heights 03-29-10

The Independent Student Newspaper of Boston College Established 1919

THE HEIGHTS MONDAY, MARCH 29, 2010

Vol. XCI, No. 17

www.bcheights.com

Showdown growing in attendance

Bill to change student lending

3500 students pack Conte for competition

BY JI HAE LEE For The Heights

On Saturday night, Conte Forum hosted the eighth annual AHANA Leadership Council (ALC) Showdown dance competition.

The ALC event showcased a number of student performance groups including hip-hop group Synergy, which took first place in the dance category, and Korean dance troupe Aero-K, which took first place in the culture category.

This year’s competition drew 100 more attendees than last year’s, with approximately 3,500 individuals filling Conte Forum.

The Showdown has shown growth since its inception in 2002 when the event took place in Robsham Theater, which has a capacity of approximately 500 individuals. As the event started to attract more students, it moved its venue to the Plex in 2006, which has a capacity of about 1,200 people. In 2008, the Showdown once again changed its location, this time to Conte Forum.

Due to the large response by the student body for this year’s ALC Showdown, Conte Forum proved not to be large enough. Tickets for the event sold out – a first in the ALC Showdown’s eight-year history. Some people who could not find seats were standing during the show on Saturday.

Earl Edwards, president of the ALC and A&S ’10, described the event’s growth. “It is definitely getting bigger,” he said. “As years passed, we have had more groups joining to perform. This year was the first year that the tickets were sold out. In my freshman year, 2007, the show was performed at the Plex. Now the audience fills up half of Conte Forum, the biggest arena on the campus.”

Coming behind Synergy for second place in the dance category was Latin dance team Fuego de Corazon. Masti, a group organized by the South Asian Student Association (SASA), won second place in the culture category.

Fuego and Synergy took first and second place, respectively, last year among the dance groups, and Masti and Aero-K won first and second place, respectively, in the culture category.

“We tried to incorporate the modern music and movements with those of traditional Korean culture,” said Margaret Shin, a member of Aero-K and CSOM

BY REBECCA KAILUS Heights Staff

The theme was chosen by the Ball’s coordinators, the O’Connell House’s five managers and the 30-member committed that assisted in outfitting the house with decorations befitting an enchanted castle. Past themes have included Las Vegas, board games, and Disney.

“We choose our theme based on what works with the house,” Michael Bell, associate undergraduate manager of the house and A&S ’10, told The Heights last week. “We decorate the whole thing – and based on what’s easy for students to dress up and get into.”

Bell said that over 50 people spent months planning the event. The O’Connell House was closed for an entire week in order to decorate it. “Middlemarch is always the most successful event that the O’Connell House throws each year, just because it’s a very longstanding tradition at BC,” Bell said.

Unlike other dances on campus, students must attend

Last week, Democrats in Congress attached their final amendments to the student aid initiative, which will revamp the student loan industry.

This bill is a landmark case in the student loan industry as it will end the age-long debate on whether the U.S. government or private firms can best provide students with loans. In the past, there have been both the Family Education Loan Program (FELP), in which private banks and other corporations back student loans, and the Direct Loan Program, in which students borrow money to fund their education directly from the government.

However, the passage of this bill will put an end to the FELP. Students will now borrow directly from the government to fund their student loans, a move that, according to the Washington Post, will save the federal government an average of $61 billion a year. In the past, the government subsidized individual firms to fund the student loans. Thus, through the passage of this legislation, the middleman will be eliminated, saving the government money that it can then use to better fund the Pell Grant program to help low-income students.

For the nearly two-thirds of the student body that have some sort of financial aid, the implications of this legislation are not drastic. “If you borrowed this year through a bank, you won’t be able to borrow from it this year, but through the federal government,” said Bernie Pekala, director of financial strategies. “If this ultimately goes through, students will have to sign new promissory notes with the federal government.”

See Middlemarch, A4

See Loans, A4

SANG LEE / HEIGHTS STAFF

The O’Connell House hosted its annual Middlemarch dance on Friday. Students donned Harry Potter costumes in honor of this year’s theme.

Hogwarts invades O’Connell

BY ALEXI CHI

Heights Senior Staff Though many have joked that studying in Gargan Hall is like stepping into a library at Hogwarts, the school of witchcraft and wizardry made its way to Boston College in a big way this weekend.

On Friday night, students swapped J.Crew for Madame Malkin’s wizard robes, and nearly 350 death eaters, dementors, firebolts, and a smattering of Weasleys trooped to Upper Campus to attend the 36th annual Middlemarch dance, one of BC’s most unique traditions. In order to house the exclusive costume ball, the O’Connell House was transformed into the magical world of Harry Potter, its various rooms serving as Eyelop’s Owl Emporium, Ollivander’s Wand Shop, Hogwarts’s great hall, a Quality Quidditch Supplies shop, and a Quidditch pitch, where students could snag catered hors d’oeuvres or try their hand at the popular wizarding sport.

Alumni remember lost campus traditions

BY JULIANNE WOJNO For The Heights

News Feature

See Showdown, A4

INSIDE SPORTS

ANDREW POWELL / HEIGHTS STAFF

Sigma Phi Epsilon brothers are bidding for official recognition as a fraternity chapter.

Eagles make Frozen Four after outlasting Yale, 9-7, A10

ARTS & REVIEW

Students seek to form frat chapter

BY ZAC HALPERN

Synergy and Aero-K dance to triumph at ALC Showdown, B1

FEATURES

Explore the student culture of volunteerism at BC, B10 Classifieds, A5 Crossword, A5 Editorials, A6 True Life, B6 Eagle Dates, B1 Inside the Locker Room, C2 Police Blotter, A2 Thumbs Up / Thumbs Down, A7 iEdit, C7 Weather, A2

Heights Editor

Last November, several Boston College students began the process of establishing a chapter of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity at BC. The chapter is BC’s only fraternity.

However, Darrell Peterson, director of the Office of Student Programs, has informed the students that BC will never officially recognize a Greek organization.

Michael Joyce, chapter president and A&S ’12, said the idea for the fraternity came after a graduate student approached Joyce and some of his classmates last year, asking them to take the initiative.

John Petroff, vice president of recruitment for the fraternity and A&S ’12, said, “SigEp reached out to us. It’s appropriate because it has tried to get away from the ‘frat boy’ stereotype.”

Joyce said that Sigma Phi Epsilon is unlike most other fraternities. “SigEp offers something different – a personal, professional leadership development

program,” he said. “It allows students to develop themselves in all areas of life.”

The executive council of the fraternity said that it is trying to be different from exclusive fraternities like those portrayed in films. “We try to be open,” Joyce said.

“We don’t want to be a secretive organization, but like every organization we want people who are committed.”

No fraternity dues go toward the purchase of alcohol and there is no hazing within the organization, Joyce said.

“It’s tough to get past the fraternity stereotype, but we want to change that image of a fraternity,” Tyler Schenck, vice president of member development and CSOM ’12, said.

“The skepticism is understandable, but if people take the time to look at what we do they will be supportive,” Joyce said.

Although the University will not officially recognize the chapter, the fraternity believes that recognition is not vital to the fraternity’s success. “We are

See Fraternity, A4

“The Robsham Theater is literally built on classical tradition,” John Burns, associate vice provost, said. Classical Greek tradition, that is.

Boston College has a history rich in tradition, through many have been retired, leaving only stories alive in the minds of faculty and alumni. One such tradition involved a trip to the reservoir, which used to lie where Robsham Theater currently sits. In the 1950s, the University required its students to study Greek, and every spring, the seniors celebrated their graduation and the completion of this requirement by throwing their Greek grammar books into the water.

Mike Curry, BC ’74, remembers Thursday nights at the Rathskeller, which

served as a campus bar during the 1970s.

“If you didn’t go to that Rathskeller, you were out of the know,” he said. “It was the only thing around.”

Curry worked part-time for a WZBC DJ, when he was offered the chance to DJ at the Rat on a particular Sunday.

“We tried it, and it absolutely stunk,” Curry said. “So I said, ‘Why don’t you give me Thursday nights?’”

A few fliers later, Curry remembers looking out the window at 10:00 p.m. and seeing some 400 people waiting to come in. “It was way over-packed,” he said. “It was insane.”

Currently, Conte Forum typically holds the annual fall and spring concerts.

However, in the past, the Rat hosted many performances.

Curry remembers a “band from New Jersey” playing at the Rat. This ‘band’

See Traditions, A3

HOLLYWOOD COMES TO CAMPUS

JULIANNE WOJNO / HEIGHTS STAFF

BC celebrated its annual Baldwin Awards for filmmakers Friday night. For more, see page A3.

TopFive

Monday, March 29, 2010

THE HEIGHTS

things to do on campus this week

A Capella-Polooza

The Road After Copenhagen

Today Time: 7 p.m.

Location: Robsham Theater Seven a capella groups will be featured in an event to benefit the Sistah Powah, a Boston organization that supports HIV -positive women.

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Tuesday Time: 4:30 p.m.

Location: Cushing 101

The International Studies Program will host a panel discussion of global climate change efforts following last fall’s Copenhagen conference.

Play for Peace

Investing: the new shopping

Tuesday Time: 5 p.m.

Location: Chocolate Bar Come celebrate the launch of GenerationPulse, an organization created by the Lynch School of Education to connect young people around the world.

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FEATURED ON CAMPUS

Casserly talks NFL experiences

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Tuesday Time: 7 p.m.

Location: Cushing 001

Women in Business will sponsor a panel to discuss the basics of investing and whether J. Crew, Steve Madden, and Coach are smart investments.

Iran: today and tomorrow

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Wednesday Time: 4:30 p.m.

Location: McGuinn 121

Trita Parsi will give a lecture about today’s Iran and what the United States should do to ensure a better relationship between the two countries.

IntheNews A Twitter comment recently exposed a secret of large science and engineering courses: students regularly cheat on their homework, and professors often look the other way, according to a report by the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Douglas Breault Jr., a teaching asst. at Tufts University, said, “Grading homework is so fast when they all cheat and use the illegal solutions manual.” Most students and professors look down on cheating in regards to exams, but technology has given students more tools to find answers deceitfully, the report said.

Local News College costs rise among area universities, survey shows

ANDREW POWELL / HEIGHTS STAFF

BY KENDALL BITONTE For The Heights

On Thursday, the Carroll School of Management (CSOM) hosted its ninth Chambers Lecture featuring Charley Casserly, current CBS Sports analyst and former General Manager for the Washington Redskins and the Houston Texans.

Run by CSOM’s Winston Center for Leadership and Ethics, the Lecture Series invites leaders from a variety of domains that imbue a strong sense of ethics in their work. Past speakers have included men and women from the U.S. military, NASA, and various Christian organizations.

Starting as an unpaid intern for the Redskins, Casserly eventually secured a position as fulltime employee with the franchise.

During the lecture, he related his success story to current students who are looking to begin their own careers by focusing on how to effectively motivate a team, based on his personal experience in sports management.

Complimented by a number of football references and his coach-like mannerisms, Casserly outlined his 11 points of motivation. The points concentrated on the necessity of making every person within an organization feel important and needed. “People want to see their individual effort lead to a final product, because everyone is a part of the victory

and the loss,” Casserly said.

The lecture was followed by a question and answer period, during which the audience asked questions ranging from how to deal with the press in the business world to why Casserly, while with the Texans, chose to sign Mario Williams over Reggie Bush in the 2006 NFL Draft.

One of the questions applied to students in the room looking for internships. Casserly said that when interviewing potential interns, he looks for two qualities that make an applicant standout: work ethic and intelligence. He said that these two pillars have proven to indicate success, and one example he mentioned was Steve Spagnuolo. Casserly hired Spagnuolo as an intern, and he eventually became the head coach of the St. Louis Rams.

“You want to be the first to enter the building and the last to leave every day,” Casserly said.

“Also, you must be able to think on your feet. If you did a job today, you should do it tomorrow without being asked. Pay attention to detail because an intern should follow directions the first time around.”

Casserly’s real-life stories from his work with the NFL were of interest to the students and adults present.

Zack Kaplan, CSOM ’12, said he decided to attend the lecture because its topic covered both business and sports, two of his

main interests. Kaplan, who is pursuing a dual concentration in marketing and information systems, said he enjoyed the lecture and found Casserly to be very informative. “I liked how he applied his experiences in the sports industry to motivational techniques,” he said.

Casserly also focused on the need to recognize all the people involved in individual success.

He used the example of his work with the Washington Redskins during their Super Bowl-winning seasons. He said that every member of the company, from the grass cutter to the secretaries , and of course the players, received a Super Bowl ring. By rewarding everyone who contributed to the team’s success, Casserly said he believed each person felt more accountable for his or her job.

The 11 points Casserly highlighted were giving recognition, good communication, forming connections, building confidence, ‘finding the right button’ to push for motivation, dealing with the press, cultivating pride, the responsibility of the leader, having promotion from within the company, creating a team, and monitoring job attitudes.

Casserly said that success in business is possible through ethically and effectively motivating all employees. The necessity of teamwork in the sports world translates directly into the business world, he said. 

Police Blotter 3/22/10 – 3/24/10 Monday, March 22 11:23 a.m. – A report was filed regarding a student living in Gabelli Hall who has been receiving harassing e-mails. A detective is investigating.

3:26 p.m. – A report was filed in the McGuinn parking lot regarding a past hit and run of a motor vehicle that resulted in property damage.

Tuesday, March 23 1:06 p.m. – A report was filed by the BCPD Sexual Assault Unit, which received a third party report on a past forced sexual assault that occurred on Upper Campus. The BCPD Sexual Assault Unit is investigating.

1:13 p.m. – A report was filed regarding a fire alarm activation in the Mods. The alarm was activated due to unattended burnt cooking.

After allowing the smoke to clear the room, the residence was secured and the residents were notified of the situation.

attention. The party was transported to a medical facility by ambulance for further treatment.

On Campus Pontiff appointed to James F. Cleary Chair in Finance Dean of the Carroll School of Management (CSOM) Andrew Boynton recently announced that finance professor Jeffrey Pontiff has been appointed to the James F. Cleary Chair in Finance. Pontiff has taught at BC since 2002 and is an internationally recognized expert in finance and management science, whose research focuses on corporate finance and capital markets. The James F. Cleary Chair in Finance was established in 1988. The endowment recognizes influential scholars in finance who teach, write, and conduct significant research that provides insightful information to businesses and academia.

National FBI raids across three states lead to several arrests over weekend ADRIAN, Mich. (AP) — The FBI says agents have conducted weekend raids in Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio, and at least three people have been arrested. Federal warrants are sealed, but FBI spokeswoman Sandra Berchtold said Sunday there has been “law enforcement activity” in two Michigan counties near the Ohio border. FBI spokesman Scott Wilson in Cleveland says agents arrested two people Saturday in northwest Ohio. A third arrest was made in Illinois on Sunday, a day after raids in northwest Indiana. WXYZ-TV in Detroit reports that one raid centered on a Michigan property where suspected members of a militia live.

3:40 p.m. – A report was filed regarding a complaint from an employee against a party who had his dog off leash on the Brighton Campus.

Voices from the Dustbowl “What is your favorite Boston College tradition?”

“Notre Dame football games.”

—Isaac Taylor, A&S ’13

“Sports, and how everyone joins together to support the teams.”

—Adriana Lloveras, CSOM ’13

9:56 p.m. – A report was filed regarding a past larceny that occurred off campus. Due to jurisdictional issues, Boston Police will be investigating.

“The Superfan shirts.”

—Sam Broadhurst,

—Source: The Boston College Police Department

56° Rain 46°

TUESDAY

55° Heavy Rain 44°

WEDNESDAY

53° Showers 42°

THURSDAY

60° Mostly Sunny 44°

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 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

11:17 a.m. – A report was filed regarding a student who was the victim of a larceny off campus. The student was advised to file an additional report with Boston Police.

5:08 p.m. – A report was filed regarding a motor vehicle accident, which resulted in damage to BC property near Conte Forum.

There were no injuries reported.

11:24 p.m. – A report was filed regarding an individual in Keyes Hall in need of medical

By next year, the number of colleges in the region that charge $50,000 or more annually for tuition, room and board, and mandatory fees is expected to more than double, according to a Boston Globe survey of 20 area colleges and universities.

Harvard, MIT, Wellesley, Brandeis, Brown, Dartmouth, and Holy Cross will join Tufts, Boston University, Boston College, Smith, Mount Holyoke, and Babson, which all broke the barrier this year. Although college costs have been creeping up for decades, hitting $50,000 could scare families away, education analysts said in the Globe report.

Wednesday, March 24 2:24 a.m. – A report was filed regarding two suspicious persons who were identified near Walsh Hall. Investigators found that one party may have been involved in use of marijuana. The report was forwarded to ODSD.

TODAY

University Report suggests that students regularly cheat on homework

Charley Casserly, former NFL general manager and current CBS sports analyst, spoke at BC last Thursday.

FOUR DAY WEATHER FORECAST

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 In the article titled “Hockey tickets offered at discount rate” in the March 25 issue, Al Dea, president of the Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC) and CSOM ’10, was incorrectly quoted as saying he had spoken to Athletics Director Gene DeFilippo last Sunday.

A seminar to address real issues

Joseph Pasquinelli Saturday night, the AHANA Leadership Council (ALC) hosted the ALC Showdown.

Like many events hosted by the ALC, there was a great deal of diversity among the performers – Masti and Swing Kids shared the same stage – and those in attendance.

This sort of diversity is not found at many other events on Boston College’s campus, so the organizers of this and other ALC events should be immensely proud of themselves for helping to break some of the barriers of race and class that exist here.

At the event, there was a commercial shown promoting a proposed mandatory diversity seminar. This proposal has been met with reactions as diverse as the students shown in the commercial and performing in the Showdown. Some think it is unnecessary. Others think it will not be effective if done in the classroom setting.

Others think diversity cannot be promoted at all. They believe a desire for integration and education on social issues can only be intrinsically motivated. Others still think that this is a fantastic idea and will influence and help the BC community.

There should be a mandatory class on the “isms.”

Racism, sexism, classism, and homophobia are certainly present on this campus and certainly affect members of our community. The opinions columns that appeared last semester in both The Heights and The Observer are evidence of this. Additionally, a caption on the front page of the Feb. 23 issue of The Observer mentioned that because The Observer exercised its First Amendment right to free speech, the ALC is demanding a mandatory race course.

It has been beneficial that both the independent newspaper of BC and the conservative publication of the University have expressed these opinions because they highlight the lack of education of BC students on these issues. The authors of these controversial columns are both immensely intelligent (They would not be students here if they were not), but their pieces show that BC students are simply not aware of the effects of racism, classism, sexism, and homophobia.

This class could also be used as an opportunity to teach students about the Church’s stance on these issues by incorporating Catholic social teaching into the syllabus of the seminar. The Catholic Church has a strong stance that favors oppressed peoples.

The Church should be viewed as not only a religious institution, but also a social activist organization. One of the tenets of Catholic social teaching is a preferential option for the poor. The poor are those of the oppressed classes, races, gender, and sexual orientations.

If we have a course on these topics, it is likely that BC students – after becoming aware of the injustices that exist in our society – will seek social justice during their tenure on campus and after graduation.

Members of the student body are encouraged from orientation to “Set the world aflame.”

If BC students are to truly follow this mandate from St. Ignatius, they will work to change the world for those who do not have the same opportunities as they do. This course could very well be the first step for many students who could potentially provide a preferential option for the poor, set the world aflame, and truly live and act for the greater glory of God.

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

A3

The Heights

Monday, March 29, 2010

Some traditions retained at University, others die out with passage of time Traditions, from A1

was Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. “[Springsteen] played ‘Rosalita’ and hadn’t cut it as a record yet,” he said.

In addition, the student union used to set up a stage outside Lyons Hall on Friday afternoons. “They put a band out there on a Friday afternoon, and people would just sit out there and listen,” Curry said. “They brought in the Beach Boys, Aerosmith.”

Another tradition grew in the form of a tree outside Lyons Hall, but was cut down years ago. Students would tie their shoes together when they lost their virginities and throw them into the tree, Burns said.

Aside from the Rat, many BC traditions are rooted in the Mods.

“The Mods – it is a BC tradition,” Burns said. “It is unique for a university to have a community like that right on campus.

To my understanding, there are two Mods at the end near Edmond’s, where the men are supposed to go outside at midnight on exam days or special days, blare their

music and do a full-monty show.”

One old BC tradition, the Final Farewell – nicknamed Beers and Tears – has since ended. “[Administrators] used to allow students to stay, after commencement, in the dorms for one more night, and at the same time have a huge party in the RecPlex,” Burns said. “After they were thrown out of the Plex at 2:00 a.m., they would go to the Mods. They would start a bonfire, and the tradition became to throw their old furniture into the fire. It became quite the fire.”

Eventually, the Newton Fire Department heard of the fire and the tradition came to an end. “You know, the Mods are all wood,” Burns said. “Which meant a justifiable and timely end.”

While Beers and Tears ended, it gave way to the 100 Days Party, held, appropriately enough, 100 days before graduation.

“It has been [called] 100 Days since 2000,” said Carole Hughes, executive director of the office of student affairs.

The party used to be held on the number of days before commencement that correlated with the current class year. For example, in 1988, it was the 88 Days Party.

“Students were very big sticklers to it being on the 88th day, but now, as much as it can be, it’s on the 100th day,” Hughes said.

Even buying tickets for senior week was a tradition. Prior to the invention of the Internet, seniors would arrive at Conte Forum a day early to buy tickets and camp out.

“It was a social occasion, it was less efficient, but kids came with sleeping bags,” Hughes said. “Sometimes it was the first time they saw their roommates from freshman year.”

Other longtime practices, like the Dance Through the Decades and the Middlemarch Dance, continue today.

“The students are extremely creative, they interpret it creatively,” Hughes said, referring to the Dance Through the Decades, which features music spanning many years. “It is a very interesting, eclectic mix. I have yet to see a year where

students aren’t incredibly creative.”

Middlemarch, which occurred this past Saturday and is in its 37th year, “has long been considered one of the top 10 college events in the country,” Hughes said. “Saying ‘decorating’ makes it seem too small.

Some of the transformations they have done have been astonishing.”

Hughes said that many of the campus’s favorite events had humble beginnings.

“Christmas doesn’t begin until the Chorale and Voices of Imani sing,” Hughes said. “I love those, they are great traditions.”

Another example of this is the AHANA Leadership Council (ALC) Showdown, Hughes said. When the Showdown began it was a small event performed in Robsham.

“I went a few years ago for the first time in a really long time, and I was stunned,” Hughes said of the event that now packs Conte Forum. “The level of expertise is astonishing. It was one of those things when you begin, you don’t know if it will go on forever.” n

Julianne Wojno / Heights staff

Julianne Wojno / Heights staff

Students received awards for a variety of categories during the award ceremony Friday night.

Julianne Wojno / Heights staff

The night’s ceremonies included a jazz band and presentations from faculty and administrators.

Baldwins celebrate six years of student films

By James Gu

Heights Editor On Saturday, the Heights Room was transformed into a likeness of Hollywood’s Kodak Theater as Boston College held its sixth annual Baldwin Awards Ceremony.

The ceremony, co-sponsored by the Boston College Magazine, the film studies program, and the communication department, was first held six years ago ago when Ben Birnbaum, executive director of marketing communications, realized that there were student films being produced but no way for them to reach the wider campus community.

The University modeled the awards ceremony on the Oscars, and the annual event is now seen by some as part of campus life.

“If our office didn’t do it, someone else would,” Birnbaum said.

“This is not going away.”

A tuxedoed Birnbaum addressed the audience, offering greetings from the stage with his “escorts” – a Jane Austen and an Emily Dickinson doll – hanging along his jacket lapels. “There may not be a lot of seriousness in the presentation program,” he said. “But we take the films very seriously and recognize that they are important investments for students.”

Birnbaum introduced the faculty and administrators who presented the awards. Those in attendance included Father Joe Marchese, director of the Office of First Year Experiences; Don Hafner, vice provost for undergraduate academic affairs; Helen Wechsler, director of dining services, and other faculty and administrators. Birnbaum said that each presenter is carefully selected and must be, “either

well known on campus, or hold a position that’s well known.”

Michael Civille, professor in the fine arts department, was greeted with laughter as he hosted the event.

During the presentation of the awards, the McMullen Museum was humorously referred to as the McMuffin Museum, a keyboard-playing cat made a guest appearance, and Sylvia Crawley, BC’s women’s basketball coach, was matched by Adeane Bregman, Bapst librarian, in a YouTube basketball match-up.

The event also staged a false appearance from University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J., showing a “live” photo of Leahy via satellite video as he was allegedly visiting wealthy alumni in California.

The scripts that the presenters used during the ceremony were written by undergradu-

ate students. “While the event brings a community of artists together, I think the presentations help develop a stronger University community, because we bring faculty together with senior administrators and students to work on a joint enterprise,” Birnbaum said.

The presentation was temporarily disrupted by a video projector that went offline for several minutes, forcing the presenters to sway from the script.

“I told you guys this would be full of surprises,” Civille commented.

Baldwins were presented for 15 categories. Some films won several categories, while some individuals won several awards. The Lifetime Achievement Award, presented to an outstanding filmmaker, usually a senior, went to the entire senior class.

“It feels awesome, [an] absolute honor,” said Steve Flaherty and Rich Hoyt, Hello … Shovelhead! members and A&S ’12, on their receiving a Baldwin. “We learned that lens caps are better left off when making a film.”

“Fewer alumni on Wall Street and more alumni in Hollywood would be a good tradeoff for BC,” Birnbaum said. “And on campus, there ought to be enough filmmakers around so finance majors and biochem majors and English majors know them and vice versa. It would make BC a more interesting place.”

Currently, there are six Baldwin award winners working in Hollywood.

“Considering how the awards ceremony has been running for six years, it’s like we’re sending one Baldwin winner to Hollywood per year,” Birnbaum said.

“That’s not too bad.” n

A4

Monday, March 29, 2010

The Heights

Fraternity seeks to establish itself in campus community Fraternity, from A1

not pursuing recognition,” Joyce said. “We will run independently but still have a positive relationship with the administration. I think we’ve started a good relationship.”

The focus of Sigma Phi Epsilon is the development of the balanced man. “We go by the principles of sound mind, sound body,” Schenck said.

“It’s the balanced man ideal.”

Schenck said that the Jesuit spiritual exercises and the ideals of Sigma Phi Epsilon share much in common. “You couldn’t have found a better match for the first fraternity of Boston College.”

The fraternity’s handbook is called the Lifetime Responsibility of Brotherhood (LROB). “The LROB – it’s a manual for life,” Schenck said. “It has everything from study habits to how to take a girl out on a date.”

The fraternity’s most important goal is to earn its national charter. “Our ultimate goal is the charter,” Schenck said. “It’s a one and a half year process and every event is working toward raising the funds to get our charter. We are currently colony status.”

The executive board also wants the fraternity to become a premier organization at BC by increasing its membership and average GPA, which currently stands at 3.358. “It is about at the Uni-

versity average and above the national average,” Petroff said.

The fraternity also seeks to contribute to the BC and Boston communities.“We don’t plan on just serving one role to the school,” Schenck said. “We don’t just do things for SigEp, but we do things for the whole school. Our goal is to be involved in a variety of things on campus. ” As signs of their dedication to the community, the fraternity took part in the annual Relay For Life event held last month, raising $11,535. Fraternity brothers have also worked for community service organizations in Boston, such as soup kitchens and the Big Brothers and Big Sisters programs.

Josh Mastracci, vice president of communications and A&S ’13, said SigEp has given him the opportunity to get involved in the city. Many freshmen do not take advantage of those opportunities, he said.

The executive council has been in close contact with students at other Jesuit universities who have been successful in starting Sigma Phi Epsilon chapters. “Georgetown has a thriving membership of about 75 people and the administration likes them a lot,” Petroff said.

Ryan Drews, chapter chaplain and A&S ’12, said that other chapters have been supportive of Sigma Phi Epsilon at BC, despite the group’s youth. n

“Because BC is a need-blind school, the main impact of this part of the bill is that it will help stabilize the partnership.”

— Bernie Pekala, Director of Financial Strategies

Lending industry braces for changing dynamic Loans, from A1

This legislation has wide implications for all higher education institutions, including BC. Pekala said that the main impact for students will be signing new promissory notes.

“The promissory note that students signed their first year will no longer be valid. They will have to get a new note through the Direct Loan Program, and sign a new promissory note,” he said.

The changes made to the Pell Grants will minimally impact BC. “Because BC is a need-blind school, the main impact of this part of the bill is that it will help stabilize the partnership,” Pekala said. “If a student were to get and / or lose a Pell Grant, the financial aid package award would be kept at the same level.”

“It’s stabilizing the partnership,” he said. “All it will do is create a hiccup. The main impact is that our students will just have to sign new promissory notes.”

However, Pekala clarified that this new legislation will not impact the former conditions of student loans. “The amount will be same, the interest on the loan will be the same, but now they will have loans through the FELPs and

direct loan program,” he said. about student loans. “Students “That doesn’t mean anything need to understand all the issues other than you will want to and benefits they have,” he said. consolidate the two loans after “If they went to undergraduate graduation.” and graduate school, their benConsolidation will be an im- efits might be different. They portant result of this legislation. have to be educated consumers Since many students had taken and do what’s best for them. out loans through the FELP that It is important for students to were backed by private institu- know about it [this legislation] tions, they will now have to take so they won’t be caught off out their student guard when they loans through the need to sign the Direct Loan Pronew promissory gram. Thus, upon In the past, there had note. [Student graduation many been both the Federal loans] are somestudents will have thing the student Education Loan two separate loans body always has to pay off. At this Program and the to educate themtime, consolidaton.”

Direct Loan Program. selves ing the two loans The Financial will be a considAid Office will be eration for many giving informastudents. Yet, Pekala said, “You tion to students on this recent cannot consolidate loans until change to the Direct Loan after you graduate.”

Program. “We try to help make Although this legislation is it as painless as possible for historic, Pekala reiterated that parents and student borrowers,” this legislation will not affect Pekala said. the financial aid packages for Although lending for student BC students. “We don’t want the loans will change with this new legislation to impact the financial legislation, the administrative aid for our students,” he said. duties to switching to this proDespite the fact that this gram will prove to be the greater legislation does not have drastic impact of this bill. effects on the student loans of “Is it a big issue?” he said. undergraduates currently at BC, “It should be. Do we think there Pekala believes that it is impor- will be complications? Yes. But tant for students to remain on it is more of an administrative top of the current information problem.” n

Andrew Powell / Heights staff

The ALC Showdown has been expanding during the last eight years, moving venues and attracting larger crowds.

Showdown increases attendance, draws 3500 Showdown, from A1

’10. “We all prepared zealously for this showdown.

We practiced three hours every day for the past two weeks. I am very glad it turned out well.”

Sandy Rodriguez, co-director of programming for the ALC and A&S ’10, explained the process by which judges are chosen. “Many of the judges are dance experts themselves,” he said. “There are few BC professors who judge, but most are outside of BC who have vocations in the field of dancing.”

Lizzie Korsgaard, fellow co-director of programming for the ALC and CSOM ’10, said, “The judges make their decisions based on originality or creativity, energy or showmanship, synchronization, and overall presentation. Of course, for culture groups, they do take into consideration the cultural presentation as well.”

Gabriella Goode, A&S ’12, said she found the show enjoyable. “The show was very good, and I especially liked Lil Phunk. They were so cute and amazing,” she

said, referring to the junior dance team of the Boston Celtics that consists of 33 boys and girls who range from six to 13 years old. The energetic group elicited a standing ovation following its performance.

New performers such as the Vietnamese Student Association (VSA) and Swing Kids were added to the program this year. This year also featured an after-party, more skits, and three MCs instead of the usual two.

The proceeds from the Showdown are used to fund events that the ALC puts on throughout the year. “Most of that money goes back to the costs of the events that ALC hosts throughout the year,” Edwards said. “The two biggest ALC annual events beside this Showdown are the Boat Cruise and the Ball. Usually, these two events end up incurring debt.

The money we raise through tickets to the Showdown helps cover this debt.”

Tickets for the show were $15 each and an additional $5 was charged for those who wanted to join the after-party. n

“It provides an opportunity for students to come together and celebrate our holidays.”

— Leon Ratz, Co-President, Hillel Association and A&S ’11

Hillel Association holds annual chocolate Seder

By Michael Caprio News Editor

The Boston College Hillel Association celebrated a pre-Passover chocolate Seder Thursday night in the Walsh Hall function Room.

The dinner, which has been held annually since 2001, is an exercise in introducing nonJewish members of the BC community to take part in the Jewish Passover tradition, Leon Ratz, co-president of Hillel and A&S ’11, said.

“We thought it would be a good way of going through the

Passover story in a chocolaty way,” he said. “It provides an opportunity for students to come together and celebrate our holidays.”

Ratz said that coming to BC has made him consider his Jewish identity, causing him to be a part of the celebration. “I think that most Jewish students who come to BC aren’t particularly religious,” he said. “By coming to BC, I got a heightened awareness of Jewish identity.”

The chocolate Seder is a pre-Passover celebration – a foreshadowing of today’s official Seder dinner, which will

take place in the 110 St. Thomas More Rd. lounge.

Ratz said that the dinner aspect of the celebration is a major component. “One of the hallmark experiences of being Jewish is sharing food,” he said.

“So the chocolate Seder is a big part of that. It’s a big part of Hillel.”

The Hillel Association also holds Shabbat dinners every Friday night.

Upcoming Hillel Association events include an observance of Holocaust Recognition Day on April 11 and Israeli Independence Day on April 19. n

Harry Potter Middlemarch dance packs O’Connell House Middlemarch, from A1 the announcement of the ball’s theme, complete a scavenger hunt, and be lucky enough to have his or her name drawn out of a hat in order to obtain a ticket.

“Every year, we have 400 to 500 people who show up to the theme announcement who want to go, and only 150 who are able to buy a ticket for themselves and their date,” Bell said. “Because of this demand, Middlemarch always sells out and the house is always packed.”

The dance’s exclusivity stems in part from a 2003 night club fire that prompted BC officials to take a closer

look at O’Connell House’s safety and found that it failed to meet fire codes.

Subsequently, the ball was moved off campus for two years, until the mansion could be updated to comply with code. Though Middlemarch returned to campus in 2006, fire safety rules disallow more than 300 students from occupying the house.

Despite the obstacles, students find the scavenger hunt and lottery part of the tradition’s appeal. These things make Middlemarch more than a dance, Bell said. “They get people out, discovering things about their campus,” he said.

“Yeah, we could just say that tickets go

on sale Monday and only the first 300 people to show up get them, but the hunt has always been part of Middlemarch. It’s part of the allure, that you have to work to get tickets. It makes it feel special, you feel privileged to go to this.”

Students who attended the dance agreed with Bell – the events preceding the dance are all part of the fun.

Scott Jelinek, A&S ’10, who came dressed as a golden snitch, called the ball a success and named it among his favorite events of the year.

“I think [the scavenger hunt is] fun, interactive, and creative,” Jelinek said.

“The cool thing is there are questions

Sang Lee / Heights staff

about BC history, so its fun scouring the campus and going to places you haven’t been before. Just the whole way they spend several days transforming O’Connell House. It’s one of BC’s most traditional events, and it’s cool that they continue that, and the Harry Potter theme was a really good one.”

Miguel Lon, CSOM ’12, attended the dance dressed as the whomping willow. He said he enjoyed the dance even though he hadn’t read the Harry Potter books.

“The thing that stood out the most for me was the music – they have a really great DJ, and everyone dances,” Lon

said. “And I think the space is perfect, the size is fairly intimate, which I really liked. And it’s cool to see how into the costumes that people get.”

Elizabeth Gionfriddo, graduate assistant for the Student Programs Office was one of the organizers of the dance.

“Middlemarch was very successful this year,” she said. “I think the [O’ Connell House] lends itself well to a Harry Potter theme because of the architecture of the house and its general mystique.

We had more then enough ideas of how to decorate the house and students were able to get very creative with their costumes.” n

Sange Lee / Heights staff

Students attended the dance’s theme announcement and participated in a scavenger hunt in order to attend. This year’s Harry Potter theme drew a variety of costumes and props to the O’Connell House Friday night.

Monday, March 29, 2010

A5

The Heights

Sons of St. Patrick form a brotherhood of faith News Profile

By James Gu

Heights Editor At 6 p.m. every Thursday afternoon, a group of male students gathers in St. Mary’s Hall. They discuss philosophy. They discuss literature. They discuss God. “We seek to create a brotherhood of Christian men dedicated to leading virtuous lives,” reads the group’s mission statement. They are the Sons of St. Patrick.

Rev. Paul McNellis, S.J., a professor in the philosophy department who helped with the group’s creation, said that about four years ago, some of his former students asked if he would be the moderator for a group they were looking to start.

“They wanted a group that got together regularly in fellowship to discuss important topics,” McNellis said. “However, the topics gradually became more religious, as the Sons realized that the strongest bond between them was their shared faith.”

McNellis said that during the group’s creation, the students wanted to live a Christian life without compromise, especially in the way they treated women, and thus to help each other become good men, and in the future, good husbands and fathers.

McNellis still moderates the club and attends all the meetings.

Grayson Heenan, A&S ’10, who has been a Son of St. Patrick since his freshman year, said “He is always available for guidance for students, as well.”

Jonathan Deering, CSOM ’13, said, “I see [the Sons of St.Patrick] as a society of Catholic men dedicated to living a virtuous life with the support of other brothers.”

Deering, who heard about the group through an upperclassman from his high school, found the

members to be supportive and said, “The older guys serve as models and close friends.”

Heenan also said that the friendships formed between the brothers are important. “People grow a lot in this club, which is a place where relationships based on Christ and faith are formed.”

Eric Hinz, CSOM ’10, said that the close friendships originate from the three pillars of the group – faith, fortitude, and fraternity. “The fraternity here is not fraternity in the Greek sense, but one of brotherhood,” he said.

The group meets once a week on Thursdays. The meetings are usually an hour long, sometimes with a speaker, other times a discussion. In addition, the Sons attend one mass each week outside of Sunday, a monthly confession, and daily prayer. The group also comes together once a year to attend a retreat and go hiking in the Appalachian mountains.

Aside from their required activities, some of the Sons help with the Saint Joseph’s Project. “On Fridays, we go into the city, hand out bags with sandwiches, water, and snack bars to the homeless,” Deering said.

Alex Aune, CSOM ’10, said, “It’s also not just about the food, but talking to the homeless as well.”

Besides forming close friendships with his brothers, Aune said the brothers also develop a sense of responsibility. “It forms a sense of commitment to one another, a feeling that what I do affects the other brothers,” he said.

Many of the Sons saw the group as an alternative to the hook-up and drinking culture at Boston College. “[This] culture is hostile to someone who is trying to grow closer to God,” Heenan said.

“When I first came to BC, I felt like I was under pressure to compromise, but after meeting with the

Andrew Powell / Heights Staff

The Sons of St. Patrick, formed four years ago, hold weekly meetings where members are able to come together to discuss their shared faith. older guys, they told me that I don’t have to compromise, that there’s no reason to do that,” he said.

Aune agreed for the most part, but argued that this culture is not limited to BC. “You get to a certain age and all of a sudden, you’re 18, 19, and it’s difficult to balance a college lifestyle with the Catholic faith. But that’s what the group is here for,” he said.

The group gets together often on weekends, but its meetings do not necessarily involve alcohol, members said. Hinz said the group often goes out on weekend nights, many times to have dinner or see

Role of college students called into question

By Ana t. Lopez

attractive as possible in investments in the ambiance of the school.”

However, Boynton said, when Though the question of students becoming customers in students arrive, they shouldn’t their own schools has been en- assume the mentality of a custicing the pundits of higher tomer.

“Customers would be dimineducation lately, Boston College faculty and administrators ishing their role here, they’re maintain that a degree earned much more than customers,” at this University could never be he said. “It’s much more than a compared to buying a product transaction, they’re not buying a BC degree.”

– it’s an experience.

In paying more for a school The idea of “students as customers” is one that springs from like BC, students could expect to “concierge rising tuition “Customers would be get service” that rates and the diminishing their role they might not qualifications of the modern here ... It’s much more find at a cheaper school, but student. In paythan a transaction, still, a specific ing so much for an undergradu- they’re not buying a BC outcome cannot be guaranteed, ate or graduate degree.”

Boynton said. degree, many “I hope they do students have get great job come to expect — Andrew Boynton, placement and certain benefits – such as good Dean of the Carroll School a vocation and of Management g rea t sa l a ry, job placement but if they’re or even good here for that reason primarily, grades – from their institution.

Ranked in the top 35 liberal then this is the wrong place to arts colleges and with a business be.”

“In the long run, the process school recently ranked ninth in the nation due to high job of teaching students is much placement rates, the University more beneficial than just placing spends a significant amount of them in a job,” said Janet Costa resources marketing its attri- Bates, associate director of the Career Center. “Most likely, they butes to prospective students.

“I think before students get would be out looking for a job here and they’re choosing their two to five years later.”

Instead, Costa Bates said the colleges they are customers,” said Dean of the Carroll School purpose of a college experience of Management Andrew Boyn- is to instill in students skills they ton. “In the sense that we are can take with them for the rest of BC, we know who we are and their lives, like networking and we stay true to our values, but professional communication.

Costa Bates said that tuition we also try to make ourselves as Special Projects Editor

makes college somewhat like a service, but unlike the average consumer, students have to allow it to be an investment that pushes their comfort level.

“To some extent we are service providing because students are paying,” Costa Bates said.

“But even if a student might not get what they want, we always try to give them what they need.

Students should have expectations, but not everything will be handed to them.”

A high level of grade inflation at the University is evidence of students receiving unwarranted benefits, Boynton said.

“I think with students now, you give them a C+, they go crazy. The perception and the expectations have changed,” he said. “I think we should have a rigorous academic experience and I think at times our students should be under a lot of academic pressure, and I think that great grades should be hard to earn.”

Both Costa Bates and Boynton agreed that, regardless of what a student might think, no administrators or faculty members consider students to be their customers.

It’s the mission and philosophy of a particular college that should determine the mindset of a student, Boynton said. “It’s all very clearly advertised and, to me, in a way students are kind of signing up for that line.”

“To have a university treat students like customers is doing those students a huge disservice,” Costa Bates said. “There’s a difference between a student and a product.” n

a movie. “It’s a lot more fun when you’re with friends just hanging out,” he said.

The group offers an opportunity to grow in faith, which can be especially valuable in a college environment, members say. Many of the Sons enter BC unsure of their faith, but over four years they are able to develop their sense of spirituality, Aune said. He described his experience as “not being more religious, but strengthening of my faith, as a pilgrimage.”

Despite only advertising through word of mouth, the group has grown from just a few mem-

bers four years ago to now having around 40 members who regularly attend meetings. However, the group’s identity is still relatively ambiguous within the BC community.

“People’s first impression is that this is a Catholic Irish group and they wonder, ‘Do you have to be Irish?’” Heenan said. “You don’t.” The club is open to all, members said, and those looking to join don’t need to be Catholic, they just need to be open to the idea of living a virtuous life based on Christian ideals.

“People think that this is a

Catholic men’s club where we talk about how good we are, but really, we talk about how bad we are,” Aune said.

The group’s name originated when the founder saw parallels between St. Patrick’s life and the group’s mission.

This year will be the first time that the University’s graduating class will feature men who have spent all four years with the Sons.

“I’m excited to see the young guys take over the group and see what they do,” Heenan said. “I’m also excited to see what everyone else is off to.” n

“The natural human capacity for reason and freedom are fundamental to the dignity of human beings, the dignity that is protected by human rights.”

— Robert George, Professor of Jurisprudence, Princeton University

Law scholar discusses human nature, rights

By Daniel Morrison For The Heights

Robert George, professor of jurisprudence at Princeton University, spoke on morality and knowledge at the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life’s annual Prophetic Voice Lecture on Thursday.

Alan Wolfe, professor in the political science department and the director of the Boisi Center, introduced George as the leading scholar in new natural law theory and as a recognized force in the discussion of ethics in the areas of religious freedom, marriage, and abortion.

George said there exists a fundamental link between morality and practicality. Practical knowledge and moral knowledge are similar in their emphasis on principles that guide one towards action, he said.

“Moral norms or principles that guide our actions are in line with the primary practical principles directed towards the fulfillment of the human beings and away from its privations,” he said.

George said St. Thomas Aquinas’s teachings are important to beginning a discussion on natural law. The first principle of morality is that one should always choose what’s best for human fulfillment in all their dimensions, George said. “This is done by identifying the irreducible components of human fulfillment, such as friendship, knowledge, skillful performance.”

George also gave his perspective on theories of natural law. “Theories of natural law then are collective, critical accounts of the constitutive aspects of the fulfillment of human persons and the communities they form as social creatures,” he said.

These theories attempt to identify principles of right action and moral principles, supporting the principles of Aquinas, George said. Among

these principles include a respect for people’s human rights, which, as a matter of justice, other individuals are bound to respect and governments must protect.

George said that, regarding the goodness of humanity, there exists a shared consensus with his peers that the definition of “human good” is diverse.

“The human good is variegated,” he said. “There are many basic human goods. The human good is not one substance that is manifested in different ways.”

To affirm this diversity of human good does not deny that human nature is determinate and complex and humans can be fulfilled through a variety of dimensions, George said.

Establishing his conception of human goods led George to discuss his views on human rights.

“We want to identify those principles we call human rights,” he said. Natural law theorists traditionally reject individualism and collectivism. The former overlooks the intrinsic value of sociability, and the latter, manifested in communism, institutionalizes the interests of human beings into a larger social interest,” George said.

“They both, however, misinterpret human interests and human good. The key concept of the human person, who is an end in himself or herself, includes his or her relationships with others or with communities.”

George said there is a methodology in determining the basis for human rights. “Humans rights exist if there are principles of practical reason directing us to act or abstain from acting in certain ways that affect the legitimate interests of those who may be affected,” he said.

George said that the treatment of all persons as ends and not means is fundamental to human rights.

“A right to not be enslaved

is a right one has not by virtue of race, sex, or class, but simply by virtue of one’s humanity,” he said. “That is what it means to call it a human right. You get it by virtue of being a human being.”

“The natural human capacities for reason and freedom are fundamental to the dignity of human beings, the dignity that is protected by human rights,” George said.

“The basic goods of human nature are the goods of a rational creature, who naturally develops and exercises capacities of deliberation, judgment and choice. These capacities, I submit to you, are god-like, albeit in a limited way.”

This three-fold capacity of humans is recognized even by people who do not believe in God, George said. “They are the capacities we attribute to divinity when we believe in divinity. From a theological standpoint, these capacities constitute a certain sharing in divine power.”

George said that the mantra that man is made in the image and likeness of God supports this conception of human’s three-fold, God-like capacity.

Humanity’s possession of this God-like capacity affirms a justification of human dignity and, more broadly, human rights.

After explaining this basis for human rights, George underscored the complexity in implementing their applications. The discussion of education and health care as applications of human rights requires an analysis of who will provide these services, and why a certain entity should provide them, he said.

“These questions go beyond the application of moral principles, though they are very related to moral principles. They require prudential judgments in light of the given circumstances people face in a given society at a given point in history,” George said. “Often there is not a single, uniquely correct answer.” n

A6

The Heights

Editorials

Quote of the DAY

Student service shouldn’t be rejected

Monday, March 29, 2010

“Real courage is when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.”

— Harper Lee

Many service-learning programs reject students because of space limitations. More funds should be allocated to remedy this.

For a great deal of BC students who had their choice of colleges, part of the allure of this institution was its commitment to social justice. After all, ingrained in the philosophy and strong Jesuit roots of this University is the motto “Men and Women for Others.” Therefore, it comes as no surprise that thousands of students seek out service learning opportunities each year, citing a desire to not only give back to their community, but to gain perspective on themselves as well. What is shocking is the fact that a number of these students who are either overwhelmed by how convoluted the process of finding a placement that is right for them is, or that they are actually rejected from one of several application-based programs.

The notion of rejecting anyone who wishes to serve should strike one as absurd and completely inconsistent with the philosophy of service to which these programs subscribe.

Two such examples are the 4Boston Program and PULSE classes. In the fall, when students apply for 4Boston, they participate in an interview process that begs the question, “Why do you want to serve?” Through that process, many students are turned away. While it is understandable that these programs have to keep its numbers down so as to provide a full experience for its participants – including retreats and weekly group reflections – adjustments should still be made to include as many students as possible. In the case of PULSE, spots in this highly popular course, that not only epitomizes the notion of “service learning” but also fulfills students’ philosophy and theology

core requirements, fill up incredibly quickly. Waiting lists for PULSE can reach up to hundreds of names, and as the only viable option for most students is to take it either their freshman or sophomore year. If they don’t make it off the waiting list, they have lost this coveted opportunity.

In a recent conversation between Vice President of Student Affairs, Patrick Rombalski, and a group of campus volunteers from a variety of programs, the question was raised: Would you rather have fewer opportunities available but with greater attention to personal development, or more opportunities with less attention? That is a question of choosing the lesser of two evils. With a growing endowment and money put toward programming like Nights on the Heights that students don’t value or partake in, more money could be allotted to one of the cornerstones of this University – service learning – and remedy the lack of spots and attention.

With funding and in the midst of internal redevelopment, we urge the University to also consider allocating greater resources toward the Volunteer Service Learning Center (VSLC) and BC Neighborhood Center. The VSLC could definitely stand to be expanded and offer more of a physical space where students who prefer to do some things offline could drop in and discuss face-to-face their options for service learning. As these two centers are two “hubs” for service learning placements on campus, increased communication between the two might help students who are confused as to where their time and talent would be best utilized find a worthwhile and fulfilling placement.

Students, not customers attend BC Although University is an expensive undertaking, viewing it as a purely monetary investment misses the rewards of education.

It goes without saying that students at Boston College have been granted a precious opportunity. The ability to attend a four-year university, especially one as prestigious as BC, is not one afforded to everyone. With that said, in taking advantage of this opportunity, both the students and their families make a huge decision to spend a large amount of money. $40,000 tuition is no pocket change, and as a result of this expenditure, it is commonplace for grads and undergrads to feel as if the University is obligated to give them something, or in some cases, everything, in return.

This mentality of “students as customers” effectively disregards the fact that not everyone who applies to BC is awarded the chance to do so, and offers students unhappy with some of the cards they’ve been dealt by the University a reason to complain. We feel this way of thinking is counterproductive for a number of reasons and encourage students to take an alternative approach to their college experience.

College is a very expensive endeavor, but those who make the investment are confident in the fact that, in the long run, the benefits will outweigh the losses. In order for this to happen, students need to make sure that they see themselves as students and not customers. Students, who by definition take an active role in their learning environment, are different from customers who simply hand over money and expect to receive instant gratification.

There are certain things that we as

students of this University have control over and there are certain things that we do not which is just a smaller reflection of the reality of life – we can’t decide everything that happens to us. It is simply impossible for all students to have the ideal housing that they want. Not everything in the dining hall will be to a hungry student’s liking.

This, however, does not mean that their money is being put to waste. A college education is supposed to help better prepare students for the world outside of school. Something that is key to optimally functioning in the workforce, in raising a family, or in general, surviving outside of an education system, is learning that when things don’t go the way you’d like them to go, you have to adjust accordingly and make the situation the best it can be.

Regardless of what some may feel, in the end, it is the students who have the most power over a number of things in their college experience, such as the grades they receive in their classes. No one student is automatically entitled to receive an exceptional mark just because they are paying money to go to BC. Instead of complaining about what they may or may not have, it would beseech students to take a closer look at what they could have or what they’re missing out on in their attempt to criticize the University and its practices. BC, like any other institution of higher education, is not perfect, but students certainly have a hand in making things better for themselves, one they should take advantage of more often.

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: Mollie Kolosky

Rachel Gregorio / Heights Illustration

Letters to the Editor Mandatory class necessary for diversity conversations While it is best for conversations regarding race, class, and gender issues to come up organically, as The Heights has stated (for when this happens, we’re truly engaged), this doesn’t always happen. Many people, and indeed many freshmen, are uncomfortable talking about these issues, and as a result, many questions go unanswered, many misconceptions are fostered, and race-founded confrontations (like the one that sparked the rallies three years ago) mar our otherwise peaceful perch on the Heights. Expanding our little petri dish of a college out to the rest of society, we can see how adversely ignorance affects us. Additionally, college is not about comfort. It is about meeting new people, expanding character, and sticking our necks out there to try something different.

We’d all like to think of ourselves as learned and open-minded individuals, but how can we say this and continue to be unaware, or uncaring, of the struggles of the underrepresented, the less well-endowed, and the “other” gender? I realize that 12 hours of class time in forced discussions cannot immediately rectify the injustices in the world, nor can they change a person’s mind completely, but it’s a start. When you’re the University, that’s all you can expect of a core class. Should we expect Fundamentals of Music Theory to completely interest one in the details of classical music? Should General Chemistry necessarily entice all 400 students into becoming chemistry majors?

The editors of The Heights seem to think that bigotry exists because of some “deeper human issue.” What is that exactly? Are we naturally bigots? Maybe. We distrust that which is unfamiliar. What is deeper than that?

Maybe my DNA makes me liable to hate Caucasians? To say that something deeper is at work is to put no faith in the power of our minds. Perhaps race warfare is the

next step in America, if there is some “deeper human issue” going on. What is unfamiliar can, with some effort, become known, or at least illuminated. These are steps to acceptance and understanding.

Culture clubs and the ALC have tried various campaigns to increase awareness and promote discussion.

Perhaps the only way to rectify this is through reform from the very top. From the spectacular failures of the Great Leap Forward in China and Five Year Plans in the Soviet Union, we know that this may not be true. However, one top-down game changer is our great nation.

Do you think the farmers had a say in making the United States a federal nation from a loose union of states?

The issue really is the seminar’s status as a graduation requirement. If I don’t have to do something, I usually won’t, especially if it’s something I’m uncomfortable with. I won’t hit on a random girl at a party because it’s not requisite upon my entrance to the party, and it makes me (and probably the girl) a little uncomfortable. It is the same with many other students, that they will not do something if it is not required. When will a freshman bent on getting into medical school, partying too much, or wearing out the machines at the Plex find the time to squeeze a six-week optional class into an “overcrowded” schedule? He will not, given that he won’t schedule a Monday evening discussion because it coincides with 24. If the seminar is required, this will alleviate the pressure of choosing whether to take it or not because the choice has already been made. With no choice, the student must make the best of what is given, or risk failure and not graduating on time because of some six-week seminar.

Jacob Ishibashi A&S ’10

Spring weekend should be implemented as a school tradition Zac Halpern and Zak Jason Recently, the Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC) announced that The Fray will be highlighting the highly anticipated spring concert. We think it is fair to say that the student body is disappointed.

The UGBC needs to rethink its current strategy when it comes to putting on events. Instead of funding an abundance of poorly attended events and investing its efforts in frivolous tangential programs (i.e. unwatched flatscreen televisions), the UGBC needs to focus its efforts and funding on one weekend that all students can look forward to: a predominantly outdoor spring weekend.

Schools such as Brown, Wake Forest, Georgetown, Richmond, UPenn, and Bucknell already do this. Our Providence neighbors at Brown have established what has become the marquee collegiate spring weekend of the Northeast. Since the ’60s, Brown has lured the likes of Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and U2. This year, the Brown student government swiped MGMT, an act UGBC members claimed would headline our spring concert this year. Had the UGBC spent more funding on the act, it

could have drawn much more excitement from the student body. Instead, Brown will host an entire weekend of acts, including Snoop Dogg, The Black Keys, and Wale on top of MGMT. While the UGBC probably lacks the funding Brown holds, if it pooled the majority of its funding toward a spring weekend it would at least garner larger and more intriguing acts. Over the years, like at Brown, a spring weekend could build a name for itself so that performs would actively seek playing at Boston’s premiere collegiate concert festival.

Moreover, a spring weekend should also function as going to enjoy the spring, that rare time when the campus lush vegetation actually blooms. Conte Forum is designed for frozen hockey games and sweaty concession stands. It is where sound goes to die. An outdoor venue (like the Dustbowl or the Mod Lot, which ModStock takes advantage of) would beget both better sound and a more engaged audience. Campuses like Brown and Wake Forest, for example, host their spring weekends on their academic quads. In particular, at Wake Forest, the administration trusts students to act responsibly and even requests that the campus police only patrol the perimeter of campus, allow-

Zac Halpern is a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences. Zak Jason is a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences.

Readers Note: The Heights welcomes Letters to the Editor not exceeding 200 words and column submissions that do not exceed 700 words for its op/ed pages.

The Heights reserves the right to edit for clarity, brevity, accuracy, and to prevent libel. The Heights also reserves the right to write headlines and choose illustrations to accompany pieces

submitted to the newspaper.

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

Business and Operations

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

ing them to drink at their discretion.

The administration at Wake trusts their student body, and the students at BC should be trusted, too.

Above all, a spring weekend would bring a much needed and rewarding cultural tradition to this campus. BC has a rich tradition of athletics: a biblical football rivalry with Notre Dame in the fall, and a cross-town hockey rivalry with BU in the winter. However, our campus lacks both a popular artistic tradition and spring tradition. While ArtsFest draws in thousands of community members, a spring weekend would lure in the vast majority of the student body, students across the region, and even appeal to prospective students.

It’s well-known that some prospective students (even enrolled students) hold stereotypes that BC is mainly a sports school. A spring weekend would shatter those stereotypes.

We challenge the newly-elected UGBC ticket of Micaela and Pat to have the courage to cut funding elsewhere and create a tradition that will be the envy of colleges everywhere.

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

Zachary Jason, Assoc. Arts & Review Editor Allison Therrien, Asst. Arts & Review Editor Patricia Harris, Asst. Marketplace Editor Kevin Hou, Asst. Photo Editor Margaret Tseng, Asst. Layout Editor Rachel Gregorio, Asst. Graphics Carrie McMahon, Editorial Assistant Zachary Halpern, Executive Assistant

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

THE HEIGHTS

Monday, March 29, 2010

A7

OPINIONS

The next generation

Thumbs Up Showdown – From Sexual Chocolate’s dance exorcism to the Hawaiian Club’s booty shaking, Conte was filled with incredibly creative and talented student groups. Although congratulations are due to both Aero-K and Synergy for taking home the top spot in their categories, the true winners were without a doubt the lil’ kids from Lil’ Phunk.

Middlemarch – From Phineas Nigellus to Fawkes the Phoenix, many Potter-ebrities made an appearance in the O’Connell House this weekend. Proving that the British boy wizard has the capability to turn the average fashionconscious BC girl into a huge nerd, females in attendance converted even the most tame costume ideas into … something else entirely. Sexy house elf anyone?

Frozen Four – Bring it on!

Baldwins – The sixth annual student filmmaking awards presented 15 lucky filmmakers with the BC equivalent of an Oscar (or a Dundie, whichever).

Check out all the nominees online, which range from a Harry Potter rap to a melodramatic portrayal of suicide.

Holy Week – Kicking off this Sunday with Palms and ending on Easter, this is the biggest week in the Catholic calendar year and will be observed at BC by extra masses during the week. If you’re one of those, ahem, infrequent practitioners, now is the time to pay your dues to the big man upstairs.

Restaurant Week – Another week held dear in the bosom of many Bostonians is the biannual restaurant week (more like restaurant month) when eateries all over the city slash their prices to entice new clients, including frugal (read: broke) college students. Watch out though, there isn’t a restaurant week discount on the drinks and that’s where they get ya!

Clever, restaurateurs.

CHARLES MANGIARDI Typically I hate to generalize about tens of millions of people, because there will inevitably be many, many exceptions to whatever point I’d be making. This is especially true when talking about the successes and failures of the Baby Boom Generation, which is beginning to pass into retirement.

But a generation, historically speaking, may be judged as a whole by how it handled the challenges presented to it. The baby boomers certainly had no shortage of challenges: Vietnam, Civil Rights, the worldwide environmental crisis, outsourcing, and Sept. 11 all come to mind. Every baby boomer had a responsibility to meet these challenges as activists and / or leaders, and always as voters. As a whole, though, they failed more often than not.

Vietnam was on the mind of young protestors because of the draft and the very real danger it presented to them and their loved ones. But, in subsequent decades, the baby boomers repeatedly failed to show the same concern for human life and human rights that they often professed during the 1960s.

Soldiers who returned home from the conflict were sometimes spit on, but more often their sacrifice was simply ignored by their peers.

With little direct threat presented to them or their loved ones during a number of other American conflicts (especially those fought through proxy armies in the developing world), many of the same people who protested the senseless loss of life in Vietnam stayed silent. On occasion, some of them were vocal supporters of such hawkish policies.

And after the last American troops left the region, many of the baby boomers couldn’t have cared less about the Vietnamese whose wellbeing they talked so much about in earlier times. Millions of Southeast Asians continue to suffer from the

MICHAEL SALDARRIAGA / HEIGHTS ILLUSTRATION

cluster bombs and Agent Orange we used during the era, and we have yet to take responsibility and pay for a full cleanup – it’s never even been a major issue in American politics.

Baby boomers helped advance civil rights during the 1960s and 1970s. But a number of politicians won their hearts by promising them more personal spending money, delivered in the form of tax cuts. The spending cuts these necessitated were justified in part by attacking social welfare programs for the poor as wasteful and un-American. There is little question, though, that the assault on the Great Society programs of the 1960s hurt blacks and Hispanics far more than they did whites. Forty-six years after the Civil Rights Act, they remain poorer and less educated than whites, with lower life expectancies, too. For a generation that prides itself on the Civil Rights movement, baby boomers certainly seem to have eagerly embraced extremely divisive social policies and political rhetoric for the sake of extra spending money, and at the expense of social equality for all races.

Boomers were hesitant to embrace any spending cuts that would have harmed them directly, so politicians eventually paid for more and more tax cuts by borrowing more and more money. Boomers are handing us a country that is literally headed for insolvency, and they expect Generations X and Y to pay off their debt while they receive Social Security and Medicare payments.

Now the most powerful generation in America, they’ve been hesitant to acknowledge and combat

Life – In the much anticipated 11-part follow up to Planet Earth, the folks at the BBC have brought viewers an up close and personal look at various specimens of life all over the world, including the magnificent mud skipper and stunning stalk-eyed fly. Tune in to see the drama unfold every Sunday on Discovery.

Thumbs Down Four Seasons – That is, when they’re experienced in a 24 hour period, like on this past Friday. The day started with snowy December, continued to windy March, and ended on partially sunny October.

It’s spring, universe. Get your act together.

Cadbury Eggs – Alright, enough is enough. What are these things made of and why do they contain a realistic looking yolk? TU/TD enjoys disgusting Easter candy as much as the next person (i.e. Peeps, Reese’s egg, hollow chocolate bunny) but these creamy and creepy confections need to be shelved, permanently.

Overstimulation – Although having plenty of on-campus events in a weekend is never a bad thing, when 3 highly anticipated events fall within 24 hours, this might lead to students acting like scared rabbits, not knowing which way to turn. Let’s try to spread the love a little more next time.

Professors are the class perks

FROM HERE TO RESERVOIR

BY SAL CIPRIANO

climate change, or to search for renewable forms of energy. They used copious amounts of drugs and fueled the Sexual Revolution, then got nervous as parents and declared war on both, at great social and economic expense. They have completely bungled the War on al Qaeda and have allowed our domestic infrastructure to slowly deteriorate (see: spending cuts, above). And they have embraced and / or tolerated a divisive political climate in which painfully little can be accomplished without large congressional majorities. In fact, they’re largely responsible for creating it.

Our generation might be the first to come of age since the Civil War with less hope for and trust in our country than the one before.

There are lessons we can and must learn from our parents if we want to live in a better world. Chief among them: We cannot prioritize our lives based only on our own needs. I actually forgive the baby boomers for doing so. In some ways, it was worth a shot. Besides, they really didn’t know any better.

But we do. If we want to meet the challenges that we do and will face, and make a better country and a better world, we need to be more respectful, more empathetic, and most of all, more selfless than they were. If we’re not, some college opinions columnist will be writing about our failures in 2050, and we’ll have no one but ourselves to blame.

Charles Mangiardi is a staff columnist for The Heights. He welcomes comments at cmangiardi@bcheights.com.

SUZANNAH LUTZ My brain used to understand poetry like my dog understands the words coming out of my grandmother’s mouth. He doesn’t get when we’re talking about the weather or the news, but his ears perk up when he hears the words, “Did you feed Davie?” or “Maybe you should take the dog for a walk.” I would hear Shakespeare’s sonnets and know they meant something relevant by the feel of the words in my mouth, but the meaning was never fully clear.

Boston College’s core curriculum tries to help us get a deeper breadth of understanding by requiring us to take classes in a variety of areas. Other schools do not have a general history requirement and definitely do not have a theology requirement, so in one way BC encourages us to ask different types of questions in relation to each subject: English, math, natural sciences, physical sciences, etc. How I approach numbers in math is different from how I approach words in literature, and to get out of the pattern of what is comfortable helps you grow.

Looking back, I don’t think I would have ever taken a poetry class if the English department didn’t require it as a part of the major. I wasn’t too excited about poetry in general. My memories of poetry were AP exams and the tedious dissection of “The Convergence of the Twain” to a point where I didn’t really care about what the hell Thomas Hardy was trying to say. Poetry was another language to me, and the AP exam was a mediocre translator.

Luckily, there are some great “translators” here at BC. My Studies in Poetry teacher, Sue Roberts, probably made me more interested in poetry than I could have anticipated. I remember looking at “The Flea” by John Donne side by side with “Somebody Told Me”

by The Killers, and suddenly the pretentiousness of poetry from AP English melted away. Sometimes our ideas about something like poetry or science are so clouded by our past negative experiences that we have missed how they can directly connect to us.

So when registration period comes up in the next few weeks, you will have a lot on your mind. You may need to fulfill your core classes or the rest of the requirements for your major. You may want that perfect schedule with Mondays and Fridays off and a four-day weekend. You may want that easy class to repair your GPA. But, aside from taking something that is required or fits nicely into your schedule, take something that challenges you to ask questions. This doesn’t have to be organic chemistry for the English major, or some other stereotypical obstacle. It can be someone.

There are great teachers at BC, and over the last three years, I have gained the most insight from the teachers who are most passionate about their subject and engage their students to think about things in a different way. Sue Roberts certainly challenged my outlook on the pretentiousness of poetry.

There are also the teachers that are not as engaging. I certainly have had them – they are so enveloped in their own opinion about something that they do not open the floor for discussion, or they are horrendously dull. I sometimes questioned whether I was still interested in the subject.

What makes the class is the teacher, and if you’re looking for something interesting and engaging, don’t take the class, take the teacher. So much of the emphasis on college education is based on career placement and job skills, so that sometimes we forget about what meaning we gain from our education. That is not to say that the two cannot work in tandem, but if you are decided on a career, it is most likely that you will take the path that leads you to that career. A new and interesting class can uncover a path that may have been hidden from your view.

Sometimes this is not true. While what these professors offer is not necessarily a diversion from this path, it is certainly a way of asking the questions that give us a better understanding of our interests and the world around us.

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

Have something to say?

Contact us at editor@bcheights.com

A8

THE HEIGHTS

Monday, March 29, 2010

B4

FEATURES

B1

MONDAY, MARCH 29, 2010

I’ve got sunshine... maybe?

Service: It’s a BC Thing

BY FRANCESCA BACARDI Heights Staff

When students flood into McElroy and Lower for dinner, usually there are tables set up with students asking for donations to their service trips. Some students take the time to meander on over and donate the standard $5 while others respond by saying they have already donated, or the famous, “No, sorry.” The students behind these tables, however, have had to endure far more than the fairly consistent rejection of funds from students that oftentimes do the well-known “BC lookaway” to escape any pressure to donate since their meal plans are already diminished. These students, believe it or not, have gone through intense application processes just to be able to yell, “Please donate to our trip!”

At a Jesuit community whose heart is centered on volunteering and lighting the world aflame, it is extremely surprising how difficult it can be to volunteer at placements around Boston or service trips to various locations, both domestically and internationally. 4Boston, one of the volunteer organizations on campus that places students in the local Boston area, is an application-based organization. 4Boston’s overall mission is two-fold: to give students an opportunity to be immersed in urban area placements that relate to different issues such as homelessness, children, etc., and to give agenice a chance to have even more volunteers to aid them. “It allows the students to learn more about social injustices and what keeps these problems

JACQUELYN HERDER

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

See Volunteer, B2

HEIGHTS GRAPHIC / RACHEL GREGORIO

The glimpse of the light at the end of the winter tunnel was beautiful. Until it snowed on Friday and reminded us all that while March may be in like a lion and out like a lamb, the lion is still roaring.

Let’s be honest: At this point, any temperature over 35 degrees is considered “warm” or, at the very least, “nice,” and I know that I cannot wait for the day when I can joyfully kick off my boots, slip my tootsies into my favorite flip-flops, and wear my sunglasses all day and every day without fear of looking out of place.

Those few sunny and warm days had a marked effect on Boston College students. I know that I have a little more spring in my step, and everyone around me seems to be in a better mood. The day-to-day stress that comes with being a student is better tolerated, and not having to put on a heavy coat, scarf, hat, and gloves is a definite plus. Sunshine and higher temperatures mean greener grass, blooming flowers, longer days, and a sudden aversion to staying inside and actually doing your work.

Students here at BC admittedly love the warmer weather that is ushered in by spring, and are often overwhelmed by the desire to take life at a more leisurely pace and spend the warmest days sitting in the sun. It makes it harder to convince ourselves to stay in the library, and the longer days make it all the more difficult to stick to that promise that you will stay in and study instead of going out on a Thursday night (I will not go out, I will not go out … never mind, meet you at MA’s). We have more energy, but that newfound energy is hardly going to be spent on studying, and we are not going to find much will or strength of desire to spend maximum hours inside, studying by the glow of a fluorescent light in our small dorm rooms.

The long, lazy days that I have spent outside with my friends are among my favorite BC memories.

Freshman year was spent sitting around the basketball court on Upper Campus on blankets, attempting to do homework when really all we accomplished was socializing and getting sunburned. Sophomore year was spent out on the lawn next to Walsh. That year, we got ambitious and brought snacks, and the wisdom we gained in the time between being freshmen and sophomores resulted in us not just pretending to do work, but actually pulling through. Junior year?

Well, we haven’t had too many of those delicious tastes of springtime, but those few days we had were most definitely experienced to their fullest potential.

Now, nice weather doesn’t just bring about a change in the students.

Rather, the warmer weather also brings about a change in campus life.

In April, there are many activities such as the annual Arts Fair and the Spring Football Game, both of which take place out of doors, and not only draw in a crowd from the local area, but also tempt BC’s students to dust off their shorts, t-shirts, sundresses, and flip-flops and allow us to sit around outside for a reason. In May, Modstock (complete with the newest edition of mud volleyball) teases and tantalizes even more – the allure of the outdoor activities is too much for the typical BC student to handle, and the final day of class is more often than not lost to the call of wild … or at least the call of no class and the promise of great fun.

So, March, when are you going to stop this whole lion business and start showing us that gentler side? In like a lion, indeed, but I’ll be waiting for the sun to shine, sunglasses in hand.

Eagle Dates:

Matthew and Caroline This week’s Eagle Daters, Matthew Richardson, A&S ’11, and Caroline Beyer, A&S ’12, went to Tasca .

BY CHANTAL CABRERA Heights Staff

Matthew: Well, I was kind of nervous on the way to the date because I signed up as a joke, so I was hoping it wouldn’t turn into a disaster. But, I was excited … it’s a different way to spend a Friday night.

Caroline: I was excited for Tasca, but I wasn’t nervous for the date. I was just looking forward to meeting someone new and having a pleasant dinner.

Matthew: I got there before her and sat at the bar. I didn’t know how I was supposed to find her so I just sat there waiting for someone to find me … she walked in by herself so I figured it was her, but I didn’t want to be awkward and approach her so I just waited for her to approach me, and she came up to me and asked me if I was Matt.

Caroline: He was already sitting down when I came into the restaurant and we were the only two people in the front of the restaurant so … I guess I just asked him if he was Matt and we were seated right away. I guess it was a little awkward at first because we had never met each other, but it was definitely fine.

Matthew: The initial interaction was good, she was very friendly. One of the things I was worried about was that it would be

I NSIDE FEATUR E S THIS ISSUE

awkward but it wasn’t — it was comfortable right away. We just introduced ourselves and went to our table.

Caroline: We went through all of the standard conversation topics like where you’re from, what’s your major, why’d you go to BC. It’s nice because we’re both from the West – he’s from Tucson, and I’m from Seattle. We talked a little bit about how he had been abroad in Spain last semester and we talked about his experiences there. We talked about what I was looking forward to when I go abroad in the summer to Paris.

Matthew: First we just talked about why we signed up … she had forgotten she signed up because she signed up like a year ago.

I signed up this week and got assigned like two days later. We’re both from faraway places that are not near Boston, so that was cool (she’s from Seattle and I’m from Arizona).

Caroline: We talked about the housing lottery, which had just happened. We both had the same horrific experiences freshman year.

Matthew: She plays for the club soccer team at BC and I dabbled in soccer too, so we talked about soccer. She’s a sophomore and lives in 90 so we started talking about ResLife and how much we hate ResLife. I

The World Record

PHOTO COURTESY OF MATTHEW RICHARDSON

told her about the times I’ve been written up and the horrible experiences I’ve had with it. We talked about where we’re living next year (I’m living in the Mods). She’s going abroad next year so we talked about the whole abroad experience. I also told her all my friends were looking for all the Caroline’s on Facebook to find which one she might be.

Caroline: We took the T back to BC – very romantic, I know. Yeah, it was good. He had to get off on the 2000 stop so we just said bye and traded phone numbers.

Matthew: The food there’s pretty cheap and we had eaten a lot and realized that we probably hadn’t reached the $35 limit. The time just flew by – we were there for like two hours. She had other things to do that night so we decided to wrap it up. We rode the T back together and kept talking. I told her I was going to find her on Facebook.

Caroline: I would give the match a 4. We got along really well and we had a lot to talk

Learn from fellow students studying abroad. This week, read about experiences down under in Australia. B6

about. Not a lot of awkward silences, which was great. I mean, I’d be happy to get to know him more, so that definitely goes into the plus column. There was nothing bad to say about the night.

Matthew: I would give the match a 4. She was just really easy to talk to and that’s pretty good for me – good conversation.

She seemed really laidback and outgoing which was really nice. Blind dates have the potential to be awkward and it wasn’t, which was great.

Caroline: I would also give the date a 4. It was definitely a good location, not too far from school. But the whole concept of a blind date definitely makes it slightly more stilted than a normal date would be.

Matthew: I would give the date a 4. Great food! We had a really nice time. I’d totally see her again! We exchanged numbers so I think we’re both willing to hang out another time. If nothing else, we made another friend.

Humor Column.................................B5 True Life....................................B6

The Heights

B2

Service valued at BC

Secrets of BC passed along to our newest students Dan Ottaunick

Brooke Schneider / Heights Editor

Students are involved in a wide range of community service-orientated activities at BC, including the Appalachia trip.

Volunteers from B1 around,” states Minister Ellen Modica, 4Boston’s Campus Ministry moderator. The application process consists of listing one’s top three placements, writing various essays, and finally an interview. At the end of this tumultuous process, there are approximately 320-330 students in the organization. Vicki Morte, A&S ’10, is one of the council members of 4Boston and explains that the application process allows for students to re-evaluate their level of commitment, and also gives council members a time to check in and talk with returning volunteers. When students get accepted into 4Boston, they commit to four hours of volunteering per week at their placements and another hour for reflection in small groups, enabling them to create a community within their placement and fellow members, “The reflection is based on the three pillars of 4Boston – social justice, community, and spirituality – and talking about these pillars is all part of the reflection hour. We really do want to emphasize the community pillar between placement and members,” Modica explains.

While the application process can be disillusioning for some, others choose to take part in application-free volunteering and join Appalachia. “I joined Appalachia because of what I had heard about it from my friends,” says Maggie Goodman, A&S ’12. “They all said it was an amazing opportunity so I wanted to join, and this year was my first trip and I loved it. After applying to other volunteer groups and getting consistently rejected, it was

a relief to be able to volunteer without a problem.” After applying and ultimately getting rejected by Boys and Girls Club, Arrupe, 4Boston, and Strong Women, Strong Girls, Goodman finally found success in Appalachia. Goodman further states, “I’m the kind of person that wants to volunteer, but it’s frustrating how difficult BC makes it.” This year, the entire Appalachia program consisted of approximately 650 students, and according to Brian Thomas, CSOM ’11, the numbers are usually that high every year. After only having been on one Appa trip prior to this year, Thomas applied to be a trip leader and succeeded. Thomas explains, “With Appalachia, underclassmen can jump right in and experience service in the Jesuit community.

It exposes students to these issues in social justice and also spreads awareness, which allows students to later volunteer elsewhere.”

However, like Goodman, Thomas realizes the pros and cons of the application process of many volunteer groups. He sheds a different light on the application process of some volunteer groups, stating, “Applying to volunteer in general is an unusual way to look at things because students want to volunteer, but it’s understandable because spots are limited and there are financial constraints for each organization. Unfortunately, that’s the way things are.” Credit must be given, though, to those students like Goodman that continue to apply to these groups in hopes of finally getting accepted. It is this kind of dedicated student that truly reflects the BC community and what BC is really all about.

Although students face these difficulties roughly twice a year at Students’ Activities Day, where volunteering is the main message of the day, both underclassmen and upperclassmen alike continue to try their luck, thinking maybe this year is the year.

Jordan Ferguson, A&S ’11, travelled to Uganda over winter break on the Uganda Solidarity Trip, another application-based volunteer opportunity. In Uganda, Ferguson was able to work with children orphaned by HIV/AIDS victims.

After an application process that consisted of two essays, an interview (after passing the essayelimination round), and receiving the acceptance, Ferguson finally made it to Uganda and remained there with his group for two weeks.

“The application process was definitely worth it because you get way more out of the trip than what you put into it originally,” says Ferguson. Like many other faculty and students, Ferguson, too, sees the necessity and the faults of application-based volunteering, “Everyone should have a chance to volunteer, but I feel like applications weed out the students that are signing up for reasons other than purely volunteering, but I think every student should be able to go on at least one service trip if he wanted to.”

Application-based volunteering is a double-edged sword at BC. It enables leaders to keep numbers down, but excludes students that do really want to give their time and effort into the community. At a school of 9,000 students, however, these applications may be necessary and will most likely continue to stay that way. n

How-To: Find a date at BC Chantal Cabrera As we frantically flip through the pages of the latest issue of Cosmopolitan and pluck out the most useful information, we continue to drown ourselves with irrelevant material that most of us already know. It’s obvious that the flawless models on the spreads of Cosmo have no problem landing the hottest guy. But what about the rest of us women – the 99 percent of us who aren’t 5’9” and 120 lbs? Luckily, below is a how-to manual: a fun, easy way to land the crush of your dreams right on campus.

First things first, pick a crush. Look around: There are plenty of attractive young men within a 10-foot radius, waiting to be selected from the crowd.

Don’t set any limits. Don’t be afraid to have a “reach” guy – no one is out of your league.

Once you’ve collected five to 10 crushes you can move on to the next step. Footnote: Make sure each guy is in a different circle of friends. Don’t crush on two lacrosse players. How do you find this out? Observe. Watch and examine whom your crush hangs around. If two of your crushes are spotted together, then it’s time to eliminate – in terms of choosing, well, you’re going to have to base it on aesthetics, since at this step personality still doesn’t count.

Okay, so you’ve gathered your crushes and are ready to

move on. What’s next? Step two is what I’ve coined “the stalking period.” Although not appearing as a stalker, you must, in essence, stalk. Come to observe the daily patterns of each of your crushes so that you may in turn situate yourself conveniently throughout campus. Matt gets lunch after his 2:00 class? You get lunch after your 2:00 class.

As your skills get more finely toned, you will begin to realize strikingly similar resemblances between Matt’s schedule and yours. Although you may be thinking this is nearly impossible to do with 10 crushes, it’s not. What will happen, naturally, is your crushes will reduce in number. You won’t see Alex as much as you see Matt so you will develop a deeper crush on Matt. You will therefore, weed out the crushes that are not as valuable of your stalking time.

Your 10 crushes have now been reduced to three. This is a manageable number with which to work. Now that you have mastered their schedules you must make yourself approachable. Throw away your raggedy sweatshirts that you wear to class every day and invest in some colorful clothing.

Dress up to go to class. I’m not talking about tight skirts and heels, but be creative – stand out. This will catch your crush’s attention and let him know that you’re different from the rest of the homogenous population of Boston College.

So let’s go over the previously listed steps: Find some crushes, stalk some crushes, eliminate some crushes, make yourself approachable, and if all else fails then continue reading …

In a society where double standards are becoming more skewed, don’t be afraid to be bold. Gain some confidence and find a way to approach your crush. If you’re thinking there’s no way to do this, rethink your strategy. There’s always an outlet, always a way. If he’s filling up his water bottle in the filter, get a refill of yours. As he’s filling his Dasani bottle, strike up a conversation about how cold the weather is outside or how packed Lower is. If you see him at a party, tell him he looks familiar. The chances are in your favor.

Recent studies show that it is more likely for a guy approaching a girl to get rejected than vice-versa. Okay, that recent study is made up, but it sounds legit.

All in all, getting a guy at BC doesn’t prove to be impossible. Muster up some confidence and put yourself out there (not in the literal sense). You can now dispose of those seemingly pointless Cosmos and follow the simple steps above. To all the women out there: I wish you the best of luck in this endless challenge and hope your successes outnumber your failures.

Monday, March 29, 2010

For the unprepared freshman, the first year of college can be difficult. After waving goodbye to friends and family, you arrive on campus to live in a closet-sized dormitory with a stranger with whom you likely have had little interaction. These are dangerous times, and those unable to make the transition to college will find the Darwinian mentality of a university overbearing. However, there is hope. Although the college wilderness has swallowed countless unprepared freshmen in the past, future generations need not come to Boston College without proper preparation, as I have ventured across campus, gaining knowledge of some of the University’s bestkept secrets. With this information, new students no longer need to feel lost at BC and can take advantage of parts of the University that few students know about.

The first stop on my journey to discover the secrets of BC led me right outside of my dorm, Hardey.

I walked to Newton Campus’s Trinity Chapel, a building with a large spire right near Stuart Hall. Although the chapel is less than a minute away from where I live, I had never actually taken the time to go inside of it and see its breathtaking interior. I found long rows of benches coated with colored light from beautiful stained-glass images that rival the better-known windows of Gasson Hall. Trinity Chapel, kept hidden from most students by a short ride on the Newton bus, is one of the nicest buildings on campus, and students interested in seeing beautiful religious art should definitely visit.

After taking the Newton bus to Main Gate and walking down Linden Lane, I decided to venture through Gasson Hall on my way to the heart of campus.

While exploring the first floor, I decided to go into the Honors Library, a room I had never entered. Surprisingly, the honors library is not just for honors students, and offers a beautiful lounge for those seeking a quiet place to study. Walking out into the Quad, I continued my journey through campus in search of more secrets.

My next stop was at O’Neill Library. Having rarely ventured above or below the third floor, I decided to take the advice of an upperclassman and see what else O’Neill Library has to offer. On the second floor of the library, I found the O’Neill Media Center.

The media center boasts a large collection of movies, full seasons of television series, and music CDs. I was amazed to learn that

any BC student can simply walk into the media center and borrow items from a collection exceeding 20,000 items. This rental system is free to use, and students who are unable to find particular items can even place a request with a librarian to have the item added to the school’s collection.

Exiting the media center, I decided to go up to the fifth floor of O’Neill to see what else I could find. After navigating through stacks of books, I found a set of study rooms along the wall.

These rooms boast private space and large television screens that can be connected to laptops and serve as display monitors. Students interested in using these rooms can place a reservation on the library’s Web site, but those who have not booked rooms ahead of time can still use rooms 511, 512, and 513, which operate

me to discover a lot of interesting places that students can visit, but many of BC’s best kept secrets are not physical locations but things that students can take advantage of. One of the most interesting aspects about going to school at BC is that so many other major universities are located nearby. Although visiting other schools is fun in itself, BC students are actually able to register for classes at a lot of other schools. BC has agreements with Boston University, Tufts University, Brandeis University, Pine Manor College, Hebrew College, and Regis College that allow students to take classes at these schools without paying any extra fees, as the cost is covered

by BC tuition. By taking a class at another school, students will have the opportunity to explore Boston and take advantage of one of America’s most historic cities. Boston boasts famous Italian restaurants in the North End, multiple performing arts centers, and a number of famous museums, including the Museum of Fine Arts, which BC students can enter free of charge.

Another under-utilized aspect of BC that students should know about is the excitement surrounding hockey games. The BC men’s hockey program is one of the best in the country, and the Eagles compete for national titles almost Heights Graphic / rachel Gregorio annually. Although BC’s football program on a first-come, first-serve basis. is not as competitive as the These private spaces are ideal hockey program, students have for those seeking a quiet room to built a very strong culture around work on group projects. football games that simply does I decided to finish my walk not exist for hockey. Many seats around campus by going to the are left unsold even at big games, Plex on Lower Campus. Although and far fewer students buy season many students work out at the tickets for hockey than for footPlex, many of its features are ball. Many seniors have told me not well-known. One of the more how much they regret not going interesting things I discovered to enough hockey games and is that students can rent lockers encourage younger students to for free. If a student wants to run help develop a stronger support outside but has too many bags, for our hockey team. he can reserve a locker and get a Exploring BC and discovering hand stamp to be allowed back its secrets has given me a much in. This is especially useful for better understanding of how I students who may wish to visit can better enjoy my time at BC. the Plex after class, but do not By speaking with upperclassmen live on Lower Campus and canand professors, I have managed not quickly drop their books off to learn a lot of things that I othin their rooms. Also of note is erwise would have neglected durthe rental policy for racquetball ing my time here. However, what and squash equipment. Most stu- I have learned is only a small dents know that there are rooms sample of what secrets BC has to for these sports in the Plex, but offer, and I strongly encourage many do not take advantage of students interested in learning them because few own the necesmore about the school to speak sary equipment to play. However, with professors and upperclassstudents are able to rent racquets men and ask them what lesserand balls for free. By simply leav- known aspects of BC make it ing your BC ID at the Plex desk, such a great school. Doing so will you can borrow the equipment make your time here much more you need and enjoy a number of enjoyable, and better prepare you different racquet sports. for college. n My journey around BC led

CLASSIFIEDS

B3

THE HEIGHTS

Monday, March 29, 2010

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

PARTICIPANTS NEEDED. The Neurodevelopment Center in Cambridge, MA, is seeking individuals aged 12-21 with depressive symptoms for a free treatment study. Contact http://www. youthmood.com or (401)-351-7779.

Happy anniversary, Julia!

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

Eligible participants will receive up to $550 for a total of four outpatient visits and two overnight stays at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Canter. More info: Michael Mckenery 617-552-2758 mckenery@bc.edu Have you thought about adoption? Loving and devoted married couple hoping to adopt. We hope you will consider us in your options. To learn more, please call us toll-free at 1-877-841-3748, or visit our Web site www.roseanneandtim. com. Please be assured all conversations are held in strict confidence.

With gratitude, Roseanne and Tim.

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

OFF-CAMPUS HOUSING. Available 9/1. Brighton, Cleveland Circle. Best value. Modern, large, 3-bed, eat-in kitchen, dishwasher/dispenser, new bathroom, hardwood, laundry, heat included. NO FEE, by owner $2100.

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NEED HOUSING FOR SPRING 2011 SEMESTER? Available 9/1.

Brighton. Walk to BC. Modern, 2bed, hardwood, balcony, parking, swimming pool, dishwasher/dispenser, new bath, laundry, heat included, NO FEE, by owner $1550.

(617)-256-3306.

I just ran 21 miles, and you have a pizza. I’m miserable 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 Crossword and Sudoku

B4

The Heights

Monday, March 29, 2010

C5

Monday, March 29, 2010

The Heights

HUMOR

Outside the Bubble

One day, your dream job will come ... but it might not be now

Lisa de Gray Spring has come to D.C. With the arrival of sunny weather, the end of our snow-day make-up classes, and a brief abatement in our workload, everyone has begun focusing on summer. Last weekend, the first nice weekend of the season, the general consensus was that we were done with school and ready for a summer of nine-to-five jobs and free weekends.

This sense of calm and anticipation is a marked contrast from the week before spring break, where many of us were overwhelmed with schoolwork and the job search. As I crossed off more and more potential employers, I began to fear that I was unemployable. True, the economy is not great, but these were mostly unpaid positions that were rejecting me.

Since starting law school, I have occasionally wondered whether I should have taken a year or two off to work after graduation. Usually, I would begin to second-guess myself when I had to think about finding a job. Public sector employers tend to place more emphasis

on work experience. Speaking with my classmates, and hearing about their relevant work experiences and reminding myself of my lack thereof, I occasionally wondered how I was ever going to get a job.

I also spent each of my breaks visiting friends from college and high school, many of whom have jobs, apartments, and actual incomes. Each time I left my friends to head back to school, I found myself jealous of their lifestyles, and wishing that I could fast-forward three years into the future, when I would be in their shoes.

Figuring out the next step after graduation can be overwhelming, especially when you may not know what life out in the proverbial real world is really like. Choosing your next move is a lot like choosing a college as a high school senior – as carefully as you may research your options, the reality is that you will learn more about what you actually want once you go out and live your decisions.

That being said, there are some important things to keep in mind. Some of these things are pieces of information advisers and family members told me that have turned out to be true, while others are things I did not realize until I graduated.

I remember last year, when people

contemplated using graduate school as a fallback in case they could not find a job or did not know what kind of job they wanted. Given the current state of the economy and the pressure to find a job that is worthy of your degree, I can understand how tempting this option can be.

Having gone through a semester and a half of graduate school, though, I can honestly say that this is a horrible idea.

It does not matter what kind of graduate program you are enrolled in, graduate school is more intense than college.

You will be much happier while you are bogged down in work if you came to school because you wanted to, and not because you did not know what else to do. Taking a break from academia and experiencing the working world can help you figure out what you want and what you do not want.

If you do decide to go back to graduate school, your work experience will take precedence over your grades, which is something to consider if you are concerned about getting into the graduate school of your choice. While there are many valid reasons for postponing graduate school, if you know that what you want to do requires a graduate degree, you do not need to postpone your studies just for the sake of gaining work-experience. When I was applying

to law school, many lawyers recommended working for a few years. While it is true that I am among the younger first years, after the first few weeks of classes, you could no longer tell who had come to law school straight from college and who had taken time off. Despite my lack of work experience, I did end up getting a job offer around the same time as everyone else in my section.

Whatever you decide and no matter how confident you may be in your decision, there will be moments where you will question your choice. Just remember that the cliche about the grass being greener is a cliche for a reason. While I was busy envying my friends who had the money and the free time to go out to eat and take vacations, I was missing the fact that during their companies’ busy seasons, they were working late nights and weekends.

Perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind is that it is not the end of the world if you do not know what you want or if you do not graduate with your dream job. Most people stay at their first job for a few years before moving on. You do not need to have your life completely figured out at 21 years old.

Lisa de Gray is a staff columnist for The Heights. She welcomes comments at features@bcheights.com

“I recently made dinner plans with a friend of mine, which I was planning on paying for. However, she asked me at the last minute if her boyfriend could come along as well, and I don’t know what to say to her. I don’t really know her boyfriend that well, and I don’t want to be stuck paying for him as well. What do I do?”

—Friendly Fire

Dave Says:

Meghan Responds:

Well, my first question is: are you male? That’s one of three reasons I could Call her back and say, “Here’s the thing. I don’t really want your boyfriend coming come up with as to why she would invite her boyfriend. The other two are that along with us to dinner. I don’t know him. I really don’t care to know him, and if that’s her boyfriend is visiting from out of town and so she doesn’t want to leave him not okay with him, then it only proves his worthlessness.” Harsh? I know. But there alone – or they are short on cash and are using you to pay for their date night. is seriously nothing worse than a tag along on something that was supposed to be a If you are a guy, she is inviting him along either to a) ensure that she does one-on-one affair. not give you the wrong impression regarding her interest in you, or b) reassure I never could understand people’s ability to conjurer the gall to invite other her boyfriend that you are not a threat. Either way, there is a good chance he people along on specific dinner dates. Do they not understand the goal of a nice sitwill pay for the two of them, if only to guarantee that you are not the guy paydown dinner? It’s to catch up. It’s to re-enter someone’s life in a personable, intimate ing for his girlfriend. manner. The tag-along only acts to disrupt this flow with their inherent awkwardness.

If you are female or a nonthreatening guy, Even though they are said not to be a nuior if she has a self-assured boyfriend, then sance you know they will be. Certain subjects “If that fails, cancel your dinner reservations, bring them to it’s not as safe to assume that jealousy or will not be discussed because the tag-along McDonald’s, and treat them both to the Dollar Menu.” etiquette will provoke the boyfriend to pay for won’t understand. Inside jokes will have to be – Meghan, on not breaking the bank his share. If you already told her you would explained. Personal histories and biases will foot the bill, explain that you would like to need reiterating. None of this is fun, and none invite him, but your budget only allows you to of this is good for dinners with friends. pay for her.

You have two options. If the friend is insisting that the boyfriend comes along, If you would prefer to be less explicit, simply say that you would love to then change the location of the dinner to some place that is cheaper and more adaptspend time with her boyfriend another day but you were really looking forward able to a group setting. A sports bar might do the trick. The tag-along will have TVs to having a nice dinner together, just the two of you. You can even throw in and loud noises to distract themselves with. If you still end up footing the bill, at that you’d really like to talk with her about some personal issues you’ve been least it will be bar food and not entrees. If you don’t even want to deal with the extra having and wouldn’t feel comfortable doing so in front of her boyfriend. You boyfriend baggage, then opt to change the date to a time or place that you know that won’t have to shell out extra dough, and you won’t have to spend the evening she will be the only one available. Meeting right after work or class might do the trick. with her boyfriend.

If you are comfortable speaking frankly with your friend, you can simply explain that If that fails, cancel your dinner reservations, bring them to McDonald’s and you only want to have dinner with her and not her extras. Remember, everyone has the treat them both to the Dollar Menu. Bon appetit! right to deny the third wheel. You simply need the courage to do so.

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

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

“He Said/She Said” welcomes questions for future columns as well as comments about this week’s responses.

All printed questions remain anonymous. Send any comments to the editor at features@bcheights.com.

College Connections

Service experiences vital to students at Boston College

Sam Hocking When people return from their various spring break service trips, the dynamic on campus changes for a few weeks. Gatherings revolve around shared experiences and bonds forged over manual labor. New friendships and an “Appa afterglow” temporarily dominate the social scene. Eventually, people return to their normal social circles, resume their routines, and carry on with their lives, seemingly unaltered by the time they so recently dedicated to performing service. Yet, just because these students do not constantly reflect on their service does not mean we can dismiss their experiences.

As the campus abounds with excitement and energy, some people will inevitably argue that this exuberance is both superficial and largely artificial. These elated students, they will state, have mistaken social tourism for service, a condescending glimpse for a deep understanding. And while these critics provide a useful perspective and keep the volunteers earnest, they will nevertheless grossly misrepresent the

experience of a service trip. They will accuse students of making a transitory effort to solve vast, structural social ills. They will claim that the resources spent on these trips could have been better used, and assert that such trips engender a sense of smug self-satisfaction and complacency among their participants.

They will be wrong, on almost every count.

While the occasional student mistakes their service as a condescending act of salvation for the target population, I cannot bring such an individual to mind. Most students concerned enough with the societal issues surrounding their work have a much deeper understanding of the problems they approach. Moreover, with its strong emphasis on reflection, Boston College’s service programs ward off such wrongheaded thinking. Indeed, I would argue (and I think most volunteers would agree) that the primary value of service trips lies not in the immediate service rendered, but much more in the education that the experience imparts to all parties. I admit that I entered the universe of social justice with high expectations, hoping to make great changes in the lives of the people I met.

At my weekly 4Boston placement and on my Appa trip last year, I wanted to fill gaps in mathematical understanding

as well as holes in vital shelters. While I may have achieved both of those goals in the most marginal sense, in no way are either of them what I remember most about my service experience.

When I recall my past service experiences, the people with whom I interacted are what I remember most vividly.

I remember Sister Mary and Reverend Dunn from Alton, Va. and Salma, Sara, Jeffery, and all the other kids I visit on a regular basis at the African Community Economic Development of New England. These people impressed upon me not just the need for assistance to poor rural communities or the necessity of education, but rather their need for these services. They will have forever reinforced the articles I read in the Times, in my classes, and in lectures on social justice, and in many respects, are the greatest educators I could have on the vital subjects of community, spirituality, and social justice.

They provide flesh and blood examples of the various injustices I have read about and remind me that there are always real people suffering and struggling on the other end. My interest in each of them as individuals will ensure my commitment to the same issues with which they grapple.

This strong association belies what, in my opinion, is the true value of service.

Although you might be able learn more

about education policy from readings on a remote computer station, I would argue that you could never be as effective in changing the system as if you had actually witnessed and experienced the problems firsthand.

That’s because a sense of caring and solidarity inevitably springs from communing with these individuals and their communities, something that cannot be replicated without human contact.

So while the dollar value of the service provided by the volunteers at BC might not total the amount they spend on their experience, to argue this as a reason to forgo service misses the point entirely. Student volunteers serve not just to reap immediate benefits, but to round themselves as people, educate themselves on vital issues, and glean some insight into the gross problems that they will soon inherit as adults following their time spent at BC. They serve to prevent pernicious ignorance, in the hope that eventually they will contribute more to the solution than to the problem. Service instills a mentality and attitude in people – it habituates, sensitizes, and alerts volunteers, turning college students into “men and women for others.”

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

Oh, the people you’ll see out at BC

Trish Daly People complain that, these days, students spend all their time with iPod headphones stuck in their ears. On every bus, the T, and even on a short walk across campus, you’re sure to see a large portion of the passersby in their own little musical worlds, perhaps betraying a telltale foot tap in time to Justin Bieber’s latest androgynous anthem. Culture critics bemoan the loss of easy contact with strangers, with so many people confined to their own unfriendly island of anonymity.

I myself am quick to put on my headphones when faced with an insurmountable five-minute walk to class, or when I’m pretending to read when I eat lunch alone between classes. But recently, on a day when I had made the mistake of forgetting my headphones, my ears were free to witness a forgotten pleasure: overhearing (sometimes intently listening to) other peoples’ conversations. Kids really do say the darndest things, so I’ve been compiling my very own “Overheard at BC” log.

Overheard in the Rat: Before the clock struck noon, the two guys at my table had the most intense and wide-ranging philosophical discussion I’ve ever heard outside of the Gasson Honors Library. As I tried to concentrate on my reading, I couldn’t help but pick up that Guy 1 was an Epicurean, and Guy 2 was a human exceptionalist, but has since changed his ways. Other philosophical theories discussed: determinism, materialism, social Darwinism, and solipsism. Names dropped by Guy 1: Nietzsche, Diderot, Malthus, and more. Burning questions posed by Guy 1 to Guy 2: “Are you no longer a human exceptionalist?” “Is there free will?” “Have you ever thought about how easy it would be to turn the wheel on the highway going 90 mph and change not only your life, but others? Do you think you could do it?” Conclusions of Guy 1: “You know what I’ve decided?

Math is truth.” (Well, I guess Nietzsche had it wrong then.) “If aliens come, we should really destroy them immediately.”

(And make no mistake about it, they will come.) And most importantly, “You know what? I should have gotten the vegetable soup,” marking the end of the conversation, and the final answer to man’s search for meaning.

As an interested observer, what I can draw from this conversation is that in the event of an attack by aliens, we can rest assured that the intellectual cream of the BC crop will be on hand to wage war, equipped with the tools of the Western philosophical tradition.

Overheard in the Cityside bathroom: From the sound of it, Girl 1 appeared to have had only limited success flirting with the bartender. Girl 2: “You don’t need to date a bartender, okay, you’re so above that. You don’t pay $50,000 to go to BC to date a bartender.” Clearly these girls are students of the little-known fifth school of BC, the College of Elitist Women, better known by the acronym EW! In this program, parents pay $50,000 for their daughters to undergo a rigorous training program that will prepare them to snag eligible bachelors, i.e. young men from good families and guaranteed to earn a five-figure salary straight out of college.

The EW! code of conduct frowns upon relations with anyone who works for tips or an hourly wage, and wearing pink on Wednesdays is required.

Overheard on the T: A couple of freshman “bros” are out on the town with one girl, coming back down the B line and speaking about another girl not present.

“Dude, that girl is so fat. She’s like a 000.”

Their female friend laughs awkwardly as they proceed to attack in detail each flaw in the unfortunate subject’s appearance.

Ah, the rating system terminology I hadn’t heard since my freshman year. I can only hope that means it’s restricted to males between the ages of 18 and 19. For those who are unfamiliar with the “area code system,” girls are rated with three digits and are judged based on their face, general attractiveness, and body. Why guys think they can talk about this and brutally criticize a girl’s looks in front of other girls, I’ll never know. We may laugh out of discomfort, but later we will tell our friends you’re an asshole to be avoided. Well, freshman ladies, at least the existence and usage of the area code system gives you some hard evidence to mention when your mom asks, “And there aren’t any nice boys on that campus?”

So take out your earbuds, and stop to enjoy your surroundings: a wide spectrum of commentary ranging from so-smartit’s-scary (and a little pretentious) to sodumb-it’s-scary (and a little disgusting).

Listen, smirk, and bring home a story for your friends. Just make sure you keep your headphones handy for when you hear a story that starts, “So then I texted him at 5:19, and he didn’t text me back until 5:38, but he said, ‘What are you up to tonight,’ so then ...”

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

B6

Monday, March 29, 2010

The Heights

By Nicole Sullivan For The Heights

“Come on, it’s time to catch some waves. Just look out for the sharks. And the jellyfish.” I was standing on the shore of Ocean Grove, one of the most beautiful surf beaches in Australia. I watched as Paddy, my new Aussie friend, tour guide, and surf instructor, ran into the swell of water that was rolling toward us.

After a moment’s hesitation (I was only mildly worried about the creatures that were lurking under the water), I sprinted in after him.

I was excited to experience that rush of adrenaline and sense of freedom that comes from riding a wave. I felt the power of the waves lapping against my legs, then my sides, and finally, I jumped onto the surf board and paddled my way out to where the waves break.

Well, at least I tried to paddle my way out to that perfect spot where the top of the wave spills forward as it overtakes the bottom. I ended up getting at least two or three heaping mouthfuls of saltwater in the process, though. In fact, my first 10 to 15 attempts at surf-

ing resulted in mouthfuls, nosefuls, and earfuls of water. After about 20 minutes, my hair was a mangled mess of salt and seaweed, my arms were heavy and sore, my eyes were red and irritated, and I was loving it. Determined, I paddled out one more time, and sitting on my surfboard, I took in a deep breath. I felt the sun beating down on my back and I let the waves slap against my face. I tried to remember Paddy’s instructions.

Paddle fast, place my hands by my armpits, slide my knees up in between my hands, and most importantly, just feel the wave.

Seeing a monster ripper developing a few meters away, I began to paddle. I felt the wave sweep me up. I paddled faster and faster. I made four quick strokes. I came to my knees, then my feet, and suddenly the only thought running through my head was, “Oh my god, I’m surfing!” After a couple of seconds, I came crashing down into the water. The board’s cord became tangled around my legs and I tumbled through the water multiple times before the wave let me come to the surface. I popped up, albeit a little disoriented, with

the biggest smile on my face. I quickly found my friend beaming back at me. “You did good, mate!

The wave feels good, doesn’t it?”

After a few more runs, we caught a wave in toward the shore and dried off in time to grab a drink at happy hour before continuing on our journey. As we drove along the coast, I expected to see beaches filled with surfers and sunbathers. After all, besides kangaroos, what’s more Australian than sun, beaches, and surfing?

Soon enough, though, the beaches gave way to trees, and I found myself driving through a temperate rainforest. A walk along the Otway trail yielded a pathway of ferns that were hundreds, even thousands of years old. However, my attention was immediately drawn to the majestic Tall Mountain Ash tree that stood before me. This tree, standing over 100 meters tall, had a magnificence that reminded me of the giant California Redwoods, but with an exotic flair. It was as if I had stepped into a completely different country. The hot, sandy beach, with its perfect-for-surfing waves, couldn’t be more different than this cool, damp jungle of vegetation, and yet, only a 30 minute drive separated the two.

It was at this point in my journey that I realized how diverse Australian culture really is. The stereotypical surfer, beach bum image is only a part of a vast array of subcultures that exist within this beautiful country. The rugged and remote Red Centre is rich in Aboriginal history, while the urban centers of Melbourne and Sydney are the epitome of modern, posh society. The Australian Alps are filled with ski bums and snow bunnies, while the countryside is a picture of rolling hills, farmland, and grazing cows. I looked up at Paddy and asked him what his favorite part of Australia was: the beach, the rainforest, the outback? He gave me a look of surprise and replied, “Aw mate, it’s all of ‘em. All those things put together are what make Australia beautiful.” I couldn’t agree with him more. courtesy of Nicole Sullivan

Mukhtar

Ap Khan /

Photo

William Fernan do Martinez /

Ap Photo

Al Behr

man/ Ap

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By Kris Robinson

Asst. Features Editor Over the past few years, the Features section of The Heights has dedicated this space personally to you, the members of the Boston College community. It has served as a way for students to give readers insight into some aspect of their everyday lives.

Written in first person, autobiographical form, our BC True Life has been known for its candidness, which has led to both some outrageously hilarious pieces and to some thought provoking, more somber ones.

The idea for True Life originated from MTV’s hit television reality show by the same name, which first aired in 1998. While our True Life resume doesn’t boast as quite an extensive list of topics as MTV’s, in digging into the lives of BC students such as ourselves, we have highlighted some fascinating individuals with very unique experiences. While not faced with the daunting task of 24/7 camera exposure, our True Life writers were forced to put their experiences into words, which can be, in itself, a very difficult thing to do. While it may have been easy for Elizabeth Muller to talk about living in the O’Connell House or Michael Keebaugh to talk about being a transfer student, other writers may not have had it as easy. Let’s take a look back at some of our most memorable True Life editions.

“True Life: I’m A Male Cheerleader” by Ben Wormser starts off with an all-too appropriate observation: “It’s not something you hear everyday.” In describing his life as a male member of the BC cheerleading squad, Ben expresses a sense of pride in his

extracurricular activity of choice that one might not ordinarily expect. He claimed that the life of a male cheerleader was misunderstood, mentioning the countless number of negative stigmas surrounding male cheerleading, and citing this as the reason for him writing the article. Battling these negative stigmas was what Ben said brought him and his fellow male cheerleaders closer together. He also highlighted the special bond between the members of the team, both men and women, and how a unique sense of trust characterized their relationships. Ben looked at cheerleading as a defining part of his college experience and viewed it as having a profoundly positive role in shaping him as a BC man.

In “True Life: I’m Gay at BC,” Michael Sheehan discussed his life as an openly gay student on an Irish-Catholic BC campus.

As the only “out” GLBTQ student at his all-boys Jesuit high school in Ohio, Michael faced a large amount of physical and verbal harassment from his classmates. Upon getting accepted to BC, Sheehan looked forward to coming to what he deemed to the “liberal paradise that is the Upper East Coast,” viewing BC as a well-needed breath of fresh air. After doing some research, however, Michael discovered that BC might not be the open-armed, embracing utopia that he’d imagined. Despite the homophobia he experienced throughout his early years at BC, in his narrative, he refused to complain about being discriminated against and instead chose to speak about how he made the best out of the BC community being a GLBTQ male student. He talked about meeting fellow GLBTQ students,

going to parties with them, and in general, being happy to add diversity to a “diversitydeprived campus.”

In perhaps one of the most heartbreaking True Lifes we’ve had, Sarah Otterstetter talks about her battle with anorexia in an edition titled “True Life: I Know Anorexia.”

Weighing in at 98 pounds and standing at about 5’5, Sarah’s body mass index was significantly below what the Eating Disorders Institute determined to be the healthy minimum. Sarah’s dangerous obsession with food, or rather, a lack thereof, kept her secluded from her friends and prone to unnatural mood swings. Her hazardous behavior came to a nearly fatal conclusion when one night, she found herself unable to breathe normally. A couple of days later, she had to go to the hospital and began receiving weekly treatment for her anorexia nervosa. Although the treatment did not immediately solve Sarah’s problem, after a second series of treatments and close monitoring from Health Services, Sarah was able to overcome her eating disorder.

Sarah’s courageous victory over anorexia, conquering diagnoses of a heart murmur and osteopenia, serves as an inspiration to the many people, perhaps even fellow BC students, dealing with eating disorders.

While these are only three of the many truthful stories we’ve published, they speak volumes of what we believe the substance of True Life to be: real students, real words, real experiences. Alex Hirs really did get chickenpox in Cancun and Kathy Breen really is obsessed with Lost. Have a story?

We’re dying to hear it. Help us to keep this legacy of True Life alive.

Heights Graphic / Michael Saldarraiga

A Look At The Truth Behind

SPORTS THE HEIGHTS

Monday, March 29, 2010

Section

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MONDAY, MARCH 29, 2010

Movin’ On To Motown

ALEX TRAUTWIG / HEIGHTS EDITOR AND MIKE SALDARRIAGA / HEIGHTS PHOTO ILLUSTRATION

Nine goals show BC can win two ways Gibbons’ line reasserts old dominance

BY DAVID AMSTUTZ Heights Senior Staff

WORCESTER — It was downright baffling at times and a bit too close for comfort by game’s end. But when the final Boston College 9 horn sounded in Worcester 7 Yale on Sunday night, only one thing mattered: Boston College, courtesy of its prolific offense, is heading back to the Frozen Four with its national championship dream still intact.

The final count, which read 9-7 in the Eagles’ favor, looked more like a football score than anything else. The teams set several NCAA records and combined for 16 goals, 78 shots, and countless Grade A scoring chances. Three Yale goaltenders saw time, none escaping the game with a save percentage higher than .800. Only BC’s John Muse, who managed

to weather 32 Bulldog shots, withstood the offensive furor well enough to emerge victorious.

“The games at the national level come in all different styles,” said BC head coach Jerry York, as he opened the postgame press conference. “The goal is to win and advance. Would I like a 1-0 game over a 9-7 game? To me, it doesn’t matter. I just want to win games.”

“It was just one of those nights where whoever scores the most goals wins, and we did it,” said BC assistant captain Ben Smith. “We had a lot of good and a lot of bad tonight. The good thing is we came out on the right side of it.”

The outburst came on the heels of a gritty 3-1 win over Alaska in the first round. But one day after defense and goaltending carried York’s balanced team,

See BC-Yale, C4

BY JAKE BURG Heights Staff

WORCESTER — It was only a matter of time.

After a four-game hiatus, the Boston College line of forwards Cam Atkinson, Brian Gibbons, and Joe Whitney reasserted its dominance on the ice. The three skaters combined for six of BC’s nine goals, as the Eagles punched their ticket to the Frozen Four in Detroit with a 9-7 victory over the Yale Bulldogs last night at the DCU Arena in Worcester.

“Cam [Atkinson] had gone through a dry spell with his line, but they have been working hard and practicing hard,” said BC head coach Jerry York.

The line’s hard work certainly paid off when the rest of the team needed it most. In a game that saw many ups and downs and twists and turns, including three different goalies in net for Yale, Whitney, At-

kinson, and Gibbons served as a stabilizing force.

Whenever the trio was on the ice, BC pucks found the back of the net. The three combined for 17 shots on goal, and each registered a solid plus-minus rating, with Gibbons finishing the night plus-4, and Atkinson and Whitney at plus-5.

“I think we were just gripping the stick a little too tight the last four games,” Atkinson said. “I think we were just trying to do it all by ourselves.

We sat down today before the game and talked about what we needed to do and what we needed to work on.”

The first of many scores by the threesome came only five minutes into the game. Atkinson took control of the puck at BC’s blue line and saw Gibbons flying down the left side of the ice. Gibbons

Frozen Four may be old hat, but BC still thrilled ZACH WIELGUS Ashamed as I am to say it, for the first time in my life, I experienced the thrill of accomplishing an incredible challenge using nothing but sheer, physical willpower. After finally admitting to myself that soccer and basketball just weren’t working in my favor during my freshman year of high school, I shifted my time and interest to the next-best thing: sportswriting.

Outside of getting a little too serious about intramurals at Boston College – the high ankle sprain in the quarterfinals of the volleyball playoffs was still well worth the sacrifice – the physical sports realm was not a glorifying one for this writer.

That is, until I made the rash decision to train for the Marathon back in mid-December. Three months, two bad knees, and one 21-mile run yesterday later, I know I am running the Marathon as a point of pride. Even if it kills me. Heartbreak Hill really is as bad as everyone says, three and a half hours of straight running ranks low on my list

See Dominant Line, C4

BASEBALL

Eagles edge out Duke

of things to do on a Sunday morning, and the “Do not take more than eight Tylenol” command is really just a soft warning.

At BC, running a marathon is old hat, but I would like to think that in the grand scheme of society, covering 26.2 miles in one morning is nothing to scoff at. But as the baseball pitcher and self-advertised life-philosopher Kenny Powers hypothesized in Eastbound and Down, “I play real sports … not trying to be the best at exercising.”

Arguments aside of what constitutes athletic endeavors (though I stand by my one chance to be considered a legitimate athlete), the push to finish the longest run before April 19 made me think of something else: Whether or not successful athletes or coaches become jaded with their achievements, shifting from ecstatic to content after a few years of consistently winning.

It was heartbreaking to watch the seniors of Alaska-Fairbanks respond to questions about what led to a firstround exit in their first-ever trip the to NCAA tournament. Having to see the grimace on their faces as the moderator congratulated them on a great season and a fantastic effort against the superior BC team was downright depressing, despite holding the per-

BY ROBERT T. BALINT For The Heights

Boston College ace Pat Dean pitched nine innings of one-run ball to lead his team over the Duke Blue Devils, 2-1, Sunday afternoon, to give the Eagles their first ACC Boston College 2 series win of the 1 Duke year. The win increases the senior hurler’s record to a perfect 4-0 on the season.

“When it gets right down to it, Pat was the story of the game,” said head coach Miko Aoki. “He makes two runs stand up for us.”

Dean kept Duke’s bats silent through the first three innings, picking up his two strikeouts of the afternoon. The Blue Devils managed to get going in the top of the fourth, when shortstop Jake Lemmerman slapped a single to left field, bringing in catcher Ryan McCurdy from second base. This was Dean’s sole slip-up of the game, as he remained untouchable for the rest of the game.

ALEX TRAUTWIG / HEIGHTS EDITOR

See Thrill of the Win, C3

I NSIDE SPORTS THIS ISSUE

Second baseman Matt Hamlet lays down a successful sacrifice bunt against Holy Cross.

Castonzo puts right foot forward

Despite breaking his foot in January, the left tackle is not wasting his spring.............C4

The arm that can save the season

Starting pitcher Pat Dean has been nearly unhittable this year, and will have to guide BC......................C5

See Baseball, C5

Notable Quotable........................C2 Numbers to Know........................C2

C2

Monday, March 29, 2010

THE HEIGHTS

UNC rallies from four-goal deficit to take down BC

BY RAYCHEL KRUPER For The Heights

Despite a strong first half, the Boston College women’s lacrosse team fell to the No. 4 North Carolina Tar Heels, 15-6, Saturday at Newton Campus Field. The loss dropped the Eagles to 7-2, while the Heels improved to 8-1.

Just 4:44 into the first half, the Eagles’ Kristin Igoe buried a ball on an assist from Brooke Blue to open the scoring. Brittany Wilton scored with 12:34 remaining in the half when she began behind the Tar Heels’ net, ran around to the front, and launched the ball past the goalie to put BC up 2-0.

Less than two minutes later, BC capitalized on a UNC turnover to extend the lead. Igoe sent a pass from the left corner directly in front of the net to Hannah Alley, who caught the ball before quickly firing it in, giving the Eagles a three-goal edge. With 8:32 remaining in the half, Blue added an unassisted goal to widen the Eagles’ lead to 4-0.

UNC completely seized the momentum following the fourth BC goal, though. Immediately after the Eagles scored, UNC struck back. With 7:27 remaining in the half, the Tar Heels’ Jenn Russell scored off a pass from Megan Bosica behind the net.

The Tar Heels scored three more goals between 4:29 and 2:28 to even the game up at four heading into the half.

“Our ‘D’ did well, but UNC got a lot of easy goals, which boosted their confidence,” said BC head coach Bowen Holden. “They became more patient.”

UNC outshot the Eagles, 14-7, but didn’t have much to show for it.

ANDREW POWELL / HEIGHTS STAFF

Sophomore attack Brittany Wilton (left) reads the North Carolina defense before scoring on Saturday. Senior attack Lauren Costello (right) added a goal as well in the 15-6 loss to the Tar Heels.

“I said to the team at half that the game was 4-4 because of what they did in the first half,” Holden said. “It was important to continue on the defensive end and be aggressive offensively. We had a huge stand at the end of the first half to keep the game tied and not letting one up.”

In the second half, the Tar Heels came out strong, scoring five straight goals before the Eagles switched goaltenders from Sheila Serafino to Catherine Conway.

Despite the switch to a fresh goaltender between the pipes, BC was unable to slow UNC down. The Tar Heels put home another four goals before the Eagles were able to add one of their own.

With 3:40 remaining in the game, Igoe scored her 21st goal of the season to bring the score to 13-5. The Eagles continued to fight, and 25 seconds later, Lauren Costello converted for BC on a free position shot, recording the final goal on the day for the Eagles.

“I’m very proud of the team,” Holden said. “They have an excellent work ethic and fight. In the second half, we played too safe. We played not to lose instead of to win, and you can’t do that against the top teams in the country.”

The Eagles fought hard until the end of the match, though in the final minute of play, UNC added two more goals of their own with a one-man advantage due to a yellow card awarded to the Eagles’ Katherine Caufield. The final shot count

was 30-16 in favor of the Tar Heels.

The Eagles next travel to take on Virginia this Saturday at 1 p.m.

“We need to play 60 minutes,” Holden said about preparing for next week’s game. “We can’t play 30 minutes and expect to beat top teams, and have to play to win. We had trouble with the draws today.

When the draw controls are eight-to-15, it’s tough to control a game. We have to get back to fundamentals and get it done next week.” 

Former Texans GM discusses motivation with students

BY ANDREW KLOKIW

SPORTS in SHORT

Texas 41, USC 38. This score line represents the final for what many consider to be the best college football game ever. Texas quarterback Vince Young and University of Southern California running back Reggie Bush were the best two players in college football, competing against one another in the 2006 Rose Bowl. Two of the most talented, dynamic, and fun-to-watch players in the country – in other words, the guaranteed top two picks in the upcoming 2006 NFL Draft.

Everyone said so. ESPN NFL draft analysts Mel Kiper, Jr. (and his impeccably coiffed hair, which deserves its own mention as a separate entity) and Todd McShay spent months angrily debating who deserved the No. 1 overall choice.

The Houston Texans held the first overall pick that April, and General Manager Charley Casserly didn’t really care what the American populace, Kiper, or McShay had to say.

Casserly proceeded to make one of the most shocking moves in NFL draft history and chose defensive end Mario Williams out of North Carolina State, even though the Texans had no identifiable quarterback (David Carr had been all but written off as a starting NFL quarterback) and nobody to run the football, either.

On Thursday, Casserly visited the Heights to speak to Boston College as the featured spring 2010 lecturer for the Winston Center for Leadership and Ethics.

Upon being asked about drafting Williams over Bush and Young, Casserly acknowledged that Williams was a “very controversial pick, someone who very few people outside of football had heard of.”

Ultimately, the pick turned out brilliantly for the Texans, as Bush struggled to establish himself as a featured running back in the league, while Williams posted an impressive 39.5 sacks over his first four years and made three Pro Bowls. Bush may be the bigger public star after helping the Saints to a Super Bowl victory, but Williams has almost single-handedly elevated the Texans to relevancy.

Casserly, currently an analyst for CBS’ The NFL Today, also spoke of Williams being a player who was capable of playing “a full 60 plays a game,” whereas Bush had “the legs of a wide receiver and a thin lower body,” which hinted to Casserly that his durability may be a question later in his career (Bush has already fought with persistent knee injuries).

The former GM broke into football in 1977 with the Washington Redskins organization, which was then under the leadership of Hall of Fame coach, George Allen. In his speech, he often cited the tactics and values of Allen and his staff that he applies to his life and his job today.

The theme of Casserly’s talk was

motivation, something that he called “a value in football that no one really addresses.”

Utilizing sports-related examples, such as the New Orleans Saints’ 2010 Super Bowl victory, Casserly demonstrated the importance of motivation in football as well as in any successful business environment. He pointed to Saints head coach Sean Payton’s motivational tactics to spur his team to its Super Bowl triumph this past season, especially the way he played up the organization’s importance to the city of New Orleans and their status as a perpetual underdog to his players.

He proceeded to bring up the additional successes of the Pittsburgh Steelers and their past two Super Bowl-

winning head coaches, Bill Cowher (Casserly’s colleague at CBS) and current head-coach Mike Tomlin. Casserly claimed the effective use of a blend of fear, encouragement, and a neverending thirst for knowledge ultimately led to multiple Super Bowl victories for the two head coaches and the Steeler franchise.

After landing a job as an unpaid intern with the Redskins in 1977, Casserly worked 23 years in the Redskins organization, eventually playing a part in winning three Super Bowls in 1982, 1987, and 1991, as an assistant to the general manager, Bobby Beathard, and legendary coach Joe Gibbs.

Casserly is one of football’s longest-serving members and has had the

chance to view the transformation of the sport in the last four decades. In addition to his talk on motivation, he commented on a number of football’s hottest topics, including Spygate, Brett Favre, Tim Tebow, franchise tags, and the players’ strike of 1987, which served as the inspiration for the 2000 film starring Keanu Reeves, The Replacements.

Today, Kiper Jr., was quoted on SportsCenter as saying that the Texans are perhaps one good draft away from contending for a Super Bowl. Maybe they should think about bringing back Casserly for one more draft.

Andrew Klokiw is a guest columnist for The Heights. He can be reached at sports@ bcheights.com.

ALEX TRAUTWIG / HEIGHTS EDITOR

ANDREW POWELL / HEIGHTS STAFF

Former Houston Texans general manager and current CBS football analyst Charley Casserly spoke Thursday to BC students as the featured lecturer for the Winston Center for Leadership and Ethics.

Notable Quotable “They have a YouTube presentation, it’s on YouTube, their introduction. It’s got thousands of hits. The kids had seen that throughout the course of the year. A polar bear, taking out campuses, taking out – battles, stuff like that. I showed it to my grandson, and he started crying.

I said, ‘That’s probably not the thing to show.’”

—Jerry York, head coach of the Boston College men’s hockey team, on the introduction video for the Alaska Nanooks, his team’s first round opponent in the NCAA tournament this weekend. The Eagles defeated the Nanooks, 3-1, on Saturday before advancing to the Frozen Four in Detroit by beating the Yale Bulldogs, 9-7, yesterday.

Numbers to Know

9

Games to Watch Baseball

Frozen Four appearances in the last 13 years by the men’s hockey team.

The Eagles have appeared in four Frozen Fours in the past five years.

5-1

The baseball team’s record when Pat Dean is the starting pitcher.

The Eagles are 6-12 when anyone else starts.

9

Consecutive goals scored by UNC in its 15-6 win over the women’s lacrosse team on Saturday.

Clemson vs.

Boston College

The baseball team improved to 3-6 in the ACC after taking two of three from Duke this weekend. Junior pitcher Pat Dean came up huge for the Eagles in the rubber match, pitching a complete game and surrendering just one run on six hits in a 2-1 victory. The Eagles will need similar performances from Dean and the rest of the rotation to keep the momentum going against a talented Clemson team.

Friday and Saturday, 6:30 p.m.; Sunday, 12:05 p.m.

THE HEIGHTS

Monday, March 29, 2010

C3

Unlikely heroes come through in the clutch

BY MAEGAN O’ROURKE Assoc. Sports Editor

WORCESTER — Sometimes, it’s the most unlikely of players that come through when it matters most.

Luckily for the Boston College men’s hockey team, the Eagles had multiple different players Boston College 3 step up in its 3-1 1 Alaska win over Alaska in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

While BC got on the board first with a shorthanded, unassisted goal from senior captain Matt Lombardi in the first period, the Nanooks, making their first ever appearance in the tournament, were not intimidated by the No. 1-seeded Eagles.

Alaska applied pressure throughout, eventually tying BC in the second period on a goal by CCHA Freshman of the Year Andy Taranto.

Heading into the third period with the score tied, the stage was set for either team to move ahead. Only 3:46 into the period, a trio of BC freshmen combined to give the Eagles the final advantage.

Though they make up two-thirds of BC’s fourth line, Pat Mullane and Steven Whitney made their time on the ice count. Mullane drove the puck up the left wing before passing it to Whitney, who then swung it to a trailing Patch Alber.

Alber ripped a shot that found Mullane’s stick on Alaska goalie Scott Greenham’s weak side, tipping the puck in for BC’s go-ahead goal.

“We had a three-on-two, and I dropped it to Steve Whitney,” Mullane said. “Steve Whitney had a lot of poise to hold up, and hit Patch Alber coming in late. We always work on hitting our ‘D’ coming in late and it paid off tonight.

We had a great look back door, and I was lucky enough to have my stick in the right place.

ALEX TRAUTWIG / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Boston College received contributions from unsung heroes Pat Mullane (left) and Matt Lombardi (right) in its win over Alaska. Mullane scored the game-winning goal in the third period.

“I’m not sure whether that was a pass or a shot. If I go talk to Patch, I’m sure he’ll say it was a pass, but regardless it was a great play.”

BC head coach Jerry York acknowledged the importance of receiving contributions from the fourth line of Mullane, Whitney, and sophomore Paul Carey.

“I think Pat, Paul Carey, and Steve Whitney are good players,” York said.

“They made some really good contributions tonight, like the winning goal from Pat. They work hard and they’re developing, they’re a lot better now than they

were in the middle of January.”

York also praised Alber, who has stepped into a more important role on the defensive line after fellow freshman defenseman Patrick Wey was sidelined for the third time this year, this time due to illness.

“He’s surprised all of us,” York said.

“He played for the Junior Bruins, we actively recruited him, but we thought with our depth he’d be a seventh or eighth defenseman and hopefully play down the road. But he’s just emerged as an excellent freshman for us.”

The number of different players scor-

ing for BC gives the Eagles numerous scoring opportunities. While the second line might lead the team in scoring, the involvement of other players is what gives the Eagles an advantage in the tournament.

“Any team that’s going to make a push here in college hockey is going to need everyone to step up, everyone is going to play a different role every night,” said senior captain Matt Price. “Sometimes your checkers are going to score, and that’s something you need. I think the more guys we have going, the better off we’re going to be.”

Mullane and the fourth line may not have the first choice to score for BC, but in the end, it was their effort that put BC ahead.

“I feel like what makes us a really strong team is that when we don’t have our top line of [Brian] Gibbons, [Cam] Atkinson, and [Joe] Whitney, when they’re not scoring, we’re so deep that we can have Matt Lombardi, who’s been playing well for us lately, come through with huge goals,” Mullane said. “We can have guys like that scoring goals, and that really helps us when our top lines aren’t playing well.” 

Muse looms large in net against Alaska-Fairbanks

BY ZACH WIELGUS Sports Editor

ALEX TRAUTWIG / HEIGHTS EDITOR

John Muse extended his unbeaten streak in the NCAA tournament, stopping 21 shots Saturday.

WORCESTER — Without usual starter Patrick Wey, scratched due to illness, the Boston College men’s hockey team was faced with an added difficulty in trying to rebound from allowing six goals to Maine in the Hockey East championship.

Goaltender John Muse was up to the challenge.

“I thought he was exceptionally strong tonight,” said head coach Jerry York.

“Certainly if I had to pick one reason why we are advancing, it’s the play of John Muse. He made some incredible saves.”

Many of those incredible saves came in the first period, as well in the final five minutes, with the Eagles protecting a slim lead. Alaska peppered the junior goaltender with clean look after clean look, but Muse answered the call every time.

In the first period, Muse faced 11 shots as the Eagles struggled to establish a rhythm among the back line. Yet, he dismissed every chance by Alaska, holding the game scoreless until Matt Lombardi’s shorthanded goal halfway through the frame.

Then, with a shade under five minutes to go, Dion Knelsen, the leading goalscorer for the Nanooks, split a pair of BC defensemen and found himself face

to face with Muse at the bottom of the circle. Knelsen ripped a wrister that Muse blocked with his shoulder, before a scramble in front of the net plowed into the net and knocked it off its pegs.

Less than a minute later, Edwin Shea – in for Wey – sent a pass to no one in the BC zone, which Alaska picked up along the far boards. The puck skidded over to the corner of the net, toward which Nanook Kevin Petovello was streaking. Muse kicked the puck wide just before Petovello could get a stick on it, saving what likely would have been a game-tying goal.

As the pace of play picked up, so did Muse’s ability to make key saves when under pressure. Twenty-eight saves later, Muse improved his NCAA tournament record to 5-0 and pushed BC to the second round of the Worcester Regional.

“He has played phenomenal lately, and you need that sometimes,” said captain Matt Price. “We are playing the best teams in the country right now, and they are going to make some great plays. You will need your goalie to backstop you, and he’s made some unbelievable saves.”

Muse also wowed during a string of three straight power plays for the Nanooks. Muse shocked CCHA Freshman of the Year Andy Taranto, who entered the game with 17 goals, with three saves on the wide-open forward. When Taranto finally broke through the exhausted BC penalty kill and dumped the puck in an open right

side of the net, he raised his hands in disbelief to celebrate the 1-1 tie.

After that goal with two and a half minutes to play in the second period, Muse stiffened further, blocking an array of good looks from Alaska. The lift of Muse’s consistent saves, including a handful of point-blank shots he turned away with a pad or absorbed into his chest, provided a visible pick-me-up for the sometimes sluggish Eagle offense.

“You can sense that on the bench,” Price said. “A huge save can pick up the bench real quick and turn the momentum the other way. He’s been doing that a lot as of late, and it’s a huge part of our team.”

One save energized the all-freshman fourth line, turning a quick-kick save into a game-winning goal. After Muse deflected a slap shot, Pat Mullane picked up the puck to Muse’s left and raced down the boards. Dropping the puck off to Steven Whitney, Mullane raced to the corner of the net. After controlling the pass from Whitney, Patch Alber sent a shot headed wide of the net, but Mullane stuck his stick out and tipped the puck past Alaska goaltender Scott Greenham.

“We always work on hitting our ‘D,’ coming in late, and it paid off tonight,” Mullane said. “Patch had a great look back door, and I was lucky that my stick was in the right place.”

And it all started with Muse. 

Still full of that excitement

A THOUSAND WORDS

Thrill of the Win, from C1

sonal joy of watching my team advance.

It couldn’t be more the opposite for the Eagles.

For the BC men’s hockey team, its stunning and bizarre 9-7 win over Yale sends it to the Frozen Four for the fourth time in five years. Other than a disappointing finish and being forced to watch the NCAA tournament on TV last season, the Eagles have skated to the championship game three straight years.

It’s extremely impressive, certainly, and illustrates just how phenomenal a coach Jerry York is. But does a berth to Frozen Four – this time in picturesque and extremely safe Detroit – mean much to them anymore? For the four seniors on the team, this will be their third shot at a title, and they already have one. Where’s the excitement? Where’s the infectious drive to go further than you ever have before?

Captain Matt Price summed it up perfectly after BC’s win over Alaska: “This program, we expect to be in the national tournament and to do well.”

ALEX TRAUTWIG / HEIGHTS EDITOR

After yet another goal by the Boston College men’s hockey team, Brian Gibbons couldn’t help but leap for joy into the arms of a teammate. On their way to a 9-7 win over Yale, the Eagles secured a spot in the Frozen Four.

I appreciate the confidence, especially when it means I get to hold on to the one remote shot BC has at a championship this year. Hearing that in a post-game press conference, though, makes me wonder just how much they want it in comparison to a team like top-seed Miami, which has been stunned two years running in the NCAA tournament and clearly wants nothing more than to bring a championship to Oxford.

I had to grit through my pain, keep shuffling my feet when I wanted nothing more than to stop, and convince myself this training run was the real thing. It wasn’t easy, but it felt incredible to finish it.

I wondered all of this about the Eagles throughout my run – until I saw the photos from the victory that catapulted them back to the Frozen Four.

One glimpse at Brian Gibbons jumping into Cam Atkinson’s arms shows that they still feel the thrill.

Zach Wielgus is the sports editor for The Heights. He can be reached at sports@bcheights.com.

C4

Monday, March 29, 2010

The Heights

Castonzo studies while injured foot heals

By Paul Sulzer

Asst. Sports Editor Anthony Castonzo was walking around his bedroom on the Friday before the Super Bowl when he took a bad step and landed awkwardly. The 6-7, 295-pound left tackle for the Boston College football team broke his right foot dodging laundry.

“It was a complete freak accident,” Castonzo said, cracking a smile before speaking more seriously. “I knew something was wrong. I was trying to walk it off all weekend. I couldn’t put too much pressure on it, so I saw the trainers and they told me it was broken.

“There was the possibility of surgery, but the bone was so well aligned that I didn’t end up needing the surgery, which was great. It’s healing really well.”

Castonzo, who will miss most of spring football recovering from the injury, spent five weeks on crutches before he was cleared by doctors to walk without aid, one week ago today. Doctors have told Castonzo that his foot is about 70 percent healed. The muscles around the broken bone are pretty weak, though, so he can’t put much pressure on his foot without feeling pain.

The Eagles began spring practice on March 18. Since Castonzo can’t play, he’s been riding the stationary bike, lifting weights, and studying film while his teammates have been on the field. He’s working on his punch technique, too,

since he has a tendency to grab onto players to slow them down instead of displacing them.

“It’s pretty brutal,” Castonzo said of not being able to play. “It’s just so frustrating because I want to be playing so badly. It’s weird. When you’re playing spring ball, you’re getting absolutely pounded and you just want to get through it. And when you’re not in there, you really wish you could be playing.”

Anthony Castonzo is used to life changing quickly, so dealing with a broken foot is just the newest challenge for BC’s most decorated offensive lineman.

He became the first true freshman to start on the Eagle line in 10 years when, as a 6-6, 260-pound recruit, he stepped in at right tackle in 2007.

“It was crazy,” Castonzo said of playing immediately. “I was at home this past week, and there was an article laying there from when I first came here. I told the reporter, ‘I’m going to get redshirted and, hopefully, I’ll be fighting for a position next year. Currently, I’m the thirdstring tackle.’ Things just happened so fast, and I was the first-string guy.

“But I would not change that for anything because I learned so much. Getting thrown into things, I didn’t have any time to think, ‘What if I screw up?’ I got in there and let loose. I got my confidence that first year.”

Part of the confidence was built by the team’s left tackle, Gosder Cherilus.

alex trautwig / heights editor

Castonzo (left) will miss most of spring practice while recovering from a broken right foot.

A first-round pick by the Detroit Lions in 2008, Cherilus roomed with Castonzo when the team traveled and acted as his mentor. With Cherilus’ help, Castonzo was named to the All-ACC Freshman team by The Sporting News.

“He’d always calm my nerves and joke around with me,” Castonzo said. “He taught me a lot about the game, too, just little things I should focus on. We’d work on our steps and punches in the room. He helped me a lot, and I’m still in contact with him. He’s still helping me.”

Before his sophomore season, Castonzo completed the same transition Cherilus once did on the offensive line, moving from right tackle to left tackle.

Castonzo started all 14 games and was named to the All-ACC second team.

“I loved it because I’m a right-handed guy,” Castonzo said of his move to the other side of the line. “At offensive tackle, you use your inside hand a lot. Since I was on the right side before, I was using my left hand, and it was a little awkward.

It’s kind of like a boxer who’s righty trying to box southpaws. Now that I’m able to punch mostly with my right hand, it’s really nice.”

Last spring, Castonzo had to adjust to a new offensive line coach when Sean Devine was hired to replace Jack Bicknell, Jr., who was hired by the New York Giants as an assistant. Devine and Bicknell had different expectations from their players, Castonzo said. Technique is key to Devine. Everyone has to execute his assignment from the beginning of the play until the end. Bicknell was more results-oriented – he just wanted the job to get done.

Under Devine, Castonzo flourished last season, paving the way for Montel Harris to finish with 1,457 rushing yards, the fourth-highest total in school history.

Against NC State, Harris set new school records on the ground with 264 yards and five touchdowns. For his efforts, Castonzo was named to the All-ACC first team.

“Since I can remember, I haven’t been able to accept not being the best at what I do,” Castonzo said. “It almost consumes me. I’ve been working on my technique, working on everything nonstop. My friends catch me kick-stepping in my room. I’m constantly thinking about the games. Just the fact that I have so much passion for it and I’m constantly trying to improve myself is probably the reason that I’m able to be as successful as I am.”

Anthony Castonzo is ambitious. BC was the ideal fit for him because Eagles play hard and work hard. The school produces excellent linemen and excellent students, the perfect mix for a biochemistry major who wants to play in the NFL

David givler / Heights editor

As a left tackle, Castonzo is responsible for protecting quarterback Dave Shinskie’s blind side. and cure cancer.

“I love the tradition,” Castonzo said.

“One of the real reasons I committed here was the football and the academics. Guys were willing to put in the effort on and off the field. It spoke to me. I like that.”

Castonzo said that he’s always loved science. As a high school sophomore, he took chemistry and thought it was “awesome.” He knew then that he would be a biochemistry major in college. His goals remain unchanged since grade school, when he wrote himself a letter with two life goals: playing in the NFL and curing cancer.

Those goals can conflict, though, especially when it comes to class and practice attendance. Last season, for example, Castonzo was five minutes late to every Thursday practice because the lab for his Molecular Cell Biology class was only offered then. To alleviate some of the stress of playing and studying, Castonzo takes his most challenging classes and most of his labs, which tend to be more time-intensive, in the spring. He’s currently taking Biochemistry II, Developmental Biology, Physical Chemistry, and Advanced Research in Biochemistry.

Because football is year-round, there can still be scheduling conflicts, he said.

“I try to really pay attention in class,” Castonzo said of balancing athletics and academics. “I want to be sure that, as things are going, I’m really learning [concepts] and not just writing them down. If I can really learn it in class, I don’t have

to put in as much time out of class toward my schoolwork. I try to get that done so I have a little more time for football and so that I’m not so stressed out.”

Castonzo isn’t the only high-profile ACC student athlete to excel in the classroom lately. Myron Rolle, a safety for Florida State, chose to forgo this past season to attend Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship after graduating in two and a half years with a degree in exercise science. After earning a master’s degree in medical anthropology, Rolle has entered the NFL draft. His stock has suffered, though, since he had a relatively weak performance at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis last month.

With a strong senior season, Castonzo could climb to the top of draft boards next year. He said that he fully intends to pursue a career in the NFL before continuing his studies.

“You have your whole life that you can do the academic part of things,” Castonzo said. “But your body only has so long it can play football.”

Castonzo wants to go to graduate school one day, he said, although he’s unsure whether he would attend medical school or go after a Ph.D. He knows he would rather do cancer research than be a practicing doctor.

Whenever he continues his studies, Anthony Castonzo will attack his research with the same determination that has him on track to play football on Sundays. n

Offense comes alive as BC downs Yale BC-Yale, from C1

the Bulldogs scored an even-strength goal minutes later to pull within three goals. it was the offense’s turn to shine.

From that point forward, Yale mostly Not that anyone in the DCU Center anticipated otherwise. Yale entered played with an extra attacker on the ice, Sunday’s game first in the nation with as Bulldogs’ head coach Keith Allain 4.09 goals per game, and BC came in elected to pull goaltender Jeff Malcolm.

York countered by calling a timeout, ranked third with 3.87. Certainly, goal scoring was expected. Just not at the rate and afterward, BC’s defense recovered.

The forecheck improved, as the first by which it accumulated.

The onslaught began when center line of Matt Price, Matt Lombardi, and Brian Gibbons broke free from the BC Barry Almeida kept double-shifting. And zone off a pretty pass from linemate Cam even though the Bulldogs controlled the Atkinson and skated down the left wing. puck throughout the final minutes, Muse Gibbons took advantage of the open made several key saves to preserve the ice and fired a low snap shot past Yale victory.

“Jo h n p ro b a b l y goaltender Ryan wishes he had a few Rondreau, who was “It’s always interesting, of those goals back,” making just his secand we’re exciting to York said. “[But] they ond start since Nov. had some phenomenal 21. continue. We have goals and John made The tally was two more games for a some critical saves. He Gibbons’ first since national title, and we’d competes well. Fact is, Feb. 21 when BC dea winner and he’s feated Merrimack, certainly like to achieve he’s going to the Frozen 7-1, and it sparked our goals this year.”

Four.” an explosion from So, too, is the rest t h e Ea gl e s ’ to p of BC’s team. And to scoring line of Gib- Jerry York, reach Detroit, York’s bons, Atkinson, and Head Coach players have shown a Joe Whitney. The remarkable ability to linemates combined win by playing several for six goals, after having registered just one in the prior styles of games. In the postseason, the team has now played a pair of games four postseason games.

But the Gibbons line was far from the for three consecutive weekends. In each only productive unit against the Bulldogs. stage, one game has been offensive, the The team’s balance was on full display, other defensive.

“Being able to play both types of and the trio of Smith, Jimmy Hayes, and Chris Kreider scored twice, both courtesy games, that’s going to help us moving of the 6-5 Hayes. The team’s postseason forward,” York said. “Being able to gut it scoring leader tallied two goals in a 23- out, like we did yesterday against Alaska, second span to give the Eagles an insur- and then being able to use our offense and our firepower to win a 9-7 game.” mountable 9-4 lead in the third period.

It is a trait that few teams possess. But “Winning hockey games is [all about] it is a quality that York’s most successful putting teams away,” York said.

And armed with a five-goal advantage Frozen Four teams have employed.

“There’s been a lot of stress and tough, in the third period, the Eagles had all but difficult games to get to this point,” York put the Bulldogs away.

It did not come easy, though. Yale said. “We’ll look at the other Frozen mounted an aggressive counterattack, Four runs. It’s always interesting, and notching three goals in a five-minute we’re very excited to continue. We have stretch to pull within two at 18:38. For- two more games for a national title, and ward Mark Arcobello matched Atkinson we’d certainly like to achieve our goals with a hat trick of his own at 13:32, before this year.” n

alex trautwig / heights editor

Brian Gibbons started off the scoring for the Eagles five minutes into the first period, and it was all offense for BC from that point forward.

Popular line returns to form Dominant Line, from C1

and Atkinson took advantage of Yale defenders out of their own zone to help out on Yale’s attack. Atkinson placed a crisp pass right on Gibbons’ stick, and then Gibbons skated it up the ice under limited pressure. He took the open shot, the puck crossed the crease and hit the right post, sailing in to give the Eagles the early 1-0 lead.

As the first period came to a close with the Eagles up 2-1, both Whitney and Atkinson knocked at the Bulldogs’ door once more, but both times their efforts were stymied. The late-period misses would soon turn into early second-period makes, though. Just over two minutes into the second period, Joe Whitney got on the board with a hard-fought goal to extend the Eagles’ lead to 3-1.

Pat Mullane gathered the puck behind Yale’s net and then found a wideopen Whitney as he charged to the front of the net. Whitney took the shot, but Yale’s goaltender Ryan Rondeau made an excellent save to keep the puck out.

That mattered little to Whitney. He took the rebound and just continued to bang away at the puck until it eventually found its way past Rondeau.

After BC was whistled for too many men on the ice, Yale took advantage and cut the Eagles’ lead to 3-2 with 15 minutes left to play in the period.

Atkinson responded in a resounding

fashion a mere 11 seconds later.

He stole the puck in Yale’s zone off a poor clearing attempt, and in the blink of an eye, Atkinson was standing in front of Rondeau with his arms up, and the puck in the back of the net.

“He has to be considered one of the top players in the country,” York said.

Later in the same period, Atkinson proved why he is one of the nation’s top scorers and why York believes him to be one of the best in the country, when he tallied his second goal of the night. The series also typified the excellent night that he, Gibbons, and Whitney had.

The series began with a nice steal

by Gibbons. He poke checked the puck free and directed it right to a wide open Atkinson who then blasted a shot, but Rondeau made a great save to keep the puck out of the net, at least for a few more seconds.

Whitney then gathered the puck up and passed it along the boards to Gibbons, who positioned himself behind the net. Gibbons stalled for a bit, and waited as Atkinson positioned himself right in front of Rondeau. Gibbons then hit Atkinson at the point, and Atkinson rifled the shot home to give BC the 5-2 lead midway through the second period.

“We just played our game today,” Atkinson said. “Everyone executed.”

Yale then decided to switch goalies, putting Billy Blase in between the pipes.

A few minutes after getting on the ice,

however, and Whitney showed that Blase’s luck would prove just as bad as Rondeau’s.

Whitney received a pass from assistant captain Ben Smith, and then proceeded to rocket a perfectly placed slapshot from the top of the left circle.

The puck squeezed right in between the netminder’s stick and the post, extending the Eagles’ lead to 6-2, and giving Whitney his third point of the game.

Yale refused to go away, though, and scored two late second period goals to close the gap to 6-4 heading into the locker room.

Atkinson again responded at the start of the third period. After a blocked shot sent the puck drifting up the ice toward Yale’s zone, Atkinson showed his pure speed, blazing past defensemen to get to the puck in order to create a one-on-one situation with Blase.

Atkinson simply wristed a shot over the glove side to earn the hat trick, as well as his 27th goal of the year, placing him in a tie for second in the nation in goals scored. Hats proceeded to fall on the ice, and just like that, the Eagles were back up by three.

“It was great to see all the hats on the ice,” York said. “Unbelievable experience.”

With the Eagles needing more than seven goals to top Yale, it’s only fitting that it come from the line that has received the most attention all season. n

The Heights

Monday, March 29, 2010

C5

Dean shines as the Eagles’ ace this season

By Greg Joyce For The Heights

Growing up, almost every little baseball fan lives for the days when he gets to throw the baseball around with his dad.

For most, it is a chance to enjoy the fresh air and get ready for that Little League game coming up. Only for a lucky few is their true potential to be a standout baseball player realized.

For Boston College pitcher Pat Dean, he knew it right from the start.

“My dad always tells me the story of how when I first started pitching to him in the backyard, I would always hit my spots,” Dean said. “Even when I was really little, he would never have to move the glove. And he says that he always knew I was gonna be a pretty good pitcher.”

“Pretty good” is an understatement.

The lefty from Naugatuck, Conn., has started off hot in his third season as an Eagle, with a record of 4-0 and a 2.37 ERA. Dean’s first two starts were very solid, with wins over Tulane and Florida Atlantic. His most impressive win of the season so far came against No. 13 University of Miami. Dean pitched eight shutout innings on the way to BC’s 3-0 win over the Hurricanes. He also recorded a season-high nine strikeouts and only allowed six hits.

“So far, so good,” Dean said. “To be able to go out there and give the team the opportunity to win every time I go out there, it’s a good feeling.”

Dean is no stranger to success against Miami. In his last three starts against the Hurricanes, he has gone 3-0 with a 0.41 ERA, striking out 21 over 22 innings pitched.

“I don’t know what it is,” Dean said of pitching against the Hurricanes.

“I’ve just been having some good luck against them. Obviously, they’re a great team. They have a great history in their program, but for some reason they just don’t see me. It’s just an honor to play against schools like that. When I was little I used to watch them on TV, so it’s definitely a great experience to be able to play against the teams I used to watch.”

The Eagles (10-13, 3-6 ACC), however, have not started off the season the

Steven Stuts / miami hurricane

Pat Dean bounced back from hyperextending his left elbow to shut down Duke yesterday, giving up one run on six hits in a complete-game win. way they had wished, coming off 34 wins last year. Dean said it has been frustrating sitting on the bench on his off days, unable to do anything to help his team.

“Yeah, it kills me,” Dean said. “It’s definitely tough to only go out there once a week and throw, and that’s the only time I get to do my job.”

Despite only starting five games so far this season, Dean has been able to help his fellow pitchers during his time on the bench.

“When I’m not pitching, I try and talk to some other pitchers, see what they’re thinking, and try and give them

some pointers on what helps me out when I’m out there,” Dean said. “A lot of the younger guys, and even some of the older guys, like Dane Clemens, have been coming up to me, and trying to pick my mind a little bit, see how I found success, and try to find his way.”

Dean is now serving as the veteran of the pitching staff, after playing the role of the advice-seeker just a year ago.

“I was doing that when I was a freshman and last year, talking to Dan Houston, JB [MacDonald] last year, and Belf [Mike Belfiore], trying to find out what they do to go out there every time and be

as dominant as they were,” he said.

Due to a hyperextended elbow that he suffered during his start against Miami, Dean missed his last start, but he said he is now feeling fine. He threw in a pair of bullpen sessions on Wednesday and Friday before starting yesterday against Duke. With the Eagles needing a win to take the series from the Blue Devils, Dean went the distance in a 2-1 victory, scattering six hits and striking out two.

Dean said the season to this point has been “a little disappointing,” but thinks the Eagles are just a few games away from turning it around and getting even farther

than they did last year.

“As of right now we just need to put everything together,” Dean said. “In the beginning of the year, our hitting was there, but our pitching wasn’t. Now our pitching is starting to come around, and our bats are slowing up. So once we find the medium, and put everything together, we’ll be a tough team to beat.”

In 2009, the Eagles made the NCAA tournament, where they were a part of the longest game in college baseball history, a 25-inning chess match with No. 1 Texas, a game that Dean started.

He said that game has been the most memorable experience he has had so far in an Eagle uniform.

“It was crazy,” Dean said. “I’ve never been nervous pitching a game, never been nervous. But then, going out there … I was walking out to the bullpen to throw my warm-up pitches, and there’s a whole line of people just yelling at me.

The first pitch was a strike, and then I didn’t really look back from there.

“Just being a part of history like that and being able to pitch and start that game, and throw against the No. 1 team in the country, and only give up two runs. I gave up like eight hits, but to be able to hold them to two runs through seven-plus innings – that’s definitely the best experience I’ve had so far.”

On the mound, batters can expect to see four different pitches from the 6-1 junior: fastball, curveball, slider, and changeup.

Dean says he is comparable to Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle, because of the way that he throws whatever pitch he gets from the catcher’s sign.

“I feel like I have confidence in everything I throw, I can throw it at any point in the count,” Dean explained. “So whatever my coach calls, or whatever the catcher calls, I’ll shake it and say ‘yeah.’”

As long as he keeps hitting his spots, as he has since he was a little kid throwing to his dad in the backyard, Dean will continue to be the Eagles’ most dominant pitcher. If the rest of the staff follows Dean’s example, there’s still plenty of time for the team to return to the NCAA tournament and the national spotlight. n

Eagles split doubleheader

By Logan Macomber and Alex Petrossian For The Heights

Jeremy Gould had three hits and three RBIs in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader between Duke and Boston College, carrying the Blue Devils to a 5-4 win over the Eagles.

BC’s Matt Watson blasted a solo home run off the right-field scoreboard in the bottom of the ninth, bringing the Eagles within one, but with two outs, Duke’s Ben Grisz got Andrew Lawrence to pop out to end the game.

The Eagles won the first game of the doubleheader by a score of 5-3, scoring three runs in the bottom of the eighth to take the lead.

Early in the first game, the story was pitching. Sophomore Mike Dennhardt kept BC close by surrendering only three earned runs in six innings of work. BC’s offense, however, was unable to capitalize on Denhardt’s strong pitching performance and did not log a hit against Duke’s starter, Christopher Manno, until the sixth inning. At that point, though, the BC bats came alive and surmounted an impressive comeback.

BC’s offense has been inconsistent all year. After a series victory against Tulane, and moderate success against Florida Atlantic and Florida International, it appeared that the team’s offense would carry them all year. Once ACC play rolled around, however, everything changed. In their six ACC games prior to the Duke series, the Eagles averaged a mere 2.2 runs a game.

In the first five innings of the game, it appeared that the BC bats would be stifled once more. Manno breezed through the Eagles’ lineup in that time, issuing no hits and four walks. Adding to the Eagles’ offensive woes was their poor base running. Eagle baserunners were picked off by Manno three times, once while a runner was on second base.

In the sixth inning, though, BC finally

got on the board. Facing a 3-0 deficit, catcher Garret Smith led off with a walk and advanced to second on Robbie Anston’s one-out single, BC’s first hit of the game. With runners on first and second, first baseman Mickey Wiswall ended the team’s scoring drought with a two-run double. The two RBI’s gave Wiswall 29 on the year, the most on the team.

Still down 3-2 in the bottom of the eighth, the Eagles put together a two-out rally that culminated in a bases-loaded, two-run single by John Spatola. The late offensive surge marked an impressive comeback victory for the Eagles. In order to sustain a prolonged winning streak, the Eagles’ bats need to continue this hot hitting.

“We got a couple of big hits when we needed to,” BC head coach Mik Aoki said of the game-one victory.

This would not be the case in game two of the doubleheader, though, as the Eagles racked up 12 hits, but never scored more than one run in an inning.

“We never got that big hit,” Aoki said. “We had our opportunities to win that second game, and I do feel like we kind of gave one away there.”

In the top of the first, Duke’s Will Piwnica-Worms ripped an RBI double down the third-base line, scoring Joe Pedevillano and giving Duke an early 1-0 lead.

The Eagles answered back in the bottom of the first, though, as Wiswall sent an Eric Pfisterer pitch back up the middle to score Matt Hamlet and tied the game at one.

In the top of the third, BC starting pitcher Taylor Lasko gave up a lead-off walk to Pedevillano. The walk, which was one of three lead-off walks given up

by BC in the game, would prove costly, as Pedevillano came around to score on a Gould single, giving Duke a 2-1 lead.

“I think it’s been a yearlong struggle,” Aoki said. “Our pitching staff walks far too many people. We have created far

too many innings for other teams.

“You’ve got to give Duke some credit.

They made us pay for it two out of the three times we walked the lead-off guy.”

The Eagles also failed to capitalize on a bases-loaded situation in the bottom of the third inning, leaving the bases full, and neither team scored in the fourth.

After holding Duke scoreless in the top of the fifth, BC tied the game at two on an RBI line-drive single by Watson.

The hit would end Pfisterer’s day on the mound.

Both teams went scoreless in the sixth, but Duke regained the lead in the seventh. BC’s Hunter Gordon walked the lead-off batter to start the inning, and three batters later, Gould sent a double down the left field line, knocking in two runs. Duke tacked on another run in the top of the eighth, scoring on a passed ball. The score was 5-2 after seven and a half.

In the bottom of the eighth, BC responded on an RBI double by Mike Sudol, but with two outs and the bases loaded, Wiswall went down swinging.

BC stranded a total of 13 runners in the game.

Hamlet had three hits in the game for BC, and Watson went 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Marcus Stroman earned the win for Duke, giving up one run and striking out three in three innings pitched. Grisz, who struck out three of the six batters he faced, was awarded with the save.

Gordon was tagged with the loss for BC, giving up three runs on four hits and three walks in 2.1 innings pitched.

Duke’s 5-4 victory tied the threegame series at one going into Sunday’s rubber match.

“I’m happy about the way we competed in both games,” Aoki said. “[But] we need to get a little bit more timely hitting, and our pitching needs to get a little better.” n

ALEX TRAUTWIG / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Brad Zapenas picked up a hit and scored a run in game 2 of the doubleheader against Duke.

Baseball takes series over Duke Baseball, from C1

The Eagles were quick to answer Duke’s brief two-out rally, starting with junior Matt Hamlet, who made contact with the first pitch of the bottom of the fourth with a line drive single to right field. After stealing second base, Hamlet scored off freshman Matt Watson’s liner to left field, evening the score at 1-1.

Watson then advanced to second base on Anthony Melchionda’s single up the middle of the field, a bullet that missed Duke’s starting pitcher Dennis O’Grady by inches, and went on to score the game’s final run when senior Mike Sudol singled to right field. The freshman appeared to experience some indecision over whether to slide into home, resulting in an unceremonious sort of tumble across the plate. Regardless, a run is a run, and the Eagles led 2-1 going into the fifth inning, a lead they would hold for the rest of the game.

O’Grady had nearly as impressive an outing as Dean, striking out six Eagles over eight innings. Like Dean, he had just

one imperfect inning, but Dean managed to come out on top of the duel. “O’Grady … did a great job,” Aoki said. “He made a lot of big pitches, but Pat made a couple more big pitches.” The Eagles outhit the Blue Devils, 8-6, led by Melchionda and Hamlet, who went 2-for-3 and 3-for-4, respectively.

This ACC victory over Duke (14-9, 3-6 ACC), Aoki hopes, may be a sign of the team’s changing fortunes.

“Hopefully this is a turning point for us where we can get the momentum going in our favor and get things turned around,” Aoki said. “We’ve got a couple of important midweek games before we play a Clemson team that’s been playing great all season long.”

The Eagles will play Northeastern Tuesday and Rhode Island Wednesday before the weekend’s three-game series at Clemson. Aoki is optimistic that the series win and Dean’s dominant performance will give the Eagles some momentum heading into this week.

“Hopefully, this is something that can keep us moving forward.” n

C6

THE HEIGHTS

Monday, March 29, 2010

Erotic thriller ‘Chloe’ mired in predictability

BY BRENNAN CARLEY For The Heights

Fatal Attraction, Match Point, and Mulholland Drive: three movies about obsession done right. Sadly, the new film Chloe doesn’t hold a candle to any of them. Though not an awful movie by any means, the flick gamely hobbles along on the crutches of cliches and predictability.

CHLOE Helmed by Atom Egoyan, Atom Egoyan Chloe presents the viewer Studio Canal with outlandish and at times obscene situations, but is saved by the excellent actresses Julianne Moore and Amanda Seyfried. The two women turn in such strong performances that whenever they share the screen, the movie ignites with passion and electricity.

Catherine Stewart (Moore) is a middleaged gynecologist who has been married to her husband David (Liam Neeson), a college professor, for 20 years. When she discovers that he has blown off the birthday party she threw for him to go out drinking with a female student, she instantly suspects something more. After seeing a flirtatious text message from a student,

she is infuriated when she catches David flirting with a waitress at dinner one night and flees to the bathroom, where she finds Chloe (Amanda Seyfried), a doe-eyed girl trying to hide her tears. Through some movie magic, Catherine discovers that Chloe is a prostitute and hires her to seduce her husband, in some perverse hope of catching David in the act. When she feels that things have been taken far enough, Catherine “fires” Chloe, but in a moment of anguish, winds up sleeping with her instead. When she and David confront each other, the movie comes to a predictable but still disconcerting head.

The remaining 15 minutes go by far too quickly (the first rumblings of suspense in the movie!) and the final scenes are jarring.

Egoyan made a wise choice by setting the film in Toronto, a city neither too big nor too suburban. This decision allows the movie to flow with a fast pace but also allows for slow, sincere moments. The only odd thing about the setting is the Stewart’s house, which looks like something straight out of Frank Lloyd Wright’s head. Also, Egoyan frames the house in such a way that the audience would be remiss not to

notice the floor to ceiling windows, a key element of the movie’s intense conclusion.

Luckily, the scenes shared by Catherine and Chloe are moments in which the movie picks up. The two are powerhouse actresses who are masters of their craft. Moore is one of the greatest actresses of our time, and her role in Chloe is no exception. The best performance by far is that of Amanda Seyfried as Chloe. With her wide, innocent eyes and waifish stature, Seyfried initially comes off as naive and even stupid. As the movie progresses, it is terrifying to see the steely and calculating look she adopts. She is scarily good here, because it is especially shocking to see Karen from Mean Girls bare her vicious, vengeful teeth.

The script, written by Erin Cressida Wilson, is mainly stale and obscene. Even though Moore and Seyfried command the scenes they share, the rest of the movie flounders with uncomfortable silences and clunky dialogue. Neeson growls and mumbles his way through his barely-there appearances on screen. The movie begs far too many questions, like, “Why is Chloe so attached to Catherine?” and ,“Why did I pay $11 to see a psychological thriller with

The brilliance of idiot humor

BY WILL WATKINS Heights Staff

Part nostalgia flick, part buddy comedy, with an ample dose of sexual humor, Hot Tub Time Machine is an overachieving film that, despite its absurd premise, delivers laughs and an entertaining story. Director Steve Pink succeeds in taking Josh Heald and Jarrad Paul’s inventive script and bringing enough humanity into the characters to make up for their often vulgar HOT TUB TIME MACHINE and absurd nature. The fast pace of the movie is Steve Pink essential. Moments of riMGM diculousness are quickly forgotten with a laugh, and weaker jokes are followed by a sudden, distracting plot twist. The ensemble cast has great chemistry and interaction, and all four actors give over-the-top performances that are still real enough to be believable.

Luke, played by Daily Show alumnus Rob Corddry, is a divorced, alcoholic burnout whose suicide attempt reunites his slowly disintegrating group of friends. John Cusack plays Adam, who has just gone through a very messy break-up with his girlfriend, and Craig Robinson plays Nick, a would-be musician who has ended up in a dead-end job at a pet grooming office. Seeking to cheer up Luke, the group, accompanied by Adam’s

video game-obsessed nephew Jacob, (Clark Duke) decides to revisit the ski resort that was the site of their best ’80s memories.

Upon arriving to the resort, which, like their lives, has fallen apart since the ’80s, the group hops into a hot tub and begins drinking. Then, as luck would have it, they black out and wake up in 1986. Apparently, the Russian energy drink they were downing contains an ingredient that messes up the hot tub’s electronics and somehow moves them back 24 years, but Pink does not give the audience enough time to ask questions and quickly pushes on with the plot. After the initial confusion and general suspicion that they are taking part in some sort of retro weekend nobody told them about, they look in the mirror and see their much younger selves. Amid many references to The Butterfly Effect, they first decide to try to change nothing from the past, but quickly surrender to one great night of 1980s fun.

Their night is a crazy, drug-and-alcoholfueled bender reminiscent of The Hangover and Superbad, and much of that same type of sexual comedy is used, too. The 80s references, while at times campy, are plentiful, including Alf, Poison and Motley Crue, Ronald Reagan, and giant cell phones.

Chevy Chase, who along with Cusack is an ’80s reference personified, makes an appearance as a mysterious, disappearing hot tub

repairman who gives Jacob clues regarding how they might be able to travel back in time.

Amid the vulgar but effective comedy is the semblance of a semi-serious message, which Pink does a moderately good job of instilling in his audience. When the three main characters return to what they consider the best times of their lives, they find out that they were never as happy as they thought, but merely felt better about themselves because of their youthful sense of hope. Nothing in their lives was actually that much better in the 1980s, but they took their problems with an attitude of optimism as opposed to jadedness. While they do not hesitate to party in the past, they strongly desire to return to the present after being inspired by their former vitality to change and better their lives.

Hot Tub Time Machine does not try to be an Oscar contender or a classic, but it is surprisingly well-done. While not on par with the buddy comedies of recent years that influenced it, there are few bad things to say about the movie. It was as funny as it could be given the cast and premise, and, aware of its own limitations, the film avoids dragging on past its hour-and-a half length.

A moderately good review is as good as the producers could realistically have hoped for, and for that reason Hot Tub Time Machine is a surprisingly funny and entertaining film. 

PHOTO COURTESY OF ALLMOVIEPHOTO.COM

Amanda Seyfried stars as the title character Chloe, sanctioned to seduce Julianne Moore’s beau. only 15 minutes of thrills?” That’s the main issue crippling the film: It doesn’t know whether it wants to be a thriller or a weepy drama. It tries to make its mind up too many times, leaving an awfully confused audience in its wake. Chloe also sadly and almost uncomfortably begs the question, “Is there any Stewart family member Chloe won’t sleep with?” When the audience sees

Title

Chloe with David, it is absolutely believable because of his flirtatious ways, but when she and Catherine become intimate, it is forced and extremely gratuitous. The last straw is when she seduces Michael, Catherine’s son. The movie’s tagline is, “If the one you love was lying to you, how far would you go to find the truth?”

In Chloe’s case, the answer is “too far.”

Box Office Report Weekend Gross

Weeks in release

1. How to Train Your Dragon

43.3

1

2. Alice in Wonderland

17.3

4

3. Hot Tub Time Machine 13.7

1

4. Bounty Hunter

12.4

2

5. Diary of a Wimpy Kid

10.0

2

6. She’s Out of My League 3.5

3

7. Green Zone

3.3

3

8. Shutter Island

3.2

6

9. Repo Men

3.0

2

10. Our Family Wedding

2.2

3 *WEEKEND GROSS FIGURES IN MILLIONS

Bestsellers of Hardcover Fiction

1. House Rules, Jodi Picoult

2. The Help, Kathryn Stockett 3. The Silent Sea, Clive Cussler 4. Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, S. G-Smith 5. Star Wars - Fate of the Jedi, Aaron Allston 6. Angelology, Danielle Trussoni 7. Deep Shadow, Randy Wayne White 8. Worst Case, J. Patterson & M. Ledwidge PHOTO COURTESY OF ALLMOVIEPHOTO.COM

Craig Robinson, Clark Duke, Rob Corddry, and John Cusack venture to the ‘80s together the most expository film since Snakes on a Plane.

9. Fantasy in Death, J.D. Robb ACCORDING TO PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY

Pit bands, popcorn, and one-liners: BC’s Oscars Baldwins, from C8

popcorn and theater-style candy like Snowcaps and Buncha Crunch. Besides using his speech as a means to commend each of the entrants for their laudable work and dedication to the art, Civille lambasted the night’s competing campus tradition, the O’Connell House’s annual Middlemarch dance, for following them to the night of March 26. “It’s not even the middle of March,” Civille said. Though attendance for the event was far from overwhelming, the classy and ridiculous few that did attend made for a raucous crowd.

Ironically enough, a short while later, Mike Bell, A&S ’10, Alex Gilm, A&S ’10, and Ryan McDaid, A&S ’10, took the Best Comedy award for their music video, Crypts and Mudbloods, which originally announced the Middlemarch theme to the student body. In their acceptance speech, McDaid graciously accepted the nod, but laughingly bemoaned the fact that none of the videos from the Senior Five series he is producing for his thesis were recognized.

Announcers for each of the awards consisted of faculty and administrators ranging from Nancy Netzer, the curator of

the McMullen Museum, to Thomas Keady, vice president for Governmental and Community Affairs. The presenters worked in pairs, poking fun at one another’s role on campus. Mentionable for their delivery were the Bourque brothers, Daniel and Michael, who are the vice presidents for Facilities Management and Information Technology, respectively. They played off their sibling rivalry to determine who would get to speak first and announce the winner for best film in the category of Best Comedy.

Adeane Bregman, head librarian in Bapst Art Library, and Syvia Crawley, Women’s Basketball head coach, were also crowd favorites when they took the stage to bestow the night’s greatest honor, Best Picture of the Year.

Standing side by side, nearly a foot and a half between the women was evident, but Bregman showed that she possessed the same prowess on the court with a montage of photos of basketball stars with her face photoshopped onto the heads, set to the R. Kelly favorite, “I Believe I Can Fly.” Bregman and Crawley announced Man of the Year, a stop-action film that followed the adventures of a male blow-up doll.

Director Kevin Nihill, A&S ’11, accepted

the award along with the rest of his cast, offering profuse thanks and stating his relief that the film was so popular as he was now “out of ideas.”

As short clips of each nominee were played before the winners were announced, audience members who may not have seen all of the films got a flavor for the depth of the talent being recognized this year.

For Best Cinematogaphy, Gold, by Louis Del Guercio, A&S ’10, was beautifully shot, opening with a sweeping pan of the skyline to the top of a building emblazoned with the film’s title. Even the dialogue was intriguing to watch in this film, as the perfect lighting, shifting camera angles, and close-up shots caught the characters mannerisms perfectly.

Imagining the Stranger, a documentary film by Paul Bennett, A&S ’11; Sarah Keraney, BC ’09; and Eung-Jin Lee, A&S ’10, was a moving piece that tackled the question of the “stranger” in our lives. It was a question that garnered a breadth of responses – from personal struggles to personal fears – in the film. It is tied in with the Guestbook Project at BC, which is an “ongoing artistic and multimedia experiment in hospitality.” 

JULIANNE WOJNO / HEIGHTS STAFF

Ben Birnbaum, inventor of the Baldwins, toted Emily Dickinson and Jane Austen when presenting.

Monday, March 29, 2010

THE HEIGHTS

iEdit Photo

Now playing on Kevin Hou’s iPod No One Sleeeps When I’m Awake The Sounds High Road - Broken Bells Dark Road- Andrew Bird Burning Hearts - I Lost My Colour Vision I’m Seen - Cold War Kids Rabbit Heart (Raise it up) Florence and the Machine Genesis - Justice Good ol’ Fashion - Matt & Kim Mike Snow - Animal Black - Okkervil River

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The Music Behind the Man A few years ago, Kevin Hou would have given his coveted collection of Japanese toy robots to see The Fray.

Today, he’s hesitant to even take photos of the quartet for free in Conte. Hou, assistant photo editor for The Heights, grew up in Jersey listening to the likes of Panic! at the Disco and The Fray. But once he entered college Hou really began “expanding my tastes,” as seen in the adjacent list. Snappy both in dress (he often dons a plastic purple puffy coat) and attitude, Hou spends the marjority of his time taking photos for the Heights and his own enjoyment.

Somehow, he’s also enrolled in the premed program, with hopes of becoming a radiologist. – ZAK JASON

Musical Hormones rage in ‘Speech and Debate’ movement Debate, from C8

teacher. Along his lead he encounters Howie, the snappy and penetrating Shaun Slusarski, A&S ’12, a senior who came out at the age of nine (“Well, 10 officially.”)

Howie enters the mix when Solomon discovers he indulged in a homosexual chat room with the theater teacher. We see this in the opening scene, when Howie, illuminated only by the light of his laptop screen, types as we watch his hormonal chat with the teacher projected on a screen center stage.

Diwata, played by the effervescent and vibrato-belting Kelsey Alexander, A&S ’11, completes the triangle as a failed actress and president of the titular Speech and Debate club. We meet Diwata crooning a self-composed ditty on her podcast from a balcony atop the main stage. In an imaginative set concocted by scenic designer Jacob Sherburne, A&S ’11, Diwata – donning a tutu and handgun-decalled t-shirt – sang amid glowing red string lights, a martini glass, and a Casio keyboard dangling from thin air.

Diwata lamented on getting cut from her school’s productions of The Crucible and Once Upon a Mattress, dubbing the theater teacher “crap sandwich,” one of the play’s many endearingly lowbrow jokes. Howie, Diwata, and Solomon finally gather at Speech and Debate, a place less about rhetoric and more about unleashing inner sexual pasts and desires.

Much of the innovation of Speech and Debate emerged not from the acting but from the set design, props, and music.

A turquoise and white checker-pattern covered the floor, much like a middle school classroom. Like king pieces on a chess set, protected by vulnerable pawns, Solomon’s and Howie’s desks were often planted on opposite sides of the checkerboard. The sheer distance of the char-

Across the Water, from C8

KEVIN HOU / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Kelsey Alexander, A&S ’11, and Shaun Slusarski, A&S ’12, tango in the teenage dramedy ‘Speech and Debate’ in Bonn Studio this weekend. acters and the board game parallelism illuminated both Solomon’s closetedness and Howie’s burrowed secrets. In the back corner of the set, an elephantine iPod hung in midair. Between each scene, characters would punch play, sending the iPod swinging, cueing music that matched their moods. After a restaurant scene in which Diwata unveils her visit to an abortion clinic, MGMT’s “Kids” plays.

Everything from Vampire Weekend to war movie scores to Weather Channel soft jazz thumped through the speakers.

Without the sound and impassioned acting, though, the set and music would only stand as lifeless museum peaces.

Diwata bounced as the lifeblood of the play, shrieking scenes from The Crucible, shimmying to the tune of her own song, and decrying anyone who gave her flak.

At one point, when Solomon reveals he

reads her blog, she scoffs, “That’s my private journal.” When consoling Howie about being gay, she says, “I’m a double minority: I’m a female and Filipino”(an ethnicity she clearly isn’t). Much like Hayden Christenson’s character in Shattered Glass, Solomon plays a calculated liar, desperately concealing his sexuality with frantic talk but exposing it with refreshingly physical acting, such as vomiting and storming offstage. Howie’s flamboyance and assertiveness emerge as a charming foil to Solomon.

Above all, Speech and Debate’s spontaneous musical numbers hailed as the most engaging and sprightly moments of the night. In one piece, Diwata dresses in colonial attire as convicted Salem witch Mary Warren, serenading a befuddled Howie as Abraham Lincoln, both dancing to the beat of an R&B piano ballad.

Diwata belts, referring to rumors of Lincoln’s sexuality, “If you hold it in, you will end slavery,” as Howie retorts, “I love women but I also love an army of men in and out of uniform.” Toward the end of the play, a deus ex machina emerges in the form of an NPR reporter, played

by Grace Jacobson, A&S ’10 (who also plays Solomon’s conservative teacher in one of the first scenes). The trio, shining from spiraling green and pink lights from above (thanks to lighting designer Chris Casey, A&S ’10), disrobed down to their boxers and, for Diwata, a provocative “naked body stocking.” Nothing could be more absurd. Nothing could be more transcendent.

Amid a year of remakes of classic productions, Conroy and Contemporary Theater’s Speech and Debate marked a rejuvenating break into the modern. 

asks her to stay true to him and entreats God to protect her while he is away. This 18th century tale resonated with just as much depth as the Kallet original that responded to the hustle and bustle of today’s world.

The music was punctuated by anecdotes and reflections from the musicians.

They spoke of their experiences learning to play this style of music and the explorations they have made into the culture behind it. Their influences have come from a vast pool of encounters, often intimate, but many only fleeting. The stories they related quickly put one at ease, and I soon found myself feeling that these people were my friends, and that their friends may very well be mine as well. Grey related his personal knowledge of what he called the “Appalachian Diaspora” which brought folk music into his life at a young age and has musically influenced a large region of the nation. Their reflections brought a more profound sense of meaning.

With good humor, these talented individuals invited their audience into an atmosphere of peace and warmth. Their music had the power to excite or soothe in equal turns. They truly sought to bring listeners closer to the experience, even offering opportunities to sing along. During those two hours, it seemed that life was much simpler. Could there really be more to consider than nature, love, and music?

The manner in which these artists have incorporated this culture into their lives was impressive to witness. They seemed to be more than just performers; rather, they are advocates of a lifestyle. Their music was wonderful, and through it, they have perpetuated an age-old art form into the next generation. 

Synergy, Aero-K take home the Showdown gold Showdown, from C8

interspersed throughout the show. Hosts Jarick Walker, LSOE ’10, Alex Mancebo, A&S ’10, and Joe Ehiorobo, A&S ’10, were anomalous – they were actually funny hosts. They had sketches that made the audience laugh with more than just agitated pity. One skit between champion group Aero-K and F.I.S.T.S. was particularly funny, with one of them dressed up as “Becky,” a random audience member who was the victim of numerous attempts to woo her. Pick-up lines like, “How much does a polar bear weigh?” were bandied about. (Note: the answer is “enough to break the ice.”) Another hit? The second act’s Twitter bit with a submission from “BigPoppaLeahy1967.”

Lil Phunk, noted as “the official junior dance team of the Boston Celtics,” opened up the show with its 33 little boys and girls. The group had the audience wrapped around their intensely spinning, locking and popping frames with an homage to Michael Jackson, replete with moon walking six-year-olds, and the first of at least five playings of LMFAO’s “Shots.” Let’s just say “Shots” sits as adorable on the first group, infectiously catchy on the second, but, by the time the third dance group whipped it out, the audience was probably looking for a few shots to put an end to this redundant feeling.

The Brazilian Club’s dance group, Capoeira, did not compete for a title, but its presentation of an extraordinarily graceful martial-arts-meets-acrobatics routine was rather stunning. The upper body strength necessary for their slow-motion-bent-armed routine had to have been gargantuan. Sexual Chocolate hardcore capitalized on the Twilight and True Blood infestation of pop-culture, with zombie-flavored choreography. The guys wore white masks, black shirts, and stark red ties, stepping with incredible force and precision around the stage.

They were also the first to make use of glow-in-the-dark effects when the lights went to black.

Next came hip-hop crew Phaymus with a bright number, again featuring “Shots,” and “This Is How We Do It.”

ANDREW POWELL / HEIGHTS STAFF

Spicy, Latin ballroom dance group Fuego del Corazon placed second in the ALC showdown with their rebellious school-kids choreography.

The Hawaiian club gave a lesson in hip mobility with its hula dancing, making it appear as though their hips were not attached to their torsos at all.

Aero-K (Aero-K is “Korea” spelled backwards) was up next with traditional Korean dance. Aero-K coupled artistic tableaus, such as one with two clusters of women opening and closing pastel parasols in tandem, with more modern hip-hop choreography and stunningly bright costumes.

Then came Synergy. The audience sensed the performance was going to be

anything but typical when chairs, desks, and a banner that read “SynAirlines” were placed on the stage. Synergy was going for a high altitude stunner to win it all and they succeeded. Remixes of “Toxic,” “Shots,” and Katy Perry’s “Waking Up in Vegas,” backed the extraordinary choreography, and the group’s special effects included an air traffic controller with neon green light sticks, fading to black with the rest of the group sporting orange and red lights.

Its hip-hop was extraordinary and hard hitting.

At the very beginning of the second act, special guest from America’s Best Dance Crew Super Cr3w wowed the crowd with its ebullient two-person show. They bounded across and even off the stage with all the pent-up energy of the six-year-olds in Lil Phunk, but with virtuosic control. Masti, the South Asian Student Association’s dance group, was the first group to compete in act two in a radiant golden light with eye-catching costumes in various jewel and amber shades. The dance featured daring choreography, with one girl roll-

ing across the floor under a line of dancers who would leap up from a push-up position just as she rolled beneath their hands. Masti, too, featured traditional styles of Indian dance with contemporary flavor.

The Philippine Society of Boston College (PSBC) used long bamboo rods in its piece through which dancers tucked, dove, and weaved, and later presented two hip-hop numbers. After the PSBC came Fuego del Corazon, the celebrated samba dance group. Its concept centered on a mutinous schoolroom, tying up the teacher and unwinding their uptight school uniforms to expose glistening gold ballroom dresses. The pairs did everything from dance with the men blindfolded to creating a circle of women sitting on the arms of the guys. Despite one missed lift during a solo-duet, Fuego was, as usual, on fire.

By this point, much of the crowd cleared out in droves, antsy since the show had officially hit the three-hour mark.

Despite this fact, there were still four dance groups to come before the crowning of the new champions. PATU, decked out in aqua and yellow ensembles, presented a solid traditional dance. Swing Kids, performing but not competing in the show, juxtaposed old favorite songs with classic new ones, like “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” followed

by Christina Aguilera’s “Candy Man.” Swing has never looked so hip.

Ending out the show was the Vietnamese Students’ Association (VSA) and Conspiracy Theory. The VSA captured attention with bright red paper lanterns and parasols, depicting what appeared to be a story of love and marriage. Conspiracy Theory was a tour de force, with impressive handstand choreography that spanned what seemed to be a full minute, and fantastic, high energy floor spins at the end of the number.

By the time the winners were announced, the audience had seen such a powerful melange of acts, cultures, and styles, which, in and of itself, was a feat. Hopefully, if nothing else, students took this diverse picture of talent with them when they branched off at the end for their own nights of Lower late-night and parties. 

ARTS&REVIEW

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MONDAY, MARCH 29, 2010

NOTES ON A SCANDAL

When will they learn?

ALC breaks it down

ALLISON THERRIEN You know you’re pretty much screwed – pardon the pun – if jokes about you are about as common as a “your mom” joke. Tiger Woods has reached that point. “Tiger” has become a “cheetah,” and “hole in one” takes on a whole new meaning. In a widely anticipated recent episode of South Park, Tiger’s famed November car accident is made into a video game. One player will inevitably crash into a tree as Tiger, and Elin’s player should make sure not to miss as she hits Tiger with a golf club and Alanis Morisette’s “Ironic” begins to play. Okay, so maybe that last part was of my own creation.

Still, we’re all laughing because it’s obvious that Tiger has gone from a golf fanatic’s icon to an SNL writer’s dream, which begs the question: Shouldn’t Tiger’s downward descent be enough to deter other tempted, famous men from following in his footsteps? Surely if one of the Seven Dwarves had snagged a bite of the poisonous apple before Snow White, she would have seen the effects and thus known to avoid it, no matter how glittery and red. Interestingly, this metaphor works on two levels, since the idea of the forbidden fruit has been a symbol for seduction since the Bible.

Stephanie Meyer even managed to incorporate the symbol into the cover of that book of hers. Weirdly, I can’t seem to recall the title of that one. I’m sure it will come to me.

Still, just as the Bill Clintons, John Edwards, Jude Laws, and Hugh Grants of the pre-Tiger age were abounding, we have such immensely public cheating scandals in the post-Tiger age as Jesse James’ recent affair, not to mention countless other rumored ones, including the likes of Sam Mendes, Matthew Fox, Josh Duhamel, and Ryan Philippe.

I have two immediate reactions to scandals like these, though any number of them could be fiction. First, Sam Mendes just barely qualifies as a silver fox, so I’m not sure how it’s possible that his ego could become so inflated that he would think himself superior to Kate Winslet. Let’s be honest, she could have had Leo. Oh, who am I kidding.

She should have had Leo. Second, you’d think that after people like Tiger, Clinton, and Edwards became everyone’s favorite punch-line – and after a perverted Tiger Woods inflatable doll was mass-produced – people like Jesse James would learn to keep it zipped. You’d think they would have the common sense to, firstly, re-watch that slow-motion scene from Miss Congeniality set to “Mustang Sally” and recall the fact that you can’t do all that much better than Sandra Bullock, and secondly, realize that being a celebrity means things like affairs are exponentially harder to keep secret.

When a celebrity affair is discovered, any efforts to keep it from the press are in vain. Bloggers, reporters, news anchors, comedians, and fellow celebrities will discuss the scandal, and the public will look on, because honestly, it takes much less to catch our eye. Entertainment magazines are grabbed from stands everywhere, and more often than not they contain bland interviews with starlets and photos of Angelina Jolie picking up groceries. Jennifer Aniston tells us the components of her daily eggwhite omelet, and we learn about Kim Kardashian’s work-out routine. The outing of Tiger Woods – a subject of true scandal – felt more like a cultural phenomenon. A historical event.

A couple months back, a homeless person was photographed sitting knees-bent on the sidewalk, holding up a cardboard sign. The sign read, “I had an affair with Tiger Woods. Now look where I’m at.” Personally, I think that the wounded-puppy look Tiger has displayed in the rare photos captured of him since the scandal surfaced is enough to teach other prospective apple-biters to “just say no,” but if not, perhaps this street-side prophet will do the trick.

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

BY KRISTEN HOUSE

Arts & Review Editor In many ways, the AHANA Leadership Council (ALC) Showdown (ALCS) resembled the Major League Baseball equivalent of an ALCS game (a.k.a. American League Championship Series game). There were egos, big players showing off their prowess, and bumping music that shook the crowd to its core. The spirit in Conte Forum was competitive. The ensembles were immaculately

polished. By the end of the evening, Synergy took home the trophy for best dance group while AeroK captured first place for best culture group, and Fuego and Masti came in second place in each category, respectively. Furthermore, the show clocked in at around three and a half hours, which is basically on par with a major league game – Red Sox-Yankees style.

Aside from the competition, the organizers of

See Showdown, C7

ANDREW POWELL / HEIGHTS STAFF

Clockwise from top left: First place winner Synergy, second place winner Fuego, Aero-K, Masti, a member of Lil Phunk, Aero-K, and Sexual Chocolate perform in the ALC showdown.

Abraham Lincoln comes out in Bonn

BY ZAK JASON

Assoc. Arts & Review Editor

KEVIN HOU / HEIGHTS EDITOR

Speech and Debate proves able to capture the essence of adolescence.

Of all stages of the human lifespan, late adolescence proves the slipperiest to grasp. Each year, puberty’s final stages pervade film, theater, and literature, yet only a handful of works have precisely and artfully seized the teenage years of bewilderment: Freaks and Geeks, American Pie, The Catcher in the Rye. This weekend, Contemporary Theater’s inventive, playful, and poignant production of Speech and Debate became one of those works.

Before the show began, student director Stephen Conroy, A&S ’10 (who has acted in stellar performances of Angels in America, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Twelfth Night), opted to play nontraditional waiting music. Instead of classi-

cal or the silence typically accompanying a Bonn Studio production, Conroy and Co. selected the likes of Neutral Milk Hotel, Decemberists, and Arcade Fire. A subtle touch, but sounding more like a segue into a rock show than a theater play imbued a mood of youth and excitement.

Initially directed by young playwright Stephen Karam, Speech and Debate orbits around a trio of eclectic and confused teenagers. Solomon, played by the effectively neurotic and affable Anthony Russo, CSOM ’13, yearns to become an investigative journalist, scurrying around school with a clipboard and recorder. At all costs, Solomon searches to dig up the latest story, even exposing the homosexual escapades of the ironically titled Salem, Ore. mayor and his high school’s theater

See Debate, C7

A dip into the water

BY KRYSIA WAZNY Heights Staff

As the final glimmers of the day peaked through a stunning green, stained-glass window, the mesmerizing folk melodies of the Western world enchanted listeners.

Throughout the two-hour performance, the audience packed into the Connolly House was transported across time and space to a wonder world of calm waters and expansive fields. Renowned folk musicians Cindy Kallet and Grey Larsen soothed the room with lovely melodies

and calming voices. Through their music, anecdotes, and warm personalities, they summoned an impression of an entire culture and way of life.

The performance featured pieces from Ireland, New England, Appalachia, and Scandinavia. Each place has a distinct folk tradition, but from listening to the music the great impact they have had upon each other is evident. Several gigs and reels were played, both of traditional origin and of the artists’ own composition. The mood swung from melancholic to cheerful as each medley of tunes progressed. Feet tapped, heads bobbed, and some mild stomping broke out in the audience.

Both Cindy and Grey have strong, beautiful voices and play a variety of different instruments. Among the instruments used were various fiddles and Irish flutes, the tin whistle, the guitar, and the concertina, a free-reed instrument similar to the accordion. Whether instrumental or sung, each piece evoked deep emotion in simple ways. Nevertheless, the tunes were complex in composition, even when played on the tin whistle, originally a children’s instrument. “I Am a Youth Inclined to Ramble,” performed on an Irish B flat flute and guitar, tells the story of two young lovers forced to part as the man makes his way to America. He

NICOLE CHOINSKI / HEIGHTS STAFF

Connolly House presented a bevy of cultures.

I NSIDE ARTS THIS ISSUE

See Water, C7

Take a trip in the Hot Tub Time Machine

Find out if this is a film whose name far precedes its greatness, kind of like Snakes on a Plane...........................C6

JULIANNE WAJNO / FOR THE HEIGHTS

Hello, Shovelhead! accepts an award for its comedic entry ‘Diamond Quest.’

Sixth Baldwins fly in

BY ANA LOPEZ Heights Editor

Film found a home in the Heights Room last night as the sixth annual Baldwin Awards were doled out to young BC filmmakers. Students from in and outside of the film studies major submitted their best work from the past year to be reviewed by 12 judges and were awarded prizes in 15 categories, including this year’s new category, Experimental Films.

Attendees to the event strolled the red carpet, installed especially for

The mercurial, mysterious Chloe

It’s a tale as old as time in this film as a young femme fatale seduces an older married man........C6

the ceremony, to the front door of the Heights Room, where an oversized projection screen and a table full of hefty, bronzed Baldwins with fierce expressions emblazoned on their faces sat ready to be awarded to worthy nominees.

Mike Civille, professor in the fine arts department, took the stage as audience members – some, like Donald Hafner, vice provost for undergraduate affairs, dressed to the nines in tuxedos – munched on complimentary buttered

See Baldwins, C6

iEdit..............................................C7 Box Office Report........................C6