous line to get into the House of Blues. Most settled for finding the closest alley and marking their territory on the wall.

Almost everyone I’ve spoken to was let down by the way the UGBC handled Homecoming. The absence of a bar for those old enough triggered unhealthy drinking and a series of unfortunate events. It was even on a weekend where the football team had an away game. Minus the frustrations among the student body that I’ve just voiced, most people had a great time once they finally got into Homecoming.

What should have been a night to remember, though, quickly turned into a night that most either couldn’t remember or didn’t care to.

Allie Bowman is a columnist for The Heights. She welcomes comments at features@bcheights.com

This is the kind of situation that needs to be addressed directly and as soon First of all, there are nine person suites in Vandy? Should I be ashamed to ask as possible, because if you don’t, it will go on forever and will be very difficult that question as a senior? Your housing arrangement aside, what’s the real probto change. Since you’ve been very close with your roommate, this conversalem here? What’s more disturbing to you about this situation: some awkwardness tion shouldn’t be awful but it is definitely necessary. I have quite a few friends between you and your roommate or the fact that his girlfriend’s “undergarments” who have been in a similar predicament (mostly relating to overnight stays, not somehow end up in your bed every morning? I’d be more troubled about the latundergarments), and they were able to work it out with their roommates. Some of ter if I were you. I mean, come on. I’d understand if it was somehow an honest them did not even have a very close relationmistake, but the fact that her delicates conship. It’s most important to stress that you “As with most roommate-related issues, a frank, informal sistently end up between your sheets should don’t have an issue with his girlfriend stayraise a red flag. If you and your roommate conversation will probably do wonders. ing over, but that they should be respecting are so close, there really shouldn’t be any – Alex, on the importance of roommate communication problem talking to him about this. Address your space. If you’re close with the girlfriend, maybe include her in the conversation to help the underwear situation first (then write make your point. back, I’m curious to know how he’ll respond).

I would imagine that once you point out what the issue is, you will begin to Then you can ease into a discussion of why sleeping on the beanbag makes your see a change in their behavior. I would talk to him right before you know that she back ache for that illegal mattress pad you have on your bed. Just because he has will be coming over to spend the night and see how it goes. If it doesn’t change a girlfriend doesn’t mean he has the right to kick you out of the room every night that first night, there’s nothing wrong with approaching both of them before – and throw his consideration for you out the window. You guys should work out she leaves and explaining your stance. As I said, you are being very reasonable an arrangement with which you both feel comfortable. A little honesty and openand it’s fair to expect this change from them. In fact, I would hope that they ness can go a long way in these kinds of situations, especially if this guy’s one of would appreciate the fact that you do indeed spend the night on a beanbag chair your closest friends. I’m not saying you should work out some kind of schedule – this isn’t like washing the dishes – but honesty is always the best policy. I unbecause of them. The worst thing you could do is not say anything because obviderstand sleepovers with members of the opposite sex can create some awkward ously this annoys you, and if you let it build up, it could cause way more tension than is necessary between you two. As with most roommate-related issues, a moments between roommates. Take the initiative to get it out in the open now frank, informal conversation will probably do wonders. and you’ll save yourself some future awkwardness.

Alex Trautwig is an editor for The Heights. He welcomes comments at features@ bcheights.com.

Simple and easy to please

If you came to me on a Tuesday and gave me a balloon, I would be very pleased with you. The balloon could be any color or shape. It could say, “Happy 20th Anniversary” or maybe, “Thinking of you in this time of hardship” and I would still be pleased. A balloon is intrinsically good and uplifting. This is my official lobby for balloons.

It’s not a specific lobby regarding action that should be taken with balloons but just for the general acceptance and propagation of balloon giving and keeping. I will utilize very straightforward arguments to prove that balloons are the best.

On balloons and their natural ability to draw attention: If you’re walking through campus and you have a balloon trailing behind you, dancing in the wind, you are going to get some looks, but not look looks. Instead, looks of envy and wonder. “Who’s that guy?” “Why does he have that balloon?” “It’s so spherical and moves in the sky like an orb of wonder.” Yeah, that’s what they’ll say. So why wouldn’t you want a balloon? Some of those people could be hot. So look at that! Balloons can even lead to romances with hotties.

On balloons and their natural ability to stop a class: If you walk into a class and have a balloon tied to your wrist, you will once again draw looks described in the previous truth, but there will be an even better result. You will delay class. There is no professor at Boston College that wouldn’t take a few minutes to comment on your balloon. They’ll say, “I remember a time when I had a balloon.

Those were good times. Times of innocence and wonder.”

If you’re lucky and have employed your balloon correctly, it may even lead to a tangent in which your professor reminisces about his or her childhood. This tangent could cause a setback in your progress of learning about bond yield curves. And how are you supposed to take the midterm on Thursday if you don’t understand bond yield curves? You’re right. You can’t. The midterm will be delayed and everyone will tout you as a hero. So your balloon has saved you academic stress and made you a hero.

On balloons in comparison to other gifts in the same price range: Balloons have two main competitors in the 99 cents - $5 price range, those being cards and flowers. Let me debunk the love of cards first. Who the hell wants a card? I have never woken up and thought, “I hope I get a card today!” A piece of card stock with some stranger’s sentiments is not a good substitute for a balloon. After the first read of the card, you might as well throw it away. You’re not going to read it again. Cards are simply a vehicle for grandmothers’ birthday checks to get to their recipients. Nothing more.

Flowers are a bit more complicated. I admit that flowers have the power to make people happy.

They are pretty and nice to smell, but they have a major flaw. You give flowers to someone knowing that they will be dead in week.

And you know that the recipient is going to have to care for the dying bouquet for that week.

Water, pruning, aspirin tablets in the vase, it’s all work. In the end, they just sit on your kitchen table getting more miserable. It’s like giving someone a very beautiful fish that is going to die in a few days. It’s cruel. And let me tell you from experience, you can’t flush dead flowers like a dead fish. Stick with the balloon, simple fun at a low price. The only maintenance required is keeping it out of ceiling fans.

So, look, balloons are the best, hands down. They’ll get you hotties, you wont have to take the midterm on bond yield curves, and they’re better than cards and flowers. Good, simple, clean, elegant, sexy fun. Just rubber, helium, and string.

Who knew? I did.

“My roommate and I have been very close since freshman year.

Recently, though, he began having his girlfriend spend the night in our Vandy nine-man. I don’t mind sleeping on the beanbag chair in our common room – what I mind are the undergarments I find in my bed the next morning. What should I do?”

-Officially Ostracized

Alex Says:

Humor

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Labyrinth on Bapst lawn a space to unwind and reflect Tessa Trainor Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Breathe in.

Breathe out. Feel the wind softly brushing against your face. Smell the crisp fall air.

Hear the leaves rustling. Take in this moment. Quiet your mind. Let your senses take over before you take that first step. Feet planted on that first stone, about to embark on a path. About to put one foot in front of the other to lead you down the path that you choose is right for you.

You may choose the path of silence. Tune out all of the commotion and give way to the quiet. Open your heart to this solitude. You may choose the path of image. Follow the images that you envision in your imagination. You may choose the path of memory. Walk this sacred path in remembrance of a friend or family member that has passed away. You may choose the path of prayer. Recite a prayer, a Bible verse, a lyric to a song, a line of poetry.

You may choose the path of questioning. Concentrate on a question but don’t expect an answer. Let your mind explore the possibilities instead. The path you choose awaits you.

Now open your eyes. Take that first step. Begin your journey into the circle of concentric rings that lay before

you. They all lead to one place, but you’re not even close to getting there yet.

Focus. Focus on your path.

Focus on keeping your body centered. Focus on everything you’re feeling, thinking about, realizing. Don’t rush your steps. Take one stone at a time. Every second at a time.

Appreciate each “petal” of the rosette. This circle may be a great space for prayer.

Step after step. Stone after stone. Eventually you’ll reach the center. Stay there a while. Be aware of any new sensations in your body, any changes in yourself, time, or surroundings.

Reflect. Meditate. Let your mind wander. Close your eyes and let everything soak in.

But, wait. You’re only halfway there. To go back, you have to follow the same path out to get to that first stone you stepped on. You had embarked on a path where there is only one way in and therefore, only one way out. This means that others might be coming toward you in the other direction, following their own path but reaching the same destination.

Reflecting and meditating with each step, each breath.

Sometimes, the person coming toward you might not be able to share a stone. Don’t worry, you can step off your path and then make your way back after they have passed.

Sometimes the person coming toward you might be going at a different pace than you. Don’t worry, continue on your way with what’s right for you, and they will do what’s right for them.

You can walk barefoot, run, or even dance across the stones if you wish. You can sing, hum, smile. You can pray.

You can walk with a group, maybe holding hands while you are all on this journey together. Do what feels right for you.

The labyrinth. Twelve rings, 28 loops, 300 yards long, about 600 bluestones. This circle of concentric rings forms a single path to the center, providing a space for prayer, reflection, and meditation for Boston College students. It lies in front of the Burns Library and was inspired by the labyrinth on the floor of the 13th century Cathedral of Chartres in France. One of two engraved plates flanks the entrance and explains the labyrinth’s significance. The circle, a perfect form, can symbolize eternity, the universe, the cycle of the seasons. All a plan of perfection for the Creator.

The cross that bisects the circle can be seen as a symbol for Christ in the world. The path is a journey of life. It can also be seen as a way of truth through the maze of choices that the world presents. Our own labyrinth serves as a

Tessa trainor/ For The Heights

The labyrinth in the front lawn of Burns Library provides a quiet place to think and reflect on BC campus and is a memorial to alums killed on Sept. 11. space to not only reflect and meditate, but to also honor the 22 alumni who were killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The second plate flanking the entrance is engraved with the victims’ names. Above those names is a quote from Isaiah 40:31. “They that hope in the

Lord will renew their strength, they will soar as with eagles’ wings, they will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint.”

It tells us to follow our heart, our soul, our intuition.

They will lead us in the right direction, down the path that

we are destined to wander.

I need to say no more. Walk the labyrinth and it will say everything.

Tessa Trainor is a staff columnist for The Heights. She welcomes comments at features@bcheights.com.

Students talk orientation, acceptance, and what they’d like to see change Closet, from B10 out or struggling with the consequences. “It can help a lot to speak with other gay people,” she says.

Since the GLC does not have a physical headquarters of its own, the office hours of Queer Peers are held in the Women’s Resource Center (WRC) in McElroy Commons. “This is not very comfortable for people that come and speak to us,” Gasseling says. That’s why one of the goals of GLC is to get its own space. The club also runs a safe spaces campaign, which is trying to create a workshop that teaches GLBTQ students how to deal with discriminatory behavior. Still, the University administration is hesitant, Gasseling says. “They aren’t overly supportive.”

“We are struggling with this as a University,” says Richard Jefferson, executive director of the Office for Institutional Diversity, with regard to the safe spaces campaign. He said that this struggle has to do with BC’s Catholic background and that the administration still has a lot of work to do. Jefferson is in favor of the safe spaces campaign, especially because incidents of harassment were reported to his office. “It’s not a large number, but, for example, people drew

graffiti on queer students’ door boards using the f-word,” he says. “Also, hateful e-mails have been sent.”

Diana Nearhos, A&S ’11, has been a member of GLC since her freshman year, and doesn’t believe that BC is as negative of an environment as some people think. “I would like to stress that our campus is more accepting than it is stereotyped. It is more indifferent than actively supportive,” she says. “I’m going to be excited and care if you chose to come out, and support you in that way. Other people will say ‘Oh. You’re gay,’ and not care either way, and still consider that person their friend and continue to love and care about them just like they did before. That is their way of supporting, but it could be seen as not being supportive, and it’s not that. It’s the few people who care negatively that make the environment unwelcome, and it’s a small minority, but they are the ones who make it difficult and hostile.”

“It is a weird bureaucracy,” says Sara McMahon, GLC member and A&S ’11. “We are allowed to support gay and lesbian people, but we are not allowed to advocate for the lifestyle.” McMahon traces it back to BC’s Catholic values, but still considers the rule unfair as

other clubs are allowed to host dances. “The administration is a little slower in the uptake of acceptance,” she says. McMahon feels that the administration’s conservative behavior also contributes to making BC a closeted community.

Nearhos agrees, saying, “I think we are on our way to creating a good environment.

What we need is a more active role from the administration.

We have many people within the administration who support what we do, but if we had them stand up and actively say that what we are doing is good and necessary, it would help tremendously. We don’t want to go against the beliefs of the school and in no way want to disrespect them, but we need help from the administration to further our aims and help to continue to create a welcoming environment.”

Gasseling said she has also seen a change since first coming to BC. “I’m not sure how much the environment has changed,” she says. “When I came here, I think I noticed a lot more derogatory language – I think I might have been a little hypersensitive to it at the time. I still hear slurs thrown around, but not as often. I don’t know if it’s a decrease in sensitivity, or if it’s actually changed. The

kind of people I spend my time with and the group of friends I made don’t use that kind of language.”

McMahon still remembers her coming out, two years ago.

“I felt pretty alone then, and I had no one really to talk to,” she says. One year ago, she attended an event hosted by the GLC. “The first time I was there, I hated it. I am sure it was because of my insecurity back then, but I found it hard to go toward the people.” For this reason, she decided to become an adviser for the Queer Peer program, which she says is focused on the individual and gives people the opportunity to speak with someone in a comfortable environment. “During a scary process like coming out, this can be very useful,” she says.

Younger students, especially, can be intimidated by BC’s conservative image. “I was pretty nervous when I came here, because BC is a Jesuit schoo,l and I was not sure how people would react,” says Phil Seidel, LSOE ’13. Coming out to other BC students, however, was a good experience for him.

“People were very supportive,” he says. Whereas in high school he was discriminated against for joining the theater club instead of the football team, at BC,

nobody tries to determine his sexual orientation by way of his personal interests. Even though the GLC is a safe area for him, Seidel also feels comfortable on the campus, as a whole.

“There is nothing really to hide anymore. Being gay is a part of me that makes me who I am,” he says.

“I think one of the best ways to help with fostering acceptance is by askng questions, and BC students need to ask questions,” Gasseling says.

“Don’t view it as a debate, and don’t view it as a black and white issue. Reaching out and asking for information doesn’t mean you are fighting one group or another – it means there is something we can learn about.

There are many ways to be supportve of the GLBTQ communites through action, or silence and inaction. Reaching out and aksing for information shows that you are willing to learn.”

Recently, the GLC has put on events that, according to both Nearhos and Gasseling, are better attended than ever, and provide great resources that not only educate attendees, but also help to dispell common stereotypes.

“Guess Who’s Gay was hosted as part of National Coming Out Week, and it made people challenge their stereotypes

and showed that you can’t rely on them at all,” says Nearhos.

“It makes people realize that what they are saying could be perceived as hurtful. It shows that they may be offensive when they don’t mean to be and how to improve.”

“There is still a lot to be done.,” Gasseling says. Recently, a letter to the editor in The Heights from a GLBTQ member of the community caught the attention of many, including Gasseling. “Its disconerting to me that it is representative of that person’s perception of the campus,” she says. “That’s not representative of what we at the GLC have experienced. Then again, we are very involved with the GLC and have the support we need. It was very eye opening, and clearly we aren’t getting out to every student who needs support ... It will take time for attitudes to change. We need to foster more dialogue, and to make [being GLBTQ] less taboo, but we are on the right path. There is always room for improvement, but we are on the right track.”

"We are not two communities made up of gays or straights,' says Nearhos. "We are one community."n

Timeless sayings revamped for our 2010 mentalities Michael Wolf Look at yourself. A college student, sitting and reading a newspaper in the bathroom of one of the most prestigious universities in Chestnut Hill.

What are you doing here?

I don’t mean in the bathroom (that’s none of my business), but what are you doing in college, or on Planet Earth for that matter? Most likely, you’re here for a good education.

You want to make something of your life, something that your one-horse, steel mill town couldn’t give you.

Well, I’ve got some news for you. Just because you’re dressed in a three-piece tweed suit with a beret and wireframed spectacles doesn’t make you an intellectual. But I think it does qualify you for a B.A. in English. I’m not sure.

Talk to your dean.

What I’m trying to get at is that college isn’t the only place where we are educated.

Conventional wisdom shapes all of our lives and often our sense of right and wrong. We all know a few timeless sayings whether we learned them from our grandmother, children’s stories, or daytime Spanish television programs.

I’ve taken a few of these ancient idioms and updated them for our day and age. While the exterior may be a bit different, the message remains the same.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away. So get a bushel of Granny Smiths, sit on your roof, and chuck those apples at any physician who comes on your property. I don’t care if it is flu season, I’m not going to let you inject me full of poisonous vaccines. Did you know that a vaccine is actually just a little bit of the disease?

WHAT?! I’m not paying for that.

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, but either way you’re not going to get more than 15 bucks for any kind of bird these days. Not in this economy. When I was a kid, a bird in the hand was worth at least four birds in any given bush.

Laughter is the best medicine … other than real medicine. Real medicine is definitely the best medicine.

Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise!

Staying up late and eating drugs makes you think you’re covered in bugs!

A penny saved is a penny earned. Congratulations!

You’ve got a jar full of pennies.

You’ve earned it.

Treat others the way you’d like to be treated. Warning: This doesn’t really hold up in court. I grabbed a lot of butts and instead of getting mine grabbed back, I have to pay 50 bucks and I’m not allowed in Filene’s Basement anymore.

There’s more than one way to skin a cat.

1) Potato peeler 2) Tie tail to doorknob and pull on teeth.

3) Length-wise 4) Maybe a paper-shredder?

Wait a second, what?

You win some, you lose some and some you settle outside of court and end up paying your doctor way more than she deserves just because one lousy apple bruised her eye.

Shouldn’t she be able to heal herself? That’s her job.

When in the barn you choose to play, stay away from the bales of hay!

Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth because it’s kind of rude to examine a gift right after you get it. I mean, can’t you just trust me that this horse has a fine dental record? I’m not going to give you a crummy horse with tooth decay for your birthday. Not to mention that there’s no return policy so it

doesn’t do much good, anyway.

A watched pot never boils.

In fact, I think I’m going to just order wings or something, because I’ve been watching this pot for like two hours and I’m starving. Maybe my stove is messed up.

Curiosity killed the cat.

Actually, I think the real culprit was that guy who kept insisting on all the different methods for skinning a cat. I mean, that

was weird! How many skinless cats do you need?

Don’t cry over spilt milk.

You already look like a klutz for spilling the dairy. You don’t want people to think you’re a crybaby, too.

Great minds think alike. For example, I thought it would be smart to start stealing toilet paper from the downstairs bathroom so I wouldn’t have to buy anymore for the upstairs.

I guess my roommate had the same idea because the toilet paper from my bathroom started disappearing. Now we’re all out, and I’m not gonna buy anymore because that would just admit defeat. Great minds!

Michael Wolf is a staff columnist for The Heights. He welcomes comments at features@bcheights.com.

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Monday, October 18, 2010

Every day stress is a gift in the making

Jacquelyn Herder If, last week, you noticed that approximately half of the senior class was walking around with a dazed, vacant, and slightly confused look, don’t worry.

It is just entrance exam season.

Last Saturday morning found seniors wandering to various testing sites around the city to take the subject GREs for graduate programs (that’s right, underclassmen, there is more than one required test that helps determine your future) and the LSATs, the law school entrance exam.

We studied hard, we made the decision to forgo social events, and we looked slightly crazed in the days leading up to the test. Regularly assigned homework was pushed back and ignored in favor of timed practice tests, and O’Neill Library became the permanent residence of many for a couple of weeks. Soonto-be test takers boasted about scores on their last timed section, and others scrambled to feverishly study, practice, and strategize. Sleeping schedules were rigorously adhered to, and proteinladen breakfasts were meticulously planned.

As one of these seniors preparing to accept the fact that we will be soon pushed out of the proverbial nest on a wing (ha! Eagles … wing … get it?) and a prayer, I was among those sporting a glazed-over expression while clutching my LSAT prep book as I wandered around campus the past couple of weeks. The LSAT is a rough test with six sections, each 35 minutes long.

We were given strict instructions as to what we could and could not bring, and the security measures (complete with finger printing) were decidedly daunting. And yet, there I was, heading down to Boston University’s law school to take the LSAT with my fellow students, each one of us clutching the plastic bag that was to hold our belongings, checking and double checking that we had the appropriate ID, and making sure that all of our No. 2 pencils were sharpened and ready to go. The completion of the test found a small coalition of Boston College students who found one another, all of us too tired, and our brains too taxed to carry on a coherent conversation. Think 3 a.m. Bapst status with no caffeine. But, we did it. Phew.

Working hard seems like a drag more than we would like to admit, and the extra work and stress that goes into graduate school entrance exams makes the SAT / ACT look like a walk in the park. It’s exhausting, it’s stressful, and it can force us to examine where our interests truly lie, and what we want to do with our lives. No, we don’t have to decide right this second what it is we want to do, but we can take the time to discover who we are and what we love.

The beauty of a liberal arts education is that we have the freedom to literally study anything that even seems remotely interesting, and we will come away equipped with the skills to learn, and pick up new skills that will allow us to pursue whatever it is that we want.

The journey can be a little bit maddening, with pit stops and milestones that are exhausting (MCAT, GMAT, GRE, and LSAT alums can attest to that), and at times confusing and frustrating.

But it is also fun. Embrace the opportunity you have as a student. The opportunities are endless, and to be responsible for only yourself and charged with the duty of taking advantage of anything and everything is truly is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

So, even though that path might lead you to entrance exams galore and the new stress of hearing the question of “what are you planning on doing with your life?” and trying to develop an answer to that question, take everything in stride, and love it for what it is. Even if that means you find yourself bleary eyed at 8 a.m., clutching a handful of freshly sharpened pencils, and wandering into a standardized test. It’s a gift, it’s an experience, and it is yours for the taking.

Jacquelyn Herder is the Features Editor for The Heights. She welcomes comments at herderj@bcheights.com.

Stepping Out

By Maria Fielder | For The Heights and Jacquelyn Herder | Heights Editor

Michael Saldrriaga /Heights Editor

D

uring National Coming Out Week, Michael sits in front of a few dozen Boston College students – it is a big step for him.

Some of them are his friends, but most of them are strangers. The spotlights throw a dazzling light on him. He looks around and smiles slightly. “I am a bit nervous,” he admits. “I didn’t come out very often or in public.” Together with four other bisexual BC students, Michael decided to take part in a panel discussion about his bisexuality at BC. By coming out, he wanted to put a face to an abstract idea, he says.

But he knows that coming out always entails a risk. “People tend to make that the only thing they see about you,” Michael says.

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Although many members of the GLBTQ community experience a broad acceptance by the student body, some have also suffered from discrimination.

It starts with things many students don’t even think about: Christopher Staudinger, A&S ’11, is frustrated when people use “gay” as a derogatory word. “It’s just sad when people that are actually pretty smart still say things like ‘super gay’ to describe stuff they don’t like,” he says. He feels hurt when a part of him is associated with something negative. “I could imagine that people in the closet would not come out because of things like that,” Staudinger says.

Kelsey Gasseling,president of GLBTQ Leadership Council (GLC) and A&S ’11, has heard of incidents

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when GLBTQ persons have been physically pushed or verbally insulted. She, herself, has experienced situations that she describes as discriminatory.

“It’s really frustrating when guys see me making out with a girl and tell us how hot this is or ask whether they can join in,” she says. Gasseling feels that sometimes GLBTQ students, and lesbieans in particular, are just seen as some kind of entertainment by male students. She has also noted that very Catholic people did not want to communicate with her anymore after they had found out she was GLBTQ. “I think they felt like I had a problem with Catholicism or that I was not acting conforming to their values,” Gasseling says.

Gasseling says that there are ways

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in which the University could be more supportive of the GLBTQ student population. “Other universities have queer studies or run queer housing,” she says, “but BC does not have any programs. All support is student-run.”

This support is mostly run by the GLC and includes the Queer Peers program, which was instituted in the 2009 fall semester. Queer Peers provides confidential services to anyone who wants to talk but doesn’t know where to go, and they can come and talk without fear of being judged.

Casey Covarrubias, GLC senior member and A&S ’11, feels that Queer Peers is a great resource, especially for people that are thinking about coming

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