The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College Established 1919 Vol. XCI, No. 45
THE HEIGHTS MONDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2010
www.bcheights.com
Heights Room hosts ball Proceeds from annual ball go to Uplifting Athletes foundation BY TAYLOUR KUMPF Asst. News Editor
On Thursday evening, students, administrators, and faculty gathered in the Heights Room for the 23rd annual Breaking the Barriers Ball. The event, sponsored by the Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC), is dedicated to fostering connections between students and faculty outside of the classroom. Breaking the Barriers Ball is an opportunity for students to invite professors to dinner. This year’s ball featured a non-alcoholic cocktail reception and performances by the BC Madrigals and BC bOp! “We think this event helps to build
relationships between students and faculty because it allows them to see each other outside of the busy classroom or school setting,” said Daniel Rimm, co-director of the event and CSOM ’13. “With the busy schedules that students and faculty have, it can often be hard to find a time to just talk and get to know your professors and this event provides the time and setting as well as exposes students to numerous other professors and administrators who they would potentially never meet otherwise.” Each year the proceeds from this evening go to a different campus group or foundation. Last year’s proceeds went to FACES, an on-campus group that addresses race relations within the University community. This year,
the Uplifting Athletes foundation was chosen to receive the donations. The organizers of this year’s event, Rimm and Kristen Mount, CSOM ’12, said they chose the Uplifting Athletes foundation with Mark Herzlich, BC ’10, in mind. “We chose the Uplifting Athletics foundation this year because Ewings Sarcoma is big in the BC community lately because of Mark Herzlich,” Rimm said. “It hit us especially hard.” “In light of Mark Herzlich’s recovery from Ewings Sarcoma, it was a great opportunity to bring the University together,” said Micaela Mabida, UGBC president and CSOM ’11.
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NICK RELLAS / HEIGHTS STAFF
The annual Breaking the Barriers Ball featured musical groups The BC Madrigals and BC bOp!
Holiday season begins on campus Community gathers for annual Christmas Tree Lighting B Y E LISE T AYLOR For The Heights
KEVIN HOU / PHOTO EDITOR
The African Student Organization showcases African fashions, while raising AIDS awareness.
AIDS Fashion Show serves multiple purposes B Y A NA T. L OPEZ Heights Editor
The African Students Organization (ASO) melded a showcase of culture and rallied for a cause this past weekend during its first charity fashion show. The group transformed the Rat into a red-lit catwalk that served as a stage to everything from World Cupinspired looks to the BC Students for Sexual Health (BCSSH) who threw condoms into the audience. Organizers of the event wanted not only to create a forum to display ethnic African fashion, but also to raise awareness for AIDS. “We wanted to pick something that affects the African community at large,” said Christina Muli, president of the ASO
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and A&S ’11. AIDS was chosen as the target cause for the event because December is AIDS Awareness Month and Dec. 1 was World AIDS Day. “We thought it was perfect timing,” Muli said. During fashion show intermissions, lectures from local experts and campus groups were featured on the catwalk to educate the audience about AIDS issues. Tope Akinmejiwa, who works for the Health Initiative, a non profit organization focusing on AIDS awareness efforts, presented the audience with information on what it means to live with and around AIDS in Africa. “One in four women will pass this onto their infants because they don’t have access to Cesarean sections,” Akinmejiwa said. She said that the hardest struggle for AIDS-infected Africans has been the lack of support from their governments. “In South Africa, the government does not believe the disease even exists,” she said. “They think it is a Western invention, which explains why not much is done about it.” Akinmejiwa said that the place of groups like the ASO and their efforts
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SPORTS
The Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC) held its annual Christmas Tree Lighting in O’Neill Plaza last Tuesday. This event was the project of Paris Geraniotis, A&S ’12, and Amanda Brennan, A&S ’13, UGBC co-directors of special events, and their event planning team. The event featured live performances by musical groups including The BEATS, The BC Acoustics, The BC Bell Choir, and The Bostonians. For many of the students, faculty, and alumni who attended, the event was the perfect way to kick off the Chistmas season. “It’s always a tradition of the season to see the Christmas tree lit and it’s nice to do so with your friends,” said Erica Schubert, A&S ’14. Fellow classmate Mary Rooney, A&S ’14 said she agreed. “We came out here to get in the Christmas spirit.” Many BC alumni also echoed these sentiments. Tuesday was the second time that Catherine Mcniff, BC ’59
and her husband have attended the lighting. “We came after mass,” she said. “It’s a wonderful way to start off the season and Advent.” Emily Vanazzi, BC ’01, her husband, and their 2-year-old daughter were also in attendance. After receiving an e-mail from the BC Alumni Association, Vanazzi decided to come to the event. “We wanted to come out to see the lights and the music,” Vanazzi said. “We also thought it would be a fun event to bring our daughter too.” Hot chocolate and hot cider stands, as well as a cookie decorating station, brought in many passers-by. When asked what brought him to the Tree Lighting, Michael O’Neill, A&S ’12, said, “The free hot chocolate.” Each a cappella group provided a varied song selection, singing holiday classics like “Deck the Halls” and “Silent Night” as well as more contemporary selections like “Jingle Bell Rock” and “Baby It’s Cold Outside.” Some groups, such as The Bostonians, decided to include Christmas music, as well as current radio hits. Kevin
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SANG LEE / HEIGHTS STAFF
O’Neill Plaza is lit up by BC’s holiday tree.
UGBC partners with BOT on campus issues BY TAYLOUR KUMPF Asst. News Editor
Members of the Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC) met with the Board of Trustees to discuss alcohol and GLBTQ issues Friday morning. Micaela Mabida, UGBC president and CSOM ’11, and Patrick Raab, UGBC vice president and A&S ’11, voiced the need for a partnership between students and administrators in addressing these issues. “[This latest Board of Trustees presentation] demonstrates how we are improving as a campus, and that we can have constructive conversations between students and administrators,” Mabida said. “In the past it’s been a separate conversation. Administrators
Decline of a country
and students have discussed these issues amongst themselves. In order for positive change to occur, there needs to be a partnership between students and administrators towards this issue.” On the topic of alcohol, Mabida said that she and Raab presented the Board with their reaction to the new alcohol policy. “Something we talked to the Board about is how happy we are with the new alcohol policy, what students are calling the Alcohol Amnesty Policy, that has gone into effect this semester,” she said. “Pat and I discussed a strategy for addressing alcohol issues that includes both student action and partnership with on-campus resources,” Mabida said. “Especially this year, with how successful our large events have been,
we want to make it so that students aren’t infringing on each others’ enjoyment of an event.” In order to accomplish this goal, Mabida said that she and Raab want to be involved in discussions with administrators. “We want to have a hand in shaping policy that affects students,” she said. “We proposed a strategy of how we, as students, can address these issues, in collaboration with the University.” “We also want to raise awareness,” Mabida said. “The [UGBC] Senate is starting a fact-finding campaign, to quantify alcohol abuse on campus and how we can address it.”
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ROTC HOLDS OPEN TRAINING
Panel examines US Exceptionalism
Men’s hockey sweeps Hockey East rival BU, C1
FEATURES
Read about CSOM students who have liberal arts majors, B10 ALEX TRAUTWIG / PHOTO EDITOR
Classifieds, A5 Editorials, A6 Numbers to Know, C2 Police Blotter, A2 Spolight, D4 Box Office, B2 Hockey East Standings, C2 Thumbs Up / Thumbs Down, A7 Weather, A2
Panelists discussed the potential reasons for the decline of American exceptionalism. B Y A DRIANA M ARIELLA For The Heights
Boston College hosted a discussion last Friday on the Decline and Fall of American Exceptionalism as a part of the Seventh Annual Mass Humanities Fall Symposium. Panelists discussed what they saw as potential
reasons for America’s possible decline in the near future. Marc Landy, a professor in the political science department and moderator of the discussion, said that this topic was likely chosen for this year’s symposium because of three issues that have brought American exceptionalism into discussion. Landy said that, in wake of Sept. 11, the United States has begun to ask the question, “Why do [terrorists] hate us?” The U.S. is forced to question what its place in the world is, panelists said. The second reason is that, since President Barack Obama’s election, many U.S. conservatives have doubted his wartime patriotism. Lastly, with the current economic downturn, Americans are questioning whether the U.S.’s fate will be that of Japan’s in the 1980s, which also suffered a major real estate and banking crisis and ended up losing much of its world inf luence, Landy said.
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CECILIA PROVVEDINI / HEIGHTS STAFF
On Wednesday, Dec. 1, BC ROTC held open physical training from 6:00 - 7:45 a.m. in The Plex with Captian Melissa Parish. Students endured a challenging workout.